Pendulum

I could be off, but it seems that there is a view of complacent Christianity that is a pendulum. On the one hand there is a lot of pride that oneself is generally good. That person does not do x, y, and z, and as a result are a generally fine person. On the flip side certain sins, like pride, fear, lust, bitterness, gossip, etc., etc. are constant bondages, and cause an intense amount of guilt, shame, worthlessness in view of self, the "I'm messed up but so are you so that's just the way it is" crap, etc. As a result, there is a pendulum that swings back and forth. This can take place in people's view of healing, "I'm generally good, so if I don't see healing happen today, it must just be that God doesn't work that way anymore." But on the flip side, it seems almost a borderline hopelessness. Walking according to the flesh is just something that will happen some think. There is no hope of getting free. Bondage is the way of life. There is no hope for change. There is this idea that if one has prayed for God to change but it doesn't miraculously occur right away, that God really doesn't care a whole lot about the bondage. As a result doubt creeps in about faith in general, and complacency becomes a way of life.

But the true Christian life is not the pendulum. It is not rationalizing sin and seeing certain sins as no big deal. Is this how Peter reacted to sin in Acts 8:20-23? He seemed to think bitterness and using God were BIG deals. HUGE Deals. Repent! Fall before God and cry out to Him! Where is the pressing into God so that as a result of being around Him change occurs? Where is the transformation through constantly being in His Word (Rom. 12:2)? Get rid of the complacency!

Does this mean perfection can be achieved? Obviously not. But there is a big difference between rationalizing bondage or as Peter says, "being captive to sin," and seeking after God constantly until weakness becomes strength by God's own hand.

I think it is crucial to not underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit. The annointing breaks the yoke of bondage. It is His filling that is needed to walk in constantly to have victory. And He does do it. But where is the desire at? Are Christians gripped by Him? For certainly all will be gripped by something...

So I've been looking at Acts 6 and am struck by the first few verses. The apostles are so busy doing "big, important things" that they delegate a major service responsiblity off. This makes sense... they can't do everything, and these are the men that changed the world. God used them to heal the sick, cast out demons, evangelize, speak with boldness all despite intense persecution. However, what is it that took their time away? Another ministry opportunity? No, verse 4 says that they were busy giving their attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word. Wow. They had all of this power of the Holy Spirit. Lives were being changed. Why such a focus on prayer and the Word? Let others intercede for them. They have spiritual battles to engage. Why spend time in prayer, when more sick needed to be healed... I mean, c'mon, they were laying the sick in the street hoping that even Peter's shadow might come accross them (Acts 5:15) so they could experience healing.

And so goes a false train of thought. Why did Jesus leave people and go to a quiet place to pray? There were no shortage of sick people to heal. Why withdraw from them all of the time? I think the reason is to get hooked into the source. Where does the power come from? The apostles realized the strength comes from God. That's why this was there focus. As they focused incessantly on the Word and on prayer, they couldn't help but be charged up in their faith. If we as Christians focus on ministry as the main thing, we will become burnt out, stressed out, etc. However, if the focus is on saturation in our relationship with God, like it was with the apostles, they couldn't help but be filled to overflowing to the people they came in contact. Isn't that what Peter and John say in Acts 4:20? They become arrested but what do they say? They can't help but speak about God. In fact, they can't help but speak about what they have "seen and heard." And isn't that why testimony is so important and why it is so powerful when sharing our faith? I know the best sermons I have ever heard are the personal ones. Give me testimony of God's faithfulness. Testimony of how He used you to overcome. Be real. Fake Christianity that sounds pretty and nice but does very little and is weak does nothing for me, but true power of God and how He has worked is powerful. I don't want man's wisdom, give me God's Word. And how does overcoming happen? According to Revelation 12, "by the blood of the lamb and the word of the testimony." And what is the beginning of 1 John all about? 1 John 1 says, "That which was from the beginning, which we have seen, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim to you concerning the word of life." Proclaiming testimony.

So anyway this kinda morphed from a "get saturated in God" message to a "be real and share your testimony" message. Oh well. They are linked, though...

In class today we talked about holiness/piety in the New Testament church. We were trying to nail down how it is used. It seemed to be refering to love, faith, obedience, living the Spirit-filled life, etc. I think that all of these together are part of it. We have to do our part on each of the first three, but to truly walk in those three on a remotely consistent basis is only the result of the Spirit-filled life. And the Spirit-filled life is only going to happen for those who walk in love, faith, and obedience as much as they are able. It is a bit circular...