First, let me thank all of you for allowing me to use you as a sounding board with questions regarding the Holy Spirit. I guess my seemingly insecurities on this matter can be expected from someone who hasn't graduated from seminary. However, my hope in all of this is to still be found worthy of delivering God's covenant correctly to the Taiwanese. Eternities are at stake.
I have read your many responses and have been reminded of the great truths concerning the HS. I have also been reading and rereading scripture that deals with the HS. Because of this blog I have been challenged in that I need to study harder to show myself approved and to be ready in and out of season to give the reasons for what Christians believe. Below is my conclusion to questions I posed in my first blog entry entitled, Our First Sunday back in Taiwan. These questions were concerning what I should teach in our newly planted Northeast Taiwan Christian Church about the Holy Spirit .
Please try to imagine along with me that you are in a dark room that has suddenly been filled with light because three candles have just been lit. Each candle has its own flame, and each flame collectively produces one light. We can see that there are three distinct flames atop each candle, but we cannot distinguish which candle is producing which portions of the light in the room. The light is completely inextricable from each other. The three candles are working together to produce ONE LIGHT FOR ALL TO SEE BY!
Since this blog is only about the Holy Spirit I will from here out focus on him only--with the recognition that the three are one.
The HS is a gift. He goes out from God, but it is Jesus who asks God to send the gift on our behalf, and it is Jesus who baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is given to us he indwells us and takes over all of the parts of our being that we allow him to control. Being a Gentleman He will step back whenever we wish to takeover ourselves, but when we allow him he will serve us in various ways. He is willing to comfort us, teach us, lead us, counsel us, and even convict us of our sin if we desire to go so far..
As a Leader the HS ultimately leads us to the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that we can build a vivid image of Jesus. Jesus is the physical being that represents God, and Jesus only does and says what he hears from the Father--the truth. New believers may not always know the truth about some of the difficult issues of life, so Jesus is the perfect place to start. The Holy Spirit takes that which belongs to Jesus and makes it known to us.
As a Counselor the HS searches the deep things of God and from that gives Christians advice. He lays out the life plan that God has for us, and shows us how it will bring us contentment during and at the end of our lives. However unbelievers do not accept the counsel of the HS, because they don't SEE or even KNOW the HS, and since the things of the HS are spiritually discerned they are foolish to the unbeliever. The unbeliever depends on his or her 5 senses and/or false teachers to lead their lives.
From the very meaning of the word, comfort, the HS as Comforter teaches us that his job is not to fix everything that goes wrong in our lives. In fact, we will, from time to time have discomfort in our lives. Sometimes our discomfort is the result of our own sin for which the HS will comfort us in showing us how to be forgiven by God and others. Sometimes our discomfort comes from no fault of our own, but we are comforted in the fact that our discomfort sometimes brings glory to God. I'm sure it was uncomfortable for Jesus on the cross, but his sacrifices brought glory to God. Paul also experienced discomfort in his eyes, but in his weakness, Christ was made even stronger.
As a Teacher the HS uses the sky and the earth as his chalkboard, As a teaching prop He may utilize an animal such as a lamb, or a tree and it's fruit, or a farmer and his crops, or a fisherman and his catch, or a mother hen and her chicks, or a nation and it's citizens, or a situation that we had at work last week, or a relationship that we had with another to give us a deeper meaning of the things that we already see in God's Word.
And finally, as a Convictor, the HS convicts the world of sin and draws people to Christ. He intentionally causes us unrest when he sees things in our lives that do not represent what a Christian should be. This unrest drives us to God for forgiveness and cleansing, and drives us to the Word for a better way of living.
The HS is a free gift, that enables and empowers Christians to lead Christ-like lives. Since the desire of the HS is to indwell He is powerless if we downgrade him to just an onlooker off to the side. Christians must be willing to allow him to INDWELL their being.
How do people receive this gift? Some were praying in the upper room on the day of Pentecost and the HS blew in and filled the believers. Peter and John had to place their hands on the new believers in Samaria after Philip had preached to them for them to receive the HS. As Peter was preaching at Cornelius' house the HS poured out onto the listeners and they began to speak in tongues and praise God. Paul asked 12 disciples in Ephesus if they had received the HS. They said they had not even heard that there was a HS. After laying his hands on them they received the HS and even began to speak in tongues and prophesy.
