It was our first time visiting this particular fellowship.  We had just taken our seats in a very quiet room.  The musicians began to assemble upfront, the guitar player put his strap over his shoulder and began to play some pretty face ripping power chords!  Ok, this was going to be different!  But this, in various forms and styles, is what is actually becoming more and more commonplace in many fellowships- the worship band is getting in the way of worship. 

As the first song got under way I assumed that it was probably just an opening song and that as we began to sing together the volume and “attitude” of the music would come down a few notches.  That was not what happened.  For me the “worship time” ended up being an awesome concert!  But we had not come for a concert, we’d come to worship.

Am I at a Christian concert?

The praise team was so loud it drowned out the sound of the entire church singing!  If this was a concert I could care less how loud it was, I love loud music, but this was not a concert, it was supposed to be worship.  Part of the worship experience is being able to hear the voices of God’s people joined together in song in worship of Him.  It is a corporate thing of which I am but a small part.  It’s a glorious thing to hear the Body of Christ together worshipping Jesus!  We get a picture of that kind of worship in Revelation; IF WE COULD ONLY CATCH A GLIMPSE…

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.  In a loud voice they sang:
   ”Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
   to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
   and honor and glory and praise!”

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
   ”To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
   be praise and honor and glory and power,
         for ever and ever!”  The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.”  (Revelation 5:11-14)

Worship like that involves hearing my fellow worshippers!  The experience is one of being swallowed up by something greater than myself.  I am instantly made aware that I am but a small part of a great multitude who worship Jesus!

The music’s so loud I can’t even hear the rest of the church sing!

The truth is, the music was so loud at this fellowship that most of the time I could barely hear myself sing let alone hear anyone else!  I began to wonder if others were having the same difficulty as I was.  I looked around… and I noticed others looking around!  Many, many more were sitting or standing silently.  There were some hands raised, and some mouths were moving, but I couldn’t hear them.  We loved the preaching so much we came back a second time hoping the “worship” would be better; it wasn’t quite as loud but it still felt more like a really good Christian concert event than it did worship.

As it turned out, we loved the preaching so much on our second visit we decided we’d try again a third time!  But things were basically the same.  There was a moment I thought we were about to head into a place of “entering in”, but it was quickly ended by a massive wall of sound as the next song began.  I was so caught off guard I spun around to my wife with my mouth flung open in amazement, as I did I caught the face of a woman who had pretty much the same expression of disbelief as I did.  “What was THAT?”  The band, the worship leader, the music itself was awesome… each time my wife and I would talk about it after the morning was over as we headed for lunch; we LOVED the band, but it was hard to actually worship.

I have to tell you, I was baffled.  I couldn’t understand why this was going on.  Wasn’t anyone discerning this?  Wouldn’t the leadership address this “worship” issue?  I just didn’t get it.  My wife and I discussed the whole thing at length and one thing we both agreed upon was that if this was a Christian concert we’d be totally blessed.  And here is the crux of what I’d like to share: This particular band was not just giving a performance in my opinion.  It might be easy to write it off as that, but I don’t believe for a minute that that’s what they were doing.  Their music was anointed and very powerful, but there is a fundamental difference between corporate worship and using music as a vehicle to communicate God’s Word.

Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs- Speaking to one another, or worshipping God?

The scriptures tell us to “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs…” (Ephesians 5:19)  This is something the entire body of Christ is told to do.  God is able to use music to powerfully encourage, instruct and bless each other in the Lord.  This is certainly good and something we should do, but it is not the same thing as corporate worship.

Corporate worship of God is directed upward, focused solely on Him; speaking to “one another” has the element of communicating to my brothers and sisters in Christ and is not the same as “worship” in that sense.

When God gave the gift of songwriting to me I understood that what He was calling me to do was to speak to the Body of Christ through song.  This, in essence, is what Ephesians 5:19 is talking about- It is an others directed ministry using music to speak to God’s people.  It can be worshipful, and certainly people will be led to worship the Lord in their hearts as they respond to the message in song, but that is not the same thing as corporate worship; corporate worship is purely God directed.

Corporate worship is what we see happening in the verses I shared earlier from Revelation; everything fades away as we jointly worship Christ and focus on Him alone!

As a practical matter, the worship band I mentioned earlier was so stylized, and the worship singer so powerfully individual in his singing that it drew attention to them.  I couldn’t even sing along with some of the songs because the worship leader was so much like a lead singer you never knew what he’d do next, or how he’d start or end a phrase!  This guy would be great doing a Christian concert, and I’d love a CD by him because we LOVED his music, the band, and the message in the songs, AND we felt is was anointed, BUT… how am I going to be able to enter into worship if I can’t even follow along to sing with him?  He might be worshipping well enough, but what good does that do to help me worship?

“But in the church I’d rather sing without a worship band, if the band’s going to get in the way of worship!”

Ok, that’s not how the verse goes.  Here it is:

“I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.  But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.”  (1 Corinthians 14:18-19)

This verse sums up what I believe God has shown me concerning worship.  The point is, when we gather together as the church, it’s got to be for the benefit of the church.  The application to “worship teams”, worship leaders, and those who would use their musical gifts to lead others into the worship of God through song is simple: Is what I’m doing truly leading others into worship?  Am I getting in the way, or getting myself out of the way of God’s people worshipping?  I may have the most awesome worship band in the world- and just as the one who speaks in tongues edifies himself and praises God, I may be worshipping God myself as a worship leader- but am I getting in the way of others worshipping?  Everything I do in the church should be to benefit the church, it’s not about me at that moment.

