Who’s Afraid of the Holy Ghost?
You might think it an odd question, but unfortunately our churches are full of people who get a little uneasy at too much talk about the Holy Spirit (don’t even think about calling Him the Holy Ghost). People are okay as long as everything is on the surface, and they can control what’s going on, but they don’t want an unseen power (even if it belongs to God apparently) in control. Strange things might happen. People might get healed or delivered from some addiction or infirmity, or someone might…might…should I say it…I think I will…someone might speak in tongues!
Jim Cymbala puts it this way in Fresh Power. “I am aware that some people shy away from the Holy Spirit because they have grown up in churches where his name is almost politically incorrect. Instead, the focus has been solely upon the Word of God–studying it, dissecting it, memorizing it, comparing one version against another, analyzing the Hebrew and Greek texts, making promises to obey the Bible in all things… Yes, we all must honor and love the Word of God, but there is no getting around the fact that the Bible makes tremendous statements about the Spirit of God!”
Bottom line, if we’re calling on and worshiping the right Spirit, the wrong thing isn’t going to happen. We must trust the Holy Spirit just like we trust Jesus for our salvation. The Spirit of God is powerful enough to thwart any attempts of Satan to manifest counterfeit displays. Until we learn to trust Him, our church services will offer nothing but a social club, perhaps a very moral, mission-minded club, but still no power to make a real difference. “Some with this complacent attitude are afraid of anyone rocking the boat when others begin to hunger and thirst after the living God,” Jim Cymbala writes. Well-meaning Christians need to stop fighting the passion of those who want more than their churches are offering and start trusting the one in whom they believe – all three persons of the Trinity.
from my notebook 