Now to those believers that have invited the Holy Spirit to indwell them the HS gives (as he chooses) different kinds of gifts, services, and jobs, but all of these work together for the common good of the church in general. When I say church I mean the church of all Christians all over the world. God in all of His infinite wisdom knows that the multitudes of people all over the world are different, and the varying gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, speaking in tongues, etc are all meant for the common good. For the sensual Christian he may have to see a miracle before he believes, for the logical person he may have to see the order or find the wisdom and knowledge in order to believe, for the emotional person he may have to be encouraged to believe, for the spiritual person he may have to sense the presence of angels in order to believe.
God called Jonah to be a missionary in Nineveh, but Jonah ran away from his calling. Jonah was only concerned about his home country, and his own traditions and ways of thinking. God, on the other hand, has a world vision. He is concerned about all countries and all peoples. God basically showed Jonah how little his vision was. Through discomfort He taught Jonah that he and his movement (Judaism) did not have the corner on God. God is bigger than the limited beliefs of one congregation or one denomination. God works differently throughout the world as He wills for His common good and the good of the church at large.
The biggest discrepancy that some Christians have concerning the work of the HS is that it's hard for us to conceive that He works different workings in different lives--different churches--different denominations--different countries. I like the way Paul ends his HS-giftings-chapter in I Corinthians 12. He ends the chapter with seven questions and a statement.
1. "Are all apostles?"
2. "Are all prophets?"
3. "Are all teachers?"
4. "Do all work miracles?"
5. "Do all have the gifts of healing?"
6. "Do all speak in tongues?"
7. "Do all interpret?"
Statement: "But eagerly desire the greater gifts."
There's no need to grapple with the seven questions above. The answer is, "NO, " to all of the questions--no one person has all of the gifts. I apologize to those of you who are now disappointed with me. I hope it will cheer you up to know that if you changed that word, "a-l-l," in each of the questions above to the word, "s-o-m-e," then the answer becomes, "Yes," to each of the above questions. Now it seems like I have changed positions, so I have to apologize to those of you who feel that all of these gifts are no longer in use today. Maybe you are disappointed with me. But wait! Watch this!
If you were not disappointed in either of my statements no doubt you have backed out of the way and allowed the Holy Spirit to indwell you even more. The HS has filled you with even greater gifts which are discussed in I Corinthians 13. They are faith, hope and love. The level of love inside of you allows you to cope with me even if you're in diagreement with me.
So what is the conclusion in regards to my original delimma? Does the HS still heal today? Yes! sometimes he heals through the laying on of hands and sometimes he heals through the laying on of a doctor's hands. It's awesome that doctors can transplant a heart, but it's even awesomer that the Great Healer can make it pump without the help of a doctor.
Do people still speak in tongues and prophesy? Yes! There are some people who have this gift. I have it myself, and I have been ridiculed and praised for having exercised it. If I am in my right mind I am doing it for others. If I am out of mind I am still doing it for God. Many probably thought Abraham was out of his mind when he said God was calling him to kill his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. The Pharisees and Sadduccees often thought Jesus was out of his mind for some of the things he said and done for God. The disciples were thought to be drunk in Acts 2 when they spoke in tongues. Does this gift get out of control sometimes? I'm sure it does. It did in Corinth, and Paul warned the believers not to depise the gifts, but to exercise them in an orderly and fitting matter that will strengthen the church. The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets, and the other believers should weigh what is being said. Paul said these words to let the Corinthians know that there's no majic power that possesses the tongue speaker or prophet beyond their own control. These are sound, logical statements.
Does the HS speak through children at times? Of course He does! Just the other night I was punishing one my own children when the Holy Spirit asked me , "What about you, Richard? Do you ever do that thing that your child did?" And the answer was, "Yes." I was convicted of my own sin in my dealings with a child. Also, I want to encourage you to do something. The next time you have a problem or you're about to do something big like go on a mission trip, gather a bunch of kids around you to lay hands on you and pray for you. I promise you will sense the Holy Spirit! Children have a greater faith than adults do. That's why Jesus said that we needed to be like them not them to be like us, if we wanted to inherit the Kingdom of God.
Anyway, as Northeast Taiwan Christian Church grows we will learn about all of the different hats that the HS wears, and we will discover the different spiritual gifts, services and workings that the HS may give to our congregation as he wills. As we use these gifts to work together for the body of the church I'm sure there will be challenges and discrepancies. This will give us all the more reason to also eagerly desire faith, hope and love. Love covers a multitude of sins.
Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. This blog and your replys have truly helped me to sort this thing out. I feel a confidence and even a joy in my heart about stepping into the pulpit on Sunday morning to start sharing with our believers about the Holy Spirit. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. II Corinthians 13:14
Blessings in Christ,
Richard
P.S. Comments are welcomed and may be directed to me (Richard) at northeasttaiwan@gmail.com
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Our First Sunday Back in Taiwan
In a few hours we're about to start our first Sunday service since returning from America. Before we left to America on August 5, 2009 I had just completed my 25th sermon at our newly planted church in northeast Taiwan. All of those sermons mostly focused on who was Jesus and water baptism. At the end of those 25 sermons we had two people that came forward to believe in Jesus and be baptized. Praise God! we now have new believers, but what's next? Where do we go from here?
While we were in America I asked God this question many times. "God, when we get back to Taiwan where in your Word do we go next? What do you want the people of Taiwan to know?" It seemed that everywhere we went in America--every church we visited God always nudged me to pay attention to the level of Holy Spirit involvement at each church. In some cases it was the lack of the Holy Spirit that I was being nudged to notice. By the time our furlough was coming to an end on November 10, 2009 I knew without doubt that God wanted to teach, preach and show all about the Holy Spirit and His role in our new church and in our new believer's lives in Taiwan.
Even though I've been a missionary for six years and a lay speaker for quite some time, I am still very new at pastoring a church or rather leading a flock. Naturally I am quite concerned about what I say when it comes to the Holy Spirit. I don't mean that I know nothing about the Holy Spirit. What I mean is that there are so many different points of view about who the HS is, and what He does. I want to make sure that I get it right.
Does it sound like I'm floundering on my own beliefs about the HS? Yeah, I guess it does, and I'll tell you why. It all started while we were on furlough. Our family had been going to alot of different churches to share our vision and ministry in northeast Taiwan. We traveled from Georgia all the way up to Vermont, and we traveled from Georgia all the way out to Los Angelos, California.
Some of the churches we visited were conservative and some were liberal. Some seemed free to worship, some didn't. Some were exciting and some were dull. Some preached God's Word while others sensationalized God's Word. We saw the whole gammet of differing styles of worship and sermons.
What caught my attention the most was what was being taught and encouraged about the Holy Spirit. In charismatic churches where one would expect to hear more about the HS, we didn't. In fact some of the charismatic churches played down the HS and His work among the congregation. One leader of a use-to-be charismatic church said that the charismatic movement was dead.
To make this even more strange let me tell you what happened when we went to the more conservative denominational churches. We found them, in general, to be more alive, and more willing to indulge into the things of the HS. We visited a Methodist church in Tennessee that was totally and completely on fire for God. The HS was very evident in that place. Their youth was alive and vibrant. They annointed and prayed over pieces of cloth and sent them to the sick to be healed. Their worship team had a representative from every age group playing uplifting, contemporary worship songs. Even their drummer was only six years old, but he kept up with every song just like a grown man.
In another instance, a pastor of a baptist church in Texas told me that on recent mission trips to China they had seen miraculous healings from the HS and all kinds of other miracles. In fact he has been trying to get his church to be more charismatic in regards to the church and the things of God.
Are the roles reversing? Is the HS moving to the old denominational churches? Will the charismatic churches loose their edge on the HS? What is going on? What am I suppose to teach my little congregation in Taiwan.
Now, this wasn't true across the board. We still visited some denominational churches that were still conservative and some charismatic churches that were still charismatic. In fact there was this one charismatic church in California where we shared in their 5th and 6th grade Sunday School classes. After our sharing their pastor came up and asked the kids to come to the altar and to pray for one another's sicknesses and concerns. He also asked if any of them had any visions or word of knowledge from God. Many of them did and many of them came to the front and shared what the HS had given them. And it was on target with God's Word. These kids were only 10, 11 and 12 years old, but they had definite relationships with the HS and with the Lord. These kids came up to our family after the service was over and was laying their hands on us and praying for our safety back to Taiwan and for our mission to grow in God!
So here I am. I am back in Taiwan and it's time for me to start teaching about the Holy Spirit. Our church is not conservative and yet we are not charismatic either. We are a small group of Taiwanese believers that need to know the truth about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. What is the truth? Is the charismatic movement dead? Does the Holy Spirit really speak through kids? If we pray for the sick in our church will the HS heal them? Which direction should we lead our congregation?
