Integrity is the consistent harmony of convictions and conduct... The opposite, of course is hypocrisy... Integrity is having an untarnished moral character both publicly and when no one else is around.
Jerry Wragg

Work Of The Lord

Work Of The Lord

Msg#:16036 *GENERAL MESSAGES*
05/24/88 19:13:00
From: JACK DECKER
To: ALL
Subj: RE: WORK OF THE LORD

> My problem is with christianity. With > so-called churches and their mission. > Some one tell me what is the work of the Lord and how might I a man > useless formost every thing and every one contribute toward it. Surely > it s more than fundraisers to pay mortgage which is what we do at > my “church”.

Allen, there’s a lot more to Christianity than fundraisers. I don’t know anything about your specific church, but it is very true that many churches nowadays overemphasize “money” and/or “numbers”.

The Great Commission tells us to “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”. I believe that should be our first priority. A second priority would be to help meet people’s needs (based in part on James 2:14-17). Some churches get their priorities reversed on these two points – they are more than willing to help people meet their “temporal needs” but do next to nothing to make sure that these people will not be spending eternity in Hell. What good does it do to keep a man comfortable, well fed and clothed for seventy years or so and then let him spend an eternity in utter torment? But I don’t think either of these points should be neglected.

The sad fact is that MOST churches (I will probably catch some flak for saying this, but I think the word MOST is appropriate here) do precious little to either meet people’s temporal needs OR prepare them for eternity. If someone happens to walk into the church with an obvious need or in an obviously unsaved condition, the church MAY try to meet the need. Otherwise, many churches seem to place top priority on any number of things (which may include building a new building, increasing attendance [without regard as to whether attendees are saved], new robes for the choir, etc. etc.) which do not directly either meet people’s needs or help people find Jesus Christ as Saviour. In most cases I do not support such programs. In some cases there is a real necessity to spend money for some of these other purposes (obviously you can’t continue to meet in a church building that’s been condemned) but my own feeling is that a church should not be spending money on “frills” when the work of the Lord is left undone.

I will tell you a little story about something that once happened at a church we attended. The pastor of the church decided (on his own, without asking the congregation for input) that the church needed fresh flowers from a local florist each week. This cost them about $20 a week, at a time when the congregation only numbered about 50 and they were having trouble paying the bills. I expressed my opinion that this was a needless expense, since the posies weren’t helping win anybody to the Lord. My input was ignored. So, I stopped tithing to that church, and instead started sending my tithe to some other Christian organizations that were actually winning the lost to Christ. Now, I am NOT saying that this was the right thing to do, and I don’t know if I’d do the same today under similar circumstances (the reason I say this is because there is probably some obligation to support the church where you worship, even if they DO spend money foolishly). But at the time, it really bothered me that they were constantly asking the people to contribute more (to meet their mission obligations, etc.) and yet they could afford the flowers every week without fail (yes, they were BUYING them, they were not donated or anything like that).

So, what I might suggest to you is that you try and find a church that has its priorities straight… that is seeking first to win the lost for Christ, and then to meet the needs of others. If you are able to find a church like that in your community (and it is one that is preaching the true Gospel of Christ, this is, one that’s not part of a “cult” denomination), I’m sure you might find that you could fit in a little better there.

> Also is it really necessary to “go to church” on sundays? I would > rather fellowship during the week days and spend sundays on personal > communication with God and time with my family.

The Bible tells us to to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. What the Bible does NOT say is that you MUST meet on Sunday, Saturday, or any other particular day. However, in our society it is customary for most Christians to meet together on Sunday. My own feeling is that it is not so important which day you meet as the attitude in which you meet. Sometimes weekday fellowships do not afford you much opportunity to worship the Lord, and tend (in some cases) to be more like gossip sessions than occasions to worship the Lord. But I would not be dogmatic about which days you MUST fellowship on (though I’m sure others will be). The early believers met daily, but I’m almost sure that they did not have a morning and evening service that each lasted a couple of hours EVERY day

I would sugget you pray and ask the Lord to show you what you should do regarding fellowship with other believers, both in terms of which day(s) you should fellowship with other believers, and which church you should attend. The Lord knows your situation so much better than any of us do, and while we can offer general advice, we cannot lead you into God’s perfect will for your life… only the Holy Spirit can do that.

Finally, the BIG question… have you, personally, given the Lord Jesus Christ complete control of your life? If so, then you can trust that He will guide and direct you into the places that He wants you, if you will allow him to do so. If not, may I suggest that you pray to Jesus right now and ask Him to forgive your sins and take control of your life? If you will do this, I’m sure that you will find that most of your questions will be answered.

I hope this helps… feel free to comment on what I’ve said.

Jack

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