On Building a Better Mouse Trap
30/03/08 15:17
In
the last few weeks I have observed the consequences
of the very thing A.W. Tozer estimated about the
Church nearly a half a century ago. He said in his
book, The
Knowledge of the Holy,
“It is not a cheerful thought that millions of us who live in a land of Bibles, who belong to churches and labor to promote the Christian religion, may yet pass our whole life on this earth without once having thought or tried to think seriously about the being of God. Few of us have let our hearts gaze in wonder at the I AM, the self-existent Self back of which no creature can think. Such thoughts are too painful for us. We prefer to think where it will do more good –about how to build a better mousetrap, for instance, or how to make two blades of grass grow where one grew before. And for this we are now paying a too heavy price in the secularization of our religion and the decay of our inner lives.”
Modern trends are not necessarily the “move of God” whether a church promotes them as such or not. Just because a church is “reaching out” to their community doesn’t mean that they are reaching out with the Gospel. This is what we were told to take to the community:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
(Matt.28:19,20)
I think you’ll agree that this is a far cry from the worldly celebrations of Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny or the allurement of antichrist video games. Do you really think that God approves of us teaching our children about the Easter Bunny over the truth of Jesus Christ resurrecting from the dead!? And what shepherd in his right mind would use such a holy venue for such an anti-God venture? Even if the idea was just to provide a place for the kids to hold this “Guitar Hero” contest, that Pastor should have known enough not to have allowed those kids to be subjected to such trash in his church. The problem is actually greater than I have stated here, for it is one thing to be wrong but it is quite another thing to be wrong and think that you are right.
The church’s business is not to entertain the masses! We have been commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to disciple the nations and to teach them to obey everything that Jesus has told us. Pastors today think that if they just get the kids together and have fun and have a good time, they are doing the work of God. This comes from darkened hearts and uneducated minds. For us the problem started about a generation ago. Those folks who had not thought it worth their time to contemplate the being of God had lowered their conception of Him and gave that same attitude to their children which included the lifestyle that comes with it. Their children grew up thinking that churches full of spiritually-ill and empty people were better than being a part of small congregations that “never had any fun.” The philosophy of “let’s all go to Heaven and have fun doing it” replaced, “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.”
Churches became a place of entertainment, rather than houses of worship and when you start entertaining the masses – you can’t stop. People will demand more and when the present entertainment does not satiate, they will have to turn to the latest trend and sensationalize just a little more! God is not looking for the latest gimmick to grow His Church. He is looking for those who will preach the Gospel and worship Him in spirit and truth. Remember Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
May His Spirit touch your heart this week! Pastor Jim
“It is not a cheerful thought that millions of us who live in a land of Bibles, who belong to churches and labor to promote the Christian religion, may yet pass our whole life on this earth without once having thought or tried to think seriously about the being of God. Few of us have let our hearts gaze in wonder at the I AM, the self-existent Self back of which no creature can think. Such thoughts are too painful for us. We prefer to think where it will do more good –about how to build a better mousetrap, for instance, or how to make two blades of grass grow where one grew before. And for this we are now paying a too heavy price in the secularization of our religion and the decay of our inner lives.”
Modern trends are not necessarily the “move of God” whether a church promotes them as such or not. Just because a church is “reaching out” to their community doesn’t mean that they are reaching out with the Gospel. This is what we were told to take to the community:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
(Matt.28:19,20)
I think you’ll agree that this is a far cry from the worldly celebrations of Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny or the allurement of antichrist video games. Do you really think that God approves of us teaching our children about the Easter Bunny over the truth of Jesus Christ resurrecting from the dead!? And what shepherd in his right mind would use such a holy venue for such an anti-God venture? Even if the idea was just to provide a place for the kids to hold this “Guitar Hero” contest, that Pastor should have known enough not to have allowed those kids to be subjected to such trash in his church. The problem is actually greater than I have stated here, for it is one thing to be wrong but it is quite another thing to be wrong and think that you are right.
The church’s business is not to entertain the masses! We have been commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to disciple the nations and to teach them to obey everything that Jesus has told us. Pastors today think that if they just get the kids together and have fun and have a good time, they are doing the work of God. This comes from darkened hearts and uneducated minds. For us the problem started about a generation ago. Those folks who had not thought it worth their time to contemplate the being of God had lowered their conception of Him and gave that same attitude to their children which included the lifestyle that comes with it. Their children grew up thinking that churches full of spiritually-ill and empty people were better than being a part of small congregations that “never had any fun.” The philosophy of “let’s all go to Heaven and have fun doing it” replaced, “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.”
Churches became a place of entertainment, rather than houses of worship and when you start entertaining the masses – you can’t stop. People will demand more and when the present entertainment does not satiate, they will have to turn to the latest trend and sensationalize just a little more! God is not looking for the latest gimmick to grow His Church. He is looking for those who will preach the Gospel and worship Him in spirit and truth. Remember Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
May His Spirit touch your heart this week! Pastor Jim
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