Seven WOW Factors of Exciting Churches!
“WOW!” is a spontaneous exclamation, spoken when a thing seen or heard simply defies description. In a “WOW!” factor church such things can happen at any time. “WOW!” factor churches are packed with people who want to be involved in what the Spirit of God is doing. They are exciting for many reasons, and the seven “WOW!” factors listed in this book are some of the most exciting.
Contents
“WOW!” factor #1 – Overruling Authority
“WOW!” factor #2 – Unexpected Experiences
“WOW!” factor #3 – Kingdom Presence
“WOW!” factor #4 – Primed and Ready
“WOW!” factor #5 – Spiritual Willpower
“WOW!” factor #6 – Surprisingly Good Ideas
“WOW!” factor #7 – Blank Cheque Faith
“WOW!” factor #1 – Overruling Authority
When Jesus demonstrated his power to forgive sins by healing a paralyzed man, the unprecedented act drew from astonished onlookers the exclamation, “We have seen strange things today!” (Luke 5:26) They had witnessed a miracle that defied explanation. In declaring the man’s sin forgiven and in healing him to prove beyond doubt that he was forgiven, Jesus had introduced a “WOW!” factor.
Jesus demonstrated overruling authority after four men had lowered the paralyzed man through a hole in the roof and into the presence of his healing power. His authority on earth to forgive sins overruled the strong protestations of the scribes and Pharisees that only God could forgive sins. The miracle stunned those who witnessed it and demonstrated that whatever Jesus loosed on earth was loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18). This authority was vastly extended after Jesus rose from the dead and received all authority in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18).
Authority legitimizes power. When the miracles of Jesus could not be denied the enemies of Jesus questioned his authority to perform them (Luke 20:2). The first chapters of the book of Acts reveal how the apostles’ authority to work miracles in the name of Jesus was also challenged. The ruling authority that challenged Jesus during his ministry tried to stop them from using his name, but the apostles overruled it. The authority of the name of Jesus is still challenged by those who refuse to accept “the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9).
The name of Jesus is his reputation and identifies him with his accomplishments. “A good name is better than ointment.” (Ecclesiastes 7:1) Jesus of Nazareth is the greatest authority in heaven and in earth. Our authority to do the works that Jesus did is one that overrules all others. I say again: the Lord’s name is his identity, and it is associated with his reputation, character and accomplishments.
We pray and act every day in the name of Jesus, but tend to forget that his name is a synonym for his authority. All too often the name “Jesus” comes to our lips as a proper noun, rather than as a name that has the utmost authority.
A friend of mine awoke to find that he was being attacked spiritually. A lingering illness had left his body weak. He said to the evil spirit, “You get out of here – just go!” He didn’t say “In Jesus’ name!” but spoke with such authority that it left straight away. In his dazed state he didn’t think to use the name, but as a son of God the authority of the Lord Jesus was his to use — and he used it!
I need to expand on this vital point.
The Father gave Jesus authority on earth to do unprecedented miracles. He said, “I have come in my father’s name” (John 5:43); but nowhere do we read of Jesus saying, “In the name of my Father” when ministering to the sick. Jesus acted on his Father’s authority. Am I suggesting that we needn’t use the name of Jesus when ministering? Of course not! But I do suggest that we be more conscious of the authority the name conveys.
The anointing of God “abides” – it remains (1 John 2:27). It does not come and go (although the power of it does ebb and flow). But infrequent use of the name of Jesus lessens overruling authority. The name of Jesus Christ is the highest authority in this age, and will be in the age to come (Ephesians 1:21).
Jesus is “the firstborn of all [God’s new] creation” and as such is our Elder Brother. Both he and we have the same heavenly Father. Through the New Birth, we are made “partakers of the divine nature” Jesus was born with (2 Peter 1:4). Jesus did all of his miracles as the Son of Man, and said we would do the same works (John 14:12). The proof that the Lord had been glorified in heaven came when God poured out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:33).
This authority to do in Jesus’ name what he did is a “WOW!” factor that every church needs to have and to exercise – especially churches in the Western World. The good news is that every church, everywhere, hasmiraculous“WOW!”factor in the name of the Lord Jesus, and should use it to overrule every other authority in its geographical area of interest.
Jesus said, “In my name” before listing the signs that would follow those who believe (Mark 16:17, 18). “In my name” doesn’t mean “with my name”. The secret is “his name through faith in his name”(Acts 3:6, 16). The name “Jesus” is not a mystical token. None of the seven sons of Sceva who misused the Lord’s name really believed in Jesus. Their humiliating defeat by just one evil spirit was a reverse “WOW!” factor, the demon wounding them, tearing off their clothes, and causing them to run for their lives! (Acts 19:13-16) In contrast, the Lord Jesus threw seven demons out of one woman (Luke 8:2).
The Jewish leaders asked Peter and John: “In whose name [by what authority] have you done these things?” When power cannot be denied, authority is challenged, because authority legitimizes power (Acts 4:16, 17). The first battle fought by the early church was not over power but over the authority by which that power was delivered. “One hand washes the other,” says an old proverb. The name of Jesus was the authority behind their power.
The outpouring of the Spirit of God at Pentecost began a new era of spirituality, one in which all who received the Spirit would have power that in Old Testament times was limited to a chosen few. Pentecost was a paradigm shift from religion to spirituality.
“Power from on high” and the phenomena that accompanies it needs to be in responsible hands. Spiritual fire burning out of control in unruly believers soon becomes fanatical wildfire. Those who minister in the name of Jesus must respect the reputation it represents (Mark 16:17).
Every act of healing, forgiveness, deliverance, and of raising the dead back to life that Jesus did (not to mention miracles of food multiplication and miracles that transcended laws of nature) gave his name its great reputation. The profane misuse of the Lord’s name shows how desperate Satan is in his never-ending attempts to diminish its meaning and its authority.
The name of Jesus became an issue after the healing of the crippled man at the Gate Beautiful, when Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but I give you what I have – in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6) When the Sadducees heard that Peter and John “preached the resurrection of the dead through Jesus” they arrested them and held them for questioning.
“By what power, or by what name have you done this?” was their question the following day. “The name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,” Peter answered. He knew that salvation was possible through no other name (Acts 4:7, 10, 12).
“This notable miracle is undeniable,” the Jewish leaders agreed among themselves; “But that it spread no further among the people let us solemnly threaten them that from now on they must not speak to any man in this name.” So they commanded the apostles “not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus.” (Acts 4:14-18)
The response of Peter and John was their return to the company of the apostles and their prayer that the Lord would stretch forth his hand to heal, and that signs and wonders would be done “by the name of your holy child Jesus” (Acts 4:30). When later arrested and brought before the council, the apostles were asked, “Did we not solemnly command you not to teach in this name?”
After being beaten and released “they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” (Acts 5:28, 41) We read in the Acts narrative that they went out and preached the gospel everywhere. They had good reason to do so because they had won the battle by using the overruling authority of The Name.
