Madolenihmw, Pohnpei
Sunday, October 7, 2012
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Why the Lack of Power in the Church?
I had the
opportunity to preach a message at the Every Home for Christ fellowship
in Pohnlangas, Madolenihmw this morning. Herman, the director of EHC
invited me to preach on whatever the Holy Spirit was prompting me to.
Earlier last week I was sharing with Herman a picture of Samson and
Deliliah in regards to why (in most cases) the church isn't operating in
the power of Holy Spirit as it once did in the early church [I had heard a rendition of this message by Ray Comfort many years ago]. I began to
seek the Lord on this more and began to receive more revelation on it. I
thought I would write a blog post with this prophetic message that
rings true beyond the barrier reef of our little island here...
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...It is a
message that the "Church," the body of Christ worldwide should take a
really good look at...especially in light of the fact that we now find
ourselves in the days of His latter rain where a great outpuring of His
Holy Spirit is taking place across the world, and as such a line is
being drawn in the church...a line that most "Christians" find
themselves on one side or the other of. This line of demarcation
separates: (1) those who believe it is the destiny of the modern church
to operate in the signs, wonders and miracles as the early church did,
and (2) those who believe that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased after
the death of the original twelve apostles. As of late I have been
thoroughly enjoying watching our heavenly Father flatten theological
boxes that people have crafted and placed Him in as Holy Spirit has
been moving across denominational lines with demonstrations of His
power. Churches that were once opposed to any stirrings of a modern day
movement of the Holy Spirit in the form of miracles, signs and
wonders are finding Christ-followers in their midst who are hungry for
His presence and who find in themselves a holy dissatisfaction with a
religion void of the super-natural. Herein lies the key to this all:
People who are hungry for the presence of God! We are finding them in
churches of every historical background and flavor. Many times what
happens is that these hungry people have encounters with Holy Spirit and
then long for others in their congregations to experience the same
freedom that they are experiencing. Unfortunately in most cases this is
met with resistance from the clergy and laity of their churches, and the
hungry Christ-follower is faced with a decision: Either continue to
worship and fellowship at their church where they constantly
find themsleves swimming against the current and their fire is
continually under threat of being quenched by the institutionalized
system, or leave their old church and find a new church that is open to
their new-found freedom in the Holy Spirit and where they are surrounded
by others who are also hungry for the presence of God. Rarely would
such a person be able to stay in their old church and be conduits of
change from the inside-out, though it is possible and has happened.
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With the spread
of Chrsitianity worldwide over the past two thousand years, we will
find that statistically the majority of the "Christian Church" finds
themselves on the side of the line that is satisfied with their
religious gatherings and that lacks the transformational power of God.
This majority may or may not ever question why it is that they find
themselves in this state. My hope is that this message will bring
clarity to the majority of the "Christian Church" as to why it is they
aren't experiencing the power of God on a daily basis. It is also good
for those of us on the other side of that line to understand more
why those within the institutionalized church are so resistant to the
power of the Holy Spirit. THE MESSAGE (short version)......
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Judges 16:15-21, "And she [Deliliah] said to him, How can you say, I love you, and your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me in what your great strength lies. And it happened because she distressed him with her words daily, and urged him; and his soul was grieved to death. And he told her all his heart, and said to her, A razor has not come on my hair, for I am
a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven, then my
strength will go from me, and I will become weak and be like any man. And
when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and
called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come this once, for he
has showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up
to her, and brought silver in their hand. And
she made him sleep upon her knees. And she called for a man, and she
caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head. And she began to
afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines are
upon you, Samson! And he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out
as at other times before, and shake myself. And he did not know that
Jehovah had departed from him. And
the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to
Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass. And he ground in the prison
house." (NKJV)
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Delilah (THE
ENEMY) has caused Samson (THE CHURCH) to fall asleep in her arms (THE
WORLD) as she has cut his SEVEN locks of hair off leaving him powerless.
