The Parable of the Life-Saving Station

The following story was sent to me by my friend, Ron Barker.

Why do we do what we do?  Sometimes we lose our sense of purpose.

On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea and, with no thought for themselves, went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding area wanted to become associated with the station and gave of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little life-saving station grew.

Some of the members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members and they decorated it beautifully because they used it as a sort of club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The life-saving motif still prevailed in the club's decorations and there was a liturgical life-boat in the room where the club's initiations were held.

About this time a large ship wrecked off the coast and the hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split among the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon life-saving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station. So they did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club and yet another life-saving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself and if you visit that sea coast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Mike.  Out.

(Reprinted from Ideas books by Youth Specialities, Inc. 1224 Greenfield Drive, El Cajon, CA 92021. Used by permission.)

New Year Reflections

Another year has come and gone. Some goals have been achieved while others have fallen by the wayside. Many people are filled with a fleeting passion to accomplish more this year than they did last year. Why is that? Here are a few thoughts.

American culture is an interesting animal. The majority of Americans grow up being taught and believing that they can be whatever they want to be and do whatever they set their mind to doing. There is a rugged individualism that is implanted in us practically at birth that tells us in every situation the solution is to try harder. You can do it! There is a sense in which self-reliance can overpower one's way of thinking, even to the extent that it affects the way you view spiritual things.

However, the spiritual reality is quite different than the American sentiment. The unfortunate truth is that we can't do it. In fact, we can't do it so badly that Jesus Christ took the form of a man, lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death, rose victoriously from the grave, and ascended into heaven, completing the work of redemption for all those who believe. When will we ever fully embrace this truth to the point that it transforms our thoughts, attitudes, and actions?

Don't make a New Year's resolution. Surrender to Jesus Christ, die to yourself, and get a new life. That's the only reality worth living for.

Mike. Out.

Where is the credible witness?

So I was sitting in my office at the church this morning going through some email when I heard a conversation from down the hall. I couldn't make out the details or the subject of the conversation but the sheer volume of it made it impossible to ignore. Regardless of the subject matter, there was an apparent disagreement that was escalating, from one side of the dialogue at least. The exchange lasted for about two minutes and then it was over. Both participants went back to their corners...I mean...their offices. It was just then that the thought occurred to me: Am I in the right office? Did I accidentally drive to the wrong location this morning and stumble into a stereotypical secular office building? Clearly this is what has happened because I'm quite sure I wouldn't be hearing this type of banter in the office complex of a church.

Then the reality sank in. I was in the right office. I did hear an unpleasant, heated exchange between two people that serve with me...in the church. So what gives? Why did this happen? Why is it evidently so easy for those who claim to be disciples of Jesus to treat their brothers and sisters so poorly? Are they really disciples of Jesus? Has Jesus really done a work in their heart? Are they just having a bad day? Are they only human (and sinful)? Is that a sufficient reason for behaving so badly? What does the Bible have to say about such a situation?

These questions and others were flooding my mind. I was tempted to ask both parties to come sit in my office for a few minutes so we could pray and then talk about what had just happened. I felt the need to address the situation despite the fact that I was not directly involved in it. However, I did not. I just sat in my office sorting through the range of emotions that I was feeling at that moment...surprise, disappointment, personal conviction. And no, I was not feeling personal conviction about not having said something about it. I was feeling conviction about how many times that I have been the one who has engaged in the exact same behavior.

Two passages of Scripture came to mind as a result of this morning's events. Romans 1:28-32 and James 3:5b-12.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

Sometimes I wonder if we really believe what the Bible says. The reason I have this thought is simply because I observe my own behavior. I know intellectually that the Bible is true, but unfortunately I constantly fall short in obedience to it. Vance Havner said it this way. "What you live is what you really believe. Everything else is just a lot of religious talk."

Gracious Heavenly Father, grant that my deeds would reflect my creed to the glory of God.

Mike. Out.

