The Selling Of The Christ (Part 2)

Winning The God Lottery

Why are we here?  What is the message our youth are getting from our serving God?  Are they following us to church?  What is the message that Christianity is trying to project to the world?  What is the purpose and message of the churches?  What is the message of Jesus Christ?  Was it necessary for Christ to come and die on the cross so that we could have stuff?  These questions have tormented many minds.  God forbid that his Son should suffer and die so I could ride in a new car.  Did the father send his son to die so ministers and pastors could strut around like peacocks, adorned in Gold and Silver and living of Gods people?  As one person remarked after returning from a national meeting, “It is getting harder to tell the preachers from the pimps.”

The message and collecting offerings have become two of the most important and destructive forces within the church.  There was a time when churches raised an offering for a visiting minister.  Now we raise offerings for ministers who do not have the time to visit.  Many churches support meetings and organizations that have no benefit to the community or church.  When the ones who are conducting the meetings derive the only benefit, we should become concerned.  We should question services that honor (worship) someone other than God.  I suppose there are those who say a Sheppard is supposed to fleece his flock, and then there is another message about not muzzling the Ox that pastors tend to apply to their flock.

There are messages designed to make the congregation feel guilty of some type of sin if they do not follow the defined precepts of giving.  Church members were once entrusted to give as the Lord had blessed them, now there are scriptures used to show that blessing and favors are a direct proportion to the amount of money you give.  Like the Casino Slot Machine, the more you put in the better your chances are of hitting the jackpot.  Context and perspective are being abuse in the interpretation of these scriptures and many are getting away with it.

The pastors of many churches have done their homework; they know what it takes to pack a church.  A beautiful message of prosperity, a television camera, a movie, or recording star, and an expression of financial success will fill any house.  The title is important too; it is no longer fashionable to be a Minister, Pastor, or Reverend,   Apostle, Superintendent, Bishop or Doctor tends to evoke more respect.  To be successful, the title must indicate that you are elevated above your peers.  To attract the masses, you must look the part and act the part of the upper class.  I suspect that even Jesus would have a hard time packing a church now, and John the Baptist would not even be a contender.  The final aspect of attracting a crowd is the prospect of entertainment.  In the old days, a Piano in the corner was the extent of the musical instrumentation.  Today most church choirs and praise leaders perform with a full-scale band.

Back in the ancient days, only certain churches allowed musicians and singers to perform during worship service.  The music playing and singing were spontaneous acts of praising and worshiping God.  After the service ended, there was no expectation of getting paid or special recognition.  Today things have changed.  Pastors are getting paid huge slaveries.  The musicians are paid, and angling for higher pay.  The congregation sits in awe as a group of paid performers provides the entertainment and inspirational aspects of worship...  In the midst of all of this, I wonder if God is amused.

On any given weekend, millions of people nationwide will pack the nightclubs, casinos, and concert halls in search of entertainment.  The harbor no regrets about spending money, and the weather will not be a factor in the assessment of entertainment.  Time will not play an important role, the party is better when it last all night.

On any given weekend, millions of people nationwide will pack football stadiums to be entertained.  They will pay their dues for a good seat and the weather is not a factor in the decision to attend and be entertained.  They do not expect anything tangible in return; they just want to be entertained and entertainment makes a person’s spirit feel uplifted.

On any given Sunday, millions of people will flock to churches to be entertained.  A timely procession of the worship elements is important, the preacher preaches a message of prosperity and they will be entertained.  They will pay their dues because God loves a cheerful giver.  The more they give to God the more they can expect to get back.  The weather will play an important role in the decision to attend and be entertained.  Moreover, there is an expectation of a blessing for attending the service.  

It seems the difference between these two events is what makes one an act of fun and folly, and the other a sacred service. 

Where are the fire and brimstone messages?  The word ‘repent’ is rarely used in sermons.  The Kingdom of Heaven is about enjoying yourself here on earth.   Serving God is about getting what you want from God.  Walking in God’s favor is a new pair of shoes.  To speak of the ‘fear’ of God is taboo, because when we die we are all going to heaven where all of the rock stars assemble and sing in the heavenly choir.
  

