Lamb's Brains, Human Flesh and Blood

     I recall one very memorable Saturday when I was a young teenager. I had just arrived home and mom called to me, "lunch is ready." I sat down waiting hungrily for her to put our lunch on the table so that we could eat together. I remember staring at my plate as she set it on the table. "What was that strange looking object in my plate," I asked myself. There may have aslo been veggies and perhaps mashed potatoes; I don't quite recall that part, but I shall never forget that odd looking "thing" sitting there on my plate?

     Whatever it was had been obviously dipped in egg and bread crumbs before frying. I said to her, "what is that?" She replied, "try it." I replied a bit more assertively, "what is it?" Again, she said, "try it." I said, no no no, I don't think so -- it looks like a brain!" After admitting that it actually was a brain, she then began to try to persuade me of the benefits of eating it, but there was no way I was going to eat a LAMB'S BRAIN!!! I could only imagine biting into a spongy mass of foul tasting substance. It was absolutely repulsive to me and so -- I made a peanut butter sandwich instead. Well anyway, that's my experience with a lamb's brain.

Jesus, the Master Communicator

    Now, Jesus had this incredible way of getting everyone's attention. Sometimes it was through the signs and wonders He performed, and sometimes it was through the powerful words He spoke. Take for example the time Jesus said in (John 6:51-66),

"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, 

and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."

     Whoa! Flashback! Now, I know that Cannibals and Satanists eat human flesh and drink human blood, but I think I'm going to pass on this one too! Imagine Jesus' disciples trying to process this bizarre sounding statement? They knew all too well that Jewish law absolutely forbade the drinking of blood (Lev 7:26-27). Then why in the world would Jesus, who was claiming to be the Son of God, say such a thing?
     Jesus' disciples simply could not handle this hard, seemingly outrageous statement and were probably repulsed by it just like I was with the lamb's brain. Well, finally Jesus explained himself and said "It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." But even after Jesus' explained it many of his followers left Him and turned away. They simply couldn't handle any more of this Jesus' spirit stuff.

"It is the spirit that quickens"

     The disciples thought that Jesus was speaking to them of natural things, but Jesus was really speaking to them about the realm of the Holy Spirit. Jesus wanted them to know that the Holy Spirit is the very dynamic of God in the earth. It is He, and only He, that quickens (brings to life). Most Christians today live out an emotional or intellectual "in the natural" Christianity all wrapped up in neat little doctrinal packages. The only thing that is missing is the dynamic of the Holy Spirit; the very thing Jesus was trying to communicate. Most religious folks believe that you get to heaven by being a relatively good person and by doing good works. These folks believe that they are Christians, but they're really not. They are religious impostors.

     Without the Holy Spirit there can be no Christianity!

     We must nail this down once and for all. This is what Jesus was saying to His disciples. Just think for a moment; without the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost:

• There would be no possibility of salvation (even though Jesus made provision for one)
• There would be no spiritual growth
• There would be no genuine unity in the spirit
• There would be no spiritual gifting
• There would be no spiritual fruit

What would Christianity be without the Holy Spirit?

     The answer is a dead religion; just a futile form of godliness devoid of the life of God. For the most part this is what the traditional and contemporary "church" has become -- dead and virtually devoid of life. Of course they still retain a "form of godliness" in that they still preach from the Bible, sing songs and hymns, pray (usually not really believing) and do that thing called "church." Now, even though they don't have the genuine moving of the Holy Spirit in their midst, they do keep their parishioners occupied with:

• Theater type "church" services with all the multimedia state of the art technology. This is where folks just sit sleepily by and watch the "church" show once or twice a week. (Going to church does not make you spiritual -- the Holy Spirit does!)
• Sunday school
• Youth groups
• All sorts of programs, seminars, self help and support groups
• Outings
• Music which mimic the rhythms of the world

   Where can we find all of these outstanding attributes of the "church" in the New Testament? 

     The truth is that we can't; they're not there! And furthermore, the above is done competitively to perpetuate and to justify each individual church's doctrinal position and to try to attract as many tithers as possible such that the church can continue on in its pernicious, corporate way.

Life from the dead!

     Just think for a moment what would happen if the unrestrained power of the Holy Spirit really did show up in our midst. That's right! It would be life from the dead! Now I'm not talking about emotionalism, nor am I speaking of fanaticism. I'm talking about the very same Holy Spirit that quickened Jesus ministry and raised Him from the dead; the same Holy Spirit that arrived on the day of Pentecost and literally transformed the world. Eight thousand souls were saved within a very short period of time. All of Jerusalem and the known world was turned upside down by God! But alas, all that is left today, for the most part, is dry, very dry bones.

Has God simply lost interest and abandoned us?

     No, not even for a moment. God desires to pour out His Spirit today just as much as He did then. I believe that He's just waiting for a people that will stop pretending that He's in "church" when He really isn't. I believe He's waiting for a mass exodus out from the "church of the wilderness" by those who are willing to move on into the "promised land" where the people are the church once again. God is not going to certify what most Christian folks call church for if He did He would be indicating that He approved of it -- and He does not approve of it! Goose-bumps and emotional responses to clever preaching techniques and all the trimmings do not represent the anointing. They never have, and they never will.

We desperately need the unrestrained  power and ministry of the Holy Spirit; nothing less will do!

     What can we do? The answer is really quite simple:

1. Stop doing that which does not glorify God (use New Testament as your frame of reference).
2. Stop substituting for His lack of presence.

    We must collectively pursue Him with all that is within us for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit just like prior to the day of Pentecost when Jesus said, "go and wait until you be endued with power from on high."

What we need, beloved, is another Pentecost!!!

      Even if we were to try and mimic New Testament church life, without the dynamic of the Holy Spirit, we would ultimately end up with just another subjective form of religion. The only viable solution left is to eat the flesh of the Son of man, and to drink his blood, if we are to have life in us.

"The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life"

 Well, that's my take on it ... what's yours?