February 13, 2009
I was watching TV the other evening and noticed a commercial about some new anti-depressant. There seems to be a lot of these types of commercials lately, but this one was a bit different. It's message said to take this as an additional medication to the current anti-depressant because a large percentage of the people on their original medication were still feeling the effects of depression -- so this additional medication would help. -- What?! Is it because the other stuff isn't any good or the depression is more severe?
If we think about this for a moment, it's no wonder people think they need this societal opiate. -- Just what are we seeing and hearing?
-- To name just a few:
◆ Families murdering one another
◆ Incomes, jobs, and life savings evaporating
◆ Politicians lying to us on national TV.
Examples --
Richard Nixon
"I am not a crook"
Bill Clinton
"I did not have sex with that woman"
Barak Obama
"There is no pork in this stimulus package"
(Great role models!)
◆ Our children being subjected to the constant barrage from hell through the Internet, video games and movies
◆ Moral degradation being forced upon us
◆ Unprecedented natural disasters
◆ Recession, depression, socialism, communism
Where does it end?
So where does a person turn in times like these? -- Anti depressants? Alcohol? Drugs? The edge of a cliff?
How about God? -- History shows us that in times of crisis, people often try this. -- Look for a moment at the few months following the 9/11 attacks. Church attendance across the land increased dramatically. -- But then what happened? -- As soon as the trauma of the event wore off, the attendance slipped back to normal.
And herein lies my point. First of all, I as a Christian can't imagine what it must be like to face the issues of these days without Jesus. -- And that's exactly what folks are looking for when they come searching in our church places.
And what are they finding? Programs, entertainment, various attempts at self-help, wealth formulas, and on and on. For the most part, it's predictable and empty.
So instead of finding hope for a new way and meaning for their lives, they end up leaving the way they came -- empty, helpless, and feeling more hopeless.
What we see surrounding us today in every city and town are church buildings which are no more than clerical caskets -- lined in rich cloth and covered in gold -- and buried in complacency.
It's truly tragic that so much of the world is in the church and so many of the church are in the world that there is no difference between the two. -- To bring this point home, a Christian brother told me of an experience he had last summer. He'd gone to an outdoor multi-church event that was designed to expose certain neighborhoods to the church. After observing for a time, he made this profound discovery. He stated that he couldn't tell the Christians from the non-Christians! -- Did that hit home or what?!
So what's happened to our well-intentioned attempts to serve our Lord? - Let's quickly look at the seven churches in Revelations 2 and 3 and some stark examples. -- Five of them had serious issues:
1) Ephesus - was once strong, but had lost its first love. It had become lifeless, forgetting the passion and excitement of its original love for Jesus. (Sound familiar?)
2) Pergmum - had fallen under the influence of the pagan culture in which it lived. (Don't be fooled! The secular and 'emerging' movements we see today are no different -- just more 'modern')
3) Thyatira - became part of an evil cult. (Matthew 24:5 states, "...for many will come in my name, claiming 'I am the Christ' and will deceive many.")
4) Sardis - became so cold and dead that only the names in the church directory could indicate any living members. (Nothing more need be said.)
5) Laodecia - Lukewarm, wealthy, lazy, rich, in need of nothing. (At least in their minds. - Jesus said He would spit them out of His mouth - Rev. 3:16).
A vast majority of our churches today have fallen into many of these same trappings. When people come searching for an answer, mostly all they're getting is 'ear candy'. II Timothy 4:3-4 says, "For a time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
Dr. D.A. Criswell reminds us of the true character of an anointed leader of God:
Quote -- "Whenever there is a true prophet of God, He will preach judgement. These modern so-called ministers of God speak all things nice. Modern pedagogical (or art or science of teaching) methods admonish never to mention things negative. Ignore them and they will not exist."
He continues:
"There is not any Hell and there is not any devil and there is not any judgement of God. All that is now intellectually passe' We have evolved beyond that -- So we stand up and speak of the love of Jesus, and we speak of peace, and we speak of all things pretty and beautiful -- but the same book that tells us about the good, tells us about the bad. The same Revelation that speaks to us about Heaven, speaks about Hell." -- Unquote.
Let's look for a moment at the two scriptural passages that show us how to do church. First, Matthew 25:34-36 says, "Then the king will say to these 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."
Next, Acts 2:42-47 states, " They devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the Temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
What a concept! -- I think that during the times of crisis, if people were to find this kind of place, the attendance would not recede and the need for anti-depressants, for the most part, would fade away.
In closing, the evening news is a commentary of the darkness of our world. It is a graphic visualization of the absence of God in many places in our communities. -- So, what is the real problem? -- It is not just the presence of darkness -- it is also the absence of light.
We can pierce the darkness in the name of Jesus!
Light exposes darkness and light symbolizes the presence of God. Light represents all that is good! --
"We are the light." ---
Until next time,
Red