Preaching as Worship

The following is taken from a book I am currently reading entitled, "He is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World" by R. Albert Mohler.

"Music is one of God's most precious gifts to His people, and it is a language by which we may worship God in spirit and in truth. The hymns of the faith convey rich confessional and theological content, and many modern choruses recover a sense of doxology formerly lost in many evangelical churches. But music is not the central act of Christian worship - nor is evangelism, nor even the ordinances. The heart of Christian worship is the authentic preaching of the Word of God."

"This centrality of preaching is seen in both testaments of Scripture. It was the apostle Paul, for example, who told Timothy in no uncertain terms, 'I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and his kingdom, Preach the Word!' In Nehemiah 8, as we will see in more detail in the next chapter, we find a remarkable portrait of expository preaching, when the people demand that Ezra the scribe bring the book of the law to the assembly. Ezra stands on a raised platform and reads from the book of the law, 'translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading' (Nehemiah 8:8 NASB). When he opens the book to read, the assembly rises to its feet in honor of the Word of God, and their response to the reading is to answer, 'Amen, Amen!'"

"This text is a sobering indictment of much contemporary Christianity. According to the text, a demand for biblical preaching erupted within the hearts of the poeple. They gathered as a congregation and summoned the preacher. This reflects an intense hunger and thirst for the preaching of the Word of God. Where is this desire evident among today's evangelicals? Moreover, where is the faithfulness of preachers to confront their people with the preached Word of God? There seems to be a sense that people will be more affected by the gospel if it is presented in a slickly produced multimedia production, or even if we dispense with preaching altogether in favor of a purely subjective and emotional worship 'experience.' Yet what was it that brought the Israelites to their God-honoring response of 'Amen, Amen!'? It was the exposition of the Word. Ezra did not stage an event or orchestrate a spectacle. He simply and carefully proclaimed the Word of God."

"In far too many churches, the Bible is nearly silent. The public reading of Scripture has been dropped from many services, and the sermon has been sidelined, reduced to a brief devotional appended to the music. Many preachers accept this as a necessary concession to the age of entertainment, and are thus left with the modest hope of including a brief message of encouragement or exhortation before the conclusion of the service."

"Michael Green pointedly put the problem like this: 'This is the age of the sermonette, and sermonettes make Christianettes.' The anemia of evangelical worship - all the music and energy aside - is directly attributable to the absence of genuine expository preaching. If we as pastors are truly serious about giving our people a true vision of God, showing them their own sinfulness, proclaiming to them the gospel of Jesus Christ, and encouraging them to obedient service in response to that gospel, then we will devote our lives to preaching the Word. That is our task and our calling - to confront our congregations with nothing less than the living and active Word of God, and to pray that the Holy Spirit will thereby open eyes, convict consciences, and apply that Word to human hearts."

pp. 36-38.

So...what do you say, Pastor? Are you up to the task?

I pray to God that He will give me the strength to preach the Word and nothing else.

Mike. Out.

The Goal of Preaching

Here is an excerpt from a book I am currently reading entitled "The Supremacy of God in Preaching" by John Piper.

"Our parents fell for it, and in them we have all fallen for it. It's now part of our nature. We take the mirror of God's image, which was intended to reflect His glory in the world, and turn our backs to the light, and fall in love with the contours of our own dark shadow, trying desperately to convince ourselves (with technological advances or management skills or athletic prowess or academic achievements or sexual exploits or counterculture hair styles) that the dark shadow of the image on the ground in front of us is really glorious and satisfying. And in our proud love affair with ourselves, we pour contempt (whether we know it or not!) on the worth of God's glory.

And as our pride pours contempt upon God's glory, His righteousness obliges Him to pour wrath upon our pride.

'The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled; and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.' -Isaiah 2:11

'For how should My Name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.' -Isaiah 48:11

'The eyes of the haughty are brought low...and the Holy God shows Himself holy in righteousness.' -Isaiah 5:15-16

'Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.' -Isaiah 10:22

The goal of preaching is the glory of God in the glad submission of His creation. and so there is an obstacle to this preaching in God, and there is an obstacle in man. The pride of man will not delight in God's glory. The righteousness of God will not suffer his glory to be scorned.

