The state of the Church breaks my heart. Yes it does. I weep over it, and I believe so does Jesus.
The deadness, the formality, the coldness. Where is the life? Where is the joy? Where is my Jesus?
I don’t seem Him in it.
I don’t see Him in the dry formality, I don’t see Him in the ritual, the “way we’ve always done it.”
Why do people’s faces look sad and somber in church? Why do we feel we have to pretend to be serious to be spiritual?
Jesus where are You?
Not there.
The thing is, we know it. We know it’s not right, that something is missing. We know that Jesus’ death on the cross wasn’t so we could sit and be bored in Church for two hours every Sunday morning. We feel it. Something in our spirit says this is not the way it was in the early Church, there is something more. What are we missing?
So, we try to fix it in our human-ness.
Entertainment, rock concerts, frenzied behavior, yelling, emotional manipulation. Get people to cry, yes, if that brings emotion, ANYTHING but that dead dryness. Oh God, anything but that.
Entertainment for true joy.
Emotional manipulation for true broken-ness
Frenzied behavior for the real work of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus where are You?
Not there.
After awhile, the yelling makes us tired, the emotive manipulation falls on dead ears, and, after all, we are not changed.
That didn’t work either. Oh God, what next?
Look at pubs, worldly concerts, sporting events. They are full of happy, excited people. There are crowds. They must know something we don’t. We must learn from them.
Advertising, marketing surveys, seeker-sensitive churches. Things not to mention:
- the cross
- sin
- the Blood
- God’s holiness
- never ever use the word “sinner”
- hell
- judgment (shriek)
(But make sure you use the word “unpack” in your sermon at least 5 times.)
Jesus where are YOU?
Not there.
Something wrong. something missing. something different than the Church in Acts.
Spirituality. Candles, liturgies, labyrinths, darkness. Ooooh, we get goosebumps again. This is it! we feel again, we are not dead, not bored, we are spiritual.
We feel.
JESUS where are YOU?
Not there.
Don’t we see? don’t we know where He is?
He is outside the Church.
He is outside the door.
Long ago He was asked to leave. Oh yes, we use His Name, but we don’t really want Him. We want to be comfortable, we want convenience at all costs. We don’t want our formality and rituals confronted or thrown away. We want to feel good, positive emotions. We don’t want to be convicted. We want to feel intellectual and deep and have wonderful spiritual experiences. We want lots of people around us because that shows we are on the right track.
But we don’t want HIM.
Him – the goodness, the holiness, the righteousness, the kindness, the love, the truth, the mercy, the conviction, the call to the lost, the call to obedience, the faithfulness to Him that is required, the cost of the cross of Christ…
Jesus is a gentleman, He will not stay where He is not welcome.
There is only one way back to Him.
Let us cast off everything else and fall on our knees before Him.
There is only one thing that is required:
BROKENNESS
Utter broken-ness.
Let us fall on our faces before our Lord and weep for the state of our own hearts, for the Church, for the lost around us. Let our hearts be broken. It is only when our hearts are broken before the Lord that LIFE, the real life of the Holy Spirit enters in.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand the deadness any more. I have had enough of formality and boredom. I have had enough of human solutions to the problem. I can’t handle any more extraneous rubbish – I WANT HOLY GHOST REVIVAL! This world needs men and women who have the fire of the Holy Ghost.
Lord, send Your Spirit. Revive us again. We need You Lord. I repent of my hardness of heart Lord. My heart breaks for the state of the Church Lord. My heart breaks for those around me on their way to Hell. Enough Lord ! Rend the heavens and come down!!! In Jesus’s Name, Amen
Grace and Truth 
August 26, 2014 at 1:10 am
I’d have to agree that there is a lot of ‘everything else’ mixed in with modern Christianity. I think back to all the churches that I’ve been to and the worst ones always found a way to make something more important than Jesus. I remember being taught how to debate Creationism (day-age creationism, gap creationism, evolution creationism, etc.), how to apply The Purpose Driven Life to me, and that’s pretty much it. What I learned about Jesus came from a seeker-sensitive non-denominational church that taught the basic truths of Jesus – the rock concert was just icing on the cake. I don’t miss the hymns, I never really was taught how to sing them anyway.
