Oh Lord, HELP!

I think this statement may be the most important one I have ever written. It's simple, something we may agree with, and yet where is this church...

• I believe the Church is built by the Holy Spirit. (basically look at the New Testament, especially Acts)
• The Holy Spirit uses Gifts (people) and gifts (spiritual abilities) to accomplish this (Ephesians etc).
• The outcome is a Church showing love towards each other, His power at work and His presence with us. (for presence I do not mean that happy feeling after singing a few songs, think more about what Jesus presence was like in the Gospels & Acts)
• When the Holy Spirit is overlooked as the builder, the Church relies more on events and entertainments to attract people. (it's the equivalent of putting up a banner saying 'We have no power', the sort of things Jesus never had to stoop to).
• The Church may be extremely successful with this agenda but it is ultimately doomed to stagnation and overtaken as the Spirit finds a people who will be obedient to Him.

I just feel sometimes like I will go mad if I sit through yet another service which is identical to the last. One you can set your watch by. One where it feels Holy Spirit was somehow left outside...and if He was, would we have noticed anyway? You know that verse: 'behold I stand at the door and knock', you realize that wasn't spoken to unbelievers? That was Jesus knocking on the door of the Church. He wasn't there!

I feel like I may just be sick the next time the church suggests going out on the street to give away eggs at Easter or cakes at Christmas...I want to see a church known for healing, for miracles, for supernatural signs and wonders...not balloons and free pens.

Oh God, how did we get in this state? How do we get out of it? What will you have to do to us to get us back on track? Are we really your supernatural people here on Earth? It doesn't look particularly like it to me.

Difficulties

I was recently invited to a conference on the Prophetic. We were asked before hand: What is your gift and how is it used in the body? How do you see your gift developing?

It was the last part of this question that got me thinking the most. And I came up with the answer: With difficulty.

I see that difficulty split into 2 parts:

1: Difficult because as I am finding, when you decide to yield to the Holy Spirit, and make that vow to the Lord, he actually takes you seriously. A lot more seriously than perhaps you would have liked. And he enrols you on a course of discipline and scourging. The word scourge isn't pleasant. For me it brings up images from 'The Passion Of The Christ' where the whip digs into the table and pulls it to pieces before being aimed at Jesus. Yet that is almost exactly the correct image. The whip comes and digs deep at the flesh life and pulls it away. You may pray STOP LORD!, but he will not listen, there is no turning back from what you have signed up for, so you may as well save your breath in that direction. The Lord is determined to make you not into an automaton or slave that will do as your told, but a son or daughter that he can trust with the most costly of gifts and secrets. He sets about refining our response times to obedience. How long does it take you to obey when he highlights something in your life that is wrong and needs to be put right or when he tells you to step out in his name? Years, months, days, minutes, seconds? It's not pleasant. It hurts. It's difficult to go through but if we are going to become the people he wants we have to be stripped of all that is fleshly. The upside to this, of course there is one, is you will find yourself driven to that secret place where Jesus becomes all, and where your relationship is watered and buds. All this happens for enlargement, for blessing, for expansion, but don't be fooled, it takes time, maybe a very long time and is painful. That is why I see this and expect it as a difficult time.

2: The second reason why I see our growth as difficult is because we are up against a huge monster that is masquerading as a beautiful idol. It's our traditions. Make no mistake, this is maybe the biggest obstacle to the Holy Spirit building the church as he sees fit, our traditions. Our agendas. Our plans. Our ideas. You may say that your gatherings are ordered by the Spirit, that it is just right. Let me ask a question then. Do you think the Spirit want's to do the same thing week in, week out in your gatherings? Do you think it is acceptable for the same few people to expect the Spirit to turn up at their beck and call to give them an hour's long preach every week? What about Easter, Christmas, Mothering Sunday, Harvest time etc? We roll out our typical agendas every season with no thought at all that the Spirit may have other plans. This idol of ours is a real monster, because try and cut of it's head by a change of direction, a different agenda and we find it's gone and grown another head! How are we going to kill this thing? This old wineskin that cannot hold the new wine? I think part of the answer is to allow the body to grow in gifting. To allow the prophetic word to be dwelt on and like a rudder, steer the ship. We need to allow worship to reach new heights. So much can be achieved in 5 mins before the Lord in worship. Maybe it's time to get the oil out and anoint our musicians, praying over them to take us to where Jesus is and before long I believe we will realise the idol is toppling.

Ern Baxter MP3 Library

I've just finished burning a 3.51GB DVD with 428 messages on from Ern Baxter.
All are freely available for download here: http://brokenbreadteaching.org/index.html

Are We Radical?

I've been re-reading some of my old books, and finding them very challenging. Even though they were written at different times for different generations they are still very poignant today. Arthur Wallis's book The Radical Christian is a case in point. Find a copy or dig out your old one and prepare to be challenged afresh.

• Without the Holy Spirit active in the church, or body, are we alive?
• Is it possible for a body of Spirit filled people to not be radical?
• Do we bend to His will, or expect Him to work within our structures?
• Is the Sunday gathering a completely predictable affair?
• When and if the Spirit challenges complacency, do we agree, say wasn't that a good word and then do nothing?
• In smaller gatherings (life group/house group) are we able to coast along without much interference?
• Do we really worship?
• Do we like happy praise songs, but the quieter worship songs drag on a bit?
• Is there a continuing stream of new growth in the body that stays?
• Why don't new people stay?
• How easy is it for people to come through the narrow gate?
• The prophetic word is nice on a Sunday, but would we miss it if it was gone?
• Are Tongues and the Prophetic about as much of the gifts of the Spirit we see or expect.
• We see where change should come but don't want to upset anyone?
• Do we look to natural methods or supernatural?
• Is good looking media more prevalent than Spirit life?