When doing good is not so good

I've been getting involved in a local church fellowship that I felt is a breadth of fresh air - this church is heavily involved in community related services. What! A church actually doing good works! There's free community meals, free mother's group, free financial counselling, free English classes for migrants. They're involved in justice movements, freedom from poverty advocacy and the likes. Mind you, the community meals even have table cloths and a three course dinner. What impressed me is, finally, here is a church that strives to be a light of the world and the salt of the earth. How many churches can say that they make a real impact to the local community?  This one does. Sadly, the majority of churches would not be noticed by the local community if the church disappeared over night!  Ask yourself, if your local church disappeared overnight, would anyone outside the four walls feel it?  

The things I mentioned are all good things that churches ought to be doing. So what's wrong with these?  Don't many Christians wish their local church leadership would get off their comfortable high chairs and initiate even one of these?  

However, I began to notice something - most if not all these activities do not go beyond 'good deeds'.  I observed that there are many volunteers who would happily carry plates of hot meals to these guests, but hardly any would actually sit down and talk with these guests. Yes, it’s good to do community meals and feed the hungry. However is that all there is?    What about sitting down with those who come, listen to their stories and problems, and really caring for them.   What about sharing the gospel with them so that they have a real permanent hope to cling on to once they leave the meal table? 

Doing good is important, because without it, out faith is on questionable grounds. However doing good for doing good's sake is pointless. It must be done so that the glory goes back to God. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit to point these people to Jesus; because once they connect with the living God, He will take care of them and transform them permanently. We can feed the belly, but little more. The real good works is to point them to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Supporting advocacy for justice, anti-slavery and fair trading are all good things to be involved in. But these must end up with giving God the glory and not become an end in itself.  How many great organisations started out as Christian charities but end up being just another 'do goody' organisation that lives to promote itself. Christ is forgotten from the agenda. Their aim has become purely materialistic - keep promoting the organisation to get more money. 

Satan has succeeded in infiltrating his devilish agenda into these organisations - don't fight them, just point them to another direction. What better means to defeat the enemy than to get the enemy to divert all its energies and resources away from God's agenda. This way no one gets into the kingdom of heaven and precious money is diverted from the real needs. 

 You may as well go support the RSPCA and say you've done your part for the Kingdom of God.  

Islam, Jihadist, good Muslims and bad Muslims - are you confused?

The press has been quick to sanitize any reference to Muslims taking part in terrorist activities. They say these are all the work of small radical factions, the jihadist, who  don't represent what real Muslim stands for.  After all Islam is a religion of peace they repeat.

I lived in an Islamic country for many years. In that country, there are two major groups of Muslims - the radical fundamentalist group that want to bring their society (including everyone else) back to the teachings of the Koran, and the other moderate group who are happy to make a living and have a nice house and car.

Both groups attend mosques weekly, say their prayers daily while bowing to Mecca. So what's the difference between the two? Why has one group become so radical?
The answer is simple - one reads the Koran and practices it, while the other group just goes to the mosque because they were born Muslims.  Guess which group the terrorists come from? The group who reads and practices the Koran!

This is where the media are deceiving the masses. They say that these radicals are extreme groups that do not represent Islam, In reality, these radicals represent Islam, and the moderates are the ones who don't follow their Koran strictly.  These latter group are the equivalent of the traditional Christians who attend church once in Easter and once during Christmas.

When a Muslim reads the Koran, and seeks to obey it, they have no choice but become radicals because that is what the Koran teaches.  There will be peace when the entire world is under the rule of Islam. In order to achieve that 'peace', all infidels need to be brought into subjection. If they refuse, kill them. Look at this verse from the Koran:

“And KILL them (the unbelievers) wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers.” (Sura 2, verse 191).

Haven't history proven this - look at what Muhammed its founder did to the nations he conquered. Look at what happen in Constantinople when the Turks took it. Whenever Muslims conquer a non-Muslim country, its inhabitants have two choices - convert to Islam or die. For recent examples, look at what has happened to Sudan and other smaller African nations.