Think how “worship” might change if we applied 1 Corinthians 14:1-20 to our gatherings.  What would happen if we really asked ourselves two questions:

1.  Is there anything I’m doing that’s getting in the way of corporate worship?
2.  Lord, is there anything you’d like me to do that would encourage corporate worship?

“But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue…”

In the church I would rather LEAD GOD’S PEOPLE INTO PURE WORSHIP… than________.

You fill in the blank.

If the music’s too loud to hear God’s people sing to the Lord, I’d rather turn down the music.  If my singing style is so personally unique others can’t follow it, I’d rather become part of the chorus of God’s people than be their lead singer- I don’t want to stand out, I want to blend in!  If my guitar solo is so profound that people stop looking at God and start watching me play, I’ll play more simply or cut the solo.  If our multimedia experience is so slick that it draws people to watch the big screen instead of God, I’ll simplify or get rid of it.  You fill in the blank:

“But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue…”

In the church I would rather LEAD GOD’S PEOPLE INTO PURE WORSHIP… than_____________.

I keep running across “Christian blogs” that talk about “losing your salvation” over a “single sin”.  Shortly after becoming a new believer in the Lord I met a man who claimed that he hadn’t sinned in months.  He held to the idea that it was possible for a Christian to be perfectly free from sin and in a state of “Sinless perfection”.  Later he came to see that his belief in sinless perfection was wrong and that he had been deceived in believing it.

On another occasion I was singing at a church.  After I’d finished singing I was approached by a boy who was in torment over his struggle with pornography.  He described how he’d repent, throw out his magazines, but at times being tempted, he would later return to retrieve them.  His church taught that if he sinned he would lose his salvation and end up in hell.  He was very afraid that he would not have another chance to get to heaven because he had “lost his salvation” and thought Jesus would possibly walk away from him and not give him another chance to be born again, again.  Many times people who are taught “sinless perfection” believe that if a person sins they lose their salvation and therefore need to be “born again” over and over each time they fall.  (If these people are honest, as this boy was, they have to admit that they struggle with sin just like everyone else.)  How do you get to heaven then if one sin is all it takes to lose your salvation?  Their solution is to believe they can be born again more than once… something the bible never teaches.

I’ve found that those who believe in sinless perfection (and many times those who believe they can lose their salvation) are often failing in 3 main points:

• A denial that the Christian life involves a very intense struggle with sin.

The bible clearly teaches that as Christians we are engaged in a struggle with sin.

“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:4)

Anyone who tries to spiritualize this struggle away as if it doesn’t exist is only fooling themselves.  The Christian life is an ongoing battle with the world, the flesh, and spiritual forces that seek to drive us into sin.  To think that we will never fall, get wounded, succumb to temptation and sin, is the worst sort of lie and deception.  It’s even worse when we teach others this lie because it brings people into a fantasy world where they will be doomed to always fall short of the “sinless perfection” we demand of them.  We should seek to live for Christ, but when we fall we should understand we have an advocate in Him- He is on our side!

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”  (1 John 2:1)

Jesus is not against us, He is for us- and to teach that we lose our salvation as we struggle with sin is the worst sort of lie.

• The failure to see just how bad we really are.

The Word of God says we’re utterly sinful. 

As it is written:
   ”There is no one righteous, not even one;
    there is no one who understands,
      no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
      they have together become worthless;
   there is no one who does good,
      not even one.”  (Romans 3:10-12)

Those who believe in sinless perfection need to see themselves as God sees them.  In and of ourselves we are utterly sinful and without hope.  Now that is the gospel truth.  The trouble is many people have never yet seen themselves that way.  They wouldn’t be boasting of being sinless if they had!  Your idea of what is “sinless”, and God’s idea of it, are two completely different things.  If you ever truly saw yourself in the light of God’s holiness you’d shrink away like a worm and never claim to be “sinless” again!  You have no idea how bad you really are until you see yourself compared to God’s own sinless perfection.  Repent of your boasting and pride- you are far from perfect and not even close to being sinless.

• The failure to see how good God is, and how complete the sacrifice of Jesus is.

Jesus gave His life for us “while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8).  He did everything that needed to be done to wipe away your sin forever. 

“…by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:14)

The goodness and love of God was clearly displayed to all when Jesus hung on the cross for us unworthy sinners- It doesn’t get any better than that!  God in His perfect holiness paid the price to bring wretched sinners like you and me back into relationship with Him.  He didn’t have to do that, but He did!  Do you see how good God is?  We had no way out of hell, no way back to Him, and He came and rescued us even though we are the guilty ones, even though we are the dirty ones, even though we deserve nothing good from Him- He gave us every good thing in Jesus!

Not only is God good to us in bringing us back to Himself, but the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was enough to satisfy His justice and righteousness.  The blood of Jesus never fails to satisfy God.  I could shout at the glory of it!  What you and I could never do, Jesus did… and did for us.  Put away your filthy rags of “righteousness” and your vain attempts at “holiness”- Jesus alone has satisfied God.  Do you want to be holy before God?  Come under the blood of Christ, hide yourself in Him, and quit boasting of your own works- He alone is your righteousness. 

