Experience is NOT the best teacher

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the statement “Experience is the best teacher”. Experience can teach us – sometimes. We don’t always remember the lesson, and other times the only lesson we have is “don’t do that” – not what does work. Adversity can teach us, as well. Learning to overcome challenges builds strength and character.

What is God’s way for the church to learn?

First, He’s sent the Holy Spirit to teach us.

John 14:26 (NKJV) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

John 14:26 (AMP) But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.

The Holy Spirit will remind us of Jesus’ teachings. He is the Spirit of truth (John 14:17) and will guide us into truth (John 16:13), and help us recognize truth and error in other teachings. He will give us wise words when accused or testifying (Matthew 10:19-20). He will give us wisdom, revelation and understanding (Ephesians 1:17-18), if we allow Him to lead us and listen to His instruction. Other references to His instructor role may be found in 1 John 2.

The other guide that God has given to us is church leaders. In Ephesians 4:11-15, we find that apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers are given to equip the saints, build up the church, and help us move into Christian maturity, “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (verse 14). We also see the teaching responsibility in overseers (some translations read this “bishops”) and deacons (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1).

With the assistance of the Holy Spirit and godly church leaders, we can grow up into a glorious Church!

Doug

Praying for rain in the rainy season

Recently a prophetic friend sent me Zechariah 10:1. In this verse, I see the rain as prophetic, speaking of the Spirit and His manifestations.

Zechariah 10:1 (NKJV) Ask the LORD for rain In the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone.

If it is the season for rain, why should we ask for rain? Because there are times when we have to actively respond and receive, and not just sit passively thinking “If God wants me to have it, I’ll get it.” The Spirit could be pouring Himself out on other people and miss us when we’re right next to them, because we’re not expecting and receptive.

One example from scripture is in 1 Kings 18. The Lord told Elijah to tell Ahab that rain was coming (verse 1). After he told Ahab in verse 41, he set himself to praying for rain, and he didn’t stop until it came.

Another example is Daniel 9. Daniel saw that Jeremiah had earlier written (Jeremiah 25:12, 29:10) there would be 70 years and then people would return to Jerusalem. Then he set himself to praying, fasting and repenting towards the fulfillment.

There are things that are promised us in scripture that we have to lay hold of, as well. There is healing in salvation and redemption (Psalm 103:2-3, Isaiah 53:4-5), but it’s not generally going to passively come on us. We have to take it by faith, just as we took our salvation. I was having breakfast this morning with a high school friend, and started sharing this. He pointed out the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25+) as another example. If she had stayed in her bed, she would not have been healed. I’m hard-pressed to find an example of Jesus healing someone that didn’t approach Him or get His attention.

We have exceeding great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4) but we can’t be passive about what we’re promised. Satan will use passivity, deception, and other devices to steal away the promises that God gives us (Mark 4:14-20). Fight the good fight of faith! (1 Tim 6:12)

Doug

When is Jesus coming back?

One of the great questions in the church is “When will Jesus come back?” Many Christians believe in the concept of “imminence” – that Jesus could come back at any time, without announcement. Indeed, Jesus himself said that no-one, not even He Himself, knows when that will happen:

Matthew 24:30, 36-37 (NKJV) Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. …
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

That Jesus doesn’t know when it will be hasn’t stopped people from trying to put a date on it. So far these efforts have failed: The Millerites believed it would happen in 1843, then 1844. Hal Lindsey, in The Late, Great Planet Earth set the Second Coming for 1988. He took a second swing at it in Planet Earth – 2000 A.D, where he said that Christians should not plan to still be on earth by the year 2000. We’re still here.

I’m not going to put a date on it, but here’s some things we can look for in the church:

• Love for God, each other, and the “neighbors” – Luke 10:27, John 13:34-35
• Unity – John 17:20-22
• Spiritual maturity – Ephesians 4:11-16
• A church that truly represents Him – John 20:21
• The church being as a glorious Bride – Eph 5:25-27

I believe the Holy Spirit is at work in the church now, working to bring these things to pass. When it happens, the Bridegroom and Bride will be ready to receive each other.

Doug

Giving Up for Lent

For our Ash Wednesday service, my gospel reading was from Luke:

Luke 9:23-26 (NKJV) Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

In some churches, it’s a tradition to “give up something” for Lent. Some don’t eat meat on Fridays. Some talk – either seriously or in jest – about giving up everything from chocolate to cigarettes.

In the reading above, I want to focus on the statement let him deny himself. In light of Jesus’ priorities – loving God and loving others (Luke 10:27) – perhaps our denial ought to be considered in the same vein.

• We can deny ourselves the heart-attitudes that deny love to others.
• We can deny ourselves when we want to speak harshly to someone, or to speak ill about someone.
• We can deny ourselves poorly-budgeted time, making more time to fellowship with our family, our church members, and with God.
• We can deny ourselves poor use of some of our financial resources, in order to make someone else’s life a little better.

