Rushing Irreverently Before Him
The excerpt below reminds me of the sad occasion when the youth pastor in my former church did a rap (about the church) during the offertory. Or when the youth decided to spontaneously start a conga-line during the singing in the worship service. Also there was the seventies rock concert re-enactment where one of the assistant ministers came walking down the isle dressed like a pimp in the seventies with bell bottoms and giant feather sticking out of his hat as the entire stage of the santuary was transformed to look like a rock concert with different colored swirling spot lights and the girl backup signers swaying to the Dave Bowie song 'Fame". This was a so called "worship" service?
What is going on here? Am I crazy?
~~~
"Lightness, frivolity, irreverence in the pulpit; a talking to God as an equal, instead of lying at His feet as a suppliant—how painful a spectacle to the soul that has been taught to tremble at His word! I do not say a man of God may not be entangled in this snare; but where can his conscience be, not to see the awfulness of approaching a holy God without reverence of His dread majesty? What says the Scripture? "Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire. (Heb. xii. 28, 29.) How the Lord has visited with the hottest tokens of his displeasure those who dared to rush irreverently before Him! How Nadab and Abihu were consumed because they offered strange fire! (Lev. x. 1, 2.) How Uzzah, because he touched the ark, not being a Levite, was smitten by the immediate judgment of God! How more than fifty thousand of the men of Bethshemesh were smitten with a "great slaughter," because they dared irreverently to look into the ark of God! (1 Sam. vi. 19.) Is He not the same holy, jealous Jehovah now? And will He suffer any man to rush into His presence with irreverence, and talk to Him as though he were His fellow? O where can a man's conscience be, who can go before the Lord without some reverence and godly fear in exercise?"
--J.C. Philpot, Trying the Spirits, 1844
What is going on here? Am I crazy?
~~~
"Lightness, frivolity, irreverence in the pulpit; a talking to God as an equal, instead of lying at His feet as a suppliant—how painful a spectacle to the soul that has been taught to tremble at His word! I do not say a man of God may not be entangled in this snare; but where can his conscience be, not to see the awfulness of approaching a holy God without reverence of His dread majesty? What says the Scripture? "Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire. (Heb. xii. 28, 29.) How the Lord has visited with the hottest tokens of his displeasure those who dared to rush irreverently before Him! How Nadab and Abihu were consumed because they offered strange fire! (Lev. x. 1, 2.) How Uzzah, because he touched the ark, not being a Levite, was smitten by the immediate judgment of God! How more than fifty thousand of the men of Bethshemesh were smitten with a "great slaughter," because they dared irreverently to look into the ark of God! (1 Sam. vi. 19.) Is He not the same holy, jealous Jehovah now? And will He suffer any man to rush into His presence with irreverence, and talk to Him as though he were His fellow? O where can a man's conscience be, who can go before the Lord without some reverence and godly fear in exercise?"
--J.C. Philpot, Trying the Spirits, 1844
posted by kennyo at 5:33 AM
2 Comments:
We live in the most dangerous time in the history of the church. It would be impossible to innumerate the many worldly trends that are even now applauded within God's precious assembly, the holiness of God is now a joke. The church has lost all sense of direction since leaving the Scriptural compass, and now colossal evangelical movements have pulled up Biblical anchors and unfurled their sails to catch the winds of the world that propel them into waters that the prophets of old had warned about.
http://judahslion.blogspot.com/
Re "... talking to God as an equal ...":
One of the things that irks me more as time goes on, and that I have observed over the last few years, is the lack of reverence in addressing God during public prayer. It's true -- some preachers address the Lord as they would their buddy over a bag lunch.
Perhaps this is due to a lack of proper teaching on prayer; or a poor definition of Biblical reverence; or Biblical "fear" for that matter; or a misconception of Romans 8. Guess we could speculate for ages.
But Jesus taught us to pray; He said "Our Father, Who are in Heaven, holy is Your name ..." and so forth. Forgive me, but when I hear people directing public prayer and they start bluntly with, "God, ...." --I cringe.
Maybe they do not undertand their relationship with the Lord. I hear this more and more from leaders and that's what bugs me. I think they should know better.
Cheers.
Post a Comment
<< Home