Insights Into The Covid-19 Church Era –Part XXXXIV
“Some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.” (Acts 15:5)
If “consensus” is a new concept to the Covid-19 era Church, how does it work? What is the process? Let’s look at Acts 15 and examine how the Holy Spirit got a divided Church into an united Church by going the same direction:
Problem: First define the problem/challenge. “Some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses,” was the charge. The converted Pharisees of the faith argued that the Church, the ecclesia, should put the new wine, the Holy Spirit, back into old Jewish wineskins, the Mosaic Law, but Jesus had taught, “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. No one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” (Mark 2:21-22) Pouring new wine into old wineskins,” is dangerous, because the results could be “both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined,” and this new Holy Spirit led movement would be short lived. I weep thinking of how many times throughout history we, the Church, have done this to the spirit of revival, but the 1st century Church did not respond that way; they sought new wineskins for this new wine.
Process: 1) First, hey heard testimonies from live witnesses. Peter, Paul, and Barnabas told story after story of how the same Holy Spirit that fell on them at Pentecost and in Damascus was the same Holy Spirit that ell on the house of Cornelius and other Gentiles throughout Asia Minor, which was well received. 2) Second, they verified it with scripture. James read the “word of the Prophets”: “After thee things I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, so that the rest of mankind may see the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,’ say the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago.” 3) Third, they used common sense; they did not spiritualize it. James comes to a simple conclusion, “It is my judgment that we DO NOT trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles.” 4) Finally, they set direction. Paul, Barnabas, Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, real, respected men are sent with a letter verifying their decision and direction to the rest of the Church. Rather than judgment; grace flowed. 4) The response: “They went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.”
Application Today: Problem – We cannot present our problems and differences as part of a “blame game” discrediting one another, but look at it as an old wineskin that needs replaced, so new wine can flow in and out of it. Process - We need to hear live testimonies of how the Holy Spirit moved in individual human lives, how we either supported or resisted that movement. Scripture – What scripture applies to the situation, not proof-texting or giving a theological exegesis, but looking at the passage as a whole, in context to what the Spirit of God is saying. What wineskin is He showing us? Common Sense – Let’s not theologize it, indoctrinate it, or make it “law” (an old wineskin). Is it a common sense solution? If so, then use your common sense. Direction – Now move the group forward towards a common goal; no longer stay stagnant. The Tabernacle constantly moved when in the wilderness; if not it would never have left the Wilderness of Sin nor entered the Promise Land. Faith solutions demand movement. Response – “Rejoice” by “encouraging”! If all you do is complain, oppose, judgmentally tear everything apart, you will never move forward. Quit being negative! “Encouragement” goes so much farther to bring unity!
Conclusion: Big problems that have divide the Church over the centuries actually have simple, common sense solutions if we allow the Holy Spirit to show us new wineskins into which to place the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ first miracle was changing water into wine. The wedding guests wondered why the host let the best wine for last! There is better wine for days to come, but we MUST allow the Holy Spirit to reveal new wineskins to us in which to house it. Consensus is a process that can help us find direction.