The church struggles now more than ever with finding the newest, greatest method of bringing souls to Christ. The book of Acts tells us that the believers went from house to house preaching and teaching the Word of God. For their efforts, God added souls to the church every day.
The church struggles now more than ever with finding the newest, greatest method of bringing souls to Christ. The book of Acts tells us that the believers went from house to house preaching and teaching the Word of God. For their efforts, God added souls to the church every day.
Years later, we had preachers called Circuit Riders, who traveled by horse from village to village, church to church, and house to house sharing the same word. And for their efforts, souls were added to the church.
It was simple. Tell folks about the saving power of Jesus Christ where they are at. Don’t perform a sideshow for them. Don’t waste time telling funny stories that will cause them to loosen up. Don’t try to be a mighty spiritual warrior for them. Be real and be honest in presenting Jesus. And it worked for them.
So, why won’t it work now?
Is it really that difficult to present a simple Gospel message to another person or group of people? If we are truly followers of Christ, truly believing His Word, it should be a piece of cake. But we have made it complicated.
Since the days of the Circuit Riders, the church has become preoccupied with the next best thing. As distractions have become increasingly more prevalent, we have become increasingly uninvolved in the church. Attendance has been on the decline for years. The number of active church members has declined. Holiness is eerily absent. The church sure doesn’t look like it used to.
We have pacified folks so that we can keep them coming back. We have compromised the Gospel in many ways, diluting its effects. We have removed accountability from those in leadership positions. As long as they say ‘I’m sorry’ we let them keep on doing what they do. We have programmed our churches into a place where we are so busy, we don’t have the time to just sit down and talk about Jesus with our friends and family. We don’t have time to spend in prayer for the lost. We don’t have time for our own personal devotions.
And what does all that get us? Well, I’ll tell you. We end up with a sanctuary full of people willing to sit back and watch while a few do all the work, make all the sacrifices. I’m not saying they don’t love the Lord. I believe that many, not all, are born again and on their way to heaven. They just don’t want to commit to any type of responsibilities in the church.
When the saints won’t commit to the work of Christ, they won’t be active. As a result, they skid through church life asleep. They are present, but not growing. They are present, but not involved. They are present, but not effective. They have become unaware of the potential for His Presence.
Genesis 28 tells us a story of Jacob having a dream. In that dream, the Lord spoke to Jacob and assured him that wherever he went, He would be with him. He told him how his family would be blessed and multiplied on the earth. Then Jacob woke up.
He said in Genesis 28:16 and 17 that “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” Did you see that? He did not know it. Even though he had an amazing dream, he was asleep. Then the bible says that he was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”
Jacob wasn’t being sacrilegious or disrespectful. He realized that he had been asleep when God showed up for him. That is how many folks enter, and exit, churches today; asleep. They have come to the point where ‘If the Lord shows up, great, and if He doesn’t, ‘Oh well, maybe next time.’ There is no sense of expectation. There is no urgency in doing the work of the Lord. There is no excitement to see what God is going to do next. When the Spirit of the Lord shows up, they don’t even realize it.
We have been sleeping too long and missed too much. It has been God’s desire to come and fellowship with His people. But we have been sleeping and didn’t even realize He was at the door, knocking. Well, it’s high time we wake up, look up, and get up. There’s work to be done. There are souls hanging in the balance between heaven and hell. If we don’t tell them who will?
We need to look at our assigned house of worship as Jacob did when he woke up – ‘What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate to heaven.’ Wouldn’t it be exciting if we all approached our churches with that same sense of awe this Sunday morning? It would be earth-shattering. It would be life-changing. It would be God-exalting.
Just think about it. Knowing that your church is the place where the Lord will come in and meet with you. To know that your church is the place where a drug addict can come in and have a life-changing encounter with the Spirit of God. They can be saved and set free, right there where you worship week after week.
Your church is the place where a prostitute can come in and be delivered from that life of slavery and perversion. Your church is the place where an abused wife can hear from God that she no longer has to subject herself to that bondage.
To these folks, your church is the gate of heaven, as Jacob put it. That means that while they are there, they can make reservations for heaven, on the spot. They don’t have to live another day with the fear of dying and going to hell.
But in order for that to happen, we all must wake up from our sleep, look up to the Maker of heaven and earth, get up and get busy building His Kingdom. It’s not just up to the pastor. It’s not just up to the evangelist. This responsibility belongs to each of us who claim Christ as Lord of our life. So, what are you going to do?
