A colleague of mine made me aware of the video that I have attached with this little rant.  What is becoming of the church today?  This video explains a lot that is wrong with the Church today.  It seems that we cannot be satisfied with just living and teaching God’s Word anymore.  Now I am not against modern/contemporary music.  I’m not against praise bands.  I’m not against trying to reach people for the cause of Christ.  However, I am against “Christians” using the name of Jesus to promote their new agenda, their new insight, or their new flavor of the month.  When a church building is turned into a den of thieves for raising funds for mission works, for youth outings and the like I think we have a problem.  When the pulpit becomes a place for the latest pop-psychology or the newest fad in presenting God’s Word then have we moved away from that old Jerusalem gospel?  When we use the preaching stage to promote a new book, CD or a new philosophy, where have we went wrong?  What happened to preaching the Gospel?  What happened to convicting souls with the message of Christ?  What happened to evangelism?  I mean evangelism because people are lost and need to be saved.  Not to “steal” a Christian or Christian family away from another New Testament Church Body.  The Church needs to get back to being the Church found in the Bible, letting our lights shine for Christ as we read in Matthew chapter 5.   The only ones that can take the Church back are the ones that make up the Church, Christians.  It is up to us to leave the plague of groups such as the emergent church behind and hang on to Jesus Christ the author and finisher of our faith.

]]> http://www.cofcharlan.com/dave/?feed=rss2&p=617 0 http://www.cofcharlan.com/dave/?p=40 http://www.cofcharlan.com/dave/?p=40#comments Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:38:52 +0000 Dave http://www.cofcharlan.com/dave/?p=40 Recently, while doing a study in the book of John I came to a passage of scripture that made me think about those that we would call “seasoned” Christians compared to those we would call “babes” or “new” in Christ.  The passage was that of John 5:1-17 which reads…

After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.  In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.]  A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?”  The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”  Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.  So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”  But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’”   They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?”  But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”  The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.  But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”

Now I know that this passage does not directly deal with that of a new Christian however the concept is still relevant.  It seems to me that in many of our congregations today, we have this very same problem.  A person comes to the Lord and wanting to do good and what is right and church members jump right in and act just as the Jews here did to this man that was healed.  When a person becomes a Christian and is on fire for the Lord it seems many times that someone or some group of people want to make that person wonder if the decision they have just made was the right thing to do.  It is as if to say, I know that you are on fire and want to be a good worker but just calm down and wait a minute and think about this. If you go all out now you just might burn yourself out and that would not be good.  It seems that too many Christians operate this way.  It’s like the church might get upset if someone wants to work for the Lord, God forbid!  Perhaps the reason Christians are put off by a go getter is that they are not a go getter for the Lord.  I can think of no better person or thing to be on fire for other than the Lord.  So please if you are one that likes to clip the wings on a new Christian just remember the only reason you are not a fireball is because you let your spark go out.  Stay on fire for the Lord!!!

When in sorrow——————————————call John 14.
When men fail you————————————–call Psalm 27.
If you want to be fruitful———————————call John 15.
When you have sinned———————————-call Psalm 51.
When you worry————————————call Mat.6:19-34.
When you are in danger———————————call Psalm 91.
When God seems far away—————————-call Psalm 139.
When your faith needs stirring———————–call Hebrews 11.
When you are lonely and fearful————————-all Psalm 23.
When you grow bitter and critical————————call I Cor.13.
For Paul’s secret to happiness————————call Col. 3:12-17.
For understanding of Christianity——————call II Cor.5:15-19.
When you feel down and out————————-call Romans 8:31.
When you want peace and rest———————call Mat.11:25-30.
When the world seems bigger than God—————–call Psalm 90.
When you want Christian assurance————–call Romans 8:1-30.
When you leave home for labor or travel—————call Psalm 121.
When your prayers grow narrow or selfish————– call Psalm 67.
For a great invention/opportunity———————–call Isaiah 55.
When you want courage for a task————————call Joshua 1.
For how to get along with fellow men——————-call Romans 12.
When you think of investments and returns————–call Mark 10.
If you are depressed————————————-call Psalm 27.
If your pocketbook is empty—————————–call Psalm 37.
If you are losing confidence in people———————-call I Cor.13.
If people seem unkind————————————-call John 15.
If discouraged about your work————————-call Psalm 126.
If you find the world growing small and yourself great—-call Psalm 19.

Alternate numbers:
For dealing with fear———————————–call Psalm 34:7.
For security——————————————call Psalm 121:3.
For assurance——————————————call Mark 8:35.
For reassurance————————————-call Psalm 145:18.

All lines to Heaven are open 24 hours a day!

I just urge for us to sing songs about Bible things using Biblical language.  Don’t take a good song and mess it up doctrinally just to fit in with the world.  In the case of this song I have talked with our song leader and we have agreed that changing the word wine to vine, it not only makes rhyming sense, more importantly it makes Biblical sense.  Too many times if we come across something that is wrong scripturally we just stay away from it.  I suggest we fix it, turn it back to God for His praise.  If the old boundaries have been moved we shouldn’t just say, oh well, we should move them back.  Not to mention when something like this is misunderstood among the world it has a tendency of confusing those that are new Christians and to those that are not as spiritually mature as they could be.  Please don’t think me hard headed or legalistic, but check it out see what the Bible really says.  

     Sometimes I feel the same way about the word worship.  Maybe I just haven’t figured it all out yet.  Maybe I never will.  I do pray for understanding to help me to see it for what the Bible has said that it is and nothing more or nothing less.  I am going to list a few things that I know about worship, just to let you know why I understand what I do about worship. 