August 26, 2014 at 4:07 am
Yes, that is ALWAYS the problem – Jesus being removed from the centre and some doctrine or practice taking His rightful place. We are so human.
It was Spurgeon who said “…It is very easy, brethren, unless God gives us understanding, to preach up one precept to the neglect of another. It is possible for a ministry and a teaching to be lopsided, and those who follow it may become rather the caricatures of Christianity than Christians harmoniously proportioned….Oh how easy it is to exaggerate a virtue until it becomes a vice.”
Anyhow, I am glad to hear that you have learnt about Jesus. I hope that you do know Him as well as know about Him. He is a wonderful Saviour.
God bless and thanks for the comment 🙂
August 26, 2014 at 5:18 pm
Beware of the Purpose Driven Life!
This is Humanism, placing yourself, above Christ!
Without Christ, we can Do Nothing!!!
God wants us: To be Humble, Compassionate, and Merciful!
Get Over Yourselves, and Worship, Him Alone!
August 26, 2014 at 2:07 am
Christ enters, “Spiritual Brokeness” through a Contrite Heart!
He wants to fix, the Broken, and give them “New Life!”
The Holy Spirit, Convicts the Sinner, and Christ will be “Your Lord and Saviour!”
Too many Church- Goers believe their Born Again….but, has Christ, really entered them, through His Holy Spirit???
You can tell the Tree, by it’s Fruit!
August 26, 2014 at 3:48 am
” The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:17
God bless you Cathy!
🙂
August 26, 2014 at 3:21 am
Great post. It is obvious that you sense something or someone is missing. But why? God is All-Presence. Is there any place we can go and not be in His All-Presence? So my guess is that there is another problem. Because in the Presence of God there is fullness of joy. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. When we take the word and ask a few questions instead of agreeing with the traditional interpretation, the beauty of God explodes inside our presence. You see the problem and have correctly stated it, from your point of view. Yes we are standing on earth but there are other points of view. Some in the material realm and some in the spirit realm and you and I have access to everywhere when seated in Christ Jesus. He is our All in All.
I wlll pray that the eyes of your understanding be open (Eph 1:15-23), so you may see from a diffrent point of view. Do not take this hint the wrong way but try an “unpack” the Second Commandment. I love you but I just could not resist. Please forgive me. I hate that term “unpack” more than you can imagine. If there is one thing in the emergement movement we can fix is to drop that term.
I hope that mkes you smile. Forever in Christ, Larry
August 26, 2014 at 4:02 am
🙂
Yes, that did make me smile. Seriously what IS with that word?? 🙂
The Holy Spirit is truly grieved with the state of the church, because Christ is no longer the centre. Like the gentle dove, the Holy Spirit has taken flight long ago from most churches (of course, not all of them). That is what is missing. The anointing of the Spirit is what is desperately needed now.
It is not to change/re-interpret the Word of God, but to submit to Him in brokenness and cry out to Him to intervene.
When will we learn that without Him “we can do nothing”? When will we learn that we cannot fix it? When will we learn that it is all about Him?
God bless you
August 26, 2014 at 6:01 pm
Worship Him ! In Spirit and in Truth!
The Church is made for Assembling, “Like Minded” People, who Love and Serve the Lord!
Christianity, has been, so “Watered Down” and Missing the Gospel Message, we need to take it upon Ourselves, to Truly Worship!
After all, Salvation is Individual, you cannot Save a child or parent….they need to .Seek the Lord or the Lord will seek them!
A Bible Believing Church, is a Must!
It is better, to join, the Little Flock, than have Celebrity Worship of Charisma!
August 26, 2014 at 6:39 am
Because an institutional organization has stolen the word “Church” we are left desolate. Religion is not the Church, despite the names engraved on the front of buildings. The Church, the believers and disciples of Jesus Christ, are the Body, the Church. Elijah cried because he was “the only one left”. I keep reminding myself that God’s answer was that 7,000 souls served God just in Jerusalem alone (which historically means more than ten per cent of those who lived there at the time!). God is at work, spiritual activity pervades the world, even when I cannot see it. As you know I am an enemy of religion, but groups of many sizes exist which strive to serve Jesus. Continue exposing the deadness of religion, but the problem is not in the Church, but in the church. God revealed to me that a revival was planned for the town I live in, and a certain congregation would be the centre. Their new pastor came whose lust for personal power and attention exceeded love for Jesus. They did not love enough to fight for his soul, and they literally banned me from their property in a letter (I was not a member!). At that moment Jesus said, “I have left this place for they have left their first love.” It is only as I write this that I realize it was a test for them – and they failed. Now I have undermined part of my comment, for here a part of the Church did fail to live revival. However, I think what I said still stands, within the limits of humanity.
