In my nearly twenty years of involvement with the Charismatic movement I have been blessed to discover that God is much more interested in my daily life than I ever could have imagined, and for that, I am truly grateful. But as time has gone on, I’ve become increasingly aware of the pension for Charismatic/Pentecostal folks to immerse themselves in Old Testament imagery and aesthetics. We imagine ourselves to be like Moses, as we cry, “Show me your glory”; or like Elijah, as we sing, “Send the fire!”; or like any number of other Prophets, as we parrot their words and mimic their actions. And while all of these stories have their place in our journey to know the Lord, there is an event that happens in the second half of the book that was meant to revolutionize the way we walk with Him.
After years of sending floods, and fire, and plagues, and angels, and prophets, He sent a perfect Lamb, who was slain “once” and “for all”. And I believe that when Jesus said, “It is finished”, He was declaring that the work was done, and that God wouldn’t need to send anything else from heaven, because His Spirit would now dwell within those who truly believe. Indeed, God’s answer to what the world lacked was Himself (in the form of His Son) and His provision for the future was also Himself (in the form of His Holy Spirit). The Apostle Paul spoke of the treasure that had been deposited in our earthen vessels, and declared that it was “Christ in us” that is the “hope of glory”.
In light of this, there is something wickedly perverse about the picture of a people, who have the Spirit of the Most High God living inside of them, crying out for God to send them something else. And while some might want to argue whether it really matters if God’s power comes from within or if it comes from heaven, I would submit that it does. Ultimately it is the difference between waiting on a million dollar check to arrive in the mail, and knowing that there is a million dollars in gold nuggets buried in your backyard. In the first instance, all you can do is wait, and maybe pester the mailman. In the latter, you can get a shovel and start digging.
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Bjcorbin's Blog 
Thought for the Day – Return to The Sender
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes, tagged charismatic, Christ is us, earthen vessels, Holy Spirit, hope of glory, pentacostal, prophets, send the fire, show me your glory on March 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »
In my nearly twenty years of involvement with the Charismatic movement I have been blessed to discover that God is much more interested in my daily life than I ever could have imagined, and for that, I am truly grateful. But as time has gone on, I’ve become increasingly aware of the pension for Charismatic/Pentecostal folks to immerse themselves in Old Testament imagery and aesthetics. We imagine ourselves to be like Moses, as we cry, “Show me your glory”; or like Elijah, as we sing, “Send the fire!”; or like any number of other Prophets, as we parrot their words and mimic their actions. And while all of these stories have their place in our journey to know the Lord, there is an event that happens in the second half of the book that was meant to revolutionize the way we walk with Him.
After years of sending floods, and fire, and plagues, and angels, and prophets, He sent a perfect Lamb, who was slain “once” and “for all”. And I believe that when Jesus said, “It is finished”, He was declaring that the work was done, and that God wouldn’t need to send anything else from heaven, because His Spirit would now dwell within those who truly believe. Indeed, God’s answer to what the world lacked was Himself (in the form of His Son) and His provision for the future was also Himself (in the form of His Holy Spirit). The Apostle Paul spoke of the treasure that had been deposited in our earthen vessels, and declared that it was “Christ in us” that is the “hope of glory”.
In light of this, there is something wickedly perverse about the picture of a people, who have the Spirit of the Most High God living inside of them, crying out for God to send them something else. And while some might want to argue whether it really matters if God’s power comes from within or if it comes from heaven, I would submit that it does. Ultimately it is the difference between waiting on a million dollar check to arrive in the mail, and knowing that there is a million dollars in gold nuggets buried in your backyard. In the first instance, all you can do is wait, and maybe pester the mailman. In the latter, you can get a shovel and start digging.
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