We have the tendency to let our culture so influence us that we depend upon programs, methods, and personalities to build the church. We often say, “If we had the right pastor, we would grow. If we had the right music programs, we would grow. If we had the right Sunday School organization, we would grow.” All of the above are good but cannot be depended upon to bring conviction of sin and godly sorrow to a sinner’s heart and complete trust in Jesus to save him. Only God’s Holy Spirit can bring a sinner to Jesus.
Human expertise and human excitement can bring a person to a :”decision” but not to “conversion.” Only the Holy Spirit can bring godly sorrow that leads to true repentance and a changed life. When will the Holy Spirit bring conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment? When will He convince people that they need Jesus and Him only to save them? When will the Lord add to the church those being saved? The Lord does His work of building His Church when we quit depending upon ourselves, our expertise, our methods and programs and simply trust Him.
Jesus sees our trust when He sees us praying to Him out of a sense of helplessness and abiding in Him. Listen to what He says in John 15:5, “apart from me you can do nothing.” The Lord sees our hearts and hears our prayers. Does He see faith in Him and does He hear us asking Him to build His Church? When we make our plans for church growth, does the Lord see our dependence upon Him? Remember “unless the Lord builds the house, it’s builders labor in vain…”
-Pastor James Wiles
