The Holy Spirit, the Gifts, and Jesus

On Sundays we have been working through the book of 1 Corinthians. Recently we have been focusing on chapters 12-14 and have been talking about the manifestations of the Spirit. With a church that includes people from many backgrounds and many cultures, it has been a wonderful time of discussion and seeking God together.

A.B. Simpson

Our church is part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. I believe that the Alliance has an incredibly balanced view of these gifts and of the Holy Spirit's role in the life of the believer. For those that are unfamiliar with the Alliance, its founder A.B. Simpson had a passion for the deeper life and missions. He became convinced that it was easy to focus on gifts rather than on Jesus. He wanted to have the focus on Jesus rather than the gifts that he gives. I think that is important for a healthy Christian life.

Simpson was a man who loved to write hymns. Frankly, many of them are unsingable, but because he led such a great move of God and the lyrics contained such powerful truth, they became popular. One of them, Himself, has been set to a more modern tune, and is worth listening to. It catches some of Simpson's heart when it came to where our vision should be focused. Listen to Modern Version of Himself

An Alliance man even more well known that Simpson is A.W. Tozer. His books have been a blessing to many and his ability to teach about the Christian life is profound. He died in 1963 but fortunately many of he sermons were recorded. He was not a Christianity-lite preacher like many today. The Christian and Missionary Alliance US has put many of his sermons on its website.  They are all excellent. If you have been struggling with the subject of the Holy Spirit I would recommend listening to his series on the subject. Load them up and listen while you walk, do the dishes or drive to work. But don't be surprised if you have to turn it off and spend some time praying or find yourself lost in worship. Tozer has a way of speaking deep into the heart and turning eyes to Christ.

The Pendulum

There is a pendulum that swings in the history of the church. When I was younger, I did not appreciate its existence, but the longer I live the greater its reality appears. The swings of this pendulum are not bad, but are the effects of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding the church in the path of righteousness.

Social Concerns

What is the purpose of the church and its ministry? Certainly Jesus died and rose for the salvation of sinners, but he also told us to care for the poor and marginalised. There was a swing of the pendulum toward social concerns. "The starving need to be fed before they will listen to the gospel" makes sense and the pendulum begins to swing in that direction. But soon it swings too far and the message of sinners needing to be saved from an eternal hell gets lost. Caring for the less fortunate becomes the sole role of the church. 

Soon another voice is heard: It ultimately does no good to give food to the hungry if they never hear the gospel. We are called to evangelism! Eternal destinies do matter more than worldly comfort, so the pendulum swings in the other direction. Over time, the church neglects caring for the poor in favour of "saving souls". And the church neglects the needy.

Then a prophetic voice is heard calling the church to express the love of Christ to the most-needy in society and the pendulum begins its swing back to the centre. Only over time it goes too far...

Music

Traditional or contemporary? Hymns or choruses?

I grew up singing hymns. The same hymns from the same hymnal week after week. They were good, but boring. They didn't express my heart. The words flew by at a rate that left little time for thought. At retreats or camps we sang a different type of song. They were simpler and had more repetition. They were easy to sing and allowed time for reflection and for the Spirit to stir our hearts. Eventually, they were allowed into the church, primarily through the more charismatic churches. Worship times became alive and filled with personal expressions of praise and adoration.

But the songs had little depth and sometimes the theology wasn't very good. Besides, it seemed like often the purpose became creating a certain mood or feeling rather than worship. Three upbeat "praise" songs, followed by a moderate song which flowed into a slow "worship" song became the standard format. It seemed to become about mood rather than God. It was about creating an emotion rather than an encounter.

But the pendulum is swinging the other way. Today the old hymns are being dusted off and set to contemporary arrangements. Ministries like Sovereign Grace, Austin Stone and Indelible Grace have grown popular as a new generation discovers the solid faith of generations past. Like the Puritans of old this movement is "singing their theology" and it shows in the conversations in coffee shops in cities around the world. Its a move of the Spirit of God. 

In another twenty years the pendulum will swing in the other direction, back to a more contemporaneous expression of faith.

Calvinism, Arminianism, and Revival

On this subject I will raise some eyebrows, but I think it can be observed that in the revival movements of the church there is a definite swinging pendulum between Calvinism and Arminianism. This pendulum ignores the fact that a carefully worded Calvinism and a carefully worded Arminianism are extremely close to one another. Calvinism stresses the sovereignty of God in salvation. Its champions include people like Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards and John Piper. Arminianism stresses human responsibility in salvation. Its champions include people like John and Charles Wesley, Charles Finney, and Billy Graham.

It makes sense that Calvinistic preaching ushers in revival because of its emphasis on the glory of God, the fallenness of man and man's inability to save himself, as well as the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. These are powerful Scriptural truths that have brought millions to faith in Christ. 

