Forgotten God-Episode 4

Towards the end of Chapter 2 Francis talks about how he was asked “Who is the most Spirit-filled person you know?” He goes on to share about the person he feels is the most Spirit-filled and I am going to do the same below.

The day I found out that Charlie was leaving the church I work for I was extremely sad. Charlie was the pastor for our high energy service at the church I work for. He was the type of guy that exemplified what it meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit. No matter how bad of a day you were having or how tired you were…Charlie made you smile and feel better. He was full of energy and anytime you spent talking with him you knew he genuinely cared about how you were doing.

Charlie….you and your family are still missed and I wish we could have had more time to get to know each other. Jesus is so real in your life that when I look at you I see Jesus. I mean…it may be that you don’t’ wear shoes when you worship, but still you were an awesome example to everyone you came in contact with as to what it means to love the Lord with all of your heart, soul and mind.

You must ask…

Luke 18:40-42 (NIV)

⁴⁰ Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.
⁴² Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”

I may be the only one…but whenever I hear a sermon that talks about “we do not have because we do not ask” I always think…mmmhmm…riiiight. This morning the above scripture was a part of my daily scripture reading. Here Jesus approaches a blind man and asks him “What do you want me to do for you?” Are you kidding Jesus? Seriously? HE’S BLIND! I’d imagine if you asked homeless people what they wanted Jesus to do for them….they’d say get me a home. If you asked someone starving to death what they wanted Jesus to do for them…they’d say get me some food.

But…now scripture reveals itself…

Luke 11:9 (NIV)

⁹ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Forgotten God–Episode 1

I started blogging on book quotes while I was reading another book called How to Hit a Curveball, Grill the Perfect Steak, and Become a Real Man. It was a great way of me to process the book and share some of my thoughts about it. I’m going to do the same as I work my way through Francis Chan’s book Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit.

"Even our church growth can happen without Him. Let’s be honest: If you combine a charismatic speaker, a talented worship band, and some hip, creative events, people will attend your church. Yet this does not mean that the Holy Spirit of God is actively working and moving in the lives of the people who are coming. It simply means that you have created a space that is appealing enough to draw people in for an hour or two on Sunday.

It certainly does not mean that people walk out the doors moved to worship and in awe of God. People are more likely to describe the quality of the music or the appeal of the sermon than the One who is the reason people gather for “church” in the first place” (Chan 31).

Right now you’re probably asking yourself…”what was that noise I just heard?” Yep, that noise was the wind leaving my lungs as I was punched and then kicked in the stomach by this quote. So many times in ministry I find myself relying more on technology, my abilities or resources than I do the Holy Spirit.

We’ve all been there. Whatever technology it is: your cell phone, computer or a sound system…it works perfectly fine until your stress level gets to about a 7 on a scale of 1/10. Your stress level then shoots through the roof because we' put our trust in things that will sometimes fail us. The only way to bullet proof our faith is to put our faith in the Holy Spirit…who will never fail us.