The Tragedy of the Modern-Day Church

Rev. Roger Clark
brought the evening message.

 Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word
were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three
thousand souls. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the
apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things
common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men,

as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in
the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with
gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour
with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

 Our best friends should be Christians. Jesus was a friend to
sinners, yet He needed friends. He went to the home of Mary, Martha, and
Lazarus. They were his close friends. He found worship, work and fellowship.

 There are kinds of people the church can do without. There
are kinds the church cannot do without. Some disappoint the pastor. The joy and
crown of a pastor, what makes his heart swell with that joy, is the faithful
people. This is the greatest compliment to a child of God. The church needs
willing people. We have willing people as well as those willing to let them do
it. They are willing to work and stand by the pastor and the church. We need
people of vision. There are hundreds in this community who are not saved. We
need to tell them.

 The tragedy is an unattended church. The Lord made 7 days.
We have 6. The best is the 7^th, the Lord’s Day.  Many rob God of His day. They don’t attend
church. They don’t love God’s house. They don’t love the old-time gospel. They
have lost their affection for Calvary. We are
to worship in spirit and truth. The best way not to hear about the Word is not
to be here.  We need worship. Hebrews
10:25 says not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

 The tragedy is an unread Bible. We need to appreciate God’s
Word. We may not understand it all, but we can benefit from what we do know. Most
people have a good education but will not read and study the Word. It is the
road map to glory. There is power in the blood. There is power in the
resurrection. There is ultimate victory for us. The Bible tells us to study to
show ourselves approved unto God.

 The tragedy is un-confessed sin. Our best behavior should be
in the house of God. There is mercy for the flock. There is hope for the
weakest. Those who doubt their salvation find help. There is hope for the
sinner. There is hope for the backslider. I John 1:7 says the blood of Jesus
cleanses us. There is no limit on what God can do. There is not a limit to the
support He gives. There is no limit to the sympathy we find. When we can’t
trust ourselves, we can trust Jesus. We can trust His faithfulness. Our
righteousness is not good enough, but His can carry us through and lift us up
when we are discouraged.

 There is the tragedy of the unbowed knee. The condition of
the world should have us praying even so come quickly. We’ve ceased to pray. We’ve
put down a great weapon when we don’t pray. Satan is out to destroy the prayer
life of all of us, but with prayer he cannot get to even the weakest.

 The tragedy is unexpressed love. We are to express our love to
God. It may cost us; we may suffer afflictions. We may be slandered. God gets
us out of many bad situations. Psalm 23:6 says goodness and mercy follow us.  We need honey for the journey. Express love.

 Do we need to express our love to God? Do we need to confess
sin? Can we read our Bible more? Remove the tragedies.