Peace
August 28, 2014 at 12:45 am
You are so right. The true Church is the mystical (in the right sense of the word), eternal Body of Christ. The “church” is an organization, a building or a group of believers. There is a difference. Jesus said that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church” and of course that is true. The Church of Jesus cannot be impeded by human effort nor any demon from hell.
God is at work, He has a remnant He has kept for Himself. He has a plan and it is in motion even now. I do believe that.
My heart does break though for the state of the church. I am praying and will keep praying for revival.
God bless you 🙂
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August 26, 2014 at 12:21 pm
“Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” – Prayer :Amen :Y
August 27, 2014 at 3:45 am
Amen! Prayer! (fresh wind, fresh fire – Jim Cymbala right?)
🙂
August 27, 2014 at 6:36 pm
Pentecost is Over! The Fire and Wind you speak of, can only be captured Individually, through the Holy Spirit. The Apostles are gone, the Origial Christians! We are here, to Spread the Gospel, to a Lost and Dying World!
Someday , we will be in Heaven, worshiping God, with FIRE, as He will be With Us!!!!
August 28, 2014 at 12:37 am
I am not sure what you mean Cathy. Of course the Day of Pentecost approx. 2000 years ago is over, but we are still in the Church Age now. We need the fire of the Holy Ghost to be able to witness to a lost and dying world.
August 28, 2014 at 11:47 am
As you say ~ Amen : Y
August 27, 2014 at 4:21 am
Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. Isaiah 66:1-2
Too many are seeking experiences, holding to traditions and doctrines of men rather than the sure Word of God. The Scriptures reveal the Son of God to us by His Holy Spirit. His Holy Spirit draws to Jesus and encourages our hearts in His grace. Too many in the church are unredeemed because the gospel of Jesus Christ is not preached and sinners are not brought to repentant faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Sinners must be brought to contrite repentance in Jesus Christ and holy obedience to Christ’s Holy Word, the Bible. God bless you:)
http://holdingforthhisword.wordpress.com/2014/03/25/faithful-sheep/
August 28, 2014 at 12:38 am
Amen, well said. God bless you too sister 🙂
February 25, 2015 at 2:21 pm
Jesus never went anywhere, however many forgot that he was a carpenter who never built a church, this is because he told you that the temple was your body. Following the making of the bible at the council of Nicaea just one year later the first church was erected, but only after Jesus had died in the flesh and was unable to defend himself. The building and spreading of physical churches would allow for man (the Vatican) to make a cult model of Christ wherein people would be fooled into thinking that Christ resided outside ourselves, that Christ was at the church etc, and so what this did is allowed the church to present the son but in reality it would be the false image of Christ that they sold to everyone. It has been suggested that still today over 77% of the worlds Christians are still fooled into following this false image of Christ. With our recent age change from Pisces to Aquarius we now are witnessing the tearing down of all older traditions in order to make way for the new. As such I am happy to share with you that it is the most exciting time to be alive right now. You see the 2nd coming of Christ is not Jesus showing up in the physical to save us, noooooo. The 2nd coming of Christ is YOU, is ME, is Him and is HER. We are the ones we have been waiting for. It is not that we must believe in Christ, rather we must now DO in Christ.
It is time to stop the Jesus talk, and begin to walk the Jesus walk!
Love, Light and Power,
13
March 23, 2015 at 1:23 am
Thanks for your comment.
Jesus Christ is God incarnate in human flesh. He is divine. He took on human flesh in order to die for humankind.
Human beings are not divine. We are human beings with an eternal soul. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We cannot keep His laws. We lie, we cheat, we steal, we are sexually immoral, our thoughts are wicked, our words are hurtful. When Christ came to this earth He fulfilled God’s holy law. He never lied, cheated, stole etc. He is the only divine, sinless One.
