Is the power of the resurrection relevant today? Is the Bible relevant today? Is the Christianity that the pagans saw in the first century relevant today?
NO; absolutely not.
The only message you could preach from the Bible today from the Word of God and be somewhat relevant is ‘God is love’, and ‘Love your neighbor’.
God is love is understood by society that God accepts and tolerates us.
‘Love your neighbor’ is understood to mean toleration of the acts of your fellow human being. This is why abortion is legal, gay marriage is legal, children rights in the home are on the court docket to undermine the authority of the parent, pedophilia organizations are working to lower the age of consent, drunkenness is now an ‘ism’, God’s law is restricting to our very self being, and the biggest proof of the irrelevance of the Bible today is that it does not promote me, it does not make ME feel good for who I am.
The definition of relevance is ‘appropriate or to the purpose’. With this meaning of the word relevance, God’s word is not, should not, and never has been relevant for us. The real question should be, ‘are WE relevant to the Word of God?’
The normal procedure for most people is to remove and get rid of items that are not relevant to one’s life, or lifestyle. Example being the microwave replaced the toaster oven, the mp3 player replaced the walkman, the VHS replaced the BETA, email has mostly replaced paper mail, cell phone has replace the home phone, each decade or less we improve something to replace something. This has created a dangerous habit of thought that we see today: we must reprint or replace the Bible.
‘I will put no wicked thing before my eyes’ has been replaced with movie ratings from the world that make it relevant for us to go see things according to society’s standard. The ‘abstain from all appearance of evil’ has been replaced with the cushy word of ‘balance’, and a misinterpretation of the word of God.
The fact is WE are not relevant to God. But he has given his Spirit for us to walk in, not as a tool to get close to him, not as the method to live according to his Word, but the only way to be relevant to himself. Walk in the Spirit and ye won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. Flesh is not relevant to God, but the Spirit is. God has to make us relevant to his purpose; he must make us appropriate for his use. Man has this thing turned around which has caused the diminishing of the Word of God in our society today.
Pilate asked Jesus, ‘what is truth?’, and today we ask, ‘what is relevant?’ William James, the father of psychology, said ‘truth is relevant to situation, circumstance, and time’. This philosophy has found its way into the church today, as a plague. WE need to be relevant to God.
America in her arrogance may think God owes her revival because of the missionaries she has sent worldwide; The declaration of ‘who we trust’ on our currency; the godly monuments displayed across this great country; the fundamental truths of God’s Word buried deep in the fabric of this land. BUT, Revival doesn’t come to America because it’s America, just as produce doesn’t come to a grocery store because it’s a grocery store. But because a need was seen, a deficiency was found, and a call was put in to the supplier. God is our supplier, and though we have served him well with our land: AT ONE TIME. We need to see the need, the deficiency, and make the call!
The call to our supplier: God.
The urgent call to fill the empty pews of our churches.
The urgent call to fill our empty hearts.
The urgent call for a cleanup in aisle one, two, and three., with the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
The urgent call to bring people to the altar and get filled up.
God has not changed, WE have. WE have changed, NOT God.
Let's begin now.
Monday, January 30, 2012
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