We Need Another Pentecost by Leonard Ravenhill

The following is an excerpt from Mr Ravenhill's book, SODOM HAD NO BIBLE.

  Sodom had no churches, We have thousands. Sodom had no bible. We have millions. Sodom had no preachers. We have ten thousand plus thousands. Sodom had no Bible schools. We have hundreds. Sodom had no prayer meetings. We have thousands. Sodom had no Gospel broadcasts. As a nation we are richly blessed with Gospel broadcasts. Sodom had no histories of God's judgement to warn it of danger. We have volumes of them Sodom perished in spite of all these disadvantages. America today is living only by the mercies of God. The only reason we are not smoking in the fire wrath of God is mercy....m-e-r-c-y.... prolonged mercy!

There is no hope of immediate revival until the lostness of men grips us believers like a fever and moves us to personal and church housecleaning. The church in the book of Acts did not say prayers, it prayed in the Holy Ghost; it did not write articles of faith, it acted in faith; it did not gather in groups to study psychosomatic medicine, it healed the sick

We must despise diversions. Death to self interest, self pity, self seeking and all other human frailties.  The Holy Spirit must fill and flood and flow through the heart. Only then is it possible to fulfill our high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The answer to our dilemma is not a new revelation. the answer is seeking old paths and digging out old wells. The church needs to go back to Pentecost!

A Word From The Lord by Steve Shipley

I once knew a pastor who got all his sermons from books or from the hierarchy of the denomination. As a result, there was no passion or fire in his preaching. He never got a "word from the Lord' directly. He hadn't spent days or nights in prayer seeking what God would have him preach for his congregation. He simply gave book reports week after week.

I asked him if he had ever heard from the Holy Spirit on this matter and he looked at me quite puzzled. His reply was very alarming, "No, I don't believe I've ever heard from the Holy Spirit" This pastor was honest, at least, but I'm afraid all too many ministers repeat other men's sermons and never get their message straight from the source.

In the Old Testament, we read about Moses, who went to the mountain top to speak with God. God told him what to tell the people and the people knew that he had been with God because his face shone with the glory of the Lord. The analogy is simple. We need men who have been with God, who get their message from God, and who shine with His glory. A man who has heard from the Lord Almighty will preach with a passion that will ignite his people. The Bible will come alive to the those in the pews and the guy in the pulpit alike.

When I go to church, I want to hear the Bible taught and preached, but I want to hear it from a man who has been with the Lord. Everyone would listen when that man spoke.

A Book You MUST read! by Steve Shipley

A woman excitedly told me of a book she had read that had changed her life. She wrote down the title and author on a piece of paper for me and urged me to get it and read it. " This book is a MUST read!" , she told me repeatedly.

It was a Christian book and I'm sure it had some value to it but it struck me funny at the time. Funny how we get so excited about a man's book and are so ho-hum about God's book. I mean it's His book that is really life-changing. It's the Bible that contains the words of life. I'm not finger pointing here. My bookshelves are filled with books....good books. I think the Lord was just showing me how silly we sometimes are. If we only spent as much time reading His book as we spent chasing after bestsellers at the Christian bookstore, we would all be a lot better off.

It's time to get back to the Bible!

As The Mountains Are Around Sung by Steve Shipley

Addicted To Success by Steve Shipley

You can't look at the bookstores best sellers without finding several on "being a success". While many in today's society, including Christians, are fixated on success, they are clueless on exactly what being a success really is. The average person will quickly tell you that success involves being rich or being famous. They will sacrifice friends, family and integrity to find their idea of success. But in the end, there is no satisfaction in this success and they long for the things they sacrificed to succeed. It may sound tripe, but the old saying is true, "the best things in life are not things."

In her book, "ASHES TO GOLD", Patti Roberts ( formally married to Oral Roberts son ) addressed the success mentality that has found it's way into the Church. She wrote:

We are a nation addicted to success, and a large segment of the Christian Church appears to have acquired an insatiable hunger for that which so characterizes our culture. If you doubt that, ask yourself how many sermons have you heard or books have you read that promise in one way or another to convey the secrets of success? Then try to remember how many you have seen or heard on the subject of holiness, building Godly character, or repentance?

If the Church adopts the world's value system and the world's method of accomplishing it's ends, then it will also acquire the world's problems.

