The Meeting

The Meeting

By J.M. MacLeod

1Co.14:12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
I Cor. 14:26 How is it then, brethren? When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

 Rom 1:11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
1Ti.3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 

GOD INSTITUTED vs MAN INSTITUTED

It seems that the Lord has given a great deal of latitude to His people as to how we meet with each other to worship and learn of Him, allowing us to do whatever we think is good. Yet, despite His apparent aloofness to our forms and practices, are not the Lord's preferences revealed to the discerning throughout the New Testament Scriptures? If so, wouldn’t His methods be more beneficial than our own man-made activities, and therefore, be the most likely to produce spiritual growth?

 He has given His apostles very few direct commands about “the meeting,” yet can we not deduce by reading the blueprint that what the apostles laid down as the genuine practice of the Faith are God’s protocols? We can go to meetings of any sort we wish, but does that mean we have met with God, or that spiritual nurturing has taken place? Too many of our meetings are based on purely intellectual or emotional basis with little or no input from the Holy Spirit. We can (and often do) have meetings without waiting for the visitation of the Holy Spirit. We presume too much when we merely mouth words, inviting the Lord's presence into our meetings, but don’t really expect His active participation. Does He hear prayers that are voiced out of mere ritual?

Consider: would you go to a party surreptitiously given in your honor if you knew you were only asked out of a sense of obligation, requiring nothing of you but to observe those who invited you as they played imaginary games?

In the First Century it wasn’t that way. The meeting depended on the Holy Spirit's activities in the meeting. They didn’t know how to have a meeting apart from the Spirit's anointing. When we speak of anointing today, it needs to be clarified that much of what is called “anointing” today is merely emotionalism and/or wishful thinking. Hands are laid on, a tingle is claimed, and we believe the Anointing has come to do our bidding. What a shallow concept of the power that raised Christ from the dead!

The Anointing spoken of in Scripture is more than a side-show after (or during) the meeting. The Holy Spirit’s Anointing was the sole dynamic of the meeting. No pastor or elder board pre-determined which songs to sing, which Scriptures to read, whose testimonies were to be given or what solos to have or what sermon to preach. All these “planning sessions” of man's organization evolved after believers drifted away from the dynamic guidance of the Lord's presence. First Century believers gathered and then waited upon the moving of the Spirit for the format of the meeting: from when and how to begin, to the last prayer or hymn. If the Spirit didn't move upon someone, nothing happened. We get 'antsy' when silent moment after embarrassing silent moment glides by and no one “does” anything. The sad truth is, most churches start the meeting right on the dot and end on the same dot an hour later. Where is the careful waiting upon the Eternal Spirit of God to prepare hearts and minds to enter into the Lord's presence? The delays of the Holy Spirit are not without purpose, and if a “dead spot” occurs during the flow of the meeting, it’s not necessarily an indication of a derailed meeting. Most believers in today's churches don’t even take time to wait upon His pleasure, but start and stop meetings based on the world's schedule.

To assume that all congregants showing up on a Sunday for worship are in a state of preparedness is presumption, allowing a sub-standard condition to prevail in the Church. The enemy works overtime as believers prepare for church, causing family frictions and distractions, to the effect that believers are curtailed in their ability to hear the Word before the meeting even starts. Waiting, cleansing our hearts, seeking God prior to the opening of the meeting in a state of quietness is time well spent that prepares the worshipper to receive from the Lord while defeating the annoyances the enemy has thrown in our path. This also provides opportunity for some to hear from the Lord for the first time in days, and to repent of hardness of heart and sin.

Only the Holy Spirit, Who searches the hearts, knows when the condition of each believer is receptive to His moving. When He is waited on in such a way, He will prompt the one He intends to have the meeting start. This is how the Body comes into a state of receptivity so He can dispense truth and have it bear fruit, leading all present to merge into unity of heart and mind in His Spirit.

When we start meetings presumptuously, without His signaling the first movement, believers adopt the attitude that having a meeting is the important thing, not the One we are coming to meet. Worldly demands of convenience intrude when we feel pressured to start 'on time' and end 'on time', indicating that the demands of the outside world are more important than our coming together. A superficial notion of God will pervade the congregation that obeys man's institutions and schedules; thus, our Lord is unintentionally relegated to a position of less importance, while meetings, or more accurately, schedules, take on more significance. Oneness of heart and mind isn’t achieved, and only a handful, at most, come away with any benefit to grow on throughout the coming week. The Body of Christ suffers from the malady of presuming we know how to meet without His specific, personal leading and preparation. God's leadership is no longer the main element constituting the church gathering; man’s institution  is.

