| |
| |
|
Religion Information |
|
|
|
Praying Church or Playing Church?
The western church is seen by the world as anything BUT Christian. We are making no one jealous for what we claim we've found in Christ. Independent and proud of it, our only chance is of winning this "holy war" is to declare our DEPENDENCE upon God. See, our problem is not our weak leaders or our demoralization. It's not Hollywood or Harry Potter. The problem is the church's foolish fearlessness of God. A nation is never better than its church, the church no better than its people. Only God-transformed believers can change the moral fiber of any nation. If we will commit to prayer and the ministry of the Word, out of this focus would come a harvest of last-day prophets. Prophets...not professional preachers. Agonizers in prayer, not organizers in team meetings. Count on it! If we could save our nations with Christian music, TV, books, tapes, conferences and beautiful buildings, we would have done so by now. Instead, what we call "Christianity" has become the number one cause of atheism. We've made man in our own image...a sickly church, with a form of godliness with no power to speak of. For this we must repent. Babies are born in travail (Isa. 66:8). Revival is birthed by spiritual people, not by slick-talking, high dollar pulpiteers. As Leonard Ravenhill put it, "The professional preacher gets popular and pampered. A true revivalist gets persecuted, ostracized, and lonely." Our "life-changing sermons" aren't changing lives because we're impotent in our pleading before God. Whereas a preacher develops a sermon; a prophet brings a message from Heaven's throne. So, the burden for revival is not on the pew, but on the preacher. New Testament ministers have one vital aspect to their job description: to fulfill Acts 6 by giving themselves continually to the ministry of the Word and to prayer. That's it. Too often they seem more concerned with personal savings than personal salvations. The worldly are keen to it and the church goers are tired of it. REASONS The reason for this sickly western church? 1) Some people work without worship, 2) others worship without work, 3) few people maintain the discipline of prayer. The prayer meeting is obsolete in most congregations. We cannot preach "you must be born again" until we "travail in birth" that people BE born again. Then we must not only conceive these babes, but raise them. We cannot merely lead them in "the sinner's Prayer" or take them down "the Roman Road" and deceive ourselves into believing anyone has actually been saved. No, any manipulative soul can do that. Over 30 times in the New Testament we see some variation of the phrase "Follow Me." Are we willing to warn the new converts, as Jesus did, that the world will hate them? That their enemies would be the members of their own households? Are we willing to deny ourselves to DISCIPLE them? That is the Great Commission after all. REPENTANCE We need a major overhaul; we must repent. The Greek word is "metanoia," to change one's mind. We must change our mind about this thing we call church. As we look to our brothers in the east, we see that six of every eleven conversions today are from Asia or India. The underground church in China grows at a rate of 20,000 daily amidst persecution. Though 80% of the world is literally dying to serve Jesus, the western church is blessed and free. It seems that same freedom has become our greatest enemy as freedom includes the freedom to do nothing. Our greatest threat? God Himself! Much has been given us and much will be required. The best way to grind our billions of wheels to a screeching halt could be by way of some disaster. Must it come to that? Ninevah lasted a mere 150 years after Jonah before she forgot God and was destroyed by her enemies. Have we had our run? REVIVAL It comes through prayer, not by waving our wooden swords, marching around our sanctuaries with banners, and singing to goose-bump-raising decibels so high we confuse them for "the anointing." Our churches are the laughing stock of Hell and we don't even realize it. Our services and conferences have the same effect on principalities and powers as the hole made by a finger in a bowl of pudding. When the dust settles, the finger is removed, everything becomes as it was. REVOLUTION Rotten as we are, we are as we are for such a time as this. Our youth included. God needs us and every emotional scar, every bitter bone and nasty habit we possess. He can use these things. We must surrender them to Him. He sees our potential to be more than pew potatoes raising tater tots. Jesus was a revolutionary. Though some of us may actually die, like the kids in the American schools and churches who were shot just because they were Christians, we must be the radicals who dare to turn on the light in a culture that is getting gloriously darker. Fear not! The Lord is with you! The people who know their God will be strong and do great things! All we need to be is willing and obedient. READ 'EM & REAP!! Matthew 5:6 Psalm 33:12 2 Chronicles 7:14 Psalm 9:17 Proverbs 14:34 It's your choice. Your decision. We can be like thermometers or thermostats, blending with the social climate or changing the rules. You may not be a church-goer. Well, then BE the church and shine the light of Christ where you DO go. From now on, everything changes. Let's serve the King! Let's give 'em Heaven! Need pastoral counseling and prayer? Write or IM me at team1min@aol.com Every blessing! Michael Pastor Michael broadcasts an e-Mail message of Discipleship and Encouragement to Christians across the planet each week, reaching millions from many various Chrsitian denominations. This e-Mail ministry has been impacting the lives of multitudes of people since 1999. Pastor Michael has been broadcasting his messages of discipleship and encouragement to the Body of Christ since 1999 and is now reaching millions across the planet. Positive eMail replies abound from subscribers whose lives have been touched by these God-inspired messages.