What about Muslim countries now? I see freedom of religion where other non Muslim groups are tolerated.  This is due to the fact that these governments are not 'Muslim' by definition or in practice - they are luke warm Muslims i.e don't really practice the teachings of the Koran.  Have a guess what happens to any of these minority group if they don't tow the line in these Muslim majority countries. Dare any of them hold public rallies like the Muslims are allowed in the West?

Islam is a 'religion of peace' by any means, including beheading your opponents.  It's peace if you submit but death if you don't.  Submission means slavery, rape, blackmails and kidnapping - slavery in a different form. It is a religion that has no place in this world.

I do have Muslim friends who are gentle country folks. They say their prayers but do not carry out all the teachings of the Koran, hence they do not become jihadist. But the moment some firebrand jihadist stirs them up to follow what the Koran teaches, you suddenly have a very different person - not the neighbor you thought you knew.

I hope Muslims wake up to realize that their religion has put them in bondage. I hope they have the courage to break free and be brave enough to bear the attacks that will come their way.   I hope children of Muslim families see the freedoms enjoyed in the West and ask why such freedoms do not exist in the Muslim nations. I hope the world sees why Muslims by the thousands want to emigrate to Western countries.  If Islam is so good, stay there.

Oh, and I also wish those blind Leftist who are trying to destroy our Judeo-Christian culture realize what a great blessing it is to live in a Western society, enjoying its freedoms, free speech, morality and peace. These are a result of Christianity turning the world upside down.  I can see the difference because I used to live in a Muslim nation.

Games church leaders play in church

I came to the realization that not everyone in the church leadership has the welfare of the members in mind.  I was naive to think that church leaders were spiritually mature people who are there to serve the Lord. 

What I have seen is that some (perhaps many?) leaders have got there due to a lot of different reasons, but serving the Lord is not one of them.

  

Some are there because they are talented or sharp people - professionals and people with charismatic personalities. A good accountant has a pretty good chance of being asked to be the treasurer. How closely they walk with God is never a consideration.    Some are there for the ego trip - 'look I'm an elder you should listen to me'. Some are there for power, to control the church and support one faction - usually either against or for the pastor. I'd like to reveal some of the worldly methods this last group uses. Remember the motivation of these people is not to serve God, but their egos.

The leader or pastor will split the church up into groups of supporters or non-supporters. It is usually quite clear who the ‘in’ group are and who are the rest. This division could be as simple as 'young vs. old' or 'conservative vs. progressive'. Certainly not what the bible teaches.  The way they split the church is by treating one group very differently from the others. Sometimes it is done deliberately and openly to show the others that they are not part of the 'in' group. 

The pastor of a church I used to attend would refuse to talk to half the congregation, other than the usual 'Hello how are you'. He would deliberately walk pass and ignore people. I often wonder why a pastor would behave like that, after all , isn't he suppose to shepherd the flock?  Then it dawned on me that he is giving them a clear hint to leave his church. What better strategy than to give the cold shoulder to someone you want leave the church! 

And if the person is a threat, this pastor would mention the person in his sermons (without names of course). This is to force the person to leave faster. I did some investigation and found out that those who left had one thing in common - they have all been mentioned in the sermons,,, frequently. In case you think people are overly sensitive, the things mentioned in the sermon are very specific, and the person who is mentioned will certainly know it's being directed at him.  This pastor has been doing this for over 15 years and he continues to use this because it has been very successful in getting rid of people who do not support him. May God have mercy on this pastor - he is supposed to shepherd the flock, instead he drives then away, He has turned the church into his private country club of approved members. 

You'll be surprised how many such cases there are. I spoke to a Christian who runs a bookshop, and he was also driven out of his church by the pastor because he questioned him about constantly quoting from psychology books instead of the bible.  A good friend of his was also driven out of his church when he asked why the pastor preached an entire series of sermons directly out of Spurgeon' sermons without acknowledging the original author (this pastor plagiarized Spurgeon entire sermon) and making it his own. A cheat.     

