Faith on the Go: Ep 3: Tearing Down the Stage: Restoring the Sanctuary

0:00 Hello, and welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and we are on episode three, when the sanctuary becomes a stage. The sanctuary was never meant to be a stage, but we traded altars for platforms, holiness for hype, conviction for crowd approval, and now God is calling us to tear it all down and rebuild what's sacred. So welcome to Faith on the Go with Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host, Connie Morris. And this is episode three of the Curse of Familiarity series, When the Sanctuary Becomes a Stage.

0:45 I'm going to open this up with prayer like we always do. You should know this prayer by heart. So pray it with me. God, have your hand as the prayer of your best. God, thank you for your hand that is upon us. Our territory is expanding. We are kept from harm. Our prayers are heard and they will be answered. Here we rise from pain, walk in truth, and return to deep intimacy with God, healed, empowered, and walking boldly in divine purpose. So let's do it. So we want revival. The modern church has lost its fear, right? Fear of the Lord.

1:26 I think we got real casual with the Lord. And so I think he wants us to get back, not fear him as being afraid, but fear him as reverence him, right? Because he wants to do great and mighty things in our lives, like the acts church did. I want that, don't you? And so we want the revival, but we don't want repentance. We want his presence, but we've made room for performance instead. The sanctuary has become a place of present instead of a place to prostrate. It's not always about fog machines and used to add skinny jeans and flashing lights.

2:07 It's about hearts that speak applause, that seek applause before more than approval. It's about hearts that seek applause more than approval. We've become familiar with the platform, with the pulpit, with the power of God. And now he's shaking the house. Isn't that powerful? We want the applause of man instead of the approval of God. And God says, I'm going to shake you loose from all that. And, you know, how does he do that? With his presence. So let's give some examples of how he does this.

2:47 So we're going to go once again to Eli. And this is something that's been strong here. It says, Eli and the house of irreverence. And it's in 1 Samuel 2, 12-17, and then verses 27-36. It's also in 1 Samuel 4, 10-11. We see here that this version says, Eli's sons were scoundrels. They had no regard for the Lord. They treated the Lord's offering with contempt. Those are some bad words there. Scoundrels and contempt. Eli's sons were priests. We heard that in the first episode, ministering in the tabernacles.

3:30 But they stole offerings, slept with women, and dishonored the altar. And Eli, their father, the high priest, refused to stop them. That's interesting, right? So you have a father who's the high priest, who sees their sons going astray, but refused to even remove them from that position. So why do you honor your sons more than me, says the Lord in 1 Samuel 2, chapter 2, verse 29. And God warned them, and they didn't listen. and the ark of God was captured and Eli's sons died. The glory departed because the reverence had died.

4:12 This wasn't the world. This wasn't inside. This was the world and this was inside the sanctuary. Let's take a moment here and break down some of these words. When we talk about the word scoundrel, it's a Hebrew word and I can't even try to even spell it, but it's Beliah, which is interesting because we know Satan is called Beliah. But the meaning is it means worthless men or sons of worthlessness. So, worthlessness. So, when God calls you a scoundrel, God says you are worthless. Those with no fear of God, no moral compass, and no reverence for sacred things.

4:57 So, worthless men, sons of worthlessness. He says that that's what it means. There was no fear of God. So at what point does you go from being a priest of God, where your father is a high priest, where you lose all reverence of God, so much so that your father does not even correct you at the altar. That God had to come down and kill them. A judgment had to fall. Think about that. So in today's term, scoundrels are corrupt, rebellious, and disrespectful toward spiritual authority and holiness.

5:41 Do we know a few of those people? So scoundrels are corrupt, rebellious, and disrespectful toward spiritual authority and holiness. The names of Eli's sons was Hophni and Phanias, whereas they weren't just wild, they were dangerous, abusing the priesthood for personal gain. So why does this matter? It says scoundrels wasn't a casual insult. It was a spiritual indictment from God. You are considered scoundrels. In scripture, the word eventually became a title for Satan himself. Why? Because Satan is a scoundrel.