So where is there any hope that preaching might attain its goal--that God be glorified in those who are satisfied in Him? Can the righteousness of God ever relent in its opposition to sinners? Can the pride of man ever be broken of its own vanity and be satisfied in God's glory? Is there a basis for such hope? Is there a ground for valid and hopeful preaching?

There is. In the cross of Christ, God has undertaken to overcome both obstacles to preaching. It overcomes the objective, external obstacle of God's righteous opposition to human pride. And it overcomes the subjective, internal obstacle of our proud opposition to God's glory. In so doing the cross becomes the ground of the objective validity of preaching and the ground of the subjective humility of preaching.

pgs. 32-33

Missio Dei

What is the mission of the church? What are God's people supposed to be doing until He returns? These are questions that are worth asking if you are a disciple of Christ. After all, if we don't understand what our mission is then we are all but destined to fail in accomplishing it.

I just recently returned from spending two weeks in the mountains of Peru. Several others from the church accompanied me and we went to South America with the goal of being on mission for God. Now I realize that many of us may have grown up being taught the meaning of being on mission for God. However, I believe that the general consensus among many churches today may be a bit off track when it comes to the mission of God.

Many times we are misled into thinking that the primary purpose of going on a mission trip is to find people that are poorer than we are so we can go and give them some stuff that they don't have. We often confuse social work and community projects for gospel proclamation. Unfortunately, it took me traveling to the mountains of Peru to figure this out for myself.

The people with whom we were working have very little in the way of material possessions. They have running water, but it is not clean nor is it warm. They have buildings and homes, but they are primitive at best. They have electricity, but it is often unreliable. Aside from that, they just don't have very much stuff. But here's the interesting thing. They don't appear to want stuff. They appear to be, for all practical purposes, content with what they have. They have not been tainted with this spirit of materialism and entitlement that courses through the veins of the American culture. Their children very rarely cry or pitch a fit. They don't scream because they don't have the latest game for their XBox or Wii. The people in this village did not rush up to us the moment we arrived because they figured the "Americans" had just come to offer them a hand out. They are content with what they have.

So here's the epiphany. How many times have church groups traveled all over the world only to give people "stuff" instead of giving them Jesus? How many mission fields have been forever jaded because of an American presence that has been equated with nothing more than free stuff? Thankfully, this was not the case among the people with whom we worked. No one had ever reached them before and there was no expectation that we had come just to give them stuff. This is when I realized what the true mission of the church is.

Jesus is not an add-on. Jesus is not something that we include if we have time. We don't go halfway around the world so we can do an American VBS for people who don't have the slightest idea what we're doing. We don't travel long distances just so we can give people some trinkets from Oriental Trading (no offense). Brothers and sisters: THE MESSAGE IS JESUS. Just give them Jesus. That is the mission of God. His name is Jesus.

There's nothing wrong with meeting physical needs for people that have them, but there is a lot more to it than that. The only reason that we go to meet peoples' physical needs is so we might earn the opportunity to show them who can meet their greatest spiritual need. The best mission trip in the world is one where you can share the love and the message of Jesus. If meeting physical needs is the pathway for that to happen, then so be it. But the trip is not about the physical needs. The trip is about the mission and the mission is all about Jesus Christ.

We don't have time to waste with a lack of intentionality. We're in a war and we have a job to do. The mission is clear. "If people all over the world are under condemnation for sin and cut off from eternal life, and if calling on Jesus is their only hope for eternal, joyful fellowship with God, then love demands missions." (Let the Nations be glad by John Piper) It's time to stop asking people to come to us. It's time to start declaring, "Send me, I'll go." Let's get to it, folks. Everyday. Everywhere. To everyone. Let's get to it.

Mike. Out.