Another trick I've seen used is the spreading of gossip by the leadership. The smart ones will make sure that he is not seen as the spreader of gossip.  They are crafty enough to use words like 'Jane told me that John did this...' or 'Jo asked me to pray for her because Bill ...'.  Unethical?  When someone is not walking with the Lord, he will resort to the ways of the world to get what he wants - and pastors are certainly not immune.  Many treat their calling like a job, so they behave accordingly.   When your pastor was interviewed, did anyone ask him about his walk with God, or how the Lord has been dealing with him? A good question would be 'what did God teach your the last 12 months?' I can put money on it that the interviewers were more interested in how he grew his last church and how many  programs he started, and what techniques he managed to mobilize the church programme, and what offering he managed to raise (extract) from the congregation. You get what you asked for,

What does the church become when unspiritual people get into power?  A bunch of worldly wise people manipulating and bullying the flock for their own ends. A den of vipers!  That's why choose your leaders carefully, there is no turning back. With the current state the church is in today, the majority will vote in the most popular or sharp person into the leadership, certainly not the most spiritual.  

Who is responsible for the state the church is in? The leadership!  Leaders and pastors who do not feed the flock the Word of God. And who is responsible for the current state of our pastors?  The bible seminaries and the pulpits of the previous generation.  Leaders have lost the fear of God, they don't seek God, and resort to the world's way of dealing with issues - politics and manipulation.  What a terrible state the church is in. 

As one senior pastor advised me, 'if your pastor has not changed after 10 years, he is not going to change now, best to leave'.  May I encourage you to do this if you have a church leadership who do not obey the Lord.  Get out before the judgment of God falls, 

To those churches who have genuine shepherds, treasure them and be gentle with them. They are a rare breed.

 

Heresies in the church 7 - God loves the sinner but hates his sin

I've heard this said so many times by people who try and make the gospel more attractive to non-Christians.

This is what I classify as a Christian cliché. The church is full of these. "Once saved always saved", "Don't look at anyone except Christ", "God has a wonderful plan for your life", just to name a few.  The dangers with these cliché is that they become a substitute for scripture. They are regarded as unchallengeable as inspired scripture.  They often contain an aspect of truth, usually in a very specific context, but the real danger is that they are taken to be absolute truth in all circumstances. This is where this half-truth becomes a total falsehood.  

I'd like to focus on one today "God loves the sinner but hates his sin".

Here is an obvious question - where does it say in the bible that God love the sinner?  

Are you surprised if I were to tell you that no such scripture exist? What we actually find in scripture are verses like John 3:16 “...God so loved the world...”, and Romans 5:8 "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". Now, these are very different from 'God loves sinners'... There is no doubt that God loves the world, in which sinners are included (in fact every person who ever lived except Jesus falls into the category of 'sinner'). But 'God loves the world' and 'God loves sinners' are two different statements, although a very subtle one.  

When we say that 'God loves sinners', we are saying a few things that we do not mean to say. It implies that God loves the person who is still indulging in his sin. So for the sinner, it's great, God loves me although He hates my adultery. So I'm alright. I don't have to worry about God's judgment because He loves me.  I can still continue practicing my adultery.   It's only my actions he hates, but He loves me yessss!  

The bible actually says God hates the sinner.  Take  Psalm 5:5 which reads, "The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity".  I can almost bet that your preacher never mentioned this in all his sermons.  God hates the workers of iniquity - the sinner.  

But God also loves the world which by implications comprises sinners.  We have to reconcile these two aspects of truth. When we can't reconcile, it's not that scripture is wrong, it’s our lack of understanding.  It is my opinion that the bible does not explicitly state that God loves the sinner because of its implications i.e. God loves the person who is continuing in his sin, therefore endorsing the sin.

So when we say that "God loves the sinner but hates the sin', we really need to be aware of its implications and not risk saying more than what the bible is saying.  We can say that God loves people so much that He gave His only Son Jesus to die on the cross for sinners. But we should not tell an adulterer that God loves him as an adulterer.  It sends the wrong message.

So what attitude should we have?  

 Jude 1:22–23: “Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.” 

Dangers of the new 'God-does-not-guide-Christians-so-use-your-own-wisdom' teaching

I came across this teaching recently where the seminary professor taught that God does not guide Christians by telling them what to do - whether to marry a certain person or not, whether to take up a job or stay, etc. You just have to use the wisdom that God has given you and make your decisions based on your best pro-and-con evaluation. As long as it is not a moral decision that contradicts the bible's moral teachings, you can do anything and choose any path.

