Do We Deserve This?
3/28/13
Ever want to react to some of the comments and attitudes that are portrayed towards the church and everything that she stands for? Those who care for the church feel the pain that these actions do to us and how they are received by the church. The attacks on the church have increased over the past decade or so in this country and from the trends, it does not look like the attacks will stop anytime soon. Are these attacks warranted and are they the result of some past deed that the church has done or not done? The answers may surprise you.
I must interject my usual saying here when I am going to talk about the church and her current status. I still want it known that I love the church with all my heart and it is my utmost desire to see her flourish through God and His Kingdom. There is no other way to survive this world other than the Kingdom of God and it is imperative that we understand what is transpiring against His Kingdom and just why it is being allowed. In no way do I wish to see the Church undergo constant bombardments and attacks from our enemy but as most of us understand even while the Church is asleep she will be attacked because of her present and future potential. I only wish to speak to her the words that will allow her to review her current positions and to re-establish her commission that was given to her when Jesus was on earth. This is meant not only for the church as a whole but also for each individual who considers them to be a Christian.
When you read church history one can gather that it has been through many tumultuous events in its life. Many of these events were justified and just as many of them were not justified, but in whatever instance those battles were fought over many millennia. The battles that the church faces today are still real and they continue to grow on a daily basis. This does not allow for any real rest within the church and everyone who is associated with the church feels the pressure that is mounting. There are both physical and spiritual forces that are out to break the walls of the church in order to destroy her on all levels.
I know that some of you have read Church history and have thought about all of the atrocities that we have committed over the centuries. And with this type of legacy it is not hard to imagine that our enemy is going to remind us of this on a routine basis. For those of you that are old enough to remember the early 1980s well, you will recall a time when it was popular to be a Christian and live in a Christian and conservative manner. There was nothing wrong about professing your beliefs towards others and feeling like it was not going to be shoved back in your face and the start of an argument. However, during this time period Christians began to have a sense of authority that they were right and that everyone else in the world was wrong. This concept was reinforced since people were flocking into churches by the thousands each week. So our level of “I am better than you” grew exponentially just as our congregations did.
Is there anything wrong wit a large congregation? No there is not. Is there anything wrong with being proud about being a Christian? No there is not. Is there anything wrong with serving God in such a manner that it separates us from the world? No there is not. But there is a problem when our attitudes conform to the same likeness as some of the early Christian beliefs that plagued our planet centuries ago and the majority of us have missed this type of attitude that we have portrayed to the world during the past few decades.
I am going to do a few comparisons about the church and the world and it may take me a while to complete this so please be patient but know that every word is relevant for today and it needs to be addressed, considered and acted upon before we lose many of the privileges that all of us thrive in today. I am going to start with the Church and then go to the worldly aspects of things.
With the exception of a few short stints in history, the overall Church has enjoyed full cooperation within the world’s societies. The Church has gained in prominence and stature as time has advanced for it has helped many people to cope with various devastating occurrences. But the Church has also provided us with excellent examples of how not to do things to people. I have touched on this subject in some of my past articles and it is well known throughout the world about how the Church has conducted some of its business when it comes to decisions about things.
When one examines the history of the Church in its younger years it takes a familiar form of behavior, one of a teenager. There were many years that the Church really did not know how to act but was trying its best to set a place for herself in the world. We all know that teenagers throughout the world have an inferiority complex that they all try and break out from and when this occurs it is not always a smooth process. There are many arguments with the authority figures within their lives and many whimsical decisions that they make often fall back on them as opportunities of learning. But on the other hand we also know that sometimes these results only fuel the fire within their hearts and they do not heed the advice that has been given to them and they continue on the current path that they chose. This was so the case in the early days of the church and to be honest we really have not learned from that mistake centuries ago.
Whereas the Church did not continue its pouting stage it became angry and violent towards the ways of those who disagreed with it and then sought and took revenge on those who did not comply with its mandates. In other words, the Church has sat back and instead of trying to correct its behavior and change to accept those who have different views we have shunned these people and forced them to accept the ways of the world. Remember there are only two choices that can be made in life and if one does not choose God then the other is automatically chosen, no matter how good a person sets out to be. The Church has exemplified this example and has now created, with the help of its past, a culture of God that is distant and separated from the core beliefs of the church herself.
It is easier to talk about things in the world rather than separating yourself from worldly behavior. It is easy to talk about compromise rather than taking a stand. Both of these instances requires a stand against things that the world accepts on a daily basis, but it is not the people that we should take a stand against, it is the spirit that we need to address and accept as the true force behind the behavior of the world and not doing this is reverting back to the teenage stage of the church. We must continually provide ourselves as being a witness to the setting apart from this world in a very loving manner. We do not need to portray ourselves as better than anyone else in the world as the younger church did by murdering thousands of lives for appearing opposite that the church. And one more thing before I move on in this article, if we do not change our attitudes and things becomes testy again, the world will not allow us to be the ones to enforce their vengeance upon them, it will be the other way around.
The church will take things on the chin and if no one has noticed it yet, that process has already begun. It is our enemy’s way of letting us know that he realizes that shape that we are in and the maturity level that we currently harbor. He understands that he controls this world and everything that goes on within its confines. He also knows that it is our job to shine the light into the world and in order for him to keep us in check he must constitute blow after blow in the eyes of the physical. Our enemy loves to make things seem like there is only one level of the playing field, the physical. And when he can allow us to keep that idea in mind he can be effective in spreading his lies to God’s people. You notice that he works loudly through the physical realm but silently through the spiritual. There is a reason for this because if every human ever got wind that the spiritual actually is eternal, then our enemy would be in real trouble….oh wait that is what we are supposed to be doing, right?
