A NEW PENTECOST

 

A NEW PENTECOST - PENTECOST CONTINUES TO THE END OF THE WORLD       8-19-05

 

     From time to time we think that God-The-Holy-Spirit shakes our world and produces revival, renewal, and spiritual awakening.  People repent and seek to be right with God.  Lives are cleaned up and morality thrives.  Righteousness becomes a virtue.  The fruit of The Spirit becomes real in the community of the faithful.  He - The Spirit - was/is to: prove to the world that they are wrong about sin and about what is right and about God's judgment (John 16:7-11).  We believe He produces in the Christian such things as Christian love (Romans 5:1-5), holy joy (1 Thessalonians 1:5-6; Acts 13:52), and fruitful Christian life (Galatians 5:22-23).

 

Preface:

    The church is faced with a sense of pessimism and defeat.   Christians spread gloom, even though this is the contradiction of everything they would be expected to believe.  But a real Christian is a man/woman of hope.  Apostle Peter went so far as to say that a disciple of Christ should always have an answer ready for people who inquire about hope (1 Peter 3:15).  Hope is an essential part of our very being.  But just now in some circles hope has drawn criticism from those who see it as just a “tranquilizer” to divert our attention from our problems.

    Christianity means hope!  We must take hold of hope and restore it to its rightful place in our thinking.  Hope is real, from God, and relies on God.  Hope makes a mockery of our weighty statistics, probability charts, forecasts of the future.   “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD” (Isaiah 55:8 NKJV). 

    Hope is the servant of God, the “Master of the impossible” who draws straight with crooked lines (compare Isaiah 45:2).  Hope is the “daughter” of the God who cannot be pigeonholed and who knows how to turn obstacles into servants to do His will.

    Some are distressed that they cannot recognize the church of their childhood (as they think they remember it).  Be of courage!  God the Holy Spirit is at work deep within the heart of His church.  He is the living hope for the future.  He is breathing into the church a fresh youthfulness. 

    We read the Book of Acts, which might be called “The Acts of The Holy Spirit.”  In thought we relive the time when the disciples were in the upper room, 120 of them,  doubtless the Seventy, along with several women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers, who had not been believers before (Acts 1:14).  We pray: “Renew Your wonders, O Lord, in this our day give us a new Pentecost.”

    By the power of the Gospel, He - The Spirit - makes the church grow (1 Corinthians 3:6; 2 Corinthians 3:5; John 16:8-15).  We must look to The Spirit beyond men and their limitations.  We must open a few windows in the upper room and allow the first breeze of springtime to come in to us.  Paul warned that while some have the form, they deny the power (2 Timothy 3:5).  And Christianity is about power (2 Timothy 1:7, etc.).

    The Holy Spirit has  ways and means of renewing the church.  As the centuries go by, The Spirit, suddenly and without warning, releases a gulfstream of graces through the action of some believer (saint), who towers over the others.  Churches of Christ honor Campbell, father & son, Stone, Scott, and others who led the “restoration movement” to recover the Ancient Order of things.  Many whose names we do not know have also played a vital role as witnesses of the presence of The Holy Spirit with the church in moments of crisis and opportunity.

    Faith teaches us that suffering is the seed of life.  It is perfectly normal, then, that the sufferings of the church today should give rise to great hope.  No day was so filled with hope, as we look back, as the Friday before the crucifixion.  When Jesus was lifted up on the cross, He won the victory over death, hell, and the grave.  And so as someone wrote: “It is a happy time for the church when she is sustained by nothing other than God.”  Another wrote: “The hour of suffering is the hour of God.  The situation is hopeless: this, then, is the hour for hoping. . . When we have reasons for hoping then we rely on those reasons. . . We should rely not on reasons, but on a promise - a promise given by God. . . We must admit that we are lost, surrender ourselves as lost, and praise the Lord who saves us.”

    Each new crisis teaches us that we are living at the turning point of the history of the church.  God The Holy Spirit is continually revealing, to a degree unknown before, a mystery of death and resurrection.  Now, and always, it is the time to listen to “what the Spirit is saying to the churches” (Revelation 2:29).  He is telling us, it seems, to carry out the very necessary reform and renewal of the church.  The church will always need spiritual awakening.  As someone said: “The church must grow from the inside out.”

    One in another “brotherhood” wrote in 1964: “The world today is giving birth, and birth is always accompanied by hope.  We view this present situation with a great Christian hope and a deep sense of our responsibility for the kind of world that will be born of this travail.  This is the hour of the Church: united, it must offer to this world being born, some Christian orientations as to its future.”  Again: “All that is necessary for evil to succeed, is for good men to do nothing.”

    When asked: “Why a you a man of hope, despite the confusion in which we find ourselves today?”  My answer was: “Because I believe in the Holy Spirit.”  Certainly the Triune God is in control and working out His Great Plan.

 

WHY  DO  YOU  HOPE

 

Stand up and praise the Lord your God!

Praise Him forever and ever!

