Free Gas for Your Think Tank — Short Reflections, Lasting Encouragement

We live in a world that is fastly fleeing from traditional social and moral constraints.  People nowadays uninhibitedly express their feelings and views without regard for what is decent, right, or wholesome, even when they are sober.  There is no longer a need to be drunk to be morally uninhibited.

Yet spiritually, people seem as inhibited and restrained (frozen) as ever.  Church in our society seems to be either formal and dry or theatrical and entertaining.  However, it cannot be described as uninhibited. 

This, however, is contrary to the foundation of the Christian church.  Most Bible scholars say that the church age began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon 120 of Jesus’ first disciples.  This was one of the most uninhibited events in history.

The 120 had been praying in hiding after Jesus’ crucifixion, when suddenly, what looked like flames of fire came down on them.  They were filled with passion and enthusiasm, and they began to speak loudly in languages that they didn’t know.  Then they went out into the street, celebrating, rejoicing, and praising God.

They were so spiritually uninhibited that some of the people seeing this, thought they were drunk.  (I wonder when the last time people thought a group of Christians in Nashville were drunk?)

Perhaps our uninhibited world needs to see and experience an expression of the original attitude of the church — spontaneous and uninhibited expression of love and passion for Jesus.  Maybe that is one reason the church is in decline in our society.  Perhaps we have hidden God’s light “under a bushel” of inhibition.  (If the chosen are frozen, how can God’s fire burn in the world?)   

So why are Christians and church meetings so spiritually inhibited?  Well, one reason may be that we have organized and structured God out of church.  Our church meetings are about God, but they don’t require the presence of the living God in order to function.  

So what if Christians gathered and said:  “We are not going to run this church service by our own agenda and/or our own power.  Instead we are going to sit here and wait until God does something.”  Perhaps God would show up once again and break the spiritual inhibitions off that group of people and start another movement that would “turn the world upside down.”

God did that once.  (In fact He has done it several times in the past 2,000 years.)  Why not now?  Why not in our time? 

If we will die to self, remove our spiritual inhibitions, and begin to follow and obey what God tells us to do, we will see a mighty move of God in out time.  But it must start with a group of people who are willing to obey Paul’s command to turn away from “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.”

We must move beyond church formalism and begin to flow in the power of the Holy Spirit.  We must remove the spiritual restraints, reclaim “the priesthood of the believer” that the Reformation declared in words but denied in practice, and begin to allow (and encourage) every member to openly and publicly share what God is speaking in his/her heart. 

Let’s tear down the wall of spiritual inhibitions in our church, cast aside our restraints, and encourage church attenders to do and say whatever the Holy Spirit tells them to.  This is not just theory.  It really works.  If you want to experience the amazing wonders of an uninhibited church gathering (sometimes called organic church, simple church, or house church) check this one out at 225 Berry Street, Nashville, 37207, on Sundays at 10:45am