Every vice of the secular world: drug and alcohol abuse, immorality, child abuse, sexual perversion, mismanagement of funds, can be found at every level of many Christian ministries.

To many of the Saints who have gone before us, success was being found worthy to die for the name of Christ. To others, it was walking for days in the desert to preach the Gospel to those who had not heard it. To some it was a life lived mostly on their knees. Still others found their success in ministering to the needs of the poor, the sick, or the helpless.

I wonder, by what standard, do you measure success? Do you care what man thinks of you, or what God thinks? Do you seek after money and the pleasures it can buy, or do you seek first the Kingdom of God?
Sad to say, many would imitate Donald Trump rather than the Apostle Paul. Which one do you think pleases God?

Being Good by Steve Shipley

My wife is the most upstanding, moral person that I know. For years I envied her ability to almost always make choices that were in line with God's word. Just knowing what is right is not enough. Posting the ten commandments on your living room wall is not enough. Just like the Apostle Paul struggled with wanting to do the right thing, but often failing, I had my own struggles. And there was my wife. Always in front of me...no apparent struggling, no grappling with scripture or battling in prayer. She just chose to do what was right and not to do what was wrong.

I'd ask her what her secret was and she'd give me a baffled look. She wasn't even aware that she was going through life, for the most part, doing good and refusing to do bad. Why was it that I had to fight so hard to achieve what she found so easy?

I finally realized her secret one day. The desires of her heart were the same as Gods. She wanted what He wanted. My root problem was that I wanted what I wanted. I had desires that were mine alone, very different from the Lords. All I had to do was adopt the desires of God's heart and give up my own and the right choices in life would follow.

Perhaps to some of you, this is no big revelation, but to me it was lifechanging. When I could see God's love for the sinner, sharing my faith not only became easy, but essential. When I felt the Lord's heart break over sin, I became broken and lost any desire to hurt Him or myself that way anymore.

Someone once said, "the national anthem of hell is, ' I Did It My Way', and isn't that the truth. My logic, my carnal mind will only lead to death. I guess that's what the Bible means when it tells us to "take on the mind of Christ." God doesn't want us to DO good, He wants us to BE good.

Power From On High by Steve Shipley

(C) 2013 by Steve Shipley

The Great Adventure by Steve Shipley

"Saddle up your horses, we've got a trail to blaze. Through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace. Let's follow our leader into the glorious unknown. This is life like no other, oh this is the GREAT ADVENTURE."



If you're a Steven Curtis Chapman fan, then you know that the above quote is from an older song of his called, "The Great Adventure". Many times I sang along with Mr. Chapman and tapped my toes to this snappy little tune, never fully realizing the importance of what he was saying. When it comes to spiritual truths, head knowledge won't get you very far; in fact, that can only lead to "religion", and rarely to God. It's when a Biblical truth gets down in your inner man ( sometimes referred to as your heart or spirit ) that it blossoms and the Holy Spirit opens it up to you like never before.



Well, that is in fact, what happened to me as the Spirit of God revealed to me all about the "Great Adventure" that I was on. This new revelation totally revolutionized my life as a Christian and my daily walk with God. Now I arise each morning with tremendous anticipation as I ask the Lord, "What are we going to do today, where are we going to go, who are we going to see?"



You see, it all began with simple deliberate acts of kindness to those around me. Helping an older person with a door or carrying their packages. Soon He had me praying for strangers I would see at the mall or on the street; the man with the limp, the mom struggling with her children, or the cashier who was having a bad day. Everywhere I went, I was actually looking for opportunities to help others and show them God's love.



I asked the Lord one day, "What good are all these things? They are so small in the grand scheme of it all. I didn't want to just say a kind word to the grouchy lady ahead of me at the supermarket, but I wanted to tell her the whole Gospel right know and get her saved, After all, that's what she really needed. That was the bottom line. The Lord showed me that I'm just one part of the body of Christ, and if every member would do his or her part, then that grouchy old lady and many others would respond to the Gospel and His saving grace.



Matthew 10:42 says, "Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water....he shall in no wise lose his reward." there are some Christians who think their life doesn't amount to much because they haven't done what Mother Theresa or Billy Graham has done. But everyone can give a thirsty person a cup of cold water, can't they?

