Chapter 11: The Dreaded "P of I"

12/16/1990

PLEASE, for the sake of the Testimony of the Son and the peace of all of His Family, please! no pooling of ignorance. That is, don’t allow the scenario in which everyone just throws their wisdom, thoughts, experiences, observations, and Bible verses onto the heap. It may sound something like this: “I think that faith is…” Or, “Well, I went to a church one time where we…”; or “I remember when…”; or “The International Interdenominational Commentary says that this verse means…”; “In the original Aramaic the meaning is…” That kind of thinking could easily be, and usually is, spouting off without communion with God. Or living in the past and “leaning upon our own understanding” because of pride or shallowness. When a certain topic of our interest may arise, we may throw in our so-called wisdom and observations, thinking that we can top the last bit of information that was given. That’s not what the Kingdom of God is all about. Don’t yield to the temptation to deal in externals in order to keep the conversation going, or to impress others. If our interaction in a meeting doesn’t seem to be snapping right along, the carnal man inside each of us is desperate to spice things up and make the meeting dynamic. When we yield to this temptation, we grieve the Spirit by usurping Jesus’ Headship. And if everyone’s life is brimming with Jesus, that carnal response will never happen — it won’t be necessary.

Obviously, meetings in which Jesus is reigning will not be boring or like a traffic jam of unnecessary “spiritual” words. Imagine Paul showing up in Troas and not being able to get a Word in edgewise because everyone had an opinion — but few had an “open Heaven” and a Word from “Home” (Eph.2:6; Col.3:1-3; Jn.17:3; Heb.10:19-20).

Our goal is not to get more people to “participate.” Our heart is to get more of Jesus into our lives, and the lives of our brothers and sisters. Then the “participating” will come from the overflow of God’s Heart…through us. We’ll function out of the current Life of God and the fellowship in the Holy Spirit! That’s what it’s all about. And so it is with singing as well….

‘Til They Know You Care

Everyone can smile and socialize

Are you another one of those nice guys

Who can talk a good talk

Maybe share a verse or two

Or can they see

That you’re just bursting at the seams

To share the Hope that lies within this frame

Lord, make us Real!

Chorus:

No token prayers at beddy-bye

But, what do you Believe?

And do you know Why?

Is passion for God burning in your eyes?

Do you know?

And do they know?

Do you live your life as if it’s not about you?

Does the Glory of Christ shine through?

And does it make them want to know Him, too?

Cause no one cares what you know

‘Til they know you care

Love like He loved

Die as He died

And see the world through His eyes

Each man a soul God chose to die for

Though He knew full well

We’d turn our backs and we’d rebel

And yet, he did it anyway

What kind of Love is that?!

(Chorus)

Bridge:

What if we were living invitations

To the Freedom found only in the Son

Let’s gossip the Hope

that was offered to us

Make them wonder why

we love this Man so much

So so much

(Chorus)

— Gabrielle, Chloe

<<< >>>