6:22 He has no fear of God and no moral compass. and he gets people like Hophni and Phinehas to do his work, right? So you can wear priestly garments, but if you mock the offering, you're leading with a rebellious heart. This is a warning to the modern church. Position doesn't equal purity and ordination doesn't override by obedience. So we see here, we don't want to be called a scoundrel, and we do definitely want to be partnered with the enemy to tear down the church of the holy God. Amen.

7:05 So what are some signs that your sanctuary has become a stage? If you were at your church, you said, how did my church, how did my sanctuary become a stage? So let's talk about it. The worship team is skilled, but nobody is weeping, never really takes us into worship. You know, sometimes the worship team is, they take you into them. It's always about what they're wearing, you know, how they're singing. It's like, come on now, we want to get into the presence of the Lord. You know, it's some kind of dance that's not really a holy dance.

7:45 So we're dancing, but it's not a holy dance. It's not really dancing us into the presence of God. It reminds you, sometimes you can be at church and you can actually feel like you're at a dance party. Are you looking for a dance party or are you looking for Jesus? Preaching is polished, but it doesn't pierce. Their suit is piercing. They got the baddest suit on. The preacher is looking pretty sharp, but his word is not sharper, right? People clap, but they don't change. A lot of clapping, a lot of applauding, a lot of standing up. And then next thing you know, they're out. They leave there and nothing changes.

8:28 There are noise, but there's no presence. There's no God. You go to church and you leave church and you are still the same. Nothing changes. 2 Timothy 3.5 says, Having a form of godliness, but denying its power. Having nothing to do, have nothing to do with such people. Familiarity has turned the church into a crowd or a fan club. You ever say, I got to go hear this person preach. This person preach really good. It's he's preaching the word of God, right? You know, he's preaching the word of God. But God is not coming for a crowd. He's coming for a bride and he's cleansing his temple.

9:13 Nothing wrong with some good preaching. Don't get me wrong. But when you override the preacher before God, there's got to be a problem. Not got to be. There is a problem. A call to tear down the stage and restore the altar. Let's go to Joel 2, chapter 12 through 13. It says, even now declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart. Wring your heart and not your garments. The sanctuary is not for performance. It's for presence. The altar is not for lights. It's for lightning. Come on now. Divine encounters that changes everything.

9:53 This isn't a call to fix the lights or the songs. It's a call to bring reverence back to the room. Where is the trembling? Where is the repentance? Where is the holy hush? But God walks in and you don't even want to breathe because His presence is so holy. Let's pray. Lord, we built churches you never asked for. We've honored platforms more than purity. We have applauded performances while ignoring your voice. Forgive us. Forgive our pastors. Forgive our worship leaders. Forgive the stage we built on the ashes of the altar.

10:33 Tear down what we built without you. Restore the fear of the Lord in the sanctuary. Let conviction fall. Let your glory return. We don't want performances we want present we don't want hype we want holy, in Jesus name, amen say this with me I will not treat the house of God as a common I will not honor the platform I will not honor the platform over the altar I will not be a spectator I will be a worshiper the Lord is returning to his house and I will make room for him, The fear of the Lord is returning to his house, and I will make room for him. Amen.

11:22 God is still holy. God is still holy. You may have never been taught. You may have grown up under a system that fed the flesh and ignored the spirit. But now you know God is still holy. His sanctuary is still sacred. and he is not impressed by performance. He is moved by reverence. So next episode, we'll go a little bit deeper. We'll examine Merrim, Sarai, and those who became too familiar with the spiritual authority and divine assignment, and what happens when familiarity leads to dishonor.

12:04 Until then, worship deeply, walk humbly, and never treat the sanctuary like a stage again. This is your host, Connie Morris, and you're listening to Faith on the Go with Diary of a Black Woman. Stay in awe. Let's activate the promises of Jeremiah 29, 11. So God knows the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. And when you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him. He will bring you back from captivity and restore everything that was lost.

12:44 Hold on your healing for clarity. Your breakthrough are closer than you think. This is more than just a podcast. This is a return to God's plan for your life. Let's keep walking it all together. Stay connected. You can find free resources on my website, DiaryOfBlackWomenLLC.com. Prayer request you can call me or contact me at Diary of a Black Woman. Podcast at gmail.com coming live to Twitch Diary of Black Women TV till next time bye bye.