Hebraic Musing – Is the Power of the Holy Spirit Evident in Our Churches?
I was just told
“If every Bible believer were empowered with the Holy Spirit,
congregations would be on fire. We are
settling for much less than what Yehovah has for us.”* And none
of the Church-goers I’ve met will say that the church they attend is
accomplishing anything like the first century church’s accomplishments! What’s changed? What’s different?
What do we know
about the early church? In Acts 2 they
were all together and in “one accord”
when they were “filled with the Holy
Spirit.” What does it mean to be
in “One Accord”? Wow, that’s a big topic of its own!
How important is
the felt presence of the Holy Spirit?
David wrote “Create in me a clean
heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take
not your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalm 51:10-11 ESV (p.s. I love that
as a song!) And David spoke this desperately in the midst
of his repentance for his behavior regarding Bathsheba and the killing
of her husband.
Repentance and
the Holy Spirit seem to be related!
Example – In Acts 2 Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and we
have record of him preaching Jesus. “Now when they heard this they were cut to
the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what
shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” Acts 2:37-38 NKJV So it’s repent first, and then receive
the gift.
And then Peter
quoted the prophet Joel in order to describe this phenomenon. “And it shall come to pass in the last
days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men
shall dream dreams.” Act 2:17 and Peter continued to quote thru verse 21
describing the requirement for salvation. “And it shall come to pass That whoever
calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.”
Power! Before leaving earth, Jesus promised power
in Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
end of the earth.” NKJV What
power will the H.S. provide you with? A.
– To be witnessing witnessers.
Years ago I
heard** that leaders of both the Catholic and the Lutheran church conducted a
conference to settle their different views on the significance of Jesus’ mother
Mary. After much discussion back and
forth they still did not agree. However
the Catholics did admit they had given too much attention to Mary; and the
Lutherans acknowledged that they had not given enough recognition to Mary.
In the same way, do we have denominations and churches that have given either
too much or too little attention to the role of the Holy Spirit’s operation in
our churches, and in our lives?
Point(s)
to Ponder
Is
the church of Jesus Christ in “one accord”?
Do
we accept Jesus as our Lord and then let the Holy Spirit bring about
repentance?
Or should we repent first, then the Holy Spirit brings on the Power?
Does
the church preach repentance enough for people to call on the Holy Spirit?
♫ “Spirit Of The Living God, Fall
Afresh On Me. Spirit Of The Living God, Fall Afresh On Me.
Melt
Me, Mold Me, Fill Me, Use Me, Spirit Of The Living God, Fall Afresh On Me.”♫
Yosef a.k.a. Joe Brusherd
March
29, 2022
Author: “Hebraic Insights –
Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)” Weekly “Hebraic Musings” at InsightsByYosef.blogspot.com
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