If you follow social media sites on a fairly regular basis as I once did, perhaps you have noticed this as well, the important, the urgent newsworthy events rarely seem to occur on the weekend, and hardly ever on Sunday.
If you are discerning you understand that this is not a coincidence, but because those who determine what is “relevant” understand that viewership is down exponentially on those days, and peak attendance is when the sponsors pay the most.
“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” (Matt. 24:11)
Especially when it is at that supposed darkest moment.
Many do not expect the Lord to call them into the clouds on a bright and sunny day, when all seems relatively well, no, there must be a storm approaching, there must be dark clouds on the horizon, and above all, it must be personally detrimental to them. Far away doom and gloom requires nothing more than the power button on the remote control or the computer to be pressed.
Jeremiah tried to warn the people for over twenty years, while the false prophets of his day ridiculed him and offered false hope to the rulers of the land. Try and find many of those false prophets who were prevalent during the so-called pandemic, most are gone, t-shirt and coffee mug sales went down and so they moved on.
I am quite sure that in most what I will call churches that the message is sort of sketchy, sort of loose ended lately, not quite sure of what the subject matter should be, although there are still plenty of diversions to chose from in the occurrences of the world, nothing can compare to a world-wide event that causes them to lock their doors, put on masks, roll up their sleeves and cause great personal fear in those who are not to love their lives.
The message is to be Christ and Him crucified, how we are to live our lives for the glory of God, not in fear of the loss of our own lives, not the latest earth-shattering event.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” (2nd Tim. 4:3)
Many pastors cave to the pressure of what the congregation wants to hear, it is why specific people are picked to be on the finance and building committees, for it is there, when the door is shut to most, that the pastor, in mostly subtle and discreet words, is informed where his paycheck comes from, is reminded, sometimes in not so subtle ways, that he does not serve Christ only, but the people that sit in those pews, and what they want to hear is what he needs to preach.
There are not many employment opportunities for a man whose main life experience is to stand and talk to people.
On Sunday, my friends, if you are attending a God-serving, Christ-centered, Bible-believing, Holy Spirit filled church, then you are hearing the only news worth listening to throughout the entirety of the week, the only news worth repeating to all you meet.
Look back over the last several months, what has the message been from the pulpit, has it been the news of the world and then towards the end of the sermon just a small amount of the Scriptures? Or is the world left where it is supposed to be, outside those doors?
Then look at your own personal life during the week, and ask yourself, where have I been living?
