My wife and I decided that we would take the day and head up to the mountains for a picnic and some much needed relief from the crazy heat here in Phoenix. On our way out of town, we passed a few casinos. I’ve passed those casinos many times, but this time something struck me. Given that it was sunday, my brain was in full gear. I realized that there were more cars in those casino parking lots than in many of the churches we had passed. What is it about those places that draw people by the hundreds of thousands?? That got me thinking.
For so many, those places represent the hope of a better life – it’s the hope that maybe one day the future will change for them. So they keep coming, they keep gambling, they keep hoping, something keeps them coming back religiously.
So I started asking myself some tough questions: Do we as Christ followers live in such a way between the sundays that people notice something different? Do we preach in such a way on Sunday’s that we expect lives to be changed? Do we offer enough hope that keep people wanting more? Do we truly believe that if we preach the Word, in all of its fullness, that lives will be changed? Do we fight to make the message relevant? Or do we realize that we may be the ones who aren’t relevant in our culture? The Word of God is ALWAYS relevant, it always has been, it always will be. It speaks to every issue we may face in our lives, and it offers more hope than any slot machine in some fancy lit up casino. Why do the lights shine brighter on the Vegas strip than they do in the lives of some believers? Why is it that in some of our churchs today the brightest thing shining are the lights that illuminate the parking lot at night while the rest of the lost world sleeps?
I keep coming back to the question that has haunted many of my restless nights – do we really care? More importantly, do I really care?
I have realized in years past that Satan is often the most faithful member of our churches. Think about it. If the enemy can walk through our doors, and turn believers against one another, has he not accomplished his purpose? The tools he uses are doubt, discouragement, gossip, strife, conflict – and we as believers are his primary target. Why worry with the lost? Satan has them right where he wants them, but any good war strategist will tell you – when planning a war, go after the infrastructure. Attack the leadership. If he can cause us to turn our focus to the brushfires of church conflict, gossip, slander, and mediocrity, then we will not see the fires of hell that burn so bright on the other side of the mountain. The Bible tells us that “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matthew 12:25 NASB) I’m so sick of preachers who simply preach the comfortable message becuase they are afraid to lose those that give the most amount of money. My mentor and friend Dr. Roy Fish always used to tell us, “friend, if you aren’t doing any meddling, then you aren’t preaching – the Bible is a meddling book!” We have got to come back to the reality that hell is a real place and real people go there without knowing Christ. It’s time for a reality check and a wake-up call in our churches today. We aren’t promised tomorrow, and we have to see the reality of the moment – and especially the hurt that exists in our homes, neighbordhoods, communities, and our world.
For me, I think of how much of a waste of time and money it is to sit in front of a slot machine and pull that lever over and over and over again – hoping that maybe one day luck will change. It should appear no different to many of us in the church today, we keep doing the same things over and over and over and hope that maybe one day things will change.
Friends, our luck has run out. It’s time to come back to the Gospel and start seeing people the way Jesus saw them. It’s time to start making a difference in the culture and communities we live in. Luck won’t get the job done, luck won’t reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ. WE can, and through the Holy Spirit – life can and will be breathed back into the four walls of our buildings that we call church. The problem isn’t money, buildings, or a lack of resources – the problem is sin. We need to do some soul searching…
I end this little ramble with a short parable:
This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job.
Everybody thought that Anybody could do it,
but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
