Into the Silence
by Dennis Cummins
Copyright 2011 Dennis Cummins,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0162-1
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Introduction
In the movie, Night at the Museum, one of the characters portrayed is a tour guide for the museum. She is working on her doctorate degree and writing her thesis paper on Sacajawea, the great Indian scout. The museum has a wax figurine of Sacajawea on display, and she sits for hours staring at it and wondering what it would have been like to actually know her. She had studied for years about Sacajawea. She had exhausted every book she could find for research and historical evidence to learn about this great historic person.
It is very evident in the movie that the tour guide would trade all of her research and knowledge for just five minutes alone with the real Sacajawea. She realizes the difference between knowing about someone and truly knowing someone. You probably could have asked her any question about Sacajawea, and she could have answered it. Facts, figures, knowledge and information, yet there is one thing she lacked, that she would’ve traded anything for—a relationship with her. Did you know there’s a comprehensible difference? Because in respect to God, I believe most people do not.
There are many people in church that know about God, they know of a god but they don’t know God. In this book, we are going to explore the vast differences between knowing about a god and knowing God himself. I want to challenge the hearts of the occasional church attendee and the religious-hearted by exposing the humanistic undertones dominating much of the church today. I want to help people understand they can truly know God in heaven.
Chapter One: Knowing About God or Knowing God?
“Most of those who attend a church do not see any significant reason for knowing God.”
During the 1900’s, the Church experienced several facets of the Spirit of God. In the early part of the century the Church experienced Pentecost. In the 40’s and 50’s healing revivals swept the nation. The charismatic renewal was during the 60’s, and in the 70’s Christian television came on the scene. During the moves of the Spirit of God, there were also counterfeit “moves of the spirit.” Some were the works of the devil, and others were nothing more than a work of the flesh. It didn’t matter what type of move it was, people would still categorize it as “God ”Doing a new thing” in the Church.” People would run to different revivals or chase down high-powered evangelists to get a new experience or a “Word” from God. After their experience, they would come back to church and tell everyone, “God is doing a new thing.” They were certain that for others to experience what they had, they would have to go to where they had gone to get it; as though a church or evangelist had some type of monopoly on the Spirit of God.
On the other side, we would hear about damaging waves flowing through the Church, coined as a “move of God’s Spirit.” These waves were nothing but carnal or sensual experiences with God’s name attached to it. People would shake their heads in disbelief and say the Devil launched a new attack against the Church. The sad part is that most people didn’t realize that since the inception of the Church in Acts, there hasn’t been anything new happening in the Church—good or evil, spiritual or carnal. It may be a new experience to an individual, but certainly not to the Church. Ecclesiastes 1:9(New International Reader's Version)“Everything that has ever been will come back again. Everything that has ever been done will be done again. Nothing is new on earth.” God is still God and the Devil is still the Devil. Neither of their natures has changed. God said he doesn’t change and Lucifer is not going to be asking for his job back anytime soon. God is still trying to save people, and the Devil is still trying to destroy people.
The nature of people has not changed either. We are still people who are born into sin in need of a Savior. Without a Savior, sinners deserve eternal punishment in hell. This statement is not “hell and brimstone” preaching, it is simply the truth according to God’s Word. The truth does not change, regardless of its acceptance. This is where we can see the work of the Devil manifested in the church. This is in direct contrast to humanism which is being taught in the Church today. Humanism conveys that we are basically good people. It is a belief system that is based on the values, characteristics and behavior that are believed to be best in human beings, rather than on any supernatural authority. This is not a new attack from the Devil, but an old one that has been repackaged. People who buy into this doctrine are the people who merely breeze into church to fulfill some type of moral duty. They listen through their humanistic filters brushing away anything that might deal with conviction of sin or personal sacrifice.
Many may question the validity of my observations of the Church, but consider these statistics from a recent study performed by the Barna Research Group. George Barna notes that only seven percent of church-goers identified spiritual wholeness and development as the factor that will produce a successful life. “The Christian faith commends sacrifice, servant hood and sharing as the means to significance,” he noted. “How is it possible to have more than 120 million adults attending Christian churches on a regular basis, but only 15 million who grasp the message that success is not about personal accomplishment or material possessions” I believe this is a direct reflection of the church today. This is why the church at large in America has become highly ineffective. Most of those who attend a church do not see any significant reason for knowing God. They feel they can get along just fine without Him. A person who believes he is basically good has no need for God. What an amazing realization about our current culture. Only seven out of every 100 people see a direct benefit of knowing God. These factors relate directly to the lack of passion and involvement in the local church, and the lack of repentance and Godly sorrow. Our American-Christian culture tends to view church as nothing more than a place to get a “pick me up” for the week or a place to instill some quality values in our children. Church has become somewhat like a retail store—only going to church when you need something. People who are not willing to serve or get involved in church are the ones who don’t see any direct benefit in knowing God. They only know of a god that somebody has told them about, but they do not know God personally.
Chapter Two: The “Me First” Philosophy
“We shouldn’t choose to live not for the now, but for what is going to last for eternity.”
Do you know God or do you only know of God, or about a god? There’s a big difference. In Psalms 46:10 it says, “Be still and know that I am God.” We have been charged as Christians to be still and know God. This is not a suggestion or an option as a disciple of Christ. This is God Himself speaking to us to take some time to get to know Him—His heart, His values, His Character, His Judgment and His love. According to the Barna survey, we can conclude that most church-goers don’t see any benefit in getting to know God let alone making any sacrifices for Him.
One of the biggest hindrances I see for people who are interested in knowing God is that they have no silence in their life. That equates to having no time for God because they are just too busy.
