The Energy Crisis in the American Church

Chapter One First of All, The Power of God

First of All, The Power of God

I discovered in the King James version of the Bible that there are 257 times that the word, "power," is used, with 19 other phrases in which it is connected. As I started studying the word, "power," which occurs in many of the books of the Bible, I discovered that when I read the word, "power," in this book, and the word, "power," in that book, and the word, "power," in the other book, it is not always the same original word meaning, "power" For example, there are seventeen Hebrew words that mean "power," and there are six Greek words that mean "power," That is to say, just in passing, that if these writers used different words from the other writers for the same word of "power," there must be a diversity of power that is available, and we are just not availing ourselves of this power.

In I Chronicles 29:11, the Word is, "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty, but Thou art exalted as head above all." "Thine is the power" Power is one of His attributes. God has spoken once, the Bible says "And twice have I heard that this ‘Power belongs to God.

It is expressed with His finger (Ex. 8:19; Ps, 8:3)5 expressed with His hand (Ex. 9:3, 15; Isa. 48:13); with His voice (Ps, 68:33); with His arm (Isa. 52:1.); and with the thunder (Job 26:14).

And we, as saints today, should exhibit God's power more than we do, Saints long for exhibition of God's power. Listen to Psalm 63:1, 2: "God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the Sanctuary."

We can be made confident in it and strengthened by it (Eph. 6:10, Col. 1:11) This power of God should be acknowledged, pleaded in prayer--somewhat feared, and magnified.

Second, The Power of Jesus

Well, in His working of miracles, His word was with power. He gave His disciples power; He said, "1 give you power." The multitudes marveled and glorified God Who had given such power. And so Jesus had this power, and there was no energy crisis. His Word was with power. Matthew 9:8, "Multitudes marveled and glorified God who had given such power. It was this same Jesus who gave His disciples power. (Luke 9:1; 1O:19)

Three, The Holy Spirit

This is our subject, the Holy Spirit. The life of the Church falls under the guidance and under the work of the Holy Spirit. The Church is the habitation of the Spirit of God, and we are missing the energy in operation when we fail to acknowledge the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit does so many things. For example, we are told in God's Word that it is through the mighty signs and wonders by the power of the Spirit. (Romans 15:l9) Miracles and wonders are happening today. It is the Spirit of God that makes the Gospel effective. Paul said, "My speech was in the demonstration of the Spirit and in the Power." (I Cor. 2:4)

I think when we overlook the Holy Spirit's power that extends to every area and every detail of this Church and to your life and to your home, then we miss out on all the power.

We have many circles of concern But with all these circles there is one fixed center in which all the other circles converge, in one way or another. For example, there are diversities of administration, but one administrator, the Holy Spirit There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, the same central point. With so many circles of concern and activity, there is one fixed center. While there are diversities of administration, it is determined by one administrator-- the Holy Spirit. There are "varieties of gifts," but the same Spirit.

We have different works according to the same Spirit--gifts of faith in the same Spirit, gifts of healing in one Spirit, miracles, prophecies, tongues, interpretations, but all of these work in and with the same Spirit. And whether the authority arid rule of the Holy Spirit are recognized or ignored will determine the unity of the Church and the effectiveness of the Church.

Now you say, "What does this have to do with me? I have my job. I pray. I work in the Church. This is for somebody else." But is it really? I think it has to do with each one of

us. If we would desire, for example, to find the clue that leads to the great apostasy that has, even now, covered a great deal of our world, we would find that it is in the ignoring of the leading of the rule and the authority of the Holy Spirit. We talk about God. we talk so much about Jesus. But we ignore the Holy Spirit.

"And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.1' Luke 24:49. "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8.

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Tim. 1:7

Four, What About the Holy Spirit In the General Life of the Church?

