Christian television networks are awash in self-declared spiritual giants. Their preaching is intense; they shout and pace to emphasize the power of their spirituality. They are the self-declared vessels of the Holy Spirit. Some speak in tongues, but never with interpretation (See Sections 1.7 and 7.16 of Theology Corner). They claim, on this basis, to occupy a peerage above the rank-and-file Christian.
Furthermore, leadership in many churches is dominated by an angry, self-righteous pastor who restlessly paces back and forth on Sunday morning and, with barely intelligible speech, smugly condemns nearly everyone but himself.
Is this really what God is seeking from His preachers, pastors, evangelists and teachers? Could some media spiritual giants be more concerned about making money and maintaining network viability than evangelism and discipleship? Does all this Hollywood behavior present to God what God is seeking on a personal level?
The Holy Spirit does not merely seek to deliver us from the influence of sin or give us the experience of personal holiness. He seeks to deliver us out of ourselves and into a union with God. Our lives will be taken up by the One for Whom we abandon all things of self. John 3:16 means that God gave Himself to us completely; in our abandonment we give ourselves to God completely. (See also Section 7.8 of Theology Corner)
Oswald Chambers has some painful pricks on this issue:
"What Our Lord wants us to present to Him is not goodness, nor honesty, nor endeavor, but real solid sin; that is all He can take from us. And what does He give in exchange for our sin? Real solid righteousness. But we must relinquish all pretense of being anything, all claim of being worthy of God’s consideration.
Then the Spirit of God will show us what further there is to relinquish. There will have to be the relinquishing of my claim to my right to myself in every phase. Am I willing to relinquish my hold on all I possess, my hold on my affections, and on everything, and to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?
There is always a sharp painful disillusionment to go through before we do relinquish. When a man really sees himself as the Lord sees him, it is not the abominable sins of the flesh that shock him, but the awful nature of the pride of his own heart against Jesus Christ. When he sees himself in the light of the Lord, the shame and the horror and the desperate conviction come home." (Chambers, March 8th)
