What's In Store For 2009?

We'll after a long blog sabbatical I'm finally back. Some of you think I have dropped off the earth, vanished, been raptured but I'm still here. Thank you to all of you that prayed for us as we were preaching 8 times in 12 days. I am just now beginning to recover from the hangover. I will be focusing much of the rest of this year on what I feel God is saying to the Church and to our nation. We are truly living in pivotal times and how we respond in this juncture will determine the future of the Church and our society.

This morning someone told me that it is the responsibility of the Church to provide solutions to the economic crisis, rather than ignore it and continue to just have Church. Unfortunately many Churches are answering questions that nobody is answering and we find ourselves speaking a language they don't understand.

Ezek 3:14-15
14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me. 15 Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
NKJV

The background of this text is that Jerusalem was in ruins, it was in a time of devastation, disarray, and great depression. The economy was in ruins, homes and families were scattered, and there was great pain in the midst of this one time powerful city. Jeremiah like many of the preachers today rode into town with an attitude that says I have all the answers., i can give you 7 steps to a turnaround, or I have a formula that will make everything better. He came in thinking he was going to fix it, and make everything all right again. He came in the heat of his spirit (flesh). And when he got there the bible says the hand of God came upon him and he could say nothing. He sat where they sat for 7 days and said nothing. He was astonished at what he saw as he looked in the eyes of desperation of a single mom trying to hold her family of 5 together and he saw the helplessness in the eyes of a father trying to provide for his family in a time of great poverty and lack.

And after sitting there for 7 days saying nothing, he began to understand that the world we live in is not wanting us to give them all the answers or to try to save them. He understood that there was something powerful missing that would enable us to impact the community we live in.

It is the ability to relate to the world we live in. I'm afraid that there is a growing gap between the world we live in and the Church today. They feel we don't understand them, don't know where they are in life, we are speaking but nobody is listening. They think we don't have a clue and while we are in Church arguing over who is going to sing the solo, and that our name was misspelled in the birthday section of the bulletin, and somebody took our pew, while we are playing these silly Church games, they are in great pain, living in carnality that we are afraid to talk about, and they are living in bondage to things that they hate but feel powerless to stop. The reality is that a sinner does not get up every morning thinking I wonder what law I can break today, what carnal act I can perform. No, they are in bondage to something they hate but feel powerless to stop.

Jesus understood that he could not impact us from the lofty streets of Glory but that He had to become like us, he wept at our funerals, held our babies, comforted our mourning, visited us when we were in prison... He understood that in order for him to change lives, he had to relate to us. He had to sit where we sat.

I want to understand their pain so that I can comfort them, understand their problems so I can be a solution to them. And after Jesus sat where they sat for 30 years, John pointed at him and said now you are ready because you have become acquainted with their sorrows and moved with compassion... I truly believe the power the Church is lacking is that we must first sit where they sit, and then after seeing the world they live in and relating to them, our hearts will be moved with compassion and great power will flow into their lives bringing hope and healing to a hopeless and hurting world.

The two things that they are looking for is 1) Hope and 2) Purpose. Billions of dollars have been spent on the book "The Purpose Driven Life". Why? They are looking for hope and purpose. Hope is the the belief that there is a tomorrow that is better than today, that my life can be better and that there is something more to what I am experiencing right now. Purpose is understanding why I am here and what is in me and what am I to do with it. Any Church that can answer these two questions will not have a growth problem. Lastly, I read recently that 70% of the cities (all) in America are unchurched, meaning that in every city in America 1/3 are unchurched. What if we could relate to them, understand their problems and provide hope and purpose. I truly believe that we would see city transformation!

Tomorrow, I will share a prophetic word for America in 2009, especially concerning the state of the Church.

Blessings,
Craig