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Thread: Are We Afraid of Emotionalism or of the Holy Spirit? Michael Brown

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    Are We Afraid of Emotionalism or of the Holy Spirit? Michael Brown


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    Paul's response was simple and inarguable, "I didn't come to you with fine oratory but with a demonstration of God's power". And why? So their faith would have something to rest on, foundationally. We have weak churches with near zero testimony of recent demonstrations of God showing up. I was called in (emergency) to pastor a church that couldn't figure out what went wrong causing people to leave in droves (375 down to 35-40). Simple. No Holy Spirit. The pastor of 45yrs just "turned the crank" until something went wrong.

    They did not want the Holy Spirit and would say that not in specific words but in their actions. The first Sunday I preached (5yrs ago) their village "carnal carl" came up to me and said that was the first time he felt the Holy Spirit in the place for years. People sat and listened attentively weeping. One old guy came up and slapped me on the back and said "you're hired". At that moment I knew why the trouble began. Far too many years of not seeking God.

    Before my departure in those 2 years I made sure they knew what they were doing wrong. They were a prideful township hall with a religious service on Sunday morning and all they wanted was a chaplain. What a tragedy.

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    Quote Originally Posted by FireBrand View Post
    Paul's response was simple and inarguable, "I didn't come to you with fine oratory but with a demonstration of God's power". And why? So their faith would have something to rest on, foundationally. We have weak churches with near zero testimony of recent demonstrations of God showing up. I was called in (emergency) to pastor a church that couldn't figure out what went wrong causing people to leave in droves (375 down to 35-40). Simple. No Holy Spirit. The pastor of 45yrs just "turned the crank" until something went wrong.
    Exactly. This is why I have a little bone to pick with his statement:

    "All the gifts and power and manifestations mean nothing to me if I don't see the fruit..."

    I get that we need to develop in character and fruit. But you hear the power side downplayed all the time against the 'fruit' as if one is more important that the other. Is character/fruit or power more important? Well I guess that would depend you who you asked. If you had a person with terminal cancer that didn't have long to live I guarantee you they couldn't care less about whether the person walks in love all the time, or has character flaws, or has some sin in their life they're having a problem with, or whatever else, all you care about is do you operate in the power of God so I can be healed? I won't belabor the point but there are many examples I could give. That's why we have the blood of Jesus because NONE of us are perfect. And if we're waiting to be perfect to walk in the power then then we'll be waiting until we die.

    I've said this before and I'll say it again, holiness is not the key to the power of God, FAITH is. Am I downplaying holiness? Not at all. But I'd rather have a Christian less holy that walked in the power of God that could get me healed rather than someone that is 'holy' but couldn't get me healed. Peter said about the man at the gate called Beautiful, "It's NOT by OUR power or HOLINESS, but HIS NAME THROUGH FAITH IN HIS NAME that has made this man whole."

    I love this clip by Bill Johnson. All I can give is the link to the Instagram post, but worth watching. In a nutshell (well I basically ended up quoting the whole thing) he says what is more important, to not grieve the Holy Spirit or quench the Holy Spirit? They are of equal importance. To grieve the Holy Spirit is about sin. To quench the Holy Spirit is about power. To grieve the holy spirit is focused on character. To quench the holy spirit is focused on power. Those are two legs we stand on. They must be of equal length. IT DOESN'T MAKE ME A NOBLE PERSON TO EMPHASIZE CHARACTER AND NOT EMPHASIZE POWER.YOU'LL GET APPLAUSE FROM THE RELIGIOUS CROWD, BUT IT DOESN'T PRODUCE ANYTHING TO BRING ABOUT TRANSFORMATION TO THE CULTURE ITSELF.



    This sounds familiar as if I said this same thing awhile back somewhere. Anyway, just one of my soap boxes.
    Last edited by fuego; 10-01-2022 at 08:36 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    Exactly. This is why I have a little bone to pick with his statement:

    "All the gifts and power and manifestations mean nothing to me if I don't see the fruit..."

    I get that we need to develop in character and fruit. But you hear the power side downplayed all the time against the 'fruit' as if one is more important that the other. Is character/fruit or power more important? Well I guess that would depend you who you asked. If you had a person with terminal cancer that didn't have long to live I guarantee you they couldn't care less about whether the person walks in love all the time, or has character flaws, or has some sin in their life they're having a problem with, or whatever else, all you care about is do you operate in the power of God so I can be healed? I won't belabor the point but there are many examples I could give. That's why we have the blood of Jesus because NONE of us are perfect. And if we're waiting to be perfect to walk in the power then then we'll be waiting until we die.

    I've said this before and I'll say it again, holiness is not the key to the power of God, FAITH is. Am I downplaying holiness? Not at all. But I'd rather have a Christian less holy that walked in the power of God that could get me healed rather than someone that is 'holy' but couldn't get me healed. Peter said about the man at the gate called Beautiful, "It's NOT by OUR power or HOLINESS, but HIS NAME THROUGH FAITH IN HIS NAME that has made this man whole."

    I love this clip by Bill Johnson. All I can give is the link to the Instagram post, but worth watching. In a nutshell (well I basically ended up quoting the whole thing) he says what is more important, to not grieve the Holy Spirit or quench the Holy Spirit? They are of equal importance. To grieve the Holy Spirit is about sin. To quench the Holy Spirit is about power. To grieve the holy spirit is focused on character. To quench the holy spirit is focused on power. Those are two legs we stand on. They must be of equal length. IT DOESN'T MAKE ME A NOBLE PERSON TO EMPHASIZE CHARACTER AND NOT EMPHASIZE POWER.YOU'LL GET APPLAUSE FROM THE RELIGIOUS CROWD, BUT IT DOESN'T PRODUCE ANYTHING TO BRING ABOUT TRANSFORMATION TO THE CULTURE ITSELF.

    Bill Johnson Ministries on Instagram: "Have you ever wondered the difference between grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit? Listen to the full sermon "The Gate of Heaven" at the link in my bio. #TheGateOfHeaven #BillJohnson #Bethel"

    This sounds familiar as if I said this same thing awhile back somewhere. Anyway, just one of my soap boxes.
    And is one of my challenges in ministry. If all we need is intellect, knowlege and character then the Mormons and JW's have already won the world for Christ. Remove the Holy Ghost demonstrations of power and the modern church wouldn't notice it until the problems start.

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    Quote Originally Posted by FireBrand View Post
    And is one of my challenges in ministry. If all we need is intellect, knowlege and character then the Mormons and JW's have already won the world for Christ. Remove the Holy Ghost demonstrations of power and the modern church wouldn't notice it until the problems start.
    BINGO. You take away the demonstrations of power you don't even have a book of 'Acts'. Acts of what?

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    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    BINGO. You take away the demonstrations of power you don't even have a book of 'Acts'. Acts of what?
    There it is.

    Mark 16. I absolutely want to see power. Get someone healed and set free, you have a the kingdom of darkness shaking in it's filth.

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