But the pendulum can swing too far. The person sitting under Calvinistic preaching can think that because salvation is entirely the work of God they need not concern themselves with it. This can happen in several ways. Some will reason that "If God is going to save me, he will do it himself. Until he does, I might as well live like the devil." Others will rationalise that they prayed a "salvation prayer" and now are "eternally secure" so they live in flagrant sin believing that they are going to heaven.

Eventually another voice is heard, pushing the pendulum back in the other direction. Revival ensues. This voice, the voice of Arminianism, cries out, "Repent!" It places the emphasis on the responsibility of man before God. It demands that sinners make a decision and insists that the outcome of their salvation hinges on their decision to repent and believe the gospel. It calls believers to pursue holiness in lifestyle and reminds them of the terrors of falling away from Christ. 

But soon this emphasis on human responsibility pushes the pendulum too far and the message becomes man-centered rather than God-centered. And a voice is heard calling the church back to the centrality of the glory and sovereignty of God. And so through the course of history the pendulum swings.

Bible Led or Spirit Led

We can see the pendulum operating here as well. There are some who emphasise knowledge of the Bible and correct doctrine. And certainly one cannot be against solid biblical doctrine. At the same time, there can be a creeping scholasticism about theology and biblical knowledge that is deadly. The Bible points to an living and vibrant relationship with God that is known in personal experience. God is a person who can know and be known. It is into this relationship that we are called by the biblical text. Scholasticism without this relationship is lifeless, like an abandoned castle. Strong, but cold and and sterile.

But then the wind of the Holy Spirit begins to blow, usually through the voice of "plain and uneducated preachers" who have "been with Jesus". Through their preaching the Holy Spirit reveals and makes Christ known in personal experience. It paints the faith in vibrant colours and calls us to experiential knowledge of the Triune God. The spiritual eyes of the believer see Christ. The spiritual ears hear his voice. Hearts are "strangely warmed" as on the Emmaus Road. But this too easily leads to an emotional and experience-based Christianity. Over time sound biblical teaching is forsaken in the pursuit of what gives pleasant feelings. Worship is replaced by entertainment and personalities rather than the Word moving audiences emotionally. The pendulum swings too far.

Some Lessons

There are several lessons that can be learned from the swinging of the pendulum.

If you examine each of these areas, you will discover that it they are not either/or propositions. We love and care for the poor while at the same time recognising that without Christ all will perish. We are in need of music both new and old. We are chosen by God and yet in real-time we choose Him. We are to be both Bible-led and Spirit-led. It is our inability as individuals and churches to hold onto both ends with equal strength that causes the pendulum to swing.

This should teach us that we need each other. We need to listen and learn from one another. We need to come alongside of other people who have a different view on these topics. The Arminian needs the Calvinist to help him focus on the sovereignty of God. The Calvinist need the Arminian to remind him that we do make real decisions with real consequences in this life. The contemporary songwriter needs the depth of the classic hymns. Those concerned for the poor need the evangelist. The hymn-singer needs the contemporary songwriter. And on it goes.

So this week as you meet a fellow believer who sees the world a little differently, take time to listen to how God has intersected with their life. Share with them what God is doing in yours. Then take some time to pray together that you might both follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

A Look at a Prophecy in the NT Church

Note: I recently did a sermon on the manifestation of the Spirit called prophecy. It can be found at this site. I didn't cover the prophecy found in Acts 21:7-14 and thought it would be good to do so here. 

The New Testament gift of prophecy is the speaking forth of something that the Holy Spirit has spontaneously brought to mind. That the Holy Spirit would be active in this way in the life of those that follow Jesus should not be surprising because it was promised in the book of Joel (2:28-29).

A careful examination of this manifestation of the Spirit in the New Testament will shows us that this gift is not the same thing the prophecy that we see recorded in the Old Testament. Those words were written by people under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. These prophets wrote the words of Scripture wrote with inerrant authority. The Old Testament prophets were held to a high standard. If what they prophesied did not come to pass they would die (Deuteronomy 18:20-22).

By the time of the New Testament, the words "prophet" and "prophecy" had taken on a different meaning. In common language, the term simply meant one who spoke on behalf of another. According to the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (vol 6. p794), a specialist in botany was called a prophet, as was an advocate of Epicurean philosophy. Even doctors were sometimes called prophets!

In the New Testament, those who were given authority to speak infallibly for God were the apostles, not the prophets. The writers of the New Testament were called apostles, not prophets.

We don't see the same level of authority given to the gift of prophecy in the New Testament. Instead, we see that people expected prophecy to a mixture of Spirit inspired words and human words. "Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast to what is good" was the counsel Paul gave to the Thessalonians (1 Thes 5:20-21).