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Throughout church history you can see what these SEVEN locks of hair are, or SEVEN ways the church has lost it's power:
(1) FALSE IDENTITY (Matt. 16:18)
(2) PRIDE (Mark 7:8, 13)
(3) HATRED (Matt. 24:9-12)
(4) DIVISIONS (1 Cor. 1:12-13, Mark 3:25)
(5) LACK OF INTIMACY (Rev. 3:1)
(6) WORLDLINESS (Matt. 13:22)
(7) UNBELIEF/APATHY (Prov. 29:18)
How will Samson (the church) regain his strength and power? Through repentance and by coming in the opposite spirit:
(1) TRUE IDENTITY (1 Cor. 3:11, Phil. 3:20)
(2) HUMILITY (Mark 10:44)
(3) LOVE (Matt. 25:31-46)
(4) UNITY (John 17:21)
(5) INTIMACY (Luke 10:38-42)
(6) HOLINESS (2 Cor. 6:17, Rom. 12:2)
(7) FAITH/PASSION (Matt. 24:45-51)
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Ephesians 5:27, "That He might present it to Himself as the glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that it should be holy and without blemish." (NKJV)
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1 Peter 4:17, "For
it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it
begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the
gospel of God?" (ESV)
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If Jesus is
coming back for a Bride without spot or wrinkle, there is a lot of dirty
laundry in the Church that needs to be washed and ironed out. The
judgment that starts at the house of God is like a refining fire...so
that the Church will make it through like pure gold. That means that
these SEVEN ways that the Church has lost it's power need to be burned
up like chaff in the fire and fall off. There is a lot of shaking taking
place in these last days. As we near the second coming of Christ,
persecution, trials and tribulation will test the Church, and only a
remnant of His faithful will make it through.
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Matthew 24:4-13, "Jesus answered: Don't let anyone fool you. Many will come and claim to be me. They will say that they are the Messiah, and they will fool many people. You
will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don't be afraid.
These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. Nations
and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to
death, and in some places there will be earthquakes. But this is just the beginning of troubles. You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations. Many will give up and will betray and hate each other. Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved." (CEV)
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Samson's (THE
CHURCH'S) strength IS returning. His hair is growing back. There IS a
great outpouring of His Holy Spirit that is taking place worldwide. The
religious spirit that has held the Church captive for centuries is being
forced to leave with it's tail between it's legs, as Christ-followers
come in the opposite spirit of these SEVEN ways that the Church has lost
it's power. In these last days we will need to count on the authentic
power of the Holy Spirit to carry us through the difficult days that are
ahead of us as we near Christ's return. Yes, the enemy can
manufacture false signs and wonders, but they are simply a counterfeit
of the authentic. So many churches operate out of a place of fear, not
wanting to be fooled be false prophets, false signs and false wonders so
they reject anything that appears super-natural. How sad!
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Moses (the
AUTHENTIC) turned his staff into a snake. Pharoah's magicians (the
COUNTERFEIT) also turned their staffs into snakes. The majority of the
"Christian Church" is in fear of being deceived by the counterfiet and
therefore rejects the fact that the authentic not only exists but came
first. At some point during the plagues of Egypt, the magicians could no
longer counterfeit the authentic power of God, and ultimately the
children of Israel were led out of captivity. "Playing it safe" will
only lead to a lack of freedom and outright bondage for a church that
doesn't have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying in these last
days. I for one choose freedom! In the Scriptures, Jesus only mentioned
the church a handful of times, yet constantly spoke of the kingdom of
God. Church buildings and boxes are similar in that they both have four
walls...and both have been used to try and contain God and His kingdom.
Jesus only went to church (the synagogue) one day a week. We know that "God does not dwell in temples made with hands."
(Acts 17:24) The old wineskin of religion will never contain the new
wine of the Holy Spirit. It is time to embrace our destiny as a church
without walls. It is time for Samson (THE CHURCH) to regain his strength
and power.
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Christian Young
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