52. consequences of a lukewarm faith
Posted by:
SeLahGirl on
February 28, 2008 at
1:06PM EST
Is so much separation in the church a good thing? When we
separate children and teens and the elderly, is that a good thing? Yes,
it would seem wise to offer venues where each group can enter into
discussion and ministry that is relevant to their age/gender needs. But
what of unity, what of nurturing relationship, and teaching respect for
one another in their age or in their youth. It is necessary for all to
be honored and respected, old and young.
How can parents come to understand their child's spiritual struggles
and growth if they are never in a small group setting with them? When
is there truly opportunity for teens to unburden their heart and to
share what they have gleaned from their parent's testimony and the
testimony of the entire world around them (Christian and secular)? Such
things need to be discussed in mixed settings as well as peer-group
settings. Otherwise, parents fail to train and over-see their child's
spiritual growth. Getting them vaccinated, taking them to the dentist,
getting them insured to drive... physical mandates by the laws of men.
But what about the spiritual mandates in light of the law of God? We
don't set them loose in their physical needs, why should we believe a
secular world that tells us to neglect their spiritual needs? We
protect them from sexual perverts that seek to rob them of their
innocence... why would we subject them and give them over to moral
perverts?
We need to wake up!
We are killing our kids. We are passing thru the hands of Molech.
Being afraid of appearing unkind by secular standards has made us
afraid to protect those most precious to us. Not making waves, has
allowed the ungodly to drown our children in a sea of moral decay!
What if there was a small group where people encountered their peers,
and another group where they encountered relationship and understanding
beyond age? We coddle our youth to think that they should always be
entertained, and then we complain because they are unable to sit in a
mature group atmosphere and listen/participate/grow. Every intimate
teaching setting.... we send the children off to classes, we send the
teens off to the youth building, we sit in our adult classes... and we
all remain divided and non-communicative in any real and relevant way.
We are afraid to gently guide teens from off the wall tangents back to
a solid core of belief. It's just not politically correct or
humanistically accepted or nauseatingly kind. We smile and say,
"hmmmm... that's an interesting thought, tell us more. Okay, good for
you, I can see your point, that makes sense, that's one way to look at
it, there are people that would agree with you, good for you that you
have loved people in their sin and made excuse for their sin, you are
so kind and merciful, yay young person that you are saying anything at
all, that you are in church at all, that you feel good and positive
about the off the wall tangent that you have embraced as Christian,
that you have heard this abstract thought from God for yourself or at
school and it makes total sense to you -- even though it totally
contradicts the Word of God and the very character and goodness and
holiness of God."
And we adjust the Bible to become a book
of stories and myths based on ancient cultures that are more or less
irrelevant unless they somehow emphasize some warm fuzzy that has
tickled their fancy. Only what caters to the eccentric seems relevant
to much of the contemporary church. It sure wins them favor from a lost
generation, and puts warm bodies in their cool foldout chairs and
livingroom style sanctuaries.
what?
I sit
baffled by much of what I am seeing and hearing in every church I enter
into lately. The so-called cutting edge, culturally relevant churches,
the emergent church.... There is no standard of Truth in the church.
Being eccentric and creative are more important that being like
Christ... The Bible has been chucked out the window or buried under
self-esteem books by trendy gurus calling themselves Christian leaders
and experts. They know little about Christ or what he said or taught,
yet they claim to speak for him and to know his heart. Christ actually
warned about such false teachers springing up everywhere in the last
days, along with gross deception and manipulation thru the
words/speeches of arrogant men and greedy movements.
You
can study the Bible all day long with Satan by your side reading aloud,
but you can miss God just as surely. When you see the Bible as words on
a page, as another text book, as a Christian reference source that
people are free to give or take... you will never grasp the character
and person of Jesus Christ. The Bible is alive, it has a Spirit that
pervades it and that causes it to breathe and literally speak. Not like
some electronic voice reader on a computer... it speaks with passion
and conviction and anointing because it is God that speaks. It is his
Word, what he has said and is saying. It is alive. The Bible is not
inanimate no matter what seminary scholar or trendy Christian cult
teacher claims that it is. It lives, it speaks, and the Spirit of God
interprets. Word and Spirit cannot be separated or it becomes a dead
faith. Both are required to hear from God.
I had a dream
that the academic world had been taken over by werewolves. Everyone was
mingling in a block party and small groups were being called into a
frat house one by one and brutally attacked with much blood. They were
given drugs and told that it would make it easier to bear by the people
that were about to devour them. Then in packs they would jump on each
group of three or four and infect them with their evil until they
became one of them.
No one was fighting back, no one was
objecting. There was a secret fear among them but they all chose to
deny it and not to speak of it. They played the game and pretended to
enjoy the party (all the while dreading their turn). They went
willingly when called, knowing it was the end for them, that they were
about to join themselves to evil. I could see everyone and everything
that was happening and I was whispering to a group of teens that I
knew, how to move thru the crowd to avoid being called forth. But the
fear and danger were great.
The dream jumped and we were
all in a very large church. A few of these werewolves walked into the
church, then more and more and more trickled in. No one objected, no
one acknowledged their presence, so their numbers continued to enter
and increase. The congregation was in denial, though you could feel
their fear level rising.
I was in disbelief and was angry
that the people of God seemed so cornered and helpless against the
attack that was coming. I knew that they would transform into evil at
any moment and lunge upon the people of God. In my anger I stood and
began to yell, "you will not touch the people of God. You have no power
here. No right to be here. Leave in the name of Jesus." I began to call
upon God. I began to declare how wonderful and all-powerful he is. I
began to see him clearly instead of the situation around me until I
forgot where I was for a minute as I was caught up in worshipping Him.
When I once again became aware of where I was, all the werewolves, all
those evil people were gone. I was amazed at the power of the name of
God. I stood in shock and kind of laughed in surprise. I had cried out
in my fear and anger, and claimed the authority of God over the
situation. And the presence of God rushed in and drove the evil out. I
woke so fascinated and awe-struck by our God. It was a good dream.
But thinking on it, the congregation never changed. They never moved,
they never joined in, they never responded in any way. Even after the
evil had left, they continued to stare straight ahead and not even
acknowledge what God had done. No thanks was given to him. Nothing.
Just a hint of relief that their fear level had come down a notch.
Something is wrong in the church of today. I can't put my finger on it,
but God is busy setting all things in order. He will not let it
continue for much longer. His mercy is great, but he will not let
injustice prevail any longer than absolutely necessary. Grace has a
time limit, and I fear that we are nearing the end of it.
The church is divided on many levels.
Perhaps by sheep and goats.
If so, we had better begin to make up our minds who we want to be
because neither can balance on a fence for very long. We must pick a
fold to call our own which defines who we choose to align ourselves
with... or we will fall hard and face the consequences of a lukewarm
faith.
