The Lost Art of Altar Calls

            Today I want to talk about something that has been missing from churches not all churches, but many churches today and that is the lost art of altar calls. I think that many times pastors and clergy tend to negate the power and the importance of having an altar call during their church worship services. One reason for this is that many have fallen into the erroneous belief that they do not want to single people out embarrass them or cause them to feel as if they're being put on the spot. This cannot be further from the truth. If we were to use biblical times, as the example of how to hold church we would see that Jesus did not seem to be too worried ever about whether or not he put someone on the spot or embarrassment. Likewise, many if not all of the occurrences where Jesus was approached in the New Testament. Those who were unashamed to meet with Jesus, confess their sins and express their needs were those who were most likely to walk away changed by the power of God.

            Jesus shares with us that those who are ashamed of him and deny him before their fellow man will also be denied before the father who is in heaven. As well Jesus said those who are not ashamed of him and confess Him before fellow man. Their Heavenly Father will accept them in heaven.

            Today it seems as though many church services are lacking what I believe to be the most important element the church service can contain. Yes, I agree that there are other reasons for coming to church and joining with the congregation then just meeting with God. However, meeting with God is the most important aspect of any church gathering our fellowship of believers. I believe that more sermons would come to life and that God could resurrect the power of his Spirit through the anointed preaching of the gospel if preachers were preparing their messages prayerfully considering what God wants to do in the heart of the congregation and how to connect the congregation with the heart of God!

            I believe that more participants in church services and church members would leave blessed and encouraged by the Holy Spirit even closer to God than how the come into the church service if they were led to a meaningful connection with God and with other congregants by the power of the Holy Spirit. Scripture says in Romans 12:1 –2 that we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Also in Hebrews 4:12 the Scripture says that the word of God is living, powerful and sharper than any two edged sword… It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our hearts.

            Throughout the Old Testament Scripture says in many places that man-made alters to signify points or places in which they met with God. The original intention for having alters put into our church buildings upon their construction was with the intention that man would meet with God. We desperately need to meet with God! The difference between church and any other form of clubhouse activity is that we meet with God, and that God has direct access to our hearts as his people!

            Is there really any shame in responding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit as he deals with our hearts in a church service? Are we really more concerned with what other people in church will think of us if we answer an altar call and go forward in front of our brothers and sisters in Christ and pour our hearts out to God and allow the Holy Spirit to mold and shape us into the person that he created us to be?

            In the book of Jeremiah 18 we see that the Lord wants to mold and shape us as Clay in his hands even like the Potter mold it, the vessel that he was so carefully crafted. Amazingly, the Scripture says that God spoke to Jeremiah, and said to him, go to the Potter's House and there I will cause you to hear my words. This tells me that God has chosen the hearing of his word. To be one of the instruments that God uses to change us and to transform us into the people he has called us to be! We can no longer afford, as the people of God to discount the truth concerning God, wanting to change us into the people he created us to be. The relationship God intended for us to have with him is far greater and bestows far more meaning and purpose than any other relationship that this world could provide. Therefore, we must go back to our grassroots and realize that we are created for divine purpose and for special relationship with God our father and Creator. It's time for us as the church to realize that nothing else in this world is more important than becoming who God would want us to be.

            By implementing altar calls back into our church services. Two things will happen one is that the pastor's sermons will become more directed and God focused. Two, the church members will begin to come with more expectancy and fervor to receive from God, and to allow him to speak to their hearts. But there's one other thing that will happen as we begin to learn how to preach the gospel and respond to the preaching of the gospel in such a manner that God can work in and through our hearts and change us into the people he's called us to be. That third thing, being sinners will begin to get saved as God knows that he can lead sinners by the Holy Spirit to a church that will invite them to a born-again experience and a newfound salvation through a relationship with Jesus Christ and forgiveness of sins, God will draw sinners by the Holy Spirit to our churches and begin to do the work that God came to do to begin with and that work is to save sinners to change lives to heal hearts to raise up disciples to send forth preachers and to change this world back what God created us to be all originally.