Let everyone praise His glorious name,

although no human praise

can ever be great enough.

 

Today is holy to our Lord,

so don't be sad.

The joy that the Lord gives you

will make you strong.

Do as the Lord says,

and you will be safe from sin.

 

The long history of the church is filled

with the wonders of God The Holy Spirit.

Who would dare to say that the love

and resourcefulness

of God were exhausted?

 

I believe in the surprises

of God The Holy Spirit.

The ways of His Providence

are by nature surprising.

We are not prisoners of "fate,"

nor of the gloomy predictions

of sociologists

and those who peer into the future.

 

We must therefore be ready

to expect

the unexpected

from God!

 

Think of the prophets and

the great men and women

of old.

Who, in times of darkness,

discovered a spring of grace

and shed beams of light on our path.

 

I am a man of hope - not

from human reasons

nor from a natural optimism.

God is here, near us,

unforeseeable and loving,

working in the world

at this very minute.

 

To hope is a duty, not a luxury.

To hope is not to dream,

but to turn dreams into reality.

Blessed are those who dream dreams

and are ready

to pay the price

to make them come true.

 

To those who welcome Him

He gives each day fresh liberty

and renewed joy and trust!!!

I am a man of hope!

I believe in God The Holy Spirit!

I claim the promises of the Lord!

 

Luke records Jesus as saying:

Keep on asking, seeking, knocking.

And don't you think the Father

who conceived you in love

will give you the Holy Spirit

when you ask Him?"

[Luke 11:9-13]

 

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”  Luke 11:13

 

 

The Holy Spirit - Life-breath of the Church.

 

1. WHAT KIND OF CHURCH?

 

     

      The word “church” applies to a whole variety of images and models.  It can be defined as a hierarchical society, the mystical body of Christ, the people of God, a community either local or universal, an eschatological community, the sacrament of Christ, a service to the world.  A reason for our present tensions is that certain people which to choose one of these models in such a way that it excludes or dominates the others.  The truth is more complex:  The Church is itself a mystery which opens on to the “unsearchable riches of Christ,” which we must accept in their totality. 

 

      A preacher from another tribe wrote about the church of the future.  "We shall have, therefore, a period of greater freedom in the life of the church and of her individual members.  It will be a period of fewer legal obligations and fewer internal restraints.  Formal discipline will be reduced; all arbitrary intolerance and all absolutism will be abolished.  Positive law will be simplified, and the exercise of authority will be moderated.  There will be promoted the sense of that Christian freedom which pervaded the first generation of Christians."

Safety Not Sorrow

The New Testament church had these same problems.  Jesus knew what was in people's hearts.  We "watch and pray" as we live our lives. 

Protect by Example

by Doug Harvey

In June I visited a church in Canada. It used to be no big deal to cross the border, but these days it gets complicated. Where once a drivers license was all the ID needed, now I've got to bring my passport. Then I've got to call my credit card company, or they will "protect" me by refusing to accept charges from out of the country. It all seems so silly. I know I'm me, I know its my credit card, I know I'm an American citizen. So why do I have to keep proving these obvious truths?

 

I have to do all these things to prevent abuse by people who use the system to harm people. I have to prove my citizenship as part of a system to prevent foreign-born terrorists from infiltrating the country. I have to alert the credit card company to help prevent unauthorized use of my credit card number from beyond the borders. In order to benefit from these protections, we all have to participate in the screenings.

 

Another obtrusive and irritating hoop church leaders need to jump through these days is background screening and training in the prevention of sexual misconduct. Nobody likes to have to go through these things. It feels a bit like the presumption of guilt, and we balk at anything that seems to imply that we aren't to be trusted.

The problem is that sexual predators usually hide their pasts very effectively, and without some process of screening, they easily appear to be perfectly trustworthy.

 

Every church needs to insist on background checks and some form of training in abuse prevention for anyone who works with youth, children or the church's money. To make this point clearly, leaders need to willingly take the lead and set the example in these things. Instead of just insisting on checks and training for youth and children's workers, begin by doing the checks and training yourselves. Show that it isn't a witch hunt, but just good policy to protect the church, and that you aren't asking anyone to do something you won't do yourself.

 

In smaller churches it is especially tempting to bypass these things because we all know one another. It seems to imply suspicion, and nobody wants to feel they are under the microscope. But one incident can open your church to legal liabilities beyond imagination. If you haven't exercised some due diligence in prevention, the courts aren't going to ask you if you know and trust a violator, they are going to ask why you did not do routine screenings in a world where abuse is so common.

Your church's insurance company will have sample policies and resources for protecting the vulnerable in your congregation.

Elders and pastors, take the lead. Establish clear policies about background checks and training of workers, then put yourselves through the process first.

 

I'm taking my passport to Canada even though I know full well there is no reason to doubt my citizenship. I'm calling my credit card company even though I know full well I am not an identity thief or a credit abuser. When DHF began asking for a background check for people joining our pastor's association, I was the first one through the process.