Implications of the Gospel

Last month I had the privilege of attending the 2010 Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, Florida. While there I was able to hear several different people preach God's Word, which is always a blessing. One of the men who preached was David Platt, Pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. David Platt is growing in notoriety as a young Pastor and, in my opinion, with good reason. In our last post, Adam masterfully laid out some reasons why Platt's new book, Radical, shouldn't sell a single copy. If you haven't read what Adam wrote, I would encourage you to do so. The teaching that David Platt brought to the Southern Baptist Convention was quite insightful and has impacted me on many levels. It is for this reason that I felt compelled to share a brief summary of the text, along with some personal reflections as they pertain to the Gospel.

If you have a Bible handy (and as a side note, we should probably always have a Bible handy) you can open it up to the New Testament book of Romans (6th book in). In chapter 10 of Romans, the Apostle Paul is talking about God's Word being a key component in the salvation equation. Beginning in verse 12, this is what God's Word says:

(12) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding riches for all who call on Him; (13) for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED." (14) How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? (15) How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"

So, here was Platt's line of thought on this passage of Scripture beginning at the end and working backwards. Question 1: Is God still sending His servants? Of course He is. People are answering God's call every day to take the Gospel to the nations. Question 2: If God's servants preach, will people hear? Well, the obvious answer is yes. Unless you are preaching alone in a solitary place or preaching to people who are hearing-impaired, then they will hear when you preach. Question 3: When people hear, will they believe? The answer is yes. Now, allow me to clarify. Not EVERYONE who hears will believe, but the Bible says in Revelation 7:9-10 "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'" This means that wherever you preach the Gospel, no matter what group of people you are addressing, someone is going to believe. We don't know how many, but we do know that there will be some.

Question 4: When they believe, will they call? Absolutely. When you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that He is the only pathway to heaven, just as the Scriptures say, then you will most definitely call on Him for your salvation. Question 5: When they call, will they be saved? Absolutely. This is practically a direct quote from Romans 10:13 which tells us that "whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."

So...did we miss anything? Oh yes. There is that small matter of actually preaching the Gospel. The Bible shows us so clearly in this passage what God's plan for the salvation of His people looks like. It goes something like this: God sends His servants. His servants preach the Gospel. People hear the Gospel. People believe in Jesus after hearing the Gospel. People call on Jesus for salvation. Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. Now that's a good plan. However, the one (and only) place where that plan can potentially break down is when God's servants are disobedient and fail to preach the Gospel. This was the main point of Platt's message to the Southern Baptist Convention. We MUST be obedient to the call of God and we MUST preach the Gospel at every opportunity.

In six days I will join a team of God's servants and travel to three villages in the Andes Mountains of Peru. I am going there for the express purpose of preaching the Gospel to people who may have never heard it before. I am filled with nervous excitement about what God has sent me to do. So here's the thing. I know that, according to God's Word, everyone on this planet stands guilty and condemned before God because of sin. I know that, according to God's Word, the only remedy for that sin is the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on our behalf on the cross. I know that, according to God's Word, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Conversely, everyone who does not will be lost for eternity. Knowing all that to be true, why am I not filled with nervous excitement every day God allows me to wake up with breath in my lungs because I know I have another day's worth of opportunities to share the Gospel with everyone who crosses my path?

The dominant theme of my thoughts these past few days has been one of severe conviction. I have been extremely negligent in my burden for sharing the Gospel. Now I am not foolish enough to believe that God is not sovereign enough to save someone because I was disobedient and didn't share the Gospel when I had the opportunity. However, that is what it really boils down to: I am disobedient.

You see, God saved me for a purpose. My purpose is to glorify Him. One of the chief ways I can glorify Him is by pointing other people to Him. I am called and commissioned as an instrument in the hands of the Redeemer and I have a job to do. If I don't do my job, God will find someone else to do it for me. The result is that I will miss out on some really cool stuff that God is doing and He was willing to use me to do it. I don't want to fail Him. I don't want to waste my life. Jesus is too good to keep to myself. And if God has saved you, you're in the same boat. Don't miss it. Serve Him. Love Him. Obey Him. Tell others about Him. Time is not guaranteed. Do it now.

