Pew Warmers

A man by the name of Steve Maraboli told of a time when he was traveling back from an exhausting business trip.  He was tired, grouchy, and irritable because of the rigorous schedule he just endured.  He was not in the mood for conversation so he turned his attention to the newspaper to catch up on the events of the world.  It seemed like nearly every page was full of stories about injustice, pain, suffering, and people losing hope.  Combined with tiredness and irritability, these depressing events pushed Steve to an emotional breakdown.  He retreated to the bathroom where he gave in to his emotions.

With tears flowing down his face, he looked up and began questioning God, “God, look at this mess.  Look at all this pain and suffering.  Look at all this killing and hate.  God, how could you let this happen?  Why don’t you do something?”  Then something strange happened.  As he was weeping and questioned God, he looked forward and saw himself in the mirror.  Just then he realized the answer to his own questions and said to himself, “Steve, stop asking God to do something.  God already did something; He gave you life.  Now YOU do something!” (Steve Maraboli. Life, the Truth, and Being Free).

For far too long many Christians and congregations, probably more than we would like to admit, have been characterized by spiritual apathy and evangelistic laziness.  The old saying still seems to be accurate, “Eighty percent of the work in a congregation is done by twenty percent of the people.”  Surely this varies from Christian to Christian and congregation to congregation, but the underlying principal is true.  Many Christians do very little, if any, work for the Lord and with the church.

On Sunday mornings many warm the pews and sing, “To the work!  To the work!”  Those in the assemblies mouth the words, “I want to be a worker for the Lord…I want to sing and pray, and be busy every day.”  We sing these words, but do we actually want to be workers for the Lord?  Do we actually want to be busy doing things for God every day?  Hopefully we really mean the words we are offering up to God in worship.

Scripture places a heavy emphasis on being active for the Lord.  It praises the workers and condemns the lazy (Proverbs 12:11; 14:23; James 2:14-26).  It honors the zealous and shows detest for the lukewarm (Matthew 22:37; Revelation 3:15-16).  It details numerous ways for followers to be active and busy for God (Teaching, preaching, evangelism, hospitality, encouragement, service, giving, etc).  The Lord is clear about the expectations for His followers.  So, what are we doing for Him?

The points stated above might have come across harsh and piercing.  The goal was not to be insulting or ugly but to simply to point out the problem and to help light a fire under us all, myself included!  Our Master, the one we all dedicated our lives to, saved us from our sins (Acts 2:38).  He sacrificed His only Son for us (John 3:16).  His Son ended up suffering an excruciating death so we could be saved (Romans 5:8-9).

God has done so much for us!  As Christians, the least we can do is be active and busy working for Him.  It’s time we do more than just warm the pews.

The Preacher With A Helicopter

The unfortunate reality of stuff is that it wears down, breaks down, and becomes old.  Take preacher I.V. Hilliard’s helicopter for example (Hilliard is the preacher for the New Light Christian Center church in Houston, TX).  Apparently he owns a helicopter and it is in need of new blades.  So, Hilliard sent out a newsletter to foster financial help from the members of his congregation.  Here are some of the things he said in the flier:

• “Do you need better transportation?  Does your car need repair or total replacement?  Do you have a dream vehicle or luxury automobile you long to purchase?  Are you trying to sell a car, truck or SUV?  If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these please carefully read the rest of this letter!  It could change your life…”
• “We have an urgent transportation need [the helicopter] that the Lord said can be an opportunity for you to see His favor and His wisdom released to help you.  Scripture teaches when you give to a Kingdom need God will raise up someone to use their power, their ability and their influence to help you.”
• “…I heard that still small voice of the Holy Spirit say tell your special partners who have special transportation needs and their obedience will release favor for their needs and desires.”
• “Send me the transportation need or dream you have by completing the online petition when you sow a $52.00 transportation favor seed believing in 52 days or 52 weeks you will experience breakthrough favor!”

(See The Full Flier Here) 

To put is simply, Hilliard wants people to pay for new helicopter blades.  He then gives a “divine promise” that those who contribute will experience a miraculous gift from God for their own transportation needs in the near future. This situation is wrong on so many levels. 

First, and most importantly, I.V. Hilliard is not a prophet nor did the Holy Spirit give him a message to give to his congregation.  Zechariah 13:2 talks about a time when the Lord would “remove the prophets…from the land.”  The time when this took place was during the time of the apostles.  1 Corinthians 13:8 further supports this point.  God no longer speaks directly to people nor asks them to communicate a “special message.”  Every single piece of information we need for life and godliness and everything God wants us to preach to others already been revealed in the Bible (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).  Therefore, what Hilliard is claiming is false.

Secondly, Hilliard demonstrates an obvious love for money and material possessions.  He not only owns the $1 million helicopter, but he also owns a $2 million private jet, a $3 million hanger, and apparently lives in a very luxuriously home.  Scripture clearly condemns the love of money and materialism (Matthew 6:24; 1 Timothy 6:10; Matthew 16:26).  To sour the situation even more, Hilliard is telling others that by giving money to him, God will bring riches and possessions upon them as well.  Why would God ever want to spawn more love for money and material possessions in arguably the wealthiest nation in the world?  Hilliard’s claims are simply a contradiction to God’s teachings on money and material possessions.

No matter how much God blesses us financially in this life, let’s always remember to keep our earthly treasures in the proper place.  As Jesus clearly stated, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20-21).

