But I fear a trend among us.
I remember services growing up when people would say things like, "the Spirit moved so much that the preacher didn't even preach!" I understood the sentiment, at times I even thought never hearing a sermon again because we were so enthralled in worship was a great goal.
And then I read the book of Acts in its entirety.
Pentecostals tend to want to camp out in the first few verses of Acts 2. Why wouldn't we love to stay there? These verses are for all intents and purposes the foundation of the Pentecostal arm of the Church. Here we read of the visible and audible power of God sweeping a prayer meeting and filling the attendees with power, fulfilling the promise of Jesus and the prophecies which had awaited fulfillment.
But the purpose of Pentecost isn't found in the first four verses of Acts 2, it's found in the remainder of the book. They weren't endued with power so they could recount a great event. Tongues of fire didn't rest on them so they could feel good about themselves. The Spirit was poured out on them because they were about to embark on a seemingly impossible journey. They were charged with advancing the Gospel in the face of persecution, discrimination, and the physical loss of their Teacher.
The Upper Room outpouring didn't come so they could say they "had church", it came so they could BE the Church.
The effects of what happened on that day are too great to recount, but a quick scan of the remainder of Acts reveals cowards becoming leaders, the Church growing by thousands at a time, signs and wonders, church planting, and the advancement of the Gospel far beyond the borders they had known.
When we chose to focus on the outpouring in the church instead of the "out flowing" to a lost world, we do what Peter suggested in Matthew 17.
Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John up a mountain and revealed Himself to them. They saw Jesus transform before their eyes before seeing Moses and Elijah as well.
In verse 4 Peter says, "Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."
Note: it's good for us.
For us, in this moment, everything is great, so let's stay here. But in the shadow of that mountain was a boy who needed help. A spirit was putting the boy's safety at risk and the disciples couldn't contend with it. The boy needed Jesus.
What if the Lord had allowed Peter to build a camp for Him on the mountain? What would have happened to the boy who desperately needed him?
How would things have been different if those gathered in the Upper Room had decided they would rather stay in the warm glow of the tongues of fire than go outside?
See, suddenly filled with this Holy Spirit in Acts, Peter isn't concerned about "us" anymore. It's not about camping out in comfort now. It's not about basking in the glow of the presence of Jesus. Now he's more driven to go than to stand in the glow. Acts is the story of the Church, and what we find in the New Testament is that the Church is about we over me.
This is why I worry when I hear about churches that get so caught up in the outpouring that there is never an out flow. It's nice to be in a service where we "feel the Spirit", but we weren't baptized for that. We were baptized to be His witnesses. We were filled to walk in boldness and take Jesus to the people who have no intention of attending our services-no matter how awesome they are.
At some point, we have to leave the "Upper Room", and what will we do then?
My problem isn't with worship or the "song service" part of our time together, far from it. I'm the person you really don't want to stand next to during the "praise and worship" portion of a service because I can't contain my excitement over singing praises to my God. My problem is when we decide to worship worship. When we decide that time spent worshiping through music is more important than any other form of worship, we elevate it to a dangerous status. Our worship becomes self-indulgent and more focused on emotion than truth.
When we applaud the lack of preaching because we sang too long, there's a problem. When we leave a service without hearing any Biblical truth because we not only shut out the sermon but the songs we sing lack any scriptural foundation (which can happen with both modern songs and hymns), there's a problem. When we think our time together is about us and not the world we are supposed to be taking the Gospel to, there's a big problem.
When you leave the "Upper Room" of your church environment is anyone outside better for the time you spent there? Are you satisfied to be "shook" in God's Presence, or do you leave and shake up your community? We aren't filled to feel full. We are filled to be fueled for the mission at hand-to take the Gospel to the world.
But the purpose of Pentecost isn't found in the first four verses of Acts 2, it's found in the remainder of the book. They weren't endued with power so they could recount a great event. Tongues of fire didn't rest on them so they could feel good about themselves. The Spirit was poured out on them because they were about to embark on a seemingly impossible journey. They were charged with advancing the Gospel in the face of persecution, discrimination, and the physical loss of their Teacher.
The Upper Room outpouring didn't come so they could say they "had church", it came so they could BE the Church.
The effects of what happened on that day are too great to recount, but a quick scan of the remainder of Acts reveals cowards becoming leaders, the Church growing by thousands at a time, signs and wonders, church planting, and the advancement of the Gospel far beyond the borders they had known.
When we chose to focus on the outpouring in the church instead of the "out flowing" to a lost world, we do what Peter suggested in Matthew 17.
Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John up a mountain and revealed Himself to them. They saw Jesus transform before their eyes before seeing Moses and Elijah as well.
In verse 4 Peter says, "Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."
Note: it's good for us.
For us, in this moment, everything is great, so let's stay here. But in the shadow of that mountain was a boy who needed help. A spirit was putting the boy's safety at risk and the disciples couldn't contend with it. The boy needed Jesus.
What if the Lord had allowed Peter to build a camp for Him on the mountain? What would have happened to the boy who desperately needed him?
How would things have been different if those gathered in the Upper Room had decided they would rather stay in the warm glow of the tongues of fire than go outside?
See, suddenly filled with this Holy Spirit in Acts, Peter isn't concerned about "us" anymore. It's not about camping out in comfort now. It's not about basking in the glow of the presence of Jesus. Now he's more driven to go than to stand in the glow. Acts is the story of the Church, and what we find in the New Testament is that the Church is about we over me.
This is why I worry when I hear about churches that get so caught up in the outpouring that there is never an out flow. It's nice to be in a service where we "feel the Spirit", but we weren't baptized for that. We were baptized to be His witnesses. We were filled to walk in boldness and take Jesus to the people who have no intention of attending our services-no matter how awesome they are.
At some point, we have to leave the "Upper Room", and what will we do then?
My problem isn't with worship or the "song service" part of our time together, far from it. I'm the person you really don't want to stand next to during the "praise and worship" portion of a service because I can't contain my excitement over singing praises to my God. My problem is when we decide to worship worship. When we decide that time spent worshiping through music is more important than any other form of worship, we elevate it to a dangerous status. Our worship becomes self-indulgent and more focused on emotion than truth.
When we applaud the lack of preaching because we sang too long, there's a problem. When we leave a service without hearing any Biblical truth because we not only shut out the sermon but the songs we sing lack any scriptural foundation (which can happen with both modern songs and hymns), there's a problem. When we think our time together is about us and not the world we are supposed to be taking the Gospel to, there's a big problem.
When you leave the "Upper Room" of your church environment is anyone outside better for the time you spent there? Are you satisfied to be "shook" in God's Presence, or do you leave and shake up your community? We aren't filled to feel full. We are filled to be fueled for the mission at hand-to take the Gospel to the world.