“It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

Not only is Jesus enough, not only does His sacrifice satisfy God- His sacrifice never loses it’s power!  The blood of Christ is effectual forever for all those who come to God through Him.  His sacrifice is not something that needs to be repeated over and over again, neither does it require that we add something to it. 

“Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not His own.  Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”  (Hebrews 9:25-26)

We often make much of what we do, but who will make much of what Christ has done?

The gospel is not what you can do for God, it is what God has done for you through Jesus Christ.  How dare we boast in ourselves as if we hold salvation in our hands!  Jesus has shed His blood, and the Word of God tells us THAT IS ENOUGH.  It is finished!  Christ has won the victory.  Don’t you dare try to say that you play a part in what Christ alone has accomplished!

Christ- my righteousness

There is sinless perfection for the Christian- He is called “Jesus”.  Hidden in Him I am perfect, He alone is my righteousness- there is no other.

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”  (Galatians 2:21)

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  (2 Corinthians 5:21)

It would be great if every church had a big sign in front of their church building saying, “Church can’t save you!  You must be born again!”

If you want to get to heaven you must be “born again”.  (see John 3:3-5)

I’m probably not going to be able to say this any better than other times I’ve tried, but when is the church going to wake up and start taking this truth seriously?

One of the greatest tragedies on planet earth is that God showed us how to get to heaven, and instead of clearing the debris so people can find the way, we let the path be littered with human traditions of “church” that will do us no good when we die!

For most of my formative years I never knew that I “must be born again” to get to heaven.  Jesus made it as plain as day, and even though I went to various churches and was seeking for “spiritual things” I missed that message.  I missed the most important truth that any human being needs to hear!  You know what I do remember from my youth and my time spent “going to church”?  A sermon where the pastor used a hot dog to illustrate his message.  (Actually, I don’t remember the sermon, I just remember the pastor going up front with a ketchup bottle and a hot dog.)  Now that will really help prepare me for eternity!  I also remember sitting in the car at various times hearing something on the radio about God.  I was seeking so I’d sometimes tune in and listen, but it always seemed so “fake” to me, like they were trying to make God look cool, and it was a big turn off.  I figured if God was truly “GOD” He had to be about more than what we would think of as “cool”- I mean this is God we’re talking about here!

You know what else I remember from my time in church when I was young?  Sitting in church sometimes and being so bored I wanted to scream!  Yes, literally scream.  I never did, but I certainly felt like I could at any minute.  “Why does any of this matter?  Why am I sitting in this place?”, was pretty much what it boiled down to.  I felt closer to God going outside and taking a walk than I did in that building!  Creation at least seemed alive! 

Now the tragedy is that “going to church”, and being around God’s people, should have been the perfect place for me to experience the living God.  It should have been the one place where I’d be told, “You must be born again to get to heaven.”  Maybe I was told that, but I sure don’t remember it.  I was there enough times that I should have remembered something of that sort!  When I was really, really young I remember having to go to the Catholic church.  I remember the robes, the statues, the candles, the priest’s voice echoing so much I couldn’t understand it- and I remember how I hated kneeling all the time on those kneeling boards.  I also remember the prayer beads and rote “chanting” over and over the same things.  I don’t remember being told that I must personally be born again to get to heaven!  I can remember a lot of religious stuff from my youth, but what did this stuff have to do with Jesus?

You know where I finally found Jesus?  In my bedroom.  It happened after my brother had a conversation with me about the psychic stuff I was involved in and my brother told me I needed Jesus and not astrology.  I began to seek the truth after that conversation.  You know where else I first began to become aware of my need for Jesus?  On a car ride home from Nashville as I listened to a man I’d just met while performing for a TV show there.  He needed a ride home.  I gave him a ride, and as we went down the highway he asked me if I “knew Jesus”.  I thought I did, and I told the guy I did… of course, I now know that that I didn’t know Him at all.  I knew religion, I knew stuff I’d been told and seen in church, saw on TV or heard on the radio- but I didn’t really know Jesus; I wasn’t actually “born again”.  I believed I was “a Christian” just like most people you ask in America will say they are “Christian” if you ask them.  I never knew that to be a real Christian you had to be “born again”.  If I would have died that night driving home from Nashville I never would have made it to heaven.  You can’t get there without being “born again”, and I wasn’t.

That’s why I press this issue so hard.  I can’t understand why the church doesn’t go on a huge campaign to let people know the truth!  Shouldn’t this be job #1 for the church?  Churches should be the first ones tearing down the walls of misunderstanding and helping people to know that “going to church” isn’t enough, that being “religious” won’t get people to heaven.  They should be clearing up this mess!  When you’ve got most of America believing they’re “Christian” simply because they “go to church” or “believe in Jesus” in some vague way like I once did, there’s a real problem.  I was lost and headed for hell, don’t you think it might have been important for me to know that fact?  Isn’t it unconscionable to let people slip into hell without warning them?  We’ll collect their tithes and give them religious services, make them members and tell them all is well with their souls- but we fail to mention the single most important thing that they need to hear to get to heaven and spend eternity with God?  “All is NOT well with your soul… You must be born again!”  Why didn’t somebody tell me that in the years I went to church?  When are we going to seriously address ONE OF THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES that looms over the church?  Are we are so worried about being “nice” that we fail to tell people the most important truth of all?