During the times that the church was in power, so to speak, the church really prospered in the world. Its lifestyle was that of luxury and great fortune. The acceptance of this lifestyle was generally widespread since the governments allowed the church immunity in exchange for their loyalty and support to the law of the land. What a concept that set the foundations of church failure in reaching the world for Christ, but it was set in stone and the birth of the teenage years of the church began. The church enjoyed a dominance over the world for centuries that was unchecked by any spiritual conscious from God. Yes, the church did good things during this time but when you look throughout history people who are famous for ding horrific acts also have been praised by others for accomplishing many good deeds within the communities.
The attitude of the church finally had worn thin with the people of the land. They began to shy away from the church and everything that it stood for which was allowing our enemy’s plan to be perfectly played out with the full cooperation of the church. The church had no clue about what was transpiring since it was so wrapped up in its own status and wealth. The church had totally lost focus of its role within the world and what its functionality was supposed to be and the church did something to overstep its bounds, the government reined it in and set forth further laws limiting it from actually performing what it was commissioned to do. The church’s status, attitude and presentation of itself to the world kind of reminds me of a modern state that we all know and live within today.
It is common knowledge that civilization began before the actual development of the church. Both entities have grown by leaps and bounds over time, none of this can be denied. But what may people fail to think about that even though people lived without churches for millennia the concept of church and its purpose was meant to take the lead in humanity. And since we have provided a church that conforms to the world instead of leading the world we can argue that the current situation that the world is in today is our fault since our commission was from the one person who created the entire life process that we know. It has been said many times in our lives and that is when an event occurs there are always two sides of the story and in this case the same is true there are two sides that are in play here and if one side is not being pushed forward the other side is, there is no stalemate or standstill possibilities.
Since both entities represent their own values each must maintain their integrity in order to equip their followers to survive the encounters that would test their beliefs. The world has not let up in this task and with the help of its leader has done an excellent job in selling its mannerisms to everyone in the world. The world has followed the lead we have freely chosen to give it and the church has no one to blame but herself. There is a reason that Jesus commanded us to go into the world and spread the gospel. It was not a suggestion but a command. Jesus did not command too many things while He was on this earth, so you know it must have been important enough for Him to state our mission in this way; for Jesus knew that if the church did not do this that the world would seize the high ground and take over the hearts of the world. Now, look around you, read history and follow current trends and notice who is winning the war.
The world has done nothing wrong according to what the church has let it. It was our responsibility and the church has failed miserably to follow the commandment of God. Now, doesn’t that sound like a teenage behavior? Want to know why I know this is a fact? It is because I have the guts enough to stand up and let everyone know that I fell into this category because I was a typical teenager. I know how they operate because I was one a while back and I have teenagers now running around my house, and they too believe that I have no clue about what they are up to. But I continue t call out for them to obey and to fulfill my commandments, not in anger but in love and so does God towards His church.
The world has successfully partitioned to what the church can and cannot say within what is socially accepted. The church has allowed herself to be placed into a dark ally all alone in a gang filled neighborhood that is ripe for her taking. And what is so appalling is that she recognizes this aspect and conditions and she is actually having fun while walking down this corridor. She actually believes that if she can blend in well enough with society that she will not be harmed. Take an honest look around at the churches and see what type of conditions they portray. Be honest with yourself as well also see where you fit into this dark and senseless portrayal of life. I find it amazing of how the church ahs believed the world when it proclaimed safety as long as conformation to its ways is adhered to, what a set up that the church has voluntarily accepted.
Our enemy has set the stage for another round of embarrassments for the church and he is counting on the fact that we do not realize our status within the world while the contestants line up for the fight. We have no choice but to wake up and to realize what is happening around us. It is a fact that man can choose to change his laws to accommodate his current thinking. It is also common knowledge that man can enact laws which try to seduce the church into believing and then using those laws against it when the time is appropriate. All of these instances come from our enemy who has a powerful hold on the world’s ideologies. The laws and ideas that isolate the church should be a wake up call for everyone within the church. There is a reason why this is occurring and unless we change our way of believing and seeing it will be not too much further down the road where the existence of the church will be changed forever.
The church and the world are two living entities that exist within the planet and they represent polar opposites of each other, or they should that is. We the church have created the position that we are in today and it is our responsibility to correct this stance as soon as possible. It is our response to what the world is throwing at us that will determine our future as an organized church. The world has followed the footsteps that we have shown them and it is time for us to change our current path before it is too late. God loves the church with all of His heart and so do I.
It is time for the Church to realize that our heart is no longer up for sale to the world. It is time that we recognize our need for restoration to the command of Jesus of spreading the gospel throughout the world and to take a stand against the ways of the world. It does not matter that it have been two years or almost two thousand years, restoration is what the church needs in order to shine the light of Jesus to the world. Separate ourselves from the world and claim the passion of Christ once again in our hearts for this is the only way to ensure that the church stays strong for our children and our grandchildren. This act will also provide us the spiritual strength that we need to withstand the trials that we will face over the coming days, weeks, months and years.
DLB
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