Agendas and Programs

Ours or God's?

A friend of mine has a lovely young grandson and he said to her recently, “If God made us with two ears, why don't we use both of them to listen to Him !!" What a typical thing for a child to say. Stunning logic, Biblical accuracy, and straightforward good Christian advice. “Ye who have ears to hear . . . . “

Made me start thinking though. I had just got my soapbox out on Facebook and I posted this – “The Church needs provocation - urgently. It is so self-satisfied. It has established such a pattern of serving its own rather than Gods agenda and programs that it is in danger of going into apostasy - if it’s not there already.“

Now for several years I have been asking the same sort of questions. Things like, “The Church has spent Millions on programs - but where's all the fruit. Whose program was it if it wasn’t God's? If it was God’s, He’d bless it.” And in the same vein, “Is your church in its own plans and schemes - its own expansion program. In which case maybe you are not in God’s will.” Or even more directly, “The Church has spent Millions on programs - but where's all the fruit. Whose program was it if it wasn’t God's? If it was Gods He’d bless it.”

Today, the Church seems to be wallowing around not knowing which way it should be going. Some churches are preaching the so-called ‘Prosperity Gospel’. These are growing rapidly into mega-churches. Yet I fear their success is built not on what God wants but on their own desires. I fear they are preaching to ‘itching ears’ (2 Tim 4:1-5) and the people are listening to only that which they want to hear. Are they perhaps building their church upon sand rather than upon the Rock that is Jesus?

Other churches are preaching a watered down gospel rather than the Biblical Gospel. They do this mistakenly trying not to offend their congregation – trying to keep the ‘big tithers’ happy. They perhaps look at the balance sheet before looking to the Lord.

Where is the Church going – where is it headed to??? Why do we not ask God for His agenda and His plan before we make sometimes very expensive decisions and then praying for His blessing on our plans? God will not bless our plans unless and until they mirror His plans.

God cares not one jot for all our balance sheets, our ‘big tithers’, our important members. God cares little for our plans that do not take in His plans. God cares not for the size of our church, the size of our prayer meetings, nor even the size of our offerings and gifts.

His Word says that where just two or three are gathered in His Name, there He is also. His Word says that He values the widows mite above all our generous giving – we give from our plenty; the widow gave from her poverty. She gave everything she had. God has a different measuring stick to ours. He has a different scale of achievement to ours. He has a different measure of obedience than we do.

I was taught long ago that not only does God listen to our prayers but He answers them too. Sometimes he says ‘yes’ and sometimes He says ‘no’ – but He answers nevertheless. God is willing to talk to us whenever we want Him too. However this information is of no perceivable value if we are not prepared to listen to Him and to act upon what He says regardless of cost or consequence.

I want to make a heartfelt plea to you all today. Next time you ask God for or about anything at all – listen to His response. As the little boy said, “If God made us with two ears, why don't we use both of them to listen to Him !!"

Thats not a bad piece of advice – listen to what God says to you, your family, your church. Just listen to Him – then make your decision to act. Don’t decide first, then act, then ask God to bless your activity. Your plan may not be His plan.

Building on sand or on Rock??