FELLOWSHIP
Fellowship with God develops over time through difficult circumstances and trying events which requires endurance and perseverance. Without the filling of the Spirit, this is not possible. We in our own strength simply cannot attain such heights and overcome such obstacles which will come to test our faith. And the filling of the Holy Spirit is not possible unless our focus is sharp and clear being directed at Christ Jesus, our Lord. Christ's Lordship demands our full and complete devotion. And we cannot claim in a true and honest sense that Christ is our Lord unless we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
No one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:3
It is important here to note Christ's dual role as God's Son: He is Savior and He is Lord. All who believe in Christ for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life are "born of God." They become children of God. God's children will never die. His seed is in him and therefore the believer will ever be in the loving arms of God.
Believing in Christ Jesus unto salvation is a one time, permanent condition by which neither life nor death, sickness or disease, demon or devil can change. The believer can never lose his salvation. God's honor, name's sake and integrity are at stake. Salvation is forever for those who accept Christ as Savior. It is an eternal decision. The greatest decision we can make. Such is the vitality of our redemption.
As Christ's role as savior determines our eternal life, His role as Lord determines our spiritual life and ultimately, our place and standing and rank in God's heavenly court. As Lord, He is to be focused upon, submitted to and obeyed. This takes humility and sacrifice on our part. If He is to govern our lives, we must surrender all selfish ambition, self government , and self importance. His plan, not our plan, must take precedence.
Submission and humility are not natural states of mind for the human species . They are often seen as a weaknesses. We would prefer to dominate, not submit; to be strong, not weak, rich not poor, to rule not be ruled. Yet power to live righteously before God comes through submission and humility to the Lordship of Christ. There can be no filling of the Spirit if we refuse to vacate the throne of our soul. The Holy Spirit will not take control of our soul by force. We must surrender it to Him. As John the Baptist said of Christ,
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30
Filling of the Holy Spirit is always synonymous with submission to Christ's Lordship and the abdication of self rule. Therefore, we are only filled with the Spirit as we are clearly focused on Christ. Such as focus energize s our soul for righteous living. This desire or passion to serve was the food of Christ. "My food is to do the will of God." Our degree of passion increases as we continually and faithfully transform our souls by God's Holy Word and intimate counsel.
This passion I speak of is NOT the emotional wailing of the immature and ignorant. It is not the hysterical waving of arms, the imbecilic jumping up and down in the aisles, or the idiotic running around the church. No, I speak not of emotionalism, but passion, intense desire, a thirst and hunger for righteousness. I speak of a steadfastness, endurance, and perseverance to develop a personal and intimate relationship with the living God despite "hell and high water." It is through suffering not the entertainment of today's church services that humbles our proud heart and brings us closer to divine bliss. Yes, we do have much to praise God for, but let our shouts of joy be of a thoughtful manner arising from the spirit man, not of the flesh.
CHURCH SERVICE OR DISSERVICE?
I guess I will never forget an experience I had here in McAllen, Texas at a local non- denominational church some years ago. I had been going to a particular church for about 5 or 6 weeks. I had hoped I would learn some strong and solid doctrine by which to transform my soul and advance in my spiritual life. One Sunday, the service featured a guest speak which was the norm. I think guest speakers did more talking than the pastor. I later came to the conclusion, this pastor, like others, functioned more as an entertainment director than a pastor and teacher. Anyway, the guest speaker was an evangelist with a "healing ministry."
He was introduced by the pastor and the audience was alive with anticipation. I had no idea what to expect but hoped to hear a strong message of righteousness and truth. I got very, very little of that. What I did get was an uneasy, heavy feeling of unrighteous behavior by this man and all sanctioned by the pastor and therefore the congregation believed he spoke with the voice of God.
After the speaker introduced himself, he almost immediately began speaking in tongues. He began softly and with control. Yet with each passing minute , he revved up the emotion. He got louder and louder. His mannerisms more wild and uncontrolled. And as the minutes agonizingly crawled on, he continued with his emotional jibberish until he felt he had the audience where he wanted them-hypnotized by his personality and charisma. This went on for about 15 to 20 minutes. Every word unrecognizable. Not one soul was enlightened. It was though he was simply putting on a show and the focus was to be on him, not our Savior.
Soon, he became silent. Then he started to speak in English. Now supposedly, he began to give the interpretation of his babblings. He started like he did before, calming and with control. He said, God is on the throne and the devil's been defeated. Now, that is a true statement, but it was hardly a revelation. It is something you learn in Sunday school at age 6. But I thought, "Okay, God is on the throne and the devil is indeed defeated. Now what?" Well, for the next 15 to 20 minutes, that is all he said. God is on the throne and the devil's been defeated. God is on the throne and the devil's been defeated. Over and over again, but with each passing minute, he gets louder, more wild and uncontrolled. And I'm thinking to myself, "This is not of God. I am learning nothing. There is no spiritual food here to ingest. This is merely junkfood. I want out! "
It was a very dark feeling I had. I was very uncomfortable. I wanted to leave, but didn't. I felt it would be over soon enough. And finally, he shut up. But then came the worst. Now that most were in an emotional state of hyperactivity and their minds numbed for his repetitious "mantra", he challenged the audience to get up and run around the chairs on the floor . There were about 300-400 chairs set up and most were full.
Why were we to get up and run around? Well, it was to praise God and show Him how much we all loved Him. And low and behold, 75% of the audience did just that. He had these zombies under his control. This was not of the Holy Spirit. It was about another lunatic playing God and leading these poor and ignorant believers over the cliff and into an abyss of carnality.
Never have I experienced such darkness and evil in a church before and I pray I never do. Yet I fear this goes on Sunday after Sunday, church service after church service throughout this nation. To my thinking, this does not honor God, but dishonor Him.
After the running around, the service came to a conclusion with a healing service. Dozens and dozens went up to the evangelist for healing. I don't if any one was healed of anything, but many fainted with emotion. It was pathetic. But the saddest thing of all is the fact that God's Word was not taught and we were not fed. I never went back.
TEST THE SPIRITS
God rightly teaches us to test the spirits to see if they are of God or not. If we but educate ourselves by the whole counsel of God's Word and allow the Holy Spirit to quietly and gently guide us, we will be able to discern right from wrong, good from evil, and true spirituality from the false.
If we will but focus on Christ Jesus not on our own selfish ambitions, we shall be filled with the sweet presence of God the Holy Spirit. And if we continue and remain in the Sphere of Faith, we shall find the power to live pleasingly before God our Father. And as we so live, we shall mature in our souls and develop an intimate and personal relationship with God. We shall experience heavenly fellowship. This should and must extend into our families, communities, and nations. This is preparing ourselves for our bride, Christ Jesus. We must not let our lamps go out. Let us keep them bright by remaining focused on Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit. Come, Lord Jesus, come!
|
|
