Reflections: Passion for His Presence
It is rare these days to go to a meeting like this. Though the conference was advertised, it wasn’t hyped and it was more of an informal gathering of all kinds of ministers to be refreshed in the Word and in the Spirit. As Paul Chase, one of the preachers, said, “This meeting is the best secret in America.” Since I just got back and it’s Friday, I thought I’d jot down some of my own thoughts that came about during the meeting.
The Fear of the Lord
Paul Chase, who is a missionary in the Philippines, said that the number one thing lacking in the Body today is the fear of the Lord. I believe that he’s right, but I’d add that the problem stems from the pulpit. Over the course of the last several years, there has been a continual ebb of good, expository Holy Ghost preaching. Instead of becoming “rooted and grounded in Christ,” many of our congregations are becoming grounded in the latest leadership principles, many of which are unscriptural, e.g., only keep company with those who celebrate you.
Sharing His Glory
One aspect of church culture these days is a kind of synergism with commercial interests. Some ministries have had their conventions sponsored with the likes of Coca-Cola, etc. Other ministries seek to have Starbucks and IHOPs on their church grounds. After a meeting like this, where the Spirit and the Word are in such manifestation, I have a hard time seeing the same kind of atmosphere in one of those places.
Ministers as Businessmen
In lockstep with opening the church or ministry doors to commercialism, is the concept that ministers can become businessmen on the side. One of the preachers spoke of Acts 6:4 (“we will devote ourselves to prayer and ministry of the Word”) and, for the first time that I’ve heard it from the pulpit, put the responsibility of that verse squarely on ministers. While a pastor may have to deal with the administration of church business affairs, that is a far cry from commercial promotion. As the preacher remarked, “There is no short cut to prayer and ministry of the Word. It takes time and you cannot enter into His presence with a business deal in the back of your mind.” He said that he is constantly approached by businessmen wanting to do deals because of his credibility and influence in the city. He added that he could be a rich man if he did just some of the deals, but he’d eventually lose his ministry and the anointing of God.
The Word, the Spirit, and Intelligence
In much of the Body of Christ, there exists an underlying assumption that intelligence and Pentecost simply do not mix. If you follow this blog at all, you’ll notice that I am a stickler for the Word to the extent of delving into the Greek, the Church Fathers, modern theologians and the like. I’m interested in “getting it right.” In this meeting, there was an abiding presence of the Lord (lots of people have never experienced that), the laying on of hands with the tangible anointing, and some prophecies. In attending, I didn’t leave my mind at the door. The Lord, in fact, gave me some insights to verses that I might have missed if I hadn’t been able to read them in the Greek. It’s a shame that people believe that proper exposition of the Word and that “Holy Ghost stuff” are a divided highway.
Jesus’s Descent Series
I intend to start this series again on Monday.
Sounds like it was a great conference. Appreciated your synopsis of what you took from it. One question though, what is proper exposition? I hear something like that or (exegesis) used all the time as the panacea for unhealthy teaching, yet everyone who claims to be doing it, comes up with different solutions to the same texts, sometimes in diametric opposition to each other.
Especially as regards cessationist/charismatic or Reformed/Arminian debates. This is not an anti-scholastic question, I just wonder how anyone can give to much credence to a scholastic effort of the human mind in efforts to unveil scriptural truth. Thanks in advance for your thoughts on the matter.
Peter,
Thanks for this blog. There are times I wonder if I am the only one thinking certain things, then when I read blogs like yours, and others like yours, I gain the confidence to remain firm in my convictions.
Much appreciated!
Chet, thanks for commenting. As Dan over at Cerulean Sanctum says, you work hard on your writing and one good comment makes it all worthwhile.
SLW, thanks for the comment. I believe I might understand the first part of your comment, but not sure of “I just wonder how anyone can give to much credence to a scholastic effort of the human mind to unveil scriptural truth.” I’ll give it a shot.
While scripture is God-breathed and must be spiritually discerned, I do not see where that excludes scholastic study of the Word. Before becoming born-again, Paul was a “Hebrew of the Hebrews” and it is evident in the Word that God used his knowledge of the Old Testament to bring out the “mystery of Christ” in the New. He also argued on Mars Hill using the philosophers’ own writings to proclaim the gospel. It is the scholastic study of the Word without spiritual discernment that gets us all in trouble.
Let me give you an example. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was browsing Borders bookstore and the Spirit quickened me about a particular book on textual criticism. Frankly, I wasn’t interested in buying the book. It was written by a Christian-turned-agnostic, but I was “constrained” to do so. While thumbing through it at home, I came across something that floored me. If I didn’t have any knowledge of Koine Greek or textual criticism, I would have totally missed it. But since I was familiar with those two subjects, the Lord was able to show me something in the Word that I had never heard before nor ever expected. And this “revelation” is right on the mark about my current series on Jesus’s Descent into Hell. I’ll be writing about it on Monday.
I hope this helps. If not, let me know.
P.S. My example? I live for that kind of stuff.
Thanks Peter for your response. I appreciate good scholars, especially as the output of their study is so important to mine. I heard what I needed to, that you approach your study with humility before and openness to the Holy Spirit. There are many sites in the blogosphere where scholars speak with nigh unto absolute certainty, and yet miss what seems to me the clear intent of the word. This is particularly so when it comes to certain aspects of Calvinism and cessationism. I don’t think you’re a Calvinist and I know your not a cessationist, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy reading you in the future.
SLW, thanks for the comment. While I like scholarship, it’s all about the text and meaning. I really can’t picture Jesus saying to me, “Well done my good and faithful Arminian.” I think Tim Challies would fight the Sign of Jonah guys for the first place in line to say that I’m no Calvinist.
I’m looking forward to your future comments.