The Challenge of the Truth

When I returned from the Shepherd’s Conference in 2004, I was exhausted but excited. I had been challenged in my theology, my doctrine and even in my preaching style. By the time I got back to Warrenton, I had already decided to move away from topical preaching and to begin going through the Bible the way it was written, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book. Little did I know the impact this would have on me and our church.

In going through the Bible in an expository fashion, I no longer had the luxury of avoiding the passages or verses that didn’t agree with my theme or didn’t support my propositions. I had to face, head on, the truth and content of each verse as it came up. I couldn’t stand up on Sunday morning and say, “We’re going to skip Chapter 6 of Mark today. I’m not comfortable with what this says so we’ll just pass over it.” It’s been a challenge in a number of ways and has been a blessing in so many more.

When we embarked on our study of 1 Corinthians about 18 months ago, my prayer was that we, as a body, would learn about the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit in context and in the manner Paul meant for them to be taught. I was looking forward to teaching through it and I was keenly anticipating learning more myself. That’s the adventure of where I am as a Pastor and where we are as a church, we all get to learn and, hopefully grow, together. I get to drink deeply from His Word throughout the week, a blessing all in itself, but then I get to share what I’ve learned on Sunday morning!

As we have been moving through Chapter 12, the challenges have been more difficult and mind-bending. Last week as we looked at the baptism in the Holy Spirit, I was forced to re-evaluate a lot of the things I had been taught concerning 1 Cor 12:12-13 (and, consequently Matt 3:11-12). The more I studied the more I was convinced I had been taught some things in error…things I had been holding on to for many years! As I poured through the materials, I found myself saying things like, “That can’t be right! I always thought……” and then finding out I had always thought the wrong thing. In this one particular case (Matt 3:11-12), there was no baptism by the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Now, none of this denies that we have experiences or “fillings’ of the Spirit from time to time, enabling us to do things we usually would not be able to do. None of this denies that there are times in our lives when we seem to take a ‘giant leap’ forward. What I’m saying is that those times of ‘filling’ are a supernatural gift, not a mark of maturity. Those ‘giant leaps’ are inevitably the result of earnest and heartfelt desires to come closer to God which manifest themselves in a hunger for righteousness that, in itself, produces those elements of the ‘Deeper Walk’ we’ve been talking about recently. When we pursue those things; dealing with unconfessed sin, fervent prayer, getting to know the Word more deeply, complete surrender to the Lord and emptying ourselves of our own selfishness… then something amazing is going to happen. From our perspective, it seems like a giant leap. From God’s, it is the natural result of more passionate pursuit of Him and His will in our lives.

Regarding this issue of the fire as it is presented in Matt 3:11-12, ultimately I had to decide whether I was going to change the truth to make it fit me or whether I was going to change to fit the truth. My commitment before God is to do everything I can to bring the truth accurately, clearly and with all the fire inside me each Sunday morning. I really had no choice other than to embrace the truth and share it the way it had been written. I had to change my thinking to fit the truth.

I pray that you are as challenged by the truth as I have been and continue to be. I pray that you will be Berean-like and examine the Scripture carefully to “…see if these things are true.” I pray that we will all continue to learn and grow together as God sifts us, refines us and uses us for His glory.