RETURNING TO OUR FIRST LOVE

The first prerequisite for having a Spirit-led meeting is for the congregants to all be of one heart and mind (see Acts 4:32; Rom 12:16; 15:6; 2Co. 13:11; Phi1:27; 2:2; and 1Pe. 3:8). Indeed, Jesus' prayer for us in John 17:11 to be “one” is no idealistic platitude that He mouthed to the Father. It is to be a reality in the Body of Christ, especially when we gather to worship.

It’s difficult for Christians to lay down errant doctrines and unscriptural practices in order to be one with the Lord—and with others who are learning to be one with Him. The evidence indicates that believers would much rather maintain their denominational (or non-denominational, as the case may be) individuality than accept the challenge to enter a higher realm of experiencing the Spirit’s direction in the meeting that truly glorifies His Son and edifies worshippers. It’s a marvel that He lets us go our merry way, playing sanctuary games, pretending to honor Jesus when we’re really only glorifying our own intellectual planning sessions.

Thus it is that saints come away from meetings unfed, frustrated, sensing that there must be more than they’re currently receiving. We start and stop meetings by the hands of a machine on the wall rather than the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Days, weeks, even months in advance we plan the topics; calendar holidays are honored above themes the Spirit would draw to our attention. It’s not unusual to not be united in “Spirit and Truth” when we enter the meeting place; the tragedy is that we’re still not one when we leave.

Those who learn to wait on the Lord seek to experience His refreshing breath in their hearts as they come into His presence where no lie or pretense remains unchallenged. This is what John meant by walking in the light: 1 Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another... Only as we walk in the light—without deceiving ourselves or others—are we able to meet with Him. A genuine moving of the Spirit upon each individual is required to accomplish this corporate condition before God. Instead of this soul-searching, too many worshippers glibly assume, “of course I’m in the light”, not realizing how out of touch the Church is with the blueprint. Only when we allow Him to reveal our hearts can we join with others in His Spirit, who, likewise, have come with open-hearted hunger for truth to be fed what our souls most crave. To have fellowship in the light requires—demands—a willing readiness to be in that light, and that doesn’t come easy.

That is more than many want to receive from church. Many just want to sign God's attendance book every week so He’ll know they were there. They want to be coddled, and told that they are okay week after week, that they’re going to heaven or are going be raptured; nothing radical or challenging is required of them to be “cool” with God. The spiritual discernment of many congregations is so dull that were Paul or Peter to show up, they wouldn’t even be recognized. If Jesus walked in their door, He’d likely be resisted, for they already have the god-Jesus of their own imagination. The insipid meetings of man’s planning sessions are not the meetings Jesus would institute!

MEETINGS THAT GLORIFY GOD AND EDIFY BELEIVERS

First Century Church meetings were dependent upon each body member sensing his/her role the Spirit gave them for the edification of others. This required each and every member of the Body of Christ to be Spirit-filled and thereafter continually refilled and abiding (Eph. 5:18) in the Spirit. In a Spirit-led meeting it’s imperative that those who have had their spiritual ears opened be present and active. This is the purpose of the gifts of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit communicates to the church is through the gifts He dispenses to each believer (I Cor. 12:7). Now there is a great controversy dividing the body of Christ on this issue. Many claim to still have the gifts of the Spirit; others claim that such experience is invalid since the apostolic gifts disappeared with the death of the last apostle. That apostles are still a valid and needed office in the Body of Christ today has been already discussed. But there is a greater type and shadow of the present day validity and use of the gifts of the Spirit in the Old Testament, attesting to the eternal purpose of God outfitting His people with proper armament for the spiritual battles they will encounter.

Ex. 39:24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. 25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates; 26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the Lord commanded Moses.

Here we see the high priest's garment decorated around the hem with pomegranates and bells. Now we know that the institution of the Tabernacle and all the priestly garments, sacrifices, festivals etc. are all symbolic of eternal spiritual truth revealed in the New Testament (I Cor. 10:11). These symbols instructed the early Christians how God had planned from before the foundations of the world to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles and accomplish His purposes through Jesus Christ, the Messiah. In fact, for the first couple of decades the only Scripture the Church possessed was the Old Testament. Correlating Christ's teachings (as faithfully preserved by the apostles) and studying the OT Scriptures provided the understanding of how the Faith was to be practiced. The apostolic teachings (in person) and writings revealed and confirmed what God had originally concealed in the types and shadows of the Old Testament.