The anointing “abides” – it dwells in us. We have no need to ask God for “a new anointing” – we just need to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). After being baptized in the Spirit we are refilled by the indwelling Spirit. This happens powerfully when we take a stand for the Lord and boldly witness in his name.
We need to be constant in our exercise of the authority of Jesus’ name. Authority not exercised is overruled. In my experience most Christians readily identify the name of Jesus with his authority on earth but less readily with the total authority of his name in heaven and on earth. The more we comprehend the overruling authority of The Name, the more we will see sickness, disease, bondage and premature death “under our feet”. We must overrule demonic authority with an authority that is not just powerful but is all-powerful.
The early chapters of Acts are about the power, the name, and the message. Two thousand years later it is still the name of Jesus that legitimizes the use of the power of the Spirit by which the message of Christ’s kingdom is spread. No wonder the battle for the name is fought again and again as the authorities of this world resist the authority of the believer! Our determination to stand in the authority of that Name involves us in life’s most important battles – out of which come the victories that improve our mental and physical wellbeing.
Jesus empowered and authorized his disciples before sending them out (Luke 9:1; 10:17). He has placed his authority in our hands, but if we do not exercise it daily it will slip through our fingers. No one can remove the anointing from us, but many will resist our authority to do the works that Jesus did and greater. The best way to prevent them from doing so is to exercise it all the more.
Once we begin to do so, we will stop asking the Lord to do for us and for others what he has told us to do – in his name. Jesus did his praying at night and his saying in the day. Scripture records him praying only twice before ministering –both times for the sake of onlookers.
When authority and ability – the name of Jesus and the power of God – work hand in hand, a “WOW!” factor becomes evident.
Mothers need to exercise this authority in the home. Fathers need to exercise it in families. Teachers need to exercise it in classrooms. Mature men need to exercise it with younger men. Effective use of the Lord’s authority can end destructive divisions and disruptions. Our responsibility is to exercise it whenever and wherever it is needed, and to do so effectively.
Whenever believers act with the full authority of Jesus’ name, “strange things” happen, just as they did when Jesus ministered. People are perplexed by an authority that delivers unusual miracles, but it excites them. “WOW!” is an exclamation we’re bound to hear a lot more in the days ahead!
Practical point: Don’t just say The Name – know what it means and use it!
“WOW!” factor #2 — Unforgettable Experiences
Unforgettable experiences of the spiritual kind usually arrive without notice. “Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty rushing wind…” (Acts 2:2) The baptism in the Holy Spirit experienced by those waiting in the “upper room” on the Day of Pentecost was unexpected by the disciples, and it caught them unawares. Those first Christians went on to see many amazing things, but that first outpouring of the Spirit must surely have been their most unforgettable experience!
My first experience of such an outpouring was during a Pentecostal meeting in a Sunday afternoon meeting in Melbourne. Not long saved, I was listening to the preacher when suddenly I felt a strong urge to slip off the seat and onto my knees. Halfway down my mind took over and I sat back up – and as I did the entire congregation of about 150 people went down on their knees in the same moment – all speaking in tongues!
That the experience was extraordinary was later made clear to me by the pastor’s daughter when I asked, “Does this happen often?” “Not as often as we would like!” she replied. Her wide-opened eyes showed me how awestruck she was at the unexpected and unforgettable experience.
In the late 1970s I was an assistant pastor in a booming Brisbane church that was a spiritual powerhouse. It was not uncommon for 100 sinners to come to the Lord weekly. I baptized thirty or more new converts in water most weeks. The atmosphere was thick with the anointing of the Spirit, and the overall expectancy was that anything could happen anytime – and unforgettably did.
I lost count of the number of young men who told me they had come to church to mock from the rear but found themselves out the front weeping, not even knowing how they got there. An exclamation often heard during those days was “Church was never like this!” Christians came from far and wide to be present in the meetings. People ‘phoned in to tell how they’d been saved or healed while watching our TV program. Dramatic incidents were “WOW!” factors in that very exciting church!
Some years later, members of a Christian youth group I had just preached to at a camp on the Sunshine Coast fell to their knees one by one, weeping over their spiritual condition. Many of the eighty or so mature-age youth so touched were inconsolable. The unexpected arrival of the Spirit of God brought a holiness that I was later told changed their lives.
The next time I experienced a spiritual visitation was on the island of Borneo. I had only just finished preaching in a large church when God’s Spirit swept into the building like a cyclonic wind. The 300 Christians present then began wailing as one. Earlier in the meeting the deacons had repented in front of the people. The visitation that night and the awakening that then began swept through the island for seven years. Revival takes place when God’s Spirit arrives suddenly and unexpectedly, and when that happens, just about everyone present has an unforgettable experience.
The phenomenon took place again a few years later in the Philippines. One night after preaching on revival in Metro Manila, nearly all of the 220 or so young people present in the meeting began to weep and to cry out for God’s forgiveness. This time fewer spoke in tongues – most showed heartfelt repentance. Many were down on their knees, sobbing. During a later seminar in Manila, more than forty leaders of a mission were baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues when I laid hands on them. The experience brought lasting change to the mission.
On another occasion in the Philippines I had just finished preaching to a group of about forty bible college students, when suddenly they began to fall to the floor. Not one student was injured, even though the floor was solid concrete. The unexpected “WOW!” factor brought the usual deep, heartfelt repentance – not only on the students but also on the teaching staff and on one of my team members.
Years later, I witnessed the phenomenon in churches in the United Kingdom, initially on one of the Channel Islands, and then in meetings throughout the southwest of England. In none of these meetings was anyone worked up through emotional preaching, but rather was deeply touched by a sovereign move of the Spirit. (I have come to see such sovereign moves as outcomes of prayer preparation resulting in heartfelt repentance.) The preaching certainly had touched the hearts of the people, but in each case the outpouring that followed was unexpected. During church history such has often been the case.
We read of a similar phenomenon happening when many sick people acted responsively after hearing a woman had been healed miraculously after touching the hem of the Lord’s robe. They thronged Jesus and also touched the hem of his robe – and “as many as did so were made whole” (Mark 6:56). What a “WOW!” factor it was when the healing power of God flowed into them in response to their desperate touch.
In the books of Acts the Pentecost outpouring was a spiritual event of the first order, one that set a precedent for other unexpected outpourings of the Spirit. When the Spirit of God later “fell” on the household of Cornelius, all present spoke in unknown languages (Acts 10:44-46). Many outpourings of a similar kind have taken place throughout church history, most of them overflowing doctrinal differences and denominational divisions and uniting God’s people. When a creek floods the water rises above dividing fences, and ducks that had been separated swim together.
If you think that unexpected experiences are more often witnessed by those who minister in many and varied places, you are right. But the more we build a spirit of expectancy in our own church the more frequently they are likely to happen. But what happens, you ask, when faith grows to the degree that a church expects the unexpected? The answer is anything and everything.
Revival can result when a church desires it and stirs itself to seek God. But when the Spirit of God is “poured out” and “falls” on a group of believers unexpectedly, what happens is extraordinary. Those who experience the spiritual phenomenon never forget it, and for many it becomes the touchstone for every later move of the Spirit of God.
