“God wants his family back and he wants his family to defeat his enemy.”
-Andrew Shearman
500 years ago the church had gotten off track to the point that priests were selling indulgences (basically tickets to heaven). Martin Luther saw the flaws in this and challenged the church on these practices. After studying scripture he proposed that salvation comes from grace and was heavily persecuted for it. The church split and the world was changed.
111 years ago a man named William J Seymour started a revival in Los Angeles, California known as the Azusa Street Revival. After studying scripture, Seymour realized that the church had strayed away from operating in the power of the Holy Spirit. Miracles happened, people were healed, people spoke in tongues, demons were cast out. The Pentecostal Movement was formed. The church was split and the world was changed.
Today, the church is very split. Many more differences in opinion have surfaced about everything from the amount of water used to baptize to which political party a Christian should join. The body of Christ is at war with itself over doctrinal and political differences. Most Christians believe that the church that they choose to go to is right and everyone else is wrong.
The truth is that none of us are completely right. Nobody has God completely figured out. Praise him for that! If we could completely figure God out with our human minds, he wouldn’t be God. We would. That’s a very scary thought.
The most simple and most essential beliefs I have been able to take from my experiences with God and my reading of his scripture are these: The Father loves us. Jesus died for our sins. As believers the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. The greatest commandment is to love God and love each other. We are called to go and make disciples. The kingdom of God is at hand.
There is nothing wrong with having beliefs that differ from each other within the body of Christ. The Lord reveals himself differently to all of us. That’s what a relationship is. It’s personal. We were not made to be robots who only reverberate what our pastor or priest have said. We certainly aren’t supposed to go to war with our neighbors because their pastors or priests have said something different than ours. That’s ludicrous! That is giving so much power to one person or even one denomination. That’s certainly not how Jesus defined a disciple. Jesus said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35). What he didn’t say is this: “Everyone will know you are my disciples if you are right and everyone else is wrong.” (Opinions 4:15). We have an enemy and that enemy is divisive. Hate divides. Love unites even in our differences.
I 100% agree with Martin Luther that it is by grace that we are saved. I also agree with William J Seymour that we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us and we have access to his gifts and power. I have felt the Lord come into my life and save me from living in the literal pits of hell. I have operated in the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit. Both are incredibly beautiful things. They are still not completely living into what God has for us though.
My prayer is for the next reformation of the church to come. This is a reformation that will require us to put aside our petty differences and unite as one body. This is a reformation that will require us to follow the commandment of Jesus and love one another. This is a reformation that will reveal his kingdom. This is a reformation that will bring heaven to earth. This is the reformation of the harvest; the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be a time when hell is pillaged and heaven is stocked full of God’s people. This is how God will get his family back.
As a squad leader I must raise $6,500 to cover expenses on the field and two debriefs later in the year after I have returned home. I would be honored if you would pray about supporting me financially. There is a link to my support account at the top of this page. There are options for one time donations or monthly recurring donations. All donations to this account are tax deductible in the United States. I also still owe tuition money to G42 Leadership Academy for my time in leadership/discipleship training in Spain last year. If you feel led to donate to my G42 account please click this link: http://generation42.org/donation-details?d=8 and put my name in the intern box. As always I would appreciate your prayers for myself and for Y Squad as we take this journey this year. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Love Y’all!!!
