CHURCH KINGDOM-BUILDING
William
Andrew Dillard
MAY MISS THE KINGDOM
BUILT
Parson to Person
Long,
long ago, God forged a mighty nation of Hebrew people enslaved in
Egypt. He delivered them, blessed them, and brought them to the
Promised Land. Extraordinary victories, great miracles, and
provisions attributable only to God’s blessings were embedded into
their minds and hearts, but Judges tells the repetitious story of the
propensity of men to follow the flesh instead of God. “A new
generation arose that knew not God.” Sadly, men have not
changed!
Fast forward! Out of the deadly fires of persecution in
the Inquisition, God delivered His people by opening up the Western
Hemisphere in general and America in particular for their
unparalleled freedom and growth. Through famine, wars, and civil
turmoil, God blessed His churches in this new land. It was then that
the god of this world laid plans to inundate the nation with material
things far removed from the support of its Gross National Product by
printing baseless script to direct faith to Caesar. Misled churches
hailed this as blessings from above.
Simply put, it is easier,
and highly tempting, to follow the dictates of the flesh. Soon,
churches, which flourished briefly in inflated abundance, found
unwittingly that materialism had substituted God. Youth then failed
to follow the faith of their fathers. Pulpits became filled with
stand-up comedians and CEO’s of social clubs. Services were scaled
down. Revivals ceased. God was removed from public prayers and
schools. Innocent lives were butchered on demand by the millions.
Churches became even more moderate, bowing to a social agenda in an
ever-losing battle for the attention of the masses.
At
last, some have awakened to ask why the rolls are full, but the pews
are empty? It is the continuing last state of churches whose members
are detached from the spirit and mission of the church. Oh, but those
roll members are indeed attached. They are attached to their
detachment, and few are open to change. Churches previously offering
men spiritual salvation and truth, sank in their deluded dream of
individual kingdom-building, and panic of material debts. So
gravitating to social programs to compete, they ultimately found
themselves inadequate to compete materially in a God forsaken
religious world, or able to deal properly and spiritually with a
people who are minus an ear for spiritual things, not unlike the
society of Lot’s day. Church-house padlocks are now becoming common.
What a crazy course of history! What foolish decisions by spiritual
institutions! Caring ministers and churches now cry and preach to a
people firmly attached. . . to spiritual detachment! Evermore then is
the cry heard: “Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.”
Outstanding message: Grateful for the admonition 🙏🏼
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