Saturday, June 11, 2016

Done With Church Part Trois

Acts 2:37-41 

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.  And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

According to the above verses, Peter speaks to a fairly large crowd, and they were deeply disturbed. in which the crowd asked what must they do?  Peter was simple, by saying repent, be baptized and save yourselves from this unfaithful generation.  About 3000 people came into repentance that day.  


Now you can go to church and hear about some leaders boasting on their two or three that came to church and "know Christ" with the unbiblical sinner's prayer.  Just tell them about heaven and avoid the drastic of sin and hell and shove those sinners without repentance past the gates in the Kingdom of God.  Chalk more up on our little board how many we have brought to Christ.  
Aren't we the evangelists?
We present such a watered down gospel that it takes a watered approach to witness.  I have heard many preachers speak of their own interpretation of Scriptures.  Other more popular ones make dramatic appeals in their own realm to make their version of the Bible become more personal in nature.  Others talk of sin like it belongs to anyone outside their congregation and even their home.  Yes, we are human and fall short.  The bottom line is are we willing to deal with sin as strongly as we demand it outside our little country club?
The answer is blatantly NO.
I have been to a service where the music was so loud it was actually making my heart vibrate.  You may think this is extreme; I assure you, it is not.  I had to walk out of the service just to get my heart back into its normal rhythm.  Many "worship" parts of the service, (remember, worship and music are linked, one cannot be without the other in today's churches) have the music loud enough where the congregation either doesn't need to sing or can't be heard anyways.  It is just like the secular venue; it portrays our feelings more than truth.
After the "excitement," we head over to the announcements and giving, then the sermon.  By this time, many of us drained but hopefully, there is enough adrenaline to make the service plausible until the routine begins again the next week.  
Here is some more things on how the church has strayed away from the original:
1.  Worship is forever linked to music.  It is no longer a way of life.  It is now a form of entertainment.
2.  Prayer is no longer a priority, unless it is for the vision and direction of the church.
Prayer for individuals or families are now relegated to "prayer chains."  

3.  Life groups have replaced Bible studies.  These are done so not to offend.  Many have followed "surveys" suggesting that relationships override truth and witnessing.  
4.  Churches have become business minded.  Hire who they know rather than hiring who the Spirit wants.
5.  Churches are more lethargic than they were fifty years ago.  
6.  We have no reverence for God anymore.  Acceptance is more feared than holiness.  We no longer bow or kneel.  We prefer to be more comfortable than afflicted in our soul.
7.  We chose doctrine than the Holy Ghost.
8.  We are so illiterate concerning the Bible, we accept any good word that comes our way.  As long as there is no condemnation, we are "safe."
We need to return to the way God has called us to be.  We want new ways and every single one of them is man's idea where we attempt to make His will.   Look at all the translations and versions of the Bible.  We have the Queen James version, we have a porn star version, we have the 100 minute Bible, for those with deliberate small attention spans.  Man continually wants to work his way to the throne where God wants to be in our temple.  
We need to return.  More on this later.

Jeremiah 6:15-16

Michael  

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