Post Modern Challenges of the Church
            The church is presented with several challenges in a western society, post modern culture. Traditional “religion” is at risk of disappearing as new growth, when it comes, is usually derived from church shifting rather than growth from souls being born into God’s kingdom. This is not to say that there is no new converts in this era just that the death rate is out pacing the conversion rate. Some of the church has developed what I see as a worldly approach for acquiring growth. For example, a worldly business model derives growth from tapping into a market and then attempting to provide better services or products in some way. The concept of providing “one stop” shopping has out done the smaller mom & pop business once found on the corners of most neighborhoods. Now we go to the supermalls, warehouse stores and membership clubs, because we find everything we want plus can see a movie and get lunch while there.

            For the most part, but not in its entirety, the church has either tried to follow suit or stayed in the traditional mold in which it once flourished. The traditional institution of the church is approaching a point where if they do not tap into new growth they will die off. Meanwhile the modern, post modern church is at risk of becoming so worldly there will soon be no difference between them and the local shopping mall.

            As this is happening in the Christian realm, other prominent religions are creeping in and setting up shop. Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Eastern philosophies are gladly sweeping up the mess and gleaning the souls that have fallen by the wayside or never been reached with the truth of our risen savior. My stomach turns and heart grows heavy as write these words. No idols, teachers or philosophies will ever bring the healing, deliverance and salvation that Christ purchased for us with His precious blood. Only Christ has risen from the dead and only Christ can give eternal life. I believe these other forms of religion do offer temporal ways of dealing with or managing human problems and woes but through Christ we can conquer and rise above.

            As we read the four gospels, we see that Christ gave His church an example for how to reach the world that we can still follow today. As God I don’ believe He needed to do these things. As a man He set an example for us, an example of what will work! The examples Christ set for us include at least the following areas:

·        Fasting and Prayer
·        Ministry to God’s word
·        Ministry to Human Need
·        Forgiveness and Impartation of Human Dignity
·        Impartation of Vision/Purpose
·        Spiritual Empowerment

            Christ started His ministry with spiritual empowerment first when the spirit descended on Him immediately after His baptism. Then He went into a time fasting and prayer where overcame Satan and temptation by quoting scripture. Christ showed that He was devoted to the scripture even as a boy when He disappeared from His parents and was found in the temple, to the temptation in the wilderness and throughout His ministry he quoted scripture on numerous occasions. He showed the importance for prayer by example as He went off to pray on several accounts.  Mary, Zaccheus, the woman at the well, and countless other examples showed His ministry of forgiving sins and bestowing dignity back into the lives of those who were wounded or even destroyed by the bite of sin. He met them personally and powerfully touched their lives with healing and hope then He called them, built a relationship with them, empowered them and commissioned them to reach the world. This is our challenge as the church in a post modern world! This is an example of the kind of leaders we need today!

            Scripture says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever (He 13:8). The church is presented continuously with the challenge of sticking to the model that Christ gave to for us yet presenting salvation to our society in a relevant, personal and practical manner. In other words people need to know that apart from religion, buildings, what is presented of Christianity on T.V. or other forms of media there is a God who is alive, loves them, cares about their condition and the condition of this world and that this God is not only able but willing to have a personal relationship with them.

            Scripture also warns in Romans 12 not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may be able to prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God. We as the church are therefore challenged to be what God has called us to be! If we can do that He will build His church and the Gates of hell will not prevail against it.

            My personal challenge then is to stay focused on His will for me. I need His power, His love, His anointing and His word to live me each day. Therefore I must continue to strive for daily time in His presence; I must continue to strive for His spirit to give me practical and relevant not just theological understanding of God’s living word. 

