Journey into Lightl

Henry Blackaby said in his book Experiencing God that we needed to determine where God was working and then get involved as he led. That made sense to my wife and I, and so we applied it a few years ago to what church we joined.

We checked out several churches in our area that were solid in their biblical teachings. But one stood out as having the evidence of God doing a special work there. That was the main reason we chose this church. We wanted to be involved in what God was doing in his world.

Why Go Where God Is Working?

Wouldn’t it be more important to go where we felt the most comfortable, the best taught, or the most needed?

The answer for us was no.

A church can do nothing without the Holy Spirit (John 15:5). A church can teach good doctrine, have good people, and be doing good in the community and still be an unhealthy church. If the church has grieved or quenched the Holy Spirit, it could be a dying or a dead church, no matter how much Bible the people know.

The sad truth is that God can and does withdraw his Spirit from churches (Revelations 2:4). He may not due it entirely, but he doesn’t work where he is not welcomed. Just as we can grieve and quench the Holy Spirit as individuals through disobedience (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19), so can churches. We would rather have minor roles in a church that is alive than to be leaders in a church where God is grieved (Psalm 84:10).

Final Thoughts

God’s Great Commission to us is to go and make disciples as he leads and empowers (Matthew 28:18-20). He invites us to join him in his work in deepening and expanding his church. May we look for where God is doing this and get involved.