Spiritual Growth #1 – “The Rapture”

In Part or Full?

Sunset off Kohala, Courtesy D. Smith

Let’s see where Christians who think “like a child” make mistakes because we know Scriptures “in part”, versus Christians who have the capacity to see the whole Scriptural picture because we “know fully”(1 Cor. 13:11, 12 NIV). A good place to start is the rapture event:

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:16, 17).

Many charismatic churches and their leaders bring the people great hope and joy for the last days. We rejoice that we’re going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and be with him forever. And while these phrases are all true, our “in part” assumption will also bring us great shock. Shall we let believers who “know fully” explain to us “why”?

Clearly, God has set the rapture in Divine Order. That means, like a domino effect, everything happens one after the other. The last domino does not fall before the previous ones do. To support this premise of Divine Order, we look at five key words in the rapture verses: FIRST, THEN, and TOGETHER WITH THEM.

The dead in Christ rise FIRST. That means we who are alive will witness a rare phenomenon—thousands upon thousands of dead Christians will rise (anistēmi, stand up) from wherever their corpses, ashes, or bones are; only THEN will the rest of us who are alive be raptured—TOGETHER WITH THEM! See that? Rapture includes both living and dead Christians who are “in Christ” (Gal. 5:24; 2 Cor. 13:5). So, if we don’t see our Christian grannies, or uncles, or dads, or moms rise (stand up) from their places of rest first, then it’s not time for our rapture because Scripture says we are caught up together with them!

The full news is that “the dead in Christ” will participate in the rapture, too. Aloha!

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Scriptures are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge 1769. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked “NIV” are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved

Spiritual Growth #0 – In Part or Full?

The next series of blogs will touch on Scriptures where many of us Christians see only half of a Scriptural verse, while others see its entirety. Thus, for various reasons, we have heated arguments among us. The various reasons?

1. How’s about Christians who walk in “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21), versus Christians who “walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16, 22, 23)?
2. How’s about Christians whose philĕō-love is like the ebb and flow of the tide, versus Christians whose agapē-love holds constant no matter the situation? 
3. How’s about Christians who manifest spiritual gifts and thus can only “know in part” (1 Cor. 13:9), versus Christians who are “perfect” (tĕlĕiŏs, complete in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.) and for whom that which is “in part” has been “done away” (1 Cor. 13:10)?

More reasons exist, however, Scripture sums up the difference between the two types of Christians in this way:

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known (1 Cor. 13:11-12 NIV).

Simply put, Christians are to grow up!

When the Body of Christ makes “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3 NIV), then we will “all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13 NIV).

Let’s look at some popular Scriptures where we, as children, have only seen and understood them “in part”; and then apply the entire or “full” verse, so we may put behind us childish behaviors and thoughts!

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Scriptures are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge 1769. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked “NIV” are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved

Spiritual Senses #16 – The Sense of Taste

A Spiritual Kingdom

Courtesy Dean Williams 2012

Scripture says “O Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). I’m sure most of us have taken this verse more figuratively than literally. However, as we continue our walk and growth in God, the Spirit leads us (Rom. 8:14) into experiences that validate the literal interpretation of the Scriptures:

• My oldest sister joined me at MacDonald’s for a quick snack. I poured a diet soda for myself. She got a fruit punch. Sitting at table, I took a sip of my drink. It tasted of perfume. Now, I’m not a perfume-wearing girl; I prefer citrus scents. So, I thought maybe my cup was tainted by somebody else’s perfume. I ditched the drink and made myself another one.

This time, I was careful to smell the cup before I filled it. It was okay. Back at the table, I sipped my new drink; however, the perfume taste was still there! Puzzled, I let the soda stand for a while. Then, I was caught off guard. Too slow to prevent it, my sister grabbed my soda, saying she needed to sip a stronger drink than her fruit punch.

I waited, holding my breath as she sipped. She plopped it back down and said, “Blah! It tastes like perfume! Did you put on perfume?” Eyes wide, I shook my head ‘no’.

Other incidences similar to this one followed. The great thing about God is, he will continue to provide similar experiences to the message he’s sending us, until we find them difficult to deny. Then once he establishes his purpose in us—to thereafter deny the experience, make light of it, or to explain it away as some kind of mental disorder or illusion—well, that just proves our faithlessness as “Christians”, yes?

In which case, we’ll never be able to enter into any of God’s promises because we continue to resuscitate an unbelieving heart!

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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge 1769. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Spiritual Senses #15 – More on Feeling Spirits

A Spiritual Kingdom

Kaneohe Bay 2014

Our body becomes sensitized to spirit as we begin to move away from our sin nature and become partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4):

1. Three years after I became born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit—and the work of the cross was self-evident in my life—a small group of us headed for a prayer meeting. We arrived late. Worship was over and the meeting had begun. The preacher was at mic. For some reason, I felt an invisible barrier just before we entered the tent; so I stayed where I was. The rest of the group continued to their seats.

