In my last blog, I referenced something that the Lord spoke in Revelation, "Remember therefore from where you have fallen." I began to think about some of the things the Lord had done for me, not only recently, but also in my B.C. life (before Christ). He has always remained faithful to me, even when I haven't done the same.
You have to understand that when the Lord found me, He found me on the dump of life. I was in the gutter. So I began to recount where I had come from and reflect upon what I had come in to, and how remarkably my life had changed. I remember being baptized in the Holy Ghost on Good Friday of 1982, and almost exactly two years later found myself full-time on the mission field in Haiti. And then I considered some of the experiences I had in Haiti, and then again what my life looks like today. Wow! And again, not just what the Lord had brought me through, but what He had brought me to!
I was thinking about all of these things and then the Lord said, "Consider it. Think about it. Remember." And then He said, "Repent and do the first works." Repent. Now the Lord doesn't tell us to repent if we don't need to. I needed to repent on my behalf and on that of the church. Not an ambiguous repentance, "Oh Lord, forgive the entire Church." No, forgive Cliffdale. Forgive me as a leader."
You say, "Why did you have to repent?" Because we had stopped doing many of the works that we used to do that had such a significant impact on the lives of people in this community and around the world, and we had turned inward. We had become an introverted church, something to which I've always been vehemently opposed. We had become the very thing that we said we would never be. So I said, "God, I truly am sorry. I see." But repentance is not only words; it's a change of heart and mind. It's a change of direction, isn't that what we teach?
So we have to change direction. We have to go back to doing many of the things that made us strong, healthy, alive, and have made a difference in the lives of people, not only within our own community of faith, but also outside of our walls. I went into our Sanctuary and looked at the pictures of Thailand on the back wall. I think overall we helped plant/build over fifteen churches in the remote jungles of Thailand. Cliffdale did that! The people did that! Yes, God did it through us, but we had the audacity to believe God and say, "Yes, Lord, we will do this." And we did it!
And as a result, hundreds, even thousands of lives are being touched in the most remote areas of the jungle. These are places that previously did not have a church nor had ever heard the Gospel. Do we realize that there are some six billion people alive in the world today? Six billion people! And two-thirds of them do not know Christ! If we do the math, that is two-thirds of the world's population . . . approximately four billion people . . . who don't know Christ as "the way." They may have never even heard that there was a way.
I want us to be reminded today of the Words of Jesus: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." He didn't say, "I am one of many ways. You choose how you want to find Me." He said, "I am THE way." THE WAY! Not A way, the ONLY way. There's only one! "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the Father except through Me. I'm the only way you can truly know your Father in heaven."
Now folks, this is not a condemning word. I'm just sharing my heart with you. I'm simply communicating what I've been experiencing the last few weeks, perhaps longer. You can ask my wife. We've had several conversations in the last few weeks and months about doing some stuff. Changing direction. Changing course. Making sure that our lives are on track with the will of God.
The American church has preached a message of Christian comfort, and it's caused the church to lose its impact on the world in which we live. It's as though we believe that God blesses and prospers us just so that we can have more stuff and live more comfortable lives. Our purpose for being here is for glorifying God and influencing the culture in which we live. I submit to you that the first culture that has to change is the culture of the church. Remember from where you have fallen. Repent and do the first works, or else I'll come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place.
We are establishing some very clear core values here at Cliffdale, and I want every person who hears me to understand that. They are very simple and easy to comprehend. If we're going to be a Word church, then let's be a Word church! I'll write more about Cx3's core values in my upcoming blogs.
~ PG
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