In my song “Nice Little Church” I ask:

“But I wonder if they’re going to heaven or to hell?
No one wants to ask the question-
Are we too afraid to tell the truth?”

I’ll finish this post as I started it-

It would be great if every church had a big sign out in front of their church building saying, “Church can’t save you!  You must be born again!”

1. Every church should be frequently reminding people that without being “born again” there is no hope of heaven.
2. Without a “saving faith” in Jesus Christ that results in being “born from above” there is no entrance into heaven.
3. Without being “Born of the Spirit of God” there is no eternal home in heaven waiting for you.
4. Religion cannot save you.
5. You must be born again!  (see John 3:3-5)

Eternal life is only found in Jesus Christ- You must be born again to get to heaven!

I spent most of my years growing up never knowing the truth about Jesus Christ and my need to be “born again”.  I don’t want you to be able to say on the day you die, “Mike never told me this!  How come I went to his website over and over again, and he never told me this one simple thing I needed to hear the most?”  Well, I’m telling you: You must be “born again” to go to heaven.  You must be born of God’s Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ otherwise you will never get to heaven- He is the only way.

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:12)

The following links are here to help you to learn more about being “born again” and how to get to heaven:

If you want to learn more about being ‘Born Again”:

Heaven, hell, and eternal life in Jesus

More posts on this topic:

I can’t believe I’m born again!

Jesus is not religious

The “unsaved church”: Do we care at all?

Today is the day of salvation: share Jesus before it’s too late!

Gaining the world, but losing your soul?

Nice Little Church

You are the One!

If you get an email warning you of supernatural manifestations of “Kundalini fire” with a link to the videos on YouTube should you watch them?

For a long time various churches have been having what they call “revival” that includes what some say are supernatural angelic visitations, various “manifestations”, breaking out in uncontrollable laughter, jerking, making animal sounds, gold dust, and so on.

As someone who came out of the New Age Movement and was set free by Jesus Christ from the occult I want to say in the plainest way possible:

Don’t watch these videos!

For one thing, most of you have never experienced something like this, and you should make it your aim not to!  If someone has never been exposed to pornography, for example, would you tell them to watch an x-rated video so they could be warned about how bad pornography is?  Of course not!  We are to avoid evil, not instruct ourselves about it and fill our minds with it! 

“Avoid every kind of evil.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:22)

Why in the world would you want to watch actual video footage showing the bizarre behavior these  “Kundalini videos” depict?  Do you really believe you have to be there in person to come under the same influence that these people are experiencing?  Do you think it’s necessary to go to a church that’s doing this stuff to come under the power that they’re coming under? 

When you watch this stuff you open yourself up to the same spiritual influences!

Who cares how shocking these videos are?  Avoid them!  You don’t want to be messing with this stuff because there are spiritual forces behind them.

After being delivered from the New Age/Occult practices I was at one time involved in (like Astral Projection, Astrology, various Psychic practices etc.) I repented, renounced them, and avoided these things like the plague, and still do.

Why do I avoid these things like the plague?  Because I know there is a spiritual counterpart to them- I will not willingly put myself under that influence any longer.  I belong to Jesus Christ now and have no desire to ever have that sort of thing in my life again.

I urge you to resist the temptation to watch these videos!

I came across a post today authored by “Cris” that totally grabbed and arrested my attention:

Jesus doesn’t need your heart (if that’s all you’re giving Him).

Wow!  Did that ever make me think!  Especially when it was followed by this verse:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…” (Romans 12:1)

Jesus doesn’t just want my heart… He wants ALL of me!

It’s one thing to say that Jesus has our heart, and totally another to back up our claim with actions.  It’s one thing to say we asked Jesus “into our heart” and totally another to lay down our lives, bearing fruit, proving that we really have been born again and made His.

“This is how we know we are in Him:  Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” (1John 1:6)

It’s worth repeating:  Talk really is cheap- Jesus not only wants my heart, He wants ALL of me!

“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.”  (Acts 2:2)

I’m not content with a “sound from earth”- I want to hear “a sound from heaven”.  If the early church had never heard that sound I wonder where we’d be today?  I’m not talking about some of the weird stuff going on today that passes for a sound from heaven.  I don’t recall reading that the early church barked liked dogs, rolled around the floor in uncontrollable laughter, had gold dust falling from the sky or anything like that.  What I’m talking about has nothing to do with this sort of thing at all-  I’m not interested in going to revival meetings where men prance around and make big shows of the “power of God”, creating a spectacle of themselves and the church.  But I do want to hear a sound from heaven…

Jesus speaks from, and of, eternity- and that is what we so desperately need today.

You can take the supernatural circus, I don’t want it.  You can take the coffeehouse “cultural faith”-I’m really not interested in that either.  I’m tired of hearing about a “social gospel”, a “cultural gospel”, and that we’re here to “create beauty” through the arts and on the earth.  Whatever happened to the eternal gospel?  Can someone please tell me about heaven, hell, sin and redemption?  Who will stand up to preach the cross, tell of Jesus’ blood, and preach to win souls?  Will someone please give me that gospel- the one I see saints laying down their lives for in the Book of Acts?

