The Need

"I perceive this is a holy man of God." II Kings 4:9....."We are in dire need of some 'holy men of God' who may be out of style with earth but are in step with heaven." Vance Havner

There are countless voices speaking as to what the church, and through the church, the world, needs in this day. Many of those voices speak valid thoughts in this area. Few of them speak the kind of words we hear from Havner. Holy men of God have always been out of style with the world. How did it come to be so with the church?

Prior to Covid-19, suggestions for what the church needed to be were many. The church and its members needed to be welcoming, offer a place of safety for those who come, and give all a sense of belonging. It also needed to loving, interested in the lives of others, and committed to help. In that list, there is nothing bad, but all of it can be found in one's favorite pub or club. We may not like to hear that or admit it, but its true. A church that offers all of that is not doing wrong, but if the presence of holy men and women of God is missing, than that church is really nothing more than another club. It's the presence of His holiness within it, through the lives of His people that make for the true body of Christ.

Here is something else to ponder. A church that is filled with holy men and women of God will be loving, welcoming, and offer a place of refuge for all. The deep and difficult truth in this though is that if such is the character of the church, people in love with the world, its ways, and its sins, will never feel safe or welcome, and not because anyone within is putting judgement or condemnation upon them. Darkness and Light cannot co-exist. Neither can Life and death. One or the other will hold sway, and that which doesn't will always withdraw. Jesus deeply loved Peter, but when Peter began to understand who Jesus truly was, he cried out to Him, "Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man." When Adam and Eve sinned, their first response was to hide from God. He didn't come looking for them in anger, but in love, yet in their fallen state, they could not bear His holy presence.

Many followed Jesus in the beginning for the good bread and fish He provided and the wonderful miracles He performed, but when it became clear to them who He was, what He called them to, and what He demanded they leave behind, "they turned away and followed Him no longer." The true, manifest presence of God will always have this effect, and we the church need never apologize for it. Jesus didn't, and we can't.

Havner also said this; "We are weary of the success and happiness school. We need holy men of God, in touch with heaven, who remind us of another world than this." Many have equated holiness with rigidity, judging attitudes, and the absence of joy, but those are traits brought forth by men. The holiness of God is none of those. His holiness, showing through His people, causes the hearts of those looking on to look up and be reminded that this world is passing, His is forever. Yes, some will fear that truth, but we cannot fear telling that truth. I hope to be one of those people Havner speaks of. Do you?

Blessings,
Pastor O