This teaching alarms me as there are implications.  Besides the fact that this new teaching contradicts many of the teachings by other devoted Christians, especially godly men of the last and previous century, this teaching seems to fly against the teaching of scriptures.

In the book of Acts, we see the Holy Spirit clearly leading the apostles. Go there, don't go there. Granted that God does not tell everyone exactly which step to take next all the time, we have cases whether holy men asked God and He answered. The Old Testament are full of examples of prophets and kings who asked God for direction, and He answered. Are we saying that now, when the Holy Spirit has been poured out, that we receive less guidance? Of course not. God guides nowadays more than ever. He who guided the apostles is the same Spirit who is in us now. 

I digressed from my original intention of writing this article. I want to list some of the dangers of the mentioned teaching.

• It takes God out of the picture. We don't have to ask for God's will anymore. Just weigh the pro-and-cons and decide. This is contrary to the whole spirit of the bible where we are reminded of our constant sinful independent spirit instead of relying on God. My will and decision is what matters since God doesn't give guidance. 
• On a more subtle area, it takes the supernatural out of the bible. God has given us His written Word and is now silent. Don't expect supernatural guidance. Don't expect to hear the voice of God (by this I do not mean a verbal voice, I mean God speaking to our spirit through various channels and means).  
• Another danger is that it also implies that God doesn't care about these kind of decisions. He leaves them totally to our 'wisdom'.   Too bad if some Christians are not too bright!  
• It becomes a very subjective decision.  My pro-and-con will be tainted by my own selfish motives and desires. My conclusion will be different from someone who has different experiences and knowledge, and even age or gender.
• It allows me to do almost anything I want and justify it. It's so easy to rationalize that God wants me to do something when it is actually myself who wants it.  A person can have grand ideas that he will make a great preacher like Billy Graham. He can rationalize that he has good oratory skills, can understand the bible like a theologian and likes the kind of respect given to pastors, so he applies for a job as a pastor. And he gets it based on good academic results and personality.  Imagine what harm he can do the church when he has not been called into the ministry.

When such a teaching is adopted, it encourages seminary graduates to take up pastoral positions because it is something they like to do (after all they have done the training), instead of asking if God wants them to be pastors. Imagine a whole generation of graduates from bible seminaries looking for jobs and applying for any pastoral position that comes along. Imagine them 'pastoring' churches because it is a job they applied and got instead of where God wants them to be. Then ask why there is so little genuine love for the people in the church. Also ask why the pastor also chooses to work in certain ministries and not others. If it is a high profile job like preaching, yes of course. But if it is working in the background encouraging the down-hearted or calling up those people with problems, the pastor is nowhere to be found. These background jobs don't give him the profile he craves.   You end up with a 'hireling' instead of a genuine 'shepherd'. (BTW the word for pastor is the same word for shepherd)

Look at David. In 2 Samuel, he asked the Lord “shall I go up to one of the towns in Judah?”  God directs him to Hebron.  Again in 2 Samuel 23, David asked the Lord if he should attack the Palestines in Keilah.  God tells him to go.  Shall I do this or shall I not?  God gives him the answer all the time.

That is what we must do as Christians. Ask the Lord to direct us. And He will, often not the way we expect. He can direct us so many ways, through our spirit, through the counsel of another Christian, through His written word, etc.  Let’s not limit God to one method only.  At the same time, let’s not limit God by saying He doesn’t guide Christians anymore. 

 “The Lord is my Shepherd..”  (Psalms 23:1).  I’ve never heard of a shepherd who doesn’t leads his flock?  Have you?

