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Many believers today think teaching to be boring. They prefer the quick moving, fast paced ministry, revival buzz services, and sight and sound hyped up meetings. This focus has dwarfed many and kept them in an infant state of Christianity. You can browse through Facebook and see how theologically unsound many are. Teaching is so necessary today for that very reason, because what people don’t understand they’re against. It’s just human nature.
Smith Wigglesworth prophesied in a word of wisdom back in the 1930s and 40s before he died that there would be a teaching movement that when combined with the gifts of the Holy Spirit would bring about the next move or wave of the Spirit. Teaching the word is necessary for the mushrooming of the move of God. Teaching is like watering a crop or a seed. Without it, God cannot maximize the increase (1 Cor. 3:6). It’s also a necessary balance for the accurate and efficient supernatural move of the Holy Spirit. As they say: All Spirit blows you up; all word dries you up; but the word and the Spirit together grow you up. I’m seeing this lack in much of the younger generations today. There must be a healthy balance between the Scriptures and the supernatural operations and manifestations of the Holy Spirit. If you feed more on the cessationist teachings of men like John MacArthur and Justin Peters and others like them, you will resist the supernatural gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit. In fact, you will never distinguish between the real and the counterfeit.
For example, I posted a few days ago about the true New Testament church being a Spirit-baptized, tongue talking people. It’s the Lord’s standard. I have a couple of people that are still in debate with me about that. They seem to be MacArthur/Peters type disciples who have been religiously brainwashed instead of NT taught. In fact, one sent me a Justin Peters one hour video of him refuting the entire Pentecostal/Charismatic movement.
I don’t usually have time or the patience to listen to such because I already know their angle. In the first 2 minutes of this video I had him pegged. It was a classic case of throwing out the baby with the bath water.
DELIVERANCE AND CHARISMANIACS
To be fair, on the other side of this, you have the now growing “movement” of deliverance anong the Charismatic/Pentecostal people, which has come to the forefront because of the movie. I don’t deny the good that this movie is doing , but the tendency is to overemphasize that part at the expense of the whole. Although doubtless, there is a great need for deliverance in today’s demonic infested world, diverance should not be an all- in-all answer to everything. Teaching and discipleship is needed too. I do not even feel comfortable in labeling deliverance a special ministry. It’s part of the great commission that every believer should eventually exercise. In every generation the danger is that there always seems to error through overemphasis. I’m seeing it today in largeness.
For example, much of the so called “prophetic” and “apostolic” “movement” is getting off base. Again, error through overemphasis. Of course, there is the genuine prophetic and apostolic, but the abuses and excesses of it ruin it. God can restore or emphasize a great truth, but often people take it into a ditch through overemphasis. And it leaves a sour taste in people’s mouths. And often local shepherds and elders want nothing to do with it because of the abuses, excesses, and extremes associated with it. God, we need balance today!
MEETING NEEDS OF PEOPLE
The important thing to the Lord is the edification of His people and meeting their basic needs.
Jesus is not impressed with big productions, professional presentations (nothing necessarily wrong with them if they impact people with the gospel), nor theories, and opinions that do not measure up against Scripture. Moreover, so much of what we are seeing today is hype. And normally, certainly not always, hype is a form of hypocrisy to hide our spiritual deficiencies. Unplug yourself from that world, learn the word of God, and plug yourself into meeting the real needs of people at a grass roots level, beginning in your own home. Here is a word:
Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ (Matt. 25:44-45)
Jesus rejoices when people’s basic needs are met, when the church becomes love in action, with a healthy blend of power. In fact, it’s the wholesome blend of the various graces and gifts in the body moving in love that makes for an excellent people that are blameless and above reproach. We adorn the gospel when our conduct is such. On the other hand, we blaspheme the gospel when our behavior is less than integrous. ( Titus 2:1-10)
CONCLUSION
There is so much more I could say, but this is sufficient for now. Balance is the word. Teaching is another. The gifts and manifestations of the Spirit is so vitally important. Let us be a wise householder and learn to blend all of them together. Don’t overemphasizing your gift or grace by under emphasizing another’s.
Listen to the fathers of the faith, not just teachers. What you think is the end-in-all they’ve seen it before. Fads and trends come and go. But what’s built on the true word of God and the genuine move of the Holy Spirit will outlast anything else and best lasting fruit.
And please cessationists, do not throw out the baby with the dirty bath water. You have much to unlearn before you are ready to really learn.
