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| Are You Awake to the Truth? |
Imagine if you will the difficulty in convincing someone
that some of the beliefs they have adhered to concerning the Christian Church,
perhaps even having been taught them since they were a child, are flawed. Now allow me to explain that I am not
referencing their salvation, for their individual salvation is an “easy”
matter, as Christ has done all the hard work.
They accept the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the vicarious
atonement, and by faith place their full confidence in Him for their salvation,
and with those truths in mind, they are indeed saved! This is not what I am referring to, for as
most already know, the “entry door” to salvation is not necessitated by the
correct doctrine in every aspect of Christian faith, but rather in the correct
doctrine in just one truth, that being that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and
by Faith I believe and receive His sacrifice for me. Their salvation is not in doubt, but as we
move on from the “point” of salvation, there is a whole lot of doctrine that is
established upon that one basic life-altering truth!
In fact, a whole system of faith and belief is then built
upon that one central truth of salvation in Christ Jesus. And from all of that additional elements of
faith that are added to that central truth, and the various ways in which
Followers of Christ interpret Scripture, we have formed the denominations of
our day. There is one specific element
of theology and practice that is the focal point of this article, namely
Ecclesiology. Ecclesiology is the study
of the Church, the Body of Christ. Being
even more specific, I am referencing here Western Ecclesiology. Who we are, what we are, and the practices we
engage in as the Body of Christ in the West.
Here in America, there is a certain “feel” to church. We have certain specific “models” that serve
as indicators of specific movements or denominations. However, generally speaking, there is a
certain continuity that exists between most of our American Churches. Continuity not based upon belief and
practice, but based upon non-belief and non-practice. A singular element that binds most of our “Christian”
churches together. That element is the
non-belief or non-practice of the “power” elements of the Christian Faith. Many American churches either do not believe
or do not practice signs and wonders, miracles, healings, or the
Charismata. Elements that became very
necessary for the success of the early New Testament church! Today, in America, we are trying to
accomplish what the Church of the New Testament would never dream of attempting
to accomplish, namely the proclamation of the gospel, devoid of the power of
the gospel! I would dare say that we can
state that the early Christian Believers would have considered it outright
disobedience to the Lord to attempt the advance of His Kingdom, through the
preaching of the gospel, without the power of the Holy Spirit! The command was given by the Lord Himself to
His Disciples in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24 and the 49th verse: "And now I will send the Holy Spirit,
just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit
comes and fills you with power from heaven." Yet as so very important as to warrant a “command”
from Christ to His Disciples, many of us today simply “dismiss” this crucial
element of the Gospel proclamation! On a
daily basis in America, we the Church, “LEAVE” Jerusalem WITHOUT the power of
the Holy Spirit, and as a result, we have reduced the Gospel of Jesus Christ to
simply a …….”Good Moral Code of Living!”
A gospel full of a lot of principles, but not a lot of power!
So I reiterate my original statement: “Imagine
if you will the difficulty in convincing someone that some of the beliefs they have
adhered to concerning the Christian Church, perhaps even having been taught them
since they were a child, are flawed.”
Fully believing the Biblical truth that we have been in the “Last Days” since
Pentecost, and that now, I believe, we are in the LAST of the “Last Days,” my
heart beats very heavy to see us fulfill our task assigned us prior to Christ
leaving this world to return to His Father, namely the evangelization of the
world! With this understanding, I now
ask a very pertinent question in regard to my original statement above. “How do we, the American Church, think we can
possibly succeed in changing our Country through the proclamation of the gospel
of Christ, when we do not have the necessary power of the gospel of Christ?” The Bible informs us of a very sobering fact
in the Last Days (sorry to my Dispensational friends but I do not relegate all
of the end-Times elements to a futurative way-off-in-the-distant fulfillment),
in Revelation 12:12---“Therefore,
rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”
In addition to this verse, the Apostle Paul warns his “Son-in-the-Faith,”
Timothy, to be on guard for the advance of the devil’s anger and attack in the
last of the “Last Days.” Paul identifies
for Timothy and for all of us, the “spirits” of the enemy that will be released
upon the earth in these Last Days (SEE: 2
Tim. 3), for which we are to be “on guard” from. Those “spirits” are here, and they are VERY
active in the Western branch of the Christian Church!
Think of
it! If you were satan, and you desired
to stop the fulfillment of the Church’s commission, then of a necessity you
would need to divest the Church of her “POWER!”
However, you could not just “take-away” the churches power, you would
have to be very creative in “HOW” you took away that power! You would have to convince many of the Church’s
Pastors, Teachers, Professors, Denominational Leaders, and Laity alike; that
the “power-elements” of the Gospel had ceased!
Now, you would have to leave in some of the elements of the original
gospel, or the Body of Christ would simply dismiss this attempt as an attack
from satan. Satan knew he would lose “some”
people who were in desperate situations and were ready to believe the mere
truth of the gospel without the power of the gospel, and those were “casualties
he was willing to accept. However, he
also knew, better than many in the Church that the day was coming when he would
unleash all of hell upon this earth to propagate his evil will. Now if the Church, that ONE-FORCE that could
STOP his hellish onslaught, could be altered enough to where they would settle
for a few, when God had given them the world, then in the long run, he would be
successful! You see the devil is not
trying to keep ALL people from salvation, for he knows that is impossible, so
he is willing to let some be saved, just not the WORLD! The Church, having just the “TRUTH” of the
gospel, and not the “POWER” of the gospel, would indeed win some, but overall their
impact would be minimal!
Brothers
and Sisters, our impact had been minimal!
Jesus Himself identified for us as His Followers the necessity of both “Truth”
and “Spirit!” In John 4:23-24---“But the time is
coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that
way. For God is
Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” If
this is the essential twin-elements for approaching God in worship, how hard is
it to realize how much more we would need these twin-truths in evangelism? We have left Jerusalem without the power of
the Holy Spirit! We have the TRUTH, but
we do not have the SPIRIT or His power!
Our impact has indeed been minimal recently, but we have the potential
to have the type of impact that the “gates of hell” cannot prevail
against! What do we need to do? Go BACK to Jerusalem to the Upper Room and
seek and receive the “promise of the Father,” which is the Holy Spirit in all
of His gifting and power!
Now to respond
to my original statement………Only God, by the ministry of His Holy Spirit, can
convince someone through the Spirit’s illumination of the Word of God that they
have been living below their privileged place of power and purpose! “For the light makes everything visible. This
is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will
give you light.” So be careful how you
live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise!”---Ephesians
5:14-15 NLT.
---Pastor Steve
Gardner
