What we have lost

This morning I was awakened by the Holy Spirit by a repeating message. He kept repeating it until I finally got up in obedience to share this message with all of you. As I look at the news, and being a student of history I see patterns that are being repeated and the church merrily bumps along, blissfully unaware of all we have lost. I am not talking about freedoms, money, or even political power, as it seems for now we have all of that in abundance. I AM talking about the power, and presence of the Living God manifesting in our services setting the captives free, healing the sick, and changing us to conform to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

The first thing the Spirit kept ringing in my ears is the lack of reverence or respect for the presence of God. In the Psalms, repeatedly we read how all of creation trembles at His presence, yet in most churches today we treat coming before His presence with all the reverence of going to a sporting event or a concert. We come in with our minds on when will this service end, or on a myriad of other thoughts that distract us from the reason we are at a worship service. Many praise and worship teams put on wonderful concerts, that are devoid of anointing, to people with a voyeuristic view of worship, while some play on electronic devices COMPLETELY disconnected from the worship at all. Then we leave not feeling the presence of God at all because He had been welcomed or respected in that place or the lives of His people.

The second thing the Spirit said was there is not only a lack of the Presence of God, but a sore lack of the very word of God. In a time when we have access to more versions of the Bible than ever before, and when many of our preachers have been educated beyond what many of our predecessors, we have a real famine of hearing the word of God. From prosperity to self-help and other topics that make void the Word or add things to the Scriptures to fit our theology, or our desire not to offend people sitting in the pews, we have in effect told God that His word isn't good or powerful enough for the intellectual and social clientele that now make up the church. Yet when I read of the revivals of the past, it came not on the heels of intellectual preaching, but of men and women who took God at His Word, and preached His Word under His anointing, and it changed the lives of all who heard it. YET today, from the mega-church to the smallest store-front church many believers are being fed a gospel devoid of power, and devoid of love and devoid of the Holy Spirit's touch.

Thirdly, the mixing of Christianity with political thought which has created in the words of A.W. Tozer, "Churchianity", has made the church no longer salt and light but something much more insidious, a tool of the enemy to destroy the believers from the inside out. Some believers are being torn apart based on political party affiliation, while some churches openly espouse political views that are in stark opposition to the teachings of scripture, and will quickly attack anyone including other churches who are in disagreement with their stance.

All the while the souls find themselves in hell, many of them who have gone to church, prayed a prayer, and never experienced the new birth in the Spirit. The lack of conviction, and power in the church prevents them from truly experiencing Christ and His life changing power, GOD HELP US ALL!

Is there hope for the church, YES THERE IS, we must repent and seek God and His Spirit. Allow Him to have FIRST place in our services, and in our lives. We must get a hunger for His Word and desire an intimate walk with Him for He and He alone is our only source of salvation, and power.
Grace and Peace be multiplied to you as you walk daily in His grace.
AMEN