"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what  shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"

 

  Recently, a question that has reverberated in the corridors of my mind is "what has happened to the church"?

  Even the casual observer  can't help but notice that a change or departure  has taken place, the sense of reverance  has left the place where  God Himself resides. It is not just a change inthe atmosphere, but spirit and humanity has changed  dramatically. The church landscape and its people have indeed beccome different in so many ways.

 

Thirty years ago, when I came into the church, there was so much that didn't exist or wasn't tolerated. The church has evolved into a place of entertainment and performance, no longer is it a center of holiness where you trembled under the conviction of sin, the musicians are sometimes club musicians that played the night before a different venue, instead of choirs that sang to the glory of God, there are now"praise teams" that places  emphasis on its praise leader or "praise dancers" that showcases someones dance talents.

 

Absent from the church landscape i the all-nite "Shut-In" prayer, tarrying service and genuine move of God, seldom do we see someone truly "slain" in the Spirit as in days past, our aisleways used to be filled with individuals "drunk" or "running in the Holy Ghost" . The "Entertainment" factor has deeply saturated the pews.

People attend church because its a part of their weekly itinerary, not because of a hunger and thirst  after God, and the Church does all it can to accomodate this society's lust for entertainment.

The sermon or message that brought sin-conviction is all but gone from the pulpit because people won't sit under a message that makes them squirm in their seat. So everthing in the church has been altered to become "sinner-friendly" with a "come as you are" and don't judge me" message and environment. This might not matter to some, but no one even dresses to attend church anymore. I think its important because, everyone should want to offer themselves up to God in the best possible way.

The church will indeed be judged for its departure from the things that were pleasing to the Lord and yet it seems with the church's full knowledge of that judgement, it still seems to be headed toward the judgement we see in the first three chapters of Revelations. We that love the house of God need to continue to pray for Him to purge His House , that it be "meet for the Master's use"

 

                         Pastor Michael Smith 

            Life Enhancement Christian Ministries