Such outpourings are needed in our churches as much – if not more – than ever before. I should warn, however, that when the Spirit of God arrives unexpectedly two things change very quickly: the first is our heart attitude to God, and the second is our attitude toward others.
As the flood of God’s Spirit overflows our churches and enables us to rise above the things that divide us, the numbers of those revived and saved will increase exponentially and will begin to fellowship together in the rising stream of revival!
“WOW!”
Practical point: Expect a new experience every time your church meets.
“WOW!” factor #3 – Kingdom Presence
Most people see things without really seeing them, but artists perceive the differences in tones, shapes and textures. They know that daytime shadows are purple, and that only shadows cast by the moon are black. It was only when artists perceived how different the Australian and English landscapes differed that they began to paint it authentically; they had seen it without perceiving it.
Jesus said, “Unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Those who are not “born from above” (or “born again” as the KJV translates) lack the spiritual perception necessary to see the kingdom. We were born on earth below but must be born again from heaven above.
Christians are well aware that on his return Jesus will establish his kingdom here on earth. As King David’s descendant and legitimate heir to his throne Jesus will then rule over the nations. This is so clearly apparent from any reading of the New Testament that even people not “born from above” know it. But when Jesus said only those born from above can actually see the kingdom, he was not speaking of the future kingdom but of the kingdom in its present, invisible form.
Jesus warned the Pharisees that the kingdom came “not by observation”. No one should say, “Look here!” or “Look there!” he said, because “the kingdom of God is amongst you”. At the time of speaking it was present in the person of the King (Luke 17:20). Some translations have “in you” but because Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees “amongst you” is probably better.
After preaching in a Los Angeles church, I asked the pastor if he would like me to pray for the sick. My text had been: “The kingdom of God is among you.” The pastor stood to one side and said loudly, “Well, we’ve heard a lot about this kingdom – let’s see the power of it!” He sounded somewhat skeptical. I asked who needed prayer and the Lord touched a young man powerfully. A young woman stood close by, and glancing at her I caught a certain glint in her eyes.
“Can I pray for you?” I asked, as casually as I could. She answered with a drawn-out “Yesss” that confirmed my suspicion. As soon my hand touched her forehead the power of the Holy Spirit hit the evil spirit in her life, and she was thrown backwards across the aisle and landed between the seats. When I crouched down next to her and ordered, “Come out of her in Jesus’ name!” the evil spirit screamed at me through her voice.
I warned, “If you don’t come out, I’ll send you into the pit!” Immediately, it gave one last scream and came out. She got to her feet looking relieved. I was told later that for some time she’d suffered from the eating disorder Bulimia. A lying spirit had prevented her from eating and would have starved her, had not Jesus healed her. I was later told that she had returned to her normal weight.
Wow! Talk about signs following the word! I had preached the close proximity of the kingdom and the pastor had challenged it – and down came the kingdom! At the close of the meeting, the pastor stuffed a couple of hundred dollars in my hand and all but showed me to the door. When the kingdom comes it sure stirs things up!
When sending out his disciples as short-term apostles, Jesus instructed them that when rejected they should announce that the kingdom of God had “come near” in the miracles that accompanied their message (Luke 10:9).
Jesus later warned those who accused him of casting out demons by the prince of demons, “If I with the finger of God cast out demons, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:20) Or as Matthew’s gospel puts it: “If I with the Spirit of God cast out demons, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
Figuratively speaking, God’s Spirit is His finger. Jesus would have used his index finger when ordering demons to leave the people they possessed. The magicians of Egypt had long before described the judgements that had fallen on them as “the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19).
These texts inform us that the kingdom of God was spiritually present during the ministry of Jesus in the miracles he did. But the visible kingdom Jesus will set up on earth after he returns will be apparent to all. “For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:27)
Clearly, the future appearance of Jesus Christ and the establishment of his earthly kingdom will not be spiritually perceived but will be a visible appearance of the spiritual kingdom now present. Signs and wonders of the present kingdom are but “powers of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:5).
One promise Jesus made about the kingdom has puzzled many Christians. He promised his twelve disciples that some of those who were standing with him would not die until they had seen the kingdom came in power. When and where the kingdom did come is the question. This promise is much the same in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Matthew 16:28: “Verily I say unto you, some who are standing here shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”
Mark 9:1: “Verily I say unto you, some who are standing here shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.”
Luke 9:27: “But I tell you truly, some who are standing here shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God.”
Matthew reads, “…the Son of man coming in his kingdom”. Mark reads, “…the kingdom of God come with power”. Luke reads, “…the kingdom of God”. But, clearly, all three gospels refer to the same event.
What is less clear is the time the “some” who stood with Jesus when he said this actually saw his promise come to pass. They were not to die “until” the kingdom had come. “Until” is a preposition: the “some” that stood there would die only after the coming of the kingdom.
Many believe the kingdom came on the Mount of Transfiguration, when the vision of Christ’s majesty was almost blindingly glorious. But that memorable event took place only a week later, and we know that none of the disciples who had stood with Jesus died after that week.
Others believe that it was fulfilled at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit filled those who had gathered in the Upper Room. But the same difficulty arises: after that time none of the disciples who stood with Jesus when he made the promise died. In fact, the first of the Twelve to die would be James a decade later — killed by King Herod (Acts 12:1). Judas had hanged himself before by the time the Spirit came, but I don’t think the promise of Jesus was that none of the disciples would die until after Judas did! If that were the case, instead of saying “some” Jesus would have promised that all but one would live to see the coming of the kingdom.
Neither of the two events matches the promise Jesus made. But what if the coming of the kingdom would not be an event seen by all at the same time? What if Jesus meant that the kingdom would come with power whenever and wherever the apostles preached the gospel of the kingdom? What if Jesus was saying was that those persecuted for their preaching would not die “until” they had seen the kingdom come in power?
What, for that matter, if the kingdom continues to come whenever the gospel is preached in power? Not the future kingdom that is to come with Christ’s return, but the kingdom that comes whenever the Lord Jesus is powerfully present when believers witness to hostile authorities (not to mention when Jesus is “in the midst” of those gathered together in his name — Matthew 18:20).
Maybe the answer is found in what Jesus said before promising that some standing with him would not die “until” they had seen the coming of the kingdom. Compare the three gospels:
Matthew 16:24-27: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it’.”
Mark 8:34-38: “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, ‘Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it’.”
Luke 9:23-26: “And he said to them all, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it’.”
In these three gospels it is after saying these words that Jesus adds, “There are some standing here that shall not taste of death, until they see…” It might well be that after witnessing for Jesus the apostles would see the kingdom come in power – at the expense of their lives! They would see death after seeing the king come in the power of his kingdom. However else the texts may be interpreted, I believe that there is merit in this view. Here’s why:
Jesus told the Caiaphas the high priest, “Hereafter (that is, “from now on”) you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64) Caiaphas did not live to see the future kingdom, but he did see the glorified Christ come in the power of his spiritual kingdom. Caiaphas held office as high priest until AD 37, so he lived through the outpouring of the Spirit in Jerusalem and the many miracles that followed. What is certain is that Caiaphas would not have died until he saw the kingdom come in power.