The High Priest's garment is a prime example of hidden (mystery) truth that the Church needs to grasp in order to fully operate in His principles. The issue of the Charismatic gifts of the Spirit remaining valid and witnessing to the Gospel is not merely one of God's mutability, but proof that Jesus' sacrifice was accepted of by God the Father!

The bells, intermingled with pomegranates decorating the hem of the High Priest's robe were more than just ornaments filling up blank spaces in an otherwise ornate robe. No, every thread, color and feature contributes a spiritual significance. The high priest obviously represents the ministry of Jesus. In this case, the meaning of the pomegranates are not hard to guess, since they are fruit, they represent the fruit of the Spirit—the character of Jesus—manifest in the presentation of sacrifices and offerings to God, which is the function of the High Priest. But what about the bells? To fully comprehend the meaning of the bells we need to see their function in the type and shadow. When understanding parables and types and shadows this rule of interpretation must be followed: first, understand all the elements of the parable or symbol in their own setting; second, apply the spiritual meaning, keeping the applications consistent. So, to understand the spiritual significance of the bells on the high priest's robe, we need to understand the practical reason for them.

Ex.28:33 And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. 35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not.

Here we see Aaron, the high priest, wearing the robe with this mix of bells and pomegranates as he goes in to minister to the Lord. Tradition tells us that the purpose of these bells was to let the other priests waiting just outside in the holy place know that the high priest was still alive as he ministered in the holy of holies, offering sacrifice on the Day of Atonement. As long as the bells were tinkling, the high priest was alive, and the sacrifice being presented was acceptable to God. Should the bells stop tinkling, it would be an immediate indication of God's displeasure and rejection of the sacrifice and the death of the high priest for offering an unacceptable sacrifice. That would be a disastrous day for the nation of Israel, for it would mean that God had not forgiven their sins and they were without hope.

The bells, then, are symbolic of some attention-getting device that proves Jesus, our High Priest, is still alive, ministering an acceptable sacrifice to God, and that we who trust in His sacrifice have forgiveness, and therefore, a great hope. Paul, in I Cor. 13:1 mentions a clanging gong or tinkling cymbal, associating the use (or abuse, as the case may be) to the gifts of the Spirit to ringing of bells. For those steeped in Jewish tradition, the connection between the high priestly robe's bells and the gifts of the Spirit is obvious, especially when contrasted with the intermingled pomegranates, the fruit of the Spirit.

So we see the bells representing the gifts of the Spirit as the pomegranates represent the fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, the proper use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the meeting is evidence to the royal priesthood of believers waiting in the holy place that the Lord Jesus' sacrifice is accepted and all is well.

How much of the rich symbolism available in Scripture is thrown away by erroneous, man-made doctrines that relegate the activity and power of the Holy Spirit to the past? How much spiritual growth is waiting to be mined in the types and shadows of the OT, but will remain undiscovered because short-sighted theologians have decreed such things are no longer relevant. The gifts of the Spirit are objective evidence that we serve a risen Lord who is not dead, but has been accepted by God, raised to life, and is full of power to deliver and heal. But, like the Jews of the First Century who rejected their Messiah and subsequently had their Temple destroyed, so many believers stubbornly pretend that their doctrines are not errant even when exposed by deeper revelation. Will the Church at large continue to practice watered-down religion despite all the evidence revealing its shallowness and disobedience, until the temples they have erected lay toppled, not having one stone left upon another?

Even those who believe in and practice the gifts often pervert their usage into something not glorifying to the Lord. Because of abuses, many strive to keep a lid on all manifestations of the Spirit in meetings by adding a list of unscriptural guidelines to His doings. Others invent their own tongues, prophecies, visions and being “slain” in the spirit while convincing themselves it is Him. Thus, the bells do not give out the clear, distinguishable sound that our High Priest is alive. There’s no doubt that there is much misunderstanding of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but that is not gift's fault. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights (James 1:17)... To either blame the gifts or ignore them because of the controversy raised by the ignorant is as inaccurate as accusing the Law of being an evil thing—since by it, sin revived and I died (Rom. 7:13). No, it’s not the fault of the gifts that there is immaturity and division in the Body of Christ, but those who fail to understand how to use them properly! There really is no excuse, for we are given explicit detail in Holy Writ for the proper use of the grace (Gk—Charis) gifts.