Some of us spend so much time lamenting over the things we haven't done for the Lord that we miss the little things He's asking us to do everyday. You don't have to build a huge ministry, you just need to get involved in the "Cup of Cold Water Ministry". You don't have to lead everyone you meet to Christ, just plant a seed. In 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, Paul says, "I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase....and every man shall receive his own reward according to his labor." What a great burden was lifted from my shoulders when I learned that I don't have to do everything, I only have to do something. And it needs to be deliberate. Go out of your way to give that cup of cold water. Go where the thirsty people are. Look for the tired, the poor, the hurting. You don't have to look far, because they are all around you.

When I look back on how I came to the Lord, I can clearly see that it wasn't one event or one person that brought me to Jesus. Rather, it was a series of events and several different people that God brought across my path that paved the way to me accepting God's plan of salvation. You see, your kind word to a stranger may be the beginning of that person's road to the Savior. If you look at this concept in reverse, it's very eye opening. Perhaps your indifference or harsh words my send an individual down another path....one that leads to death!

For me, and I pray for you as well, the adventure begins anew every morning, the Lord and I, ready to blaze new trails. Life as a Christians is not boring! Today, He and I will meet someone new, we will touch a hurting soul in a whole new way. He's teaching me to be creative in my "Cup Of Cold Water Ministry". The Church my be your watering hole, but the great adventure lies outside the church walls. Step out of your comfort zone, step out in faith and in love...."This is a life like no other, O this is the great adventure!"

The Dead Have No Rights! by Keith Green

Have you ever heard of a dead person calling from the grave for a lawyer to sue someone for violating his rights? See, the dead have no rights. What do you think Paul meant when he said, "For you died, and your life is now hidden in Christ in God." ( Col. 3:3 ) He wasn't talking about a theory or a nice metaphor. He meant that at the point of real salvation, you were nailed to the cross with Jesus. You go down to the grave and a new life, God's life, is born in you.

It's easy to give up your wrongs, but it is much more difficult to give up your rights.

Have you died with Christ? Or are you trying to live with Him at the same time you're trying to accommodate your own desires? The Holy Spirit doesn't want the flesh for a roommate. The problem with most of us is that we want a spiritual crown, yet we also want to avoid the cross that must come first. There are a lot of teachings out there that appeal to our flesh. They avoid sacrifice. They do not challenge us to give Jesus total control of our lives. They do not lead to salvation.

Paul wrote to Timothy, "Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him." The word "if" is the crucial part. People who follow the wrong Gospel want to make the "ifs" invisible.

Our Daily Bread by Steve Shipley

Give us this day our daily bread.

This is the only sentence in the Lord's prayer where any material blessing is requested and THEN it is confined to the simple need of food. In Proverbs 30, we read about a man who understood this kind of supplication long before Jesus instructed us to pray in this manner. His name was Agur.

He said to God, "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread." It's funny, but I don't hear that kind of praying today. The majority of prayers is asking for stuff. James talked about this type of prayer:

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Agur, who thought himself to have little wisdom, was indeed much wiser than those who spout prayers of greed today, for he added to his prayer, "Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, Who is the Lord? Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

truly we should only pray for today's provision, and not for more than we need. Then each mornings sunrise will bring a renewed trust in the Lord.

More Thoughts On The Seeker Friendly Church by Steve Shipley

There is a church in southern California that advertises it's services as "God's Country Goodtime Hour", complete with a "boots and Levis" wearing pastor and line dancing for the congregation. They also had a professional wrestler train the pastoral staff so they could put on a wrestling match during a Sunday morning service.

Another church, elsewhere, has an ad that reads, "This ain't your mama's church! Sunday services limited to 45 minutes. Our goal is to make you happy. Come casual. Football updates!" And closer to my home, a Perrysburg, Ohio church bills itself this way, "Six huge video screens, a rock and roll band, and sermons relevant to today's needs."

The above is becoming the norm in so called "evangelical circles" as church leadership is willing to do almost anything to fill their pews AND their pockets. They call themselves "seeker friendly" when in reality they are simply "sinner friendly". They preach watered down sermons from watered down versions of the Bible and the emphasis of their meetings is on comfort and entertainment. Their goal is to make the Gospel as inoffensive and as fun as possible. No preaching on the cross of Christ, His precious atoning blood, or sin, or repentance, or hell.

