Are You Going to Worship The Storm or Worship Jesus?

At a family gathering in Green Cove Springs, Florida,  a cousin of mine had some things on her heart that she wanted to e-mail me about.  She is concerned about the hard times that seem to surround the church she attends.  Here is the e-mail that I just sent her.  As I reread the e-mail for errors before I sent it to her, I realized that a lot of churches are going through the same thing.  You might find yours and the solution in this e-mail.

Cuzn,

Now it is my turn to apologize. It is so easy to get caught up doing this and that. Time slips by so easily.


First of all, there are hard times that come to all that call on the name of the Lord. We as individuals have rough times. Churches and organizations do, also. A lot of times these rough waters coincide with the economic times of the country. There were several occasions where Jesus and his disciples had to ride out storms on the sea of Galilee. In one particular instance, Jesus came to them walking on the water. Everybody in the boat thought that it was impossible for anyone to do that, so they figured that they were just seeing a ghost. Peter uttered the phrase, "If that's you, bid me to come." Jesus did and Peter walked on the water for a little ways. When one of the rough waves slapped him on the leg, he began to pay more attention to the storm than he did the Prince of Peace. He paid more attention to the danger than he did the One who had promised to bring him out of danger. Remember, Jesus' words to Peter were for him to come and walk to Him on the water. Jesus said nothing about Peter sinking or drowning. Jesus said nothing about the storm destroying anything that He had begun to do. Jesus knew that God had sent Him to earth to die on the cross. Therefore this storm might hinder Him but it wouldn't stop Him.

Here's where we miss it. Instead of keeping our eyes on Jesus, we seem to focus our attention on all the bad things that are happening around us. When a pastor and the leadership of a church do this, worship becomes stagnant. The blessings of the Lord are blocked because they believe the storm more than they do the promise.

On the other hand, when we keep our focus on Jesus and make our life's goal to serve Him, He will bring us through the storm and into peace. It is possible to have great peace and joy in the middle of the storm. Actually, when our focus is on Him, we realize that this storm will end at His discretion. We may as well praise Him while we wait out the storm. Joy becomes a way of life for us. As well, when we focus on Jesus instead of what is going on around us, His answers come more readily. His presence is more real.

I guess I can sum things up with that last sentence. You need to attend and work in a church whose focus is more on Jesus than on the problems they face. That's the decision that we have had to make. We've stayed in a church because we love some of the people there. However, they are like the one you are in. Stuck in a rut and not on Jesus. They name the name of the Lord. They are saved. But their focus is on their lack. In the middle of a storm, Jesus can still be real. If worship is not vibrant, if the pastor's messages are more about the problem than the Hope, then that church is not for you. We are also attending and working in a vibrant soul-winning church. The pastor and the leadership are filled with the love of God and keep their focus on the "main thing." I've heard the pastor say the same thing over and over. "We will keep the main thing the main thing." That "main thing" is reaching the lost just like Jesus' "main thing" is.

Pray about it. Don't get bogged down with the situation in the church. Instead, keep your mind on the Lord. Focus on Him and declare that He will lead you. Give Him praise that He has put you in the place that He wants you. He might need you right there. Then again, He might need you somewhere else. Keep the "main thing" in the foremost of your thoughts and prayers. People are dieing and going to hell every day. It's not time to dally around in a place that might not be keeping Jesus as the head of their lives. It is time to reach the lost. That is what is first and foremost in the hearts of our family. We know that there will come God's time when we can cut our ties to the dead church and will be able to focus all of our energies on reaching the lost while serving at Savannah Christian.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Keep me posted.

Love,

Henry