Before the birth of Jesus, the Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that “he would not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:26) Simeon lived not only to see the Christ but also to bless him, and so God’s promise came to pass.
Stephen did not die until he saw “the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56) His persecutors stoned him, but not before they had heard his witness and seen his shining face. John, the last of the apostles to die, saw Christ’s kingdom come in power in a vision he had while exiled on the island of Patmos because of his witness. John wrote, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15)
In the New Testament the future kingdom is referred to as our inheritance. There is a sense in which Christians “enter into” it through persecution (Acts 14:22). In another sense, however, we see the kingdom come in power when we take up our cross – not Christ’s but our own – and in so doing put our lives at risk. It is in the moment of witness that the Son of man comes in the power of his kingdom. (We need to remember that the first Christians witnessed not just “to” sinners but “against” authorities (Matthew 10:18).
I’ve said all that to say this: The kingdom of God comes in power wherever and whenever people are saved, healed or set free! In times of revival churches experience the awesome presence and power of the kingdom. During spiritual awakenings it envelops cities, and there have been instances of it enveloping entire nations. When and where this happens we get a glimpse of what life will be like when the kingdom comes to earth.
This kingdom presence is one of the great “WOW!” factors of an exciting church!
I have been blessed to see the Son of man come in his kingdom in meetings around the globe. This has happened when the Spirit of God has “fallen”, as in the house of Cornelius. What an awesome, powerful kingdom it is! It is when we see the present kingdom that we glimpse the future kingdom. Just think: an amazing day spent in exciting revival now will be but a normal day in the final kingdom that’s yet to come!
A thousand years in that future kingdom will hold one “WOW!” after another, after another. Bring it on, Lord Jesus!
Practical point: The presence of the kingdom of God brings the power of the King.
“WOW!” factor #4 — Primed and Ready!
On the farm in summer I used to crank up the engine of an old tractor that pumped water from the river into channels that irrigated the property. But first I had to prime the tractor-driven pump with a bucket of water. If I didn’t, a vacuum would prevent it from pumping. The pump could only pull water up from the river and onto the property after it was primed. The huge amount of water needed to fill the channels and flood the fields depended on just one bucketful.
If the miraculous supply of God’s Spirit is not flowing through you, those who desperately need it will dry up, spiritually. Close proximity to God’s word is not enough – we must prime ourselves for the flow of the Spirit.
A vacuum between spiritual supply and human need – however small – will prevent the flow of God’s blessings to those who need to be refreshed. If we desire to be used as we were in days past, we need to fill the spiritual vacuum in our hearts. The way to do this to be filled with the Spirit of God and to stay filled.
Some years ago I travelled to Tasmania to encourage one of two groups of young people who were running around Australia, claiming it for the Lord Jesus. Both groups started out from Perth, one running across the north of Australia, the other across the south. Both runs were to end in Brisbane, halfway up the east coast. I arrived in Hobart on a Saturday and was booked to preach an encouraging word to the team the following evening. Members of the team had run across the vast Nullarbor Plain (which, as its name suggests, is flat and treeless). What I did not know was that the runners’ state of mind was fast becoming the toughest test.
I was taken to a house situated on a ridge that gave me a good view over the river and most of Hobart. I was alone in the house, so there was nothing to distract me from waiting on the Lord. I found a soft seat by a window in the warm sun and began to pray.
It wasn’t long before I found myself praying in tongues. More to the point, the Spirit of God was praying through me. I had no way of knowing what for, only that through intercessory prayer I was expressed things that were beyond my understanding. After twenty minutes or so the spirit of prayer lifted, and I stopped praying. Further prayer on my part would have been amounted to unbelief; whatever the Lord had planned for the meeting was as good as done.
The following evening I preached in the church that was hosting the team. Then I began to pray for the runners. As I did, verses from the Bible came to me – some I hadn’t read for years. The Lord gave me a specific verse for each of the runners and enabled me to quote each verse accurately. When I did, the runner it was spoken over fell to the floor. All were touched deeply by the Holy Spirit, some crying from sheer relief.
Only then did they tell me that the long run across the Nullarbor Plain had taken its toll on their minds as well as their bodies. After their arrival in Melbourne a run around the island of Tasmania seemed an unnecessary detour. They just wanted to run north through Canberra and Sydney and join up with the northern team in Brisbane, where the run would finish – and the sooner the better!
Little did they know that God had seen their struggle, their diminishing physical strength and mental state, as the thought of the added distance sapped the team’s strength and weakened its will. But when God gave me a very specific, personal verse for each one of them, they knew that He knew what they were feeling! A powerful impartation of the Spirit of God reinvigorated the runners, and enabled them to complete their run around the island and on up to Brisbane with renewed enthusiasm.
I hate to think what might have happened if the Lord had not primed me the previous day through intercessory prayer. When the time came the Lord had already prepared me to minister to the runners individually. I hadn’t known this in advance. I didn’t need to know. The important thing was that the Lord knew, and it only took only twenty minutes of prayer for Him to prime me. Not twenty minutes of prayer by me, but rather twenty minutes of the Spirit praying through me! It doesn’t take much to prime us; all it takes is a small amount in us of what the Lord plans to stream through us.
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things to God the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-20)
We should not allow a vacuum to develop in our hearts. Strong’s Concordance defines the ancient Greek verb translated “filled” as: “to make full, to fill to the full; to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting; fill to full measure; fill to the brim.” This is not a comparison with drunkenness but a contrast. We are to be filled “to the brim” with the Spirit of God. Excess of wine brings physical malady, whereas being filled with the Spirit brings spiritual melody.
“Nature abhors a vacuum” and so does God. How long is it since you sang a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song? If you haven’t stayed “filled with the Spirit” a vacuum may have developed. If so, you need to “prime the pump” so God can restart the flow! Our physical heart is a pump that never stops – when it does, we die. Yet we allow our spiritual heart – our deep love for God and for His work – to stop…and then wonder why the Spirit no longer flows as in former days. We need to spend time priming ourselves with prayer and praise.
During one visit to Los Angeles, a friend who was driving us to a church where I was to preach said all of a sudden: “We should pray in tongues before we get to the meeting!” He began to speak in tongues urgently, as though the success of the meeting depended on how hard we prayed over the next half hour. But I felt relaxed because I had already primed my spiritual pump. The meeting that night was an exciting one – so much so, I’ll never forget it.
Speaking in “tongues” – unlearned languages – is another good way to prime your heart spiritually. This will allow your spirit to sing, pray and give thanks to God (1 Corinthians 14:4, 14, 16).
I can say from experience that crank-starting an old tractor in the hope that its power will pull water through a vacuum is an exercise in futility! Trying to ‘crank-start’ our spirituality with a creed or mantra is just as futile! The heart must “bubble up with a good thing” (Psalm 45:1). What good thing makes your heart bubble up and your tongue become “the pen of a ready writer” – fluent and expressive?