Mike. Out.

Discipleship vs. Selfishness

What is the essence of discipleship? What did Jesus intend when He gave us the great commission? I have been feeling for some time now that the church at large has somehow gotten sidetracked from its original purpose. I suspect that there could have been a variety of reasons for this happening. However, among all of the potential causes for the church’s derailment, my gut instinct tells me that there was a chief culprit. It is no small coincidence that the prime suspect is also the root cause of most, if not all, sin. Selfishness. Somewhere along the way, a little bit at the time, the church has gradually become more and more selfish. Individuals in the body of Christ have gradually given in to the temptation of thinking more and more about themselves and less and less about others. This paradigm shift has many ramifications, but there is one aspect of it that seems to have become more prominent of late. That one aspect is the selfishness that breeds spiritual immaturity and retarded growth. The reason that this one aspect of selfishness has become more prominent, in my opinion, is because it affects many other aspects of the church. Let’s examine for a moment how this works itself out in real life.

Have you ever heard of any church having issues with music style? Why do you suppose that happens? I’m glad you asked. Every generation has a particular style of music that is contemporary to that particular generation. Many years ago, a church attempted to introduce an instrument into the church to aid in the music program. It was called an organ. This instrument was met with such opposition that after the organ was installed, a group of people sneaked into the church, dismantled the organ from its place in the sanctuary and dumped it into the river. This, by the way, is the same instrument that so many people over recent years have so vehemently fought to keep in its place in so many churches. The irony is unbelievably rich. With the passing of each generation, there is a shift in position. One generation tries to innovate and realize progress while the previous generation fights to keep things as they are. After a few years pass, the generation that was once innovative and progressive becomes the generation that fights against those very things. Why does this happen? Selfishness. People refuse to let go of things that don’t even belong to them because they would rather be comfortable than reach people with the gospel of Christ in new ways.

Have you ever heard of any church having issues with their Pastor and staff because they decide to make some changes in the way the church does certain things? Why do you suppose that happens? I’m glad you asked. Whether or not a church is intentional about it, every church is in danger of developing rituals or routines in the way they do things. The true danger here is that the longer something is done a certain way, the harder it becomes to evaluate objectively. When this happens, people get attached to the particular method of ministry instead of getting attached to the mission of making disciples of Jesus. This attachment becomes something of a security blanket of which many people simply refuse to let go. When changes are either proposed or implemented to an area to which they are personally attached, things suddenly become very heated very quickly. Selfishness, in this case, prohibits objectivity in evaluation. Therefore, people begin resorting to rumors, gossip, and personal attacks in an attempt to protect their “pet” ministry because they are simply too selfish to let go of something regardless of how ineffective or archaic it may have become. It is always unfortunate when leaders who have been called and ordained by God are painted as the “bad guys” simply because some people are too spiritually immature and selfish to see the big picture. On the flipside, however, it is also unfortunate that there have been many ungodly pastors over the years that have gone about change in the wrong way. They have not taken time to build relationships and love people. They have communicated poorly or not at all. The end result is that it is now sometimes difficult for God’s people to trust God’s shepherds.

These are just two examples, but let me go back to where I started. I began with two questions. What is the essence of discipleship? What did Jesus intend when He gave us the great commission? I believe that their answers are inextricably linked. The essence of what was intended by Jesus when He commissioned the church was exemplified with crystal clear clarity by the Savior Himself during His earthly ministry. He chose twelve men. In Lecrae’s song “After the Music Stops” he puts it this way: “The teaching is a process it’s not overnight, and it’s not a stage and a mic, it’s life on life. Christ walked with twelve, ate with twelve, taught the twelve, shaped the twelve, invested in them well, you could say that He made the twelve, who made many more, who made plenty more, now it’s on you and me if there’s any more.” You see, the great commission is not about making converts to Christianity. It’s about making disciples of Christ. That means that conversion is not the destination, it’s the origin.

