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We have come to know in detail that the new Marketed Purpose Driven Church of today (including the Bible Believer Marketing bunch) is marketing the wrong gospel 'message.'
What is the 'idol' in our churches
that the Marketed Purpose Driven Church after?
Ask yourself: Do you really know God?
Are you doing anything with the Book and according to the Book?
Are you doing anything with what you have learned?
And for those who answer, "Yes!"... has it been the right thing to
do according to God?
Has it really pleased God - or just you?
The things that you are unhappy with... is it God that is not pleased,
or just you?
In other words, do you really enjoy the:
Peace From God? or
are you just seeking the peace from yourself and your circumstances!
Romans 1:7
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you
and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
II Corinthians 1:2
Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Galatians 1:3
Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus
Christ,
Peace With God? or
are seeking the peace with yourself and your circumstances!
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
How about righteousness in the Holy Ghost? - or is it just our
own righteousness?
How about joy that is in the Holy Ghost? - or is it just our
own joy that we seek?
How about the rest... love, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance...
Galatians 5:22,23
Ours or Gods?
Or maybe, we have only one major idol that has been causing all
of these problems in our camps recently,
and now the marketing church has cornered the market on that one particular
idol?
Are we just getting upset because there are 'other' churches now marketing our idol!
Could the Bible Believing churches now be re-marketing the same idol that we have always had?
Are we merely squabbling over nothing?
And they that are Christ's have crucified
the flesh with the affections and lusts.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk
in the Spirit.
Let us not be desirous
of vain glory,
provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 5:24-26
Are we merely being desirous of vain glory?
Let's not forget that some of the greatest failures in all time have been the men God has honored most!
Noah was a mighty good ship builder, his main occupation wasn't ship building, it was preaching. He was a terrible failure as a preacher. His wife and three children and their wives are all he had. Seven converts in 120 years, you wouldn't call that particularly effective. Most mission boards would have asked the missionaries to withdraw long before this. I say as a ship builder he did quite well, but as a preacher he was a failure.
Jeremiah. He was a mighty effective preacher - he sure did preach the word about God's words, etc., but ineffective as far as results were concerned. If you were to measure statistically how successful Jeremiah was, he was a failure! He lost out with the people, he lost out with royalty, even the ministerial association voted against him and wouldn't have anything to do with him. He had everything fail. The only one he seemed able to please was.... God, but otherwise he was a failure.
Lord Jesus Christ, who was a failure from judging all the standards. He never succeeded in organizing a church or denomination. He wasn't able to build a school. He didn't succeed in getting a mission board established. He never had a book printed. And our Lord preached for three years, healed thousands of people, fed thousands of people, and the day that He was taken, one man said "If all the others forsake you, I'm willing to die for you." He looked at this one and said "Peter you don't know your own heart. You're going to deny me three times before the cock crows this morning." So all men forsook Him and fled.
Yet when it was all over there were only a few over 500 (I Corinthians 15:6) to whom he revealed Himself after His resurrection. By every standard of our generation or any generation, Jesus Christ was a failure.
"Is God an end or is He a means?"
HUMANISM
Now in order for us to know this 'idol' that we all seem to have, we
need to spend a few minutes looking at the history of humanism.
Just after the great revivals in early America with Finney, etc., the Spirit of God having been marvelously outpoured onto certain portions of our country, there came an open attack on our faith.
After Darwin had put forth his theory of evolution, certain philosophers adapted it to their philosophies and theologians applied it to the Scripture.
And so about 1850 you could mark the opening of a frontal attack upon the Word of God. Satan had always been insidiously attacking it. But now it was open season on the Book, open season on the Church! Wescott and Hort and others started changing manuscripts, etc.
Humanism
The philosophy of the day became humanism. Humanism is a philosophical
statement that declares the end of all being is the happiness of man. The
reason for existence, according to the humanists is man's happiness.
Now according to humanism, salvation is simply a matter of getting all the happiness you can out of life. It is up to the man to be happy, to become powerful, and become powerful by any means he can use.
The effect of humanism is that the end of all being is the happiness
of man.
Man's final authority is HAPPINESS!
Charles Darwin brought up evolution, Westcott and Hort brought in their
manuscripts, etc. and then there was John Dewey, then an American philosopher
influencing education, was able to persuade the educators that there were
no absolute standards.
OUR OWN SELFISHNESS!
We are being desirous of vain glory - OURS!
Well, you ask, "Didn't Christ do all that He did 'for us?'"
"I mean, look up those verses that have for us and you will see all the He did was for us. Romans 5:8; 8:26; 8:31; 8:32; I Corinthians 5:7; II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 5:2; I Thessalonians 5:10; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:12; 9:24; I Peter 2:21 and I John 3:16 all say FOR US!"
And yes, those are some marvelous things that He did FOR US!
Jesus Christ did those things FOR US in order to glorify
Himself and God!
(be sure you read all these verses - God will impress
on your heart is about Him, not you!)
Romans 15:7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
I Peter 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
I Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever y do, do all to the glory of God.
II Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
II Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
II Corinthians 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
Philippians 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!
I Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Jude 1:25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
John 11:4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
John 11:40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
We are to exalt God, not ourselves.
The end of all being is God's glory, not our happiness!
If we are unhappy as Christians, than we are just selfish humanists, and that is EXACTLY the idol that the marketed purpose driven willow creek mentality thrives on!
Of course, we should be happy and have God's joy, but only AFTER He is glorified!
So, us pastors had better learn from Micah - throw out that idol of selfishness. We are living in the days of apostasy. Our goal is not to win the lost at all cost - it is not our goal nor is our purpose to 'build a growing church.' Our purpose is to feed the flock!!!
We can all learn from Micah, his pastor and the Danites - but will we?
I did!