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Institutions are part of being human. Get rid of them, and you have chaos. How many thousands or indeed millions of people get medical care, get educated, or hear the word of God because the institution of the church helped them? Get rid of the institution, and every man become his own Pope.

Sounds like the assumption is that

HOLY SPIRIT IS

INCAPABLE

OF LEADING INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS.

THE WELSH, ASBURY AND OTHER REVIVALS DEMONSTRATED OTHERWISE FOR INITIAL WEEKS TO MONTHS. AND WHEN HUMAN STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION WERE IMPOSED ON TOP OF HOLY SPIRIT, THE REVIVALS WITHERED ON THE VINE. HOLY SPIRIT WILL THOROUGLY LEAD, OR DEATH WILL CREEP BACK IN.

YES, God is into DECENTLY AND IN ORDER.

HOWEVER,

THAT

DOES NOT REQUIRE heavy handed, presumptuous, hastey man-handling of situations and groups by vain-glorious power-mongering or even merely folks intent on steadying the Ark of The Covenant on the ox cart.

I observed this phenomena over the last year in my local congregation.

One service, our very dedicated worship leader became suddenly very vulnerably and starkly candid about refusing to go through the motions any more; refusing to try and musically wind emotions up; refusing to give in to CHURCHIANITY--that he just wanted to WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH OR STOP TRYING.

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY HOLY SPIRIT FLOODED IN WITH A VERY GREAT DEMONSTRABLE PRESENCE. Folks rushed to the front in repentance, contrition, candor, earnestly seeking God. Many were healed and delivered on the spot.

Services were thusly ran for a month and much of the 2nd month or so. Holy Spirit always showed up faithfully and people continued to be touched miraculously.

Sermons were abandoned and God was totally in charge of every service. Offerings were not taken. Baskets were placed in the back and I made a plastic lucite box for offerings and placed it on the table in back.

Then folks . . . got nervous that the offerings might be too little.

During Holly Spirit's leading, individuals would share on occasion and Scripture would be taught--but more spontaneously and in very TRUE-TO-LIFE-EXAMPLE kinds of ways.

Yet there became a nervousness about THE WORD not being SUFFICIENTLY TAUGHT.

Soon, services became more routine, structured, organized again. HOLY SPIRIT! HAD TO FOLLOW MAN'S SCRIPT, OR STAND ASIDE--YET AGAIN! Even though lots of lip service was given to HOLY SPIRIT BEING IN CHARGE. Fewer were healed. Fewer were delivered. Fewer were set free. STANDARD ROUTINE RELIGION AND STRUCTURE were IN CHARGE, YET AGAIN.

AND THE DEADILINESS OF RELIGION HAD WON OUT, YET AGAIN.

NO THANKS.

The WHOLE ISRAEL WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE WAS ABOUT GOD LEADING. Initially, God wanted to meet with every individual with a question more or less 'face to face' at the TENT OF MEETING. Israelites were terrified to do so and INSISTED THAT MOSES STAND IN FOR THEM. God relented.

Structure, RELIGION and buffers between God and man became the standard and norm.

The CLOUD by day and FIRE by night did lead them in a measure--they didn't move without the cloud or fire moving. However, there was nothing like a face to face meeting between individuals and God. And individuals lost out accordingly.

On the whole, it was Moses and the hierarchy that touched individual lives more than God seemed to or did. That's a huge loss. We experience God's direct touch so little in our normal lives that we think structure and hierarchy are absolutely necessary and that THAT'S the norm from Heaven.

And the Disciples did establish folks to wait on tables etc.

THEN the waiting on tables AND ETC. BECAME THE RELIGION; THE FOCUS; THE MINISTRY; THE REASON FOR THE ORGANIZATION; THE FOCUS; THE BIG DEAL.

WRONG.

GOD IS THE BIG DEAL--FIRST, FOREMOST, ALWAYS, IN ALL WAYS.

OR DEATH CREEPS BACK IN . . . AND NOT ALWAYS ON LITTLE CAT FEET.

YES! It is incredibly tricky and difficult to insist, insure that HOLY SPIRIT *IS* IN CHARGE 24/7. I've never observed God to let humans off the hook because His standards and expectations were difficult to meet.

He has provided Christ's Blood and Holy Spirit to assist. What's the problem?

The problem(s) are REBELLION; IDOLATRY (RC & PRODDY BOTH); !!!!CONTROL!!!! SPIRIT; PRIDE; FEAR; SELFISHNESS; INSISTANCE ON DOING THINGS *OUR*/*MY* way.

HOLY SPIRIT WILL LARGELY, OVERWHELMINGLY 'LEAVE THE BUILDING' IN EVERY CASE THOSE ELEMENTS ARE PLACED ABOVE HIS MOMENT-BY-MOMENT LEADING AND HIS PRIORITIES.

HAVE WE FORGOTTEN . . . "AND A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM . . . "