These are Christians who say similar things , but somehow, they are never in the same room. They speak to you from behind a partition wall. Presumably because they feel it is safer.
Do you know the first word that laid a foundation for my former Church Emsworth? It was given by Jorge Pradas, who was only in town for a holiday. The fellowship of rather adhoc charismatics met as and when, and had other churches they all were involved in.
Jorge's word way back around the early 70s was this. Are you a Church or are you a fellowship?
Because it was given in the Spirit, everyone there was pricked by an arrow so sharp, that they, in the manner of Acts 2 knew they had been pricked to the heart, and that a response was demanded.....that very night!
Now Abraham had a similar problem. It's a half in half out problem. It's a safety partition problem. He knew that Sarah his wife was going to be the means whereby he was going to be the father of many nations. Yet would he stand by her?
Nope. Whenever the pressure was on by an admiring King, he kind of let slip that Sarah was a sort of half-sister...which was also true. But not as true as the fact that he was in a married relationship with her. She was spoken for! Or should have been.
I have been reading some other intelligent blogs.
My problem with intelligent blogs is not that they are well written. Richard Wurmbrandt and Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote very well. My problem is that they have an intellectual detachment from the subject matter that is just like speaking through a partition wall. Perhaps the more scriptural picture is the one in Song of Solomon; that of speaking through a lattice.
When we come to the Lord some of us spend a while dancing a twostep around those born again ones who are telling us the gospel. We want to be sure. We ask questions. That is OK. But after a while like any good salesman, the Holy Spirit brings us around to the decision again. Do you want this Divine Life within you or don't you? He never lets us answer every single question. The fact is we will still be asking questions until the day we die. So it's a waste of time.
He lets us satisfy ourselves with several answers, but then drops the bombshell that His Life does not consist of right answers. It is Life itself. It is indeed an Answer on a completely different level. And as soon as we sign on the dotted line and ask Jesus in.....in other words a commitment has taken place....then we can know the Assurance of salvation within us that is the privilege of everyone that hears and acts on faith.
If Christianity was some lame circular thing...like this:
I believe because I asked Jesus in and now I believe I have the assurance....
How do you know you have the assurance?
Because I believe in Jesus.
Well that's a bit of lame reasoning. If any non-Christians are reading this I want you to learn something. Although this appears to be the circular nature of religion, you are missing something that actually happens halfway round the circle. The reality of the Life of Jesus Christ enters into the soul of a Christian. And that's why someone will be so stupid like me to remain a Christian for 37 years. Here are some effects. You feel brand new. Every weight of inadequacy,wrongdoing against others and yourself is washed away. You now know what you are here for. You know what your future will be. Everything around you seems brighter, more meaningful; in fact you notice things for the first time in your life, or maybe the first time since you were very small.
But here's the kicker! You love people! And not just for what they can give you. You just love people fullstop! This is all Day One stuff...and does not in any way include things like finding prayer is now a natural thing. That you actually long to be with Christians. That Church is actually one heck of a place. And if that is not enough you start getting involved in things that are just not humanly explicable....a host of supernatural abilities which you find your buddies have got as well. And so on and so on.
Back to blog observers. And the now stately Christians living among new church networks. Sipping genteely at several church doctrines.
Here again,the Life of Christ itself bounds up unannounced outside the safety of your lattice. You want to be sure that you have the right doctrines. That you are in the right network. But all the Life of Christ does is ignore what you are currently into.
Doesn't even answer your questions. They are the wrong questions.Forget right doctrines. Forget whether you are in the right network. The Life of Christ just speaks in the same way as when you were unsaved. "Your criterion is wrong. You are dead already. Life is the other side of this lattice. Life is hearing my unique voice and coming down with me to the beds of myrrh and spices."
It's not humble to say "We are trying to be the Church. We are just one church network. It's not humble to say "I am trying to be a Christian. Just give me time"
It's not humble to say " I could never go as far to say I am Christ in my form. I don't believe any of us are good enough to say that."
Just like salvation, when we commit to what God says about us, we actually put the onus on Him and the Holy Spirit within us to shape us up so we fit alongside all the other nutters who are beginning to make the same confession.
Things only start working when you come out from behind the lattice. Just like Jesus had a kind of Tourette's syndrome whereby He would suddenly shout out at Feasts and meetings, embarrassing all the religious in earshot....I shouted out at last Sunday's meeting these words:
If you believe in your heart
and If you confess with your mouth
then you shall be saved...but not just spiritually....The whole of you!! (Romans 10 declaration)
You have to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that You have died with Christ, it is now not you who live, but Christ who lives within you. (Dodgy ,they all say from behind the lattice)
You have to believe that you are the Church along with all those who call upon the Lord with a pure heart. This wishy washy half in half out stuff has to go!
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