Is it when you recall how Jesus first saved you or when you first knew for sure that your sins were forgiven? When you were “buried with him” in water baptism? Is it how you felt when first filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, or the moment the Spirit of God touched you in a meeting? Is it how grateful you felt after God had healed you? Is it the memory of the “first love” you had for Jesus, and how you shared that love with everyone you met? Or is it when you recall the times the anointing was so powerful you felt like you were coming apart?
Such things can ‘prime’ you spiritually and prepare the way for a new flow of the “living water” of God’s power through you to dry people and dry churches that have longed for renewal and revival.
They’re waiting for “WOW!” factors that will bring “times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord”!
Practical point: If your best-known Bible verse hasn’t changed for some time, search for a new one that suits your current circumstances.
“WOW!” factor #5 – Spiritual Willpower
“Your people shall be willing in the day of your power.” (Psalm 110:3) One “WOW!” factor in an exciting church is that it knows how to make things happen. When God does something only He can do, we say “WOW!” But we can also work with Him to help make it happen, and that’s a really big “WOW!” factor.
How we can work with God’s will is seen in the Lord’s prophetic words to Paul, and in Paul’s prophetic words to Timothy. In our case “prophetic words” are not to be confused with personal “car-park prophecies”! By prophecy I mean either a word from a prophet or from a Christian in a church fellowship known to have the authentic spiritual gift.
Finding our way in life is not always easy, but finding our way in the will of God can be very hard. We need to align our will with God’s will to find it. Paul’s desire was to visit the church at Rome, but he wanted to do it in the will of God, and to do that, a way had to be found that would meet with God’s approval (Romans 1:10 & 15:32, NKJV).
Prophetic words are weapons of spiritual warfare (1 Timothy 1:18). But we mustn’t wait passively for their fulfillment but actively use them to encourage ourselves when times are tough. If a prophetic word from God says we’ll make it, we will because He knew the end from the beginning, which is a lot more than we do! Timothy started out as a timid teenager, but prophetic warfare helped him to become a strong, respected figure in the early church.
We should never allow others to interpret the guidance the Holy Spirit is giving us. The apostle Paul went “bound in the spirit” to Jerusalem (Acts 20:22). One who is bound is captive to the will of another. Paul was the Lord’s prisoner. Prophecies “in every city” Paul passed through on his way to Jerusalem confirmed that dangers lay ahead; but Paul didn’t let that deter him (Acts 20:23). What others tell you, prophetically, should be interpreted in the light of what God has already told you – even if they’re prophets (Acts 21:4, 11; 2 Kings 2:3, 5). The personal guidance of the Spirit of God in the believer’s life is paramount.
Nor should we be spiritual to the detriment of our own physical well-being. Paul never saw his divine call as being in opposition to his civil rights (Acts 22:22-29). The Romans were not persecuting him, so why should he allow them to flog him to no good purpose? Jesus would not have been glorified in him being flogged without reason. He identified himself as a Roman citizen, a free man, claimed his rights as such, and walked away. (At Philippi, he did not claim his rights; maybe after being led by the Spirit not to do so. Whatever the reason, it resulted in the salvation of the jailor and his household.)
Wisdom may be necessary to overcome forces that combine to oppose your witness for Jesus. Paul used Julius Caesar’s “divide and conquer” principle to separate Pharisee and Sadducee (Acts 23:6-10; Matthew 22:23). He made the theological division between the two groups work for him (Philippians 3:5; 1 Corinthians 7:31). Why should he allow himself to be the meat in the sandwich? Why should you for that matter?
Instead of saying “Nothing can stop me,” we can say, “I won’t allow anything to stop me!” The imperative (“must”) alone would not have got Paul to Rome. God expected him to do what he could to keep himself alive until he got there. A word carried by his nephew to the captain of the guard prevented more than forty fanatics from assassinating him (Acts 23:11-24).
We can make our own choices rather than allowing others to make them for us. We can take charge of our lives. When one ruler wanted to curry favour with another at his expense, Paul claimed his right as a Roman citizen. He would not allow himself to become a victim of injustice. Paul appealed over his head to a higher authority (Acts 25:8-12; 24:27).
We can also take charge in desperate situations, rather than allowing poor decisions by others to decide our fate. The imperative “must” of Acts 23:11 is repeated in Acts 27:21-26. The captain of the vessel sailed the heavily loaded ship out of port in spite of Paul’s warning, but it wasn’t long before Paul began issuing the orders. If the ship was to be saved everyone on board had to do exactly as they were told – and that included eating a meal. The revelation he received encouraged them, but Paul knew they also needed food for strength to swim ashore.
The snakebite on Malta was inconsequential to Paul. He shook the poisonous reptile off his hand and into the fire. He hadn’t escaped floggings, attempted assassinations and being drowned at sea only to die from a satanic symbol! (Acts 28:3-6) Ignore any last-ditch desperate attempt aimed at stopping you just before you get to where God has sent you! Nothing, absolutely nothing, can stop you when you’ve found your way in the will of God!
It is so important that we align our will with the will of God! “Most assuredly, I say to you: When you were younger you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you would not.” (John 21:18)
In a prophecy that spanned decades of Peter’s life, Jesus foretold the apostle’s crucifixion – an event that would portray the final surrender to the will of God of the once strong-willed disciple. He would “stretch forth” his hands to God in full surrender long before the Romans nailed them to a cross.
For over three decades, God had worked in Peter “to will and to do” His good pleasure. Peter’s martyrdom would be the final act of a fully surrendered life in which God’s will and Peter’s will were one. The difference between the Peter of the gospels and Acts and the Peter of the epistles that bear his name shows more than spiritual maturity: it shows submission to the will of God.
The God of the Bible does not condemn us for struggling (after all, Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord and was renamed Israel for his effort). Our submission to His will is final recognition rather than fatalistic resignation, the result of the gracious work He has done in us to bring us to the point of full surrender. God works in us to will to do His good pleasure – and then works in us to do it. God doesn’t compel us to do His will but makes us willing to do it.
Christians sometimes think of doing God’s will as a struggle that’s much like two teams pulling against one another on a rope. A lot of ground is given and taken before the weaker team is finally pulled off its feet. We are encouraged to “Let go and let God!” But a better picture is that of a channel that allows the flow of a stronger current of water. Rather than a struggle between two wills, it’s the flow of one will through another – God’s will through your will. As mud obstructs the flow of water, so self-will obstructs the flow of God’s will.
That free flow is what took place in Gethsemane when Jesus said, “Nevertheless, not my will but Thy will be done.” (Luke 22:42) His will became one with the will of his Father. Not that Jesus had been unwilling before that time – just that he fully surrendered his perfect, sinless self so that he could be made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus came to do the will of God (Psalm 40:6-8; Hebrews 10:7). He said, “I do always those things that please the One who sent me” (John 8:29).
Jesus also said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. This is the will of the Father who sent me: that of all He has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent me: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:38-40)
“I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is righteous, because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me” (John 5:30).