I honestly feel sorry for those who are seeking God and have to wade through the mess of Christian blogs and churches that offer up this pathetic, watered down, twisted mess!  Oh, I know there are some who still faithfully preach the cross and are focused on eternity… but I remember a time before there were hundreds of thousands of blogs with everyone’s religious opinions; a time when the world was a much easier place to navigate.  There has always been bad doctrine, but there’s never been an explosion like what we’re seeing today of confusion and doctrinal error.  We can thank the internet for that- it was the perfect vehicle to usher in every unbiblical belief under the sun and spread it around the earth.  It has given a voice to people who probably never should have been speaking in the first place because they were never called by God to do so.

In the bible men were actually “called by God” to speak and act as God directed- they were sent out by Him, and anointed by the Holy Spirit.  I’m not sure many Christians worry about that today, we just all assume we should speak our mind.  And that’s the problem… I’m tired of hearing the sound of people speaking their minds-  I want to hear a sound from heaven!  I want to hear from those who are called, who speak by the Holy Spirit and cause us to focus on eternal things.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

The man who hears a sound from heaven, who hears Jesus, speaks of eternal things.  There’s a famine of the Word of God today, a famine of hearing from heaven, and because of that, not many people are talking about eternity.  Are we so focused on earthly things simply because we’ve never had a revelation of the glories of eternity?  Have we heard “a sound from heaven”, or are we just parroting the world we live in?  The Christian’s focus isn’t to be about earthly things!

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)

See, it’s not about the arts, it’s not about Christian music, it’s not about Christians getting involved in politics, it’s not about social justice, it’s not about some culturally driven faith, it’s not about a prosperity gospel where God makes us all rich, it’s not about gold dust and holy laughter… it’s not about all this stuff and so many more of the things we’ve been told it’s about.  This world is passing away along with all the things we think are so important.  I’m really tired of sitting in a church (like I did a couple weeks ago) and being told that we should be focusing on this earth.  I don’t appreciate being told that D.L. Moody got it wrong with his notion that this world was a sinking ship, and that we needed to get as many saved as we could before it went under.  Wrong?  Moody got that wrong??  God help us-We need an army of Moody’s!  We are in a desperate hour when the ship is sinking and the Captains of the ship are out taking the world for a pleasure cruise!  We should be on a rescue mission but we’re out “creating beauty”.  Moody said, “You don’t polish the brass of a sinking ship”.  If we could only see what Moody saw- this world is passing away.  He heard a sound from heaven, saw the sinking ship, and tried to bring as many as he could to the safety of eternity in Jesus Christ while they still had a chance to be saved.

Twenty-six years ago, when I was just turning 24, I also heard a sound from heaven.  I heard the Spirit say, “You can be born again!”  I got a glimpse of eternity and saw the world (and myself) for what it was- dead in sin and without God.  I grabbed hold of Jesus with everything I had, and as I looked into His face I began to be changed from one degree of glory to another.  The thing I’d been looking for my whole life was Jesus!  Like the old hymn says,

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

Do we see what we’re doing today in the church?  Do we understand where this embracing of the world system is taking us?  Does Jesus really want your eyes off of Him and off of heaven? Does He want you “polishing the brass” of this sinking ship, or looking to eternity?

“For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)

I hope I will stir some of you to think about this.  Read your bible and ask yourself honestly what the focus of the early church was on.  Read Acts and ask yourself if you’re focused on eternity like that?  Are you wanting to reach the lost like they were?  Has it dawned on you and alarmed you that this world is quickly passing away?  Does eternity fill your vision?  Maybe it’s time to sit in your upper room, read your bible, pray, and wait on God until you hear a sound from heaven!

More and more we hear of out-of-church Christians who have left the IC (institutional church) because they believe it’s “the end of the Church Age”.

One of the biggest proponents behind this teaching is Harold Camping who claims the Church Age has ended.  Camping teaches that Christians should stop going to church and ”depart from churches.”   The teaching, however, has spread far and wide beyond Harold Camping and is rapidly gaining traction.  Many people have done exactly as Camping and others have told them to do and are now called “out-of-church Christians”.

As I’ve observed the phenomenon over the years I’ve noticed a striking lack of discernment among many who have “left church”.  The assumption is, of course, that GOD lead them out and told them to depart- that He is doing a “new thing” and that they are simply “getting in the flow” of what God is doing.  Maybe it’s time we started asking some hard questions:

1. What if God is NOT the one who told you to leave?
2. What if you’re being lead astray?
3. Could this be a counterfeit from the enemy of your soul to bring you into a place where you are away from God’s people?”

God’s Word tells us to “Test everything.  Hold on to the good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

The failure to follow this simple admonition is why so many have fallen to the seduction of bad teaching.  Over and over again scripture warns us:

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3)

I have followed the trend of out-of-church Christians very closely because I believe God is bringing change to the church, but I am also aware that we have an enemy who is cunning and lays the snare of counterfeits.

I have no desire to find myself led astray, deceived, or walking in a counterfeit work of the enemy!  God tells me to “Test everything”, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do!

Something strange is going on here!

