Part two...

Hey Friends…

​  I ran out of time last Sunday. I am glad I did. In His unlimited wisdom, the Lord wanted to slow me down so I could see something more clearly, more precisely, more thoroughly. And He knew I needed to have two conversations before I would be prepared to share this with you properly. I’ll tell you more in Deeper Thoughts below…and shoot really straight with you.
 
But first….
 
·      Ladies: Our one-day women's retreat featuring Cynthia Campbell and "The Steps to Freedom in Christ" and forgiveness is TOMORROW! Saturday, October 19, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Click here to RSVP!
 
·      NEXT UP: Trunk or Treat!! Sunday evening, October 27, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. for fun, games, candy, costumes, and decorations. We need your help! Volunteer to decorate a car and hand out candy, help with set-up/tear-down, or greet guests. Click here to let us know… or sign-up at church on Sunday! Be sure to invite your non-church neighbors and friends!
 
·      Mark your calendar for a 24-hour prayer vigil November 9 – November 10 with 30-minute time slots for people to cover our church in bold prayer. We’ll provide guided ideas on what and how to pray. Then we’ll wrap up with a mighty prayer meeting and worship night, Sunday, November 10 at 5:00 p.m.
 
·      Don’t forget “The Daily Six”, our 6-minute video released every Monday through Thursday as we study through the Book of Acts together. Click here to sign up for daily reminder emails—or you can just find the videos on our YouTube channel each morning.
 
·      Are you praying with us every day this week? The Mt. Hope family desperately needs God’s power and direction as we search out His will for our future. Click here to see our call to 40 days of special prayer emphasis and join us by praying daily!
 
OK…that’s it today for you email skimmers and those who don’t like precision from the Lord.  BUT…
 
 
Some Deeper Thoughts…
 
One of you stopped me after service on Sunday with an important word of encouragement. It was the first conversation I needed before we could move into this next layer of our study of “The Normal Christian Life: Not Weak, Not Weird, Not Wandering.”
 
This beloved saint’s eyes were filled with conviction as she said to me, “Don’t be alarmed at the congregation’s silence. You are shocking us.”
 
She meant this in the most positive of terms—we are tackling a critical subject matter from the Book of Acts that most American Christians have never explored. I unpacked with you on Sunday why many of us have never heard of these things (click here if you missed it… it would be worth picking up before this week’s “Part 2”).  The shock is in the newness of this teaching for many. It is not a new teaching to the Word of God. It’s just that we’ve not spent much time in it as an American church culture. We need to recognize why this has been neglected so we can lean in with the importance it deserves.
 
Let me tell you about the second necessary conversation.
 
It was ten hours long. Just yesterday.
 
Sherri and I spent the day over in southern Maryland visiting with the leadership of a very healthy church pastored by a dear friend of mine. Their church is identical to ours in style, theology, and specifically in their warm, inviting, and deeply caring relationships. But they excel in two unique areas far greater than any other church I know. 


First, their focus and success with practical mission to the poor and needy in their immediate community is remarkable. Second, the overwhelming unity, connectivity, and passion within their incredibly culturally and ethnically diverse church family is stunningly extraordinary. (Can I possibly squeeze any more superlative adverbs into one sentence?)
 
“Do you realize what the very first miracle was after Jesus ascended into heaven?” one of these leaders asked with passionate fire in his eyes. “The Holy Spirit’s very first miracle was to pour out a supernatural manifestation of languages that immediately unified thirteen different ethnicities in one divine moment.”
 
He was right. We’ve already read about this in Acts 2:4-12.
 
Last Sunday, I thought my job was to give you a quick academic understanding of a controversial--and for some, perhaps even frightening—aspect of Christianity and the Bible. I thought the goal was to simply protect you from theological error, fear, or confusion.
 
After yesterday’s conversation, it clicked for me in a way that it never has before. I see clearly that this is not just a passing oddity in the Bible that needs to be understood and protected. It is a pivotal aspect of God’s revelation of what He is capable of healing and restoring.
 
Some folks have abused this revelation over the last 120 years in the Church. That’s why my impulse to protect you is so high.
 
The scriptures reveal a supernatural spiritual gift of languages He gave to some who were baptized [filled] with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:4, Acts 10:46, and Acts 19:6). Most modern translations use the English phraseology “speaking in tongues” to render the original Greek text that would be better translated as “languages.” According to scripture, this gift is NOT given to every believer as some churches in America teach (see 1 Corinthians 12:27-30). Rather, at His discretion, God gives a variety of spiritual gifts to each believer “for the common good… just as he determines” (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11).
 
There is solid scriptural evidence that this gift also has a manifestation of supernaturally anointed prayer in heavenly (spiritual) languages—what the Apostle Paul called “tongues of angels” (see Romans 8:26; 1 Corinthians 13:1; 14:1-3; 14:12-14). The manifestation of this spiritual prayer language is where many in our church tradition get weirded out and might even become fearful. And let’s be honest: Looking at it from any natural perspective, this gift is tremendously odd, unnatural, and could even appear silly or foolish.
 
What’s worse, there are some churches who overemphasize and practice the manifestation of this gift in a disorderly and insensitive way that directly contradicts the clear teaching of 1 Corinthians 14:23-33. The misuse (or perhaps even abuse) of this gift is what I am fiercely protective over you and the culture of Mt. Hope. We cannot ever allow the violation of scripture’s clear instructions from 1 Corinthians 14 in our church.
 
But let’s not toss out the baby with the bathwater either.
 
God has demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit to unify ethnicities, to unite people who were once alienated from one another, and to break down destructive walls of division (see Ephesians 2:12-18). He used one supernatural gift to do so in Acts 2:4-12. But throughout the early church He also used many other outpourings and spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit to bring healing to division, hatred, disunity, and darkness.
 
I bet you’d agree there’s plenty of division, hatred, disunity, and darkness right here in our own neighborhood that could use an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to heal. 


Truth: Without the Holy Spirit's power, they will not heal. The strongholds are simply too strong.
 
This Sunday, let’s pull up next to the scriptures for a careful study of exactly how He has gifted the Body of Christ to be His witnesses with the power of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:8). Let’s seek together what God has for us in careful conformity to the Word of God. I promise to fiercely protect our biblical and cultural integrity. But let’s also fiercely hunger for all that God has for us!
 
See you Sunday… much love to each of you!!
 
Chris Eads
Mt. Hope Pastor
Friend