After he shared his message for the day, he remarked that worship changes the atmosphere under the tent. So, whenever anybody comes late (I know he was talking about us!) they poke holes in the anointing and dilute the spirit of the place. Because I felt that spiritual barrier, I can say “yep” and “amen” to the preacher’s remarks. Ah, well. We live and we learn. Sorry, Lord. Mianhe.

2. As my walk advanced and more of the sins of the flesh were abandoned, I worked at a new job. One day I was not feeling well. My boss offered to let me lie down on the sofa in her office. She closed the door and said she would come for me in an hour. After fifteen minutes of praying in the spirit, I felt a tug on my big toe. A woman’s voice asked, “What is it, sweetie? What do you want?” I felt no fear. Only astonishment. Flabbergasted, really. I couldn’t reply. I look back on this and regret that I didn’t ask at least one of the many questions I had. I was a fool and so slow of heart to believe (Luke 24:25)—even as the Lord was all grace and mercy to me.

Now, if we haven’t experienced the Lord’s sense of humor, then we are not yet fully transformed in his image (2 Cor. 3:18):

3. Like my blog intro says, I hang around with humorous people because I’m much too serious. Evidently, one day, the Lord agreed. I was (as usual) deep in thought, dwelling upon the Lord and Scriptures. I made my way to a quiet place. As I was sitting, still deep in thought, I suddenly felt a conk on my head. I immediately looked up. I was not under a tree; there was no wind to carry an object along; it was quite peaceful. Okay, I got it. Obviously, I was being told to “lighten up”. LOL. Sigh.

Next time: The sense of taste.

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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge 1769. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Spiritual Senses #14 - Feeling Spirits

A Spiritual Kingdom

Courtesy Dean Williams 2012

As we continue to bring forth spiritual fruit (Gal. 5:22, 23), our inner witness will provide the proof that we are becoming more and more spirit, and less and less corrupt flesh. Remember, in the eternals of God, the Spirit is life, the flesh profits nothing.

Let's begin at the point where we've just been baptized with the Holy Spirit and have yet to crucify our flesh (Gal. 5:24). Until we do, we are susceptible to ALL spirit-workings. Godly, angelic, or demonic. Don't like it? then don't become spiritual because you're going to need a lot of faith to grow in this area of a spiritual kingdom.

1. I made it a nightly habit to pray (1 Thess. 5:17). One night, about three months after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I began to pray in the Spirit when suddenly, I felt two hands around my neck, choking me. I struggled to call out but couldn't. In my head I began to scream, "Jesus! Jesus!" The hands let go. I opened the lights and thanked the Lord. I cautiously went back to sleep. When I thought back upon the experience, I realized this was a demonic spirit, and it attempted to choke me because it could! In my ignorance, I hadn't gotten rid of my fleshly sins (Gal. 5:24).
2. I worked downtown at a mortgage banking corporation, where bars and clubs are open during the day; and where, in Hawaii, different cultures from Asia, the South Pacific, America, and Europe often run their businesses flavored with the spirituality inherent in their culture. One afternoon, I had to run an errand past such an establishment. As I walked by, I got a piercing headache. It was so bad, I wanted to throw up. I began to pray in the Spirit, silently commanding the spirits of oppression to leave in Jesus' name. The headache lingered until I sought out a fellowship of faith and asked them to pray for me.

 Next week: More on Feeling Spirits
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 

Spiritual Senses #13 – Sense of Touch Conveys Power

A Spiritual Kingdom

 

Courtesy Clever Smith

According to W. E. Vine in his Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (1981), he wrote that Spirit “conveys the idea of invisibility and power”. Spiritual Christians can easily say “yes” and “amen” to this idea because our own spiritual experiences support it. Although we cannot see spirit because of spirit’s invisibility, we have certainly felt its power.

Now, we already know that touch conveys power by the direct laying-on-of-hands. What a majority of us have not experienced (or noticed) is the touch of power that comes to us by indirect means. For example:

• Handkerchiefs and aprons were brought from Paul’s body “to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19:12).

As for my own testimony, although far from the power emitted from the apostle’s body, my own body began to emit a small amount of spirit, too. Clearly, it was not powerful enough to heal anyone; yet, it was noticeable enough to affect the people who worked in my office:

•  I left work for my one week vacation. Two co-workers asked to use my desk while I was gone. I was glad to offer it. A few days later, one of the co-workers called me at home. She said she was freaking out. She claimed that every time she sat on my swivel chair, she felt energized, different, and better. (This girl had a lot of self-inflicted problems). When I returned to work, another co-worker said she felt like she was floating whenever she sat on my chair. Although freaked out by their experiences, both continued to use my chair and desk because curiosity had overcome their fears. It also helped that they knew my walk with God for the past several years we worked together.

Mostly, due to Paul’s experience, I often wash any articles of used clothing handed down to me by relatives or bought at used clothes stores. Better to be safe than sorry.

Next week: Feeling Spirits

Scriptures taken from the New King James Version®; © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.