Spirit Of Holiness 4th Feb
Spirit Of Holiness 4th Feb
1 Jn 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
1 Jn 2:27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
The bible teaches us some incredibly amazing things about the Holy Spirit – mind boggling things if we consider them in the light of this modern church of which we are a part.
He is our teacher – guide into all truth, He gives the mind of Christ, He gives power and gifts, He makes us witnesses of Christ – He convicts the world of sin – He provides the way of escape from temptation – He glorifies Christ and searches the deep things of God.
Ramble : -- I am more concerned – convicted - troubled than I have ever been in my life right now – I think it is a Holy Spirit thing – but one of the greatest challenges right now is that every Christian leader or spokesman believes they have the Holy Spirit guiding them – so who am I?
But never the less this is all I know and I want to talk to you because I think deception abounds and if it we re not powerful and subtle and attractive it would not deceive –
And of course those deceived cannot know they are deceived otherwise they would repent and turn and be healed! But there is something fundamentally wrong with the church in all of its various parts and factions – from conservative denominations to charismatic and Pentecostals.
You know I believe we must really know the Holy Spirit but if we approach “knowing Him” from a totally wrong perception of who He is and what He does – we begin deaf and blind.
At the prayer meeting last Sunday night Gavin challenged me about my assuming that when I talk about “Knowing” the Presence of God everyone does and “feels” something. I do realize that not everyone does “Know” the Holy Spirit in the same way – and yet as these scriptures say the Holy Spirit abides in us – and the scriptures can’t be wrong!! – But if we all KNEW the Holy Spirit then why do we see such discrepancy in the B.O.C.??
How can we all be right or all wrong? How can we know who is right and who is wrong.
Just this week I have had conversations about young men who have grown up in the church, fine sincere young men, who have become so disillusioned by what they consider to be compromise and hypocrisy they will not attend any more. They want to follow Jesus in the churches they have attended they are distressed about the relationships – money (EXPAND)
One young fellow I met a few years ago when he came out from London – a very young Christian impacted by God at Sandringham and then returned to church in London – attending a church made up largely of Kiwis and Aussies – has been devastated because the pastor has run off with another woman and the whole church has broken up – he just can’t get his head around it – this was a Pentecostal church – Spirit filled??
Now we can quote similar examples all day and some very close to here – but what is wrong when we say we have the Holy Spirit and yet cannot see beyond this temporal life – this immediate world in which we live. I am sure that every example we could give to emphasise this failure of the church would have as the basis of it – the satisfaction of the fleshly temporal life here on earth – that is lust, pride, ambition, selfishness.
How can a man of God filled with the Holy Spirit, moving in power and anointing leave his wife and flock to satisfy some carnal need that will pass away in just a few short years – maybe 50 at most? I cannot understand that – it baffles me! It has deeply affected me these last few days if it were an uncommon and rare thing – maybe – but it isn’t and it is just very, very common and adultery and every sort of sexual sin are just as common in the church as out!