Dimmed Gold Precedes Desolation — E.A. Johnston

Lamentations and the Dimmed Gold of the Church

There is a verse of scripture in the Book of Lamentations, which I feel typifies both the modern church of our day and modern Christian's day here in the West. It is Lamentations 4 .1, which describes the suffering of Zion, as God's prophetic word had come to them through his prophet Jeremiah, in a call for the people of God to return to God.

But the stiff-necked Jews did not hearken to the warnings from Jeremiah, and they turned their backs on the living God of the Bible and went their own way to their great peril and destruction. Here in Lamentations 4 .1, we read of the result of their disobedience.

How is the gold become dim? How is the most fine gold changed? The stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. And this speaks of the ruin and wreckage that have violated God, brought upon his rebellious people to their hurt.

They are compared to gold, that although it still has its nature, it has lost its beauty, it has lost its luster, it has lost its attractiveness. And what is the result of all of this? The stones of God's house, the sanctuary, have been thrown down, and now there is desolation in the streets.

I submit to you, my friends, that this is indeed the very case of the church in our country today. It is still God's church, but it has lost its drawing power of spiritual influence to a godless society.

And although it represents God and the world, it has lost something that cannot be recovered. It has lost her luster, which is the main purpose of the church, and that is to reflect Jesus Christ to a lost and perishing world.

Human-Centered Theology and Dependence on Church Programs

What we have exchanged in our churches today is humanism for godliness. We have substituted a God-centered theology with a man-centered theology. We have hewn out our own cisterns of church growth programs that are fueled by money and manpower, and we have forsaken our dependence upon Almighty God and Holy Ghost power.

Yes, many of our churches are impressive to look at, built with millions of dollars, with no expense spared, much like Solomon's Temple, of old, that of which the disciples boasted to the Lord of its magnificence and beauty, but to which our Lord Jesus Christ said unto them, See ye not all these things?

Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And the words of Christ were fulfilled when the Roman army of Titus laid waste to the city of Jerusalem, and sacked it, burned it, and his soldiers physically threw down those very impressive stones out into the street.

Church Growth, Entertainment, and Spiritual Declension

For because of their grievous sins, all things holy and sacred to them were stripped, plundered, and defaced. And our very situation today, friends, is we try to reach the world with impressive buildings and creature comforts, because our entire philosophy of church and our day is centered around man and making him happy, my, has the gold dimmed, whereas the church in former days was not so ignorant, and in a spiritual stupor, and in a sad spiritual declension like we are today, today we mistake church growth and success in acquiring numbers and pat ourselves on the back and claim that God is with us, when in reality he has withdrawn himself from among us, from among our midst, and we don't even know it.

One hundred years ago, the church was more of a reflection of God's only son to a sin-soaked world. The church of one hundred years ago, friends, still had authority in the land, and society and government looked to the church for direction.

My, has the gold dimmed. The church today, in this country, is run by professionals, some of them unconverted men, who rule in power, much like the Pharisees of old. Religion is an outward show of pomp and display, but without the power of God thereof.

There is much entertainment and amusement in our sanctuaries, but little true worship of a holy God. In our pulpits today is much teaching and parroting of the latest so-called Christian best-seller, but little effect is made on eternity, because the majority of people attending church today come to be entertained, rather than be transformed into the image of God through lies of holiness.

Listen, friends, teaching informs, preaching transforms, and many exit the church building the same way they entered, unchanged. My, has the gold dimmed. I can attribute much of our present dilemma to what we consume as believers, what kind of books we read.

The Shift in Christian Best-Selling Books

I want to take the time now, friends, to list ten books that are best-sellers in our day, within our churches. Then I'm going to read you a list of ten books that were best-sellers that Christians read one hundred years ago, and I want you to take note of the drastic shift in what true Christianity should be and what it has become.

Hear now, or what we read and feed on today. Radical. Wild at heart. The reason for God. The love there. Crazy one. Your best love. The reason for life. The purpose-driven life. Live, love, lead. Your best is yet to come.

Destiny. Step into your purpose. And lastly, You Can, You Will. I don't have to name the authors. They are all famous men. But now, if you will allow me, friends, to read you a list taken from Moody Press in the year 1901.

Listen to these ten best-sellers, which believers fed on then, by well-known Christians at that time. Absolute Surrender. Called unto Holiness. The Christ Life for the Self Life. God's Way of Holiness.

The Power of a Surrendered Life. The School of Obedience. The Spirit-Filled Life. God's Will for Your Life. Meat for the Master's Use. And the Overcoming Life. You know what, friends? You have a choice as to what you choose to read.

Surrender, Obedience, and the Church's Repentance

Each of the books I mentioned from a hundred years ago are out of print, but each can be found and purchased on the Internet. What is more important to you? You or God? Obedience to God through a surrendered life, or finding your best for your purpose?

Until the Church repents of her foolish and misguided ways, the Church will continue to add on to her magnificent temples that are built to draw men to them. But listen, friends. Surely, we have lost our way in the midst of our mad building programs, and rushed to expand our campuses as we trample over the souls of men, and make merchandise out of them to pay our high utility bills.

Returning to a House of Prayer and the Preeminence of Christ

For the Church was never meant to be a house of entertainment, but a house of prayer, where the Most High God is worshipped. My, has the gold dimmed. Heaven help us to return back to the living God of the Bible, and let the Church again reflect the preeminence of Christ to a lost and perishing world.

Let us pray.