Holy Spirit

  • “God was pleased to give me such power” – Whitefield | Update 1/19/11

    After a couple month hiatus, I picked up once again in rereading “George Whitefield’s Journals” (emphasis, mine).

    Saturday, April 28 [1739]. . . . About six I expounded to a thronged society of women at Fetter Lane, and at eight on St. Mary Hill. The portion of Scripture that Providence directed me to, was the nineteenth of Genesis, which was very applicable to what happened, for some wicked men came, and pressed, and broke down the door; BUT GOD WAS PLEASED TO GIVE ME SUCH POWER at the last, that they were forced into an awful silence, and I believe, they really felt the weight of God’s Word. THE FIERCENESS OF MEN SHALL TURN TO THY PRAISE, and the remainder of it shalt Thou restrain. . . .

    Sunday, April 29. . . . Being weakened by my morning’s preaching, in the afternoon I refreshed myself with a little sleep, and at five went and preached at Kennington Common, about two miles from London, where no less than thirty thousand people were supposed to be present. The wind being for me, carried the voice to the extremest part of the audience. All stood attentive, and joined in the Psalm and Lord’s Prayer most regularly. I scarce ever preached more quietly in any church. THE WORD CAME WITH POWER. The people were much affected, and expressed their love to me in many ways. All agreed it was never seen on this wise before. Oh what need have all God’s people to rejoice and give thanks! I HOPE A GOOD INROAD HAS BEEN MADE INTO THE DEVIL’S KINGDOM THIS DAY.

    A couple things impressed me here.

    1. THE POWER Whitefield received. But not only the power, but THE GOD WHO GAVE HIM THAT POWER. Yes, we have to say that George Whitefield was exceptionally talented and uniquely gifted, and yet let us not forget that Whitefield had access to the VERY SAME POWER each and every Christian has access to because we know the VERY SAME GOD.

    Not long before I’d picked up the Journals yesterday, I had been praying over a situation in which I clearly needed both God’s wisdom and power to respond to someone, for I knew in my own wisdom and power, I could do nothing to direct this person to an understanding of the living God. As I read Whitefield’s words, what a timely reminder that the God who does wonders might very well be pleased to give me such power in my communications with this person and my words might go out with His power! We have not because we ask not!

    We see the believers in the book of Acts praying for such boldness. As Christians, though we have received the Spirit in first believing, we are in need of fresh supplies for the journey, and so once again I am asking for new supplies of His Spirit, and in particular for power and wisdom, and I would ask you to be praying for me in this (and for yourself as well).

    2. THE TWO RESULTS OF GOD’S POWER:

    FOR THE BUILDING UP OF GOD’S KINGDOM AND CHRIST’S PRAISE …

    BUT GOD WAS PLEASED TO GIVE ME SUCH POWER at the last, that they were forced into an awful silence, and I believe, they really felt the weight of God’s Word.

    … AND FOR THE DEMISE OF THE DEVIL’S KINGDOM!

    I HOPE A GOOD INROAD HAS BEEN MADE INTO THE DEVIL’S KINGDOM THIS DAY.

    As we keep our eyes on God’s eternal plan of redemption and the battle we are engaged in, it causes our life’s purpose to be righted once again. It’s too easy for temptations and the cares, riches and pleasures of this life to distract us (Luke 8). We too easily forget we are God’s ambassadors here. And as we are sent out, God is ready to supply us. Let us be bold and ask our Father to supply for us all we need so we might run the race set before us so we might obtain the prize.

    * * *

    Update on church

    A while back I had mentioned I had an opportunity at our church (see my posts here and here). As of now, that’s still not developed much, and that has been frustrating to me at times, but I am trusting God’s timing in this since I know the delay is all for His greater glory:

    Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. 19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

    Only recently did I notice how wonderfully God condescended to us there in that passage. In verse 18 we see the LORD tell us He will be gracious to us. But then, knowing that we are sometimes dense and hard-hearted, He reminds us that He is not only gracious but that He is VERY gracious. Is He not to be adored for His bearing with our weaknesses in this way? He does not treat us as our sins deserve! He knows we are frail, doesn’t He? More than wonderful! What a Savior!

    I will ask you to be praying that God would lead me to women at our church who are hungering and thirsting for Him. Lord willing, I hope to ask a few of them to join me in a study of the book of John in the near future. I wrote a while ago about my desire for God to raise up sweet knots of religious friends all over His Church (that phrase “sweet knots of Christian friends” taken from Whitefield), and that is my desire not only for myself but for each of you, that you might find true and deep fellowship with believers in your own congregations and communities. We need to be encouraging one another daily (Hebrews 10) and building up each other in our most holy faith (Jude).

