How did we reach this level of Mediocrity? (Part Two)

I read a quote once that said, “The Bible is a listening post where we go to hear the voice of God.”  I do not remember who said it nor where I read it but I do see a lot of truth in that statement.  Without time spent in the Word of God we become desensitized to the things of God because we distance ourselves from the sweetness of His voice.  There is also a lessening of the sting of sin because our spiritual sense has lost its sensitivity to the truths of His Word.  How soon is the heart drawn away from God and back to the things in this world once we quit going to the listening post.  It does not take very long before we slip into sin because we have failed to spend time with Jesus.  It does not take long before self begins to redirect our drive back to the old sinful and selfish ways we practiced prior to salvation.

Without precious daily time in the Word we will soon be drawn away from Jesus and wane in our fellowship with him.  I am not saying that everybody needs to be a Bible scholar.  What I am saying and what I am referring to is that I believe that all believers need to spend quality time with the Lord and that includes time in His Word.  We all know that if we want to get to know somebody you have to spend time with them.  If you want to get to know someone intimately you will need to study that person.  To be like somebody you will have to spend quality time with them.  If we are to be what God wants us to be, (which is to be Christ-like), then we need to spend much time with Christ and his Word.  One of the main keys to any relationship is found in the time spent with one another.  The more time we devote to the relationship the faster it solidifies and matures but again, the key phrase is that it will take time but it will be time well spent.  Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments.  One of his commandments is to search the Scriptures John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

When you wish to become a part of another's household, it becomes of great importance that you familiarize yourself with the do's and the don'ts that are expected for peace within the household.  As believers we are a part of the family of God, we need to read God’s Word to find out what the true do's and don'ts are for His family.  One problem that I have found common within the family of God today is that too much time is spent reading books and about what others say about the Word of God and not enough time in the Word itself.  Leaders and laypeople alike spend more time in the writings of others than they do in the Word.  The problem here is that the Word of God is exclusive but when God’s people spend more time in the writings of others over the Word of God they attempt to turn that which is exclusive to that which is inclusive.  The Word must stand alone.  Those who rely more on man’s writings regarding what the Word says than on the Word itself says have the tendency to do just that.  They tend to regard what one writer says over another even to the disregard of the Word of God; elevating the writer’s personal interpretations of Scriptures over the Scriptures themselves.

I am not saying that we are not to read books, devotionals or listen to podcasts because they are important and have their place in the believer’s life.  They are tools that all of us need to use and take advantage of as we grow in Christ in today’s age of technology.  The problem becomes when you rely upon them more than you do the Word of God.  You cannot solely rely on devotionals because they only give you pointed and specific scriptures, those that apply to what the author is leading you to believe or change.  You cannot rely solely on all “Christian” authors because most authors will write with a certain bias (including this one).  Though study guides and devotionals are necessary to help us study the Word of God they must remain exactly that, “helps.”  If we find that more time is spent quoting authors than we do Scripture we need to take a timeout to check our areas of importance.   There is a possibility that you may be building a relationship with the authors of the guides and devotionals you are reading and not the author of the Bible.

Once again I'm not saying every believer has to be a Bible scholar but every believer will talk about Jesus at one point in time or another.  When they do so they should do so with some respect of Bible knowledge but that is not always the case.  I am reminded of a quote by J.I Packer which says, “Every time we mention God we become theologians, and the only question is whether we are going to be good ones or bad ones.”  This thought comes to mind when I am confronted by bad theology from believers who have been saved 20 or even 30 years.  Most of these people should have a solid grasp of the Word and yet still know very little of the Word of God.

The Bible says in Psalm119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  I often think of this passage when confronted by those who claim to have been in the family of God for years but know little about Him.  If the apostle Paul and the other New Testament writers are right (and I personally believe that they are) then we have a must need to know the Word and the Christ of the Word.  We find in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3, “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: (3) Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.”  We also find in Hebrews 10:15-16, “Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, (16) This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them”

The real question then becomes, “Do we follow the Bible and what Christ said or do we sit back and celebrate our new level of Mediocrity?”

More to come…

How did we reach this level of Mediocrity?

I accepted Christ as my Saviour 42 years ago and some 35 plus of those years I have been in some capacity of ministry full and part time.  I have seen the church go through many changes during this time, some good and some not so good.  There have been many service opportunities that have been addressed and some have gone by the wayside.  I have watched church leader’s rise and have witnessed the fall of some as well.  All of this happens because the church is a living entity.  The Bible which contains our directives is a living and breathing book.  The God that we serve is alive and quite active in the lives of every one of His followers.  The Holy Spirit of God which dwells with in the hearts and lives of believers continues to show Himself active within the lives of individuals as well as the church as a whole.

Throughout these years I have not lost the hunger and desire to study and meditate on His word.  Though there were times when the fervency of my study time waned and there were days when the immediacy was not so immediate but even in the lowest of times I do not remember long periods of drought in the Word.  My normal morning routine consists of time in prayer and study before I spend time with others.  I give the Lord my attention in the morning as I am waking up and I do my best to spend time with Him in prayer before I close my eyes to sleep at night. 

My thought and direction for this post is wrapped around the thought, “What has happened to the church and her people?” I have noticed a drastic change in the hearts and minds of believers especially over the past ten to fifteen years.  The desire for spending time in His word and meditating on His Word does not seem to be much of a priority with many who are called Christian today.  The concern for the lost is still there because that is a number that is a publishable number in the weekly bulletin.  They want to know who and how many decisions for salvation there have been made and how many visitors darken the church door.  Sadly they do not seemed to be concerned about how many are darkening the back door as they leave the church looking for somewhere else to go.  There is a sure direction that is noticeable in the church today one that is directed solely toward new believer’s.  This theme is not denominational specific and can be found in a variety of churches.  This theme is the message that studying the Word of God is not important nor is it really important that we spend time reading the Word either.  This my friend is not the message of the God of Heaven, it is not the message of Jesus the Son of God, nor is it a message of the Word itself.

God’s desire for all men is to have a relationship with His Son Jesus.  If we in turn surrender to His call and accept Christ as Saviour then the second desire of God for man is put into place which is that we become like Jesus.  He want us to emulate Christ, He want us to be like the early believers.  Acts 11:26, “And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch.  And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people.  And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”  Here in this passage we find the calling and direction of the church, they found others, bought them to the church, they taught them the Word which resulted in an amazing transformation.  We find that instead of being called “Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians” (Acts 2:9-11), or where ever they came from.  We find that they were all “Called Christians,” because they had spent time with Christ, because they spent time with other believers and most importantly because they were “taught”. They did not adopt the name because it was cool; they were given the name because the people of Antioch could tell that they had spent time with Jesus.

 

So, how much of the Scriptures are we as believers supposed to involve ourselves with?  We do find in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  All Scripture is given and profitable for all good works.  So without too much presupposition I think I can say that as a believer I should try to grasp all of the Scriptures.  The Bible does go on to say in 2 Timothy 2:15 that we are to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  Study the Word, we are not to just read the Word.  Why is it important for the believer (every believer) to study the Word of God?  I believe that Jesus gives the best answer to this question when He said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39)

It takes more than just fellowship and community to grow a believer it takes the Word of God.  It is the responsibility of all believers and not just the pastor to study the Word.  We see here in Acts 17:10-11, “And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. (11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”  This passage does not just single out the pastor and elders, it is referring to “the Bereans” all the believers in Berea as a whole, these people were praised because they studied the Scriptures. 

The real question then becomes, “Do we follow the Bible and what Christ said or do we sit back and celebrate our new level of Mediocrity?”

More to come…