Is your "religion,"red-hot, unconventional, unfettered Holy Ghost religion?

sermonindex Jun 30, 2009

Christ's call is ... to save the lost, not the stiff-
necked; He came not to call scoffers but sinners to repentance;
not to build and furnish comfortable chapels, churches, and
cathedrals at home in which to rock Christian professors to
sleep by means of clever essays, stereotyped prayers and
artistic musical performances, but to capture men from the
devil's clutches and snatch them from the very jaws of Hell.
But this can be accomplished only by a red-hot, unconventional,
unfettered Holy Ghost religion, where neither man nor
traditions are worshipped or preached, but only Christ and Him
crucified.
... C. T. Studd (1860-1931), quoted in C. T. Studd--
Cricketer and Pioneer [1933], Norman P. Grubb, Read
Books, 2008, p. 163

sermonindex Jul 1, 2009

ouch. Do we really want revival?

A

Anastasis Jul 1, 2009

Andrew Strom in one of his newsletters noted that Jesus told His disciples, "If a house does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet." This is actually in three of the Gospels.

Matthew 10:14
And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.

Mark 6:11
And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

Luke 9:5
And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.

Maybe Christ simply did not want the disciples to burden themselves with the goats, as it would be wasted energy. To better explain it, you could draw in a goat with great performances and clever intellect, but when the substance of the Gospel actually comes around, the parts that prick the conscience and shine a light in their dark corners, will they listen? If not, and the Holy Spirit cannot seem to reach them, how could we?

Perhaps entertainment hinders the work of conviction, because they are not spurred to repentence the way they could be, but are only entertained. Do we risk the straight and narrow being lost on them when we do this? Just the opposite of doing what the Spirit won't, are we ~~[i]~~substituting[/i] the good work of the Holy Spirit in this case? The move of the Holy Spirit will bring both works into perspective, driving out the goats to make room for the sheep.

U

utilizer001 Jul 2, 2009

Brother Greg,
It matters not if we want revival or not. We need it beyond our ability to comprehend. I have no idea of what revival will cost me personally. But no matter how great the cost(s) may be, its needed.

I don't like the pain associated with getting tetanus shots, but they are of great benefits to one who is so oft working around rusted metals.

Revival and returning to God, is of such infinite value, that we, I, simply can not afford to seek it.

Jason

sermonindex Jul 2, 2009

Jason,

I think you may have missed his point..........Frank

A

AbideinHim Jul 2, 2009

Greg is absolutely right. Every true pastor wants revival to break out in their church, but if that happens, church will greatly change from the way that we have been accustomed to.

Many Christians want revival on their own terms, but a true revival is a sovereign move of God, and be prepared for God to wreck your church if revival comes. Your church will never be the same because the Holy Spirit will be in control, and man's programs will have to go.

Mike

sermonindex Jul 2, 2009

Many Christians want revival on their own terms, but a true revival is a sovereign move of God, and be prepared for God to wreck your church if revival comes. Your church will never be the same because the Holy Spirit will be in control, and man's programs will have to go.

I go to a church like this, where every Sunday, the pastor says that if God will step in, they will be happy to make way for Him.

I didn't spot the mistake in that logic until recently, when I realised I don't believe him. I'll believe that he wants God to move in sovereign power in his church, when he starts coming to meetings without a plan. I mean, with absolutely nothing planned... musical instruments set up but unused, until the musician is prompted by the Holy Spirit; when there is freedom to pray in the Spirit and sing in the Spirit and bring a word from scripture which the Holy Spirit has prompted, or to prophesy or give a tongue with interpretation ... then we'll see that local body come to life.

Most pastors don't have the nerve to let God take control of their meetings. Mine thinks if the Holy Spirit led, it would be 'weird' - which suggests he would rather quench the Spirit, than see the life of God come forth. In mitigation of his belief, he has grown up under a set of false doctrines which God cannot possibly bless. Other spirits might ride their coat-tails, but the Holy Spirit is regularly closed down.

I remind myself that this whole world is upside down. What we think of as normal, is a severely truncated version in the true meaning of the word - ~~[i]~~turned over[/i]. It's high time we let God turn things back up the right way.

sermonindex Jul 2, 2009

AbideinHim wrote:
Many Christians want revival on their own terms, but a true revival is a sovereign move of God, and be prepared for God to wreck your church if revival comes. Your church will never be the same because the Holy Spirit will be in control, and man's programs will have to go.
Mike

I think it goes deeper than your church being wrecked. How about vacated. The last thing a pastor wants in his city is revival. Unless it's at their church, because if it's not then the majority of his congregation will be gone.

marc mc

sermonindex Jul 2, 2009

Quote..

" In mitigation of his belief, he has grown up under a set of false doctrines which God cannot possibly bless. Other spirits might ride their coat-tails, but the Holy Spirit is regularly closed down."

Very true and lots of good points in the posts.I would agree, most Pastors would be terrified if the Holy Spirit actually shows up in the sense of a rvival. One other reason, I believe, is that it highlights the fact that the pastor is just another part of the Body of Christ, and is not pre-emminent. The one man system, more than any other obstacle, stands in the way of genuine revival. The next and last move of God will be a "personality cult," movement, but unlike today's reality, it will not be the personality of a man that is worshipped, it will be the personality of Jesus, and Him alone. Who dares to touch the glory of God and expect to see anything but their own efforts? The question will ultimately come down to, do we want religion or do we want Jesus. Do we want fine sermons about Jesus or do we want Jesus Himself? Do you want to leave a service and say"that was a fine teaching," or do you want to leave a service and say "We met God today.".......Frank