Not by Sight

Good morning and welcome in everyone.  Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from 2 Corinthians, but first of all…..

I’ve noticed a growing trend that is going on in society these latter days.  People are showing up to a church gathering for all of the wrong reasons. Instead of being drawn to the church because of a God-seeking heart, and joining with others who are like-minded, they are drawn by what they see.

2 Corinthians 5:7  For we walk by faith, not by sight

For example, some people have turned a church gathering into a worldly performance, adding fog machines, disco lights and thousands of dollars of other lighting and visual effects.  They even have women up on stage doing dance routines, like something you would see downtown in a bar in some major city.  Now, let me ask you a question.  Why would anybody in their right mind, who decided to convert to the Christian Life, want to enter a church somewhere where it looks exactly like the world from which they stepped away from?  You know who’s going to show up?  The world.  If there was any kind of conviction in their hearts, if there was anything spiritual going on, they would know that these behaviors have no place in the Christian Life, because they are worldly and motivated by the senses.   Many of these carnal leaders and false prophets play right into the hands of the public, by giving them exactly what they want, more of the world.  Many people show up because they want to be dazzled by what they see, like someone who is fascinated by the neon lights in a gambling casino. They want to be stimulated by what they see, rather than being stimulated by hearing the solemn preaching of God’s Holy Word.  Like a worldly rock concert, people show up because they want to watch a performance.  They want to be shocked and awed, rather than humbly seeking God with a contrite and penitent heart. They create an amusement park atmosphere, rather than a somber gathering of reflection, worship and prayer.  

If it looks like the world, it is the world. If it acts like the world, it is the world.  If it resembles the world, then it is the world. The reason why many people are drawn to a church building  somewhere, is not because they want to hear God’s Word taught and expounded upon.  It’s not to listen, learn and to grow in obedience to the will of God. It is because they are amazed by what they see, from chandeliers, to architecture, to paintings, to a performance, to landscaping or to the sheer size of the building and the crowd.  A church service is supposed to be a somber event where the penitent come to lay their hearts bare before God. It is a place of spiritual learning from men of God, conducted in a grave and orderly fashion, yet there are those who have turned it into a party atmosphere, like something you would see at a sporting event. Some people feel that they are going to win people to the faith by doing these kinds of things, but we don’t reach the world by becoming like the world, we reach the world by converting them to the truth of scripture.  We don’t win the world by conforming to the world, but guiding the world on the path of transformation and repentance. We don’t win the world through laser lights and spotlights, but by exposing them to the light of God’s Word.

Nowadays certain groups will try anything just to get people in the seats, but this was certainly not the way of the early Christian Church.  People showed up because they wanted to hear the Word of God. Instead of conforming to the truth, people want to attend a worldly looking church, claiming that certain gatherings are old fashioned or too conservative.  They want to attend a progressive church, one that reflects the modern age of the world that we live in. They want to go somewhere that accepts worldly philosophies such as women teaching and preaching God’s Word.  They want to go somewhere that is tolerant of their sins.  If they can locate a group with those beliefs, then in their own mind they don’t have to repent. The church is not a chameleon because it is unchangeable.  It is as unchangeable as God’s Holy Word.  The church is not a building, it is a group of people who are seeking God with a diligent heart.  Instead of meeting in people’s homes like the early church, nowadays they pour huge amounts of donated money into large and ornate structures that glorify man’s handiwork rather than God, but in the end, God will destroy them all. The Apostles taught that the Earth and everything in it will be burned up.

2 Peter 3:10-14  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

What is the point of putting money into a building?   Even the Lord Jesus didn’t have His disciples construct a building somewhere.  What’s the point, when everything is going to be destroyed anyway? That includes every church building that has ever been built. Some of them have turned the sheep into merchandise because of their own covetous hearts. We are supposed to help others with the things that we have been given.  When we distribute to the poor and needy, our gifts are credited to our account in heaven. Any monies that were received were not used to pay for a new parking lot, they were given to the poor. It really makes me wonder if people would work that hard getting people seated in the pews, knowing that all the donations that came in were going to be given to the poor anyway.  

I was talking to somebody a few years ago who said that they had gone to a church somewhere and the service was absolutely incredible.  I asked them what was so incredible about it.  They said that the performance was absolutely amazing, like a concert atmosphere. They described the comfortable seats and the visually stimulating design of the building.  Not once did they mention anything about hearing God’s Word preached and growing stronger in their faith. Never once did they mention what they had heard or learned. What is supposed to draw a Christian to worship, is the preaching of God’s Word, and joining with others who call on the name of the Lord out of a pure heart, oblivious of what environment you may be in.

2 Corinthians 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Jesus preached right out in the open, in fields and in a boat.  They even had communion in the upper room of someone’s home. God doesn’t require a building, because He dwells in the temple of all Holy Spirit filled believers.  The Christian Life is spiritual, not carnal.  It is about seeing with your heart, rather than with your eyes.  Judge not by appearance, because the Christian life is not about what you can see.  It is entirely about walking by faith….

……Not by sight

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc  where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms.  We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

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