Don't limit God!

by Kim Shippey

In a recent "Word of the week" column in the American weekly newspaper The Vermont Standard, the Reverend John C. Pate, pastor of the Woodstock Baptist Fellowship, apologized to those who had become disengaged from Christianity because of the behavior of Christians. He said he felt that those who felt they had been emotionally or spiritually burned by churches hadn't witnessed the real thing, real Christianity in action. What they had seen was invalid, even phony. "We church people have not been what we should have been," he wrote, "but we're trying to change."

In a conversation with the Sentinel, Rev. Mr. Pate explained that what had impelled him to apologize in this way was a conviction that we cannot even begin to compare the Church today to the Church described in the New Testament book of Acts. "This is a path of thought I have been following recently," he said, "and I just felt I needed to step outside of my institutional box long enough to see the big picture."

The rest of his column speaks for itself:^{Reprinted with permission of The Vermont Standard, Woodstock, Vermont.}

DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT

In First Corinthians we read, "I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (2:3, 4, New Revised Standard Version). In a nutshell, that passage describes what anyone should experience from Christianity. Have you ever seen a "demonstration of the Spirit and of power"? I mean really seen it? Today, a "demonstration of the Spirit and of power" tends to mean great programs, happy people, a good degree of unity, and steady monetary contributions. Although not undesirable or harmful in themselves, these things are not a Biblical "demonstration of the Spirit and of power."

A "demonstration of the Spirit and power" means radically changed and improved lives. It means seeing and feeling the power of God personally. It means one walks out of a Spirit-filled church different from the way one walked in.

We church folk have frequently missed the mark, owing to limitations we place on what we believe about the Lord—and how much we are willing to receive from Him. We've limited God. We tend to want to receive only that which won't too badly shake us up; we want a Saviour who fits our denominational traditions, and who becomes what we expect—not the unexpected.

WILLING TO CHANGE

It's scary to approach the Lord and say, "OK, whatever is, however it challenges or changes me, whatever thing I must do, if it's from you, I want it, I need it. Lord help me, I've reached the limit of my abilities ... fill my life with all of you. Do it now." I get scared, too. But I have observed that to witness a "demonstration of the Spirit and of power" I need to let go of anything that may hinder the free movement of the Spirit of God. I've come to the place where I'll gladly trade my control over my life for the power of God in my life. Would you be willing to trade also?

PSALMS

O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon
his name: make known his deeds
among the people. ... Remember his
marvellous works that he hath done;
his wonders, and the judgments of
his mouth.

Psalms 105:1, 5

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Learning how to learn

January 27, 1997

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