“I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church.” – Charles Spurgeon
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding an Instagram post made by Hillsong Worship songwriter Marty Sampson. Social media has erupted and the outcry of apostasy is flooding the comments section of many Facebook posts regarding this news. As heartbreaking as it is to hear about prolific people in the Christian community lose their faith or completely abandon it, the real tragedy is the church of today as a whole has become apostate.
When I think about the ministry of Jesus, I think of the many miracles He performed. To name a few, He healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, walked on water, and fed an entire multitude with just a couple of fish and five loaves of bread. What an amazing ministry marked by signs and wonders! The incredible thing about this is Jesus promised that we also would do these things but to a GREATER degree.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:12-14 NKJV
This power was made available to us all because the Holy Spirit was given to us after Jesus ascended into heaven.
“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:4-8 NKJV
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4 NKJV
From the Day of Pentecost on, you see a church described in Acts as one having great power like Jesus had promised! In one sermon made by a man who once denied Jesus but was now empowered with the Holy Spirit, 3,000 souls were added the church (Acts 2:14-41). Not long after that sermon, Peter and John, both filled with the Holy Spirit, healed a man crippled since birth for 40 plus years. (Acts 3:1-10). This miracle got them arrested but it was because of the power of the Holy Spirit that these uneducated men spoke with great boldness before the highest religious authority of the day and those religious leaders marveled and discerned that Peter and John had been with Jesus! (Acts 4:1-22). I only listed three miracles recorded early on in the book of Acts and I barely touched the tip of the iceberg. The entire book is filled with amazing stories of how signs and wonder followed the early church. This was how the church was intended to operate – a church with great power that reached the hurting and the lost.
Jesus said we would do greater things than He but why is it we aren’t seeing the “greater things?” Surely we would at least see miracles on par with what Jesus did but we aren’t seeing those either. So what’s going on? Unfortunately, the church today no longer resembles the church described in Acts. The problem at this late hour is the church as a whole is missing Holy Ghost power. Cessationists like to argue that the age of miracles and prophecy ended with the death of the apostles but this is not true. The working of the Holy Spirit has NOT ceased but the church of the 21st century has become a stagnant backslidden church that operates without power and without prayer. Instead, the church today relies on programs that do very little to transform lives. How can we expect hurting and lost people to be healed, set free from their sins, and radically transformed if all the church has to offer to a perishing world is a handful of live CDs and dead religion? Jesus and the apostles relied on the supernatural to draw in people; today we rely on concerts and entertainment. It is no wonder that people are finding the church to be ineffective and no different than the alternatives of this world.
“Our churches don’t need more coffee bars, laser lights, cool worship songs, celebrity pastors, and topical sermons about having your best life now. We need men who will teach the whole word of God, who will magnify Jesus above all else, who won’t minimize sin but call people to repent, and who will make it clear that Jesus is the only way to be saved and without faith in Him you won’t go to heaven.” – Jordan Riley
I pray the church awakens from its slumber and repents of its apostasy. It is time for the church to rise up to be the holy church that Christ is coming back for. It is time for the church to be full of the Holy Spirit and of power. Will the real church of Acts please stand up?
Joshua Hawk 