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Tabernacle Presbyterian Church Rev. L. John Gable “THE
THE CHARISMATIC TRADITION" You know, we Presbyterians are known for not being very expressive in our worship experiences. The standing joke about us is that we are “the frozen chosen” because of our staid, “decent and in order” experiences of worship, and I am afraid we often live up to our reputation. I once heard the story of a guest preacher who, at the end of the service in a Presbyterian church said, “I want to be with all of you when Christ comes again.” The congregation smiled, feeling flattered by his comments, until he explained. “Scripture tells us that on the last day the dead in Christ will rise first, and you folks are as dead in Christ as any I’ve ever seen.” Yes, we Presbyterians have gotten something of a bum rap because our worship through the centuries has tended more toward the head than the heart. That is unfortunate, particularly if we come to worship thinking we are more engaged in an intellectual exercise than we are in an encounter with the living God. Years ago I heard about a pastor who handed out a helium-filled balloon to every worshipper as they entered the sanctuary. He gave instruction that “if at any time during the service you feel something of the presence of God, touching or moving you, let go of your balloon – during a prayer, a hymn, an anthem, the Scripture lesson or sermon, if you feel moved by God at all, let go of your balloon.” Throughout the service, one by one, the balloons were released and raced toward the ceiling of the sanctuary, but then at the end of the service, the pastor noticed that some ¾ of the balloons had not been released at all. Nothing of the experience of the presence of God had moved them enough to let go. Is that God’s fault? Did God not show up in worship that day? I don’t believe so. Was that the preacher’s fault or the worship leaders? Admittedly, we often become impediments to a full experience of God, but again that can’t be the only reason the balloons were never released. Perhaps the greatest fault lies within us, as worshippers. We need to ask ourselves, are we open to being touched and moved by God? Are we sensitive to the movement of the Spirit during worship? The symbol of John Calvin and the early Presbyterians was an open hand holding a heart which was aflame with the love of God. We need to ask ourselves, are our hearts ignitable for God today? This question lies at the heart of the third great tradition of our faith which we are going to look at today – the charismatic tradition. Admittedly many look at the charismatic tradition with some reservation, even some suspicion. It is safe to say that in every age the charismatic tradition has been met with either great excitement or great suspicion and likely more than a little of both, perhaps even among us today. Yet, while each of these traditions finds its grounding in the teachings and experience of Scripture, this is particularly true of the charismatic tradition. Recall the Day of Pentecost, Acts Chapter 2. We didn’t read the story today, but we will in a few weeks. On that day, the so- called “birthday of the Church”, God poured out His Holy Spirit on those first disciples as they were huddled in seclusion in an upper room in Jerusalem. By the power of the Holy Spirit they poured out onto the streets and began proclaiming the saving message of Jesus Christ by speaking in foreign languages, such that visitors from various nations could hear and understand them. To everyone’s amazement, including their own, the disciples were speaking by the indwelling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is often considered the neglected or forgotten third person of the Trinity. We will talk much more about the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in months to come, but suffice it to say today that the Holy Spirit is fully God, who is alive and active in our world and in our hearts today. Based on the teachings we read from John 14, some have described the Holy Spirit as being the on-going presence of God who lives with us and actually takes up residence within us, as we put our trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ in the present tense who serves as our Advocate, Counselor, Helper, Comforter and Friend. So, in this age between Christ’s resurrection and His eventual return, the Church lives, not in the absence of Jesus, but in the presence of the Spirit. We have seen and will continue to see, that the presence and movement of the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary in every one of these traditions, but there is particular emphasis on the work of the Spirit in this one. The modern charismatic movement took shape in “the 17th century when the Church witnessed a new outbreak of the Spirit in the lives of men and women who were called “Quakers”, led by the ministry of George Fox. The active presence of the Spirit in the lives of believers became the empowering principle behind scores of conversions, propelling them to evangelism, missions and social action.” In our Scripture lesson from I Corinthians we read that the Holy Spirit works in two particular ways. First, it is by the prompting and empowering of the Holy Spirit that we come to faith. We read, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord!’ except by the Holy Spirit.” And second, it is the Spirit who gives to each and every believer particular gifts which are to be used in the work of the Body for the common good. The word “charismatic” comes from the Greek word “charism”, the root of our word “charisma”, and it means simply “gift.” We read, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Through the Holy Spirit, alive and active within and among us, God pours out His gifts on believers, just as He did on Pentecost, and I believe that God has given to this Body, this expression of His Church we call Tab, all of the gifts which are necessary for us to do the work which God intends this part of His Body to do. That means that each of us have been given particular gifts which must be identified and employed, because every gift is necessary if we are going to live in to our high calling. It also means if any of us are holding back or even hoarding our gifts then we as a body are hindered and kept from doing all that we have been called by God to do. Even as we are dependent upon the out-pouring and indwelling of the Spirit of God, so we are inter-dependent on each of us using the gifts we have been given. In this passage Paul lists numerous spiritual gifts –wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues, discernment of tongues – all of these may be manifest in the Church, but we need to be aware that this list is not exhaustive. There are different gifts listed in different passages. Nor is this list hierarchical – they are not listed in any order of importance, and this is one area in which the Church has gotten into some misunderstanding, and so into some trouble. The Charismatic movement is best known for the experience of speaking in tongues, so called “glossolalia” or “ecstatic utterances.” While clearly the gifts are intended to be used for the common good and the mutual up-building of the Body, unfortunately this one has, in many instances, become exclusive and divisive. Curiously, in direct conflict with the teachings of Scripture, some have come to believe that this gift of speaking in tongues is preeminent, almost a litmus test for being a “real Christian”; while others equally fervently believe that this gift is no longer even given, so if you speak in tongues you are not a “real Christian” at all. At times it is hard to believe we are all reading the same Scriptures. We need to be clear in understanding that each of these spiritual gifts is intended to be exactly that - a “gift,” given by God, which means that it cannot be purchased or coerced but only received; it is not the personal property of the recipient lest anyone should boast, rather it is the free gift of God’s grace; and all giftings by the Holy Spirit are intended to be used for the common good. In this, “the Church as a whole is envisioned as a charismatic community in which the Holy Spirit is palpably present, operating through the complimentary gifts of its various members.” Several
months ago I attended a conference and, without my awareness or expectation,
the worship service that first evening became quite charismatic. By
that I mean, as the preacher began praying many in the congregation
began to pray along with him, out loud, speaking in tongues. If
you have never been in that setting, it is quite extraordinary, and
in many ways it is quite Biblical. In a Biblical sense, worship
is quite a physical activity as we are called to stand and kneel and
lie prostrate on the floor. The
Bible speaks of shouting and singing and lifting hands and dancing, all
during worship, all of which I witnessed that evening during worship. But
as I watched others who were worshipping in this charismatic way, I was
struck by how symbolic some of their gestures were, and perhaps how much
we as Presbyterians have to learn from this tradition. Nurture the fruits of the Spirit. In
Galatians 5:22 we read that “the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control.” Ask and pray for these, and seek ways
to help these fruits grow in you. Experiment with different postures and expressions of prayer
and praise. Try standing or sitting or kneeling or
walking, even lying face down as you pray. Try opening your hands
or lifting your arms. Try talking out loud or writing your
prayers. Experiment and explore. While the out-pouring and in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit is always a gift from God which can never be controlled or manipulated, it can be asked for and prayed for. These are but a few very simple exercises we can do to open our hearts and ready ourselves for the gifts which God desires to give us, such that even our hearts, even our “frozen chosen” Presbyterian hearts, might be ignitable for God.
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