The Fans That Missed the Victory

It was game six of the NBA finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat.  The Heat were playing at home and the Spurs were leading the series 3-2, meaning one more win would crown them as the 2013 NBA champions.  With 28 seconds left in the game, a spurs player stole a pass and got fouled at the other end.  After shooting the free throws the spurs had a 5-point lead, typically enough to secure the win.  This deficit was enough for thousands of fans to throw in the towel and try to beat the traffic.

Almost as soon as the fans stepped out of the arena, the Miami Heat sparked an amazing comeback.  With only seconds to go, the Heat dropped an incredible 3-point shot to tie the game and send it to overtime.  Meanwhile, the fans that left quickly caught wind of what was happening inside and tired to get back to their seats.  These fans were met with a team of security guards and the hard and fast rule marked with big read letters, “No re-entry allowed.”

The Heat went on to win the game 103-100 in overtime.  Players, coaches, and broadcasters all shared the view that this was one of the greatest and most exciting games.  As for the fans that decided to leave early, they missed this great victory.

In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus told a parable with surprising parallels to this game.  The parable is about ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of the virgins came prepared with enough oil and five did not.  The virgins who did not have enough oil had to leave early to go buy more.  While they were gone, the bridegroom came and let the prepared virgins in and closed the door.  When the unprepared virgins came back they begged to get in but it was too late.  The point of the parable was to warn people to be ready for Christ’s return because

In both of these situations, people missed out on the celebration because of poor choices.  As Christians, we want to stand in victory with the Lord.  Therefore, let’s remember two lessons from these situations.

1. Always Be Prepared.  We don’t know what the future holds (even in silly basketball games).  Depending on which comes first, Jesus or death, many people will be caught off guard (Matthew 25:13; 24:42, 44).  We must always be prepared.

2. Never Leave Early.  Don’t leave the faith.  Only those who are faithful until the end will receive the crown of victory (Revelation 2:10).

Let’s not be among those who miss out on the victory because we left early or because we weren’t prepared.

Lessons Learned Standing Outside the Church

Last Sunday evening during worship my 9-month-old son started getting fussy.  I took him out into the foyer and eventually had to step outside because the Lord’s Supper was being held in the foyer on this particular Sunday.  As I stood outside, I realized that I had never been outside of the building when worship was taking place.  It was a very unique experience.

First, I was able to hear beautiful singing.  Even though I wasn’t inside, I could hear voices harmonizing together and the wonderful melody pouring out of the open windows.  I was even able to pick out certain voices because of the conversations and fellowship I’ve had with these individuals.

Second, I noticed several distractions outside.  The street was busy with passing cars and people traveling to one destination or another.  My son (who loves cars) watched every vehicle until it was out of sight.  Every time a car passed by, the singing was drowned out by the road noise.  These distractions quickly cut off any connection I had with the worship inside.

Third, I saw the faces of the people in the cars.  Even though worship was taking place and there was beautiful singing to be heard, not one person looked over at the building or heard the praises being sung.  Car after car simply drove on by.  The faces I saw described people who were focused on their lives, their plans, their destinations, and people who were uninterested in worship.  These people were locked away in their cars, blocked out from God, and likely engulfed by the world.  It was sad to see people so near to a place of worship and yet so far from God.  While it’s possible not all the people I saw were lost souls, their actions and attitudes certainly pointed in that direction.

Seeing all of this outside brought me to this conclusion: It is a tremendous blessing to be able to worship with the saints.  We have no fear of persecution or punishment for our actions.  We can open the windows and let our singing be heard by all.  There are tremendous bonds and connections with those we worship with.  When we worship, we can shut ourselves out from the world and surround ourselves in worship (Romans 12:2).  While worshipping, we can put all distractions aside and focus on the Lord (Luke 10:38-42).

Worshipping the Lord is so wonderful!  This is why it’s so disheartening to see people pass by who don’t know about this blessing.  This is also why it is so horrifying to think of those who know of this privilege yet choose to skip out anyway.

Hebrews 10 summarizes this thought incredibly well: “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus…let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (19, 22-25).

When the next appointed worship time comes, let’s make sure we are there and invite others to come share in this privilege.

The Mansion That’s Falling Off A Cliff

In 2004, a couple built an incredible mansion.  It’s an 8,300-square-foot home with seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a massive basement, a bowling ally, a guesthouse, a huge garage, and much more.  It even sits near a bluff and provides a beautiful ocean view.  The problem is, this house was built on a very sandy cliff which is eroding away.  It’s just a matter of time before this mansion slides off the cliff and into the ocean.  To fix the problem, they had to take their $7.6 million dollar home, purchase the $4 million dollar lot next to them, and pay an estimated $1 million to have professionals slowly move their home 275 feet away from the cliff (Yahoo).

Even with all of the modern knowledge, experience, and technology in construction and engineering, it seems people are still ignoring the age-old advice about building on solid foundations.  Nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus uttered these well-known words:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.  Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27).

While Jesus was discussing the importance of a good physical foundation, the main point was about having a solid spiritual foundation.  People place their hopes and dreams on different sandy foundations like money, power, and self.  The only truly solid foundation is on Jesus Christ and through obedience to His words (1 Corinthians 3:11; Matthew 7:24-25).

Now is the time to check for foundation problems.  Are our spiritual houses built on the Rock, Jesus Christ, or will it soon slide off the sandy cliff?