The Unwelcomed Guest

I'm getting tired of hearing stories of how the Holy Spirit used to move in churches. Please understand, I don't mean this disrespectfully. It's great the the Lord moved in such a way that people still remember it so vividly 30, 40, or 50 years later. But there's part of me that wants to sob when I hear these stories because they aren't as common anymore...even in pentecostal churches. Many of you follow my dad's postings on social media and in his own blog, and have noticed his constant talk of the need for a fresh move in our churches. I share in his desire to see a true revival sweep across our churches. Personally, I have found myself in a place where I desire simply to be in the presence of the Lord but find myself in services where I feel as if I'm pushing with all my might only to find myself pushing against a brick wall, with His glory on the other side.

What happened? Why is it that stories of all night meetings have ceased? Why don't we hear of droves of people being healed and delivered as the Holy Spirit settled into our churches?

I could be wrong about this, but it seems to me as if we no longer make our churches a place in which the Spirit is welcome to move as HE SEES FIT. "But Lindsey, we sing worship songs. We even say 'Lord, You are welcome here. Come be with us.'" That may all be true, but I have been in enough services in which those words were spoken, but when the Spirit began to manifest all you see are members looking over their shoulders to make sure there are no visitors there who will find it odd to know the church (body of Christ) has a problem.

It seems to me that a lot of Pentecostal churches are terrified that the neighbors will figure out that they are Spirit-filled. Why? First of all, if you are part of a congregation that quenches the Spirit, you probably don't need to worry too much about visitors showing up to begin with. Secondly, if on the off chance you have a visitor, you need to acknowledge that they are there because they are searching for something they couldn't find elsewhere. Pentecostals are peculiar. That's a fact. That's also what we were called to be in 1 Peter. I have heard conversations amongst church members after the Spirit moved in a service begin to discuss the demographics of the crowd that day. "So-and-so was raised baptist, it figures the day they visit this happens." What's your point? It occurs to me that our brothers and sisters in non-pentecostal Christian churches owe the same debt of gratitude to the Day of Pentecost that we do. You see, there's a reason Acts falls between the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. If it weren't for the occurances of the second chapter, induing the participants with power and boldness, the Gospel would not have spread like it did. If it were not for Stephen being so full of the Holy Spirit when he was stoned then a young man who would later be called Paul may have not been so effected. If Paul had not been effected like he was, how would our history be different? Why should we be ashamed of the Holy Spirit who was so necessary in the spreading of the Gospel-yes, even to the Baptist, and the Methodist, and the Presbyterians, and anyone else who claims the Gospel for their own.

What's the big deal about being concerned about your visitor's comfort? The big deal is that it is foolish to believe we can be so ashamed of the Holy Spirit and still expect Him to manifest Himself in our services and our lives. Imagine I invite you to my home. I tell you to feel welcomed and ask you to settle in. But then when my neighbor stops by for a surprise visit, you suddenly aren't good enough to be my friend. I act totally ashamed of you, even going to my neighbor and trying to apologize for your behavior. Would you come back to be with me? Of course not! So why do we think we can disrespect the Spirit, by making excuses for what His presence means, and still expect Him to work among us?

I want nothing more than to see a revival in my church and in my generation. But until we stop being ashamed of the Spirit that sets us apart, I don't see how it will happen. My fear is that we become like the church at Ephesus. That we lose our first love. That we lose our desire for the fullness of His presence, and the result will be that found in Revelation 2-we will lose our lampstand.

Lord, convict us of being ashamed of your Spirit. Fall fresh on us, let us be the peculiar people You called us to be.