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How can you disagree or even have a discussion with someone who claims they heard directly from God?
The purpose of prophecy is to encourage and build up the body of Christ. Like every other gift, if it is not done out of love, it is meaningless (1 Cor. 13:2, 8; 14:3, 31).
On the flip side, if churches that practice prophetic utterances were quicker to reject the false prophets and prophecies by calling them out on their biblical inconsistencies (“avoiding evil”), then maybe the conservative world would be less skeptical about prophecy.
Some conservatives may quench the Spirit by ignoring His working, but surely putting unbiblical words into the mouth of God is a form of quenching the Spirit as well.
I don’t even know how to label myself. I was saved in a Baptist church, attended a charismatic Bible study, went to a conservative seminary while working at seeker-driven churches, partnered with Pentecostal movements, and have spoken at a wide variety of denominational conferences.
What does the Spirit do? His works are ineffable in majesty, and innumerable in quantity. How can we even ponder what extends beyond the ages? What did He do before creation began? How great are the graces He showered on creation? What power will He wield in the age to come? He existed; He pre-existed; He co-existed with the Father and the Son before the ages. Even if you can imagine anything beyond the ages, you will discover that the Spirit is even further beyond. -St. Basil the Great-
Without action and fruit, all the theology in the world has little meaning. But theology is still important—what you believe absolutely determines how you act.
And I never made peace with the statement one professor made: “If you’re fifty-one percent sure, preach it like you’re one hundred percent.” How is that not deception? If I’m only 90 percent sure, why not just say so?
how ludicrous it would be for anyone to say they were going to explain the Holy Spirit. The Bible says we cannot fully understand God,
!!!
He is so much more and bigger than you will ever be able to grasp.
The point is not to completely understand God but to worship Him. Let the very fact that you cannot know Him fully lead you to praise Him for His infiniteness and grandeur.
God is not like anything. He is incomprehensible, incomparable, and unlike any other being. He is outside our realm of existence and, thus, outside our ability to categorize Him.
While analogies may be helpful in understanding certain aspects of Him, let’s be careful not to think that our analogies in any way encapsulate His nature.
I loved the simplicity and greatness of her faith. She didn’t need to debate the finer points of how and when, exactly, the Holy Spirit would come. She just wanted to obey the passage to the best of her ability.
John 14:17, we read that the Spirit “dwells with you and will be in you.”
Because the Spirit is holy and dwells in us, our bodies are holy sanctuaries from God’s vantage point.
I find the thought of the Spirit of God praying for me according to the will of God extremely comforting.
(Isa. 63:10; Eph. 4:30),
the intent and purpose of feelings came from God.
I pray for the day when believers care more about the Spirit’s grief than their own.
present everywhere (e.g., Ps. 139:7–8),
Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12).
(Ps. 143:10; John 14–16; Acts 9:31; 13:2; 15:28; 1 Cor. 2:9–10; 1 John 5:6–8).
(Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:26; Eph. 3:16–19).
lifelong process
(John 16:7–11; 1 Thess. 1:5).
(Rom. 8:10–11; 2 Cor. 3:17).
(2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 5:22–23).
“Why do you want to be healed? Why do you want to stay on this earth?” The man, as well as everyone else around, seemed a bit surprised that I would ask such a blunt question.
Our desire to live should be for the sake and glory of the God who put us on this earth in the first place.
Do you want to experience more of the Holy Spirit merely for your own benefit? When the answer is yes, then we are no different from Simon the magician, who tried to buy the Holy Spirit’s power from the apostles.
or even our felt needs.
Is it because you love the church and desire to be a better servant to your sisters and brothers?
The Spirit desires to use us when our hearts are aligned with this vision, when we are filled with genuine love for the church, and when we desire to see the church grow in love for God and others.
As you look around at your brothers and sisters, do you think to yourself, I love these people so much. I pray God empowers me in some way to encourage these people toward a deeper walk with Him?
!!!!!!!
His love for the church was the only thing that kept him tied to life on earth.
There are far too many people who seek the Spirit for the wrong reasons.
The Holy Spirit works to glorify Christ (John 16:14), yet so many who emphasize the Holy Spirit seem to draw attention to themselves. The Corinthian church was notorious for this. The church became chaotic because individuals were not concerned with the betterment of the church. They were trying to use manifestations of the Spirit for their own glory. They weren’t interested in what God was doing in others; they just wanted to show off what God was doing in them. As they all fought for attention, it resulted in mass confusion as everyone tried to speak at the same time (1 Cor. 14:23–33).
A sure sign of the Holy Spirit’s working is that Christ is magnified, not people.
Now I want God’s power because I don’t want the attention.
let your light shine
see your good works...
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Let’s pray that God would empower us so radically that we would get no glory. That people would see our works and glorify God.
strive to excel in building up the church”
My concern is that I’ve met many people whose pursuit of miracles is greater than their pursuit of God.
Scripture emphasizes that we should desire fruit, that we should concern ourselves with becoming more like His Son. God wants us to seek to listen to His Spirit and to obey. The point of it all was never the miracles in and of themselves. Those came when they were unexpected, when people were faithful and focused on serving and loving others. God wants us to trust Him to provide miracles when He sees fit. He doesn’t just dole them out mechanically, as if we can put in a quarter, pray the right prayer, and out comes a miracle. Miracles are never an end in themselves; they are always a means to
...more
for His glory,
It used to be that if I had a great worship experience, I asked God to duplicate it the next time I came to worship. Like the kid impressed by a silly magic trick, I would pray, “Do it again!” One thing I’ve learned about God over the years, however, is that He rarely “does it again.” He’s the Creator, which means that He is (among other things) creative.
If we expect God to perform certain miracles or to give us a particular experience, it will be tempting to manipulate or even fake experiences of the supernatural.
The irony is that the Holy Spirit was given to direct us.
