Making the Pleasant Land Desolate

The landscape of the Church in America has been on a steady journey toward desolation. In many instances, it is extinction. Thousands of churches closing their doors, many of these found in areas that would well be described as desolate. Broken and desperate are words that are also fitting. Many of the churches that have now closed their doors were once thriving churches. Their locations were once thriving locations. But a thousands times over, what was once pleasant and blessed has become desolate.

Numerous times in the Old Testament we find this similar story with God's people, the Israelites. They go through a great time of blessing and prosperity that is followed by a great time of destruction and desolation. God describes the reason behind one such time this way:

" 'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the Lord Almighty. 'I scattered them with a whilrwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land was left so desolate behind them that no one could come or go. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate' " (Zechariah 7:13-14, NIV).

In this passage above God describes the doorway to desolation--'to not listen to the voice of God.' How many times have we sensed the Lord telling us something or leading us in a direction, but the cost seemed to great, the mountain seemed to tall, or the danger to deadly. So many times we hesitate, or we put it off so long as to forget about it and never return to thinking about it. We ignore the voice of God.

I like the assumption in the verse above, which is: "to listen to the voice of God is to obey the voice of God." The verse doesn't say that they heard the voice of God but then they disobeyed. If we're not obeying, then we're not really listening. That's all there is to it. And I believe that is the story for many churches and a great many believers. We are so busy doing our thing, or doing our 'Christian life', that we are not truly listening to the voice of God. And therefore, the time of trouble and desolation comes, and we wonder why God seems to not be listening to us.

If you're not listening to the voice of God, then your not in the will of God, and the only pathway back to God's favor and blessing is through repentance. Unless there is repentance, 'God will not be listening' in the day of trouble. Repent, so that God will turn His ear to you and restore you.

We are in a time when God's church must repent from how we've not been listening. We've bickered amongst ourselves, we've competed with our sister churches, and we've split our churches over silliness. It's all because we've been busy listening to many things, but not listening to the voice of God. We've been busy 'doing' many things, but not listening to the voice of God. We are scattered and desperate while the world around us is lost and dying--sinking into greater and greater destruction.

It's no coincidence that Jesus is the 'Word of God'. And it is no little significance that the Bible says faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the very word of God (or lips of Christ). Everything about following Jesus is centered upon Him speaking and us listening. So when there is a breakdown in life and things are left desolate and broken, somehow we're not listening.

Wherever you find yourself, it is either a result of listening or not listening. Where are you today? Whether in a time of blessing, a time of trouble, a time of decision, or a time of rest; at the forefront of all we are about should be to listen and to obey.

God is speaking. Are you listening?

The Dying American Church

"There are some 400,000 churches in the United States. We estimate that some 60,000 of those churches will close in the next 10 to 15 years. We will need at least 60,000 churches just to stay even!" --Thomas Rainer, from the forward to Church Planting from the Ground Up, College Press. See the full forward at:

www.church-planter.com.

According to George Barna's book Revolution, in 2000 there were an estimated 70% of people whose primary means of spiritual experience and expression was found in local church. By 2025, Barna claims that, according to his research, there will only be 30-35% who find this from local church. Most will change to finding their main spiritual experience and expression through alternative faith-based community, i.e. home churches.

Thomas Rainer also has an article called "The Dying American Church." (from Christianpost.com) Here's a small excerpt:

"The state of evangelism in the American Church is such that I do have my moments when I wonder if the Church is headed down the path of many European congregations: decline and death. The facts of a 2004 research project I led are sobering. It takes 86 church members in America one year to reach a person for Christ. Now I realize that such statistical studies are imperfect, and I make no claims of omniscience, especially in matters such as the regenerate population. But if the research is even close to accurate, the reality is that the Church is not reproducing herself. In just one or two generations, Christianity could be so marginalized that it will be deemed irrelevant by most observers."

Since I am a child of the church, having been raised in church, saved in a local church, and called into ministry through the local church; I have a heart for local church ministry. And I believe in it strongly. But I have become so frustrated by how easily "church" can become a seemingly dead work. More and more churches are fitting in this category. It is estimated that 80-85% of churches in America are either plateaued or declining.

I'm convinced it's a necessity that God's people start truly seeking God for revival and renewal in the American Church.