Agabus the Prophet

When Paul was on his way to Jerusalem, he stayed for many days in the home of Philip, the famous evangelist who lived in Caesarea. While he was there, a man named Agabus came from Judea. When he arrived, he took Paul's belt and tied up his hands and feet. He then said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'" (Acts 21:7-14).

It didn't happen. At least not the way he described.

When Paul was in Jerusalem, the Jews cried out against him, seized him, and began to beat him. They were intent on killing him because they believed that he had defiled the Temple. The mob created such a ruckus that the Roman guards came and rescued Paul. The Jews didn't hand Paul over to the Romans, the Romans rescued Paul from the Jews!

What went wrong?

What are we to make of Agabus's prophecy? Was he a false prophet? Was he deserving of death? The New Testament gift of prophecy does not have at the same authority as the Old Testament prophet did. It is simply the reporting in human words of something the Holy Spirit has spontaneously brought to mind. It is to be discerned and considered.
Here's what I think happened to Agabus. He had a vision. And in that vision he saw Paul bound hand in foot guarded by Roman guards with accusations being hurled against him by the Jews in Jerusalem. That part is true. But when he reported the vision he added his own interpretation of what he saw. It wasn't the vision, rather his interpretation that was inaccurate.

Agabus wasn't a false prophet. Certainly he should have been more careful about how he reported what he saw, but he is to be commended for being sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

What can we learn?

The Holy Spirit can speak to us in the same way today if we are listening. And when he does it will be for the building up of the body and for the encouragement and consolation of the saints. I am sure that Paul was encouraged in Jerusalem because he knew, through the manifestation of the Spirit given to Agabus, that what was happening to him was known to the Lord. The Lord was with him.

Next steps

Let me encourage you to ask the Lord to give you a greater sensitivity to the Spirit. Ask him to open your eyes to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Part of this process is surrendering to his authority.

Recognise that the basic and most important way that the Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer is through the illumination of the Scriptures. Those who are serious about walking according to the Spirit (Gal 5:16-25) will immerse themselves in the study of the Bible. We kid ourselves if we say we are serious about follow Christ and yet neglect spending time in his Word. So we must pray for the Holy Spirit to be our teacher as we study and read the the Bible. Most of his work is done at that level of our lives.

It is the Scriptures that point to the fact that the Spirit can speak to us. Therefore we need to be open to listening for the still small voice of the Spirit as we go through your day. He may bring to mind Bible truths that we have learned or give us insights into situations. He may be silent. The important thing is to consciously "practice the presence of God" and walk with Him.

We should live life with our sails up ready to catch the wind of the Spirit should it blow!

The Problem

For the last couple of centuries, western society has by in large been built on the premise that every person is equal and valuable. It hasn't always lived up to that ideal. In fact, Nazi Germany shows that the ideal of the equality and value of each person has been sometimes tossed out the window. But the overwhelming consensus that the mass killings by ruthless regimes is wrong is an indication of the underlying assumption that the ideal of people being equal and valuable still holds firm.
There is, however, another assumption that needs to be examined: are we good?

Are We Good?

That depends on what the definition of "good" is and what standard of "goodness" is applied.
For example, we can define "good" as being adept at a particular skill. A person may study and learn a foreign language. We might say that they are good at Italian, for example. In this sense, people can be good. But if that person travels to Italy, they will probably discover that they are not very good at Italian after all!
It depends on the standard being applied.

Sometimes we will say that someone is a "good person". We mean that the person is honest, kind, and reliable. In comparison to other people, he is "good". But does being "gooder than" mean a person really is good? What standard is used to measure goodness?
The Bible takes an additional view of goodness. To be good is to be morally blameless. It is much like holiness. A good person is one who is good all the time and to everyone. And when that standard is applied to our lives a very different picture emerges. We are not good. We are bad. We prefer to be in the darkness, where the "flaws" of our lives remain hidden. It makes us uncomfortable to have our evil hearts exposed by a true standard of goodness.
We would all acknowledge that a lying, deceptive person is not good. When a trusted public figure is exposed as a liar we are disappointed and our opinion of them changes drastically. We shake our heads in disgust pretending that we are "better" than them. Yet the simple question: "Have you ever told a lie?" exposes us for what we are: A liar. Are liars "good people"? No.
We would also all acknowledge that a crook is not good. Yet if the videotape of our lives were to be played, we have all taken something that did not belong to us. We may have taken a few things from our employer, slipped something into our pocket at the store, borrowed something and never returned it, or not reported our income to the government. Our evil deeds expose us for what we are.
The Bible calls this evilness "sin". Sin is a failure to conform to the moral standard in thought, word or deed. We are all sinners. Even our best deeds are like filthy clothes in the light of a true standard of goodness.
We are not good. We are guilty.
We have done wrong. We have decided to wrong God. We have decided to wrong those created in his image.
Guilty.
We do not often like to think about the depth of guilt we have before God.
We prefer to compare ourselves to one another and we can always find someone that seems more wicked than ourselves. We hope that there is enough goodness in us to make us okay with God.
This is a false hope. Those who would find salvation must allow the blinding light of God's Word to penetrate through their excuses and their rationalisations for their sin.
Only then will we see and understand the cross. Only then will it be possible for us to repent and believe the gospel. Only then will cross have effect in our lives.
That is why we must include the issue of sin when we present the gospel. Salvation from sin and its consequences must be at the core of what we are about as a church and as followers of Christ. Yes, we will be known by our love and we will love one another and even our enemies. But love that ignores the fundamental issues of sin and salvation is not really love at all.

