14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into[c] the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
Acts 8:14-18
My heart is saddened right now to know so many preachers of the Word who find themselves struggling to feel God and churches full of people who feel the same way. I hear it from people that I talk to at least once a week. It wasn’t that long ago, when our own county saw 4 preachers resign from their positions on the same Sunday. It isn’t just preachers that experience this form of being disheartened, it is the same with any position in the church that leads the people.
I think so many churches today are struggling to find a better way. They are reaching out for something more and they are not sure how to get it. We cannot sit back and state that it isn’t happening to our preacher or in our church and therefore we have no responsibility for it. I pray daily for Christian people whom I have known a long time to finally experience everything God is offering them. The fact is that Higher Praise Church has been commissioned by God to minister to and pray for the Lake Cumberland Region. This means that the burdens of this region are our burdens. We must petition the Lord not only on behalf of those walking through our door,but also those we may never see as they walk through other church doors.
For so long now, many churches have rejected the power of the Holy Spirit. This is especially true in many areas of our region. You will notice in Acts 8:14-18 that the people first accepted the word of God and then they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but they did not stop there. It goes on to say that they received the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He proclaimed that He was leaving us with a helper. This helper was the Holy Spirit. You see, we were never meant to be able to make every decision on our own. We were never meant to know how to counsel everyone or what to pray for, all on our own. It is the Holy Spirit that can tell us things we would not know in the flesh. It is the Holy Spirit that can lead us down paths we would not choose on our own. It is the Holy Spirit that can lead us into unexpected times to share our testimony. It is the Holy Spirit that can give us the ability to pray to God in a spiritual language when we don’t know what to pray.
I think sometimes a church can become so desperate in knowing they need something more but not recognizing what it is, that they are actually willing to pay money to try and find it. They purchase the latest series, the best instruments, the newest curriculum, and they bring in the most original speakers. There is nothing wrong with doing these things if God leads you that way. The problem arises when we depend on these things to bring us into the presence of God. When that happens, we are missing the forest for the trees. The truth is that what we truly need has always been right there waiting on us to accept Him, and that is the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit enters a place of worship, it does not matter what else is going on because God will use everything and everyone in that room for His glory when we are open to such an experience.
The Holy Spirit will not force himself on anyone. He will not force himself into a heart or a church service. You have to be accepting of His presence in your life and in your gatherings. Allowing the Holy Spirit to move often requires us to lay aside our own agendas. Have you ever given someone a gift that you felt would really help them out? Did you find out later that they never opened the box? Do you think that is how Jesus feels when He knows He left us with such a special gift and we never open the box?
Perhaps you wonder why you hear so much about this lately or why some of us think it is so important that you understand things of the Spirit. Isn’t it enough to know the Word and operate in the Word? Isn’t it enough to have salvation? It is most assuredly wonderful and the most important thing to know the Word and to have salvation in our hearts. However,in today’s difficult times, it is most beneficial to take advantage of all that God has to offer us. It is enough to have a car that runs. A car that runs will still get you where you are going, but the ride is much easier if you have power steering. Right? Perhaps the heartfelt answer to that question would be, we feel it is important because some of us know that without the Holy Spirit we would have never made it this far. Without the Holy Spirit, there are times when I am not certain I would still be on the right side of this journey. Watching how God uses the Holy Spirit to guide me is like finding little gifts along the road every day. They are reminders that He is still with me. We have such a strong desire to see the Holy Spirit work in lives because accepting this helper that Jesus left for us will build you up. It will give you new strength in times when all you know to do is lay on the floor and pray in words only God understands. The intimacy with God that you walk away with after moments like these is something that cannot be fabricated, purchased, or created by man. It is because of our strong love for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that we pray for everyone to be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit in their Christian walk.
Finally, when you can take those private moments into a group of like minded believers to experience a corporate time led by the Holy Spirit-well those are the moments when cities can be turned upside down, when denominational walls will fall, and when a lasting bond of love and unity will be built in their place. It isn’t so that spectators can comment on the strangeness of it all, but rather it is so that everyone in the midst of His presence can comment on the beauty of it all! It isn’t so that we can publicly make a show of what God has given us. It is so that several people can privately commune with God at the same time, in the same room; and only through God that which was separate can be made whole and transformed into one body worshiping and praising Him.
It’s time. It’s time that we follow the lead of those in Acts 8, turn away from that which the world offers to us with no lasting effects, and accept what the Lord has waiting for us. The time has come for us to be joined by the God we serve instead of being separated by the doctrine we have been taught. I believe a decision to both individually and corporately move towards God in this way could begin a revolution that will change churches from the inside out; not just on a hillside in Russell Springs but in every corner of our region! Let's make a decision together to be open to all that God has to offer to us as we continue to petition Him on behalf of HPC and the entire Lake Cumberland region!
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