From Confusion to Clarity: A Call for Revival in the Church
Acts 19:32
Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused: and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.
Confusion in an assembly always leads to a crowd without a cause, a crowd without a course, and a crowd where Christ is without. Please forgive me if I seem to be a bit negative here, but it does seem that many churches today, if described, would match the description given in our selected text. There seems to be a lot of confusion, so much to the point that the greater portion of our congregations wonders why they even meet from time to time. When division gets that bad in a church, it is way past time for an old-fashioned revival! The problem is, people have a tendency to feel the need to be right, regardless of whether or not they were wrong. This creates division in our hearts that sometimes creeps in unawares. The next thing that happens is that we begin to focus on defending ourselves, rather than placing ourselves under subjection to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Then, we pretend like everything is ok, when really it isn’t. That’s why folks can be in the same church for thirty years and never speak to one another. May God have mercy on us all!
When we get that far off focus, we really do lose sight of why we are here, don’t we? Let’s face it; when we get to focusing on the wrong things, we do in fact get to a place where our Sunday morning worship service is more like a mandatory routine or exercise than it is anything else. We go to church, play the part, and go home to start back on the world where we left off, if we ever left off at all. Is it any wonder that the church of our age is often referred to as the church that has a form of Godliness while denying the power thereof? Dear friends, God is never the author of confusion. When something creates division and confusion in a church or ministry, it is a direct ambush from Hell, sought to shift our focus off of what is really at stake, and what really counts. The enemy knows that if he can keep us confused and bewildered, he will win every time. But, the very second he bumps into Holy Ghost power, he’s got to go. Why? Because the Holy Ghost never shows up without shedding the light of the gospel of Christ into any given situation, thereby dissipating the darkness and confusion! Let it be so now!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused: and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.
Confusion in an assembly always leads to a crowd without a cause, a crowd without a course, and a crowd where Christ is without. Please forgive me if I seem to be a bit negative here, but it does seem that many churches today, if described, would match the description given in our selected text. There seems to be a lot of confusion, so much to the point that the greater portion of our congregations wonders why they even meet from time to time. When division gets that bad in a church, it is way past time for an old-fashioned revival! The problem is, people have a tendency to feel the need to be right, regardless of whether or not they were wrong. This creates division in our hearts that sometimes creeps in unawares. The next thing that happens is that we begin to focus on defending ourselves, rather than placing ourselves under subjection to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Then, we pretend like everything is ok, when really it isn’t. That’s why folks can be in the same church for thirty years and never speak to one another. May God have mercy on us all!
When we get that far off focus, we really do lose sight of why we are here, don’t we? Let’s face it; when we get to focusing on the wrong things, we do in fact get to a place where our Sunday morning worship service is more like a mandatory routine or exercise than it is anything else. We go to church, play the part, and go home to start back on the world where we left off, if we ever left off at all. Is it any wonder that the church of our age is often referred to as the church that has a form of Godliness while denying the power thereof? Dear friends, God is never the author of confusion. When something creates division and confusion in a church or ministry, it is a direct ambush from Hell, sought to shift our focus off of what is really at stake, and what really counts. The enemy knows that if he can keep us confused and bewildered, he will win every time. But, the very second he bumps into Holy Ghost power, he’s got to go. Why? Because the Holy Ghost never shows up without shedding the light of the gospel of Christ into any given situation, thereby dissipating the darkness and confusion! Let it be so now!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill