There are so many vagaries of doctrinal debate within the church in these final days that have little to do with the mission of Christ's body on the earth as enunciated in Isaiah 61:1 - 2a and reiterated by our Lord in Nazareth at the beginning of His earthly ministry,

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor (i.e. poor in spirit - those who are hungry for righteousness and truth), He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives (all those in the bondage of sin and death), and recovery of sight to the blind (i.e. spiritual as well as physical sight), to set free those who are downtrodden (tormented and controlled by the demonic forces of darkness), to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD (Today is the day of salvation for all who will believe - it is a personal jubilee year when all will be returned to them that has been taken and freedom from slavery to sin and death are realized by the cleansing power of His redeeming Grace). 

We have recently witnessed the extremities of heretic behavior perpetrated by the liberal mainstream church; ordination of gay bishops, support for government programs that advocate 'termination of life', withdrawal of financial investment in Israeli companies and even the rejection of basic Christian tenets and the inerrancy of God's Word. More insidious, though, is the massive shift of the church in America and Europe from Christo-centric worship and teaching to ego-centric, self-help, man-focused religion with very little reference to the Savior, less to the Cross and only a generic acknowledgement of God. Pastor Osteen is by no means the only perpetrator of this 'new religion', but the cover of his new book just sums it up all so well.

In response to the wave of apostasy in the western church, a number of large denominations have retreated into the safety of the Word of God, but at the same time have rejected the present operation of the Holy Spirit of God in the world. Jesus clearly assured the church that it was only through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we would be empowered to continue the 'Mission' that he had so clearly illustrated through His own life, death, resurrection and ascension back to His place at the Father's side.

On the other end of the spectrum of the Christian faith, there have arisen large, growing movements that minimize the study and meditation of the Bible and instead rely on an 'active' faith that places great emphasis on hearing God through His Spirit. Though admirable in concept, the downfall of this Spirit led life (which is fully advocated by the writings of the early Apostles), is that without the grounding and illumination of God's written word, it is possible to hear from the wrong spirit. We have seen many recent examples of this in the last few years within the Church.

No, ultimately we must always heed the instructions of the Master found in the Gospel of John 4:23-24, "But the time is coming - indeed it's here now - when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." There is so much that Christ is teaching us in this brief passage - as he commissions the first Christian evangelist - but the point to be taken away by us today, is that our worship of God must be a balance of the richness and revelation found in His Word and an openness to the constant direction of the Holy Spirit in our lives and ministries.


TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.....