God chooses to use our will, not to bypass it. Think of your will as the fuselage (main body) of an airplane. Think of one wing of that plane as your emotions and the other wing as your intellect. The plane is heading in a certain direction. Tip one wing, and the plane will begin to circle in that direction; tip the other wing, and it will circle in the opposite direction; keep both wings level, and the plane will maintain its forward movement and direction.
Some Christians give first place to their intellect; others to their emotions. Like the airplane they go wherever their emotion or intellect takes them. If we are to do the will of God we need to level out by keeping both in balance.
Throughout church history, theologians have separated themselves into two camps: Calvinist and Arminian. This may seem oversimplified, but our future depends pretty much on whether we see salvation as totally up to God or up to us surrendering to God – His sovereignty in balance with our responsibility. Revelation 20:17 is an invitation to “whosoever will” to “take of the water of life freely” – that’s a freewill response. On the other hand, the call of “the Spirit and the bride” can only be heard by a person who has “an ear to hear” – one who has a hearing heart.
Unbelief is a refusal to believe, and it involves the will: “Unless I see…I will not believe.” (John 20:25)
“If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak of my own authority.” (John 7:17) A willingness to do God’s will makes our will a channel for His will.
Willpower is important! Demons move out only when they know that we know that they know that they must go! The name of Jesus is our authority and when our will for the demon to go is stronger than its will to stay – it goes! But if it perceives a lack of will on our part it will not move. Christians don’t passively allow the will of God to be done, but in the name of Jesus and the power of the Spirit they actively enforce the will of God!
Knowing and doing the will of God moves us off the back foot and on to the front foot – from the defensive to the offensive.
The objective in war is to break the will of the enemy to resist. The objective in maneuver is to test the will of the enemy to fight. The objective in offense is to impose our will on the enemy. The objective in surprise is to weaken the will of the enemy to resist. In warfare, the stronger of the two wills always wins.
Where there’s no will there’s no way. But where there’s a will there’s a way for God to work through us. Are you willing to do the will of God? You are? Then know in your heart and mind that God’s will was revealed to us in Jesus, “who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil…” (Acts 10:38)
Where there’s a will there’s a way for God to work, because willpower is a “WOW!” factor.
Practical point: Fighting the will of God is like swimming upstream: physically tiring and ultimately futile. But surrendering to it is like swimming breaststroke with the current downstream.
“WOW!” factor #6 – Surprisingly Good Ideas
One man’s good idea seemed like a bad one until a dream made it a door of opportunity. The man went through it and the world was never the same. The man was Paul the apostle, whose idea prompted a suggestion that at first opened not a door but a deep division. And just when it seemed the good idea wasn’t so good after all, an opportunity opened up overnight, and what had begun as a good idea turned out to be a brilliant idea.
After Paul’s first missionary journey through what is now Turkey, he and Barnabas returned to Antioch and the church that had sent them out (Acts 13:1-3; 14:26). Some time later, after the two had spent time together preaching and teaching, Paul said, “Let’s go again and visit our brethren in every city where we preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” (Acts 15:36) Paul’s idea seemed a good one until a sharp difference separated them. The two then went their separate ways, but it soon seemed that Paul had lost his spiritual direction and was going nowhere.
A “WOW!” factor church never allows human imperfections to stand in the way of a good idea. Barnabas was determined to take John Mark on that journey, but Paul said “No!” After finding the first mission too tough, the young man had turned back. “The contention between them was so sharp that they split from one another; and so Barnabas took John and sailed off to Cyprus.”
It’s wrong for us to think God cannot bless an idea because differences get in the way. Many years ago I was approached by a professional woman who was in a business partnership with a man known for his great vision. “He wants to develop the business faster than I think he should,” she confided. Knowing the man’s business acumen, I suggested to her that put her misgivings aside and commit to his vision. She did and I am glad to say that thirty years later the partnership continues to flourish.
Barnabas was a good man but he chose Mark over Paul’s vision. Can God bless an idea when it’s ripped apart at the start? He can and He does! The apostles were not angels! Human weaknesses are factored into the Divine Plan. We know that God blessed both apostles, and that Paul later wrote that Mark was “profitable” – useful, a man capable of finishing a job he started (2 Timothy 4:11).
A new field of ministry may begin with the idea of blessing people that you led to the Lord – nothing wrong with that idea! “And Paul chose Silas, and after being commended to God, they went northwest through Syria to Cilicia, encouraging the churches.” (Acts 16:40, 41)
I encourage my wife Lorraine to accompany me whenever I visit a nation for the first time, because it’s on the first visit that most miracles happen. Later visits are wonderful in different ways but can be less spectacular. A kind of Law of Diminishing Returns seems to operate, in that the more often one ministers in a particular place the fewer the miracles.
One reason for this is probably that signs and wonders are preliminaries to the sound teaching thereafter required to establish new converts in the faith. I loved seeing the miracles of healing that accompanied our first preaching trips to the Philippines, but there came a time when teaching bible college students was what the Lord wanted. Signs and wonders are primarily apostolic credentials. In a meeting in Somerset a businessman who had introduced us to a group of Christians jumped up and shouted when oil dripped from his hands. It was a “WOW!” factor that startled everyone!
Paul’s experience teaches us not to bother shouting through closed doors. While working in chronos (chronological) time we keep our eyes open for possible kairos (opportunity) moments. But these are infrequent; mostly we simply do whatever we can. “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia [present-day Turkey] and were forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia [Minor], after they came to Mysia, they ventured to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit would not allow them.” (Acts 16:6, 7)
Were Paul and Silas being led by the Lord, or were they just wandering here and there and coming up against closed doors? Well, they were led in a general sense, but they lacked specific direction. Today, they would be mocked on Twitter or Facebook. “Told you nothing good would come of it!” (An anonymous doubter.) They might even find themselves on YouTube in a Missing Missionary version of “Where’s Wally?”
“And passing by Mysia, they came to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; there stood a man from Macedonia, who begged him, ‘Come over to Macedonia, and help us.’ And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:8-10)
Don’t you just love that “after he saw the vision, we endeavored to go” statement? Everyone loves the Man with the Plan! The encouraging thing for us is that after the Spirit of God had closed all those doors, Paul led his team to the shore of the Aegean Sea and then (as one does) simply went to sleep. He had started out with a good idea, and when it seemed not to be working, he slept on it.
What would we have done? Called for a night of prayer and fasting? Slipped aggressively into Spiritual Warfare mode? Drafted a newsletter to your supporters, making known your need and asking them to give “as the Lord leads”? Not Paul. There being nowhere else to go, he went to bed. The vision appeared after all other options disappeared. Immediate action followed this divine assurance. A direct course of action was determined. The largest city in Macedonia was targeted. And the gospel crossed over from the Middle East to Europe!
The problem is not getting through the right door; the problem is getting to the right door – the door of opportunity! Think of the changes the gospel brought to what is now the Continent, the British Isles, and far beyond! Paul later wrote: “When I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel … a door was opened to me of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 2:12) It was a door of unparalleled opportunity! It was a door to world evangelism! It was the one door open to a small group of Christ’s followers. In passing through it, a small band of Christ’s followers became the forerunners of a worldwide faith! “WOW!”