Here are the fundamentals of the great commission. Jesus doesn’t command us to go anywhere. He presumes that His followers are already going to be on the move. This is why the word translated “go” is an aorist participle, which means “having gone.” The imperative command of the great commission is to make disciples of all nations. Once this is established, Jesus delineates how we are to go about fulfilling His command. We are to baptize those who have professed Christ as Lord in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are then to teach them to observe all that He has commanded us. He then gives us the confidence we will need to carry out this task by reminding us that He is with us always, even to the end of the age. Having a clear understanding of the specific task given to the body of Christ, I should make a few closing conclusions.

First, the blame for the presence of baby Christians in the church must be laid squarely on the church itself. We have become so preoccupied with making converts that we have neglected to make disciples. Second, something can and must be done to intentionally reengage the disciple making process. Finally, the only solution for a problem of this magnitude is the power of the Word of God. I am reminded in Hebrews 4:12 that “the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” I am further told in Hebrews 5:13-14 that “everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

It is time for a change in menu in the church. It is time for believers to pray earnestly for the church that it would be actively engaged in fulfilling its divine purpose of disciple-making. Ultimately, it is time for people everywhere who claim the name of Jesus to start feasting on some solid food and grow up. One way for that to happen is if men of God will plant their feet, square their shoulders, and proclaim “thus says the LORD.” In other words, it is time for Pastors to teach the whole counsel of God without backing up or backing down.

I have decided. I will. Soli Deo Gloria.

Whatever happened to holiness?

It has occurred to me lately that many churches and Christians in the world seem to embrace a Christianity that is void of any genuine, transformational life change. There are churches all over the state in which I live that are suffering from a lack of revival, a lack of evangelistic zeal, and a lack of believers that are bothered by either. People are content to attend church services on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and even Wednesday night. They are pleased to serve on this committee or that ministry team. They even (grudgingly, it seems) put some money in the offering plate as it passes them by. By their own self-imposed standards, they are doing their part to sustain the kingdom work of the church of the living God. The only problem is that their life on the other days of the week are apparently no different than they were before they allegedly came face to face with the Creator of the universe.

What can we learn from people who will gladly stand up and be counted when they are in the assembly of the righteous, but are content to fade into the crowd of carnality when going about their business in the public square? I believe that we can learn a great deal from this all too familiar phenomenon. In Matthew's gospel, the words of Christ are recorded for us all to read as He reminds us how to recognize a false prophet. "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'" (Matt. 7:15-23 NASB) It seems all too appropriate that this litmus test be applied to recognizing false Christians as well.

I am saddened to say that evidently the church has decided to choose comfort over commitment, moderation over maturity, and satisfaction over surrender. We have traded in the concept of holiness in favor of tolerance and acceptance. What we as the church have failed to realize is that there is a big difference between holiness and legalism. Legalism demands that we become more like men. Holiness demands that we become more like Jesus. Where are the men of God who are not afraid to plant their feet, square their shoulders, and declare, 'Thus saith the Lord?' Who will stand with boldness, taking up the mantle of the prophet of God, and call sin, sin, and righteousness, righteousness, leaving the consequences in the powerful and capable hands of the Lord Jesus Christ? We need men of God such as this if the church is to return to her proper state.

"Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Romans 13:11-14 NASB) A.W. Tozer echoes the words of the Apostle Paul as he offers us some timely instructions in his book "We Travel an Appointed Way: "It is time for Bible-believing Christians to begin to cultivate the sober graces and to live among men like sons of God and heirs of the ages. And this will take more than a bit of doing, for the whole world and a large part of the church is set to prevent it. But if God be for us, who can be against us?"

Well.....what are we waiting for?

Mike. Out.

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.'" 1 Peter 1:14-16 (NASB)