It makes up the members and we, as members, must be filled with, charged by, and powered in, the Spirit. It is like, for example, having a burglar alarm in your home. You have all of your doors and windows attached to it. It is operated by batteries. But if, by mistake, you leave the switch on for any period of time, it won't work as it should work. You could open the window, and it wouldn't sound the alarm. You wouldn't have to rewire; you wouldn't have to polish the bell. You would have to go to the source of the power, the batteries, and re-charge them. And this is where the Churches are missing out.

This is what the Church doesn't realize. The incoming of the Spirit into the heart of the believer makes him a Christian, that gives him son ship, gives him heir ship to God. Now, it's the in dwelling of the Spirit that gives power to the Church, and that is what we ask for using the power of the Holy Spirit.

The indwelling of the Spirit gives power to you and your section of the Church. And this is why you are a Sanctuary.

Now, the Church is not another organization. Let me repeat. The Community Church is not listed among the organizations of King City. As a matter of fact, a religious organization need not be a Church, because it is possible to have a religious organization filled with religious motives and purposes without its being a Church . One who has been redeemed has been brought into the fellowship of God; hence he is a member of the universal Church. That is the Church--the redeemed who have come together.

Now, organization is secondary. Maybe this is why we are feeling the energy crisis in our Churches We have placed the emphasis upon organization instead of on the Spirit. don't mean to minimize organization. It is very essential to operate the machinery of the

church; and we at Community Church pride our selves on smooth operational programs.

Our Church machinery is well-oiled and works very well. We have consolidated committees; we have consolidated boards. Organizationally speaking, we have it made in our Church. We have good machinery, but we must not let the machinery take the place of the Spirit. when it does, we have the energy crisis. That is what has happened in the American Church, I feel.

You see, we have a part in this, individually. When the Spirit brings you and me into fellowship with Jesus, then the function of the Spirit is to inspire us in our worship of God. It inspires the singing. It inspires the teaching, and the whole total aspect of the worship for every Christian. But this is when the Spirit comes and fills the Church. I think, sometimes, that the Spirit of God is not filling our Churches as it should.

I went into a Church several years ago while I was on vacation; and when I left, I said, "Lord, I have been in the Church of the Holy Refrigerator," I walked in. I was not greeted. I sat down. I participated as I could. I felt nothing. I said, "It must be me. When I left, I had my hand greeted by only one person, and that was because he bumped into me at the door as I was walking out. And I thought to myself as I went home, "Is this the fellowship of the redeemed?" Well, I am sure it was. But I think the crisis of energy had hit that Church so hard that the Spirit of God couldn't work because they were doing it. "We're doing it," we say, and we're not doing it.

The Church that makes out its program of worship without reference to the Holy Spirit forgets what worship is and what it's for. Oftentimes, worship is looked upon as the means of entertainment or pleasing the people, rather than being looked upon as pleasing and adoring Jesus as Lord, and building up the body of the Church. I think a woe should go to the Church in which the aesthetic and the entertaining take the place of the worship and the spiritual part of the worship. You can have the aesthetic, and you can have the entertainment if they are kept in the proper perspective, but the Spirit of God must be allowed to serve its end.

But I think the Spirit is in the visible crisis here, The Church cannot function as a Church apart from the Spirit. Let me repeat. The Church cannot function as a Church without the Spirit's being in it.

Now, my following statement may NOT be new to you but could give new insight to some. The function of the Church is not the same function as that of a Christian. The function of the Church is not the same thing as the function of a Christian. The function of a Christian is to make disciples. Pass it on. Look what God has done for me Pass it on. Are you a Christian? The function of the Church is to worship.

Now, while there may be, and certainly are, a variety of ways in which to worship, we must make no mistake as to the undergirding force in our worship; and that is a dependency upon the Spirit of God. That is why I am saying that, in America, we are suffering from the energy crisis because we have separated our worship from God's Spirit. The Spirit must release the springs of prayer and praise if it is going to be genuine worship. Now, remember, the woman who, at great cost, got the electricity. into her home, I'm told did used that electricity. She would turn it on at night, and she would see how to light her lamps, and then she would turn it off. And she continued the drudgery of trimming the wicks, pouring the smelly oil and lighting those lamps. Many continue to serve the Lord in weakness and weariness. They just switch off. The Spirit is not in control in our Churches as it should be.

