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The Holy Spirit In The Church Of Laodicea
[Introduction] [Part I] [Part II] [Part III] [Footnotes]
Dear Friends in the Faith,
As infrequent as these teachings are now, it still comes seasonally on me to write you what the Lord has opened to me concerning the truth for our times. These letters are essentially my only outlet for fulfilling my deepest calling-that of a prophetic instructor. If I have sent one of these to you, it's because I count you as a trustworthy friend who can benefit from what I have received. As you consider the lengthy writing before you, I hope you will look on it as a gift. Though there is no formal covenant between us, it is the deepest thing I have to offer you in the kingdom of God. I hope you will value it and not treat it lightly. It has taken months to distill and age before presenting to you.
As many of you know, my great burden the last 20 years has been to rightly understand and explain the nature of the Holy Spirit's ministry in our lives-particularly the relationship between His intimate personal work through the cross and His active work among the church and in the earth. This letter is a continuation of that burden and reflects my latest grasp of this complex issue.
Human words are hardly adequate for tackling the mystery behind this most heated spiritual matter of our times. Yet after a two-decade pursuit of God which has included a gauntlet of deception, misconception, bondage and extremism, I continue feeling an impossible but relentless call to uncover the truth concerning the Spirit's ways in the church. Cast on His wisdom and utterance, I have given myself to unceasing waiting day and night on this mystery if I might somehow help other sincere but confused souls like myself find freedom in the truth of our Lord Jesus.
Today, those of us who love truth and also desire all the Spirit has to offer are extremely frustrated over the various outpourings, moves, and revivals being reported. What appears to be the original work of the Spirit in so many ministries and movements is so otherwise fraught with charlatans, bogus manifestations and dubious teachings. On one hand, many are being undeniably touched with the Lord's power in a way that commands respect and deepens devotion. Yet so many others are producing signs of what can only grieve the very Spirit by whom they claim to be touched-and all of it is happening under the same tent. We can't possibly say it's all of the devil, but neither can we say it is all of God. We sincerely don't want to criticize or cut ourselves off from the Holy Spirit. Yet we don't dare embrace something that in our deepest gut seems off base, even though we perceive the Holy Spirit may somehow be involved with it. So we are deeply troubled.
Amid overlapping tides of man-centered teachings and moves of the Spirit, I stand to bear witness that there is a sound unshakable standard of truth by which we can understand this mystery. It is found neither in doctrinal interpretations nor in ungrounded prophetic revelations. It only comes through the direct knowing of our Lord Jesus Christ who indwells every believer. Today, I write you from the wellspring of my own personal intimacy with the Lord insofar as He has made Himself clear to me on these things. I will never claim to have the complete revelation of Christ on all this. There is so much I am just now beginning to comprehend. Yet I am writing you out of my knowledge of the Lord Himself. Therefore I can claim to have unalterable truth to help you root your life in Christ over all this.
Now I commend this letter to your conscience. I pray it will prove a bedrock of soul-anchoring power as you hack your own way through the conflicting realities swirling about in these final hours before Christ returns. If you have any serious care about your own soul and about the direction of the church, and if you are fighting bewilderment over the tide of contradictory manifestations of the Holy Spirit, then I exhort you to read this letter thoroughly (not just scan it). Wake up and pay attention. I will do everything I can to be simple and to the point. If you can grasp what I will present here, I believe you will go a long way toward saving your soul in this hour of confusion.*
[Introduction] [Part I] [Part II] [Part III] [Footnotes]
*[This letter presumes you are committed to the basic premise that the Holy Spirit has indeed been poured out these last 100 years and that all we see Him to be in the Bible and more is for us today. If you do not agree with this premise, read no further. You cannot benefit from this article.]