This new "purpose driven rather than Spirit led" church makes every effort NOT to offend anyone. Sorry folks, but the Gospel IS offensive It makes a sinner feel uncomfortable. That is how a lost soul will see his need for a Savior. Only then will he truly repent and find genuine salvation. The seeker sensitive pastor pedals a "touchy-feely" religion that costs the sinner nothing, when Jesus clearly taught that following Him would cost you everything.

For years I have been praying for revival in the Church, but as of late, I've started to pray for reformation instead. Dear Lord, give us a Martin Luther or a John Wesley who will expose the false teachings that have infiltrated our church. Send your Holy Spirit in a heavenly wave of fire that will bring us once again to our knees. Lord Jesus, reform your church!

A. W. Tozer wrote, "If revival is ,more of what we are already doing, the Evangelicalism most definitely does not need revival."

Why I believe the King James Bible! by Pastor Charles Lawson

The Cross Of Christ by Steve Shipley

The greatest need of the church today is to return to the message of the cross of Jesus Christ! True spiritual power comes from really knowing what Christ accomplished for us at the cross. That's where the "tossing to and fro by every wind of doctrine"  is eliminated. The cross spells death to all things of less importance. The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 6:14, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Jesus Christ."

In today's pulpits we hear everything but the message of the cross. Sermons on human psychology, self improvement, self worth, prosperity,  tolerance and social issues. But, my friend, those things do not make up the glorious Gospel that our Lord commanded us to preach to all nations. Paul stated in I Cor. 1:17, "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel; not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of it's power." The modern church message abounds with "human wisdom", thus allowing the cross to be"emptied of it's power".  That is why many Christians are living a "powerless" life, easily deceived by false teachers and easy prey for the fiery darts of Satan.

The cross of Christ was not a place of defeat, but rather, the greatest victory in all of history! It is the foundation of our faith. Jesus not only paid the sin debt in our stead, but all the precious promises of the Bible were made good 2000 years ago when Jesus said, "It is finished." The 21st century church has removed the cross from it's decor and it's sermons, for fear that it may offend someone. Listen closely, friend; the cross will always be an offence to the unbeliever, but when it becomes offensive to the Christian and to the church, apostasy is not far behind!  You see, the cross is not only a reminder of what Christ did for us, but also the secret of the victorious Christian walk. The same rugged, blood stained cross that saved us is the same cross that will uphold us now. Jesus died upon that cross before he rose from the grave, and we too, must die to self, before we can walk in the 'n
ewness of life".

Dying to self and picking up your cross is not a popular message. It is one of the hardest lessons we must learn. No one likes to die, but you cannot live for Christ until you die to self.  It is no wonder that the cross is avoided or completely removed from the modern day church. Death is not a pretty or popular subject. C.S. Lewis said in his book "Mere Christianity" , "Jesus does not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. He does not want to cut off a branch here and there, but to have the whole tree down."

In these last days, the cross of Christ will be the dividing line between true believers and "false prophets". Lets us who are faithful live out the words of the old hymn; "The cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back".

"I resolved to know nothing while I was with you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified."    I Cor. 2:2

The One True God! by Steve Shipley

The One True God!

I read somewhere that "one knows when he has created a false god, when your own enemies are God's enemies". Rather than completely accept the God that is presented to us in the Bible, we attempt to create or at least reconstruct God in our own image. We each carry around a box that we try to fit God into. Every box is of a different size and shape. The size and shape is one of our own design and built around our own beliefs. There are even some who skip the box altogether and try to fit God into their front pocket!

Through the years, man has formed lifeless statues with his own little hands and said, "Here is God." Still others have built great cathedrals or vast religious organizations and deified them. O, can't they see that we are not God's creator, but He is ours!

Won't we be surprised when we meet Him face to face and realize He's way too big and far too awesome to fit into any box that anyone of us may have. God has been and always will be the God of the Bible and all the wishful thinking or philosophical, hocus pocus religion will not change that fact.

Throw out all your preconceptions about our creator, and especially the ones from Hollywood. You will find the true God in the pages of the Holy Bible. It is here that He reveals His true character and nature. If you can accept the one true God as presented in the Bible, you have a solid foundation in which to build your faith, salvation, and redemption.