 

Protect your flock. Lead by example.

Things To Meditate On The Holy Spirit

Things To Meditate On The Holy Spirit

        I wrote this some time in the 1970s.  It draws on some things then being discussed among the non-instrument churches.  It speaks to some of the issues today about the "worship question."

        It  is  right  to  learn from a brother's experience and thinking.  In fact, this is one of the safeguards built into the Christian System (the church-kingdom)  Compare Galatians 1:19; Acts 15:4; 11:4.

        Logan Fox was for some time a missionary to Japan. He is also a Family Counselor.  Here are two quotations from him.

        "The counselor learns to accept the client, whatever the client's behavior or feelings. This involves neither approval nor disapproval, but is a deep respect for the person and worth of the client. This, to me, is love, and this is something we can do in obedience to the will of God."

        "I am now convinced that the church is failing in its mission of 'healing' because we have failed to heed Jesus' words: 'Judge not.' We have relied on the power of social disapproval in trying to change people's behavior rather than relying on the power of acceptance and love. In this, we have shown that we trust the power of the world more then we trust the spiritual power of love and holiness."

        And this from another brother, whose name I have forgotten.

        "Freedom is not someone's gift, nor do we need to ask permission for it. We must not complain that we are not free, and it is ours to act 'freely."'

        The devil wants us to believe that we are still slaves. But Christ has set us free; See John 8:36; Roman,, 6:18; 8:2; Galatians 5:1. We are already free and just need to act that way!

        "A man's mind, stretched by a new idea, can never go back to its original dimension." (Oliver Wendel Holmes) This is really another way to say what Jesus said about  'new wine' and  'old wineskins.'

        Do we act out what we claim to believe??? "Revitalize the worship by practicing the presence of God!" Jesus said HE was right there when "two or three are gathered together in My name" (Matthew 18:20). Do we 'believe' Jesus is here as we worship??? If we could see Him with our eyes -would it make any difference in HOW we worship???

        To work something out, you must begin at the right point. But this may not be where you thought it was. This is certainly true of the work of the Lord's church.

        "I was typical in my approach to worship. I was focused so much on evangelism and I thought that was what the church was about. Worship was an auxiliary activity. But in 1958, after hearing G. R. Carlson speak about the priority of worship, I was convinced that my approach was wrong.  When God calls us to worship Him, His goals are encounter and action. He wants to meet with us and  move  among  us,  interacting  with  and transforming His people. God is not administering a Bible quiz on Sundays, checking to see that everyone  is making the right doctrinal and biblical sounds so that He can bless them the following week." (Jack Hayford)

        "Praise and worship are not the same. Praise is thanking God for the blessings, the benefits, the good things. It is an expression of love, gratitude and appreciation. . .Worship involves a more intense level of personal communication with God, centering on His Person. In concentrated worship, there is a sort of detachment from everything external as we enter God's presence...As I made praise part of my daily life, I began to see the power that God provides.  I began praise in the morning, often singing in the shower. I continued all day long in the car, in my home, even at work." (Thurlow Spurr)

        The worship service is the place to begin evangelism. And worship grows out of praise in our own life. Our own praise and joy will lead us to worship with more power.  And worship based on praise and joy will cause others to turn to Christ. In this way our goal of evangelism will be fulfilled.

        "Do not put out the Spirit's fire!" This  is what Paul  is  saying in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. "HE will be with you forever!" That's what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit. Joel spoke of the Spirit being poured out on both "men and women, both old and young, etc." (Acts 2). We are to be "filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). We are to "pray(ing) in the Holy Spirit" (Jude 20).

        But some, as Forrest H. Wells says, had in the past "used truth to teach error in order to explain the absence of an active Lord among an unbelieving people. We had deprived the Spirit of His role and place among us. Paul warns of having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (2 Timothy 3:5). We have accepted His blood but not His Spirit. Compare what Jesus said about the Pharisees in John 5:38-40.  They  studied  the Scriptures intensely and firmly believed these were the word of God - yet they missed the point when they did not see Jesus.  Note how Paul brings this out in 2 Corinthians 3:6-18.

        "Jesus didn't go from door to door.  He didn't canvass the neighborhood.  He was the Light, and people who were in darkness came to Him.  He will teach us, day by day, and when we have learned the lesson, He will give us someone with whom "to share it." He "opens doors" and also shuts them (Revelation 3:7-8).

        Dr. Flavil Yeakley is an expert on Church Growth. In a recent survey of a typical Church of Christ (congregation): only 53% believe they are saved. 2% actually believe  they  are lost.  The rest really do not know whether they are saved or lost. These are the "active members" who were surveyed. How can someone with no assurance of his own salvation, reach out convincingly to "the unsaved?"

        "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Compare Ephesians 2:19-22; Philippians 3:8-11; Titus 3:4-?; Romans 8:31-39.

 

Book  to  read:                

Christian,  You were Baptized In water And Spirit.

Robert Leon Gibson