To the Church Players

Do You Not See?

1) Beautiful girl at a Bachelorette party. Drinking, laughing at crude jokes, flirting with whoever she wants, then wakes up the next morning to sing on the Worship team at her church. Jesus stands, watching her empty praises, and longs for His daughter to truly know Him.

2) Teens having fun in their youth group, playing, laughing, hearing a quick message about loving others. Then they go out for fast food. As they eat and laugh about the fun they had, they don't notice a lonely teenager in the corner, drinking a soda by himself to escape the disorder at home. He wishes he could laugh and be free like the kids he sees. Jesus stands in middle of the restaurant, longing for them to see the boy as He sees him: hurting, lonely, and looking for hope.

3) Two women at church. One sitting with her family, well-off, dressed nicely and is very popular among the congregation. She nods in agreement with the pastor's message of the Good Samaritan. The woman behind her is less known. Doesn't have nice clothing, and longs to be included by the women she sees. Both go to the same store after church. The wealthy woman is clearly shopping for a party. Her cart is bursting with snack foods, drinks, and football themed party plates. As she skims the gossip magazine in the check out line, she doesn't notice the poorly dressed women in front of her, being told her card is declined from buying some basic needs for her children. The poor woman leaves with only 1 item, quickly wiping tears from eyes. Jesus stands, invisible to those around Him, longing for the wealthy woman to see the hurting needs of those around her. He has blessed her, so that she can bless others, but she squanders it for her own desires.

4) Young adult sitting at a park, headphones in, listening to worship music and working on the social media for his church webpage. He doesn't notice the man with slick hair and a gold chain, approaching a couple of young girls sitting by the swings. They think the man is nice because he told them they look too pretty to be sitting by themselves. He gives them each a rose and says he hopes to see them both again soon. Jesus stands nearby and longs for His Church to see the world through His eyes. He longs for His believers to wake up, and see the moments He gives them everyday to meet a need, heal a wound, or protect a child.

5) A Pastor stands before his church, cracking jokes trying to be relevant so that the young families keep coming back. No one realizes how truly scared he is of losing members, tithes, and failing as a church planter. Jesus looks at this anxiety-ridden man, longing for him to know what it truly means to be a fisher of men.

It breaks His heart to see us doing church things, instead of being the church to those who need help.

Do you not see? Do you not hear? Are you so caught up in playing church that you don't even see the lost and hurting souls right in front of you?

You were meant for more than this. You were meant to BE the hands and feet of Jesus. You were meant to do more than sit in a church on Sundays, nodding and smiling, and then going out to apply NONE of it.

And Pastors, you were meant to serve God, and shepherd His people, not bow your knee to money, turning God's house into a business.

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Matthew 6:24 (ESV)

Wake up Church. There's work to be done. Jesus is coming SOON to gather His Bride before the tribulation begins, will you be taken up with Him? Or will you get the biggest shock of your life to see that you were left behind?

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

1 John 2:3-6 (NLT)

Dear Teachers

 To all the Pastors, Teachers, and Ministry Leaders,


Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1 (ESV)

Judged.

With greater strictness.

Are you sure you still want to teach??

Everything you speak or post on social media about Christ carries weight. And one day we will all stand before Him and answer for the things that we taught in Jesus' name.

We must think about that, and have a healthy fear of the Lord in our hearts before we teach or click "Post."

I have lost count of how many social media posts from ministry leaders claim to be a "word" from the Lord, only to see no Scripture attached, and it's all purely from that person's own thoughts. And it tends to be totally self gratifying for the reader as well. Example: "This year God will bless you and make a clear path for your destiny!"

How is that biblical? That sounds more like a fortune cookie.

Or this one in particular caught my eye:

"God says, 'You weren't rejected, I hid your value from them because they were not assigned to your destiny.'"

What does that even mean??

First of all, they just put quotes on something claiming God said it, even though this is no where in the Bible. So right off the bat it's false teaching. Secondly, they say you weren't rejected (as if to protect you from the thought of being rejected) but rather you are extra special and the other person isn't as important as you or your destiny. UGH! How much more self centered, prideful, and arrogant can that get? Did it ever occur to the author of this quote that Jesus Himself was rejected, and that we should expect to be also?? And do they realize that Christ humbled himself as servant to save us, and that we should model that behavior as well?

Paying a visit to the Wedding Feast parable in Luke 14 might be worth a read:

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, ⁹ and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:7-11 (ESV)

We cannot set ourselves apart; if we try to, we are setting ourselves farther from Christ.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV)

Teachers, I implore you to pray for humility.  We need to be humbled daily in order to have the mind of Christ. We need to spend more time in prayer, and more time in His Word. The more we know Him and what HE SAYS, the less chance there is of us posting false teachings like that silly destiny example. As teachers of the Word, we HAVE to be able to recognize false teaching and either speak out against it or flee from it.

So practically speaking, if "a word" comes to you that you believe is from the Holy Spirit, DO THIS before teaching/posting it:

1. Does this thought align with Scripture?

2. Find the Scripture (reading the full chapter to get context) that backs up the word you received. But don't search the Bible for what you WANT to hear, search for the TRUTH.

3. If it checks out biblically, Pray and seek the Lord's timing on teaching it (sometimes it can be used in a later sermon or message, and sometimes it's meant for right now. Sometimes it's meant for only you, and sometimes it's meant for a friend through a face to face meeting out of love)

4. If you cannot find biblical proof of your "word" then toss it. It's not from Him.  There is another, one that prowls around you, like a roaring lion seeking to devour you. (1 Peter 5:8) One of his favorite things to do is whisper good sounding thoughts that are just one degree off from the truth, just to get you off track a little at a time. Don't let him!

5. Lastly, could you stand before King Jesus someday and defend THIS word? If you're not sure, DON'T POST IT. This is the Holy Spirit possibly trying to teach you beyond what you think you know, or convicting you that you've got it wrong. Listen to Him!

Teachers, Pastors, and Ministry Leaders, we must bow our knee to a healthy fear of the Lord. We must humble ourselves, take teaching seriously, and we must stop posting our own words without His. 

                                               Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
                                      which you have stored up for those who fear you...
                                                                Psalm 31:19 (ESV)

Posting your own words will only attract worldly glory, which fosters pride, and burns up when tested in the fire. But fearing Him (and posting ONLY what He says), unlocks an abundance of goodness that He has stored up for you! What a blessing!

So remember:

God's Word NEVER returns void. (Isaiah 55:11) Our words, on the other hand, fade like the mist that we are. (James 4:14)

                      Now let's go be the obedient and humble mist that we're supposed to be.