Rene Descartes declared “I think therefore I am.” In our age today – we have put too much premium on the word I. I am the solution to the problem. I am the overcomer. I am the source of my own happiness.
God made it clear from the beginning that “I” won’t survive.
¶ The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18
God himself exists as Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. It was never about “I”.
Historian Mark Knoll says, “Upto the early 1700’s British Protestants preached God’s plan for the church. From the mid 1700’s however, evangelicals emphasized God’s plan for the individual.” (Mark Knoll, Father of Modern Evangelicals?” Christian History 38, vol 12, no2 (1993)
I challenged our congregation last Sunday to start HONORING GOD TOGETHER. It is hard to love the Christian life alone.It was never designed to be an “I” faith. It will never be an “I” church where God comes down just because of YOU. The letters of Paul to the churches was very clear that the way God build His church is through groups of people.
TBN, 700 club, Christian televangelists – they are not your pastors and your living room is not YOUR church.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 1John 1:1
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 1John 1:2
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 1John 1:3
Mark Driscoll and Gary Bershears, author of Vintage Church warns us of this trend:
“Building on the modern devotion to the individual, modern Christianity in practice defined the entire purpose of the church in terms of the individual over and above the glory of God and the benefit of the community of people. As a result, the modern church in its various forms defined the church as a place where individual spiritual needs are met. What developed was a view of individual Christians as consumers with felt needs and the church as the dispenser of religious goods and services.
(Vintage church p.52)