In Matthew 5:14 Jesus said "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."You see a city that sits atop a hill or mountain can be seen for many miles away. Have you ever been on a road trip as a kid and when you would get close to say a big city, you could see the skyscrapers looming on the horizon. You may have been 15 miles away but you could see those building's rising high above everything else, and it never failed, you would immediately get that urge to go there. They were so big in that distance, that yo wanted to go and see just how big they were in person. Well imagine a city, looming in the distance, towering above everything else and shining like a flashlight in a darkened room. Now, would that not call out to you? I know if I was to see that my first thought would be wow, I have got to see that. Well thats how the church should be, we should be that LIGHT, Shining in the distance beckoning all who would see it to come and see what wonders await.And in the early days of the church, our light was shining so bright, that nothing could block it out. We were so full of the fire of the holy spirit, that we let nothing stand in our way. We all got along because we all knew we had the same goal, to win souls for Christ and to bring them in to the family of God.
But something has happened along the way. We started looking at what we had done, and who we had become and we didn't notice that our light was starting to dim. Next thing we know we were puffing uot our chest and saying look at me, look what I have done. We started looking at each other with worldly eyes instead of brotherly spiritual eyes. We started judging those who would occasionally step through the doors and see if they met OUR standards. Don't worry about God's standards, if they meet our's then they will meet God's was our chain of thought. We worry more about whats in the bank account than who's in the pews. We worry more about preaching pretty sermons than giving the message that God wants us to give. We worry more about what we will wear to Sunday morning service than who are we going to reach out to today. We have made the church self aware and selfish rather than selfless and community involved. We worry more about the building and the pews looking good rather than who's filling the pews in that building. We do not care what goes on outside the doors as long as it does not encroach into the sanctuary.And all the time that light in the city on the hill has been flickering until it has gone out for a lot of churches or is on suicide watch for others, as it get's ready to blow itself out.
This is not the blog I had planned several days ago and even announced on facebook, but over the last few days, I have been listening to Casting Crowns new song, written by Mark Hall (Lead singer of Casting Crowns) and Matthew West , aptly titled "City on the Hill". the lyrics are as follows:
Did you hear of the city on the hill?
Said one old man to the other
It once shined bright and it would be shining still
But they all started turning on each other
You see, the poets thought the dancers were shallow
And the soldiers thought the poets were weak
And the elders saw the young ones as foolish
And the rich man never heard the poor man speak
And one by one, they ran away
With their made-up minds to leave it all behind
And the light began to fade in the city on the hill
The city on the hill
Each one thought that they knew better
But they were different by design
Instead of standing strong together
They let their differences divide
And the world is searching still
But it was the rhythm of the dancers
That gave the poets life
It was the spirit of the poets
That gave the soldiers strength to fight
It was the fire of the young ones
It was the wisdom of the old
It was the story of the poor man
That needed to be told
It is the rhythm of the dancers
That gives the poets life
It is the spirit of the poets
That gives the soldiers strength to fight
It is the fire of the young ones
It is the wisdom of the old
It is the story of the poor man
That’s needing to be told
One by one, will we run away
With our made-up minds to leave it all behind
As the light begins to fade in the city on the hill
One by one, will we run away
With our made-up minds to leave it all behind
As the light begins to fade in the city on the hill
The city on the hill
Then a listened to a few people in the church and heard what they were saying about others in the church, and seeing how change is met in many churches today and thought, Man is this song extremely relevant in today's society. You see, one person may say something about another member and then it gets repeated and blown out of proportion and Bam you lose a member because of someone's diarea of the mouth. Or one person thinks they are better than the other one and BAM , there goes another one. This person doesn't like how another person dressed, or how they wear their hair, or doesn't want to give extra money because they feel all money should go to the general fund, or the Pastor might say something about a member or member's family that they shouldn't have and BAM, there goes another family out of the church.One person may feel that the church does to much already or they may not like the new order of service, or they may not lik eth emusic choice and BAM the church is in an uproar and families are leaving and membership is dropping and money is not coming in like the church needs and then one by one people start to run from the church and then all of a sudden there is no church to speak of. Now some of you out there may say, oh that will never happen, but the unfortunate fact is, it is happening as I type. It is happening daily in our country. Churches are becoming so selfish that if Jesus Christ himself walked in the door, no one would notice, because they are to busy putting out the light in the church.
How do we stop that light from burning out and instead growing stronger,. Well it's not going to be easy but the steps are very simple. 2 Chronicles 7:14 states "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." We must first become as we were the day we said yes Lord and have a humble spirit, admit we have sinned, seek God and pray for revival in not just our churches, but in our own lives. Once we do this then and only then will theat light begin to shine stronger and stronger for the Lord, and it will lead people into the church house where they can meet God through the ministries of the Church. I ask that you would join with me in praying for the revival of our church and it's members in this country and that once again Men of God would step up to the plate and preach the messages that God has given them, and in the manner that God has told them to. I ask you to join with me every day for the next 7 months, which puts us dead center of 2012, in praying for revival and then let's sit back and watch the light of Christ shine as never before.
God bless each and everyone of you and may he watch over you until we meet again, whether it be in this world or the next.
In Christ's Love,
Bill Roy
If you want you can go to youtube.com, and search out Casting Crowns city on the hill and watch any of those videos to hear the song. Night all.
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