This will make far more impact on the world than giving up ice cream!

Doug

Love vs Service

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Somewhere yesterday I read an evangelism-oriented statement that went like this: “Jesus loves you, and He wants you to serve Him.” While this may be theologically accurate when applied to believers, in evangelism context a better statement might be “Jesus loves you, and wants you to receive His love.” This shows just how much a works and earning mentality permeates the church.

For that matter, Jesus wants believers to have more confidence in His love than anything else. Loving leads to voluntary acts of service; His love for us is why He died for us. As we receive and grasp His love, we respond in like fashion, rather than working to earn our place in His heart.

Doug

Spiritual Gifts – bestowed or sought?

Scripture contains a fair number of paradoxes. For example, consider these verses:

1 Corinthians 12:1,11 (NKJV)
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant … But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
1 Corinthians 14:1,39 (NKJV)
Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy … Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.

Many Christians over the years have focused on 1 Corinthians 12:11, with an unconscious or stated attitude of “If God wants me to have it, He’ll give it to me” – an attitude that leads to passivity. And although God has sovereignly moved in times past (the Day of Pentecost, for example, and the Azusa Street outpouring, and other recent renewals like the Toronto Blessing), in general we didn’t see much manifestation, and this was accepted as normal.

The second set of verses indicates that spiritual gifts may be eagerly desired, pursued, and even (in the KJV) coveted. It would seem that this is at odds with the first set of verses. How do we reconcile them?

In Jeremiah 29:13 and Matthew 7:7-11 both, we’re told that if we seek, we will find. God WANTS us to pursue Him – and His gifts – but it takes some effort on our part to do so. If we don’t ask, seek, and knock, then we settle for when He sovereignly shows up.

When we diligently pursue God, we get His presence. When we diligently pursue healing, the Holy Spirit shows up with more healing. If we seek after the prophetic, we become more sensitive to God’s voice, and more bold to give the word that’s stirring inside us. We’ve seen this in the charismatic movement, where tongues “on demand” became the norm – we were taught to seek and expect it. Christian International has taught similarly on the gift of prophecy.

Smith Wigglesworth is quoted as saying “If God isn’t moving, I’ll move him”. This was not a presumptuous statement, but an acknowledgment that “Fire always falls on a willing sacrifice”. He was willing to seek God and put himself out there to get demonstration. Are we willing to do the same?

Doug

A prayer for boldness and power

At the end of Acts 4 – some time between 2-5 years after the day of Pentecost, we find this prayer:

Acts 4:24, 29-31 NIV When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. … Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

They prayed this prayer after the first period of persecution, largely seen in Acts 4. They didn’t pray for protection. They didn’t pray for favor. They prayed for boldness to speak, and power to be there when they acted in Jesus’ name. They also believed that they received it and acted accordingly.

They recognized – much more than the church does today – that as the Body of Christ, they had opportunities and responsibilities:

• They were now the hands of Jesus, who touched the leper, made mud to heal blind eyes, and took Jairus’ daughter by the hand to raise her from the dead.
• They were now the voice of Jesus, who told Lazarus to come forth, told demons to come out, told the blind men their faith made them whole.
• They were now the presence of Jesus, which even the demon-possessed worshipped, the Father glorified, and whose robe healed the woman with the issue of blood.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, he sent them to preach the kingdom, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons (Matt 10:7-8). After His resurrection, Jesus said “As the Father sent me, I also send you.” (John 20:21, NKJV). And shortly before His ascension, he told them to Go and preach, baptize, cast out demons, lay hands on the sick, and other things.

A rhetorical question: are we in the church doing the stuff Jesus said to do? And are we having the results? I’d say “not consistently” in both cases… but why? Maybe we’re not praying prayers like this, so that when we act, things will happen?

Doug

A Question to Ponder

Would God’s love for Jesus change, if Jesus had failed? No, of course not.

Why do we question God’s love for us when we fail?

John 17:23 (NKJV) I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

“and have loved them as You have loved Me”. Straight from Jesus’ mouth.

Our faith is not performance-based. Good works derive from faith, but they do not establish faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our salvation, righteousness, and fellowship with God are all in the free gift of God in Christ Jesus.

Doug

Christian Priorities

Doing good, working hard and crying out against evil are good. But for new testament Christians, is this Christ’s priority? Jesus addresses the church of Ephesus about this:

Revelation 2:2-6 (NLT) “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

Other translations render a portion of verse 4 as “you have left your first love” (NKJV) or forsaken (NIV). The NAB says “You have lost the love you had at first”.

Jesus made it clear that his priorities are “Loving God and loving people” (Luke 10:27) and he tells the story of the Good Samaritan. In Matthew’s telling of this incident (Matt 22:34-40) He says “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul tells us that without love, spiritual gifts, knowledge, faith and good works amount to nothing.

In the end, what do we want to be known for doing when we stand before Christ in judgment? Our love, or our works?

Doug