That's Easy For You To Say

(This blog relates back to the entry titled So That's Where That Came From.)

I'm not sure these seven steps, observations, rules, whatever are placed in any particular order. One would be hard pressed to arrange an order. If pressed for an order of importance for these seven items I would place this one second. The one I would put ahead of it would be #4 which is "Build the church fellowship around Christ". Everything else would be tied for third. So, in true post-modern random fashion let's start with with the second most important. Then we will move on to a few tied for third, throw in number one, and add a few more tied for third.

"Depend on the Holy Spirit instead of the flesh."

That is so easy to say, especially in Charismatic/Pentecostal circles. But most of us don't know what it means much less how to do it. To Pentecostals it generally means two things. First it means having someone stand up in the middle of a public service and interrupt whatever is going on with what is hopefully a message from God. If you are a true neo-Pentecostal it also means not looking at your watch during a service. If you are a Charismatic it ironically means you getting your faith to the point where God can use you. If you are an Emergent Charismatic it doubly ironically means that no one can tell you anything except God Himself and you are the sole judge of what He is telling you. If you aren't part of any of these groups you may well be wondering what the Holy Spirit has to do with it all anyway.

I grew up a Pentecostal. I believe that tongues and the interpretation of tongues, and certainly prophecy, are active today just as they were in the first century. You cannot write these activities off with any biblical basis. The only attempt to do so I've ever even heard is the tortured (and, yes, I'm going to say idiotic) interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:8. Nevertheless, to me the evidence of the Spirit's presence in a service does not rest on Brother or Sister so-and-so's ability to stand up and say "Oh my children" in a quivering voice. I have seen more services destroyed and more moves of the Spirit hindered by such than services brought to life and moves of the Spirit advanced. If God really does have a message that He chooses to bring that way I'm all for it and will give the benefit of the doubt; however, I am aware that this can be the flesh just as well as the Spirit. I think that believers should be free to speak but should also be aware that claiming to speak for God is an awesome responsibility.

Concerning the "not looking at your watch" thing, I have been told by several Pentecostals that I am putting the Holy Spirit in a box by trying to run a service on time. To this I have two things to say. Firstly, I have never been told this by a nursery worker. This advice always seems to come from those being served, not those serving. Secondly, David Yonggi Cho's Full Gospel Tabernacle, the largest and arguably most Pentecostal local church in the world, runs their services to the minute.

I really don't think I even need to address the me-ism of much of the Charismartic and Emergent church movements. The Holy Spirit is never about me-ism. You have to be pretty messed up to not see that on the surface.

What does depending on the Holy Spirit instead of the flesh mean? First of all this is soundly based on two of Jesus' more powerful statements. "Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (John 3:6) "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing." (John 6:63)

This isn't just about what goes on during a "worship service." This is 24/7/365 truth. We can't always be perfectly sure if what we are doing is being motivated by the Spirit of God or by our flesh, but we can always be completely certain that whatever is motivated by our flesh will accomplish exactly nothing while anything motivated by the Spirit will last forever.

We are so quick to jump in and "fix" things. Perhaps we can even fix them faster than God can. The only problem is that once we have "fixed" something it is still broken. When God fixes something it is made truly whole.

We are so accustomed to measuring things by the world's standards and value system. If you have more people here this month than you did last month then obviously the Holy Spirit must be moving. Of course by this measurement there would have many occasions when the Holy Spirit would have been deemed to be absent from Jesus' ministry. We mistake our doing something for the Holy Spirit doing something because we measure spiritual results by fleshly standards. This is like measuring the speed of a car with a teaspoon, or how funny a script is by how many words it contains.

So, how do we depend on the Spirit instead of the flesh? We disavow bogus fleshly measurements. (We may need to know how many attend service to know how much bread to prepare for Communion but not to tell us if the Holy Spirit is active among us.) We try to be faithful to the revelation of God's Word in our lives and to the vision He has given us. We attempt to walk in humility. If there is a sense of "Wow, I did that well" it should be accompanied by alarm bells and red flags. We trust in God. We really trust in God. It's not just a quaint saying on our coins. Don't panic at the first (or second, or third,...) sign that this isn't working. God's move in God's time produces God's results.

It is only as we rest (abide or remain) in Christ that any fruit can be produced. (John 15:4-5) I see so much disquiet in the household of faith these days. People flitting from church to church (or channel to channel) because they just aren't getting... something. That something is Christ. The local church as a whole so often rushes after the works of the flesh that the individual believer just falls into the same trap and both end up fruitless and dissatisfied. It is only as we find a place of rest in Him that we truly start to accomplish something. The only way to depend on the Holy Spirit is to rest in Christ.