I have been sent to a number of places to serve and rebuild places that were in a death spiral. All of these had one thing in common: There was no plan, or there was a poor plan, in place for turning things around. There was no plan for cooperating with the only one who could build the church , even our Lord.
The Insanity
Therefore, the people were busy being busy going to meetings, eating together, going to conferences , and while their activities took up a whole lot of time and energy, no life came into the congregation. There was no Rock-solid Eternal Spirituality Today — No R.E.S.T. Folks were continuing to the same dysfunctional things that they had always done, and they were insanely getting the same results.
What Works
Gather all the information possible for cooperating with God’s Kingdom Building Plan. Have the folks come together in “One accord” Prayer. Have an inspirational Christ Centered, Holy Spirit Inspired, Inspirational Mission Statement that would inspire the people, and govern, everything the Church would do as a body of Christ Followers. Don’t build membership. Build Ministers who are in in Ministry. The Pastor is NOT “The Minister!” The Pastor is the Pastor whose sole responsibility is to equip the laity who are the Ministers. Find needs. Meet those needs. Determine whose missing in the Church and plan for making it so they are no longer missing.
In A Nutshell
In a nutshell plan according to God’s way of doing things. Don’t expect God to bless your mess. As Dr. Henry Blackaby said, ” Discover what God blesses and Join Him.” Why? Because people who fail don’t plan to fail. They do, however, fail to plan. And in failing to plan, there is failure, and there’s no R.E.S.T. There’s NO Rock-solid Eternal Spirituality Today when it comes to building The Kingdom of God.
Jesus, when declaring we are to make Disciples, told us this involves teaching as a part of reaching others; however, if a person wishes to be a Kingdom Builder, and be used as the Lord builds His Church, that person must be teachable. He/she must be willing to deny their old ways and patterns that don’t work, and they must take up the Cross and follow Jesus. They must embrace the teachings of Jesus and live by Jesus’s declaration. They must be willing to learn from those who have gone successfully before them.
IF NOT …
If they are not teachable, they will fail in reaching those for Christ, whom Jesus has cultivated to be reachable.
Experience R.E.S.T. Surrender to the Holy Spirit to teach you through others in your life who have tapped in to God’s Eternal workable plan.
Experiencing R.E.S.T. in the Holy Spirit, is a beautiful thing, and this Rock-solid Eternal Spirituality Today is precisely what God wants for each of us. As our scripture in John 16:13 reveals, the Holy Spirit gives us guidance. Wow! this is really good news because we aren’t wandering aimlessly around Planet Earth all alone.
IT’S IN ALL TRUTH
The Holy Spirit’s guidance isn’t limited to just one bit of truth, but it is in ALL truth, which only God can provide. Think about it this way: What is it that you do to live a life of purpose? Are you an Auto Mechanic? Well, during times when you have one of those difficult issues to figure out, seek the Spirit’s help. You might be very surpised how easily this gets worked out. Maybe you are the one who is relied on to make sure logistics are figured out for your organization. You have gifts, and you have talents. I submit you are far better when the Holy Spirit provides you in all your guidance. What if you are a missionary? You are in a specific country and a culture foreign to you own. You have done all you can to be sensitive to the culture, but you can be far better if you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you. What if you are a Counselor? You have all your degrees, board certifications, and you have a whole lot of experience. Guess what? God, in Jesus name, through The Holy Spirit can guide you with wisdom that you cannot get from a book or a technique. Name your talent, gift, or job, and this still applies to you in helping you acheive an exellent outccome for God’s glory.
A Little Bit of My Own Story:
As a Mental Health Chaplain, God enabled me to develop “Soul Talk.” This was used in a small group setting, from a Christ Follower’s perspective, with people from multiple faith groups, and I could use it one on one as well. This was given me by the Holy Spirit, and scores of lives were changed through information based on the ancient wisdom of the Bible as revealed by the Holy Spirit.
Wonder Filled Eternal Revelation:
It doesn’t matter who we are or what we do. if we experience God’s R.E.S.T., we will not operate in half truths or questionable truth, nor be limited to our own finiteness, but will excell as God’s Divine wisdom is imparted; therefore, the Heavenly guidance is trustworthy. And the source is wonder filled: What the Holy Spirit shares comes directly from what He hears, from The Father, through Jesus, The Son ofGod, as He imparts eternal revelations to us and through us.