           

The Body of Christ

            What is the most significant of spiritual gifts? How about the least? Quite possibly, those who appeared to function in the more obvious and flamboyant of gifts were viewed as being more spiritually blessed while those who operated in the less seemly of gifts went unnoticed. Would this picture be that much different than the church today? Yet, we cannot all be Pastors, Evangelists, Apostles or Prophets. So, what did Paul mean in 1 Co. 12:31 where he states that we should desire the best gifts and that he has a more excellent way to show?

            What are the “best” gifts? What makes one gift better than another? Paul states that all the gifts come from the same spirit, and that the Holy Spirit distributes the gifts as He wills. (1 Co. 12:11)  He states that we all share in the same faith, and that we all serve the same Jesus. So then wouldn’t the person who operates in the gift of service be just as important as the person who claims that they have a word from God for His church? How well will a visitor receive the Pastor’s eloquent sermon if they weren’t greeted well by the person who functions in the gift of hospitality or, if they were offended by a rancid smelling restroom? Does anyone ever notice the person who is gifted in intercession, even though they may have literally prayed fruitfulness upon the evangelist’s efforts to organize an outreach? No one in the church may ever see the impact of the gift of mercy when a believer goes to the retirement home and visits the forgotten souls but are they not heroes in the sight of our Lord?

            In vs.7 Paul states that the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. Could this mean that when the moving of spiritual gifts is present in the church it is never just about the person through whom the gift is flowing? When a person is healed I would say that the healing is always what is important not the person whom God uses to pray for the healing. When a prophesy is given it is all about God speaking to His church with direction and hope for what and how God wants to move His people closer to Himself. So then prophecy is about the church not the prophet, just as healing is about the healed.

            With this in mind, what then is the purpose for seeking the best gifts as Paul says in vs. 31? In Romans 12 Paul discusses the gifts in relation to the body of Christ as well. As we compare lists we can see that the order he gives in 1 Co. 12 is not necessarily a hierarchy of importance, because he does not even list the same gifts for the Romans as he does for the Corinthians. The crossover is limited to prophecy and teaching. However he does follow up on his writing about the gifts in the Body of Christ with a clear exhortation towards love in both epistles! If we consider the gifts as listed in Ephesians 4 as well then we see that while the gifts listed are not identical in any of the three epistles the following attributes are almost unanimously accompanied.

            The gifts as mentioned in Eph.4, Ro 12 and 1Co. 12-14 all are stated by Paul as being appointed by God, Christ or the Holy Spirit. All 3 epistles refer to unity, the body of Christ and the importance of love while Paul discusses the gifts.   Edification is mentioned in Ephesians and 1Corinthians as a motivator for the gifts. Grace is mentioned in Ephesians and Romans as an enabling force in the administration of the gifts. This brings me to the more excellent way that Paul mentions at the end of 1Co.12 in prelude to chapter 13.

            The best gifts are not necessarily defined by title but by function. Do they function to bring strength, unity, love or hope to the body of Christ? Are the motivated by God’s Holy Spirit in order to in some way unify His church for the vision of God’s commission or purpose? Do they feed, encourage or strengthen the church as a whole? Is the functioning of the gift relevant to the immediate need of the church or the individual the gift is being ministered to? If so then they likely are the best gifts. 

           

When Light Conquers Darkness

          What did Jesus mean when He said that you are the light of the world? Did He mean all His followers for the remainder of time? Do you think the claims made by some could be true that when Jesus spoke to His disciples He didn’t mean the generations to follow were included in His promises? How do we decide if the words of Christ are meant for us today or not? Well, for that matter what about the rest of the Bible? Is the Bible God’s word for us to learn His ways or not?

          I say yes! Each individual must decide if they believe in God and if so then we need to think about how and why God would communicate with us. Would He be clear or confusing? Would He send us a manual and then tell us do decide for ourselves what we want and don’t want from it? Would God send us several books and teachers with conflicting beliefs and then tell us to pick & choose what we like best from each one? Let’s be real. By the way, if all paths lead to God, then why is there so much darkness in the world today?

