The Distracted Church.
February 3rd, 2010 | No Comments
The Distracted Church.
Welcome to the age of apostasy. God’s word warns us of this time when people turn away from the church, or their faith. Are you an apostate-Christian? Are you aware if you are or are not? I am not making an accusation, I am asking you to consider your walk with God. I am asking you to think about and make an honest evaluation of who you are and what you are doing and are you aware if you are or are not apostate or going in that direction? People become apostate either deliberately or by redirection because of distraction. What is possibly distracting you? Perhaps the distraction is not even realized, it just gradually took more of your time and attention before you realize that you cannot remember the last time when it was that you prayed, went to church, or served God in some way.
God’s word warns us of this time of apostasy. Since the people I am discussing right now probably does not spend time reading and studying God’s word, they may have forgotten this warning to be aware of apostasy and how not to fall away from God. We do this by seeking God’s face, by hiding the word of God in our heart through studying the Bible. We do this by fellowshipping with others and spending time in prayer with God. The apostate Christian forsakes the fellowship of the brethren, or cannot remember the last time they prayed, or even more so, the last time they prayed for someone else besides themselves. And praying to win the lottery or for your favorite team to win a game, or your favorite star to win an award does not count.
The church is distracted. I use the word church as the Bible does, not one specific church, though I have see that happen many times, but the church as a whole, the body of Christ on this earth. So what do I mean? Just to be clear, what I am writing here is not at all exclusive and I am not attempting to paint with a broad brush all Christians being in an apostate place. There are some very committed Christians in the world who understand that it is our mandate to pray for people, to fellowship with other believers, to help people in some way by serving God, who read the word of God with the anticipation that God is directing and talking with them. The living Christian is involved in ministry. The living Christian is doing something versus the dead Christian who is doing nothing.
But there are a great many Christians who are asleep at the wheel. These are the dead-Christians who have a dead-faith (James 2:20, 26). These dead-Christians are in autopilot not realizing that their lives are empty and meaningless because they are stagnant in their faith, stagnant in their walk with God, because they are not in an active relationship with God.
Consider that God knows what we need. True. Then why does He tell us to ask for what we need when He already knows? He wants us to ask because salvation is about the relationship between a person and God, which is the interaction between two beings. If there is no interaction there is no relationship. Imagine a mother who gives her child everything the child needs but says nothing to the child. There is no interaction whatsoever between her and the child. She gives the child the bottle and food but there is nothing else going on. We know from research that this baby will actually die, not from malnourishment, but from emotional neglect. So does it go with a Christian who is not interacting with God, they die. A mother not engaging in her child is a ridiculous thought, but many Christians go through stages in their life where this is happening between them and God and it is no wonder why their lives are empty and unfulfilling. Some even feel as if they are even dead spiritually.
To study God’s word, pray, and serve God is to fall into a deeper love and appreciation for God, people, and even ourselves in relationship to God and the universe. One of the things I used to love to do was grab a 2-liter bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper or Diet Coke and a cigar, and then I would drive into the middle of the desert in the middle of the night. I would sit in the back of my truck on the tool box and look at the huge Arizona moon and talk with God for hours. We would talk about everything, and I mean everything. It always makes me laugh when I think that people are afraid to talk to God about even the most intimate of details, or the most obvious of things when He does know it all and He will not be shocked or offended by what you say. He knows what your heart and mind is saying and thinking already, at least talk to Him about it. You have nothing to hide or fear. This also includes yelling and screaming, He can handle it. There are fewer more private places to pray than out in the middle of the desert in the middle of the night. This was my own version of Jesus’ command, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you,” Matthew 6:6.
So I have witnessed the distraction of the church. What is that distraction? There are many things that are distracting the Christian from doing what they are called to do by God. I am not saying that these distractions are wrong, evil, or what have you. Not at all. These things become distractions when they take away from the real purpose of the church, or take time away from a Christian what it is we are required to do as an individual or church. Is television taking too much of your time? How about sports or the outdoor life? How about the Internet? How about politics or shopping? Anything can be a distraction if we spend too much time on it and forsake our call to spend time with God and other believers and serving our fellow man. Christians spend countless hours on MySpace and Facebook, and other social sites, yet we forget to take time out to do something for God and His people. People spend hours playing games online and do not take a few minutes to pray for themselves or others. Do not think that I am innocent in this, as I have caught myself spending too much time doing these very things. As Pastor Steve Brown says, “I am merely a beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” This is a battle we must all fight daily.