    Personal note

    One of my dearest Christian friends passed into glory recently, and I would appreciate your prayers for both her family and friends, as well as for myself, and in particular that this might be a wake-up call, not only to unbelievers to believers as well. I was privileged to be able to speak at her memorial service, to give her testimony that Jesus Christ was her sustenance, which is a message that so much of the church is missing at this point in time. She was my best friend to date who has died, and so I will miss the times we shared together in encouraging one another in our faith. She was one of the few people with whom I pretty much bared my whole soul, and she was a great encourager to me in my spiritual journey as well as my blogging here.

    Please let me know if there are ways I can be praying for you. I feel I’ve lost a bit of focus in the past several months with my purpose here and my blogging on my sites, so I would also appreciate your prayers for God’s clarity and God’s leading in that regard. Thank you.

    The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.

    ~ Karen

    Related:
    Update & prayer requests – November 1, 2010 (I want to be a happy sower)
    Thankful for UNanswered prayer
    Wait on the LORD (Psalm 27:14)
    “The Holy Spirit overpowered the man” (an agnostic’s conversion during the Welsh Revival)
    do the work of a WHAT? eee – van – gel – ist! eeek!

  • “To keep the lamp alive with oil we fill the bowl”

    Dear friends in Christ,

    I’d hoped to update you last night, but didn’t have opportunity to do so. I do want to let you know I’m about to leave for a couple day retreat, and I would appreciate prayers for me, in particular for clear leading regarding the opportunity I have at our church (for more on that, please see the end of my last post).

    William Cowper’s hymn “Dependence” wonderfully expresses my heart this morning, and I hope yours at well. May we always see that we are wholly  dependent on the Lord so we might continue to ask for Him to fill us with His fullness and His Spirit to overflowing – and then once we are filled, that we might return and again and again and ask again and again. He will in no wise cast us out! We are but poor beggars but He welcomes us as His sons and daughters and delights to lavish His unsearchable riches on us! We live from grace to grace. Let us continue to avail ourselves of His grace poured out through Jesus Christ at the cross and now through His Spirit who dwells within us.

    LXII. DEPENDENCE.

    To keep the lamp alive,
    With oil we fill the bowl;
    ‘Tis water makes the willow thrive,
    And grace that feeds the soul.

    The Lord’s unsparing hand
    Supplies the living stream;
    It is not at our own command,
    But still derived from him.

    Beware of Peter’s word,
    Nor confidently say,
    “I never will deny thee, Lord,”
    But, “Grant I never may!”

    Man’s wisdom is to seek
    His strength in God alone;
    And e’en an angel would be weak,
    Who trusted in his own.

    Retreat beneath his wings,
    And in his grace confide;
    This more exalts the King of kings
    Than all your works beside.

    In Jesus is our store,
    Grace issues from his throne;
    Whoever says, “I want no more,”
    Confesses he has none.

    Along with Charles Wesley, I continue to find myself lost in wonder, love and praise, and with George Whitefield I cannot comprehend His love for me but  only adore!

    All by His grace and of His grace, all to His glory and His praise alone,
    Karen

  • John 11:6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick… (reflections on ministry, #2)

    Continuing from my last post, John 11:6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick… (reflections on ministry, #1)

    A few more reflections on ministry…

    The scope of our ministry

    There’s no way I could ever minister to everyone I see or hear of who is in need. Nor could any of you. That would be a sheer impossibility. The needs of people can be overwhelming at times, particularly as we read blog after blog here.

    We have to remember that God calls each one of us to minister to certain people. Unlike God, we’re not infinite. We’re going to see far, far too many needs out in the world. We’re not called to minister to the whole flock of God, but to a smaller flock, and perhaps we may be called to minister to a single sheep at a particular time. God alone is the Chief Shepherd. We’re undershepherds. (No, I’m not saying we are all pastors per se there; I don’t mean that.) We have to remember that the single soul is precious to the heart of God. God’s love for us is likened to the shepherd who left the flock of ninety-nine to go after and find that one lost sheep. Let’s not discount that private behind-the-scenes ministry God has for us. (Note to self.)

    Burnout comes when we start to think we have to minister to everyone we see. We can’t do that. And God won’t ever call us to do that. We must ask God to give us wisdom and discernment in this. We can trust God will equip us to minister to each soul He entrusts to us. That will stretch us, of course, which is good, because we do need to be reminded we can’t fulfill the calling He’s given us apart from total reliance on Him and His power.

    Hebrews 13:20  Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21  Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever.

    Of course, we can certainly be praying for those other souls, and we can and should be praying God would raise up other believers He wants to use to be His instruments of restoration in those people’s lives.

