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The Divine Dimension |
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by Ralph I. Tilley
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| The church’s greatest need has always been the dynamic presence of the Holy Spirit in the midst of her people. This is true for both pulpit and pew.
One of English Methodism's most eloquent voices, Samuel Chadwick, emphasized this in his writings: "The church is the creation of the Spirit. It is a community of believers who owe their religious life from first to last to the Spirit. Apart from Him there can be neither Christ nor Church.... The Holy Ghost is no more needed to run bazaars, social clubs, institutions, and picnics, than He is to run a circus. These may be necessary adjuncts of the modern church, but it is not for power to run these things we need tarry. Religious services and organized institutions do not constitute a Christian Church, and these may flourish without the gift of Pentecostal fire.”(1) The active presence of the Holy Spirit spells the difference between a cult and a real church, between a club and a real church, between a religious corpse and a real church. Have we forgotten the Divine dimension? We readily organize, legislate and delegate. We carefully fill our calendars with meetings and meals. We have achieved a high level of professionalism in presenting an attractive "user-friendly" service. We're expert in minutia. Our problem is not so much in what we're doing. It's the absence of the living Christ from our midst. Poor Paul, he never had access to all our modem technology and trinkets. No self-improvement books lined his shelves; he attended no seminars on "How to be a Successful Preacher." He was simply a Spirit-saturated apostle steeped in the Word. He had met the living Christ and lived a Spirit-filled life. Thus he could write to some of his early converts: "[O]ur gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction."(2) And what was the result? Changed lives. People who left their idols to serve the living and true God. Why was it that the first century church, as recorded in the Book of Acts, was such a powerful, effective church They were God-hungry. Do you have an appetite for God? Really? What are you reading? What are you watching? What are you talking about? Where are you going? The early Christians' appetite drove them to God, drove them to their knees: "They all joined together constantly in prayer . . .(3) "They devoted themselves to . . . prayer.(4) "One day Peter and John were going to the temple at the time of prayer.”(5) "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken."(6) "We . . . will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."(7) Many more texts could be cited. For the early Christians, prayer was their lifeline, prayer was their food and drink, prayer was their every breath. This was because they maintained a healthy appetite for God. They were filled. Whereas they were once filled with their own egos, filled with themselves, following Pentecost they were filled with the living Christ, filled with the Spirit. Full of ourselves we project ourselves, our opinions, our ideas, our methods and plans. Filled with the Spirit, we think God's thoughts, we follow God's ways, we are subject to God's suggestions. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter preached Christ, not himself.(8) Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter and John pointed the crippled beggar to a healing Christ.(9) Filled with the Holy Spirit, Stephen died full of faith and Philip witnessed to a stranger.(10) Remember, if we are to live lives full of God, we must have the Spirit's help in first emptying ourselves of self. They loved. They loved God, thus they prayed, worshiped and obeyed. They loved one another, thus they fellowshipped, shared and cared. They loved the unsaved, thus they witnessed, worked and gave. What about the level of our love? Love for God? Love for the body of Christ? Love for the sinner? While just the two of them were fishing together in a boat one day, a minister confided in his colleague that he had just that week been let go by his church. The senior minister asked his friend what reason the board of deacons gave for firing him. The distraught pastor answered, "They said I didn't love people." "Is that so?" his friend asked. "I'm afraid it is," replied his companion. Jesus had one question for the recently restored Peter on the shore of Galilee: "Do you love me?"(11) Christ knew if Peter loved Him with a love that worshiped, a love that obeyed, a love that served, he would follow Him regardless. Where the Holy Spirit is . . . there is every evidence of Divine love. They witnessed. With their lips and with their lives, they were always sharing the Good News. They had never read a book about how to witness. They had never attended a seminar on witnessing. But they had lived with Jesus, they had been to Pentecost. They had such a desire to get the Message out that they cried out, "we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."(12) It's so easy for us to talk about everything but Jesus: the weather, politics, people, issues, sports and religion. But what about Jesus? Is not our weak witness an unmistakable evidence of the lack of the Holy Spirit in our lives? We are not all called to be evangelists, but we are all called to be light and salt, to share Christ with empty, needy people. Are we doing that? Do we really care? Is the Spirit freely ministering through us to others? Myron S. Augsburger has written: "A dying church is one that cannot save its own; a static church is one that saves its own. But a living church is one which adds to its [own]"(13) They were open. They were open to the Spirit's guidance, the Spirit's answers. In Acts 6 we are told that the material needs of some were being unmet. So the church came together and the Holy Spirit provided the answer. When God decided to reach the Gentiles with the gospel of Jesus Christ, He called upon Peter to be His instrument. Though reluctant at first, Peter slowly became open to this fresh calling of the Holy Spirit.(14) When faced with a critical issue in Acts 15, the church was open to God's answer, as revealed to James. The church without the Spirit, when facing challenges and problems, cites a church manual, quotes Robert's Rules of Order. The church without the Spirit, when on the brink of failure and disaster, resorts to legislation and manipulation. The church without the Spirit, when confronting deadness, stagnation and worldliness, commissions a committee to study the matter. The church without the Spirit, tends to rely upon tradition, money and men. Isn't it about time we returned to the source of our power? Isn't it about time we quit playing church? The church can only function as a true church when she lives in dependence upon the Lord. Oh God, be pleased to breathe fresh life into the hearts of your people--including mine--so that we may see mighty things done, for which we cannot take the credit. O Holy Dove descending, O Holy Wind of God now blowing, O Holy rain of God now falling, O Holy Flame of God now burning, – Soli Deo Gloria – All Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV. 1. The Way to Pentecost |
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