Hello readers! Well, it has been a great ride through Francis Chan’s Forgotten God Today we finish the book by looking at Chapter 7.
In this chapter, Mr. Chan points out the difference between a Holy Spirit led church, and churches that don’t. He says that society has created a whole brand of non-Holy Spirit following churches and even Christians who are not disciples. These are a new group of ” followers” who do not follow.
I like what he says in the middle of page 143 as well.
If all God asked for were faceless numbers to fill the churches, then we would all be doing all right. Most of us would feel pretty confident. But simply having a good speaker, a service that is short and engaging, a good venue, and whatever else we add to the mix does not make a “good” or “successful” church. God intended for His bride, those who claim His name, to be much more than this.
God is not interested in numbers. He cares most about the faithfulness, not the size, of His bride. He cares about whether people are lovers of Him.
Some churches of today, and the people who attend them could be compared to the prophets of Baal. (1 Kings 18), more than Elijah. Elijah was the prophet of God. Below is a brief summary provided by Mr. Chan.
The prophets of Baal had a loud, passionate worship gathering that lasted from morning till evening. When they were done, they had a great time of fellowship. But “no one answered; no one paid attention” (18:29). After all of that, Elijah prayed. God heard his prayer, and fire came down from heaven. After it was all over, the prophets of Baal were saying, “The LORD— he is God! the LORD— he is God!” (18:39 NIV). They didn’t say, “Elijah is a great speaker” or “Elijah sure knows how to connect with God!” They were stunned by God. They were in awe of His power. They knew that what they experienced could not have been manipulated by Elijah. They experienced the power of God.
Along with the gatherings we attend as church goers, we need to use the same principle in our personal lives. People should be able to see the transformation in our lives after we accept Jesus Christ into our life. They should see His works in us and say, “The LORD– He is God” instead of, “Wow, Isn’t _____ a great person?”. We shouldn’t let people think we are responsible for the change. The Holy Spirit should be the main focus!
Well readers, I am going to stop there. I wanna leave you with some questions.
- Do you attend that is like the prophets of Baal or the prophet of Elijah?
- Does your church pride itself on a great speaker, a great worship, great programs, number of members, etc…? Or does it pride itself on its following of the Holy Spirit?
- Is the Holy Spirit the focus in your life?
Until next time readers, God Bless!
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