And to think that all this began with a good idea. If your idea is to bless and encourage newcomers to the faith, and if you can relate to Paul’s seemingly directionless experiences, and if like him you have been faced with closed doors of opportunity, and if you now seem to be going nowhere – why not do what Paul did? Having come to the end of all that he knew to do, he slept on what had begun as a good idea. It turned out a surprisingly good idea.
Divisions aside, we should follow his example and do the same. When we’re at the end of our rope a good idea is to tie a knot in it and hang on prayerfully. It can be when we’re at rest that the Lord opens a door we’ve been looking for.
Sleeping on a good idea opened a door of opportunity for Paul, and it can do the same for you and me – and when the door of opportunity opens, everyone says “WOW!”
Practical point: We see through windows and walk through doors. It’s one thing to look through a window of opportunity, and another thing to walk through a door of opportunity.
“WOW!” factor #7 — Blank Cheque Faith
Most modern versions of the New Testament translate Mark 11:22 as “Have faith in God.” But a translation closer to the Greek would be “Have the faith of God.” Faith does not originate in the believer but is God-given. A well-known preacher founded his entire work on this verse. It inspired him to plant churches around the world. I prefer “Have the faith of God” rather than “Have faith in God” as the verse has been translated, because the first points to God as the origin of real faith, whereas the second suggests that faith has its origin in us. Confidence may have, but not the real faith.
Jesus of Nazareth had God-given faith, which is why the fig tree began to wither from its roots the moment he cursed it. Jesus was not miffed because the tree had leaves but was fruitless (though he might reasonably have expected that a leafy fig tree would have green but edible figs). He would have been angry because it represented the Jews of his time, who had covered their lack of spiritual fruit with religious pretension.
Why do the words we speak in faith work less effectively than did the words of Jesus? Is it because we mistake endless repetition for certainty when we pray? We are not wrong when we speak God’s Word over and over until in our hearts we believe it. But we are wrong when we speak God’s Word when in our hearts we don’t fully believe it! God commanded Joshua to “meditate” on His Word – to mutter it to himself out loud continually, day and night (Joshua 1:8). Joshua didn’t just repeat some inspirational texts; he spoke words that repeated over and over until he believed them with all his heart!
The apostles’ words flowed from the God-given faith in their hearts, not from endlessly repeated words. Repetition is good for building faith in the heart, but a “spirit of faith” is necessary for speaking words that result in miracles. Anything less than God-given faith is not real faith. Paul writes that the apostles had the same “spirit of faith” as the psalmist who wrote, “I believed, and so I spoke.” (2 Corinthians 4:13; Psalm 116:10) He spoke what he believed and he believed what he spoke!
When building “a spirit of faith” for miracles we need to remember that Jesus said we must not seek to add value to our words by swearing oaths to back them up. “I say to you, swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool…” (Matthew 5:33-37) The use of sacred names or planetary bodies to lend authority to our words is an indication that we lack authority.
Mark 11:23 provides believers with the scriptural equivalent of a blank cheque. In this verse Jesus states that the “whosoever” can have “whatsoever” if he believes without any doubt in his heart that the words he speaks will come to pass. The Greek word translated “doubt” means, “to make a difference”. We are not to make a difference between what seems hard and what seems easy. Jesus saw no difference between withering a fig tree and moving a mountain (Matthew 21:21). He saw no difference between a curable and an incurable condition – his raising of the dead Lazarus after three days is proof of that.
As well as the blank cheque of verse 23 there is the clean heart of verse 25, which states that “anyone” who prays must forgive others for “anything” they have done. In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus makes forgiveness even harder when he says that we must be reconciled to anyone who has “anything” against us.
But, surely, that’s their problem! No, it’s ours. We need God’s faith to move our own lack of forgiveness out of the way as much as we need it to move aside the formidable obstacles that confront us. A heart that doesn’t doubt but forgives quickly is a prerequisite to building a spirit of faith.
The word “spirit” in Greek is pneuma, which, like its Hebrew counterpart ruarkh, also defines “breath” – depending on the context. For example, does James 2:26 mean that without the spirit the body is dead or that without the breath the body is dead? Well, both, of course, but the human spirit is more than just inhaled or exhaled breath.
The New International Version possibly reflects today’s emphasis on psychology when in Ephesians 4:23 it translates pneuma as “attitude” – “the attitude of your mind”. Although accurate it’s more an interpretation than a translation, and no doubt has led some to conclude that Jesus cast out evil attitudes.
The ambiguity of pneuma makes it difficult in some texts to know whether the subject is the Holy Spirit or the human spirit. The KJV and NKJV translate Romans 8:10 as much the same: “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” But since the context of this verse is the human spirit, which is alive because of righteousness, the lower case “s” is better.
We know that a person can be influenced by an evil spirit (for example, the female fortune-teller at Philippi). But there is a difference between an evil spirit in a person and evil in a person’s spirit; and we need to distinguish one from the other. A case study of Timothy helps clarify the matter. The young Timothy was converted through the preaching of Paul, and after accompanying him in ministry became a church leader. But it seems that Timothy had “a spirit of fear” – or was it a fearful spirit? When Paul writes, “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind”, he is addressing the problem of Timothy’s timidity.
The Greek word used by Paul clearly indicates that Timothy was timid. He was despised by some because of his youth, was known to have a weak stomach, and was influenced by his believing Jewish mother and grandmother. (His Greek father either had not permitted his son to be circumcised or had neglected to do so.)
Timothy might well have been named Timidity! But Paul became the spiritual father the young man needed (Acts 16:1-3; 1 Corinthians 16:10, 11; 1 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 1:5-8). The “war” that Paul encouraged Timothy to “fight” was probably against his tendency to avoid confrontation.
As Timothy learned Paul’s “ways in Christ”, he began to lose his timidity. No longer “ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ” or of Paul as the Lord’s “prisoner”, Timothy grew to become a strong leader, and eventually became a bishop. Did Timothy overcome a demonic “spirit of fear”? No! Timothy got the victory over fear in his spirit!
Recent versions of the New Testament have introduced “dynamic equivalence” – thought for thought rather than word for word translations. This is not new to missionaries, who have to translate “the wicked are like the troubled sea” as “the wicked are like a whirling desert sandstorm” to a nomad in the Sahara. But they can cloud the meaning of the original Hebrew of Greek.
I enjoy reading recent versions of the New Testament, even though they lack the thought-rhythm of the old King James Version. (No one can quote their favourite verses as readily as KJV readers.) Yet despite the paraphrased language leaps of today’s translations they do clarify Bible texts such as 2 Corinthians 4:13 – which we’ll now look at a little more closely.
When Paul writes, “We, having the same spirit of faith” does he mean the same faith in his spirit? Yes, that is exactly what he means. In explaining the meaning of “the spirit of faith”, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown refer readers of their Expositional Commentary on the Bible to Romans 8:15: “For you received not (at the time of your conversion) the spirit of bondage,” that is, “The spirit you received was not a spirit of bondage, but the spirit of adoption, whereby – rather, “wherein” – we cry, Abba, Father.”
