Some of us, have heard enough preaching, to last us until eternity. For at least a hundred years here, millions of folk who say they received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, have wrestled back and forth, over their doctrine, their baptism and the Godhead. Now, I don’t know much, don’t claim to know it all and frankly, have no desire to. But with what little knowledge or understanding I may have, it has been my very limited observation, that little, ever came of it. Other than division.

I want to say something, in the fear of the Lord. At least thirty years ago, a message went forth among many of us. The Spirit spoke, that we were to go on into full apostolic renewal; including the gifts of the Spirit, and the true restoration of what we call, the five-fold ministry. We were cautioned by the Spirit, what might transpire, if we did not press forward; totally. We all heard it; God saw to it, that we did. He used certain gifted and qualified ministers, to teach it and preach it, at conferences, camp meetings and in special revivals; all over this country. Full power, like the early church had.

It did not happen among us, the way we were told it was supposed to. The same factions that sought to hinder such a move before, sought to repress it again. The reports of what is going on in our church world and in many of our circles now, what you actually see and hear, is surprising, and so very discouraging. It’s time for some of us, to move on. The Spirit, is speaking something today, that only the right hearted, want to hear. The greatest task for many of us today, is to reclaim, our first love; the one that we left.

We are not going to reach the lost, without that love; the one we had at the very beginning. We may wonder, why much of our message, seems to mean nothing to others that hear it now. There’s no real love, in much of it anymore; and how could there be . If we have left our first love for Him, how could we possibly love anyone else. Some might say that we still love the lost; but, that is impossible, without the real love we were first baptized with. The world today, is not interested in our message, without the fruit to back it up. What they are searching for, is the real fruit of the Spirit.

Our real task today, is to learn once again, to love as He loved. There are so many wounded and hurting people, all around us. They have been so harshly driven by forces, that should have loved them, restored them and healed them. Abandoned, by the very ones who should have searched for them. Forget our doctrine, our rules and regulations, our commandments of men; the things we once specialized in. It’s time to love people again. We will no longer impress others who need the help of the Spirit, by what we say we believe, what church we go to or how prosperous we appear.

Only the love that is described in that Book, will touch them. Only the fruit of the Spirit, expressed in reality to one another, and to those we come in contact with, is going to move anybody. We’ll go no further, without it.

Robert Blackburn