Text:
Genesis 6:5-7; Matthew 21:12-13
God laments
over the lives of men whom He created fearfully and wonderfully in His image
and there are several ways He expresses His grief:
I.
Our
lives as individuals: Genesis 6:5-6 says, ‘’ And God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually. And it repented that He had made man on the
earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.’’
II.
Governments
of the day being corrupt
III.
The
church of God:
Ø The church has been invaded by the
powers of darkness. There are more fake worshipers than true worshipers.
There is no genuine love of Christ where many are interested in what God will
do for them and are not willing to do anything for Him. The church is divided,
lacking in unity and lacking one accord.
Ø In the church, there is no discipline
and the power of God is not manifesting in many churches. Many ministers are
operating in the flesh. Many evil doctrines are circulating in the church
peddled by false teachers that have invaded the church.
Ø The church has lost its dignity. When
one should run into the church and come out relieved and rejoicing, the church
places heavier yokes on him. The church has become a den of physical and
spiritual thieves.
Ø The church is no longer focusing on
the salvation of its members but focusing more on church numerical growth by all
means without concern for their salvation. Rather than go into the world to
seek for lost sheep, many church poach members from other churches.
Ø There are man-made programs for
selfish interest. Teachings on holiness and salvation have been cast aside and
the main interest in many churches is money.
Ø Many of the worshippers are mere
church attendants and miracle seekers, not true worshippers in truth and in
spirit.
Ø Many of the programs in the church
are not inspired by the Holy Spirit
Ø The majority of the modern day
churches have become entertainment centers. Some churches bring comedians to
entertain on Sundays.
Ø Some churches focus on teaching their
members how to fight witches and witchcraft rather than sin
Ø The church is no longer a safe place
as there are many forces of destruction inhabiting it; occultist ministers on
the pulpit, destroying the lives of the people
Ø Many believers are playing with sin
secretly and openly. Many are not preaching salvation messages and are not
saying the truth.
Ø Many homes are in crisis resulting
from wrong marriages and where the homes are not settled, how can the church be
settled?
Ø The fire of God has been quenched by
careless workers and ministers who are traders and robbers in the church; who
have no positive impact in the lives of the members; who are negatively busy in
other people’s affairs, and discourage others sincerely interested in serving
the Lord
Ø There are too many late comers to
church, too many pretenders, and too many rumor mongrels. Many ministers are
not interested in the physical and spiritual welfare of the members but
interested in their money
Ø Many lack knowledge of the
Scriptures, yet are seeking for power and position and are ready to do anything
and go to any length to achieve their aim.
Ø Many members hate the Word of God and
do not love prayers. They detest hearing the truth and dislike repentance and
restitution. Many despise evangelism and do not wish to do away with sin. We
are thieves of time if we have no time for the things of God and do not act on
the messages we hear.
How can we
stop the lamentations of God over our lives?
§ Naked yourself before God
We should
allow God’s searching light to show us the condition of our hearts and lives. We
should acknowledge our sins and do not deny that they exist.
§ Search yourself
The life of
a man is either ruled by God or Satan. We are either slaves to Satan and sin or
servants of God and righteousness. If sin rules us, we need to cry out to God
to set us free through Jesus Christ who came to the world to deliver us from
the bondage to sin and to break the hold of the Devil over our lives. We cannot
hide ourselves and sins from God who is Omniscient and sees everything. He sees
all our secret thoughts and actions in our lives.
About the Author:
The author, Ayodele
Adegbulugbe is a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and an Evangelist. He
lives in Lagos, Nigeria. He is a Counselor; he writes and is a published
author.
