A thrilling Christianity vs. a boring one

By Nolan Harkness, Wednesday, January 09, 2019

To me there is nothing more exciting in all of Christian-dom than to be led by the Spirit of God. The scriptures declare that “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14 KJV)

Wow, I remember how bored I was in church growing up as a kid. Boring, boring, boring, I thought. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. My mom kept mints or gum in her purse and part way through each week we got handed a mint, which was a high point in the service!

I happen to be an Eagle Scout, a fisherman, a hunter, a certified scuba diver, a photographer, and a dozen other things too numerous to mention. For me life in general is way too boring to waste it doing mundane things! I want to live at the cutting edge of life and I want to live life to the fullest! However all those things are empty at the end of the day. True excitement comes when we follow God’s Spirit. Scott Wesley Brown back several years ago had a song that said; “ Some people want to live within the sound of chapel bells but I want to run a mission a yard from the gate of Hell.” Whenever God the Father preordains for me to be a part of something He puts a plan together in the Holy Spirit, and well buckle up cowboy, it’s always thrilling ride full of faith, depending on miracles, as the hand of the Creator of the universe directs my every step! I love it!

I say all that to say how sad it is to see professing believers stuck in a religious rut. Boring, boring, boring! I was asked some time ago to teach the Adult Sunday School class in my home church. The topics were revival and being revived by the Holy Spirit in our personal lives. One morning I asked the question, “How many of can remember when God recently impressed on our hearts something specific He wanted us to do? There were about a dozen adults present. Because I have many years of history there, I felt I knew a lot about everyone’s life. I just expected several hands to shoot up, but nothing! No one! I then surmised that somehow they misunderstood the question, so I asked it again.

By this time I was starting to scan back and forth for one taker. I was still anxious for that one brave soul to bring in that first powerful testimony. Finally a hand began to creep out slowly from a fuzzy Syracuse hoodie and began to climb as if it was being hand cranked up by a come-along. I said excitedly; “Yes brother, what can you share with us that God has done for you recently?” “Well, he said, about thirty years ago God helped me quit smoking!” I wanted to say “thirrrrrrrteeeee YEARS ago! What has God done thirty minutes ago?” But I was polite! I said “Thank you brother for sharing! The truth was that in that room that day we had a group of professing Christians who were not currently being led by the Spirit of God. You see when most Christians backslide, they do not backslide into a deep pit of the world's sin. They backslide into religious practice. Instead of following the Spirit of God, they follow the spirit of clod! Or simply put the spirit of their own flesh, which is religious works.

I have spent a lot of my time in my life trying to figure out why Christians would not pursue more a life full of the Holy Spirit. I know one thing; that when someone gets saved out of a life of deep sin, they soon learn that if they are going to make it, they have to learn how to pray and pray hard. Many of those same folks, myself being one, by God’s awesome design then at some point find their way into the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I know one sister who was powerfully filled with the Holy Spirit one night when all alone in the privacy of her home, she just kept saying over and over, “Lord I want all you have for me, Lord I want all you have for me.” She said that “all of a sudden there was this inrush of God’s Spirit and she was wonderfully filled.” Her worship, praise, prayer, and Bible study began to take off and a new light was turned on in her understanding of spiritual things.

Pastor after pastor has at one time in their life been powerfully filled with God’s Holy Spirit. As a result with great prayer and intercession they seek the heart of God for just the right message to preach. Their life is totally set apart to do the work of the ministry and many of them have given up high paying professions to accept the call of God. They know God, they know what He gives them is right from the throne room. They faithfully preach it under a clear anointing, an anointing which no one senses more clearly than they themselves do. They conclude the service and open up the altar of their church for their congregants to come forward for help with needs. Their heart goes in the pulpit full of expectancy, they have declared it with Holy Spirit directed accuracy supported by Scripture and then it happens. Again! Just a few drag their way to the altar. All the while people are watching, thinking boring, boring boring!

In Acts 2:17 Peter quotes Joel 2:28a (KJV) “In the last days says God I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” More than anything He fills believers who are open to Him with his power and wonderful miraculous direction. Boring, boring, boring Church-ianity quickly becomes a thrilling, thrilling, thrilling life to live all for God’s glory! Ho-hum becomes a wondrous Halleluiah!