This message is on the state of the
American church and I want to read you
some comments friends about the church in America.
I thought it'd be best to hear from
some real church members describe their recent experiences
rather than this preacher being a dead horse
with my own comments.
I copied these comments down from two female
Yelp reviews of the larger churches in my
area that had posted on the church's website
recently.
Listen to their observations.
The first lady said I had to stop
going because of the new pastor's sermons.
He's more concerned with being funny than rightly
dividing the word of God.
Every sermon he has to make jokes and
he spends more time talking about his family
than anything.
I get nothing out of these sermons and
some of them are closer to motivational speaking
than expounding the word of God.
The pastor acts like a failed comedian and
motivational speaker.
Well those were her comments about her church
experience.
Let me read you another lady's observations about
a different church in the same city.
Disappointing.
During a recent sermon the pastor attempted to
be funny in describing Esau the red and
hairy man from the Bible by flashing up
a picture of a U.S. political leader
on screen.
Not only did this seem inappropriate during a
sermon by a church leader it was a
poor analogy and not even funny.
Well that's what she wrote about the condition
of the church in her area that she
had noticed.
And I could give you my own observations
friends but what would be the point?
These women sum it up better than I
can because they sum up the sad spiritual
declension in our pulpits today friends where pastors
are more interested in getting laughs from their
congregation rather than conversions.
I don't believe for one skinny minute that
these two observations are remote and in the
minority.
I believe they speak for the majority today.
They actually pinpoint the state of the church
in America today.
For the most part we've got professionals in
the pulpit rather than prophets.
We've got entertainers rather than God called men
but there's a good reason why the church
in America today is not experiencing revival.
We'd rather turn our sanctuaries into discos with
strobe lights and loud music because at least
that way we can mask and cover up
the fact that the Holy Spirit is absent
from among us and God has withdrawn his
presence from us because of our infidelity to
him.
There's a reason why churches don't preach hard
against sin and inform men and women and
boys and girls about their duty over penance
to stay out of a devil's hell.
There is a reason why pastors refuse to
warn you about the dangers of damnation because
some of them are in danger of damnation
themselves from a unconverted ministry.
Many ministers today are more concerned about their
reputations and about being accepted by their deacons
than warning sinners to flee from the wrath
to come listen to what can happen to
our society when a God called man fears
God more than man and calls sinners to
repentance.
I'm talking about Mordecai Ham.
I'm holding in my hand a first edition
of Mordecai Ham's biography and this is his
signature right here on the first page of
this first edition.
God used Mordecai Ham's preaching to convert a
young Billy Graham.
Billy Graham came to Ham's tent meeting a
clean good church member and a teenager and
he got mad at the evangelist for pointing
him out and calling him a sinner but
Mordecai Ham said he never pointed at Billy
Graham but the Holy Spirit sure did and
Billy Graham got saved that night because he
heard about man's duty repentance.
He saw he was a sinner in need
of a savior and that's what God did
with Mordecai Ham in converting Billy Graham and
listen to what Mordecai Ham's ministry did as
he went up and down throughout America friends
listen to this when evangelist Ham preached mockers
were converted families were restored bars were closed
laws were changed churches were filled overflowing one
church even advertised in the paper that no
more new converts should attend as there was
not room for them hundreds were called to
preach and crooked politicians either repented or feared
the consequences when some resisted God's work God
withdrew his grace in answer to Ham's prayers
and God's judgment fell dead bodies had to
be taken out of meetings that's a time
when Christianity changed the world instead of the
world changing Christianity does anybody see the problem
does anybody really care