The pastors and members of many churches are praying for God to do things he did not come to do.  They do not hesitate to ask God to go to the hospitals.  Some even pray for him to unlock the jail cells or to bring peace in a world of confusion.  We are always telling God to bless us with the blessing we are ‘standing’ in need of.  I remember a person praying for God to get in the gas tank of his car.  If God were to do, what church folks asked him to do what a wonderful world we would have?  Then again, if church folks did what God has already empowered them to do, what a wonderful world we would have.

Think about this, if God were to answer all of the Christian’s prayers, then all Christians would be rich and lazy and all sinners would be poor and hard working.  Christians would live forever and sinners would die young.  Then sinners would look at the Christians and say.  “That’s what I want” Soon there would be no sinners.  The churches would be filled with people serving and praising God for the stuff that they are getting, and not because they love God. 

At many churches, after the preachers have preached, there is a call for those who are sick or just need prayer.  Most of us will admit that we all need prayer, but this act, this request which once was an act of reverence has now  been turned into an act of bad showmanship by some.  Many of these after message prayers are spirit filled, and God has worked wonders through these services.  It is the copycat bad actors who have given this type of service a bad name.  They use this prayer service to extend a dull message thirty extra minutes by whooping and howling for God to work a wonder.  Maybe we should be begging God not to abandon us.  In my search for and a closer walk with God, I realized there was nothing I needed to ask God for in this natural world.  He already had provided it.  What do the birds and the lilacs of the field need?  I needed to praise him for what he has already done for me and ask him to manifest himself more through the fruit of the spirit. 

That old Satan has found a way to discredit the works of God using bad actors and copycat actors.  Works that once was contributed to, “an act of God” is now nothing more than, “The Power of Positive Thinking.”  Cancer that disappeared is now nothing more than a misdiagnose by the doctor.  The preacher who stands in the pulpit and speaks with great authority, “God if you will heal them and give them the desire of their hearts they will they will forever be pleased, and serve you all of their days.”  In the language of the street, this is “pimping God.” 

A minister once planned to perform the miracle of walking on the water at an outdoor baptism.  He spent many hours in the dark of the night setting up the props while being observed by a local moonshiner.  When he was satisfied with his setup, he left the area and the moonshiner tampered with the setup.  The next day, in the heat of his fiery message, he began to rise from the water as he careful navigated the steps that were hidden from everyone’s view.  As soon as he set foot on the Plexiglas stage, the whole thing came crashing down.  Quick thinking and action by the Deacon Brothers saved the minister from a watery grave.  Is this what God is all about? 

There are many testimonies of how God healed a headache, is this an accurate representation of God at work?  The use of television to perpetrate fraud in God name was enough to cause God to turn his head.  Church services are not complete without asking God to heal someone.  Many times, the same person who stood last Sunday is standing this Sunday.  How do we interpret the healing virtue of God?  Jesus performed miracles, but he did not stand on the mountain and ask the Father to heal the world.   Does serving God come with the expectation of healing?  Are we guilty of abusing the word and power of God?  Have we made a joke of our Father’s purpose?  These are questions we should ask God through prayer and contemplation, and not be a shame to testify of the answers.

When I was a young boy, a preacher came to town.  He had a different style of preaching.  We called him a teacher because he did not whoop and holler.  He asked for and received permission to conduct revival services in the local churches.  This young man taught the scripture like none here had heard it taught.  He would conduct healing services where he would lay hands on people and pray for them.  Many people received their healing, and because of the wonders God worked thru him, many people were converted.  Thus began the proliferation of the ‘laying on of hands’ ministry.  If I could speak of God as a mortal, I would say it was confusing to him at the number of people asking him to do this and that and did not believe in what they were asking.  Some perpetrated fraud in Jesus’ name by selling handkerchiefs and the use of bloody chicken parts.  I can now understand what Jesus meant when said, “You call me Lord, but you do not the things I say.”  “You honor me with your lips, but your Heart is far from me.”  There are those who talk about God but they do not know God.  

A Sister in a local church testified that she had laid hands on a dead person and the dead person came back alive.  We never saw or heard from the person, but the church community was impressed.  She began to conduct prayer services in people’s homes, and soon she had a great number of women following her.  They called themselves God’s Prayer Warriors and she was their leader.  One by one, these women began to testify of how God had worked a miracle thru them and raised a person from the dead.  Again, there was no confirmation of these miracles, only a testimony that evoked an awed response within the local churches and communities.  These were Godly women and nobody was going to call them liars.

Continued in part #3