God is looking today for men who have not been contaminated with conventional religion! Conventional religion, as in Amos' day, was offensive to God. He hated it, he tells us. God cannot stand their solemn assemblies. The priests were contaminated with religion that was focused on pursuing luxury (or excess), on hypocrisy, on wantonness, and on maintaining the establishment at all costs.
Such men are not few in number within today's aenemic evangelical churches. The church system has got to them and has forced them into its own would - it is called the world, and this is what the world is good at doing. The church boasts of the growing number of evangelicals who are entering the Christian ministry, but, as one retired evangelical minister told me a few weeks ago, his church is not one bit better for having them!
What a confession! And the reason? These men have been contaminated with convention religion, dead, orthodox, spineless, powerless, Spiritless religion; religion that is not that different from the other world religions. Contaminated ministers are no good to anyone, the church included. If the poison of irreligious religion has entered them, then they have nothing to offer anyone. If that religion is of the conventional type, then the old adage is relevant: "if you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you always got." The church of Jesus Christ on earth has been consigned to 'more of the same' because her minsters, her servants are not serving Him but the establishments to which they belong.
And the result? The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the world is not being preached.
Oh, that God would come down and meet His people and renew and refresh them once more! Until He does this, the church will do that!
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