Our Challenge
So, wherever we are or whoever we are, let us allow God’s Holy Spirit, who initially came at Pentecost, to provide us with our own personal Pentecost! Abide in Jesus, and allow the Heavenly Father do His pruning in our lives, (John 15:1-17) to make us more fruitful, and gifted persons, whom God takes by the hand to guide us daily into God’s Supernatural R.E.S.T.
Today’s Life Giving Challenge Is, Again, To Experience R.E.S.T:
Read Acts 1:8.
You Will See How Experiencing Rock-solid Eternal Spirituality Today Provides You With Three Supernatural Eternal Provisions — IfYou Receive The Holy Spirit
You Receive Power
When the Holy Spirit comes on people, something amazing happens: power filled power is received. The Greek word for power is dynamos.. We get the word dynamite from this word. Many believers, today, like the 1st century believers, do not have this kind of power. Like Peter, John, Mary, and all the other believers, in that upper room, without the Holy Spirit, their spirituality was weak. Why? Because they have never received the Holy Spirit. But once the Holy Spirit comes on a person, power floods that person’s life. And the Holy Spirit wants to give this power to you.
Think about it: Once The Holy Spirit came on the early believers, a MEGA Church, three thousand souls strong, became followers of Christ. And these Spirit baptized three thousand changed the world via God’s witness and outreach. The whole book of Acts is about what the beautifully Holy Spirit empowered Saints accomplished.God wants the church today to have this same power.
You Receive a Witness
Once the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you experience the Spirit’s R.E.S.T, you can become a Holy bold witness. You witness by the fruit you bear, as you demonstrate and live a life of love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, integrity/faithfulness and self control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Indeed, you are impowered to keep God’s law. (Hebrews 10:15 and following.)You demonstrate your faith, your, hope your love, your speech, and many other gifts of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12,13, 14.) And you can choose to boldly use your words as you witness to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Without the power of The Holy Spirit, the witness is weak.
You Receive a Multilevel Outreach
As you experience R.E.S.T in the Holy Spirit, the power you have, and the witness God gives you, then you are moved to do anything, and everything, you can to reach out at multiple levels. Jerusalem or locally, Judea-or one area beyond locally, Samaria – or cultures different from your own, and even through out all of planet Earth.
The Big Question:
Here’s a challenging big question each needs to answer just like believers in Acts were challenged to answer: Have you received the Holy Spirit since you first believed. (Acts 19:2.) Read this verse until you can understand it as a serious question for you in the 21st Century. Then answer it for yourself. I can only answer this question for myself. Have you received the Holy Spirit since you first believed? Do you have power? Do you have an effective witness? Is the fruit of The Spirit produced in you? Galatians (5:22-23) Are the Supernatural gifts of The Holy Spirit demonstrated? (1 Corinthians 12-14) Do you witness, and do you actually use your words?
Some Have and Some Have Not:
Peter, and the 120 in the Upper Room, had not received the Holy Spirit since they believed. But when the Holy Spirit came, as Jesus promised, Jesus baptized the 120 with the Holy Spirit, just like John the Baptist previously prophesied Jesus would do. And when the Holy Spirit baptized them, they were completely changed; however, the 3,000 believers, who heard the Word at Pentecost, certainly did receive The Holy Spirit the moment they believed. The folks in Acts 19 had not, but when they learned about The Holy Spirit, they did receive Him and all that accompanies The Holy Spirit in a believers life.
What Is Your Journey Like?
Do you have God’s power in your life?
Do you have a Spirit Filled bold witness coming out of you, as evidenced by the fruit of The Spirit, the Gifts of The Spirit, and do you actually use your words?
Are you reaching your corner of the world?
Are you motivated to do anything, and everything you can, by God’s power, to reach your state and nation? What impact are you making on planet Earth?
Answer these and you will know if you have received the Holy Spirit since you believed.
My prayer is that you receive The Holy Spirit. I want God’s power to permeate your life. I want your witness to come from The Holy Spirit, I want you to reach out to your Jerusalem, your Judea, your Samaria and the rest of the world.
When you do, you will fully experience Rock-solid Eternal Spirituality Today.
Rock Solid Living 