KEEPING GOD IN A BOX

KEEPING GOD IN A BOX

Have you ever heard the expression, “keeping God in a box”?  It is a familiar expression but it is a very disturbing one.  How can anyone contain the God of the universe?  Psalm 139:7-10 says, “Where could I go from Your Spirit?  Or where could I flee from Your presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol (the place of the dead) behold, You are there.  If I take the wings of the morning or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”

In Job 38:4-6 says, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Declare to Me, if you have and know understanding.  Who determined the measures of the earth, if you know?  Or who stretched the measuring line upon it?  Upon what were the foundations of it fastened, or who laid its cornerstone.”

It is obvious from these scriptures that God is omnipotent and omnipresent which means that He is powerful and He is in existence everywhere at once.  God also goes where He wants in the person of the Holy Spirit.  John 3:8 says, “The wind blows (breathes) where it wills; and though you hear its sound, yet you neither know where it comes from nor where it is going.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

A box is a container.  It is confined by its dimensions.  Has the Church, the Body of Christ been confined to the four walls of the Church buildings?  I think so.  Christianity is not about religion.  Religion is man’s way of reaching God and Christianity is God reaching out to us through His Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Religious leaders did not recognize that Jesus is the Messiah.  They had their own concept of Who the Messiah would be ignoring the scriptures that pointed to Jesus and Who He is.  They essentially put God in a box.  They thought He would be an earthly King, someone of renown but He came in humility.

Do we put God in a box?  In many ways, unfortunately, we do.  How many churches, denominations allow the manifestation of the Holy Spirit?  Some are afraid that if they do, they will lose some of their congregation.  Why are they afraid to lose people?  I think in many instances it is financial.  The Almighty Dollar becomes their god.

In our own lives, we have witnessed this.  We were the worship leaders in a healing ministry that was supposed to be Charismatic.  The reason I say supposed to be is that the gifts were not really encouraged.  Other things took priority.  Many times before the service we would be getting to high praise and someone would stop the praise and worship and start making announcements.  We left when the priest said to only sing songs that were going to be sung during Mass.

Another example about putting God in a box was when we had to walk away from our Praise and Worship ministry within another ministry because they started controlling what we would sing and not sing.  They would approve the songs.  Their reasoning was that people have to know the songs.  It was very disappointing because at the last gathering we sang songs that God through the Holy Spirit had chosen for us to sing and it was one of the most powerful Praise and Worship that we had ever experienced in our ministry but it was brought to task.  The Holy Spirit told us very definitively to leave because there was a controlling spirit.

When is the Body of Christ going to wake up and let the Holy Spirit do what He wants to do?  He needs to have full reign.  The Holy Spirit will only go where He is welcomed.  We need to welcome Him and let Him have His way.  If we did this I believe you would see the Book of Acts in a mighty way.  We need to move towards this way of thinking.  Someone recently said that the latter reign of the Holy Spirit before Jesus comes back is “the book of Acts on steroids!”

Jesus preached in the synagogue but He was not confined to the four walls of it.  He went out to the people and where they were.  We, as the Church, need to reach out beyond the four walls of the Church.  Yes, there are many churches that do this but I believe there needs to be more.  We need to live our faith in the work place, in the city or area that we live, among our friends and relatives and in our very homes.  Doing this is bringing the love of God to others.  And by the way, it also means to stand for our beliefs even if it means losing friends or even a job.  We need to count the cost.  People are looking for God and we need to be a living Gospel to others.

Let’s not wait for the right time.  The right time is now.  I think so many of us think that we need to wait on God, when God is waiting on us.  After the apostles received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, they could have just kept the experience to themselves but they were on fire; an unquenchable fire that could not be contained.  The Holy Spirit is an unquenchable fire that cannot be contained.  Don’t let the world or even the church dictate what you can and cannot do if you are seeking the manifestation of God here on the earth.  Why do you think so many people were drawn to Jesus?  They saw the miracles and signs of God’s love and because of this, many came into the Kingdom of God.   Lord set a fire in our souls that is unquenchable!!