Five, The Spirit of God Is in Control In The Government Of The Church And In The Preaching Of God's Word.

We have preached the Gospel with the Holy Spirit sent down from Heaven, The true preacher does not simply use the Spirit; he is used by the Spirit. He speaks as one moving in the element and atmosphere of the Holy Spirit. That is why from the pulpits of many Churches there is not ringing clear as a trumpet the sound of God, Paul said, "Take heed unto yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Ghost has made you bishops, to feed the Church of God."

Clearly, in the beginning, the pastors of the Church were given God's Spirit. Clearly today, when a person feels God's call, he has his obligation to work and move in the Spirit, so that, in a worship service, he can be that instrument through which God speaks and uses him.

Six, The Holy Spirit In Prayer Life

This is indeed important. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18); "Praying in the Holy Ghost" (Jude 20). In Romans it says, "In like manner the Spirit helps our infirmities for we know not what to pray for as we ought, But the Spirit makes intercession for us." There are so many Scriptures to which I could refer you, telling how the Spirit is actively engaged, or should be. The same is true with our singing. It is an element of worship. It is an element in which the relationship to the Spirit should be strongly emphasized. Spiritual singing is what God has told us to do--not Church music. I'm sorry, Choir, but there is a difference in some Churches between Church music which has been elevated to an ordinance and spiritual singing, which brings us to...

Seven, The Holy Spirit and Singing

The Scripture says, "Be filled with the Spirit," Well, we usually stop right there. But if we would read on, we would read, "Speaking to yourselves in psalms end hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making a melody in your hearts to the Lord." Now, quite simply: when a group sings, if that group is going to be endowed with God's Spirit, it must be made up of regenerated people. And yet there are some Churches, and I have known them personally, who have said, "We want to bring in people from the Metropolitan Opera and the concert hall to sit in our choir with our people, so that we can have beautiful music," And when that has occurred, this is not what God has said in His Word. The gift of God in music cannot be purchased with money. And the service of song has been divinely given to the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Now, the feature of worship is that it is mutual, and the same thing is true with music. We in Churches are blessed by having people who are appointed to lead the service, when they themselves are under the divine leadership of the Spirit. But the Church cannot make the mistake of which I have known, and I have reference to two Churches in particular which hired somebody who was not a Christian and who advocated many other principles, to come in and lead the choir in singing. And that Church is not very effective today. While that may not be the only reason, it is just the point that I am making. The Scripture says that the Spirit of God must be in all aspects of our worship; otherwise, serious peril can come to the community of God.

In Conclusion

Let me state simply this. There is an energy crisis. You can take a person and place him on a stool with glass legs, and you can charge him with energy with electricity, and, I am told, he would not be harmed. But let someone go near that person and just start to reach out, and, I'm told, fire would come out toward the person and make him want to jump back just a little bit. If you, then, would have your soul charged with the fire of God so that those who come close to you would feel some of this mysterious influence proceeding out of you, then you must draw nigh to God. You must draw nigh to the source of energy, and you must shut out the cold world that steals the flame of fire away. You must go to your closet. You must get your fire. You must get your "baptism," if this is what you would like to call it.

And we will be talking next about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You must align yourself with God in order to get the energy, and then you will not labor in your own strength, but you will go on in demonstration of the Spirit and with power. Is there an energy crisis in the American Church? I say, "Yes, unquestionably yes, but we at Community Church are trying to do something about it."

May we pray:

Our Heavenly Father, there is so much for the asking, and yet we are content just to be the way we are. And how sad it is, how sad it is to walk when we can ride, how sad it is to ride when we can fly! How sad it is for an individual to read simple, simple ABC books when he could read so deeply into the Word of God. We ask, Our Father, that You would bless us as we do something about the energy crisis. In the name of Jesus, Amen.