At a church in a Chicago suburb, the congregation can get more than just prayer at the Sunday worship services.
If a lucky, -- or “blessed and highly favored” -- churchgoer is in the right seat, they can also receive a cash prize.
At each of the three Sunday services, the reverend pulls a number of one seat from a bag and the worshipper in that seat wins a cash prize. Two of the churchgoers win $250 and third gets $500. The church gives away $1000 each week.
-- And we wonder why people are “flaming out”, why thousands of people are leaving the church each week!
It is bad enough that our government has “gone off the deep end” when it comes to moral values -- but it is even worse when our churches who represent Jesus Christ resort to gimmicks such as this lottery-like spectacle to lure people into attendance.
I know I spend a considerable amount of time criticizing today’s church, but I believe its important to try and understand why all these folks are dropping off the radar and why most of today’s Christian leaders are shying away from the subject.
Charles Spurgeon wrote a great article on endurance. He had a remarkable way of getting right to the heart of the matter. - Even though he wrote his commentary over 100 years ago, his words seem particularly timely for our time.
Quote: “Moreover, the common-sense judgement of mankind tells us, that those who merely begin and do not hold out, will not be saved. - Why? If every man would be saved who began to follow Christ, who would be damned? - In such a country as this, the most of men have at least one religious spasm in their lives. I suppose that there is not a person before me, who at some time or other did not determine to be a pilgrim.” (Webster describes ‘pilgrim’ as a ‘wanderer’).
I personally have seen many who have professed the faith and then had their “spasms” and walked away.
Maybe a good reason so many people fail to endure in the faith is possibly because they weren’t attached to their faith in the first place. Lack of endurance surely then would be the primary reason and cause of this massive turnover rate. I know for example people that have an interest in prophecy that are very fickle. - If a war breaks out in the Middle East or the economy tanks, they all come running to our websites to see if it means the end is near. -- but once the crisis subsides, they go back to doing whatever they were doing before.
I can understand why the “Curious George” crowd would come and go so quickly, but what about the number of people who have had a long-standing commitment to doing the Lord’s work, but eventually fall away?
Jesus warned that anyone seeking to be His disciple needs to understand it’s not a decision one can make lightly. -- Without a good blueprint, our pledge of commitment will only end in shame.
Luke 14:28-30 says, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough month to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish’.”
Verse 33 finishes by saying, “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” -- This is Jesus speaking.
We live in a time when it costs us nothing to be a believer. The lack of persecution leads millions to think they are saved when really, they are not. - Its like having a smoke alarm with a dead battery. -- If you fail to test your faith, you don’t discover your error until it is tragically too late!
The only reliable way I found for us to test whether we are truly followers of Jesus Christ is to take account of what we are doing for the Kingdom of God. - The worst of sinners can claim to be a righteous person saved by grace, but rarely do I see one acting in a constructive way to advance the gospel.
I believe it is very important to regularly ask ourselves how dedicated we are to the cause of Christ. We can often tell when the rest of the church is losing its focus, while at the same time, we overlook our own slothfulness. Here are a few questions to test your motivation level:
◆ How active is your prayer life?
◆ Do you regularly study God's word?
◆ Do you live a life of spiritual integrity?
◆ When was the last time you shared your faith with someone else?
◆ Do you support Christian ministries through tithing, time and effort?
One of the key things missing from the church today is a sense of duty. The first century Christians weren’t willing to die for their faith simply because they joined a club. They were willing to suffer martyrdom because they had a hope that went beyond the cares of this world.
Spurgeon made another statement equally as blunt as the one quoted earlier. he said, “Several church fathers have offered strong opinions of Christians who are not active in spreading the Good News. - Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that.”
We Christians need to be careful not to be drawn into the last days’ lifestyles. You don’t have to participate in such lifestyles to win those who are open to the gospel. Eventually, when their world begins to collapse around them, you will be available to offer hope and help through Christ. Like the people of Noah’s day, most will not heed the warning of imminent judgement. But some who recognize the “perilous times” as a sign of the end will take advantage of the “ark of safety” and call on the name of the Lord!
"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'”
Mark 13:35-37
Until next time,
Red