Spiritual famine

Amos 8:11-12

11 “ Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD,
“ That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the LORD.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD,
But shall not find it.

I was reading a post on the DefCon blog(thanks for the picture!) this morning talking about the entertaining church and the lack of the true Word of God. I then realized that the more serious I have become in seeking the Lord the more difficult it has become to find a church to call home. Why? Because have you really examined your church to see if it is man centered or God centered? Or have you just become content with the "routine" that is followed week after week? Do you even know if you are being starved? Or do you consider ear tickling and lots of singing to be meat for your soul? Are these hard words? Am I questioning preachers who are supposedly much more mature in the Word than I? Yes I am. Paul Washer says being a pastor is no job for cowards. I dare say our pulpits are infested with weak and incompetent cowards. Where is church discipline? Where is the zeal for God? Where I ask? A church I attended recently had all of its teenagers sitting front and center for all to see. (note this is just one example in one church)What did some of them do? Pass notes on tithe envelopes and send and receive text messages the entire service. Then they get up for the altar call!?! For what? To repent until next week just to do it all again? Why wasn't anything said? Could it be the possibility of offending one of these children's parents? Maybe no one else could see them doing this. Maybe no one wanted to see. Sadly, they weren't even being sneaky about what they were doing. So what is being taught to these kids who will soon become young adults? Let me tell you. They are being taught that church is no different than school or anywhere else. It's a great place to hang out and talk to friends about what happened on Saturday night. There is no reverence being taught, no fear of the Lord what so ever. No respect. Who's responsible? I say the preacher. Why? Because he doesn't have the guts to stop it. What? Are these teenagers to be looked apun as small children and just be ignored? Where were the parents? I suppose they are blind too, or worse, not even in church to see what their children are doing. I know these are strong words, and they are absolutely meant to be. When God commanded Moses to build the Tabernacle, He didn't give Moses a half-witted set of instructions to follow. Everything was done to God's specifications even down to the worship. Could you imagine the nonsense in our churches today happening in the Tabernacle? God would have struck us down where we stood. Thank Jesus for His grace, because God is no different now than He was then. We have made church a joke. So much fun and games with a little bit of Jesus sprinkled in here and there. How can we ever have regenerated hearts and minds when we are never convicted of our sins? How can a preacher tell his church all is well when there is unrepentant sin in so many lives? The Word must be preached in its entirety, not just the "good" parts. I can't seem to get this verse out of my mind lately:
Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said:
“ Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,


So how has it come to this? Is it possible church mortgages and debts are in part to blame? Is it uncommon for big churches to have multi million dollar mortgages? Not at all. Entertainment isn't cheap. What if the preachers started preaching the real Gospel? Would people hear it? Or would they be offended because they would rather believe a lie and leave the church? Many would leave, and their money would go with them. The church has become a business. Businesses must sell their goods. If no one buys, then the business goes under. Do you see the problem many churches have created for themselves? How can they feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and send out missionaries all the while paying multiple pastors big salaries and owing outrageous mortgage bills? I've not even mentioned utilities and insurance. Don't you see? Quantity must come before quality in these churches. They are caught in their own trap. The Bible clearly says that money is the root of all kinds of evil. More entertainment, more gimmicks for the kids, more activities and youth groups. Got to get the people in the door. If you are reading this and it offends you, then good. Maybe it will motivate you to get up off of your apathetic behinds and seek God. Going to church wont get you to Heaven, but I truly believe that believing the lies of ear ticklers will send you straight to hell. All is not well. There is a famine of our own making in the land. Most do not want to hear the truth, so God will give them over to believing a lie. Please, don't be one who will be given over to a reprobate mind. Examine yourself before the Word of God. Do you pass the test of the Word? Or do you choose to be comforted by the empty words of a preacher more concerned with attendance numbers than with the eternal salvation of your soul? C.H. Spurgeon said it best of the church over 120 years ago....."Are we feeding the sheep or amusing the goats? I ask you today, are you being fed? Or are you helping to amuse the goats? Please take 5 minutes to watch the video below.
Written by Kirk