Anti Christian Bias in the media

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How To Be Filled With The Holy Spirit - A.W. Tozer

Almost all Christians want to be full of the Spirit. Only a few want to be filled with the Spirit. But how can a Christian know the fullness of the Spirit unless he has known the experience of being filled? It would, however, be useless to tell anyone how to be filled with the Spirit unless he first believes that he can be. No one can hope for something he is not convinced is the will of God for him and within the bounds of scriptual provision. Before the question 'How can I be filled?' has any validity the seeker after God [i]must be sure that the experience of being filled is actually possible[/i]. The man who is not sure can have no ground of expectation. Where there is no expectation there can be no faith, and where there is no faith the inquiry is meaningless. The Doctrine of the Spirit as it relates to the believer has over the last half century [written in 1957] been shrouded in a mist such as lies upon a mountain in stormy weather. A world of confusion has surrounded this truth. The children of God have been taught contrary doctrines from the same texts, warned, threatened and intimidated until they instinctively recoil from every mention of the Bible teaching concerning the Holy Spirit. This confusion has not come by accident. An enemy has done this. Satan knows that Spiritless evangelicalism is as deadly as Modernism or heresy, and he has done everything in his power to prevent us from enjoying our true Christian heritage. A church without the Spirit is as helpless as Israel might have been in the wilderness if the fiery cloud had deserted them. The Holy Spirit is our cloud by day and our fire by night. Without him we only wander aimlessly about the desert. That is what we today are surely doing. We have divided ourselves into little ragged groups, each one running after a will-o'-the-wisp or firefly in the mistaken notion that we are following the Shekinah. It is not only desirable thatr the cloudy pillar should begin to glow again. It is imperative. The Church can have light only as it is full of the Spirit, and it can be full only as the members who compose it are filled individually. Furthermore, no one can be filled until he is convinced that being filled is a part of the total plan of God in redemption; that it is nothing added or extra, nothing strange or queer, but a proper and spiritual operation of God, based upon and growing out of the work of Christ in atonement. The inquirer must be sure to the point of conviction. He must believe that the whole thing is normal and right. He must believe that it is God's will that he be anointed with a horn of fresh oil beyond and in addition to all the ten thousdand blessings he may already have received from the good hand of God. Until he is so convinced I recommend that he take time out to fast and pray and meditate upon the Scriptures. Faith comes from the Word of God. Suggestion, exhortation or the psychological effect of the testimony of others who have been filled will not suffice. Unles he is persuaded from the Scriptures he should not press the matter nor allow himself to fall victim to the emotional manipulators intent upon forcing the issue. God is wonderfully patient and understanding and will wait for the slow heart to catch up with the truth. In the meantime, the seeker should be calm and confident. In due time God will lead him through the Jordan. Let him not break loose and run ahead. Too many have done so, only to bring disaster upon their Christian lives. After a man is convinced that he can be filled with the Spirit [i]he must desire to be[/i]. To the interested inquirer I ask these questions: Are you sure that you want to be possessed by a Spirit Who, while He is pure and gentle and wise and loving, will yet insist upon being Lord of your life? Are you sure you want your personality to be taken over by One Who will require obedience to the written Word? Who will not tolerate any of the self-sins in your life: self-love, self-indulgence? Who will not permit you to strut or boast or show off? Who will take the direction of your life away from you and will reserve the sovereign right to test you and discipline you? Who will strip away from you many loved objects which secretly harm your soul? Unless you can answer an eager 'Yes' to these questions you do not want to be filled. You may want the thrill or the victory or the power, but you do not really want to be filled with the Spirit. Your desire is little more than a feeble wish and is not pure enough to please God, Who demands all or nothing. Again I ask: Are you sure you [i]need to be filled[/i] with the Spirit? Tens of thousands of Christians, laymen, preachers, missionaries, manage to get on somehow without having had a clear experience of being filled. That Spiritless labour can lead only to tragedy in the day of Christ, is something the average Christian seems to have forgotten. But how about you? Perhaps your doctrinal basis is away from belief in the crisis of the Spirit's filling. Very well, look at the fruit of such doctrine. What is your life producing? You are doing religious work, preaching, singing, writing, promoting, but what is the [i]quality[/i] of your work? True; you received the Spirit at the moment of conversion, but is it also true that you are ready without further anointing to resist temptation, obey the Scriptures, understand the truth, live victoriously, die in peace and meet Christ without embarrassment at His coming? If, on the other hand, your soul cries out for God, for the living God, and your dry and empty heart