Whatever Happened To Sin? by Steve Shipley

Back in the 80's, Christian musician, Steve Taylor, asked the question in one of his songs, "What ever happened to sin?" I'm sure he's still asking the question today. The politically correct churches of our "enlightened" age no longer mention sin or it's consequences. To even imply that an individual is a sinner is offensive and may cause people to leave the church along with their wallets. In previous centuries, men of God cared little for the feelings of men and even less for their gold, but instead longed for their souls. And to win souls for Christ, the unadulterated Gospel must be preached, sin must be exposed, and genuine repentance must be found in the heart.

In the beginning years of our country's birth, A small man with a small voice, preached a resounding message of truth that left the unconverted naked and bare, many running to Jesus' arms and others running away. But rest assured, there were no tares in Jonathan Edward's wheat field. No one sat on the fence, and no one thought for a minute that he might be saved on Sunday and sneak around with the devil on Monday. The following is an excerpt from Edward's sermon entitled, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."

O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in; it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the dammed in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you have ever done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to save you one moment.
It is everlasting wrath. it would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity.There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict, sober and religious, they may otherwise be.
And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying in a loud voice to poor sinners. Let everyone that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over the pit of hell, now hearken to the loud calls of God's word and providence. This acceptable year of the Lord, a day of great favor to some, will doubtless be a day of remarkable vengeance to others. Men's hearts harden and their guilt increases apace at such a day as this., it they neglect their souls; and never was there such great danger of such persons being given up to hardness of heart and blindness of men.
If this should be the case with you, you will eternally curse this day, and curse the day you were ever born, to see such a season of the pouring out of God's Spirit, and will wish you had died and gone to hell before you had seen it.
Therefore, let everyone of you that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath that is to come.

Precious Lord, raise up men and women who will preach the true Gospel like Jonathan Edwards.

People who are not afraid to offend in order to save.

No Pain, No Gain by Steve Shipley

It is human nature for us to do all we can to avoid suffering. After all, pain is not pleasant. Body builders coined the phrase, "no pain, no gain", and that's why we have so few body builders. If it was easy and "painless" then it would be rare to see an overweight or out of shape person.

Christianity could easily adopt the "no pain, no gain" mantra, because there's a lot of truth to that in our spiritual lives. To grow up in Christ, you will experience growing pains. Jesus said it so clearly, "Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me." Self denial is no fun and cross carrying is even worse. David Wilkerson had this to say about the subject:

"Christians want an escape from pain and suffering! We want our troubles to vanish. And we are so caught up in our escape from pain, we lose the true meaning of the cross. We refuse crosses and losses- no Gethsemane for us! No nights of agony! We don't even know this suffering, bleeding, resurrected Christ!

We want His healing power. We want His promises of prosperity. We want His protection. We want more of this world's goods. We want His happiness. But we really don't want Him alone!

The Church once confessed it's sins- now it confesses it's rights. What if---instead of our beautiful homes and cars, we had to wander about in sheepskins, hiding in dens and caves? No healing. No success. No prosperity. No worldly blessings. No miracles, signs and wonders. How many of us would serve Him if He offered nothing but Himself?"

That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." Phil. 3:10

No pain, No gain.

Where Have All The Bereans Gone? by Steve Shipley

All the devil has to do to deceive most Christians is sprinkle a little of truth on his big fat lies. They flock to the preachers who tickle their ears, buy their tapes and books, never questioning their questionable doctrines. The Christian bookstores are lined with books that have Christian themes but are lacking in Biblical truth, and the authors are laughing all the way to the bank. All the while, God's book lies on the shelf, untouched.

I was in discussion with one believer about the false teaching by Rick Warren in his book, "Purpose Driven Life", and she said to me, "Yes, but it has some good stuff in it." Is this our new standard for accepting someone's doctrine, that it contains "some" truth? It is no wonder that many of God's children are being led astray.

Acts 17:11 tells of another kind of believer, one that was not so easily taken in by error: "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 be so." These were the Bereans. The "things" that they were researching with scripture was the teaching of Paul and Silas. How much more should we scrutinize modern day teachers.

There are still a few watchmen in the church, a few Bereans that study the scriptures and expose false teaching, but not nearly enough. The wolves don't even need to put on sheep's clothing these days to fool the flock.

My question today is: "Where have all the Bereans gone?"