I already know what I'm going to do when I get into the pulpit, but before I tell you I would like to give you an opportunity to comment on my delimma first. I'm not trying to stir up arguments, but a good healthy conversation about the Holy Spirit and it's role in today's churches could never hurt anyone.
Richard Roberts
While we were in America I asked God this question many times. "God, when we get back to Taiwan where in your Word do we go next? What do you want the people of Taiwan to know?" It seemed that everywhere we went in America--every church we visited God always nudged me to pay attention to the level of Holy Spirit involvement at each church. In some cases it was the lack of the Holy Spirit that I was being nudged to notice. By the time our furlough was coming to an end on November 10, 2009 I knew without doubt that God wanted to teach, preach and show all about the Holy Spirit and His role in our new church and in our new believer's lives in Taiwan.
Even though I've been a missionary for six years and a lay speaker for quite some time, I am still very new at pastoring a church or rather leading a flock. Naturally I am quite concerned about what I say when it comes to the Holy Spirit. I don't mean that I know nothing about the Holy Spirit. What I mean is that there are so many different points of view about who the HS is, and what He does. I want to make sure that I get it right.
Does it sound like I'm floundering on my own beliefs about the HS? Yeah, I guess it does, and I'll tell you why. It all started while we were on furlough. Our family had been going to alot of different churches to share our vision and ministry in northeast Taiwan. We traveled from Georgia all the way up to Vermont, and we traveled from Georgia all the way out to Los Angelos, California.
Some of the churches we visited were conservative and some were liberal. Some seemed free to worship, some didn't. Some were exciting and some were dull. Some preached God's Word while others sensationalized God's Word. We saw the whole gammet of differing styles of worship and sermons.
What caught my attention the most was what was being taught and encouraged about the Holy Spirit. In charismatic churches where one would expect to hear more about the HS, we didn't. In fact some of the charismatic churches played down the HS and His work among the congregation. One leader of a use-to-be charismatic church said that the charismatic movement was dead.
To make this even more strange let me tell you what happened when we went to the more conservative denominational churches. We found them, in general, to be more alive, and more willing to indulge into the things of the HS. We visited a Methodist church in Tennessee that was totally and completely on fire for God. The HS was very evident in that place. Their youth was alive and vibrant. They annointed and prayed over pieces of cloth and sent them to the sick to be healed. Their worship team had a representative from every age group playing uplifting, contemporary worship songs. Even their drummer was only six years old, but he kept up with every song just like a grown man.
In another instance, a pastor of a baptist church in Texas told me that on recent mission trips to China they had seen miraculous healings from the HS and all kinds of other miracles. In fact he has been trying to get his church to be more charismatic in regards to the church and the things of God.
Are the roles reversing? Is the HS moving to the old denominational churches? Will the charismatic churches loose their edge on the HS? What is going on? What am I suppose to teach my little congregation in Taiwan.
Now, this wasn't true across the board. We still visited some denominational churches that were still conservative and some charismatic churches that were still charismatic. In fact there was this one charismatic church in California where we shared in their 5th and 6th grade Sunday School classes. After our sharing their pastor came up and asked the kids to come to the altar and to pray for one another's sicknesses and concerns. He also asked if any of them had any visions or word of knowledge from God. Many of them did and many of them came to the front and shared what the HS had given them. And it was on target with God's Word. These kids were only 10, 11 and 12 years old, but they had definite relationships with the HS and with the Lord. These kids came up to our family after the service was over and was laying their hands on us and praying for our safety back to Taiwan and for our mission to grow in God!
So here I am. I am back in Taiwan and it's time for me to start teaching about the Holy Spirit. Our church is not conservative and yet we are not charismatic either. We are a small group of Taiwanese believers that need to know the truth about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. What is the truth? Is the charismatic movement dead? Does the Holy Spirit really speak through kids? If we pray for the sick in our church will the HS heal them? Which direction should we lead our congregation?
I already know what I'm going to do when I get into the pulpit, but before I tell you I would like to give you an opportunity to comment on my delimma first. I'm not trying to stir up arguments, but a good healthy conversation about the Holy Spirit and it's role in today's churches could never hurt anyone.
Richard Roberts
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
