The Christian faith is about relationship it’s not about religion or outward displays of Church life that are just mere forms of religious expression. Jesus spoke very firmly to the religious of the day, who felt they were doing the right thing in preserving religious tradition but ignoring its core values.
Matt 23:13 What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees? Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.V15 For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell V16 you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.V23 you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith V25 For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence
Jesus didn’t mince words he said it like it is.
I am concerned enough about aspects of the current Church model to speak out also. I am concerned because I see a trend in Church life which points to the passages in Matt 23.
I am constantly coming across people from very large & “Successful” churches that have all the right words about commitment, giving, & honour. They say they are living a blessed life and they trumpet their life lessons and success, saying that if it wasn’t for their Church/Pastor they would not be living this wonderful life they now live. Sounds all very good but there is never any mention of Jesus or the work of the Holy Spirit, In fact many of these so called Pentecostal Christians haven’t even been baptized in water or in the Holy Spirit. On deeper questioning most look at me blank if I start to talk about a deep inner communion with Christ or a Holy Spirit inspired move of signs & wonders. Brothers & Sisters we have a problem; The words of Jesus in Matt 23 are very pertinent to today’s situation. Jesus asked the question which is Holy? The offering placed on the Altar or the Altar that made the offering Holy? I ask the same question which is Holy the Church or Jesus who makes the Church holy? An intelligent person will always say “its Jesus” but the outward actions of our Churches declare another belief.
THE TABLE FOR TWO IN THE WILDERNESS
The outward nature of the Church is very important because without it we will see no souls touched or saved but without an inward expression it is dead and powerless. What is an inward expression? You ask!
Psalm 23 says “He prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies” It’s a table for two in the wilderness; the food is union with Christ. This table is where our hunger for Him is satisfied. So in our obsession with the outward expression of the Church in the world we have lost sight of the table for two. The table for two is where all of the signs wonders & miracles of Church history come from. Its an intimate table that when you are there no one else knows, So because of this many don’t ever accept the invitation of the Lord to come dine. There is no point in their minds to this table where no one sees them. Jesus responds this way “For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence”
The call to come inward to the table is often ignored because many don’t see the value of such fellowship; their aim is to be doing where as the aim of the table for two is simply “Being” in His presence.
The truth is only Christ can fill our empty hearts and satisfy our hunger. But because we are mostly outward in our focus it’s difficult to see that in His body & His blood is our total provision.
HOW DO WE APPROCH THE TABLE FOR TWO.
So how are we to approach this table for two? The answer is simple we approach the table with hunger. We come with the intention of an intimate meal shared with the King. Any thoughts of what will I get out of this meal diminish its true value. The value of being alone with Him! A place where we can laugh or cry, a place where we can totally bear our soul, confess our love and open our hearts to His light. This sort of intimacy is never found in Church. Church is where what we have found at the table for two becomes public and outward in its expression. With just the outward expression we only have one face of a two sided coin and to the world that’s what the Church has become, a faceless coin that once had some value but now is worthless.
“Popular Church services can provide giddy or glitzy God talk that makes us feel religious without providing any real time with God” (Calvin Miller)
JUNK FOOD VERSES THE FOOD OF MYSTICS
The soul is fed with CD’s & books promising instant wealth or guaranteed success if we follow the system; Whereas our spirit is yearning for an intimate table for two in the wilderness of His love. The soul food that is filling the Church is just junk food in expensive wrappers. The so called obesity crisis in the western world bought on by a constant diet of junk food that might taste good but has no real nutritional value is the same crisis facing the western church. We eat junk we become fat we die. All the time we gorge ourselves on the junk food there is a table for two with the best of fare set in the wilderness. Only in Christ the food we so long for and desire to fill our hunger is found, but the constant sermons & books tell us that in order to be well we must eat their branded junk food and forget the wacky wilderness dwellers who got left behind in the mist of last century, much the same as the mystics got left behind in the excitement of reformation in 1514.
TAKING TIME TO SAVOR THE TABLES DELIGHTS
The thing about the table for two in the wilderness is that some who attend stay for such a short time hurriedly swallowing as much as they can in order to fulfill the demands of time; when the table is set in eternity where the constraints of time hold no sway. It’s a learnt experience to become a dweller at the table where we take small bites and savor each one gaining the full expression of God in each morsel of Christ we partake of. The Church fathers spoke of otium sanctum which is a relaxed contemplation of the indwelling Christ. A pace impossible to find in a world filled with busy works orientated religion.
WORSHIP OPENS THE WAY TO THE TABLE.
Much of what has become known as worship is just a performance of good music in a Church setting with little or no thought of leading the worshiper into a divine encounter at a table for two in the wilderness. True worship creates intimacy and intimacy leads to the table set for two. Performance based worship, at best brings an awareness of our hunger but will always fail to satisfy our spirits desire for intimacy with the King. True worship is only achieved in the company of the King and His company is best received at the table for two in the wilderness.
SUCCESS IS NOT MEASURED BY OUR WEALTH
Our quest for wealth & possessions can hinder our focus. It’s not wrong to have stuff its just wrong for the stuff to control our way to the table. When our heart would rather own things than be owned by Christ we have entered into the Western Church model that says “True spiritual abundance is measured by the wealth you exhibit and the possessions you have” we loose our connection with reality. Are men drawn to Christ by our expression of wealth and if so what sort of Christ are we drawing them to? The finest Christians I have ever met live without much in the way of material possessions in very poor nations. Is their Jesus whom they meet with at a table in the wilderness the same one the Western Church longs for? Again I want to point out that it’s not wrong to have possessions it’s just wrong for the possessions to block our way to the Kings table. Jesus said “If any man comes after me he must deny himself and take up His cross daily” Luke 9:23. There is a laying down in order to come into the fellowship around the table.
ENTER BY FAITH
Hebrews11:6 “ without faith it is impossible to please God” This is the great truth of the gospel often overlooked. Because in our western worldview Church we have equated Church commitment with a commitment to Christ and in doing this we have lost sight of the table set for two in the wilderness. But true life is found in our faith led walk into the inward place a place we can enter only by faith. So come step into this inward mystical journey that leads you to true fellowship with God. Step into it by faith and eat of its fare with abandonment.
WHY A TABLE FOR TWO?
Why a table for Two? Because it’s in this union we become released into the fullness of His desires for us. Eastern religion demands you come on an inward journey to empty yourself of sound and desire but the invitation to the table for TWO is an inner conversation with the King filled with delight and feasting.
This note is an invitation to abandonment. A call to discover that true life is expressed in Inward & outward expressions of this abandonment. A rescue call from the Holy Spirit to a Church lost in form to return to the flow of the Spirit.
IAN JOHNSON
