Hebrews 10:19-21 "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God;"
The House of God used to mean something to the local church.
(vs. 22) "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." Holiness is a forsaken subject in the local church. God is looking to His people to be a pure people.
(vs. 25) "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." The Lord's return is very near and it won't be long and He'll be here. God put an under shepherd before the local church. We should thank God for preaching and for the pastor. We need holy direction from God.
There needs to be respect for our man of God. There needs to be respect for other men of God that have helped us through the messages they have preached. You should never call your pastor by his first name. We should call him Pastor or Bro. __________ but never just by his first name. He was placed and appointed to a high-calling of God.
The man of God is to be followed. (Hebrews 13:17 & 24) "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. Salute all them that have the rule over you," We need to give gratitude to the man of God. Many men of God have suffered much being in the position God has placed them in.
We need to respect the Lord of the House of God. We should never refer to Him as "J.C." or "The Man Upstairs". He's more than the "Good Lord".
There is no respect or little of it for the House of God. There is gum stuck under the bottom of the pews. Parents are letting their children make marks on the wood of the pews. Children run in the church without a word being said about it. They are banging on the piano and the organ and playing with the microphones. These are instruments used for the Lord in our worship toward Him. They are to be respected.
Why do people who are supposed to be members of our churches stay away from church? There are those that go fishing or hunting when they're supposed to be in the House of God. How about other activities? Some go to Nascar races or to football and baseball games.
The House of God is a house above all houses. It's where God's people meet. We need to respect it.
We need revival when there is no respect for the man of God...the Lord of the House of God or for the House of God itself.
We have made the House of God abominable. We've allowed things in the House of God that has no business being there. We need old-fashioned singing, preaching and worship. Old-fashioned was good enough in times past. Why do we need to change it to what some call to "improve" it? God never changes and we shouldn't either. People should conform to God's way....not to the world's way. We live in a modern day but we need to stick with the old-fashioned way. Jeremiah 6:16 "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein."
These are notes taken from a message preached by Bro. Marion Atkinson at Faith Baptist Camp August 7, 2007.
16 comments:
This was so good and so true....I go to a IBF church but I am somewhat saddened by what I observe....
Yes..indeed the Lord is coming soon.
Deby
sis. deby...I think every church has its share of disrespect in the church. Some are worse than others though I'm afraid. I'm so glad Jesus is coming soon...can't be too soon for me!!
btw...can I link yur blog to mine?
Deby
Mrs Julie a very true post. How the church house needs a touch from the Lord. I know our church needs a touch of Revival. I believe the Pastor was really showed his heart last night. I just pray others saw it. Thanks for sharing this post with us.
Bro Tim
sis. deby...yes ma'am you sure can. Thank you for asking.
bro. tim....I agree that our church definitely needs revival. I know he was sharing his heart with us last night. I too hope that people noticed and took it to heart.
Most of that was really, really good! I hate it when I see children run in the church, or in a building that is rented for church, and parents do nothing about it. I don't even want to let my children play outside the building after church because church is not a place to play. Except maybe at a picnic or activity held at the church, but not church services. People think I'm mean, but that's just gonna have to be like that lol.
The not calling the pastor by his first name can't really be a hard and fast thing in our church. First of all, our pastors parents and sister attend our church, they for sure aren't gonna call their son or brother "Bro or Pastor Jeremy". I have always called him Bro Jeremy so I don't have a problem.
However it's different with my husband. He grew up with our pastor as part of the old church and grew up calling him Jeremy. Now suddenly the same "Jeremy" is our pastor. Jordan always tries to remember to call him Bro Jeremy now out of respect, but doesn't always remember and Bro Jeremy doesn't hold that against him or think it's a lack of respect. Jordan is very respectful to him, calls him sir and all, just sometimes forgets to add the "Bro" in front of his name because until now he didn't have to haha.
While others might perceive it as a lack of respect, Bro Jeremy knows that we have great respect for him, and we actually left our old church to go to his because of his pastoring.
Sis. Julie, I so agree with this post. I remember when God was speaking to Moses on the back side of the desert from the burning bush and He told Moses to take off His shoes for he was standing on Holy Ground. I think people forget who is meeting with us in the LORDS"S HOUSE. It is a Holy Place where we meet with the Lord. We should be very respectful how we treat it and how we behave in it.
As for the man of God, The Pastor as the undershepherd he holds a high office appointed by God.We should honor that man and show him the respect by I believe giving him double honor. Not using his first name but Pastor or Brother not Bill, Henery or etc. That is so disrespectfull to me as I know the teaching of the Word of God to be. May we all be revived and show respect and honor whether it is the house of God or the Man of God. Thanks Sister, connie from Texas
sis. connie...Amen!!
Great Post Sis Julie,
This is so true The Church really does need revival and soon.
Lord Bless...
bro. christopher...We sure do!!
I agree with Katy-Anne that the use of the word "Pastor" or "Bro." in front of the preacher's name is not a steadfast rule. I have always called my Pastor "Bro. __", but when I was on a mission trip to a Communist country, there could have been serious issues if I called him "Bro. __". It was hard to adjust, but it was a necessary change. Under normal circumstances, I agree that we need to show him respect, but extenuating circumstances do exist. (I'm not trying to cause controversy, I just wanted to make the point.)
I completely agree with you Julie and this post blessed my heart tremendously. (o:
mrs. b....Praise the Lord!!
You get what you honor. If parents want the children to be willing to be pastors, teachers, and missionarys, they need to have deference for those positions. Kids know when their parents don't value God's house, or the pastor.
I remember when my daughter met our pastor. We came off the field and she hadn't been to our church since she was much smaller, and didn't remember our pastor's face. When she heard his voice, though, she jumped up and ran up to him, "OHHHH! You are OUR PASTOR!!!!!" Followed by a giant hug. She recognized his voice from the CDs that they send us of his preaching, and knew he was special.
sis. sarah joy....you are so right. We as parents set the example for our children. What we are and how we do things will set the tone for how our children turn out for God.
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