So a “spirit of faith” is the faith God imparts to the spirit; just as “the spirit of adoption” is the assurance in our spirit that we have been accepted into the family of our heavenly Father. There is a lot of difference between speaking into faith – repeatedly confessing Bible texts to get truth into the spirit – and speaking out of a spirit of faith – confessing truth that already fills our spirit.
Believers who “name and claim” Bible promises either have the spirit of the thing they desire – and by this I mean that their spirit is saturated in the truth of that thing – or they are endlessly repeating it because they mistake mechanical repetition for biblical confession. We should never confuse “naming and claiming” what we need with “blabbing and grabbing” what we want!
Remember that “saying without praying” is mere verbal repetition, and that “mind over matter” will never move mountains. On the other hand, “praying without saying” may result in a devotional life, yet one that lacks the authority of the spoken word. Jesus said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit and life” – verbal packages of spiritual power!
If you are seeking to heal the sick you could begin with God’s revelation of Himself as “YHVH Ropheka” – “the LORD your Healer” (Exodus 15:26). You would then search the Bible for examples of those who were healed by God through the prophets, through Jesus, and through the apostles. You would view healings downloaded to your iPad while travelling on a bus or train, or listen to your car’s iPod while driving.
By the time you have prayed, listened, viewed, studied and confessed the subject of healing to the point where it fills your every thought and occupies your every waking moment, you will be ready to lay hands on the sick, and can expect to see results! You will have a spirit of faith. The same due diligence is required for whatever gift or ministry or gift you desire. Build a spirit of faith and everything else will follow.
The Bible contains many expansive statements about God’s unlimited ability. Most of them are in the form of rhetorical questions, a well-known one being “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14)
Jesus Christ made many expansive statements about himself; his seven-time use of “I am” in John’s Gospel being perhaps the best known. But he attributed his power to do miracles to his heavenly Father, saying that He was “greater” and that without Him he could do nothing. However he did state that his Father had given him authority on earth to forgive sins and to impart life at will. After his resurrection Jesus spoke even more expansively about himself, saying “All authority is given to me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). The key word in many of his statements is “given” — the authority and power of the Son came from his Father.
Christians know Jesus to be “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Since Jesus is the Son of God it was natural for him to do the same things as his Father, since that’s what a son does. We know that the term “Son of God” refers to the unique conception and birth of Jesus. Yet when Jesus spoke of himself as such the Jews saw it as a claim to equality with God. They accused him of blasphemy, and then persuaded Pontius Pilate to crucify him.
The statement by Jesus that he was the Son of God was to unbelieving Jews a chasm they would not cross. But to believing Jews that chasm did not exist, because faith in the Son had given them access to the Father.
Yet although Christians are expansive about God’s ability to do absolutely anything and Christ’s ability to do the same, many still imagine there is a wide chasm between what Jesus did and what they can do, in his name. Some view this chasm with something akin to relief, since it excuses them from doing the works that Jesus did – “and greater” (John 14:12). Others imagine the chasm to be a separation between church and kingdom that Christians should not try to bridge, since to them the kingdom is a promise to the Jews, not to the Church.
But to Pentecostals this chasm is a theological illusion. How can such a division exist when the apostle Paul plainly writes of Jew and Gentile being “one new man” in Christ? But even some Pentecostals find it difficult to accept that the authority and power that Jesus exercised is available to them, since his relationship with the Father is now theirs, as well (1 John 1:3).
Their inability to grasp this keeps Christians within the safe confines of the Gospels and prevents them from venturing into the Acts of the Apostles and experiencing the authority of Jesus and the supernatural power of God. They agree that the original twelve apostles had that authority and power but claim that was only during the timeline of the book of Acts. This is not unlike the chasm that opened up in the minds of the Pharisees about Jesus. The theological vacuum created by the absence of spiritual authority and power is usually filled by an influx of legalistic Do’s and Don’ts of the kind that the apostle Paul warned the churches about.
God’s redeeming of sinners through the blood of Jesus on the Cross was the greatest buy-back that ever took place — or ever will! Jesus moved on from the Cross via the tomb and his ascension to a seat of honour at the Father’s right hand. We must preach to the unsaved that Jesus died for their sins, but it’s time that we Christians identified with the glorified Jesus and focused on changing this world the way he changed his. But to do this, more Christians will need to cross another imaginary chasm by changing the emphasis from what God can do for them to what God can do through them.
God-given faith makes all things possible and leaves nothing impossible. Mark 11:23 tells us that the “whosoever” can have the “whatsoever” if their faith has its origin in God. (If it doesn’t the “whatsoever” will be denied them, as it was the brothers James and John (Mark 10:25-40).
It’s one thing to believe “with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37), but another thing again to believe “Nothing shall be impossible to you.” (Matthew 17:20) But once you dispel the illusion that a chasm exists between the two, it’s easy.
Jeremiah said, “Ah, LORD God, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power; nothing is too difficult for you!” He had just finished purchasing land as a startling symbol of prophetic promise. The Babylonians would soon be at the gates, but in seventy years his people would return from exile to reclaim their land, and when they did, his descendants would be able to lay claim to what was theirs (Jeremiah 32). But after making that strong statement of faith, Jeremiah got to wondering how God would do it. Then God spoke to him.
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27) Well, wait a minute, LORD, Jeremiah might have thought, I just told your people that! Ah, yes, Jeremiah, but do you actually believe it? Was a gap beginning to open between the prophet’s mind and his heart that could have become a chasm? It can happen.
When the Lord first sent us to the United Kingdom, a friend took us to a farmhouse in the southwest of England, where he introduced us to a Spirit filled leader of the Church of England. While all four of us were drinking tea and eating the digestive biscuits so beloved of English people, the Reverend Doctor asked me to tell him a few things about myself.
I hadn’t finished when I saw that he was becoming impatient and unsettled, so I thought I’d better stop. As soon as I did, he gave an involuntary prophecy (the best kind), one that placed God’s imprimatur on me! The prophecy was accurate and was as powerful as any I had ever heard. (It matched a prophecy the Lord had given me through a visiting American a few days before in Brisbane.)
A few days later, knowing the importance of what he had said, the Reverend Doctor came to the house where I was to preach. I am sure that he was concerned about what he had said, and that he wanted to reassure himself that he had not involuntarily encouraged what could be a wild colonial charismatic! In that first meeting oil flowed from the palms of a friend’s hands — a sign to those present that God had sent us. The questioning gap that was beginning to open in the Reverend Doctor’s mind closed firmly in that meeting.
We need to be more expansive in our praise of God and of Jesus Christ; and we need to speak more expansively of what the Lord can do. Australia, like the USA, was settled by people who thought, spoke, and acted expansively! That’s how vast continents are settled. It’s also how they are evangelized. We need to speak more expansively about the call of God on our lives, and thus prevent a gap from opening between God’s promises in our hearts and questioning thoughts in our minds.
The only gap people should see is one between our lips when we open our mouths and say “WOW!”