Thus, the church meeting should consist mostly of the Charismatic (grace-working) gifts, and the gifted offices (Eph.4:11) given to the Church. But the Holy Spirit is to lead the meeting. An apostle’s or teacher’s presence in no way means that the burden of making the meeting happen is on them. They need to have done their preparation by seeking the Lord's guidance and ministration, studying, praying, and only if the Lord leads, by preparing a word (teaching) in advance. As far as what will transpire in the meeting—that’s best left to the Holy Spirit. The Lord knows the hearts of His people best, and can and will design a theme in every meeting that will meet each person's needs if we but allow Him. But being full of unbelief, too many scrupulously prepare every detail ahead of time, leaving Him nothing to do, and subsequently, every member hungry.

John wrote about Diotrophes in 3 John, who loved to have the pre-eminence, or the place of recognition. True, Diotrophes' problems went far beyond being the main attraction in the meetings, but too many pastors today fear that if their congregations begin to move under the Anointing and minister one to another, they’ll lose their pre-eminent position (though that’s not how they'd term it) and be considered irrelevant, and therefore, undeserving of their paychecks. Many, to protect their own interests, unconsciously hold the church back from developing in the grace and power of the Lord. By this they prove themselves unworthy of being financially  supported for the nurturing of the Lord's flocks. The true job of a pastor, or prophet, or evangelist or apostle is to work themselves out of a job. This will never happen though, for the law of sowing and reaping is that as we give, we receive. The more we raise up disciples to “fly” on their own the more disciples will be entrusted to the churches by the Lord. The higher the maturity level of the flock, the more immature lambs will flow in to be nurtured. The more pastors that are raised up, the more sheep there will be to feed. If leaders truly trusted the Lord, He would faithfully continue providing work for them to do. If a time comes when He does not provide more work, it’s best not to improvise. Let Him have His way. He may be giving a deserved respite, or be setting someone aside for correction or deeper development. When the time is right, He ‘ll send them back to the fray. One’s own indispensability or pre-eminence must never be assumed, but only His will.

If pastors are not always to be the leaders of the meeting, then what is their purpose? Our Western concept of Church has been such that pastors do most of the performing, as well as the planning. But this isn’t the scriptural role of pastor. Although they often do have a large portion of guiding the meeting, especially in the early stages of a church's development, that’s not always to be the case. The meeting can be started, advanced, and ended by anyone in the group who is intimate with the Lord. In fact, as a church matures, the pastor(s) often sit quietly by and watch with pleasure as their disciples learn to walk in truth (3Jn. vs.4). The true distinctive of a godly pastor is that he’s not jealous of his position, but gladly lets others minister, even though not as “perfectly” as he could have done. Imitating John the Baptist, the pastor knows his job is best accomplished when he freely allows others to increase as his own visible role decreases. He also is receptive to visiting ministries (possibly traveling apostles or prophets with a deeper revelation than he himself has) addressing the church. The godly pastor's concern is for the edification of the sheep God has entrusted to him, not the preservation of his own role. If someone brings in fresher fodder, for the sake of his flock, he relinquishes “his spot” in the order of the meeting. He is certainly not out of a job if the church prospers to the point of raising up other mature leaders to share the work load with him. Pastoral counseling will continue, and as one of the elders, it’s his responsibility to make sure that no error is taught in the charismata or teaching. Pastors are to hear the Lord's direction and keep the meetings on track, as well as oversee (gift of administration) the evangelistic, relief and instructional ventures of the church beyond the meeting.

HATHA MEETINGS

A typical meeting could begin with one person leading in a worship song that came to mind, or a prayer need. As they share, someone else is given (by the Spirit) the next part—a word of Scripture, perhaps, or a personal anecdote that illustrates what the Lord is doing in their life. A season of worship can follow, or several readings from the Word, or even devotionals by godly writers. Someone may then receive a prophecy or tongue and/or interpretation, then, possibly, more prayer, or songs of praise and worship. One of the more mature brothers may have been led to prepare a teaching, or he may receive insight on the spot and share with the others. A younger (less spiritually mature) brother may venture out and give a short exhortation or teaching, starting on the road to ministry.

Teachings may come first in the meeting, or last, or be interspersed throughout. In fact, all the elements of the meeting—charismatic gifts, worship, testimony, teaching, prayer, confession, communion, various traditions, revelation— are interchangeable. Some meetings may have certain elements left out entirely, while other meetings may include all the above and more! The Spirit is creative and spontaneous, making each meeting different than any other, yet utilizing the very same elements. The one indispensable element that the Holy Spirit needs in guiding such meetings are believers who have been baptized (term used by Scripture, possibly for the first time a believer is filled) in the Spirit and are maturing in recognizing His prompting. We have crippled the Church's life by muddying the waters when it comes to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts He bestows, despite the clear teaching of Scripture. God and His methods are immutable—the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).

