"If you stick with this, living out what I tell you,
you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the
truth, and the truth will free you." (John 8:31-32, MSG)
I have visited a lot of churches all over the world.
Most of them preach and sing. Singing to God shows we
love Him. Sermons help us to learn from the Bible, which is also good.
When
Jesus was in our neighborhood, however, His focus was on experiencing His Heavenly
Father.
Shouldn't churches do the same? The more we experience
Our Father, the closer we will get to knowing Him.
If we don't know how to do this, we can ask the Holy
Spirit. "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking,
and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you."Matthew
7:7, NLT . He will guide us, both individually and as the church at
large. If we do, the Church will become vibrant.
There was a pastor of a denomination that didn't
really preach much from the Bible. Most people were falling asleep during
church. One day he changed. This minister decided that his goal was for
his audience to experience God.
"Preaching is not the focus," he said one day. "Jesus
is the focus. You will experience God today."
He gave some tips, and then he asked everybody to close
their eyes. There was a revolution that day. Most of the congregation
experienced God, and everyone was blessed.
While I was in Australia, I visited a number of
churches, most of which were large and well-known. There were two churches we
visited, however, that were very small. One was in Gladstone, Queensland, and
the other, in Alice Springs. Though tiny, both
churches were filled with the Holy Spirit. Their goal
was also to experience God.
These churches showed love. They prayed for one
another and people were healed. When, due to the drought-like conditions, they
prayed for rain, they got heavy rains a few days later.
The church in Alice Springs welcomes the indiginous
people. They, too, are focused on experiencing our Heavenly Father.
When we show love and that we care, and when we
experience our Heavenly Father, we will be revived by God's Spirit and empowered
to become real witnesses.
“Follow the Holy Spirit and you will be blessed. ‘If
anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will
brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as
the Scripture says.’ He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who
believed in him were about to receive.” (John 7:37-38, MSG)
I would like to encourage all pastors to help their
audience to experience our Heavenly Father.
Sermons may be motivating, but experiencing our
Heavenly Father will make us hungry to getting to know our Father more and more.
When you want revival, help your audience to
experience the Holy Spirit, and He will lead you to know Him more and more.
It is time to stop being a couch potato. Get to know
the best friend we can ever had: God's Holy Spirit.
Do you know Him? Do you commune with Him? Are you
experiencing Him daily?
“Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit
of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Galatians 4:6 NAS
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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