It is so sad to see what the Church in our nation has become.
On the Last Day… many churches may discover that they successfully gathered people around themselves… but never truly gathered them unto CHRIST.
And perhaps that should terrify every pastor… every leader… every believer.
A man can become deeply committed to a church… while remaining largely unconcerned with JESUS CHRIST. And nothing reveals the poverty of our discipleship more than this.
CHRIST remained in our sermons… but HE slowly disappeared from our affections. We taught men to love the Church… but never taught them to love the LORD of the Church.
It is possible to produce people who would die for their denomination… yet would never live for CHRIST. People who would defend a preacher… yet never defend the honor of the SON of GOD.
People who know every activity of the Church… yet remain complete strangers to the burdens of JESUS.
The Apostles did not call men to fall in love with the Church. They preached CHRIST until men counted all things loss for the excellency of knowing HIM.
The Church was only beautiful because she reflected her LORD. The moment she ceases to reflect HIM… she has nothing left to offer the world.
What captivated the disciples was not an organization.
It was a MAN. They left boats… They left businesses…
They left their fathers… They left their reputations…
Not because the Church was attractive… but because CHRIST was worthy.
The Church was never meant to compete for the affection of men. She was meant to lead men to the ONE who alone deserves all affection.
Yet today… people will die just because of a title, because it is all about branding and advertisement.
Meanwhile, the heart remains untouched by the burden of CHRIST.
The painful question is this… What have we really built? We have men who will never miss a service… yet can go days without seeking the face of GOD.
Men who will fight anyone who speaks against their pastor… yet scarcely grieve when JESUS is openly blasphemed.
Oh, what has the Church turned into?
Brethren, the Church exists for one purpose… to make CHRIST impossible to ignore.
Read the Gospels again. JESUS never said, “Follow My movement.” HE never said, “Build your identity around an institution.”
HE said, “Follow ME.” Everything else was supposed to follow that command. When men become more devoted to the Church than to CHRIST… can it honestly still claim to represent HIM?
Perhaps this explains why many defend Christianity… yet never display CHRIST. Why they speak for the Church… yet never speak for JESUS.
Why they labor for religious success… yet remain strangers to the fellowship of HIS sufferings.
The sobering reality is this…
Any church that does not embody CHRIST will eventually embody something else. There are only two spirits contending for the earth. If the SPIRIT of CHRIST is no longer defining a people… another spirit will.
May GOD deliver us from becoming experts at building churches… while failing to produce men whose supreme passion, highest affection, deepest loyalty, and final obedience belong to JESUS CHRIST alone.
I said to myself, “Toluwalogo Agboola, your eyes will see the pure breed of Christianity rise from within this nation. But make sure your own life is not a contradiction of the Bible.”
For that reason, I took a vow never to stop examining and disciplining myself, so that I may be a worthy representative of CHRIST.
I invite you to make that same commitment with me.
God is real, but sadly this might never be the experience of our generation, if we will not give ourselves over and allow the Holyspirit bend us.
So much talk and little impact. If we must see God manifest among us, we will pray, we'll study, but importantly, we'll submit.
The greatest disappointment a man can bring to God is to forget why you were placed where you are, and to pursue personal gains at the expense of the purpose for which God put you there.
Gains and personal benefit, when unbridled, stifles the glorification of God through Daniel.
The greatest disappointment a man can bring to God is to forget why you were placed where you are, and to pursue personal gains at the expense of the purpose for which God put you there.
Gains and personal benefit, when unbridled, stifles the glorification of God through Daniel.