A Shaky Foundation

[Chad]

A Shaky Foundation
A.W. Tozer

Thus says the Lord: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me...." --Jeremiah 9:23-24

It is true that much church activity is thrown back upon a shaky foundation of psychology and natural talents. It is sad but true that many a mother-in-law is actually praying that her handsome son-in-law may be called to preach because "he would have such a marvelous pulpit presence."

We live in a day when charm is supposed to cover almost the entire multitude of sins. Charm has taken a great place in religious expression. I am convinced that our Lord expects us to be tough enough and cynical enough to recognize all of this that pleases the unthinking in our churches: the charm stuff, the stage presence in the pulpit, the golden qualities of voice....

I feel sorry for the church that decides to call a pastor because "his personality simply sparkles!" I have watched quite a few of those sparklers through the years. In reality, as every kid knows at Fourth of July time, sparklers can be an excitement in the neighborhood--but only for about one minute! Then you are left holding a hot stick that quickly cools off in your hand. Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts, 32-33.

"Lord, confirm for each of us as pastors our divine call, that we might indeed build on a strong foundation. Then bring conviction and repentance to any in our congregations who are judging us with the wrong criteria. Amen."

 

[jiggyfly]

Excellent post Chad, brother Tozer is a real blessing to the Church.Our leaders are to be servants, lowly servants as demonstrated by Christ, Himself. But today we see that the people as a whole share the same attitude as the Israelites did in Samuel's day.

1Samuel 8:5-7
5 Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king like all the other nations have.”
6*Samuel was very upset with their request and went to the Lord for advice. 7*“Do as they say,” the Lord replied, “for it is me they are rejecting, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.

Today it's "God we don't want your servants, GIVE US A KING!" Give us a smooth talking, sharp looking, intellectual kinda king. When you look at these mega churches and ministeries where the "pastor" or "ministry head" is wealthy and waited on, when people become the pastor's servant, I see and hear the cry of the people "Give us a King!" "We want a pastor we can be proud of" or "our pastor is better than your pastor". "I know you sent servants God , but we are not going to recieve them, WE WANT A KING!"

 

[Chad]

Wow that was excellent brother. I never quite thought of this that way, regarding the people acting like the Israelites. That's very true, so sad.

They fall for the slick deceit of these self centered pastors or fraud preachers selling holy water on television. I won't mention names.

What ever happened cutting through all the sinners and shooting right to Jesus Christ Himself? Do we need to look up to sinners or instead look up to the perfect Holy One? Who can you trust more? Who is more reliable? A sinful "king" or a Holy King of Kings?