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What is Love? Now many confuse love with admiration and most commonly sexual lust, now days the younger generation driven by their wild hormones more often than not confuse their sexual desires with love, even some of the older generation fall into the same trap, I suppose everyone at some stage or the other confuses love for what it actually is.There is only one place in the world where you will actually find out what love is and that is in the the word of God, the bible. As the Old Year Fades, So Does My Memory Memory is a very tricky thing, at least for me it is. Looking back, over a year's span of activity my memory seems to pick and choose what it remembers. Spirit of Islam: A Primer Last time I wrote a message on Islam, a Catholic priest said he reported me to the FCC for broadcasting what he referred to as "an eMail hate letter." Several long-time subscribers of various other denominations ALSO gave me a tongue-lashing. New Orleans is only the Beginning as Prophecy Unfolds We are all very well aware of the tragedies occurring right now in the United States; particularly New Orleans. Yet, Bible Prophecy never leaves us to chance what is happening. Amy Grant Cashes in Once Again on Jesus Coat-Tails Jesus made her famous, now Amy Grant cashes in one more time.In case you hadn't heard, singer Amy Grant is hosting a new "reality TV" series for NBC called "Three Wishes. Truth or Consequence Prime probability:You have been and are being deceived by those you trust the most for your spiritual education. Some of that deception may be intentionally done in an attempt to control your behavior and your wallet and some may be done simply out of ignorance. Following Instructions To The Letter The dictionary explains wisdom as having good judgement, understanding, comprehension and intelligence. It also explains wise as being perceptive, intelligent, and knowledgeable. Beauty Some people say beauty is only skin deep, others say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I like to wonder who proclaim beauty and who decided what is or what is not beauty. What Does The Religious Right Really Want? What does the Religious Right really want? Well, besides power, money and control, what they really want is to see a radical Right judge appointed to the Supreme Court. Why? To overturn Roe v. Jihad Jesus spoke as much about Heaven as He did about Hell. What I would like to do is a little comparison of the Truth of the Bible over the Lies of The Jihad, as the Muslim Nations try to dominate the world with their false religion. End Time Events and the 2nd Coming of Jesus In part 1 of this series of end time articles, I am going to go ahead and outline all of the main events that will be occurring that will be leading up to the 2nd coming of Jesus to our earth. This will be a basic overview of the main end time events. God is not a Homicidal Maniac One day on the listserve for my support group it got posted that it was all part of God's plan that we got HSP, so it was okay because God wills it. Bull! Somewhere along the way the genes got goofed up and that is why we have HSP. Should Professional Athletes Be Glorifying God And Jesus On Their Public Platforms? Recently I have run across quite a few Christians who seem to be offended whenever any of the professional athletes get on TV or the radio and publicly give God and Jesus all the praise, honor and glory for all of their accomplishments in their personal lives as well as all of their success on the athletic field.I have heard that many Christians state that a person's spiritual beliefs should be considered a personal matter and that these athletes should not be talking about God and Jesus on their "public platforms. End-Times and the Other Bible Can you imagine Biblical "End-Times" prophecies happening in your lifetime? Does thinking about disasters like the three days of darkness and the Wormwood predictions trouble you when you're alone in the still of the night? If so, the "End-times" knowledge in a Bible-era wisdom text called The Kolbrin offers hope through new insights. Parts of it were written in the very days when Jesus walked the Earth, and it echoes the warnings of the Bible, that we could be in the "End-Times!"Unlike the rare and arcane texts used by Bible researchers, The Kolbrin offers a familiar way to understand Bible prophecy. A Strong Anchor Stories have been told about the only thing that saved the lives of the people aboard a ship in a storm was a strong anchor. But, there are also stories of those who perished when their anchor did not hold. The Oldest Concept in History I find it funny that one of the oldest concepts in the world has become one of modern society's biggest irritants. The problem with this is that the concept has been lost behind all the problems created by people who did not fully understand the concept to begin with. Harry Potter To Christians: Its Not Good To Hear Voices That is the popular and, thank God (if you'll pardon the use of the G name) the politically correct feeling among most Christians today. You will recall that in the second book of the Potter series, The Chamber Of Secrets, Harry Potter alone heard the voice of the basilisk. Doctors of the Air We met at a Saturday afternoon fund-raising and promotional rally sponsored by a para-church organization. His calling card introduced him impressively. What That 70s Show Taught Me About Christianity What in the world could I have possibly learned about Christianity from "That 70's Show"? I'm sure that's what everyone is thinking right about now.Well today I was watching it and the episode was about the family going to church and generally their take on religion. A Call to Action Over the last week I have received dozens of heart-rending and thought-provoking responses to my latest article, and I am thankful for each of them. Personally, I believe the tsunami and its aftermath is the most serious issue now facing humankind.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