Even though He never sinned He was crucified with the law-breakers of the day. Why? Because He chose to go to the cross and take the punishment of our sins upon Himself there. You see, God has to punish sin because He is just. But only One who had never sinned could be the atonement for those who had sinned – and that was Christ. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
He chose to go to the cross for you and for me. There God poured out all His wrath on Him for all of the sins of humankind. He died and was buried. Three days later He rose physically from the dead. Death could not hold him because He had never sinned because “The wages of sin is death”. How do we know He really is alive? Because 500 witnesses saw Him walking, talking and eating. Some of those witnesses even documented what they saw.
We are all sinners in desperate need of a savior. We are not divine. Just look at the world around you, what people do to others and you will see the truth of the matter – we are sinners. But Christ has made a way for us. Because He took our punishment for us and died our death for us, He now offers us eternal life through Him. All He asks is that we turn from our sins and turn to Him instead. That instead of having faith in ourselves, we put our faith in Him.
After He had risen from the dead, 40 days later He ascended to heaven in His physical body. Angels were present at the time and told the witnesses that He will return the same way in which He left – in a physical Body. He is coming back soon my friend. For all the signs are pointing to His soon return…
“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[b]
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[e] is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” Matthew 24
March 24, 2015 at 1:30 am
As a former Cradle Catholic, the RC priest summons Christ down their altar, to sacrifice Him daily!
His Presence is in their Eucharistic wafer….this is what separates a Catholic from a Christian!
Nothing could be more Stoic, than a RC mass! This is Not His Presence!….His Work was Finished on the Cross at Calvary! No need to repeat! Our Sin Debt was Paid In Full!
Sure, the Ceremony and Ritual are Impressive, but Christ Real Sacrifice, was the Real Gift from God the Father !!! Reconciliation and Redemption, so we may have Eternal Life! Hallelujah Amen
March 25, 2015 at 2:41 pm
Ah yes, however we have had 2000 years to learn Christs teachings and still today we are not doing it! Why? Because until this time we were not spiritually evolved enough to make the next step. But now, today, we are ready. You see, the last two masters of the last two ages brought us awesome learning’s, it was Christ, through the sacrifice of his own life, gave us Love. It was then the Buddha from up on high, who gave us light, and the final learning that shall allow us to begin to ascend is Power. So it is Love, Light and Power. And the Power will come from both God’s will, but also from your will. It will come namely from your, “Free Will of Choice”. You see, we choose everything in life, you chose to read this, to reply or not, in the past 24 hours you chose everything, even chose all of last week, and month and year and so long as you weren’t incarcerated or in the military you chose everything in your life. Your free will of choice is what creates your entire life experience, and ultimately is the architect of your destiny. Become more present, focused and alert at each choice you make. If you choose morally good actions, those actions in line with the golden rule, and you carry an undying hunger for truth, not just your truth but universal truths that rain true to all people, you will undoubtedly come into a direct, very noticeable connection with the God Source like never before, not just this but you will be able to measure your connection to God. But, should you choose to even speak a white lie or fib, that connection will be minimized until you work back towards a pristine life. Continue to practice this life path and you will come to the point of realizing that Sin, is just a choice. And so long as you maintain that trusted path with God, the deeper the secrets of his creation will be offered by him. Continue to practice walking in the true light of Christ as I have suggested here, and you will one day, as Jesus told you, perform miracles even greater than he!
It is time for us to take the Ascended Pathway. And that means reaching heaven without dying! but it is for this we must all begin to choose, and when we do choose so, we shall reach Kingdom Come. That is to say the Kingdom of Heaven will come to earth. Know these things that I have shared with you, and empower yourself with your anointed power of free will of choice, for you not unlike God, are a divine creator, and now comes the day that we all begin to realize this. It is time to stop the Jesus talk, and begin to Walk the Jesus Walk!
Love, Light and Power,
13
April 9, 2015 at 4:31 am
Hi, thanks for your response. I understand what you are saying, it is basically New Age/occultism-101. I have studied Ken Wilber’s integral theory. I do not subscribe to his nor New Age beliefs. I have written a series on this blog about the New Age/Emergent “Christian” Church connection, also about post-modern relativism, which is the pervading philosophy of this generation. If you are interested in reading here are the links:
Where’s Truth
The Emergent Church/New Age Connection
Kind regards,
Belinda