As I wrote in an earlier post, A Simple Faith, endeavoring to find the line of truth in Christianity at large after coming out of a cult system is incredibly frustrating. A person suddenly becomes aware of all the infighting and denominational barriers the body of Christ has toward one another. To join one faction one must often deny some element of teaching from various other factions.
Where can anyone find a group of believers that are committed to deeply knowing the Word of God as the anchor of truth, living pure and holy lives, AND who also walk in the powerful reality of a Living God, not just a theoretical one – living the fullness of a direct connection to God Himself which is our birthright as sons and daughters of the New Covenant? For now we have had to pray for contentment in one or the other. But both sides are lacking such an essential element it’s almost like going to a wedding where either the bride or the groom is missing. Seems pointless, and of course, fruitless. We found false signs and wonders equally as troublesome as those who teach God’s powerful presence and gifts were only for the early church. My husband and I have often longed to see people worship in Spirit AND the Truth of God’s Word. For a long time we allowed the confusion and static around us to cause us to doubt the simple truth in the Word of God.
Imagine my excitement of recently finding others with this same yearning. I want to share the following which was recently sent out by Andrew Strom to his email list. (He has given his recipients permission to pass along the following information.) I realize the author he quotes may be contrasting those who have maintained the holiness focus of the earliest Great Awakenings to the later focus of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movements. However, I personally believe this can apply to a much broader scope of division within the Body of Christ and I hope and pray these walls can start to come down.
NOTE ABOUT the WORD & THE SPIRIT JOINED:
The world awaits a move of God that truly brings together
the strong, piercing preaching of the word along with miracles and
healings. For too long these have been separated into rival camps.
Smith Wigglesworth prophesied about a last great Revival- “There
will be evidence in the churches of something that has not been
seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the
word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit. When the word
and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest move of the
Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed, the world has ever seen. It
will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that
has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and
Welsh revivals of former years…”
The piece below makes some interesting points about this:
THE WEDDING of PURITY AND POWER
by Paul Holdren.
The wedding of purity and power is a concept that the Holy Spirit
is promoting among believers in these latter days. As stated
earlier, in the late 1860s after the Civil War, a wave of the Holy
Spirit came like a mighty wind moving across the land bringing a
fresh awareness of the requirements of God to live a life pleasing
to Him. This was to be accomplished by the baptism of the Holy
Spirit. In the 1906 Azusa Street outpouring in the City of Los
Angeles, the church began to be reawakened to the powerful
manifestations of the Holy Spirit. This too was to be accomplished
by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Since the advent of the Azusa
Street outpouring, the body of Christ has been divided into the
purity and power camps.
For the past 100 years the Body of Christ has gotten as much
attention from its wild fires as it has from its Holy Ghost fire. For
the power camp the emphasis upon purity was almost anathema.
For the purity camp the emphasis upon power was almost
anathema. This was because each camp expressed doctrinal
positions that were unacceptable to the other. They vehemently
rejected each others’ positions. The power camp noticed that
purity expressed without power became both legalistic and
limiting. The purity camp noticed that power expressed without
purity became both carnal and limiting. Only by the wedding of
these two beautiful doctrines can the Spirit of God gain full
authority and appreciation within the Body of Christ.
In the present time, the Spirit of Christ is calling the Body of Christ
to be reunited in a mighty outpouring of His Holy presence – the
Spirit’s wedding of purity and power. Each doctrine has something
the other needs to hear, a compliment to and completion of God’s
design for the wholeness of the church. The power camp needs
to know of an exclusive holy love that is expressed out of a pure
affection for the Holy ONE. The purity camp needs to know a
holy power being expressed out of a manifestation of the Holy
Spirit’s gifts. The purity camp needs to share the beauty of
holiness in the spirit of humility. The power camp needs to share
the gifts of power in the spirit of humility. The purity camp needs
to exercise the power of Christ in “signs and wonders.” The
power camp needs to exercise purity in “laying one’s life down”
for another. With a discerning spirit, each can benefit from the
other, for these are perilous times in which we live.
Ezekiel added this dimension when he wrote of the prophecies
involving the requirements of how the priests were to keep the
holy law of the temple (Ezekiel 44-45) and when he wrote of the
river flowing from under the threshold of the temple (Ezekiel 47:
1-12). The purity of the priests was revealed in that they were to
have a certain appearance, conduct themselves in a particular
manner, and serve others in a specific way. Everything about
the Holiest of All is pure: pure oil, pure clothes, a pure man
placing the lamb’s pure blood on the pure gold of the mercy seat.
This was to be a pure presentation of righteousness, given to a
pure and Holy God. The “Holiest of All” is the place of purity. It
is here that the river of life has its head waters, emanating from
the holiness of God.
The power of the river of God continually increased. The farther
away from the temple it flowed, the deeper and wider it became.
As the river flows, healing comes to everything in its path. Notice,
however, it is the purity of the waters that allows it to contain
healing virtue. It is the river’s purity that allows the river to be
saturated with holy power. By comparison, only powerful men
can serve, but powerful men must serve with a pure love for God
and their fellow man. It is time for a wedding of purity and power.
-From “The Wedding of Purity and Power” by Paul Holdren.
To read about Paul Holdren and his testimony, click here
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