Preface: Please understand this paragraph so you
won’t misunderstand what follows.
Believers
who know me understand my addiction to the Manifest Presence of God. My
experience with God began with a spectacular, indeed supernatural visitation
with God. Every since that wonderful evening I love it when the Lord is moving
among people, changing lives by revealing Himself to their hearts and
confirming His Word with signs, wonders and miracles. My heart is wired to hear
from God and share what is on His heart for people, this defines the heart of a
prophet.
With that spectacular supernatural visitation
I had that night I got saved (12/17/1971) came an unquestionable, eternal
conviction that the BIBLE IS ABSOLUTE TRUTH and that Jesus is the one referred
to in the Jewish prayers I learned as a child, “Blessed art thou, Oh Lord our
G_d, King of the universe…”
Love
for the Bible and the Importance of Sound Doctrine.
The
fundamentals of our faith in Christ are Truths that every Evangelical /
Pentecostal / Charismatic, or whatever label you think defines you as a
Christian, must never stray from. All the goose bumps, shouted Hallelujahs,
hours “Soaking” in the Presence of God, being slain by the Spirit, etc. fail to
have the impact in a life that the Lord intended through that experience if not
balanced, indeed validated, by the Word. A very dear friend, and great Bible
teacher, asked me, when I told him about many people being slain by the Spirit
in our services back in the 1970’s, asked me, “Are they changed when they come
up?” (Dr. Howard Morgan). Sound doctrine is more critical in our lives than any
“Lightening Bolt” experience.
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from
being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also
will forget your children.
One
of the marvelous things about our loving Heavenly Father is that He makes the
basics very easy to understand. You don’t have to be learned theologian to
understand getting saved. My oldest daughter got saved when she was about three
and the Lord gave her a dream about that experience when she was a little older
and could better grasp the reality. My wife accepted Christ as her Lord in
Sunday School when she was 12. For more “mature” people with high IQs, there is
no end to learning what the Lord has revealed in the Scriptures.
There
is a very wonderful and simple connection between love of the Word and love of
experiencing God in very real terms. Let’s take a look at a few Scriptures in
John chapter one. For me, this is the miracle of Christmas and so much more.
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
If
you are the 100% intellectual type, you will either dismiss this verse as
nonsense or you may get so wrapped up in elaborate thought processes that you
miss the simplicity that a heart hungry craves.
It
is so cool the way verse 1 introduces us to the eternal life and work of
Jesus
John
1:2 He existed in the beginning with
God.
3
God created everything through him, and
nothing was created except through him. (NLT)
With the stage set we see what is
perhaps the most significant part of the Christmas story and the 2nd
greatest turning point in human history (the resurrection is #1). The Message
Bible paraphrases this event nicely:
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and blood, and moved
into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind
glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to
finish.
This
is the most basic, fundamental truth in the evangelical world, and if it
doesn’t excite you then pick up a poesy because you’re already dead. If you set
a station on the internet \ smart phone music app, Pandora to Jesus Culture you
will hear many wonderful songs that express a heart yearning to see God’s
glory, desperate for His Presence. Jesus ascended after the resurrection but
God is still in the neighborhood. What more do we need to understand that the
Lord wants to be in our midst?
Zeph
3:17 For the Lord your God is living
among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with
joyful songs.” (NLT)
I
am convinced we need to pray for the great song writers of today. They are
putting our huge numbers of wonderful, anointed music. I am hopeful that this
wave of contemporary music will include the Word put to music. The Lord moved
in that way in the 1960’s and 70’s and was so helpful in the mind renewal
process that changes our hearts.
The
experiences we have in God’s Holy Presence, like the Baptism in the Holy
Spirit, can be compared to the gas that fuels a car. A sound understanding of
the fundamental doctrines of the faith are what keep us on the right road. There
are innumerable resources of training on these basics on the websites of most
Evangelical \ Pentecostal denominations and churches. Look for a “What We
Believe” section.
A
great place to start and to review is http://ag.org/top/beliefs/our_core_doctrines/ You
will find great teaching on the four most fundamental truths I know, Jesus is
the Savior, Healer, Baptizer in the Spirit and Soon Coming King. These
principles are the Four Square, of the Four Square denomination, and they have
worked jointly with the Assemblies of God to train believers. To go a little
more indepth, the Assembly of God 16 Fundamental Truths are described at http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/Statement_of_Fundamental_Truths/sft_short.cfm This provides some verbiage and lists many
scriptures supporting each item.
Put
a note in the comments box below if you want more information, but no debate.
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