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A man stood on the hill overlooking the city before him. He’d been there today, but no one knew it. He’d done what he’d always done when he came to a new city . . . he went to the church. He’d seen a massive building, beautiful and full of people. He smiled. Look what the church had become! He entered the building and watched dumbfounded as people hurried about, trying to make contact with everyone they saw. Others sat at tables and drank a variety of drinks served at a café near the entrance to the sanctuary. There didn’t seem to be a sacredness to their attitude here. Instead, It was so casual and yet, so busy. Conversation in general had nothing to with God, the Bible or church. People talked of work, politics, and more. When the service started, he’d expected praise and worship in a manner that showed devotion and adoration for a Holy God. He’d expected a man of God to open the Bible and preach truth to the people who listened and followed along in their own bibles. Instead, he’d seen and heard something utterly different. Music, if one could call it that, blared loudly as the congregation jumped and danced around, caught up in something he couldn’t understand. No reverence, no awe for God who’d given His only Son to save them from eternity without Him. The scene before him was only chaos and confusion. What was worse, when it came time for the pastor to speak, there was no opening of God’s Word. There was no shepherding the flock and teaching the Holy Scriptures. There was an interview with some local celebrity, a conversation about how one could be successful and they finished up their “talk” with how Jesus wanted everyone to be happy. The man felt sick. He was deeply saddened at the lack of devotion to the Almighty. He was appalled at what was labelled worship and at the man who called himself “pastor.” Mostly, he was anguished at the lack of truth and teaching to a flock that so desperately needed to hear it. He’d wept as he left the so-called church, turning as he did to make sure he hadn’t walked into a bar, a rock concert or some other event. But the large illuminated cross on the roof of the church told him he hadn’t. He’d walked after that, praying and weeping, asking God what had happened to the church they started? His letters hadn’t been heeded. The cross of Christ wasn’t proclaimed. Truth didn’t reign. God was not glorified. Was this what the church had become?
Now, standing in the dark on that hill, he wept once again, shamed at what he’d seen today.
“God in Heaven, is this what has become of your people? Is this what has become of the body of Christ?” he prayed, pain evident in his voice. The church had lost its discernment. It had lost its will to stand for Christ on the truth of the Holy Word. There was no difference between the church and the world. The church had failed to guard itself against the onslaught of ungodly teaching and ideas. What he had written to the Philippians was forgotten and now, this chance to see what the church had become had pained him deeply. As he turned he heard a noise. A young man carrying a bible walked by him, not even knowing he was there. He kneeled down at the spot where Paul had stood and began to pray for the city and for the church. Paul watched amazed. Was there still hope?
Philippians 4:7 says “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (NASB)
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