Although I have
known for some time what I
have to write about I find that I cannot easily express it.
I sit in awe of God, afraid that whatever I say will appear to criticise
other Christians. I
think that Bruce Collins touched on the problem in his evening talk at Flames
of Fire. God
is stopping us in our tracks, serving Him in our own way and in our own
strength. When are we going to let Him do what He wants to
do and not get in His way?
I am sure that
if something really is His way then all who are willing to sit in His presence
and listen will receive the same vision.
So why is it that sometimes I feel that I am not in tune with others when
they say that this or that is God’s way or only this or that is in accord with
scripture? It
shatters my peace and I believe now that God has a purpose in allowing this to
happen. It has made me very
aware of the conflicts within the Church and particularly within the Anglican
Church. Loyal devout
members disagree about so many
aspects of our church life, and not least about renewal.
Recently
I have been looking again at Watchman Nee’s book
“The Normal Christian Life.” When
I first read this book the opening chapter left a great impression on me.
“What is the normal Christian life?
We do well at the outset to ponder this question.
The object of these studies is to show that it is something very
different from the life of the average Christian.
Indeed a consideration of the written Word of God -- of the Sermon on the
Mount for example -- should lead us to ask whether such a life has ever in fact
been lived upon the earth, save only by the Son of God Himself.
But in that last saving clause lies immediately the answer to our
question.
“The
Apostle Paul gives us his own definition of the Christian life in Galatians
2:20. It is "no longer I, but Christ".
Here he is not stating something special or peculiar -- a high level of
Christianity.
He is, we believe, presenting God's normal for a Christian, which can be
summarized in the words: I live no longer, but Christ lives His life in
me………”
Do
we believe that? When
negative feelings surface within me I know that I am denying this great truth
and I need to let God do something about it.
But I am sure that I am not alone in this or we would not have so much
disagreement -- so many interpretations.
So
what is Renewal and what are we in
ARM(Wales) about? We have to
look at the need for a new chairman in November.
We are grateful to Phil Rees for leading us for the last five years, he
has taken us forward to a sound base for Flames of Fire. It will now move forward under the leadership
of Nick Jones and is better equipped to involve input from those of other
denominations. So what
do we want of the next Chairman of ARM(Wales)?
Some may even say cynically, ”Is there anything else to do?”
For many ARM(Wales) only does Flames of Fire.
Chris
Webb has written us an article, Renewing Renewal.
Does that stimulate us or lead us to question whether we have the same
view of Renewal as the Church in Wales and more importantly what does God want
anyway? I refer you to our
statement inside the back cover - when did you last read it? (Web page link) The web page also carries an
articlerenewal but we may not be giving sufficient emphasis to the fact that we believe it
is the Holy Spirit Himself that communicates the will of God to us, and that we
can be aware of His presence within us.
Romans
12:2 says "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good,
pleasing and perfect will."
So
are we willing to surrender our minds to the Holy Spirit and give up trying to
work out and do what we think is best.
It has to take us back into Galatians 2:20 and our need to believe it.
It we are in Christ then we
were crucified when He was crucified, it is not something that has happened in
our sufferings, no matter what they have been.
But as we go through life we need to feel different aspects of suffering
and strangely He uses it. But
the best bit is that we are alive in Him and He lives in us.
First we must believe it and then let Christ grow in us.
Another, “Yes, but how?”
Only
by spending more time in His presence, without offering requests or advice, just
silent love and adoration, we come to praise Him and let Him have His way. That will start the changing process, that will start
Renewal. We need the
stillness within and we need to constantly walk in that
peace that is so easily shattered by our disagreement.
What happens next depends on our willingness to listen to the Holy Spirit
and obey Him. I
know this is not easy and I know I fail but I become very aware that I have
failed when I do get back on the right wavelength.
I am sorry that I offend others when I push on without considering them
and their other responsibilities but I really believe we must spend time
together in silence to discover
God’s will for ARM(Wales).
He is longing for us to come to Him as one, for He has a new
vision for us and already has anointed a leader to take us forward.
So are we ready and willing to show the Church in Wales what Charismatic
Renewal really is?
Also
in this issue we have some reports of Flames
of Fire and from members telling us of their work in Wales, Birmingham
and Africa.
Mary Newsom