ISS:"Brother Swaggart here's my Question"

   Question:

   SOME CHURCHES ARE PRESENTLY EMPLOYING "STAND-UP COMICS" IN THEIR
REGULAR CHURCH SERVICES. IS THIS SCRIPTURAL?

   Answer:

   No, it most definitely is not scriptural; to be frank with you, it
borders on the blasphemous. At the very least, the practice of
employing stand-up comics (or any other kind of comics) in a church
service shows a terrible lack of understanding regarding the work of
the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ.

   OVER TELEVISION

   A short time ago in a "church service" over television (on
satellite), I too observed that which you're speaking of. A young man
came out and, standing before the Sunday morning congregation,
proceeded to amuse them for several minutes with a repertoire of jokes,
funny sayings, and hanging sentences to "loosen up" the congregation or
to get them to laugh. This is terribly wrong, and there is absolutely
nothing in the Bible that would support such activity.

   WHAT ABOUT YOUTH GROUPS?

   No, such a practice is not proper in youth groups. We live in a very
troubled age, and our young people today are facing the concentrated
powers of hell in all their fury. Consequently, the youth who come to
our youth meetings are troubled with every type of bondage that one can
think of - alcoholism, witchcraft, drug addiction, teenage pregnancy,
the occult, etc., and it takes more than a "joke" to set the captives
free: It takes the mighty anointing of the Holy Spirit.

   Certainly, Bible stories may at times be told in a humorous way to
children, simply because they are children. This is a different matter
from that which we are discussing, however. Young people are no longer
children. They are treated by law as adults in an adult world. The
Apostle Paul said:

   "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish
things." (1 Cor. 13:11)

   THE BOOK OF ACTS

   The book of Acts is, as I think everyone would agree, the criteria
for the church. It is the foundational model, that which every
modern-day church should pattern itself after.

   Let's take a brief look at chapters two through five of the book of
Acts:

   * In Acts 2, we have the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit,
whereupon the disciples began to speak with other tongues, plus Peter's
great sermon - both taking place on the day of Pentecost.

   * In the beginning of Acts 3, we have Peter and John going to the
temple, there encountering the lame man who was daily laid at the
temple gate. Because of Peter's faith-filled command, "In the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk, " the man was healed.

   Acts 3 also contains Peter's second sermon, in which he appealed to
the Jews to repent. This sermon was somewhat unlike the first one in
chapter 2, for the first sermon resulted in some 3,000 people being
saved, whereas the second sermon resulted in Peter and John being put
in prison. (I doubt very seriously that the Jewish unbelievers
considered Peter's sermon to be a joke.)

   * In the fourth chapter of Acts, we see how the believers united in
prayer, and, as a result, "the place was shaken where they were
assembled together."

   * In Acts 5 we read the account of Ananias and Sapphira, a husband
and wife who dropped dead because they lied to the Holy Spirit.

   This short sysnopsis of the early chapters of the book of Acts
relates the idea of what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about.
Within these chapters we see the work of the Holy Spirit helping the
apostles to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and see great revival
(plus judgment).

   It is an insult to the Holy Spirit to subscribe to Him as a mere
"nightclub act" brought over into the church and made a part of the
moving and operation of the Holy Spirit.

   Preachers who do such things, or who allow such things, know little
or nothing about the moving and operation of the Holy Spirit. Sad to
say, most of this - if not all of it - has come out of the Charismatic
sector. Here we have the terrible spectacle of the gifts of the Spirit
being placed in an atmosphere where there is little or no knowledge of
the anointing and convicting power of the Holy Spirit.

   Some think the work of the Holy Spirit is wrapped up entirely in the
gifts of the Spirit. (These nine gifts of the Spirit are a part of the
great work of the Holy Spirit, but they are only a part , not the
whole; and the lack of understanding concerning this is where the
difficulty arises.

   Many individuals in the Charismatic realm specialize in gifts, but
have little knowledge of the overall operation of the Holy Spirit. So,
consequently, foolish and supercilious things are done, all in the name
of Christ and under the guise of the Holy Spirit when, in reality, it
is another spirit that is prompting them - the spirit of the world.

   NO PLACE FOR ENTERTAINMENT

   No, there is no place for stand-up comics in the church (or sit-
down comics, for that matter), nor is there place for entertainment or
amusement. Certainly, the mighty moving of the Holy Spirit elicits joy
from the hearts and lives of the listeners, but it is just that, "joy."
And this joy is far different from the surface feeling of the world's
so-called "happiness." Happiness is produced by environment. It depends
upon conditions and surroundings, and it is best maintained in and
atmosphere void of difficulties. Since happiness is a surface emotion,
it can change in a moment's time to sadness, depression, anger, etc.
Real joy, on the other hand, comes from within and can only be given by
God, and it can survive even in the most adverse of circumstances.

   When we resort to methods such as "comics" in a church service (or
anywhere else in the kingdom of God), we are trying to "create" a
surface happiness which, in reality, is borrowed from the nightclubs.
This superficial happiness is a poor substitute for the true joy of the
Lord.

   However, it must be added that the entire atmosphere in too many
churches - even Charismatic and Pentecostal churches - is little more
than a "joke" itself. And, consequently, the "routine" exhibited to a
crowd by a stand-up comic, albeit on religious subjects, fits in with
the atmosphere very well.

   But consider the Early Church which, as we previously stated, is the
foundational model for today's churches. Can you imagine the Apostle
Paul, or Simon Peter, or the beloved John introducing a comic to their
congregations? I doubt very seriously they would very much at home in
that type of atmosphere.

   No, it is definitely not scriptural to employ stand-up comics or any
type of entertainment such as this in a church service. Such practices
are anathema to the moving and operation of the Holy Spirit. Every part
of the service should be design so that the Holy Spirit may accomplish
His office work in the hearts and lives of the individuals who attend
that service. And a borrowed nightclub routine could never be a part of
the office work of the Holy Spirit.

   ... Jimmy Swaggart