Even The Rocks Will Praise Him by Steve Shipley

(C) 2013 by Steve Shipley

Digging Up Wells by Steve Shipley

Genesis 26: 15-18 gives us the account of how Isaac dug up the wells of his father, Abraham, that had been clogged with earth by the Philistines. As his servants unstopped each well, they found springs of water.

Modern day Philistines have infiltrated the Church and clogged up the faith of our fathers with all kinds of dirt; humanism, psychology, easy believism, self centered health/wealth message, and a watered down seeker ( sinner ) friendly gospel. Lost deep beneath this mess are springs of living water and the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, where the Holy Spirit still calls men to repentance and to the cross of Christ!

So where are the Isaacs of today? Where are men and women of God who will say "NO" to the compromise we are seeing in most churches across this nation? John the Baptist would not be allowed in today's pulpits. For that matter, neither would Peter, James, John, or Paul. They've already replaced the King James version of the Bible in most churches with newer, watered down translations, because the KJV is too offensive and harsh!

Sure, these new churches are full, but full of what? Clogged up with dirt!

At one church I attended, the Pastor told me that I needed to get in touch with my feminine side. At another, they gave a call for salvation, but never mentioned anything about repentance or the cross of Jesus. I've heard countless sermons filled with psychology ( a humanistic religion ), lightly peppered with scripture ( usually taken out of context ) and nary a mention of the precious atoning blood of our Savior!

If Martin Luther were here today, he would have to nail 95 more thesis to the doors of our "purpose driven" assemblies! Billy Sunday would still preach from a tent, because his "fire and brimstone" words are outdated and may hurt someone's feelings.

The Christian bookstores are filled with dirt. Christian television is filled with dirt. Churches are filled with dirt. We need somebody with a big shovel, or maybe even a bulldozer to dig up the dirt and reveal the "faith of our fathers".

The God of Isaac is still on the throne, but where are the Isaacs of God?

Are You Hungry? by Steve Shipley

For about a year I attended a church where exactly the same thing would happen every Sunday. Perhaps you know what I am talking about. Perhaps you're in such a church right now.

We would be greeted at the door with a smile and a program. Shortly after taking our seat, the band would begin it's 30 minute show. I say "show" because the musicians were skilled enough and the songs were nice, but true praise and worship wasn't evident. O, a few would try, but it became an exercise in futility. The pastor wasn't even present for this "worship time" and those on stage seemed bored with the whole matter.

After the music came a short break for coffee and donuts. This appeared to be the favorite part of the Sunday morning ritual to most attending. Then the pastor came in with his weekly message. Nice words....funny jokes, but even he seemed disinterested in what he was saying. He used a scripture or two to try to support some philosophical concept (yawn) and then ended with a short prayer and out the door everyone went, not any different than when they arrived. God didn't show up for the service......No one noticed His absence, nor did they really care. The people were becoming very adept at having church without any help at all from the Lord. Everyone was comfortable.

In Psalm 69 we read, "the zeal of God's house has consumed me". This is what is missing in most churches today. A "zeal" and a "hunger" for God. A fervent zeal for His house. An old preacher once said, "If you are not hungry for God, then you are backslidden".

Do you have a hunger that can only be satisfied by God? I believe that He is longing for those who long for Him. He is waiting for a few hungry people to get together and seek His face until the Real Deal walks through the door. These folks are not ashamed of the Holy Spirit. They don't seek the approval of men, they seek an audience with the King!

The Psalmist said, "my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God". A. W. Tozer wrote about this in a book called, "The Pursuit Of God". In that book, he wrote, "To have found God and still pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love, justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart".

My friends, the secret is not in attracting men to church. No, it is in attracting the Holy Presence of the living God to our assemblies. If God shows up on Sunday morning, we won't have to attract men.....He will.

Seeker Friendly Church--Part Two by Steve Shipley

The "new" churches, who are following the "purpose driven" or the "seeker sensitive" models are quite popular. In fact many of these churches boast congregations in the thousands, but some of the worst ideas in human history have been numerically successful. As an old preacher used to say, "A hundred pound man is big, but he isn't healthy." More important, the Bible says, "Wide is the gate that leads to destruction."