How stifling it is when we continually follow the same man-made routine (with slight variations) week after week, not letting the Spirit have the freedom to express the Lord's heart and passion. And our lives show it. Christians remain stunted in their spiritual growth, ministry, and walk because they remain loyal to churches that don’t encourage principles of spiritual growth. Why were First Century believers so vibrant in and willing to die for their faith? I am not so shallow as to suggest it was because of a spontaneous form of meeting. But I do dare to emphatically, categorically declare that it is because the Church taught them to be attentive to the Holy Spirit’s prompts, allowing Him to do His pleasure in their lives as well as in the meetings. That requires a vastly different concept of Church than most believers presently hold or want.

The question often arises "How then, following this “open format” or “Hatha” (from I Cor. 14:26 how is it brethren… one hath a tongue, one hath a prophecy…) do you keep utter chaos from taking over the meeting? The pastors, given their position of authority for a reason, are to preside from a position of passivity. They are not, as we previously discussed, to have the pre-eminence, but to quietly guide and keep order. In practical experience however, I have personally found it is more of a problem encouraging participation than discouraging inappropriate contributions and behavior. Those coming to a spiritual meeting, for the most part, are hungry and eager to be fed, not stuffed and anxious to spew out all they know. There is also a sense of the awe of the Lord's presence when the mode and purpose of the meeting has been properly explained and understood; few want to open their mouths in foolishness, as Eccl. 5:2 indicates: Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. The job of the pastor more often than not, becomes one of encouraging believers to overcome their natural inhibition against speaking out and drawing attention to themselves, even when those reluctant Body members hear the Lord's prompting. The pastor needs to have a good grasp on the gift of discernment, or have someone present who does, to sense when a believer is shyly resisting the Lord's prompts, thinking it to be his own thought.

There are occasions when individuals who seek recognition, or are satanically induced, try to disrupt, mislead, or even take over the meeting, but through such charismatic gifts as discerning of spirits and words of knowledge and wisdom, the Spirit will alert the elders how to handle the situation.

Through the various manifestations of the Charismatic gifts, our High Priest, the Lord Jesus, is revealed to be alive and well, and ministering at His Father's right hand for the sake of His Bride. The bells on His garment are tinkling loudly indicating that His sacrifice is accepted by God, and our sins are indeed, forgiven, and we have a living hope. The one factor that sets Christianity apart from all Satan's counterfeit religions is that we have the genuine activity of the Holy Spirit in our midst through the gifts, and they don't. What does a fundamentalist (un-charismatic) church have that a gathering of Christian Science practitioners doesn't? Any cult or shallow religion can plan meetings, give meaningful sermons, plan a theme through songs, solos, testimonies, prayers and readings, and induce a feeling of well-being; but only a meeting led by the Holy Spirit can produce holiness in the life of the believer.

This is why Satan and his minions war so hard against the gifts, causing either outright rejection, counterfeit replication (as Mormons do), or misappropriate usage of them. The true gifts reveal the risen Lord Jesus (1Jn. 4:1&2) and expose Satan's counterfeit religions for what they are-- cheap imitations. The mockery of the gifts, such as Mormons display, have no real power to bring one in touch with the eternal God. Satan fights tooth and nail against the true and proper use of the gifts in the Church of Jesus Christ because he knows he is doomed if Christians grasp and understand spiritual realities.

Jesus did warn that there would be those who used various gifts, yet never knew Him. Therefore, the Church, if she fails to utilize the tools and weapons the Lord has given her to be built up in love as well as defeat satanic deceptions, will soon lose touch with her High Priest and the power of His ministry. He has given these tools and weapons in the form of gifts that must be exercised on the spiritual plane so that the Church might be established (Rom. 1:11) in a hostile and dangerous environment. If the Church remains on a purely natural plane, and doesn't encounter the virulent spiritual counterattack for wrestling in the spiritual realm with principalities and powers, she suffers lack nonetheless, due to stagnation. The Lord wants His church to grow in spiritual prowess, not natural abilities and talents, for only the power of the Spirit will redound in giving Him glory.

The gifts of the Spirit in a truly spiritual assembly give assurance that the Church’s hope is fixed on realities as vital today as when first delivered from the quills of the apostles. The Faith is not some stuffy, irrelevant, archaic, obsolete system of creeds developed by the ancients, but is vital and vibrant, attested to by bells ringing loud and clear that every jot and tittle is as meaningful and powerful today as it was then. If a meeting of saints has none of the Holy Spirit's manifestations, can it be called a true church?