“Make the heart of the people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn and be healed.” Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And He answered: “Until the cities lie ruined, and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid to waste…” Isaiah 6:10-13, NIV
In Isaiah the nations of Judah and Jerusalem had rebelled against the Lord and the Lord has had enough. Here he is telling Isaiah that he is going to basically destroy their land. I look around at the churches in our area and I see a disturbing pattern with not all, but a number of, the churches. People become deceived. They begin to get their worship off track. They begin to make it all about a building or all about the control of a certain position or a certain committee. They treat the church as though it is their very own country club and not God’s house.
The greatest commandment is that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind. Second to this is that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:36-40). The great commission is in Matthew 28:19-20 where Jesus tells His disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Your church should be all about living out these commandments and this commission.
The alarming trend is that in our area we are seeing churches split and vast numbers of people leaving congregations. I learned from a friend the other day that her former church used to have an average attendance of 800 and now it is down to 400. Many small churches in our area have 4-10 people attending on any given Sunday. These churches have a handful of people who want total control even if this means keeping the congregation small. This scripture passage begins with God telling Isaiah to make the heart of the people calloused lest they turn from their rebellious ways and be healed. God is over Judah, Jerusalem, and their rebellion. He has decided their fate. They have failed to follow His commands. In chapter 5 of Isaiah, it tells us that the “Lord’s anger burned against His people; His hand is raised and He strikes them down.”
What makes us think we are so much better than God’s chosen people? What makes us think that our rebellion will not anger God? We are to worship God, not a building, not a position, not a pastor or person within the church.
If you have left a church because of irreconcilable differences, you should join with another church as quickly as possible. You should definitely not fail to attend church altogether. Hebrews 10:25 “not staying away from meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” We are not to stay out of church because we found some hypocrites there. Romans 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned. When we judge others in the church and label them as hypocrites, we are becoming hypocrites ourselves. We are not to get angry and fail to go to church. We are to meet with fellow Christians, we are to encourage each other. We are not to be mean spirited. We are not to be bitter and unforgiving. We are not to put ourselves in a position where our hearts may become calloused. If you run into problems in a church, pray to God and heed his word. If he tells you to stand firm, stand firm. If he releases you to go onto another church, find a good Bible teaching church and join with them. Whatever you do be sure that you love as God instructed you to love and that you spread the gospel. Be sure that you are in God’s will. Don’t be angry with those with whom you have disagreed, be quick to forgive anyone who has offended you. Matthew 6:15 tells us that if we do not forgive others that God will not forgive us. Be very careful not to fall into a trap of bitterness, this can cause you to not want to forgive others.
I consider myself blessed to have a pastor and a church family that I truly enjoy meeting with on Sundays and Wednesdays and any other time we get together. My prayer for you today is that you are attending a church where you feel God’s love and where the gospel is being spread through outreach and missions. The book by Thom Rainer entitled “I am a church member” warns us against becoming an inwardly focused church. I also pray that if you are in a church where there is disagreement and strife that you can work it out like Christian brothers and sisters. The Bible gives explicit instructions in Matthew chapter 18.
The most important thing we can do as Christians is follow God’s word and not rebel against His teaching. My prayer for you today is that whatever church you are attending you are in God’s will. Church should be an uplifting and refreshing way to start your week or a boost for the middle of the week, it should not be a constant battle. Join with a church where you can love and feel loved and invite others in to do the same.
Have a great weekend and a great day at church tomorrow!