The very church that the worlds likes best is sure to be the one that God abhors.
C. S. Spurgeon

Unfortunately the church largely accepts every fad that comes along. In Galations, Paul called these so-called "new" teachings, "another Gospel". This new gospel is said to be for a new age, an enlightened age. It is made harmless be removing sin, repentance, holiness, the cross, the blood, and hell. It places man's felt needs at the center instead of Jesus. It appeals to the desires of the flesh for that is the only thing that mankind truly seeks after.
With it's watered down Gospel, it lulls men into a false sense of salvation simply because they repeated an inoffensive prayer to receive Christ into their life ( kind of like they're doing Him a favor ). Then they are free to do as they wish as long as they continue to tithe. Sounds very much like the devil is re-inventing Catholicism.
Rick Warren"s "Purpose Driven" books are another gospel. The "Willow Creek" movement sponsored by the Southern Baptist Church is another gospel. John Wimber cleverly disguised another gospel in the popular "Vineyard" churches. Thousands of others have bought into the deception and thrown out God's ways in favor of man's ways. The lead singer of U2, Bono said, "Religion, to me, is almost like when God leaves and people devise a set of rules to fill the space."
The new philosophy of this kind may be sincere but it's sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross. God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. A. W. Tozer
If you are involved in this new church movement, I will be hard pressed to convince you of the error you have stumbled upon. The difficulty herein lies:
The problem with the deceived is they are deceived. They don't know that they don't know. They have been delivered a piece of pie that is quite tasty so they never notice the poison that lies inside each bite. Remember, error rides in on the back of truth. That is why the Bible has instructed us to search the Scriptures to see if these things be so.
There are many devices in a man's heart; nonetheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. Proverbs 19:21
For further reading on this subject:http://www.gracebible.org/seekersensitive/seeker.htm
http://www.eternallifeministries.org/jm_ssm.htm

Seeker Friendly Church by Steve Shipley

Throughout history, Christians have tried every method known to man to accomplish God's work. But, my friends, God does not need our plans to accomplish His will. He only requires us to be an empty vessel through which the Holy Spirit can work. The Lord wants men and women who are dead to themselves and alive unto God. Too many of us are making the plans and asking God to bless them rather than asking God what the plans are.

This, to a large degree is what is happening in today's church. In order to win souls and advance the Kingdom of God, many church leaders are throwing out the Lord's plan found in the Bible and in it's place they are inserting what they perceive to be a new and better way. This new movement has many names: "the purpose driven church", "the seeker sensitive church", "the church growth movement" and others, but they are all presenting "another Gospel" that the Apostle Paul warned us about in Scripture.

This "new" type of church waters down many doctrines of the Bible and downright omits others in an effort to NOT offend the unbeliever who may walk into a church service. Entire Sunday services are now centered around the "seeker". Their comfort and feelings are paramount. A "lite" Gospel is preached, an entertaining show is presented and gourmet coffee is served.

This purpose driven, seeker friendly church no longer preaches on sin, the cross, the blood of Jesus, repentance, the devil, or hell. Instead we hear nice inoffensive sermons about how God loves you and accepts you just the way you are, therefore you should love and accept yourself and other psychological tripe. You will see a great deal of the adulation of man and very little of the true worship of God. You will be entertained, but not enlightened, pacified but never convicted, and coddled but not changed.

Alas, the entire "seeker friendly" concept is based on a false premise; one that takes for granted that there are some who seek the Lord. But Romans 3:11 says, "there is none that seeketh after God." Only the Holy Spirit can draw a man to Christ and He's been kicked out of the new church. There's no room for Him in the new order. He's just a relic from the past.
This new church is ashamed of the Holy Spirit and His gifts; afraid that He may offend a visitor.

They have forgotten that the gathering of the saints on Lord's day is to glory in His presence and allow Him to do His work. They now think, with their 21st century knowledge, that they can do a better job than Him.

C.S. Spurgeon wrote:
"Certain ministers are treacherously betraying our holy religion under the pretense of adapting it to this present age. The new plan is to assimilate the church to the world by semi-dramatic performances and make the house of prayer like the theater. They turn their services into musical displays, in fact, they exchange the temple for the theater, and turn ministers of God into actors whose whole business is to amuse men. This then is their proposal. In order to win the world, the Lord Jesus must conform Himself, His people, and His Word to the world. I will not dwell on so loathsome a proposal.
My dear hearers, how I long to see you saved! But I would not belie my Lord, even to win your souls., if they could be won so. The true servant of God is not responsible for success or non-success. Results are in God's hands."

More on this in my next post