After church last night, I left hoping I am wrong. That’s right, I hope my read of things is wrong and what I preached is wrong! The scary part is, I really fear I am right. In case you are wondering, we spent time last night discussing a Lukewarm Church facing a Looming Crisis. The gist was we in America, the American Church, are pretty well asleep at the wheel while Islam is storming the world.
I made the point everywhere the church has been, it has done the following: First, sent out missionaries to other lands. Second, it has then died or become so inconsequential, it’s of little or no value. Finally, Islam has come behind and filled the void left by a powerless church. Spend some time, trace the movements of church history, you’ll discover for yourself what I proposed is true!
Today, we face an alarming encroachment in America of Islam…an Islam bent on world domination. The only answer I can see is a powerful church, an on fire church, complete with signs and wonders, bringing deliverance to the multitudes. Of course, that is not the church we see spread across America. Instead, we have become engrossed in the pursuit of the approval of both a lukewarm church establishment and a blind-to-the-gospel world. While our focus has been on their accolades and acceptance, the Owner of the church has been relegated to a position outside, a spot from which He patiently knocks and asks for admission to His own dwelling. I fear our stubborn resistance to His gentle knocking is going to be replaced by the shrill sounds of the battle cry of Islam…and then, we will beg Him to once again occupy His house, but at great cost!
Today….now….let’s return to Him with our whole heart and let Him bring healing into our lives, our homes, our church!
