Introduction
Statistics claim that some 85% of Americans, when asked about their “religious” background, state that they are Christians. If that statement was correct, then we would be a nation of just over 224,457,000 Christians. However, when asked about regular church attendance, an astonishing 69% of those, who claim to be Christians, only attend church once or twice a month. Of that 69%, 42% of them attend church less than 3 times a year, and 14% of that never attend church at all. Let’s put that into some numbers. Of the 224,457,000 who claim to be Christians in America, 154,875,330 attend less than 3 times a year, maybe on Christmas and Easter, and 21,682,536 never attend church at all. 92% of households in America have at least one Bible, yet in less than 36% of these is the Bible read more than once a week. Statistics show that for every 20 people who enter into vocational ministry, only 1 of them will retire still in the ministry. Nearly 48% of marriages with Christian couples ends in divorce, 90% of which occurs after both partners claim to have been saved. Do I need to go any further? Truth is, I’m becoming more and more convinced that we are less of a “Christian” nation than we claim to be, or at best, the vast majority of Christians are too immature in their faith to know how to live out their call as a Christian. And with that, I believe it vital for Christians, men and women of God, to grow in their faith each and every day; to move from infancy to maturity. Let’s take a quick look at an Old Testament passage of Scripture that lays this out for us.
First, let’s look at THE PROBLEM:
Ezekiel 22:23-29
23 Again the word of the LORD came to me: 24 "Son of man, say to the land, 'You are a land that has had no rain or showers [a] in the day of wrath.' 25 There is a conspiracy of her princes [b] within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says'-when the LORD has not spoken. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice.
Sound familiar? Much of what we see in America can be defined by this very passage: profaning holiness, unjust gain, lying, extortion, robbery, oppression, mistreatment… and on and on. In America today, we are much the same. Lovers of money, stretchers of the truth, extorters of the innocent, and praising of the wicked.
Now, let’s look at THE PLEA:
30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
Can you imagine? The Lord of all creation, looking down on His precious creation, in search of one, just one, who would “stand in the gap”, to be the man he was called to be, to live a life of holiness, yet none was found. Why was this? Were there some who just flat out would not serve the Lord, probably so! Yet there were far too many of them who were not ready to serve, not prepared to serve, infants in their faith, and unable to stand on the truth. Now, let’s go back to our statistics from above. Sounds to me like we have a ton of professing Christians who are not prepared, infants, at best, in their faith. Truth is, none of us are where we need to be in our walks with the Lord. We all have areas we need to improve on, areas that need to be fine tuned and sharpened. We all need to strive for daily maturing in our walks with Christ. Can you hear Him calling out: “I need just one, is anyone ready”? Will you be that one? Will you be a catalyst for the cross? God has called each of you unto salvation, yet God has also called each of you to be leaders for His Kingdom and His church: Spiritual Leaders. Let me encourage you, you can’t get to that point on your own. It takes work, it takes effort, it takes perseverance, and most of all, it takes the Lord. And that is the invite of this websites journey: a life long journey of Spiritual Growth. Will you step of to the plate? I promise you, you’ll never regret it. Will you be a CATALYST FOR THE CROSS?
Statistics claim that some 85% of Americans, when asked about their “religious” background, state that they are Christians. If that statement was correct, then we would be a nation of just over 224,457,000 Christians. However, when asked about regular church attendance, an astonishing 69% of those, who claim to be Christians, only attend church once or twice a month. Of that 69%, 42% of them attend church less than 3 times a year, and 14% of that never attend church at all. Let’s put that into some numbers. Of the 224,457,000 who claim to be Christians in America, 154,875,330 attend less than 3 times a year, maybe on Christmas and Easter, and 21,682,536 never attend church at all. 92% of households in America have at least one Bible, yet in less than 36% of these is the Bible read more than once a week. Statistics show that for every 20 people who enter into vocational ministry, only 1 of them will retire still in the ministry. Nearly 48% of marriages with Christian couples ends in divorce, 90% of which occurs after both partners claim to have been saved. Do I need to go any further? Truth is, I’m becoming more and more convinced that we are less of a “Christian” nation than we claim to be, or at best, the vast majority of Christians are too immature in their faith to know how to live out their call as a Christian. And with that, I believe it vital for Christians, men and women of God, to grow in their faith each and every day; to move from infancy to maturity. Let’s take a quick look at an Old Testament passage of Scripture that lays this out for us.
First, let’s look at THE PROBLEM:
Ezekiel 22:23-29
23 Again the word of the LORD came to me: 24 "Son of man, say to the land, 'You are a land that has had no rain or showers [a] in the day of wrath.' 25 There is a conspiracy of her princes [b] within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says'-when the LORD has not spoken. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice.
Sound familiar? Much of what we see in America can be defined by this very passage: profaning holiness, unjust gain, lying, extortion, robbery, oppression, mistreatment… and on and on. In America today, we are much the same. Lovers of money, stretchers of the truth, extorters of the innocent, and praising of the wicked.
Now, let’s look at THE PLEA:
30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
Can you imagine? The Lord of all creation, looking down on His precious creation, in search of one, just one, who would “stand in the gap”, to be the man he was called to be, to live a life of holiness, yet none was found. Why was this? Were there some who just flat out would not serve the Lord, probably so! Yet there were far too many of them who were not ready to serve, not prepared to serve, infants in their faith, and unable to stand on the truth. Now, let’s go back to our statistics from above. Sounds to me like we have a ton of professing Christians who are not prepared, infants, at best, in their faith. Truth is, none of us are where we need to be in our walks with the Lord. We all have areas we need to improve on, areas that need to be fine tuned and sharpened. We all need to strive for daily maturing in our walks with Christ. Can you hear Him calling out: “I need just one, is anyone ready”? Will you be that one? Will you be a catalyst for the cross? God has called each of you unto salvation, yet God has also called each of you to be leaders for His Kingdom and His church: Spiritual Leaders. Let me encourage you, you can’t get to that point on your own. It takes work, it takes effort, it takes perseverance, and most of all, it takes the Lord. And that is the invite of this websites journey: a life long journey of Spiritual Growth. Will you step of to the plate? I promise you, you’ll never regret it. Will you be a CATALYST FOR THE CROSS?
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