THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!!!

"If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If My people which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My Face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now Mine eyes shall be open, and Mine ears attent to the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that My Name may be there forever: and Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually." (2 Chronicles 7:13-16)

People of God, WE NEED RAIN. Some of us, think that because our churches are overflowing, and our ministries are (seemingly) thriving, that God is pleased and dwelling comfortably, in our midst. Although our churches may be full--many are present as star-gazer's and spectators. Some of us, are spending money to buy clothes and cars (that we cannot afford), to be able to impress the entertainers and the other star-gazer's, when we come to church. We say we are expecting a "mighty move of the Holy Spirit", but our behavior says otherwise. What have we come to? This 21st Century, is a day in which, we find preachers who won't deliver God's Word, just anywhere. You must have the right price. Don't call--without that certain number; you cannot afford them. Is this how we handle the Word of God--for a price??? Is it ours to keep? Is the purpose of the Gospel still to save the souls of men? Today, churches can't keep musicians--without the right financing. If they aren't satisfied with what church "A" pays, they pack up the keyboard or the drumsticks and head on to church "B". The gifts and talents of God are for sale, today. Those gifts and talents are not yours to sell. Am I opposed to preachers being paid--NO! Am I opposed to musicians being paid--in some cases, YES! If it is not, full-time ministry and they are not going to be available for every service--only playing on Sunday morning, or when they feel like showing up, they don't need a paycheck, they need to get a real job (some ministers do, too!). My opinion. The attitude doesn't stop with the preachers and the musicians--everybody in the church wants to get paid, for everything that they do. Folks think if I spend time cleaning the church, I ought to get paid--when I was younger (and our churches were cleaner), no one got paid to clean the church--no one wanted to, or expected to. It was the House of God. It had to be cleaned just as our individual homes did, and so the saints got together and cleaned the church--we used it. Now, we won't pick up a stray piece of paper, because that's someone elses job!

You know what? Our way is failing, miserably! It is making gods of men. It is separating and dividing the people of God--who are supposed to be knit together. It is ruining individual character--and opportunities for its growth. It is setting up class systems within the Body of Christ. It is allowing the carnal world systems to permeate the church. It has destroyed the sense of family in the church. It's all about position, prestige, power, and money--where is God? We talk about and around Him? Really, though, where is He? What about our conduct toward each other? What about the genuineness of our relationships? Even, what about our care and respect for the physical House of God? We have become too grand, for our own good. Our current state of affairs, simply does not measure up to the plan for the Body of Christ, laid out in Scripture. Our way gives us opportunity to lord over one another, taking advantage of our own brothers and sisters. We look less like the New Testament Church and more like the Pharisee's who Jesus called "whitewashed sepulchres". We look good. Our message sounds good, but our lives betray us, just like them. Our way, keeps us consumed with the things that are temporal, rather than eternal--we are not seeking FIRST the Kingdom of God, maybe a close second, but definitely not first. It is obvious where our treasure lies; it shows. If we don't correct it, the next generation, will be even worse. It is deception at its worst.

This trick of the enemy slipped in ever so subtly--we didn't recognize it was happening (at least most of us, didn't), until it was too late. I knew something was amiss when we started reserving whole sections, at some of our services for "VIP's", and charging fee's for the better seats at some services (familiar? [Luke 11:43]). Think about what that says about us. Think about the message it sends to those who have come to church on time--or early, but have to sit behind the VIP's. What message are we sending to souls who most need to hear the Word, but don't have a paid for, reserved seat, so we usher them to the back. (I am not referring to those who are working behind the scenes, and can't get to the service on time--for that reason; I know someone will have that argument. Everybody isn't working behind the scenes--some are having leisurely dinners, and resting in their rooms, until it's time for the grand entrance).

Why can't we see it? Well, many do. But who wants to be the one to upset the system that "employs" and "empowers" so many? Who wants to take that first leap of faith? Not even me. But, the system we set up, is a facade. It is a poor copy of the real thing! God has a much greater reward in store for those of us, who reject these carnal notions. These are still pretty new traditions; but they are going to be difficult for some, to abandon and reject. The difficulty lies in the fact that, they comfort the flesh--they feed that humanistic, natural tendency in every person that wants to be seen--to be noticed. It's there. That's why we have to fight so hard. "I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Here is your choice: "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." It is a choice--God doesn't decide for us, how we will live. He doesn't make us choose right, or change our ways--it is our option. We know, though, that satisfaction of the flesh leads to damnation, so only one choice really makes sense, to a wise person. Only one option will make sense to a person who has a heart for God and His people. None of us, has anything to lose, by doing it God's way. He will prove Himself faithful every time!

So, will you abandon these church-killing traditions, and seek the "rain"?

The just shall live by FAITH.