Christian, Is Your God Dead?

Spurgeon related the following incident in one of his sermons. A godly man with a wife and small daughter died; leaving the woman weeping immoderately (Spurgeon’s word meaning excessively), refusing to be comforted. This continued for weeks when finally, the child approached her mother and asked the question: mamma, when did God die? Shaken by the question, her spirit awoke to the realizaton that her husband was with the Savior, Jesus was still on the throne and the eternal Hope within remained. She was able to answer the daughter; God is not dead. Out of the mouth of babes God will speak or as my late mother always said, “…little donkeys have big ears and a memory like an elephant.”

Is this because we, the American people have abandoned God? This begs the question, when did the American people ever acknowledge Him? Short answer: never. The only people to ever acknowledge God as sovereign Lord in this country have been a minority called Christians; born-again Christians. Once upon a time, seemingly a majority of Americans enjoyed the peace and prosperity that was the natural by-product of living in a country whose laws and morality in large reflected biblical based standards. Our money, the Pledge of Allegiance, school prayers, faith-based charities and a religiosity has kept the idea of God prevalent within our country for years. But…the wicked have always been among us and by far have always been the physical majority, far out numbering even the religious whatever’s within society.

When one foolishly makes the statement that America must return to God, of which period in our history are they speaking? Pre-Civil War, post-Civil War, the great revival of the late 1800’s, the early 1900’s, the late 1940’s post war; surely no one would want to return to the 1960’s and later. We have no place or time of which to return. God is the God of the here and now; there is no going back, ever.

• God’s people Israel must and will return to God…the hard way.
• Americans are not His people, never have been nor ever will be. We have been instrumental in God’s plan for Israel and our Lord’s return in much the same way as Assyria was God’s rod against Israel.
• Christian, we are not His people, we are “…a chosen generation, a peculiar people…” 1 Peter 2:9. We are His bride.
• The real Church needs come out from among the faux Christians and the social clubs called churches.
• As believers, we need to batten down the hatches and prepare for the worst that is to come.

What the self-appointed leaders and religious community are actually desiring is…a return to the status quo, the comfortable life-styles, free of all the negativity that now assaults our senses. It is becoming too dangerous to be a Christian, which is un-American. Guess who is rattling our cage?

The tragedy with American Christians is that we have become so insensitive to the Word, we have great trouble discerning between it and the words of man. We avoid the scriptures that address the hatred of Christ and those who follow Him as well as those addressing the wicked growing more wicked as His return draws nigh. Why are we, American Christians, to be exempt and consider being left to own devices as being blessed. Christian, you are much smaller in number than you ever imagined.

Christian; your God is not dead, so quit acting like He is. Take stock of your own spiritual inventory.

• Have you become dull of hearing? Is your total intake of the Word limited to the Sunday morning sermonette, a daily devotional, radio program or the like? When is the last time a newly learned Truth impacted your life?
• Are your politics more personally energizing than reading and studying the Bible, gleaning ever deeper knowledge of the Word? What would you rather discuss with others?
• Do you “forsake the assembling” for Bible studies with other believers, thinking the others are a little too serious for your liking? Is getting to know the Word more deeply a scary prospect?
• Do sporting events, social gatherings or personal time take precedence over spiritual matters? Does entertainment help you make it through life?
• Do you find that activities with the non-church crowd are more rewarding than with your fellow church-mates? Is your attendance merely for show?
• Does your church preach / teach the Word, in season and out; provide multiple avenues for gathering for the purpose of spiritual growth and not fellowship alone? If not, find one.
• Do you desire the good old days because today’s world is getting ever more complex and it appears the wicked get a free pass? Those days are gone, and it is going to get a lot worse.
• Do your social media postings reflect or replace your personal testimony among family, friends, neighbors and co-workers? Are you a sound-bite Christian?

Does any of this sound familiar or prick your conscience? God is not dead and we will be held accountable.

A common disease found among the American church community, is the dreaded follow the leader syndrome where unfortunately the leader is not God.

Once upon a time, bible schools and seminaries provided a fairly healthy foundation for those who attended. Equipping them with weapons they were to pass on to those whom they would serve, to withstand the wiles of the devil. These not-so-sacred institutions were invaded in the 19^th century with two new, very radical ideas: Darwinism and Psychology. The weather-vane turned due south. It did not take long for the intellectuals to attempt to adapt the Word to fit these modern faux-truths. Couple this with the competition to lure the best and brightest minds of this new wave of thought along with the need to satisfy the ever fickle-minded undergraduates desire for the latest trends, God had become less and less important to the end product.

Jump ahead a century and what do we have today? Churches that preach a new gospel; repentance has become too old hat; sin, hell and judgment are avoided while self is elevated; the older are shelved and the emphasis has turned towards the youth; doctrinal music has been replaced with toned down Christian folk music; prosperity became equal with blessings; the leadership have been trained to be dictatorial for the lay person is not qualified; bigger is better and ultimately, doctrinal teaching is carefully controlled for only the professional can truly discern the Word correctly.

What do we see? Children leaving the church fold in droves once they begin their personal life’s quests. Christians starving for the lack of the Word and not even being aware how dull of hearing they have become. Extreme lack of discernment, the status quo is sufficient, whatever the pastor says is the gospel truth. Marriages being torn apart, children out of wedlock, affairs becoming commonplace among church goers, including the leadership. We have become so worldly by following every new wind of doctrine that it is almost impossible to tell us apart from the lost.

The days are short and we as Christians will give an account before a holy God; let us be about proclaiming that our God lives. May God bless.