Remove the fun and new friends component and you will see how many are going to show up. Call them to a three-day fast and prayer, and you'll have more people sign up than the concert hall can contain! Of course, we can't and shouldn't do anything extra-religious to earn a point or two and be more spiritual--this is not what I am saying people at this conference should do instead of the fun stuff (the flesh gets the glory either way). Nothing coming from the outside can change what is on the inside. God works from the inside out, not vice versa. He is not pleased with a shallow "God and..." event, even with us making some good friends; what He demands is full devotion and absolute surrender. At that point personal opinions and preferences have no value. Everything [i]personal[/i] is nailed to the Cross.
Dear George, there is nothing boring in the Christian life. The word "boredom" has no place in it. In fact, if we are bored, this is a sure indication that we are outside the will of God. For what do we have to choose for ourselves? Have we not been bought with a price? Are we our own to say "I want this also, God, because I am getting bored, because this is too hard for me... my flesh just can't take it"? The Christian life--the life of Christ in us--is anything but boring. It is abundant, not because of the things we do [i]externally[/i], but because of the work of the living God [i]internally[/i]. It is written, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God" (Col. 3:1). The way to overcome boredom--or the temptation to boredom and futility--is to turn to God and seek His face and His will, not at ourselves or the world around us for inspiration. By looking at ourselves and finding ways to engage ourselves in something positive or seemingly God-honoring, we, in fact, say to God we don't need Him; we make it clear to Him that we are sufficient on our own (perhaps not even realizing it), and [i]we cannot abide in Him[/i] with such an attitude. We must come to the end of ourselves.
And what is fun? Wasn't "sorrow better than laughter"? Weren't those who mourn going to be comforted? Where is fun present in the Word as an end in itself or an example we should follow? We see quite the contrary picture painted in the Scriptures:
"The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth" (Eccl. 7:4),
and in another place,
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:3-4).
Before rejecting Tears of joy's admonition, you should examine yourself, George, in light of the Truth. You should try to find where your heart is, for there also will be your treasure. "He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding" (Prov. 15:32).
I have been to many such conferences and events in the past, and they have added [i]zero[/i] to my faith in the Lord. I went there, I played games, I sang songs; I was thrilled deeply and I said to myself: "This must be the Lord!" But then I left and went home, and in a couple of days or a week the emotion was gone, and things started as usual. I was the same old wretched man, who thought he'd found deliverance, but came back empty-handed. God is not pleased with bombastic performances of men's adoration, He is not fascinated by big crowds, huge offerings, many professed conversions. He wants a quiet and obedient heart to speak to. See this example in the Word when God came to Elijah:
[i]1Ki 19:7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you."
1Ki 19:8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
1Ki 19:9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
1Ki 19:10 So he said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."
1Ki 19:11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
1Ki 19:12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.[/i]
Dear George, you don't have to do special research or listen to "respected speakers" to find God and hear from Him, although God can and does speak through people. Just go to a solitary place and cry out to Him. He will be there as He has promised; "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37).
In Christ,
Slavyan
