ATTENTIVE TO THE SPIRIT'S MOVEMENT

If I do not experience a fresh anointing every day it is only a

matter of time before I will become yesterday's man. 

R. T. Kendall

A great  and blessed challenge for any and all is to track the Spirit....if we can.  By tracking Him, I mean that we are to observe where He is and what He is about...if we can.  The Spirit of God baffles the mind of all men and women.  Therefore, this charting the course will surely keep us on our toes.

A sad picture to me would be to discover that any of us are yesterday's man or yesterday's church.  Yet, such is most likely a prominent reality.

Man is in constant pursuit of stability.  That means understanding the moment and looking good in it; no confusion, no embarrassment, and no uncertainty.  So what happens is we find five or six things we know about God and the Kingdom, and before long, there we permanently roost.  We know.  We show.  Sufficient is my much-needed sense of self-established security.

The problem with this is that the Spirit of God is mobile and fully intends to keep us the same; flexible. 

Kendall, a biblical scholar, made note of an event that is dear to the Restorationists' hearts.  First, he references Dr. Cain's comment, Once people try to organize themselves around a new movement of the Spirit they unwittingly render that movement yesterday's anointing.

Kendall follows; An example of this is the aftermath of the Cane Ridge Revival of the early nineteenth century in Kentucky.  Witnesses at the time, when the move of the Spirit first broke out, marveled at the way in which heated debates over theological and denominational differences meant almost nothing.  Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists, for example, did not feel the need to argue with one another over the differences that had previously divided them.  They just rejoiced in God and His Son.  What mattered, all felt, was that they were Christians--nothing more.  But, lo and behold, a leader in the Cane Ridge Revival came up with the idea of starting a "Christian" church!  And what do you suppose happened?  A new denomination began---they called it the Christian Church!  The revival was virtually over.  It became yesterday's anointing overnight.

If not careful, we Restorationists will resist this message we surely need.  The Holy Spirit will not be restrictively contained within our assertive education nor our weak theology.  Knowing Acts 2:38 does not mean one knows the Spirit of God.  While we may continually strive to know our Bibles, we must awaken to the truth that the Bible surely pleads with us to know the Holy Spirit.

I want to be a part of the church of now; the one where God's Spirit resides.  Defense of the past is not going to enlighten our members nor draw our neighbors.  God among us with surprises and provisions beyond man's maneuverability is to be engaged in the Spirit's movement.