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The
Holy Spirit & the Local Church 2
Supernatural
Control & Guidance, Part One
by
Pastor John Hamel
“And when the day
of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one
place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing
mighty wind, and it filled all the house where
they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like
as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled
with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit
gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4)
We are studying the
Ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Local Church. In the
first study we saw that the Local Church is to be ruled by
God and not by man. We also saw that the Church is a living organism
comprised of people, not buildings or holy places.
We also discussed
the fact that none of us discovered God. He disclosed Himself to us
through the Person of the Holy Spirit. He now elects where we are to
be involved in a Local Church.
Finally, we
discussed the importance of not hanging around believing that we do not
have to be involved in the Local Church just because
Jesus, no doubt, is coming soon.
In this lesson we are going to study
more specifically how the Holy Spirit controls and guides the operation of
the Local Church.
Once the Holy Spirit
was poured out in the Earth, within the Local Church specifically, the
supernatural began to manifest. On the very first day alone Peter
preached and three thousand souls were saved. (Acts 2) Peter and John
healed the man at the Gate Beautiful by the Holy Spirit’s power.
(Acts 3) Peter preached again and five thousand men were saved. (Acts
4)
By the power of the Holy Spirit Peter boldly defied the Sanhedrin,
refusing to stop preaching. (Acts 4) Ananias and Sapphira
paid the ultimate price for attempting to deceive the Holy Spirit. (Acts
5) Stephen preached boldly in the face of martyrdom by the power of
the Holy Spirit. (Acts 7)
The list goes on
and on, from Peter to John to Stephen, Philip, Barnabas, Agabus and Silas. The Apostle Paul fearlessly
journeyed throughout Antioch, Jerusalem, Samaria, Caesarea, Galatia, Ephesus and Corinth with signs, wonders and miracles following him
everywhere he went. Unmoved by the most horrendous persecution, Paul
simply could not be stopped.
Jesus was limited,
as we have seen, by His physical body. But now the Body of Christ is
unlimited as to where they can be and what they can do by the power of the
Holy Spirit. (John 14:12) The Holy Spirit is now wherever a true
Believer is. Nothing has changed since the Book of Acts.
The
Book of Acts does not end in the twenty-eighth chapter. The Book of
Acts continues into your life and my life today. The same Holy Spirit
Who operated in the Local Church beginning on the
Day of Pentecost, is still operating in the Local Church today. The
Holy Spirit is still our distinguished and prevailing Leader and power
Provider. He reveals to
us the Scriptural procedure for all the Local Churches and gives us the power to see it through.
The
Holy Spirit Provides Leadership
“And he gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers;” (Ephesians 4:11)
The fact that these
Ministry Offices have been “given” indicates that they are Gifts.
This is why we refer to them as the Ministry Gifts. However, we need
to keep in mind that the Office is a Gift, not the person who stands in the
Office. (1Corinthians 12:4-7) I have seen Ministers get into big
trouble by boasting, “I am a Gift to the Body.” No one man or woman
is a Gift to the Body. The Office is the Gift. The fact that
God would allow any man to stand in any Holy Office is a matter of mercy
and grace. (Hebrews 5:4)
It takes more than human pride, a
dynamic personality and business skills to fulfill any of these
offices. It takes the Holy Spirit’s Anointing. Without it one
is no more than a carnal lecturer.
The Beck
translation of the Bible says that God gave the Ministry Offices “in order
to get His holy people ready to serve as workers.” It takes the power
of the Holy Spirit not only to preach the Gospel but also to prepare people
to serve as Gospel workers. (1Peter 1:12; 1Thessalonians
1:5) A Pastor or a Ministry Leader without the Holy Spirit is like a
fish out of water, all dried up and soon dead.
The
Holy Spirit Draws Believers into the Local Church
“For BY ONE SPIRIT
ARE WE ALL BAPTIZED INTO ONE BODY, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether
we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
For the body is not one member, but many.” (1Corinthians 12:13,14)
The word “baptism”
in verse thirteen is not a reference to water baptism. There are
seven baptisms in the Bible and all of them are not references to water
baptism. This is a reference to a Believer being baptized into the
Body of Christ once being Born Again even as a letter is
baptized into an envelope. This is a reference to being wholly
enveloped into the Body of Believers.
This is a supernatural work of
the Holy Spirit. Not only does the Holy Spirit baptize each of us
into the Universal Body of Christ, He decides what Local Church to set us in, as
well.
“But NOW HATH GOD
SET the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”
(1Corinthians 12:18)
This is not a
decision we make on our own. This is a decision that we must allow
the Holy Spirit to make for us. He knows what Local Church will benefit us
the most and where we will be the greatest blessing.
