"Glorify Your Name"
That in fact is our calling, the calling of the whole Church no matter what denomination or doctrine, what nationality or what culture.
For
some time I have been thinking deeply about charismatic renewal, about healing,
about power and about how it should have worked out in our churches and why
there seems to have been so much confusion and failure.
What has gone wrong in charismatic renewal?
It would seem to be the right way forward for the Church to be led by the
Holy Spirit, - by God himself. We must consider where we have failed, for
it is not God who has failed.
It
may be that our activities are man’s activities which God has not actually
sanctioned. We intend and want to
do God’s will but somehow cannot discern His way, and use our own logic and
faulty reasoning. When we
consider “healing” this seems to be particularly shaky.
I believe that we should seek a theology
which applies across the whole spectrum of our churches and to everything we do.
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."
Our
minds must be conformed to the mind of Christ
(1 Corinthians 2:16) we cannot rely on our reasoning but we
praise Him for He is willing to renew our minds.
But we must use our minds, they are not superfluous when the Spirit takes
over. Some dismiss
theology but to do so is to risk heresy.
Heresy is so nearly the truth and Jesus himself warned that “even
the elect can be led astray” (Matthew 24:24, Mark 13:22).
We may at this time be surrounded by false prophets able to perform
miracles.
Look
too at Psalm 51:10 "Create
in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
and
Ezekiel 36:26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will
remove from you your heart of stone and
give you a heart of flesh"
I
have meditated on these passages many times to get some understanding of Renewal. Each
time I see something new as our hearts are changed slowly, “softened” as we
might say.
Recently at an ARM(Wales) Executive retreat we were left to think on the verse from Ezekiel. I read the whole Chapter to put it in context, then concentrated on verses 22-38. God intends to bring Israel to repentance so that He can renew them and they “shall know that I am the LORD”.
If we want this renewal it must be all of it.
We will be changed in order to Glorify God and we
must portray His Holiness, in other words we must become like Jesus. From the New Testament we learn that we must be “Born
again” (John 3), we must become a “New
Creation” (2 Corinthians
5:17) the old self must die
(Romans 6:5-11) and this means that we must
be “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20).
One
book that I am currently considering is “Jesus Baptises in One Holy
Spirit” by David Pawson. The
Foreword is written by Mark Stibbe who says of his friend David, “Every
time we have met, there has been a very real sense of iron sharpening iron –
of two people refining their theological views in the light of the friendly
criticisms which each has offered.”
That is the light in which I want to offer this magazine, we have
none of us got everything right but must be willing to read and meditate on what
we have read so that we can hear the Holy Spirit speaking to us.
So rather than issue any disclaimer as to the content of any article I
pray with St. Paul that we will all receive a “Gift of Discernment”
“And
this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all
discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be
sincere and without offence till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits
of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
(Philippians
1:9-11)
This issue includes articles from Mike Endicott, who challenges us in his own inimitable way and from a restored Gerry Angel. His challenge to us is different but nevertheless necessary, don’t be put off because of its length, it will make you think about not only our future but also about the Church in Wales.
Mary Newsom