Again, these things that I just listed, and there are more, are not of themselves bad, but if they are taking a Christian away from the relationship they need to have with God and others around them, then it becomes bad. The good news, though, is that it only takes a few moments to turn this around. It is not possible to have a relationship with someone without interaction. If you are not interacting with God in prayer, fellowship, and service, then there is no relationship God you are in danger of becoming a dead Christian.
There will be many in that day who will say, Lord I did this and I did that, and the Lord will answer back I never knew you. Matthew 7:21-23 gives a sobering thought regarding our walk with God. A common theme for me when I talk to people is that we are on God’s terms, not ours. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” This is not the only warning that Jesus gives regarding the idea that there are many who believe themselves to be saved but are indeed lost as evidenced in that they did not do the will of God.
Another sobering example that we are required to do God’s will comes later in Matthew 25 in the parable of the sheep and goats.
Matthew 25: 31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
What we learn from this parable is that there are a lot of people who thought they were saved and heaven bound but then found out that their title of Christian did not fit their life. One of my old pastors had a great story about Alexander the Great. A general brought in a young man from the battlefield to stand before Alexander. Alexander asked what he was accused of and the general replied that he ran away from battle. This was a terminable offense, as Alexander did not tolerate cowardness. Alexander asked the young man his name and the young man stammered, stuttered, and did not want to give his name. Alexander demanded to know his name and finally the young man squeaked out, “My name is Alexander, sir.” Infuriated Alexander leaped out of his chair to get into the face of this young man and told him, “Either you change your name or change you behavior!” There are many Christians, including pastors and other ministers, who need to change their name or change their behavior.
I have witnessed the dead churches, these churches that have become social clubs instead of places of study and worship and service. God talks about these types of churches in the book of Amos. I have seen churches that turn away the needy in the community. There was a church in Hillsborough, Oregon, where the pastor told a family in need that the church only helped people that were members of the church and since they had only been going for a month they did not qualify for assistance. My reply was, “Oh yes. I remember that verse where Jesus told Peter,”Feed my sheep, but only if they have gone to your church for a year.” We left that church to find a church that was interested in following God’s will.
I wish I could say that this is not the only time I have seen this happen. There are many spiritually bankrupt churches because the pastor and or elders are spiritually bankrupt. The good news, though, is that there are also many good churches and pastors out there that choose to do God’s will and Betty and I have been fortunate to be a part of some of them, including our current church. One of the reasons why these churches were good is because Christians in the congregation chose to do the will of God and serve, make a difference, to fulfill the call of the church to make a difference. There is something alive about these churches, as well as these people who follow God’s will and do what God wants us to do. It is called the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit moves in people, and in churches, that are doing God’s will and it is these people, these churches that are dynamic and growing. It is also infectious, as it cannot be helped to want to do more for God and people when a person realizes that they have helped change a life for the better through their obedience and acts of service.
So as I always say, “Don’t get caught dead being a goat.” A goat is an animal that just consumes all day long. Be a sheep that follows the Good Shepherd and obeys His words. This is called “works” and James talks at length about the evidence of faith being the works of people. James 2:26, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” There is a progression of evidence. Just like we are born being dead in spirit and it requires a spiritual birth to be saved, so it goes that the effects of that birth is life and deeds (works). Those that are of the Spirit of God have the compulsion to serve in some way, to be in relationship with God, to be in fellowship with other believers. If you are asking the question, “What is my calling,” or, “What is God’s will for my life?” These are good signs that the compulsion is there. The key is to do something and let God guide you. God cannot steer a ship that is not moving. Get to doing something and let God direct you and grow you to fulfill your calling, which is His will for your life.
So are you serving? Are you praying? Are you fellowshipping with others? Are you in the will of God, fulfilling the will of God? If you are not then the question is why is that? Are you saved or are you just distracted? Make a commitment to make a difference in someone’s life by praying for them, by reaching out and helping them. Make a commitment to pray for others, to fellowship with others, to spend time with God in prayer and in His word. When we look at the warnings that Jesus gave about those that thought they were saved but were not in the end these warning have common factors. These dead Christians were lost because they did not serve others, which is God’s will. So reach out and help someone today. Stand in the gap for someone and choose to make a difference in someone’s life today. When you do this you are fulfilling God’s will for your life. By obeying God and serving others you become that person that is told to stand on the right hand of that great hall because you are considered righteous because of your obedience to God and are then ushered into eternal life. Now you know why I always say, “Make a difference in someone’s life today. The life you save will be your own.”
- Rhettman A. Mullis, Jr.
Originally posted: February 3rd, 2010