The
Holy Spirit Determines the Order of Worship
“How is it then,
brethren? when ye come together, every one of you
hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an
interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at
the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if
there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him
speak to himself, and to God.
"Let the prophets speak two or three,
and let the other judge. If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye
may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be
comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the
prophets. … Let all things be done decently and in order.”
(1Corinthians 14:26-32,40)
A more literal
translation of verse forty would be, “Let all things be done beautifully
and with dignity.” God is not the author of confusion. (1Corinthians 14:33)
Through the agency of the Holy
Spirit, He has laid out His supreme order of worship in these verses. The
Holy Spirit will lead multiple members to cooperate with the service, all
inspired and all yielded to Him. These verses leave no room for
abuse.
One woman once
informed me that her role as a music Minister was “to entertain the
audience.” The Body of Christ is not an audience to be
entertained. The Body of Christ a congregation who is to be led in
worship by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is very exacting about
how things are to be done. He must be given total leeway at all times
in order for the supernatural to be in proper manifestation during church
services.
The
Holy Spirit Leads in Congregational Prayer
Peter and John were
arrested for preaching and performing miracles. Upon being released
they immediately returned to their own company, explaining how the Chief
Priests had threatened them with punishment if they kept on preaching and
teaching Christ. The Believers reacted as follows.
“And when they
heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said,
Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all
that in them is: … And WHEN THEY HAD PRAYED, THE PLACE WAS SHAKEN WHERE
THEY WERE ASSEMBLED TOGETHER; AND THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST,
and they spake the word of God with boldness.”
(Acts 4:24,31)
Someone else may
have been intimidated by the Chief Priest’s threats. Peter and John
got together with other Believers, lifted their voices loudly as led by the
Holy Spirit, and He then bolstered them with even greater boldness.
This is congregational prayer at its
best.
Possibly the greatest manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power
is when a congregation comes together, releasing faith as one. Where
else could this possibly happen but in Church? Nowhere in the Bible
are we told to not pour our hearts out before God in Church. The
Church is not a library with little signs all around that say, “Quiet,
please.” Heaven is full of loud praises to God,
so should the Church be.
"And I heard
as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying,
Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”
(Revelation 19:6)
The Apostle John
said great throngs whose voice was as waters roaring forcibly attended the
worship service he attended in Heaven. Why would God be displeased if we prayed this way in our
services on Earth? He does not have one standard for worship in
Heaven and another standard for worship on Earth. (1Thessalonians 5:16-20)
The
Holy Spirit Orchestrates Loud Music & Shouting
“And when they
heard that, THEY LIFTED UP THEIR VOICE to God with one accord, and said,
Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all
that in them is:” (Acts 4:24)
I submit to you the
example of Peter and John in Jerusalem again. In
this verse, the Greek word for “lifted” actually means, “to weigh anchor
and sail away.” This means that they cast every care to the wind,
allowing the Holy Spirit to carry them away in loud worship. This is
what happened at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, which is a
picture of the coming New Testament Church. They lifted their voices
with trumpets and instruments, cutting loose and the power of God fell.
(2Chronicles 5:13,14)
Jesus’ disciples
made so much loud noise, praising Him during His Triumphant Entry that the
Pharisees told Him to hush them up. He just told the Pharisees to
hush up and let them keep praising loudly. (Luke 19:37-40) He
knew that the Bible said to make a loud noise, rejoicing, singing and
praising with voices and instruments before the Lord. (Psalm 98:4-6)
To those who say
that God does not allow music, instruments or loud worship in Church, we
submit the following Scripture.
“Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one
another in PSALMS and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your
hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16)
The Greek word for “psalms” in this verse
is “psalmos.” It means “music accompanied
with voice, harp or other instrument.”
Why would the Holy
Spirit put this in the Bible if He did not want us using musical
instruments in Church? Why would someone sing in Church but not allow
instruments if God did not want music in Church? Singing is musical,
no matter how you look at it.
Sometimes people
get so hung up majoring on minor points that they miss the whole purpose of
Scripture and rob themselves and God of tremendous blessing.
The most anointed
services I have ever conducted or have been in have been a direct result of
anointed, loud music and Holy Spirit led prayer.
Elijah called for
the minstrel to sing and play. The power of God fell. (2Kings 3:15)
We need God’s power
in the Local Church now more than
ever.
Be Blessed … John
and Barbara Hamel
How
to Be Born Again (Receive Christ as Your Savior)
How
to Receive The Holy Spirit & Power
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