Three Spirits That Will Destroy A Church- Part 1

A statistic came out several years ago that said that 80% of churches in the United States have either grown stagnant, are declining, or are sharply declining in their attendance. Many have speculated that we are living in a “post-Christian” era in this country. I can also attest to this statistic. I have had the privilege of growing up in churches that were actively reaching their communities for the cause of Christ and seeing people getting saved and added to the church, but for every church that I have seen that was like that, there would be ten others who were the opposite. Churches that hadn’t seen anyone saved in many years, churches that used their baptistries as a storage area, churches that were focused on the wrong things, churches that got into more arguments about where the money was going than they would pray with each other for the lost souls of their communities. Died and dying churches. And for every dying church, there would be excuses for why they were dying, such as, “We are in a hard area,” or, “Nobody wants to hear the Bible anymore,” or, “Everybody in our town is already saved.” In my short time in ministry, I have learned that excuses are just what they sound like, Excuses. The problem very rarely lies in the unsaved in town, or in the town that the church is in. Most often the reason why a church is declining is in the spirit of the church. I believe that any Christian I'd talk to would tell me that they want to see their church grow and that they want to see people get saved, that’s normal, there are not many people in any churches that would say differently than that. Unfortunately there is a spirit that takes over a church and when that spirit take over, a church is as good as destroyed unless there is a miraculous intervention. I would like to talk to you about three spirits that will destroy any church if we allow them to.

1. A spirit of doubt- Matthew 14:28-31

Matthew 14:28-31, “And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. ²⁹ And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. ³¹ And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

We know from the context of this passage that the disciples were on the Sea of Galilee when a storm came. Jesus was not with them at the time, and so they feared. They were doing everything they could do just to stay alive, when out in the distance they see a man walking on the water. Of course, they began to be even more afraid because they thought they were seeing a ghost. But then the person walking on the water says, “Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid.” The disciples recognized that it was Jesus who was talking to them. Peter, who was the vocal one in the group then speaks, “If it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.” What was Peter saying? Basically, “If it’s really you, Lord, let me walk on the water too!” What a bold thing to request! We make fun of Peter often for his brashness and his wide-open mouth, but this is one of those instances where Peter was practicing an extreme faith in Jesus that we all should have. Jesus bids him to come, so Peter steps out onto the water, and sure enough, he is walking. Peter was walking on the water! Wow! So Peter starts walking toward Jesus but as he is walking, he looks around himself. He sees the waves, and the storm. He feels the wind as it blows onto him. Peter finally realizes what he is doing and becomes afraid, and as he did, he began to sink. Of course, Jesus saves Peter from drowning and asks chides him for his lack of faith.

As we read that passage in the Bible, many of us would ask ourselves, “How could Peter start off so strong but then finish so weak. After all, it took a great amount of faith to step out onto the waters in the first place, but it took a lack of faith, or doubt, to start sinking. As Peter stood on the water, in the middle of a miracle, he looked around at the circumstances and began to doubt the strength of God, and that is when he sank.

We have a lot of churches today that are sinking because of a lack of faith in God. They want to see God bless, and they want to see people get saved and baptized and added to the church, but they don’t believe that God can do that anymore. I have talked to many preachers and laymen alike and I have heard depressing expressions of doubt. If I had a penny for every time I heard someone say, “Times have changed and no one wants to hear the Gospel anymore,” I’d be a rich man! Unfortunately, we have bought into a mindset that since we live in the last days, no one is going to respond to what we have to say. People use 2nd Timothy 4:3 as an excuse as to why people are not getting saved, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” And do not get me wrong, I understand that we live in a time where people are particularly closed to the message of the Gospel, but I also believe that I serve a God who is able to overcome those obstacles as long as I simply believe that he can. Peter’s walking on the water was directly linked to his faith in Jesus, when Peter started to doubt, he began to sink.

Do you want to see miracles happen in your church? Have faith! If you do not believe that people can get saved or that lives can be changed than the chances are that no one will. You and your church will sink just like Peter did.

I can’t help but think about the days in the past when great men of God stepped out in faith to start a church. They claimed a town for Jesus Christ and built a church, fully believing that God was going to do great things. I particularly think of Dr. Roland Garlick, who was the founding pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Hartwell, GA, the church I pastor. Dr. Garlick was a man who saw the need for an independent Baptist church in Hartwell, GA, so he took a group of 20 people and started Calvary Baptist Church. With the help of some church members, he built the building that we still worship in today, and he brought the attendance of the church from 20 up to 150. How was he able to do that? Because he believed in a God who could do that. Yes, times have changed; but I still serve a powerful God who can break the heart of stone and can perform miracles. Stop focusing on the wind and waves, stop concerning yourself with the obstacles and trust in God!

You may be reading this and thinking, “But Pastor King, it’s too late now. After years of doubt, I don’t think our church can turn around. We are as good as dead.” I want you to notice something. Peter was drowning, but Jesus came and rescued him. Peter would have died had it not been for the rescuing hand of Jesus Christ. I see many churches that are taking their final breathes, and I honestly believe that even in those final moments Jesus can still come and rescue the church that has a restored faith in Him. For instance, many of us know of Lancaster Baptist Church. I went to college there and learned a lot about the ministry from there. When Pastor Chappell became pastor there over 25 years ago, there were about 20 people, they were in a great amount of debt, they were renting their building out to another church, while they met in the upper room of the church. Things were looking bleak and from the outside looking in, any of us would have said that there is no hope for that church to survive. But what happened? A young man came into that church, believing that he served a God that could do great things. And guess what! God DID do great things. And Pastor Chappell would be the first to tell you that it didn’t happen because of anything he did, the church grew and people got saved because he serves a God who is powerful to save.

Before I move on, you may be sitting here and you may think that you have faith that God can bless your church. Let me ask you something: What are you doing to show that faith? Faith requires action. Abraham believed God, and because he believed God he left the city of Ur to the place where God promised. Abraham could have sat around in Ur and said, “Oh, yes, I believe God!” but if he didn’t get up and go, he wouldn't have seen the great miracles that he did. Do you believe that God can bless your church? Then you need to pray for your church. You need to go out soul winning. You need to invite your unsaved friends, family, and co-workers to church. You need to be faithful. Actions speak louder than words. Let’s be sure that our actions match up to the faith we claim we have. God can do great things, we need to believe that he can do them.

This is part one of my three part series on the Three Spirits That Will Destroy A Church. In the upcoming weeks, stay tuned for the next part of this series!