“Do not cast me away from Your presence; and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me”
July 19, 2020
When a person dies, his spirit departs. And I’m afraid that’s what’s happened to many churches: the Holy Spirit has departed.
The organism has become an organization.
Dr. Carl Bates said years ago something that shook me to my foundation: “If the Holy Spirit were to suddenly die [now, of course, you know that's impossible. He cannot die, but…] “if the Holy Spirit were to suddenly die, most of our churches would meet next Sunday, go right on, and never know the difference.”
I wonder if that’s not true about many churches, especially today, where “The Bible says…” has been switched out for “Well, in my opinion…”
The Holy Spirit hasn’t died, but He has departed. I've been in some churches where you’d think that Hallelujahs and Amens cost $100 apiece. You just can't find them. There’s a sort of barren stillness. But I believe there's something contagious about the Holy Spirit of God.
The Bible says “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Don’t fry in fanaticism or freeze in formalism. Have a burning, passionate love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
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