Holy Boldness

Have you stopped while God keeps moving?

Whenever God moves powerfully in the earth, people who have not learned the principle of flowing with God day by day are prone to seize the mo ment but not continue to adjust to the ongoing flow of the Spirit. People try to negotiate a settlement if you will. They see the opportunity that God’s presence has afforded them. They often try to build a ministry on what God was doing. However, the real challenge is when God keeps moving after people have set down stakes. Every move of God demands an ongoing sacrifice if one wants to keep in the flow of the Kingdom. One cannot have a self-centered motivation if he or she wants to stay in the flow of God’s purposes. Christian History is littered with groups who were initiated by the Spirit but stopped moving and became a denomination instead. Paul saw some of His own converts falling into the same problem. “Having begun by the Spirit, how should you be perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1) These works often end up resisting what God is doing next. Every new denomination owes its existence to a former time when God moved in the earth but usually fails to stay current with the fresh move of the Spirit. Jesus gave another parable: “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” (Mat 11:16-19) Jesus’ comments were comical and witty. First He offers a riddle as he observed and described the nature of children: “ We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn… ”. This is followed by the explanation and application of the riddle. The playing of the flute represented Jesus’ ministry to the people which was characterized by joy and mirth. The singing of a dirge represented John’s ministry which was more severe. But both ministries were met with criticism. The people said John had a demon due to his severity and they accused Jesus of being too loose with His moral standards because of the people he associated with and ministered to. In essence, the A Funny Comparison; a subtle rebuke… Continuing His comparison of John’s ministry with His own,

212