Two Funerals and a Gravestone

We don't like to talk about death very much. But every once in a while it seems to be a theme that weaves through our weeks. Over the last couple of weeks I've been touched by the death of two special people and the words on a tombstone of someone I never met. I'd like to share some thoughts with you.

W. B. Yeats

It was an unplanned stop in the Irish countryside.  An opportunity to to take a photo, but it turned out to be so much more. Near Sligo there is an old church. People have worshipped Jesus in that location since the sixth century. Just outside the doors of St. Columba's Parish church you will find the gravestone of the Irish poet W.B. Yeats. His poetry put words to many human emotions and won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. He was a man who was often melancholy and who dabbled in the occult. He was fascinated with mediums and Oriental mysticism.

I was curious to see what was inscribed on his tombstone. Several tour buses had stopped and people were gathered around his grave taking pictures. His self-written tombstone read, "Cast a cold Eye on Life, on Death. Horseman, pass by."
Times have changed. People generally don't ride horses from place to place anymore. Still, the dying message of this famous poet seemed clear: Don't look here for answers about life or what comes after life. I don't have anything to tell you." His message seemed empty. Hollow. Like an icy wind on a gray winter day, there was no hope or warmth or joy. Facing death, he had nothing to offer.

Robert Oddo

You've probably never heard of Bob Oddo unless you were from the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. He was a leader in the church I pastored for 14 years. In a play we put on, Bob played the role of Peter. It was fitting. Like Peter, Bob was a man of passion. Anything he did he did with 100% commitment. Like Peter, his passion could sometimes get him into awkward situations that made us laugh afterwards. And like Peter, he had a deep faith. He knew Jesus, and it showed in everything he did.
Bob was a man devoted to the Scriptures. He would come alongside people with a compassion and love that seemed to flow from the heart of Jesus. And to hear him pray, well, let's just say that he knew how to enter into the throne room of God.
I just talked to his wife. She said Bob was perfectly calm before undergoing the major heart surgery from which he would not recover. His faith was strong. In the face of death he had no fear. She said that Bob is now in heaven saying, "My wife and I talked about what it would be like. It is so much more than we ever imagined!" And she knows that he is joyously bowing before Jesus in worship. His funeral is this week. And I am certain that it will be crowded with people whose lives he touched. But I am also certain that the central message will not be the importance of family and friends. It will be about Jesus. Because that's the way Bob would want it. He would want people to know that he is now in the presence of Jesus.

Sam Yoder

Sam Yoder was the father of a dear friend of mine.  Kindness and gentleness seemed to form the very fibre of his being. The best way to describe him is that he oozed the fruit of the Spirit. You couldn't help but be encouraged by being around him. He was always ready to help and gave wise advice when asked. Somehow every conversation I had with him drew me a little closer to Jesus. He lived a full life and the Lord took him home last week, but not before he shared a thought with his family as they were gathered around his bed.
His breath was shallow and regular. He was resting. The end was drawing near and everyone knew it. Suddenly, he started speaking in a strong voice and asked that three Scriptures be read: Hebrews 11:6; Hebrews 9:22 and Hebrews 12:14.
He proceeded to preach a three point sermon to those in the room. He called it "The Three Withouts":
1. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.
2. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
3. Without holiness no one will see the Lord.
He said, "That is all, I am done." He put his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes.
The family began checking their cellphones to see what other translations of those verses said. That caused him to look up and say, "It doesn't matter what version you look in, it would be exactly the same!" Sam shortly thereafter went to be with the Lord. His faith certain. His hope sure. Saved because he believed in Jesus.


W.B. Yeats, lauded by his contemporaries for his way with words wrote a hopeless epitaph for his tombstone. Bob and Sam were less well known, yet their lives were filled with the joy of knowing Jesus and in the end they faced death with confidence and hope. For them, death was simply a matter of leaving one country for a far better one.

Their simple faith in Jesus Christ ultimately proved that they were wiser than a Nobel Prize winner.