dispairs of living a normal Christian life without a further anointing, then I ask you: Is your desire all-absorbing? Is it the biggest thing in your life? Does it crowd out every common religious activity and fill you with an acute longing that can only be described as the pain of desire? If your heart cries 'Yes' to these questions you may be on your way to a spiritual break-through which will transform your whole life. It is in the preparation for receiving the Spirit's anointing that most Christians fail. Probably no one was ever filled without first having gone through a period of deep soul disturbance and inward turmoil. When we find ourselves entering this state the temptation is to panic and draw back. Satan exhorts us to take it easy lest we make shipwreck of the faith, and dishonour the Lord who bought us. Of course Satan cares nothing for us nor for our Lord. His purpose is to keep us weak and unarmed in a fay of conflict. And millions of believers accept his hypocritical lies as gospel truth and go back to their caves like the prophets of Obadiah to feed on bread and water. Before there can be fullness there must be emptiness. Before God can fill us with Himself we must first be emptied of ourselves. It is this emptying that brings the painful disappointment and despair of self which so many persons have complained just prior to their new and radiant experience. There must come a total of self-disvaluation, a death to all things without us and within us, or ther can never be real filling with the Holy Spirit. [i]The dearest idol I have known, Whate'er that idol be. Help me to tear it from Thy throne, And worship only thee.[/i] We sing this glibly enough, but we cancel out our prayer by our refusal to surrender the very idol of which we sing. To give up our last idol is to plunge ourselves into a state of inward loneliness which no gospel meeting, no fellowship with other Christians, can ever cure. For this reason most Christians play it safe and settle for a life of compromise. They have some of God, to be sure, but not all; and God has some of them, but not all. And so they live their tepid lives and try to disguise with bright smiles and snappy choruses the deep spiritual destitution within them. One thing should be made crystal clear: the soul's journey through the dark night is not a meritorious one. The suffering and loneliness do not make a man dear to God. Everything comes out of his goodness on the grounds of Christ's redeemed blood and is a free gift, with no strings attached. What the soul agony does is to break from earthly interests and focus the attention upon God. All that has gone before is by way of soul preparation for the divine act of infilling. The infilling itself is not a complicated thing. While I shy away from 'how to' formulas in spiritual things, I believe the answer to the question 'How can I be filled?' may be answered in four words, all of them active verbs. They are [i](1) surrender, (2) ask, (3) obey, (4) believe. Surrender: I Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of GOd, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2) Ask: If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? (Luke 11:13) Obey: We are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him. (Acts 5:32)[/i] Complete and ungrudging obedience to the will of God is absolutely indispensable to the reception of the Spirit's anointing. As we wait before God we should reverently search the Scriptures and listen for the voice of gentle stillness to learn what our Heavenly Father expects of us. Then, trusting to His enabling, we should obey to the best of our ability and understanding. [i]Believe: This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Galatians 3:2)[/i] While the infilling of the Spirit is received by faith and only by faith, let us beware of that imitation faith which is no more than a mental assent to truth. It has been a source of great disappointment to multitudes of seeking souls. True faith invariably brings a witness. But what is that witness? It is nothing physical, vocal nor phychical. The Spirit never commits himself to the flesh. The only witness He gives is a subjective one, known to the individual alone. The Spirit announces himself to the deep-in spirit of the man. The flesh profiteth nothing, but the believing heart knows. [i]Holy, Holy, Holy[/i]. One last thing: Neither in the Old Testament not in the New, Nor in Christian testimony as found in the writings of the saints as far as my knowledge goes, was any believer ever filled with the Holy Spirit [i]who did not know he had been filled[/i]. Neither was anyone filled [i]who did not know when he was filled[/i]. And [i]no one was ever filled gradually[/i]. Behind these three trees many half-hearted souls have tried to hide, like Adam from the presence of the Lord, but they are not good enough hiding places. The man who does not know when he was filled was never filled (though of course it is possible to forget the date). And the man who hopes to be filled gradually will never be filled at all. In my Sober judgement the relation of the Spirit to the believer is the most vital question the Church faces today. The problems raised by Christian existentialism or neo-orthadoxy are nothing by comparison with this most critical one. Ecumenicity, eschatalogical theories - none of these things deserve consideration until every believer can give an affirmative answer to the question, 'Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?' And it might easily be that after we have been filled with the spirit we will find to our delight that the very infilling itself has solved the other problems for us. -A.W. Tozer