Tehillah Generation Chapel
Daily Manna | Saturday, March 10, 2018 | Reading: Exodus 33:1-11, Exodus 4, Gen 3:1-21
Topic: The Tabernacle of God 378
Scripture: But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say not of this building. (Heb 9:11)
Note: 2Cor 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” The right application of discernment under the ambience of prayer is a tacit admission of one’s own insufficiency before the Lord. The admission of the sufficiency of God creates an atmosphere for the presence of God’s Spirit. Under the control, direction and leadership of the Spirit, revelations and decisions are taken under the power of God.
The Apostle Paul summarised his address to the Thessalonian Church in 1Thess 5:17 when he asked them to cultivate a culture of ceaseless praying. Uninterrupted praying culture leaves no room for demonic or fleshly manoeuvres. That kind of ambience is conducive to Spirit inspired worship that honours the true worth of God. This was the foundation that Paul was aspiring and praying for the Thessalonian Church when he wrote to them to address the problems that were confronting them. Apparently, they had gone to sleep and Paul was reminding them of their responsibility and the dangers of sleeping on the job.
On his 4-point edict regarding administration within the local church, Paul began with the unavoidable need to allow the operation of the Spirit within the church. In 1Thess 5:19, Paul wrote, “Quench not the Spirit.” The Greek translation for ‘quench’ is to extinguish the fire of the Spirit in the Church. Certain non biblical decisions bordering on rules and regulations restricting how the Spirit was supposed to operate within the local church were becoming hindrances instead of providing solutions. The leaders were doing everything wrong and had almost succeeded in stifling divine influence within the Church.
A prolonged action that leads to stifling of divine influence in the operation of the Spirit of God, leads to a fellowship of believers that are legalistic minded, too conscious of their own self-importance and relevance within the body of Christ. The type of fruits to be expected from such a church or fellowship of believers are formalism without the demonstration of God’s power, placing more importance on ritualistic routines and compliance to mundane routines at the expense of Spirit life presence and Spirit led growth of believers.
Food for thought: No scheduling, organizing and strategizing, much as they’re important, would be adequate enough to replace the Spirit of God in the Church.
Declaration: Who also has made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2Cor 3:6
©Author: Rev Fred Aboe