1.  I do know the word worship is first found in Genesis 22:5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”

2.  I do know the word worship is translated differently from one version of the Bible to another, such as in Exodus 3:12 the NASB says And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” And then the KJV translates the word as serve.

3. I do know the word worship is used in reference to God and to idols.  Psalm 2:11 Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Then in Daniel 3:5-6 that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. “But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.”

4. I do know the word worship is used to mean many different things.  And most of those are things that are not what we would call church gathering events. 

     However, I do believe that worship is what we do when we come together to praise and honor the Lord, God the Father and Christ the Son.  Just as much as I understand that worship may not always be done as a group activity but can simply be me serving in the name of Christ in another capacity.  I also can conclude from study, that worship in not just the singing of hymns, choruses or spiritual songs, that worship is about pleasing the Lord in spirit and in truth as we learn in John chapter 4.

     In the summation of what I am trying to share is perhaps this, Worship is not so much what we do or when we do it, as much as it is what we are and how we express it.  And I believe that as we find in scripture it ought not be about what pleases me. but actually what pleases the Lord.

     That night it rained and rained. Soon, the shingle that had no nail blew away, and the roof began to leak. The water streaked the walls and the beautiful murals. The plaster began to fall, the carpet was stained, and precious Bibles were ruined by water. All this because a little nail decided to quit! While holding the shingle, the nail was obscure, but it was also useful. Buried in the mud, it was just as obscure, but now it was useless and would soon be eaten up by rust.

     You may, like the nail, feel obscure at times. You may feel that the job you are doing is no big deal. You may think that if I weren’t here nobody would miss me. But just like the nail, your absence is felt. When you are not present for worship, the body of Christ is hurt. We are ALL part of the Lord’s ministry. Don’t ever feel like you are not special to Christ or His Church. Each and every Christian should be an active, working, functioning part of the Body of Christ. Read what the apostle Paul penned down for us  in 1 Corinthians 12:14-27 For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.

     Paul reminds us that we all have important responsibilities in making the Gospel known to the entire lost world. That may mean going over seas and preaching the Word on a far away mission field. Or it could mean going to your neighbor or to your fellow co-worker and talking to them about the Salvation Christ has to offer. We are all important. Not that any of us should not do the afore mentioned ideal plan of sharing the Gospel, but we do need to keep in mind that there are other areas we can work for the Lord in. Do not overlook the importance of doing your faithful service to the Lord by working in the local congregation. It means just as much to the Lord to be the one that cleans the baptistery as it does to be the one that immerses someone in it. Please do not take what I have just said wrong. The point that is trying to be shared is that unless you do what you do for the sole purpose of giving the glory to the Lord then you should not even do it. Too many times we do this and we do that so that others will say, “Oh my, isn’t he/she a grand Christian.” Well the way I understand it we should do what we do so that the Lord will say, “Well done My good and faithful servant.”

     The hardest thing to remember is that you, that I, that we matter to God and to Christ. God the Father sent His only begotten Son to die for us and Jesus willing did that. That should be proof enough that we matter. Christ has expressed how much He loved us. Let us reciprocate that love and not be like that nail and quit doing our job. Let us continue on with the attitude that we “get” to work for Christ, instead of we “got” to work for Christ. If we work tirelessly with this attitude in mind we will come to a clearer knowledge that YOU DO MATTER!!!

About a certain preacher, who lived once upon a time.

At one of his appointments, some members – not a few

Became sorely troubled, about the word – “INTO”.

The good book says quite plainly, in Acts 8  “They came unto”,

And “Went down INTO water”, as Bible people do.

This man preached a sermon, with zeal and power and might,

And to his satisfaction, he set the passage right! 

“INTO” there doesn’t mean INTO, but AT, or NEAR, or BY

They went down TO the water, and got a small supply. 

Now, near this place of worship, there lived a sister Brown,

Who, by her splendid cooking, had gotten much reknown. 

And her delicious coffee, On all the circuit round,

The preacher oft said boldly, “It’s like could not be found” 

When he would preach a sermon, of extra power and length,

He liked at her good table, to recuperate his strength. 

She was a simple Christian – no better in the land,

And oft reproved the daring, for changing God’s command. 

She heard Jones’ “INTO” sermon, and thought the matter o’er

Then asked him home to dinner, as she had done before. 

She ground her well-browned coffee, the kettle steaming hot,

And put it AT, not INTO, the famous coffeepot.

She poured for him a cupful, I think she did not sin,

Why, sister – you’ve forgotten, to put the coffee in!! 

No, No! Dear Sir, that’s coffee, I ground a good supply,

And then down by the vessel, I put it AT, NEAR BY.

By logic of your sermon, (I think it very thin),

If AT or NEAR means INTO, I put the coffee IN!

But if you promise now, no more this stuff to teach,

Or dodge God’s plain commandment, when you attempt to preach.

I’ll go and make some coffee, just to a Bible dot

And I will put the coffee, INTO the coffeepot!!

The new year brings with it many challenges and trials, but also many new joys and celebrations.  Remember as we run this race called life not to get caught up in the pitfalls and uneven terrain that Satan has the world throw at us.   Keep up the push and we will be stronger for it.  I hope and pray that in your new year you can accomplish all that the Lord has in store for you.

     Also I have placed a list developed by the A.F.A. (American Family Association) that let’s you be aware of those that choose to not recognize Christ as the reason for the season.  Just something to think about and consider.  Be sure to continue to look to the AFA website for current updates to the list.