The Key
Today, I'd like to revisit a thought that "Summer" commented on a few days ago. You can read the comment here. I'd like to focus on the following quote;
"I think obedience of the Holy Spirit is the key to God dwelling among us through corporate worship."
Let me start by saying this; obedience is the "key" to everything in our relationship with Christ. Without being willing to obey, we cannot even begin the journey. Even at the very beginning of our walk with Christ, it's His Holy Spirit that prompts us. Let's look at some passages in Acts 2 soon after the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost.
"When the people heard this , they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." - Acts 2:37&38 (NIV)
Okay, so here's what I think...for what it's worth. To begin our relationship with Christ, we must first obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Should it stop there? Can I get a resounding NOOOOOO!!! That's like joining a health club & never going to work out. Sure you have a nice membership card to show all your friends, but where's the evidence of actually going? You do the math. When we are in continuous worship (as in Romans 12:1), the Holy Spirit will continually prompt us as to what our next step should be. The world commonly calls this your conscience. As a believer, the Holy Spirit takes the place of that worldy view and guides us to actions that will glorify His Father. This is good stuff!! Here's another verse taken from Acts:
"Peter and the apostles answered, It's necessary to obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, the One you killed by hanging him on a cross. God set him on high at his side, Prince and Savior, to give Israel the gift of a changed life and sins forgiven. And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey him, corroborates every detail." - Acts 5:29-32 (Message)
I love the very end of this passage. "The Holy Spirit...corroborates every detail." That big long "C" word means to give strength, confirm; support. The Holy Spirit is sent to us to confirm and support the Father & son's heart. When we obey the Holy Spirit, we are obeying the whole package. This "trinity" thing is the most incredible yet equally as confusing gift that we could ever receive.
So, what does this mean in our corporate worship. Through obedience, we are inviting the manifest presence of God to join us as we worship Him. Michael Coleman, president & founder of Integrity Music states it very well;
"Now let's look at what it means to experience the manifest presence of God in our praises. The early church experienced the manifest presence of God, resulting in a thriving, growing church that affected the entire world. One way to experience the manifest presence of God is through praise because Psalm 22:3 says that God inhabits the praises of His people.
Praise was a key element of early church life. Acts 2:47 shows that praise was one of the foundations of the New Testament church along with apostles' teaching, fellowship, prayer, and breaking of bread together. Many other New Testament scriptures indicate that regular praise was a key part of early church life. Through praise, we too can experience God's manifest presence and be changed and empowered to live out His will."
So, there you have it folks. Let's here what you have to say. The lines will be open all night!
posted by Me at 9:09 AM
6 Comments:
Oh, the lines are open? Oh, OK. Umm, Dr. Mark, Hi. I'm a first time caller. I just wanted to say that I really like your program. And--
No, it's just Kathy!
I LOVE the Acts 2 church! I want us to BE the Acts 2 church!
Now about "obedience," I really don't like that word. I much prefer the words "grace" and "worship" and "freedom" and "love."
Even if I'm not under conviction about an area of disobedience in my life, that word makes me uncomfortable. I'll explain how I feel with a story--
These people are all lined up in heaven waiting to see God, and it's one old woman's turn. The guy behind her listens to what God tells her, and shakes his head and starts walking away. The others in the line ask him "Well, what did he say to her?" and he said, "He told her she should have done more." They asked him why that upset him so much, and he said...
(Are you ready for this??)
"That was Mother Teresa."
See, I always feel like I should be doing more, not in a legalistic way, but because I'm on earth to be God's hands and feet, and sometimes the hands and feet stay home and don't do anything....
My kids don't always like to obey me, but that doesn't change the fact that they should. Just I like I know what's best for my kid, God knows 100 times over what's best for us. :)
I will go to my grave feeling I should have done more, but you know, as long as we actually do what God has asked us (regardless of whether we feel if it's enough) then that's all that matters. Actually, to try to do more than God has asked us to do is a point of disobedience. Our God is a very exacting God...read Leviticus if you don't believe that...and only wants us to do what he says...no more no less. After all, he doesn't NEED us, it's we who NEED him! If we are disobedient and don't fulfill our purpose, than he will send someone to fulfill it in our stead. It's like I tell my children "Can't you just do what I tell you?"
What "Hippie Chick" said about doing only what God asks reminds me of my step-daughter. She is so eager to please sometimes but doesn't know what to do, so she ends up doing things that I really didnt want done. This causes her to be more "in the way" than helpful. Is this kind of what you're talking about?
That's good Laurajo. I do think that their is a lot to be said about "waiting on the Lord". Sometimes we can get worked up a little sooner or in a different manner than the Lord had in mind for us at that moment. If we will just listen for Him to speak to us, He will.
That's true about doing too much.
When I was a brand-new Christian, I did so much that I think the motto of Lamar Baptist Church became "Let Kathy do it." Nobody counseled me to seek God and be sure it was something he wanted me to do. Needless to say, I burned out badly and left with few good memories.
There's a project on my heart right now that I want to do, and I figured it would be just God and me doing it. But he clearly told me NOT to hog the blessing, so I'm contacting others and asking for help.
I'm glad I hear his voice better now than I used to.
But I still have to pray about going to Africa....I told him "no" once, but I don't think he received that! Ha!
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