Pastor John,
I saw the YouTube video of young people gathering in a home to worship God. The point being that they were assembling outside of the institution of Christianity to do that. That is big, it seems, as someone had to be feeling something in their heart to want to do that, and as the narrator of the video pointed out (I’m paraphrasing), “…we wanted to get together without a set agenda for how things would go.”
That sounds like a move in the right direction, as serving God outside of the religious system of Christianity is necessary for anyone wanting the freedom during worship to hear from and act on what the Spirit is doing right then.
But as many viewers of the video commented, “Now what?” That is the truth. Without direction from Jesus, how can they become anything but a group of folks performing Christian ceremonies at home versus inside a building decorated with stained glass and crucifixes?
It isn’t the fault of those young people getting together that they don’t have the answer to the question, “Now what?”
God bless them for trying!
When I watched that video this morning, I could feel their answer – what they needed, and that feeling from Jesus moved me so much.
Their need is the same as what was needed in Paul the apostle’s day. Paul was sent to teach God’s newly grafted-in children, the Gentiles, how to worship God acceptably, that is, “in Spirit and in truth.” Isn’t that your job, Pastor John? Isn’t that the job of every man sent by God, to point those who are feeling God’s pull on their heart to the Spirit of God; that is, to the baptism of the Spirit, which is only administered by Jesus from Heaven, and to teach them the necessity of following that Spirit every day of their lives?
The folks meeting in that home need someone sent by God to point them to the Spirit of God, and to KEEP pointing them to the Spirit of God, as that is the only acceptable way to worship God today.
As you have said, Pastor John. The importance does not lie in knowing that Jesus is good; it lies in knowing that Jesus is good enough! Nothing at all can be added to worshipping God in Spirit and in truth, and that is what you have spent a lifetime teaching: Jesus is sufficient in all things.
I hope young people in this generation will pay the price to be able to carry that message to those sincerely seeking God.
Jerry