I’ve paid especially close attention to the out-of-church movement because I’ve written songs that address apostasy and lukewarmness in the church.  This is something I’ve thought about for a very long time- I wrote “Whatever Happened To Jesus” in 1987 and “Nice Little Church” in 1996.  I only recently recorded them and made them available to the public.  I couldn’t help but notice that the timing of the release of these songs coincided with the ”Out-Of-Church movement”, the “Emergent Church movement” and the “End of the Church Age” trend that we are seeing… but with one vital difference- I have arrived at VERY different conclusions than all of these movements!

It is very obvious change is in the air, and as far as I can see, a fair amount of deception is accompanying whatever legitimate things God may be doing.

I believe God is bringing change to the church, (as He has often done throughout church history through periods of revival).  As history has shown, this change has most often occurred outside of the mainstream church, so it would not surprise me if that is again the case.  I have noticed one startling difference, however, between some of the current “movements” and past legitimate “moves of God” that is alarming to me- past moves of God have always revolved around His Word and restoring to the church the truth and person of Jesus Christ according to the bible.  Many of the present day “moves” that are supposedly from God actually downplay the Word of God, or twist it in imaginative ways to make it say things that it never says!

Is the Church Age over?  Did Jesus put an end to “church”?  Are we to stop gathering with Christians?

An excellent example of distorting and twisting God’s Word is found in the claim that the Church Age is over.  Many Christians have believed the lie, stopped gathering with other Christians, and think they’re actually better off sitting home alone than gathering with God’s people! 

The deception behind the claim that the Church Age is over should be as obvious as the noon day sun:  The church in the Word of God is referred to as the Ekklesia- the “called out ones”- in other words, the church is God’s people.  We are being told that the Church Age is over while the church is still here!  I keep hearing from Christians that the Church Age is over and recently I was online talking about the subject: 

“You keep saying it’s “the end of the church age”.  Please give me scripture to support your claims.  The church- the ekklesia- is still here!  The church age has not ended.  We are still in a time of grace, people are still getting saved, the Body of Christ is still on planet earth.  Jesus is still standing at the door and knocking, he is still saying, “Be earnest and repent!”  He hasn’t left the scene or walked away from His people- “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:19-20)

You are still here, I am still here, the church is still here- the church age has not ended.

If you’re going to continue to make the claim that the church age has ended, please show us from the Word of God why you believe this to be true.”

You see, there is no reasonable explanation that can be found in God’s Word to give validity to the claim that the Church Age is over.  In fact, the bible tells us that the church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (The Rapture)- so consider the evidence that is before us- the church is still here, the rapture has not yet happened, the Church Age cannot be over while the church is still on planet earth!

Did God really tell you to stop gathering with other Christians?

Ekklesia means “called out ones” but it also has the meaning of an assembly or congregation.

1 Corinthians 14:26: “What shall we say, brothers?  WHEN YOU COME TOGETHER, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation…” etc.

Notice what is said… “When you come together…”  The Apostle Paul assumes the church will come together- it’s a given.

1 Corinthians 14:26 makes no sense outside of the context of the church gathering together- We cannot do the things this verse is talking about if we’re sitting at home alone!

We are the “Body of Christ”, we are brothers and sisters in Christ- FAMILY!  What kind of healthy family doesn’t get together if they’re able?

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”  (1 John 1:3)

The early church was one big family, do you mean to tell me that God is now telling us not to gather and fellowship together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, our family in the Lord?

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”  (Acts 2: 42-47)

Again, if you stop to think about it, the truth should be so obvious and the deception so clear, that no one would fall for being told not to gather with other Christians!

Finally, the scripture has warned us in advance to be careful! 

There are many people, saying many things, going about telling us what to believe and do; the scriptures warned us this would happen:

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

I hope you will make your source of truth the Word of God, and that you will “test everything” as the scripture tells you to do, so that you will not be taken in by deception.  The Church Age is not over, and you will not be able to find anyone who can prove it is by using the bible- unless they go to great lengths to twist and manipulate scripture in their efforts to try and prove their point- and that should be the first sign that something’s not quite right with what they’re teaching!

In “Whatever Happened To Jesus?” I give a call to return to the “old paths” of faith in Christ as well as a call to return to our “first love” of Him.  I wrote the song early on in my Christian walk (about 3 years after being born again) and have watched and pondered the direction of the church ever since that time.  I wish I could say the things I wrote about in 1987 have improved, but sadly, in my opinion, they have only gotten worse.  I’ve had the song in various stages of recording and decided to finally finish it and release it this year.  As I do, I’m very concerned by many of the things I see going on in today’s church…

I’m sure that some people who heard my first song about the lukewarm church (“Nice Little Church“) probably thought it had something to do with the “emergent church movement”.  I talked about the lack of life in so many churches, questioned whether many of our churches might actually be filled with people who have never been born again, and was trying to point out that there needs to be an actual connection and experience with the living God- that religion can never give people what they ultimately need.  If you thought some of the themes in “Nice Little Church” sounded like the cries of the emergent church, I suppose you could be correct- yet the conclusions the emergent church has arrived at for solving the problems in the church are far from the conclusions I have come to.  We may have seen some of the same problems, but we have arrived at radically different solutions!

Repent, return to Jesus, and get back to the Word of God!

In my songs I address some of the things that I see as major departures from Christ.  My solution to the issues in both of my songs about “the church” is not to come up with something “culturally relevant” (as much of the emergent church suggests we need to do).  Rather, I suggest we get back to the “old paths”- repent, return to Jesus, and get back to the Word of God as our supreme source for truth.

