2 Words in 1

 

Confronting the Traditions of Men

I was reading today where Jesus went into the Temple. There was a woman there, who had an infirmity for eighteen years. She was bent over from her condition and could not even straighten up . I don’t know about you, but that seems like a terrible state to be in; I’ve seen a few folk like that; it’s not very nice. Jesus took her by the hand, and said, “Be thy healed.” And she stood up straight. How awesome.

But not to some. The leader of the synagogue, was irate. He said, how dare you heal on the Sabbath! There are six days in the week in which you can heal; there’s no reason to do it on this day. Of course the Lord went on to tell them about other things that might become necessary on this day; things much less serious than this woman’s condition. At least, some of them had the decency to be ashamed for their attitude; others rejoiced.

I was in a large meeting once, where the guest speaker was a well renown minister and evangelist. He made a comment one afternoon, that some of the things people there were forcing on people, were just their own brand of traditions; organizational style. Since he was highly revered, he got away with saying that. Anyone else would have been called on the carpet by the higher ups. Our traditions cannot only cramp the Spirit, they have a tendency to alienate people and allow us to refuse fellowship to good folk.

How could it more important to uphold the church doctrine, than to see a miracle of great magnitude. What kind of spirit seeps into people, that they become more concerned with their rules and regulations, than ministering to the needs of others. Since when, did what I believe, become the law; a requirement that others have to follow. In a good spirit, let’s say, that some traditions are good; they are good expressions of faith and it can be very beneficial to follow them. However, when my traditions have no real biblical basis, and I have no true scripture to back them up, they cause great harm.

Many church traditions, are created by men. If that was a good thing, we would not be casting people out or shunning them for not abiding by what we say is the truth. The crux of the whole matter, is that too often, we are more concerned with defending our beliefs, than we are loving and caring for people. That alone, should tell us; this is men’s doings. It’s hard to think, that their laws, meant more than freeing this poor tortured lady who had been hurting all these years.

Jesus came to change all of that. It’s our own decision today, whether we follow Him, or we follow what we have created.

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We need a Holy Ghost Revival

But we’ve got to do some things before it comes. First, we have to repent. Just think about how many times in the past few years, we have heard that one particular scripture quoted on this medium. “If My people, which are called by My name.” We will have to humble ourselves, and pray. What do we have to repent of? Why don’t each of us ask ourselves that question? Let the Spirit speak to us about it.

The next part says, “and seek my face.” What is the best way to seek His face. It’s to humble ourselves, get down on our hands and knees, and put our faces to the floor. Can’t we recall, it’s what God’s people of old did when they bowed themselves before the almighty God. We know how to do that. And the Holy Ghost filled people of this land know how to repent. We know how to touch God and how to cleanse our hearts before Him.

Secondly, we need to recognize, that if it truly is a Holy Ghost revival, then the revival belongs to the Holy Ghost. It’s not ours. It means that HE, is in charge; He’s the leader and the way to the revival, is to follow Him. And we know how to do that too. We’ve done it before, and we’ve seen the Spirit move mightily among us. I say again. A Holy Ghost revival, belongs to the Holy Ghost. Humbling ourselves before the Spirit of the Lord, is what will bring the move that we desperately need today. Let HIM be in charge of it.

Then, we’ve got to let the Spirit, show us what needs to be revived. We need to know, what things we have done, that have hindered the move of the Spirit. What things were we doing, that we are not doing now. What have we let go of, or forgotten. In this Holy Ghost revival, something has to be revived; and we need to know what that is. We need to bring back to life, something that’s become dead; something else has taken it’s place.

We’re going to have to consider fasting. Some of us are ill; some also take medications that require that they eat. Those who are diabetics and such, have to regulate their meals. We have to sacrifice something; whether it be our favorite food for a day, one meal a day; we have to begin. Those who are stronger, can do more. The problem is, it seems, that many are saying the scripture above, but they want the revival without being humble, and without getting on their faces; without giving the Holy Ghost complete and absolute control, of His revival.

And lastly, we have to get out of His way.

 

~ Robert Blackburn

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Robert Blackburn