Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. [Acts 10.44-46]
The gift of the Holy Spirit is a topic of much debate much like the topic of miraculous healing.
While there are many claims regarding the Holy Spirit and healing, there are many more claims that these supernatural manifestations have 'passed away' - that they were limited to the time of the early church and no further. Who is right?
The argument that these gifts have passed away, fervent as it may be, is, at best, only vague in terms of scriptural support, however, experientially, the argument is rock solid. It is the genuine experience of the Holy Spirit and healing (or, more appropriately, the lack thereof) that is the most compelling component of the "dispensationalist" point of view.
The aforementioned dispensationalists are at the forefront of idolatry today. These same people, who, based on their experience, claim the gifts of the Holy Spirit and miracles have passed away, vehemently defend and embrace the idols of debt, insurance, medicine and technology - calling them "gifts from God"!
Oddly enough, these dispensationalists are joined by their "full-gospel" nemesis in blatant idolatry. The full-gospel folks claim "the Holy Spirit and miracles," but rely just as heavily upon the idols of debt, insurance, medicine and technology as do the dispensationalists! And, Satan couldn't be happier. Both groups oppose each other but seem unconcerned that their lives look nothing like the New Testament Church, not to mention Jesus Christ, but both fall into the category Isaiah described.
Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.” [Isaiah 6.10]
Those who trust in idols are blinded and deafened to God and His Son. They are incapable of understanding, and therefore, incapable of being healed. Isaiah only confirmed what the Psalms declare:
Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. [Psalm 115.4-8]
The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and mouths but cannot breathe. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. [Psalm 135.15-18]
What's more, if we look before Isaiah 6 in Isaiah 5, God gave Isaiah a description of what idolatry is like in the song about God's vineyard and the wild grapes. What God does to His vineyard because of the wild grapes is not a pretty picture: it accurately describes the overwhelming futility of life when idols are held to. Likewise, it identifies the reason:
Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble and dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will rot and their flowers wither. For they have rejected the law of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies; they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. [Isaiah 5.24]
What is the law of the LORD of Heaven's armies (the word of the Holy One of Israel)? In summary, the Ten Commandments. And, what do the first three of those commandments address? The demand for singular worship of God (1st Commandment), the absolute forbiddance of idols (2nd Commandment), and, in the context of Commandments 1& 2, the prohibition of blasphemous misuse of God's name by associating Him with idols or idols with Him (3rd Commandment).
“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]
Violation of God's Commandments, particularly the first three, is what the "wild grapes" in Isaiah 5's song about God's vineyard are all about. The disaster described in Isaiah 5 should serve as an object lesson to the disastrous circumstances supposedly remedied today by debt, insurance, medicine and technology. Should not God's people abide by what God's Word says about such curses AND REPENT instead of grasping at spiritual straws to somehow justify curses as blessings (for which dispensationalists still seek remedy in debt, insurance, medicine and technology) or, as something to be overcome "by the Word" (for which full-gospel folks still seek remedy in debt, insurance, medicine and technology). Both groups are blinded to the simple truth that their defensive embrace of idols is at the very root of the problem that those idols supposedly exist to remedy. Depending on debt, insurance, medicine and technology for blessings is no different than expecting a wolf to tend a flock of sheep... (see Read The Bible - Follow The Money (Really))
The Holy Spirit is the power of God resident in His people that manifests in supernatural tongues of fire, healing, and miracles (and that's the short list). The reason people do not see this manifested today is because they do not see God because they are looking to idols, even blasphemously identifying those idols as "gifts from God." People who look and listen to idols are blind and deaf to God (God With Us) thereby removing their candidacy for God's power and healing (Isaiah 6.10!).
The problem therefore is not errant theology, but instead, unchecked idolatry. If dispensationalists and full-gospels, Baptists and Pentecostals would simply forsake their idols following only Jesus (Matthew 16.24, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23) - oh yeah, and walk in forgiveness, then, the power of the Holy Spirit would begin again to manifest among them AND THEY WOULD FIND THEMSELVES IN UNITY.
The ongoing debate about dispensationalism versus full-gospel beliefs is "smoke and mirrors" keeping believers' fighting amongst themselves, all the while remaining completely blind and deaf to the culturally ingrained, deep-seated idolatry they have in common. Again, Satan could not be happier.
Father, I will understand that idolatry is not as much a problem as I currently suppose when You change the Ten Commandments and Jesus' fulfillment of them. Until then, I will see the powerless condition of the Church today as a glaring warning indicator signaling the presence of idolatry. So be it.
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