The Lord is always calling us deeper into our relationship with him. This requires us to seek his face through prayer, worship, study, meditation on his Word and the things of heaven.
Recently, I had a dream where I was at a gathering of people who are associated with more religious circles. I said, “let’s go deeper with God” as I was on my knees in prayer. Everybody thought I was strange. And the majority of the people left. There were only a few that stuck around.
The nature of the religious spirit is to have a form of godliness where everything looks good on the outside, but not everything is okay on the inside. It’s pretty much the idea that I’m doing well and I have need of nothing. No real interest in the things of God. Jesus told us that people refuse to come to Him because they love darkness more than they love the light.
The closer we get to God, the more we have to deal with our stuff. The light exposes things and that is scary to people. While it is easy to place a label on a jar and call it whatever you want, the bottom line is – what’s inside the jar?
We have an issue with churches that call themselves Spirit-filled, Presence-centered, and other things that are closely related to the Holy Spirit, but they don’t have a clue or a desire to have the Holy Spirit. It becomes more about terms to say that make a church “look” “more progressive and going after God” when in fact, they’re still holding the same “religious crust” that they always had.
Part of this stems from the fact that now there are authentic Holy Spirit-filled and Presence-centered circles that are having an impact through worship in the Earth. There are popular songs that are associated with those circles that have impacted masses of people. Then you have people/churches that don’t have that “core experience” with the Holy Spirit. They try to reproduce these worship experiences but are, in reality, “dry as a bone”. They don’t have much interest in the Holy Spirit, but they will gladly say “Spirit-filled”. Part of the delusion is because Scripture does say that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We automatically have the Holy Spirit, which is true and part, but they forget the other aspect where we’re supposed to be “filled with the Spirit”. What this Scripture explicitly teaches is that it’s “not” a one-time experience.
The Holy Spirit is transformative. We are changed by the glory of his presence. This is not a concept in the head. This is a reality and experience that we have with the Lord in our hearts as we welcome Him.
The manifest Presence of God is something that you can physically feel and creates an atmosphere for miracles, signs and wonders. The impossible becomes possible in God’s glory. If someone doesn’t understand this, then they will be satisfied with a mental understanding of a concept from the Bible.
We believe for what’s impossible, not for what’s possible. If it’s possible then it doesn’t require any faith. It just means you can do it without God. All things are possible to those who believe. The implication is that what is impossible with man is possible with God. This is the kind of faith God is looking for. Faith that requires a supernatural intervention and activity of God and the form of signs, wonders and miracles. Does God do other things? Of course he does. Jesus also said the works that I do, you shall do also and greater works than these shall you do because I go to my Father in heaven. This statement is an extension of what the Lord had already accomplished, what He had already demonstrated. If you want to be an imitator of Jesus, you will do these things and more. Go deeper. Being Christlike is not about being a nice person. We are to be kind, but Jesus was also an offense to the religious spirit and the spirit of the world in what He said and did.
Bad theology dismisses the gifts, and the power of the Spirit for today because it is convenient, easy, and justifies unbelief and doubt. Therefore there’s no challenge to believe for anything that actually requires God‘s power. Jesus says, “go wait in Jerusalem until you’re endued with power from on high”, a religious person has no interest.
There is no conviction for not believing for the impossible because that’s their theology. It’s being brainwashed by demons.
When you don’t want to go deeper with God, you don’t think there’s anything else that you can experience. Or someone’s been taught that experiences with God are too out there and are bad. That’s probably why people are looking for an experience with sin instead of the Holy Spirit because they’re so bored.
The kingdom of God is not boring. The kingdom of God is what Jesus told us – abundant life. Abundant life is an overflow of the Holy Spirit, Presence of God, fulfilled promises of God, and that we walk in our identity as sons of God as we manifest His kingdom.