Jan
18
2010
Chapter 1 – Forgotten God
Author: pastoroffishingIn starting this book I was very taken back by the way Chan interacted with the Jehovah Witnesses. It wasn’t his method but more his post game analysis of himself. I began to remember in my own life when I found treasures of Scripture that went against what I was taught growing up. One of these area for me is money. I found that the call God puts on us for stewardship is so far from how I personally actually practice it. The scriptures open my eyes more and more to the submissive nature I lack when serving the Kingdom.
Chan calls us to be analyzing the way we interact with the Spirit. He brings up this notion that we don’t necessarily acknowledge or see evidence within our own churches of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that is talked about in the Epistles tell us of an amazing power that putis our sin to death. The Spirit is able to gift us supernaturally and assist us when we humanly could not perform the task at hand. Should our lives not look radically different from our old? Maybe for some of us we have been Christians so long we have no old life…and we have become stale?
There is a piece of text that I want to bring up regarding church growth, “Even our church growth can happen without Him. let’s be honest: If you combine a charismatic speaker, a talented worship band, and some hip, creative events, people will attend your church. yet this does not mean that the Holy Spirit of God is actively working and moving in the lives of the people who are coming. It simply means that you have created a space that is appealing enough to draw people in for an hour or two on Sunday. It certainly does not mean that people walk out the doors moved to worship in the awe of God. People are more likely to describe the quality of the music or the appeal of the sermon than the One who is the reason people gather for “church” in the first place”
I want us as a class to focus this week’s discussion on the facts of the Holy Spirit working in our own lives. Tell us some tales when He has been present as well as maybe some areas you need to start acknowledging. I mentionedd my finances before…one area also for myself is the methods of giving a sermon. I feel very inadequate to preach and be in the position of the church at this time…it is truly the Holy Spirit that keeps showing up and covering the bill in my life. I encourage you this week to truly seek time with the Lord before all else…make sure you spend time relating to the Spirit before your spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend, before your job, before your kids, press into this beautiful gift of God called the Holy Spirit!
Live in the Spirit…not next to it!
Tags: American Church, christian, church, Forgotten God, Frances Chan, God, Holy Spirit
January 19th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
what i find ironic is that we, the church, are constantly telling stories about the jw’s – and in each story a christian is being visited by a jw – ITS NEVER THE OTHER WAY AROUND – shouldnt the jw’s be telling stories of how the christians came to their house, and they knew something was diffent (hmm, holy spirit maybe) – - – why are we not as eager to communicate christ – what motivates other religious groups to be so willing to share their news – blog #1, over and out
January 20th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
True.. I think we do need to be more proactive as believers. While the power of God is there for us, it requires a reaction on our part to tap into it. We are supposed to be different from the rest of the world and we have good news to share. Think about it–we believe in heaven and hell. We also believe that God came in the flesh and told us how to get to heaven to be with Him. On top of that we have Scripture which reveals to us,through the Holy Spirit, all we need to live a godly life. Scripture is alive by the Spirit and yet when it comes to sharing that with others we ignore that same Spirit and go about our lives content with our own salvation, not wanting EVERYONE to come with us. So are we truly obeying?
In the intro Chan talks about being on a desert island and I sometimes feel like thats where I’m coming from. I know what I read and what I learn from other believers in the church. I have no “baggage” I guess I would say. So I have to pray that the Holy Spirit guides me (like He says He will) into all truth, and we are all accountable to that truth for the sake of other believers, whether they be new or old.
So when I look at Scripture I do believe there is more.. I KNOW there is more. When Chan talks about how comforting it would be to have Jesus in the flesh with us I thought about that…wow that would be amazing! Then he goes on to quote from the gospel of John and it says that we are better off having the Holy Spirit. Thats crazy!
I love this paragraph from the book(it kind of sums up the chapter for me):
“And this is the question I just can’t get around: If it’s true that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that our bodies are the Holy Spirit’s temple, then shouldn’t there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?
I have to ask myself–Am I different?
January 22nd, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Ah…both of you have struck into something that I have spent the past week dwelling on in prayer and study. I do encourage a read of Galations from start to finish and read as a letter and not as broken into chapter and verse…also check out Psalm 146 as a Christ centered reading…read it as if Christ himself was praying it…?
Are we living trying to be in the Kingdom of Man or the Kingdom of God…who rules you? Do I need to trust my govt or my Lord? It is very interesting…so yes…
Off we go!
January 23rd, 2010 at 2:30 pm
After reading this first chapter, I, too have been asking myself, “Am I different?” Reading what Chan wrote about the JW’s really struck a chord. I say that I am a believer and that He lives in me, yet I never trust myself enough to say anything to the JW’s that come to my door. If I truly have the spirit living in me, why do I not have enough faith that He will speak through me?? Which leads to the next question he asks… “When was the last time I undeniably saw the Spirit at work in or around me?” Wow! I’ve been really pondering that one…
What really sums it up for me, though, is the paragraph where he says, “I want to live so that I am truly submitted to the Spirit’s leading on a daily basis. Christ said it is better for us that the Spirit came, and I want to live like I know that is true. I don’t want to keep crawling when I have the ability to fly.” Hmmmmmm.. “I don’t want to keep crawling when I have the ability to fly.” That’s my goal!!!