We Have Lost Sight of the Purpose of Pentecost!
Christ told His disciples of a coming Pentecost, when the Spirit would be outpoured for a single purpose: It was to be a power given to lift up the name of Christ! "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost Is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me... unto the uttermost part of the earth..." (Acts 1:8 KJV)
Jesus made it clear that when the Spirit comes He will not draw attention to Himself, but will focus on Christ's words. He will exalt Christ.
"...when He, the Spirit of truth, is come... He shall not speak of Himself... He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show It unto you." (John 16:13-15 KJV)
Jesus said, "He will show you My glory, My power, My Kingdom. He will remind you of all My words." The primary work of the Holy Spirit is not fellowship, although He does bring believers together as one in Christ. It is not ecstasy. It is not simply to teach us an unlearned tongue. The Spirit has come to exalt Christ! To guide all mankind to the truth that Christ is Lord! It is not enough to say the Spirit has brought us close to each other - He must bring us closer to Christ!
The fullness of the Spirit is the fullness of Christ If you do not have a consuming love for Christ, you do not have a Holy Ghost baptism! Christ, the baptizer, sent the Holy Spirit to fire our souls over lost humanity, to get us out into the highways and hedges to reach the unsaved. To shake up our lazy lifestyles and get us to doing His work. The blessed Holy Spirit will be grieved, and finally withdraw, the moment men try to exalt Him above the Son of God! He will not permit His power to be abused by those who want only the gift and not Christ, the Giver!
What is a true Holy Ghost meeting? Is it where people all speak with tongues? Or where people are healed? Where saints jump for joy? Where saints are prophesying? More - much more than that! It is where Christ is being exalted, where His holiness pierces the soul, where men and women fall before His holy throne, broken, humbled - crying, "Holy, Holy." The moving of the Holy Spirit is a moving closer to Christ, deeper in Christ, with a greater submission to His Lordship!
II. Christ Is Made A Stranger When People Praise Him, But Will Not Pray To Him!
We praise a Christ to whom we will not pray! We have become a praising people, but not a praying people. For many of God's people the prayer closet is a relic of the past. "Why ask God for what He has already promised? Just get hold of the promises and simply command deliverances!" We no longer want Christ as much as we want what He can do for us. We want an escape from pain and suffering. We want our troubles to vanish. And we are so caught up in our escape from pain, we lose the true meaning of the Cross. We refuse crosses and losses - no Gethsemane for us! No nights of agony! We don't even know this suffering, bleeding, resurrected Christ!
We want His healing power. We want His promises of prosperity. We want His protection. We want more of this earth's goods. We want His happiness. But we really don't want Him alone!
Jesus made it clear that when the Spirit comes He will not draw attention to Himself, but will focus on Christ's words. He will exalt Christ.
"...when He, the Spirit of truth, is come... He shall not speak of Himself... He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show It unto you." (John 16:13-15 KJV)
Jesus said, "He will show you My glory, My power, My Kingdom. He will remind you of all My words." The primary work of the Holy Spirit is not fellowship, although He does bring believers together as one in Christ. It is not ecstasy. It is not simply to teach us an unlearned tongue. The Spirit has come to exalt Christ! To guide all mankind to the truth that Christ is Lord! It is not enough to say the Spirit has brought us close to each other - He must bring us closer to Christ!
The fullness of the Spirit is the fullness of Christ If you do not have a consuming love for Christ, you do not have a Holy Ghost baptism! Christ, the baptizer, sent the Holy Spirit to fire our souls over lost humanity, to get us out into the highways and hedges to reach the unsaved. To shake up our lazy lifestyles and get us to doing His work. The blessed Holy Spirit will be grieved, and finally withdraw, the moment men try to exalt Him above the Son of God! He will not permit His power to be abused by those who want only the gift and not Christ, the Giver!
What is a true Holy Ghost meeting? Is it where people all speak with tongues? Or where people are healed? Where saints jump for joy? Where saints are prophesying? More - much more than that! It is where Christ is being exalted, where His holiness pierces the soul, where men and women fall before His holy throne, broken, humbled - crying, "Holy, Holy." The moving of the Holy Spirit is a moving closer to Christ, deeper in Christ, with a greater submission to His Lordship!
II. Christ Is Made A Stranger When People Praise Him, But Will Not Pray To Him!
We praise a Christ to whom we will not pray! We have become a praising people, but not a praying people. For many of God's people the prayer closet is a relic of the past. "Why ask God for what He has already promised? Just get hold of the promises and simply command deliverances!" We no longer want Christ as much as we want what He can do for us. We want an escape from pain and suffering. We want our troubles to vanish. And we are so caught up in our escape from pain, we lose the true meaning of the Cross. We refuse crosses and losses - no Gethsemane for us! No nights of agony! We don't even know this suffering, bleeding, resurrected Christ!
We want His healing power. We want His promises of prosperity. We want His protection. We want more of this earth's goods. We want His happiness. But we really don't want Him alone!
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Soteriology 101.doc, 210 KB
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Hezekiah Ben Israel on
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Do you keep the Feast of weeks or Pentecost Brother?
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Permalink Reply by James Pierce on
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Anthony,
That is dealing with Ascetism, and not the Shabbat. There was a cult telling Yah's people how to view the new moon and Shabbat. We are to keep it in according with the written Torah.
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Permalink Reply by Mark H. Stevens, Th.D on
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What I "keep" is preaching the Gospel brother, while you are stressing over a holiday I am winning souls for Jesus, that is what I "Keep".
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I take that as a no. Then why are you preaching on something you don't even do?
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Permalink Reply by Chaplain Pat Harris on
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Hezekiah, how many souls have you led to Christ?
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I am not leading anyone. I am telling what I have learned in the word of God, and if they believe the scriptures they will lead themselves. It is not my job to lead souls, but to tell them how to lead themselves.
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Permalink Reply by Archbishop Trevor 'Elihu' Greene on
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With that Brother Mark, I think you proved all of our points!
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What is Pentecost?
Is it not the Feast of the Lord?
When he was saying that, he meant that everyone was where they were suppose to be so the spirit came on them all. They were at the Feast of the Lord, and that is a commandment to keep it, so they did, and the spirit came on them. That is what it is saying. Why is there interpretation. Ole english is just a difference in dialect.
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HALLELUJAH BRO. MARK! THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!
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Permalink Reply by A.W. Bowman on
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Thanks Mark - your opening post very well put!
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