So we are getting to the really intersting bit of Alpha…my fav bit. I remember the very first Alpha I led…I just wasn’t qualified in terms of knowledge and experience to do the Holy Spirit bit effectively. And I’m just overwhelmed that God has taught my in all the ways I need to be equipped in this ministry.
When the Spirit really began touching my life post-conversion…i.e when I realised that there was more to faith than being nice and attending worship… he just totally captured my mind with his message to share. I struggled big with all the gifts of the Spirit and all of that for a few years but commited myself to seeking God and working it out…well, he worked it our for me! But now I am just so blessed and overwhelmed by the stuff God is willing to hand out…he is soo good and just delights to give us gift if we ask.
I’ve confessed before that I think that Christianity which is anything less than charismatic (not in the denominational sense, but in the practical sense) is not authentic Christianty. You cannot get away from the fact that God gives spiritual gifts, his charis, to every believer and that those are intended to be used. It is just fab when u look at times in history where God has really broken into his church (usually because we’ve shut the gated and bolted it) there is a fresh renewal of people’s awareness of their spirtual gifts. Fab work Jesus…I praise you.
I think people need to understand the difference between Pentecostal, pentecostal, Charismatic and charismatic. U know what I mean? I mean there are denominations which takes these terms as titles and descriptions of their church and often it is there u find the theolgy that the rest of the church might not necasarrily agree on. However, its the P and C in captials that are sometimes the problem and the things that moveus away from it and scare us from embracing what it means to have pentecostal and charismatic expression and experience within our own “tradition”, or, if you like, what it means to exercise charis in the context of Salvationism.
Gee…gone deeper than I had intended for tonight..but, hey, u don’t have to read if you don’t want to. 🙂
I was thinking back to my propeganda evenings we had every week at college…the little bible study I held every week. It was such a joy to me to help guys work out what the bible said and how they were going to act in response to the bibles teaching on all this stuff. I mean, we even had a prophetic prayer party on night…he did some prayin for healing, we saw some cadets begin to speak in tongues (tell in not in Gath!) And I guess the saying that “you can only really take people confidently where you have gone yourelf” is so true.
But I also remembered the “political groups” which were unofficially around at college. For example. The “I-will-not-even-think-of-raising-my-hand-or-do-anything-remotely-charismatic” Group. There was the “If-it-has-a-crest-on-it-I’m-having-nothing-to-do-with-it” Group. And don’t forget the “Get-that-Flag-outta-here” Group. So many people don’t realise the amount of resistance to God that some of this stuff created because God, like the nutter he is (see yesterdays blog) delights to use absoltley everything that will be useful for the Kingdom. How did I get here from talking of the Spirit, well I guess I was saying u have to simply be open to the fact that God is not necessarily going to come to you on yor own terms…he has a sovereign will to promote and yet he is so gracious never to push it upon us. But surely we want to be so abedient t his will…he wants us empowered and effective.
May we never loose site of the fire in “Blood and Fire”
yours in Jesus in the battle for world domination by the power of the Spirit
Andrew
(aka Captain Nutter)
Andrew S M Clark 