... we’ve ignored the Spirit for far too long, and we are reaping the disastrous results ... (let us) stop and remember the One we’ve forgotten, the Spirit of the living God [1].
Guide Into All Truth (John 16:13). Or forgotten god. Which best describes the Holy Spirit in my life? A multiple-choice question, and “somewhere in the middle” is not a choice. If I had to select from only these two choices, which one would it be?
FORGOTTEN GOD IN THE AMERICAN CHURCH (excerpt from Forgotten God)
(Francis Chan speaking) There is a big gap between what we read in Scripture about the Holy Spirit and how most believers and churches operate today ... The “entertainment” model of church ... (has) filled our churches with self-focused consumers rather than self-sacrificing servants attuned to the Holy Spirit ... We understand something very important is missing ... I believe that this missing something is actually a missing Someone—namely, the Holy Spirit [2].
FORGOTTEN GOD IN THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN (excerpt from Forgotten God)
(Francis Chan speaking) Those of us who believe in Jesus would never deny the truth that we have the Spirit ... living inside of us. I’m just not convinced that we’ve internalized this truth and enjoyed His blessings as He intends ... if we woke up tomorrow and discovered that it is not true that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, most likely our lives wouldn’t look much different... many of us don’t need more knowledge about the Spirit from a cerebral vantage point—what we need is experiential knowledge of His presence [3].
A GAME-CHANGING BOOK HAS ARRIVED
In A Way of Escape, readers learn how to increase their experiential knowledge of the Spirit’s presence. Readers learn how to reconnect with the God that they may have forgotten. They learn how to step up the degree to which they “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). They learn how to build a library of Spirit-anointed, flesh-diffusing apps. Apps that are uniquely fitted to them, and their unique Spirit-filling triggers (Ephesians 5:18b-19).
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
The still-struggling now have another option. The still-struggling now have fresh hope for discovering that long-sought-after way of escape from sin and temptation (I Corinthians 10:13). A way that—because it is wholly Spirit-powered—does not require enlisting the aid of an accountability partner or group. Truly, a game-changer!
THANK YOU, HOLY SPIRIT!
REFERENCES
1. Chan, F., Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit, First Printing, David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 2016 (quote taken from the Amazon online blurb for this book)
2. Ibid., pages 15-16
3. Ibid., pages 32-36
