"It will be better for you if I go"

Can you imagine the disciples faces when they heard those words?

John 16:7. Jesus said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you."

This verse has been opening up to me more and more. There are so many ways in which we can realize the truth of what Jesus said. Jesus was actually eager to depart so that the disciples would receive the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had been WITH the disciples during His earthly ministry, but by the Spirit He would come to be IN them. On earth He had only been able to be in one place at one time, but, by the Spirit's indwelling, the Church would take the presence of the Lord simultaneously to the uttermost parts of the earth.

The more you study this verse and compare it with the experience of the early church, the more applications you find of its truth. More is done in the believers life by the indwelling power of God than through any work Jesus could effect by an external influence. Samuel Chadwick wrote, "Inwardness is the distinctive feature of the Spirit. The Son of God reveals and works from without, but the Spirit of God dwells and works from within."

Here's another example that I've just been musing on. In Luke 11:1-4 we're told that, at the disciples request, Jesus TAUGHT them to pray. He gave them that wonderful model that we have come to call "The Lord's Prayer" (it's really the disciples prayer ... the Lord's prayer is better used to describe John 17). Jesus, the Master of prayer, TAUGHT them to pray.

But notice the very different language when we come to Romans 8:26. The indwelling Holy Spirit does not only teach us to pray (He certainly is our teacher), but it says that he HELPS us to pray. Again the external influence has moved inward for something far more glorious.

I've been reading William Gurnall's outstanding work "The Christian in Complete Armour", and I was greatly blessed to read this passage that is a powerful commentary on Romans 8:26 ...

"Even in acts of worship our strength is in the Lord. Consider prayer. Would we pray? Where will we find topics for our prayers? Alas, 'We know not what we should pray for as we ought' (Rom 8:26). Let us alone, and we will soon pray ourselves into some temptation or other, and beg for the very thing God knows we should not have. To protect us, then, God puts words in our mouths (Hos 14:2). But without some heart-heating affections to thaw the tap, the words will freeze on our lips. We may search in vain the corridors of our own hearts and the drafty corners of our souls. We will not find a spark upon our own hearth, unless it is some strange fire of our own desires, which will not do. No, the fire that thaws the iciness of the heart must come from heaven - a gift from God, who is 'a consuming fire' (Heb 12:29).

"First the Spirit stretches Himself upon the soul, as the prophet on the child; then the soul will begin to kindle and put forth some heavenly heat in its affections. At last the Spirit melts the heart, and prayer flows from the lips of the believer as naturally as tears from the eyes. And though the saint is the speaker, the author of the prayer is God. So we see that both the strength to pray and the prayer itself are from God."

I believe in the Holy Ghost!

Pastor Phil

What's in a name?

I came up with so many different names for this blog.

Some were too cryptic, some were too boring, some sounded high-falutin', and some were just plain lame.

In the end I asked myself "What am I all about?" The answer to that question took about 3 seconds.

God has brought me to the place in my life and in service for Him where I finally know that without Him I can do (precisely) nothing. (John 15:5) Nada. Zilch.

Oh, we all know that!

Yeah, yeah. I "knew" it for years too. But now I do know it ... really ... with understanding and with conviction. That doesn't mean there isn't still a huge part of me that wants to jump in and make things happen by my own strength and "wisdom". I have a hunch I'll be battling that temptation for the rest of my life. But I'm learning every day to wait on God for His strength and leadings, and just be obedient.

I'm no longer surprised when I read that Moses was held out in the wilderness for 40 years before God called him back to Egypt to lead the Israelites. That's about how long it can take to get it. I'm 41 years old, and I think I finally got it.

Jesus gave his disciples a three year intensive crash course before ascending into heaven. And some of His last words to them were that they should "tarry" in Jerusalem (that means "sit down" and "wait") until they were clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:49) The Holy Spirit would come as Christ's Advocate and bring them the mind and presence of Christ continuously. Without Him they could do nothing.

Just a few minutes later Jesus was taken up out of their sight, and an angel repeated the instruction to get them moving. (Acts 1:10-11) It was THAT important. It's like the angel was saying "You heard the Lord ... hurry up and wait!" And the disciples obeyed.

Of course we all know what happened about 10 days later on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came as promised, and the Church was animated with His life and power. They could never be the same again.

Now some would say, "Well that's it. The time of 'tarrying' was done. The disciples waited, and the Spirit came." Yes ... and NO! Yes, the Spirit came and thrust the church out into mission. But I put it to you that those disciples never lost sight of their call to "tarry". Their story, recorded in the book of Acts, is a story of prayer meetings, of waiting times, of "tarrying".

They waited for empowerment. They waited for boldness. They waited for instructions. As a result, they were continually filled with the Spirit and bore fruit as Jesus said they would. These were the people who "turned the world upside down". (Acts 17:6)

We need to reclaim the lost art of tarrying. The Church has never been so busy and yet so barren. We are living the Laodicean tragedy, for "(we) say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' - and do not know that (we) are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked." (Rev 3:17) That is always the sum total of what the Church can produce when she will not tarry.

So, by the grace of God I intend to tarry. Every day God is helping me. I see His power at work. I sense His presence more and more. And my need to tarry is not diminished, it is increased. Because the minute I say "I can take it from here", I am done. Nothing will be achieved of any consequence from that moment.

Samuel Chadwick said it over a hundred years ago, "Christianity is hopeless without the Holy Ghost." Amen!

Pastor Phil