BRINGING THE GLORY BACK
By Pastor Jim May
I have a number of old movies in my collection. I’m not a big movie buff, but I do like to watch movies that based upon history. The War Between the States, World War I & II, and of course Vietnam to a lesser degree, are my favorite time periods to focus upon. I know it almost sounds like a conflict of interest for a minister to enjoy studying, reading and watching things that are based upon war and conflict, but that’s just the way it is.
One of those movies is a movie by the title of “Sergeant York”. For those of you who don’t know who he was, Sergeant York was a country boy from the hills of Kentucky who was drafted into the army during WWI and went to fight the Germans in Europe. He won the Medal of Honor by single handedly killed or captured 160 Germans.
One think about Sergeant York that has always been special to me is how he gave his life to Christ and lived in the days, and in such a manner that we refer to as “old time religion”. In fact, one of the songs that is presented in the movie says just that.
“Give me that old time religion,
give me that old time religion,
give me that old time religion,
it’s good enough for me.”
I can remember when that “old time religion” was still around. I kind of wonder if the church hasn’t forsaken the ways of that “old time religion” and adopted the new ways, at the expense of losing the presence, power and glory of God in the midst of the church.
I wonder if our air conditioned auditoriums, padded pews and all the modern equipment has taken the place of our trusting in the Lord to give us what He wants us to have.
There was a time when we had one old guitar, with a string or two missing, and the rest out of tune, but when the people began to sing, they didn’t care what the music sounded like as long as it led them to worship Jesus.
Folks were shouting in the aisles, dancing in the pews and crying at the altars and they didn’t care who saw them. They cast aside their pride, gave God glory, and then received much more than they could ever give.
I long for the day when we can see people shouting for joy once again, praising God until the Holy Ghost falls and fills the house with His glory. I’m ready to see some sin-killing, devil chasing, Holy Ghost power moving in the House of God again. We’ve just been too busy trying to be accepted by the world while God rejects us because we won’t let Him have his way in us.
I don’t believe that God is through with the church. In fact, I am convinced that God is getting His church ready to meet him in the air. I cannot see the church going down in flames while the devil fires his fiery darts of doubt and feat. No, I see a church that will rise, washed whiter than snow, made strong in the faith and that is anointed with the power of the Holy Ghost just as much as it was in the days of that “old time religion”.
I believe that the promise that God made to Israel still holds true for us today. What God has begun, He will finish. I’m looking for a mighty move of the Spirit!
Israel had been guilty of playing with the “unclean things” of the world. Caught up in idolatry and failing to put their trust in God. All of their acts of rebellion, distrust, disobedience and sin had brought Israel to the brink of destruction, but God wasn’t through with them yet. He had made a promise and His promises can’t fail.
In Zephaniah 3:1-4, God’s own words tell us what happened to Israel and I believe that most of the church world is in that same shape right now.
"Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God. Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law."
There is very little said about living a sanctified life anymore. The church has become filthy and polluted because hireling preachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, are afraid to speak the truth because it might cause the offerings to go down, and if the offerings go down, the church will suffer, and if church starts suffering, the church board just might kick the preacher out.
The church doesn’t trust in God anymore, instead we trust in money, power, prestige, pride and programs. The church isn’t drawing nearer to God. The church is drawing closer to the world every day. Sometimes its hard to tell where the world stops and the church begins. Maybe that’s because there is no more line of separation. We haven’t “come out from among them”, we’ve joined with them and became just like them.
The “princes”, those who were once called, “sons of God” have become nothing more than voices that howl at the moon, but don’t preach against sin in the camp. They profess to be men of God, but they don’t have any fresh anointing. All they have is leftovers.
Cold preachers, preaching warmed over sermons, to sheep who are falling asleep and who are fat on the things of the world, seems to give me a pretty good description of the modern church. We need something new; something fresh; something with some real fire and power in it; not a warmed up leftover message from a cold, dead refrigerator somewhere.
What’s even worse is that preachers, and church leaders have become role models to teach the next generation of the church that you can live any way you want to, dress any way you want to, and follow your own heart, and God will bring you a big church with all the worldly trappings. They don’t teach consecration, commitment and dedication to God. What they teach is concentration on worldly riches, commitment to the cause of being a good neighbor and building better relationships with other people, and then dedication to the vision of the leadership even if that vision conflicts with the will of God.
Preachers break every law in the Word of God and then expect God and the true church to accept them as they are just because of what they think is success through huge buildings and vast numbers in their congregations.
The numbers may be there, the appearance of great success may be there, but unless that house is built by the Holy Spirit and based upon the truth of the Word of God, it won’t stand for long, and it definitely won’t stand when the fires of God’s judgment begins to fall.
Yes the church world is in trouble. But let me remind you that God’s promises never fail. He has promised that he will have a remnant, a faithful few, who will never bow their knee before the idols of the world. They will be a people, holy, separated, consecrated and anointed for the work of the Kingdom.
God is getting His Bride ready for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. He is calling His people out of the world and into a closer walk with Him. I can sense that God is working to separate His people and bring them together into a closer relationship with Jesus.
Look with me at the words of Haggai the prophet, as he gives forth the Word of the Lord to Israel one more time.
Haggai 2:2-7, "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts."
Can you remember the former glory of the presence of God in the House of God? Can you remember the power and presence of the Holy Ghost that once filled your soul?
How is for you now? Does the glory seem to have dimmed or departed? Is the presence of the Lord as real as it was then? Is your love for God and the presence of the Holy Ghost in you the same as it was when you first began this journey with the Lord?
For many of us, what the church is today, is nothing much more than an empty shell of what it once was, and we wonder, how long, oh God, will you allow the church to go on like it is without letting your judgment fall upon us? Will you send us a revival one more time? Will you fill us afresh with the great power of the Holy Ghost?
Look at what God has to say to those who will draw nigh unto him. Be strong; fear not; my covenant will not fail; my Spirit shall be with you. Keep on serving me just a little while longer. Don’t stop, don’t waiver in your commitment.
The day is coming, and I believe it is upon us now, when God is going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. He will shake all nations and get their attention once more.
Just look at all the recent disasters and see how God is trying to get the attention of the whole world. God is calling for separation. He is calling for commitment. He is calling for sanctification. He is calling forth His Bride to make herself ready for the coming of the Bridegroom to catch his Bride away.
I like the part where God says that the “desire of all nations shall come” and He will “fill the house with His glory” once again.
Let us be careful to answer the call. Let us be a holy, separated, sanctified people unto the Lord. When the church gets ready, and makes herself ready for the coming of the Lord into her midst, then shall the fire of the Holy Ghost come!
That separation and sanctification must begin with us. One by one, God’s people will make themselves ready. Then we shall collectively be ready for a mighty move of God. It all begins right here, in my own heart, and yours.
If we truly want to have the promises of God be a reality in our lives, then we must make ourselves ready to receive it. God is waiting on us. He made a covenant, a promise, and signed it with the Blood of Jesus. When we came out of Egypt God promised to bring us all the way home to that great Promised Land.
I believe that God will finish what He began and I’m ready for God to fulfill his promises right now. I want the anointing power and presence of the Holy Ghost as never before. Make yourself ready. Jesus is about to fulfill his promise to his people.