          Some may say; “There is only so much darkness because that is what you choose to see.” So does that mean if I choose not to see that there are over twenty convicted sex offenders (most of which are repeat offenders) living within a few mile radius of me that they will no longer be there? If I choose not to see that our prisons are over filled with so many criminals that our government can’t afford to keep them off the streets then that fact won’t be true anymore?  Does it mean that if we decide not to see corruption in the hierarchy of the church that it won’t be abusive or greedy for power or money anymore?

          I’m sure we can all see that by ignoring reality we won’t make it go away. But can we see that God has always had a better plan if we can just accept it and actually live it? Look at this prophesy from the Bible written about 680 years before Christ came:
  Isaiah 60:1-5
 1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. 
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, 
And deep darkness the people; 
But the LORD will arise over you, 
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, 
And kings to the brightness of your rising. 
4 “ Lift up your eyes all around, and see: 
They all gather together, they come to you; 
Your sons shall come from afar, 
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side. 
5 Then you shall see and become radiant, 
And your heart shall swell with joy; 
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, 
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.

The prophet Isaiah is referring to the coming of Christ and tat He will draw all men to Himself. All may not come but Christ is drawing today!

          Now let’s look at how John described the coming of Jesus into this world:       

John 1:1-5  1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things
were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was
made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:9-14   9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Can we pray that God remove from all our hearts any darkness that prevents us from comprehending HIM? (Ask God in your own words to remove all hidden darkness from your heart and to fill you with His light)

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Matthew 5:13-15
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

          Mark 16:14-18  Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

          We cannot depend on any government, law enforcement or anything else to bring the light of God into this world. He has called and chosen you and me to do the job. It does not matter what kind of darkness lives or once lived in you the blood of Jesus was shed to cleanse and forgive us all of any thing that separates us from the light and love of God. We only have to ask Him and mean it and then find a church home that preaches and teaches the whole word of God. (We can help you find one if you contact us) Then share the good things that God has done with you always.

Unity in the Body of Christ

          The other day several of us had gathered together for a prayer meeting. As we sat around the circle one requested that we pray for unity in the church and another man (an experienced Pastor) stated “…that would be like praying for patience are you sure you want to open that can of worms?” He went on to say that God works out unity in His church sometimes by creating issues for people to disagree over.

          At that point I started to ponder what would bring unity to not only our church but to others as well? What examples of unity in the church do we see from the Bible? What about examples of division or discord in the early church? How did they resolve these issues? And, what should we really pray for?

          In the Book of Acts 2 we read that they were in one place and in one accord when the Holy Spirit descended upon them and added over 3000 souls to the church in one day. At the end of the same chapter it says they continued with one accord, singleness of heart and gladness and the Lord was able to add to the church daily as many as would be saved.

          It occurred to me at that point that we should pray for God to impart His vision into our hearts as that would become a common goal that we could find unity in accomplishing. The early church had a vision for God that was bigger than them selves. By focusing on that vision they experienced the power of God’s spirit and salvation. I was reminded of the King James Version of Proverbs 29:18 which reads “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.  I suggested to the prayer group replacing the word unity with ‘God’s vision’ and quickly we all agreed to pray for God’s vision to become the primary focus in the church.

          Well I hope it stays that simple! I mean what if Christians everywhere could simply agree on God’s vision for the world and unite together in accomplishing it? Am I a dreamer? Is it possible? Even the early church had trouble agreeing on whether or not to circumcise the newly converted gentiles. But they also didn’t let that slow them down from the commission to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every living creature.” At least they stayed true to that basic task.

          How much unity could be restored to the church if we all started to pray together once or twice a week? And how much agreement could Christians find if we each as individuals prayed and read our Bibles after asking God to help us understand and grow by His Word? God created as individuals. He made each of us as unique in so many ways. He doesn’t want to take that from us by making us all a bunch of Jesus clones. That is not the unity god is looking for in His church. In fact our differences are there so we can offer them back to God by working together in accomplishing His goals of bring the gospel to every living creature that they might be saved.