Don Hawley
September 8, 1997
Many have tried to ignore the worldwide Renewal sweeping the world since 1994, hoping it simply would go away. It hasn't, and it won't. Since no move of the Holy Spirit has ever reached this magnitude, no one who claims to be a Christian has the right to ignore what God is doing.
Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Keep away from every kind of evil. 1 Thess. 5:19-22
Clear enough. This is not a mere suggestion; it is a command from God. We ignore it at our eternal peril. What is taking place either has to be the greatest thing God is doing on earth today,or the greatest counterfeit. Either way, we need to know. The Bible plainly tells us to expect a movement much like this in our day. Is this the one? God says "test," but how do we do that? We can't afford to be wrong.
A CLUE FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT
Recently I read something in Joshua, chapter nine, that should prove helpful. God had given much of Palestine to the Israelites, but they were to wrest it from the heathen then occupying the land. That was no great problem, as God said he would fight for them. However, lest they later fall into idolatry, they were to destroy all the inhabitants -- none were to be spared.
When one group, the Gibeonites, heard about the power of Israel's God, they devised a scheme for survival.
But when the people of Gibeon heard what had happened to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to deception to save themselves.They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old patched wineskins. They put on ragged clothes and worn-out, patched sandals. And they took along dry, moldy bread for provisions. When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treatywith us."
The Israelites replied to these Hivites, "How do we know you don't live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you."
They replied, "We will be your servants." Joshua 9:3-8
Whether or not the Israelites were going to be taken in by this clever deception, depended on their method of testing. Surely God didn't want them deceived. Notice why they failed.
"This bread was hot from the ovens when we left. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy. These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and cracked. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our long, hard trip."
So the Israelite leaders examined their bread, but they did not consult the Lord.
Then Joshua went ahead and signed a peace treaty with them, and the leaders of Israel ratified their agreement with a binding oath. Ibid. vs. 12-15
The Israelite leaders were so certain they could discern truth by merely checking the bread, that they fell into error. There seemed to be no need to consult the Lord when "truth"was so obvious. Many today are making the same mistake in judging the Renewal! They limit their examination to the "bread," the Logos, the written Word. Is there any need to seek further? According to Jesus, yes.
The time is coming and is already here when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship him that way. ForGod is spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:23, 24
In other words, to be a true worshipper I must be immersed in both the Truth and the Spirit, the Logos and the Rhema, the written word and the oral word. The devil certainly has been successful in producing less than "true worshippers." Christendom largely has been divided into two camps; those who cling to the written word and the doctrines at the expense of the spoken voice of the Spirit, and those who want only to hear directly from the Spirit without involving the written word. Some have been as easily tricked as were the Israelites, allowing modern Gibeonites to fool them into a form of bondage. As our Savior explained, such lopsided servitude must be broken before the Body of Christ can enter into its final conflict. And that climatic battle looms just ahead.
It is interesting to note, in the above text, that although God is calling for balance, he gives slightly more emphasis to worshipping "in Spirit." That is because in the final warfare, when everything that can be shaken will be shaken, we must have ready communication with our Commander through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The written Word alone will not suffice--Christ said so. Jesus seemed to sense that, when the Spirit moves with unprecedented Pentecostal power at the end, many will be fearful of such awesome might. Just as at Pentecost many attributed the manifestations of the Spirit to alcoholic drunkeness, so today some have difficulty with manifestations of the Spirit in Renewal. They do not fear the Bible, but they fear the Holy Spirit who dictated it. God not only says "test," he also promises:
You fathers--if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Luke 11:11 -13
Don't let those today who automatically denounce the moving of the Spirit of God, cause you to be deceived. God will guard the honestly searching heart, but if you refuse to test as God has commanded, you lose by default.
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