In “Whatever Happened To Jesus” I ask, “Whatever happened to his Word?“  Apostasy is basically a falling away from God’s Word and departure from His truth, which leads to a falling away from Jesus.  When God’s Word is downplayed, denied, twisted, referred to as antiquated, and relegated to a place where the church prefers the words of men over the Word of God, we have full blown apostasy.  The Word of God should be the litmus test for our belief and practice, but it is increasingly being tossed aside as outdated and irrelevant.

As I began releasing my songs it became apparent to me that I would not be pleasing very many people with the messages they contain- First, I’m challenging the church-at-large on three main issues:

1. Boredom and lack of life.

2. The worldly “put on a show”, entertainment, experience-driven, atmosphere that seems to have overtaken many churches. 

3. The downplaying of God’s Word and sound doctrine.

Dead churches are obviously not God’s desire, but neither is a worldly, culturally driven church the will of God for his people- we need a return of authentic life in Christ, which banishes deadness and boredom and needs no worldly hype and adornment.  In both songs I am calling for change that results in experiential life with Christ that is grounded in God’s Word.

Whatever happened to Jesus?  Isn’t this supposed to be about JESUS?

I’m tired of dead, formal religion with all it’s trappings that keep people from Christ rather than leading them into an experience of Him- Jesus is alive, and if we’re not experiencing and walking in that, there’s something radically wrong! 

On the other hand, in declaring the need of life, and an experience with Christ, I’m not interested in a free-for-all; I have no interest in deconstructing and reconstructing everything under the sun as many are now doing.

I’m especially not interested in downplaying the Word of God and throwing out biblical terminology as some prerequisite to reaching a “Post Modern Church” (a term that is meaningless in my opinion, and used to voice the idea that the church situation we find ourselves in today is somehow different than the place the church has found itself in the past, and therefore needs special treatment- an idea I reject).  The whole notion that we need to change to reach the times and culture we find ourselves living in is spurious- We are the ones who have eternity in Christ; it is not we who need to become like the surrounding culture in order to change it, rather we are to “shine like stars in the universe” as we “hold out the word of life” to a “crooked and depraved generation”.

This world- it’s lusts and it’s culture- are ALL passing away, “but the man who does the will of God abides FOREVER”.  The emergent church (as well as those who hold to it’s obsession of being culturally relevant) are missing this important truth:

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him… everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to me.”  (John 6:43-45)

It is NOT our identification with culture that wins people to Christ, rather, it is the work of our Father who draws people to Christ.  Our obsession needs to be with our Father and with His Son, not with the latest cultural fad.  The Spirit of God points to JESUS, not to this world’s culture.

Where can I find authentic life in Christ?

So I find myself in a difficult place, not content with the traditional church and it’s religiosity, and quite unwilling to go down the emergent road of culture based faith.  My most likely ally would seemingly be the house church movement with it’s desire for simplicity and intimacy, but even there signs of trouble loom- I love home churches and believe they are entirely biblical in and of themselves, but I see “emergent church” beliefs and practices sliding into home churches at a rapid pace.  I’m concerned as well by the often “reactionary” attitudes and practices of many in the home church movement:

1. Throwing out Pastors (and in some cases ALL leadership).
2. Believing that Christians who are a part of traditional churches are apostate.
3. Holding to bad and sometimes bizarre doctrine.
4. Being unwilling to receive correction because everyone’s an expert! (“It’s not about the “one man show”- we all have the truth and can teach it!”)

So my songs about the church are not aimed at any one group, neither are they a call for everyone to “come out and depart their churches” as some have done only to end up sitting home alone, no longer gathering with other Christians. (I don’t think sitting at home alone is the answer- God may call you out of a specific church for various reasons, but do you really believe His intent for you is to spend the rest of your time here on planet earth alone and cut off from gathering with other Christians?)

The fact is, we are told that in the last days there will be a great apostasy, and we are seeing it.  There is no quick fix of church structure or form that will solve the problem- The solution is to hold fast to Jesus and His Word.

Hold fast to Jesus and His Word

I hope my songs will drive you to Jesus and God’s Word.  I am personally convinced that even greater change than we are presently seeing is coming to the church.  God has historically brought change to the church through periods of revival and reformation, and there is no reason not to expect that He will continue to do so.  If we would be wise, we will not categorically refuse change, neither will we just accept everything that comes as “change”, but instead will “Test everything” as scripture admonishes us to do.  I hope you will give serious thought to the various issues I address in my songs about the church.  Most of all, I hope these songs will drive you to God’s Word to seek His truth, and that you will allow His truth to rule in your life.

There are some who believe they can lose their salvation and talk as if their hope of heaven is hanging by a thread that can at any moment be broken by something they do.  They speak as if salvation is their work; if not to obtain it, to keep it.  I have always wondered how a person could truly know themselves and believe that their salvation was dependant on something they could do.  My 26 years of being a Christian have proved, if nothing else, that I am a “wretched man” as the scriptures would say; there is no good thing in me that would warrant heaven.  If for a moment Christ would take His hand from me, I would spiral to the depths of hell; that is not mere rhetoric, I believe that to the core.  If it were not for Christ I would never make it to heaven; I would not even have a prayer of entering that place apart from Him.