    The timing of our ministry

    There’s always the temptation for me to swoop in with help, and that help may very well be Biblically based (I’m hoping to write more on that soon), but it may be the wrong time. Once again, we must be asking God for discernment. “Is this person really ready to hear this?” “Are they mature enough?” “Is it time for me to listen a bit more, so I might have greater insight?” “Must the Holy Spirit be allowed more time to work to soften this heart to receive the word?” “Would this be too tough right now?” The right word given too soon will only be snatched up by Satan or choked away by the cares of life. The fallow ground may need to be broken up a bit more. It’s really hard to be patient in this.

    All that means we may end up watching someone get into a worse and worse state. That is probably one of the worst pains of ministry. Think of the father in the parable of the prodigal son, who waited for his son to return home. To know someone is making bad decisions and is oblivious and is inevitably making a clear path right into that pig sty, and yet in all that, God has His hand on you and is constraining you and saying, “No, not yet. This soul needs to begin to hunger for me even more. Then it will be time for you to go ahead and cast your pearls there. That soul will be sick of the corncobs, the pigs and the mud in a little while. Abide still in the same place where you are. I’ll let you know when you can go ahead.”

    That “little while” can be all but tormenting since you really do want that dear soul to avoid the pig sty at all costs. Yet you do know that trip to the pig sty is sometimes God’s ordained means to bring a wandering, rebellious soul to his senses. The Father’s times of loving discipline are precious and priceless, no, not pleasant at the time, but eternally profitable for sure. We must constantly ask to have God’s mind in these matters, so we don’t interfere or impair the Father’s refining work in another’s soul but rather work in concert with Him.

    The attitude of our ministry

    I can also be tempted to swoop in with Biblically-based help, and perhaps it is at the right time, but it’s all done in the wrong spirit and with the wrong attitude – the spirit of pride and superiority rather than humility. I can be self-serving rather than seeking to serve. I can minister out of vainglory or strife rather than out of love and gentleness. That’s far from the way of Christ, our suffering Servant, and His plan for us, His servants…

    Philippians 2:1  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

    4  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

    II Timothy 2:24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

    One of our main goals in ministry ought to be that people come to rely on Christ alone. That means they shouldn’t be relying on any person, including me. It’s very nice to be relied upon. It makes you feel good, very good, but that’s dysfunctional for all who are involved. I don’t want anyone to come to rely on me more than they rely on Christ. If that’s happening, then I’m not being Christ’s minister, am I? I must always be pointing people to Christ and not me. Forgive me, Lord, for having done that. Keep me from idols, serving self being my greatest idol.

    The impartiality of our ministry

    It’s easy to spend time with and minister to our “favorite” people. We have to confess we all have such favorite people, those souls with whom we share more of a kindred spirit, those souls with whom we are more comfortable and safe. Yet God Himself is not a respecter of persons. So if there’s a time when God is calling us to minister to someone else, we can’t ever make our “favorites” a priority, but we must respond in obedience to God’s call to minister to whomever He sends us. Peter didn’t really think much of going to the gentiles, but what if he didn’t? May God give each of us the grace not to delay in helping any robbed, stripped, wounded, lonely soul He gives us eyes to see and a heart to serve on the Jericho road.

    I remember the time I was attending a family gathering and had prayed to witness to my unsaved family members there. Well, I ended up in the hotel pool one morning and had the opportunity to witness to a total stranger. Only later as I was reading that account of Peter in Acts, did I realize how unChristlike I was in my attitude. I’d not really prayed at all for God to give me opportunities to witness to whomever He was sending me. May He open our eyes to see the harassed and helpless sheep as He does. May He give us hearts of compassion to care and weep for them. After all, He has graciously shown compassion to us and saved us so we might go out in the harvest field with Him, has He not?

    Closing thoughts

    When I hear of a need out there, no matter who you are, no matter how dear you may be to me, if you’re someone God has called me to minister to, know that I may not come to you immediately, but like Jesus, I may delay and abide in the same place where I am for a time. But know that during the delay I am anguishing with you. I may not ever end up commenting on your post, but know that I will be praying for you. I may not message you immediately, but I will try to eventually. And, when God shows me you’re really dead in some sense, but you’re not seeing it, and you’re stuck in that tomb like Lazarus (i.e.- you’re persisting in walking in the flesh), as God calls me to do so, I’m going to come round and yell at you while you’re in that tomb, “Friend, come forth!” fully trusting that the Spirit of God will come and work through my works and will quicken you and help you to get walking once again in the Spirit by His Spirit. God’s desire for you is to have Christ formed in you and to have life abundantly and His joy to the full. I am praying these things for you.

    I love the Lord and I long to minister for Him according to His leading. I don’t want to be disqualified. Know that I am weeping with you when you are weeping, except I may not think it God’s time yet to come to you, but know that I am going to the throne of grace for you, to the God who is merciful, gracious and longsuffering and is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.

    I am privileged and blessed to be working with you for your joy and the joy of Xanga/Revelife and of the nations,
    Karen

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