Denying the Power of the Holy Spirit

”… having a form of godliness but denying its power …” 2 Timothy 3:5

 
When I awoke this morning, the Spirit of God began speaking to me about the denial of power within a large portion of the modern-day church. Truly, 2 Timothy 3:5 is more relevant currently than it has ever been. There are churches all over the earth who call themselves followers of Jesus but have various forms of godliness and are denying the power thereof. There is no greater demonstration of this problem than by a large number of churches and denominations within the United States of America.

This denial is expressed in several ways, including: denying that Jesus Christ is the only way to God, denying the truth of various parts of the Word of God, and denying the indwelling and overflowing of the Holy Spirit. This morning, the Holy Spirit focused my attention on the latter. There is a denial of the power of the Holy Spirit and the expression thereof in large portions of the modern-day church, especially in the United States.

We recently had political elections in the United States, as most of the world knows. The outcome was decided by how modern church people voted or whether they voted at all. Many stayed home, which was a dereliction of Christian duty; others voted based on deceptive ideologies because they lack a firm grasp of truth found by rightly dividing the Holy Scriptures. Yes, spiritual deception is having a heyday among many of the clergy and their parishioners. Other Christians voted differently than the aforementioned but not all for godly reasons. The overall state of the church is a mess, and one major indicator is in American politics.

Some, or should I say many, of those modern-day church members who cast their votes based on being true to biblical values and our Constitution are the ones I want to address presently. I commend you for standing for both! You voted in a godly way. You are concerned about things in the church world and society both here and abroad. I want you to hear that we must repent of having forms of godliness and denying the power and workings of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of God is working to bring forth a remnant church in the image of Jesus Christ that will be a church of true godliness and mighty power. She will be holy as God is holy in all of her conduct. She will spiritually war against principalities and powers and pull down strongholds that have confused and deceived the minds of many within and without the church.

 Some of you are rightly concerned about the state of things in our nation’s capital as well as across our beloved country. I commend you, but I call you to humility before God and repentance where appropriate. Be assured that major godly change must first come within the church before godly change will take place in our country. We must yield to the Spirit of God, become sanctified with true Biblical truth, unite in faith, say the same things, put on our spiritual armor, and march to victory under the banner of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He has won a victory that we must maintain. Let’s get going and occupy until He comes. (First posted December 13, 2012)

What Does Restoration Mean to Christians in America?

Also see What Does Restoration Mean to All Christians (dated 1/15/2013)

Why Need Restoration?
Three of the main things that Jesus intends for the Church that He is building are: 1. To be filled with and led by the Holy Spirit; 2. To be one with Him and each other; 3. To know and live by His Word. There are other things but if one truthfully discerns the present Church, they will quickly acknowledge that the Church falls short in each of these areas. Therefore the Church is in great need of restoration.

What is Restoration?
A simple definition of restoration is the bringing back of the Church to Jesus Christ and the original biblical pattern intended by Him for the Church that He is building. Note: Biblical pattern is the pattern found in the Bible as the Word of God is rightly divided.

Concern for Christians in the United States
At the present time most of the Church on earth is far away from God's intended purposes for her. Although my concern is for the Church throughout the earth, in this message I am asking you to focus on the Church in the United States. Most, if not all, parts of the Church throughout the earth need restoration, but none more so than the part that is found within the United States of America.

Because of the overall unrestored state of the Church in the United States, I have what could be called a progressive concern for the future of Christians in the United States. What do I mean by a progressive concern? I mean that, as each day passes, the window closes a little on our time to prepare for things and events of the future. I am referring to things that are coming on the earth, things that are coming in the United States that will change this country as you and your family know it.

Some Christians are counting on things like the rapture, or even death, to escape what is coming. This often prevents them from doing the things that are needed to be ready. I have a glorious hope of the return of the Lord, but I have a concern for life before He returns. I am concerned about things that you and your family, as well as mine, will face. As time passes, we will progressively face things that, as a whole, we are unprepared for unless the Church in the United States is restored to God, His Word of truth, and His biblical pattern of living and doing all things. Some things to face will be minor, and some things to face will be major, but remember that "little foxes spoil the vine." There are many different topics of concern, but at this time I will only mention the loss of freedom(s).

Loss of Freedom(s)
When undistracted and focused Christians take a discerning look at present conditions as well as at conditions of the near past, they have to acknowledge that many freedoms have already been lost. Unless true restoration occurs soon, the losses of the past and present will be miniscule compared to the losses of the future, the near future. Many who profess to be Christians are even going to make decisions that will cost them their freedoms. They have been blinded by the things of the world and of the modern Church and will submit to being led by the blind into the ditch of bondage.

Is there Hope?
There is hope! There is hope that true disciples will wake up and become salt and light, not only to the world around them, but to the modern Church. It is too late to stop some of the things, minor and major, that are upon us, but it is not too late to unite in faith and call on God. God will respond and see you through; He will use you to be a help to others. Will you deny self, forsake all, and unite in faith with like-minded disciples to follow Jesus and be and do what He always intended for His disciples? If so, there is hope. There is not only the hope of the glorious return of the Lord, there is hope for a glorious Church in His image to be waiting and prepared for Him.

Requesting a Favor
I am requesting a favor of you. Would you please consider responding and sharing with me what you think of when I say that the Church as a whole is in need of restoration? How does restoration apply to you, your family (present and future), your local church, and all of the Church? Do you really understand what Jesus means by being a disciple in deed? Do you understand unity of faith? Do you believe that there will be a Church with Christ formed within that unites in faith and witnesses the gospel of the kingdom to all nations (Matthew 24:14)? Do you know where to start? (First posted Wednesday 10/15/2008)