It has always amazed me, likewise, how low a view some have of Christ’s saving power.  Most will admit that they needed Christ to save them, but many have trouble believing that Christ will also keep them:

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”  (John 10:28)

More amazingly still, many seem to put more stock in their own works to keep their salvation than they do in Christ!  If Christ cannot keep you “blameless to the end” do you really believe you can?  How is that that Christ chose to save you, but is not able to keep you?  Was He not aware of what you are when He called you to be His own?  Was He taken by surprise to later discover things about you that He was unaware of when He saved you?  Christ knows the totality of who you are, yet, “…while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

But let’s not stop there:

“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!  For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”  (Romans 5:9-11)

I happen to believe His sacrifice is effectual and complete; Christ is my righteousness, I have none of my own.  He paid the whole price and bore the complete penalty for my sin- past, present and future.  (1 Corinthians 1:30, Hebrews 9:26, 10:12-13)

If Christ cannot keep you, how in the world do you think you can ever keep yourself?

Is He all your righteousness, every bit?  Then you have everything you need in Christ!

I wrote “Today’s Lyrics” in 1991, six years after being born again; I had come utterly to the end of myself.  I realized that night that I had a choice; it would either be Christ and… or Christ alone.  If it was Christ and… my works, my efforts, my righteousness etc, then I had no hope of ever getting to heaven, not even a prayer; if it depended on me at all, I would mess it up.  I saw that night what I’d seen when I first got saved… It is ALL of Christ, it is none of me; Christ is EVERYTHING.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, who are you putting your trust in when it comes to eternal life, being saved, and making it to heaven?  I pray it is not yourself!

Here’s are the lyrics I wrote that night:

Read Galatians 2:21

How precious is the blood He shed!
The only means of righteousness!
So all the praise should go to Him,
It’s nothing that I’ve done…

No works of mine deserve applause
Or make me pleasing to my God,
The Spirit points me to the cross
And to the Savior’s blood

For there the plan of God fulfilled
Ran down Calvary’s darkened hill,
His light had come into the world
His blood had touched it’s soil

His hands, His feet, His wounded side
All are there to testify-
There is no room for human pride

And shall I turn and just pretend
That I can somehow add to them?
Can one commit a greater sin
Than that?

We don’t like to be told, “Stop sinning!”  We like Jesus and all His benefits- that all sounds good… but stop sinning?  No, that’s not as appealing!

The story I read today in the gospel of John is really quite amazing…  Jesus encounters a man who’s been an invalid for 38 years.  He heals the man instantly: The guy picks up his mat and walks away with a fresh start.  It was the Sabbath, and some Jewish men see him carrying his mat on the Sabbath and call him on it, “Hey! The law forbids you to carry your mat today!”

Now many people I’ve heard teach on this passage focus on the hard hearted response this guy got.  After all, he’d just been healed of a 38 year condition!  But as I was reading the passage today I found myself a lot more interested in the healed man’s response to Jesus…

After being confronted for carrying his mat his accusers wanted to know who had the gall to tell him it was okay to pick up his mat and walk around with it on the Sabbath.  Well, the guy had no idea who Jesus was; all he knew was that he’d just been healed.  One thing I’m sure he DID know, is that the guys that were looking for Jesus weren’t out to give him a pat on the back!

Some time later Jesus found the healed man at the temple, and here’s where it gets interesting… 

Jesus tells the man, “See, you are well again.  Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”  I take it the man didn’t appreciate Jesus’ advice because he went away and told the accusing Jews who were looking for Him exactly who He was!

Thanks for the healing, but I don’t need the lecture!

I get the feeling the guy didn’t mind being healed, but he didn’t appreciate being told not to sin.  Jesus has this guy pegged, and quite honestly, the guy doesn’t seem to have learned his lesson.  As I read it, Jesus said, “See, you are well again.”  In other words he wasn’t always an invalid, there was a time when he was well, and to me it sure looks like it may very well have been something he did wrong that caused him to be in the condition he was in for 38 years.  Jesus tells him, “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you!”  In other words, “It might be even worse the next time around… you better stop what you’re doing!”

I also get the impression that whatever it is this guy did that caused him to wind up as an invalid for 38 years, he went right back to it after he got healed!  The guy just gets healed and Jesus is already having to tell him, “Stop it!  Stop sinning… Didn’t you learn your lesson the first time?”  38 years later and the guy’s back to his old tricks; as soon as he has a chance to sin again he takes it!

He may have been an invalid for 38 years, he may have ended up that way because of his own sin, but being shown mercy and receiving healing didn’t seem to change his hardened heart- His reaction to Jesus’ rebuke was to go out and cause trouble for Jesus!  What an attitude!  “Who is this guy to tell me to stop sinning!”

That’s the way I read it.  We don’t really know what happened later.  Hopefully the guy thought about it some more and humbled himself by turning from his sin.  If not, it wouldn’t surprise me if he found himself in an even worse situation, just as Jesus had said might happen.

Let’s not kid ourselves, Jesus has our number- We’re transparent to Him, He knows everything that’s going on.  The Christian life is not just “be made whole”, it’s “go and sin no more”.  If we think otherwise we’re only fooling ourselves.

 Read the story in John 5:1-15