Holy Spirit shared with us in Friday's prayer meeting that the spirit of apathy was working: "Oh, I tell you, a spirit of apathy seeks to overtake your people [congregation] and it seeks to work, it seeks to work by withholding my Word, because my Word gives hope and my Word gives direction—in my Word is life. But I say, I rebuke the enemy for your [pastor] sake and for the sake of my people [congregation]!"
How encouraging it is to know that we are not alone, but that Holy Spirit is battling with us and for us.
Apathy means an absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement; a lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting. Friday night was not the first time Holy Spirit focused our attention on this particular battle, nor do I believe it will be the last. It was evident in the early church with Ephesus' loss of their first love (Revelation 2:4); and is seen as a characteristic of the last days: "And because iniquity abounds, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matthew 24:12). Thus, this distinct enemy will continue to try and suppress our passion for God even more as we see the day of His return approaching.
One aspect shared last night in winning this battle was found in the word entropy. Entropy means an inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society. John Ortberg writes that entropy is the great enemy of the human spirit:
God has called us to an abundant and fruitful life, but it is one that must be cultivated and cared for--it will simply not take care of itself. The service closed with introspection of where mediocrity had been allowed in our lives and with a renewed determination to win this particular skirmish."If you have ever bought a new car and driven it off the lot, you've witnessed entropy. You lose several thousand dollars as soon as it goes off the lot, because things have a way of deteriorating on their own. If you've ever seen a group of kids on summer vacation, you've noticed that by late August, when they're sitting around some body's house and one of them says, "What do you want to do?" everybody else says, "I don't know; what do you want to do?" That's entropy. Everything when left on its own—when not given attention and energy—has a tendency to deteriorate. That's the way it works in human life. When you become apathetic or complacent or settle for the path of least resistance in some area of life, entropy sets in and dreams die and hopes fade. Then a terrible thing happens: you learn you can live with mediocrity. It's not a great life, but you can tolerate it."
This Sunday
We will return to the Maskil Psalm series with Psalm 52; please prepare with the background reading.
10 comments:
Honest question here and hopefully this is the proper forum for it.
Can apathy be linked to introversion? I've noticed that the more we keep to ourselves in a corporate setting and fail to branch out and make connections with everyone among us, the more a spirit of apathy can walk among us and affect those who don't even entertain it.
Even certain events can bring up apathy too. The fact our building isn't in good condition is prime source for apathy...a mindset of "our building is falling apart, and we don't have money to fix it," et al.
I also wonder in a case like that, where we draw the line between being apathetic and being realistic. Is it possible that if someone were to have an alternative viewpoint on an issue (say someone says we should sell the building, a view that is grossly unpopular among many), that their view could be written off by a group who believes a different way as being apathetic and "not on board with the Spirit?"
Now I personally have felt a strong spirit of apathy in the building before. It hits you when you least expect it, when you think everything is going well. Apathy leads to complacency and complacency is the last thing I, you, the church, the body of Christ, needs.
$.02 duly deposited!
I did not receive a response to my comment so I feel it appropriate to venture another solution to the spirit of apathy.
Sometimes we get caught up so much in the vertical relationship we need and tend to forget about the horizontal relationships we have. I honestly and humbly believe that if our church had more programs designed to foster community among our members -- i.e. men's ministry breakfasts, ladies nights, youth events outside of church, even just get-togethers at people's houses...it will exponentially help us out and leaves less room for apathy because there is simply more to get involved in.
$.02 more deposited for a total of $.04...I wonder if I'm over my limit :)
While it's apparent that there is a significant correlation between apathy and introversion, and while questions such as this do arise and need to be addressed, I don't think that this is the point to which the Holy Spirit was directing our immediate attention this past week. Rather than indicting us of being apathetic, He was warning us that "a spirit of apathy seeks to overtake" us. Having something seek to overtake you and actually being overtaken by it are two entirely different situations. In the one we find ourselves victims of defeat, in the other we find ourselves in a clash to remain free and victorious. It's the latter situation in which CH now finds itself. Just recently God made it clear to us that He has called us to a battlefield prepared for us and that we are ready to war. Now He has revealed to us the nature of what we are warring against(spirit of apathy) and the tactics being employed (withholding the Word). These are both vital pieces of information that we must not ignore. (For those of you who were not at the prayer meeting or did not receive a copy of what the Spirit spoke, you really need to obtain a copy and examine it for yourselves.) The bottom line is this: the enemy of our souls wants to destroy us and he would like to accomplish that by cutting off the divine flow of the Word of Life to our pastor, and thus to us. He realizes that a deprivation of God's anointed Word would lead to congregational hopelessness, a lack of vision for God's purposes for us as a body, and kingdom irrelevance due to spiritual apathy. Death. But God has shown us in no uncertain terms that He is on our side and is looking out for us. He said that He had rebuked the enemy for our sake, and I believe that. However, I also believe that this is a joint venture with God and we have our part to do. He assures us victory only if we will, in faith and obedience, follow His leading. We are in a pivotal moment and we cannot afford to let any of the Lord's instruction fall to the ground. Obviously we must PRAY for our shepherd and that can't be underscored enough. We must pray against the spirit of apathy and oppression and every distraction that would try to enter in and vie for his attention. Accompanying that must be our willingness to find PRACTICAL WAYS to ease his workload, thus allowing him time to do only those things which he can do. In Acts we read of deacons being needed to carry out administrative duties so that the apostles could dedicate themselves to continual prayer and ministry of the Word. Whatever it takes in prayer and work, we need to be willing to make the necessary sacrifices so that the Word of the Lord can breathe its life on us and we can be the overcomers---not overcome!
Diane, I agree with most of what you have said and I think you are especially on point with finding practical ways to ease the Pastor's workload.
However, I respectfully submit an alternate viewpoint -- and this isn't me merely playing devil's advocate, this is what I honestly believe.
It's no secret that I hold an alternate view and thus present alternate solutions to many spiritual issues in our church, and this could be in large part to me not being especially well-versed in the tongue and interpretation realm.
I believe in the significance and the power of tongues and interpretations, however I am not completely sold on the interpretation as stated "a spirit of apathy seeks to overtake you."
The sound of that statement to me sounds like it is trying to justify a reason to not look inwardly at our own faults and shortcomings, and to instead focus on the spiritual realm -- when it could indeed be sin in our own lives, entertaining thoughts of apathy, etc. I think as much as we are in a spiritual battle, we are much more so in an internal battle with our very own flesh.
If we are not consistently in the Word and in prayer, then we are losing the battle and it's all our fault. No one can make you not read your Bible...it's a choice. No one can make you not pray, it's a choice!
I sincerely, with my whole heart believe the problems we face are based on the power of our choices much more than it can be placed on a spirit.
The spirit of apathy can seek to overtake us all it wants to, but it can only be entertained by us and only be allowed to work if we welcome or allow it -- or in a very rare case, God lets it happen as He did to Job.
So we beat that spirit by coming together as a church body with a focus to move forward, pray for and back up our Pastor, foster relationships built on a Christian community with Christ as the chief cornerstone, and ramp up inreach (to those in our own congregation) and outreach efforts.
The battle is against our flesh and our very own minds which seek to lead us astray and open the door for the enemy to step right inside. We have to make the choice (i.e. conscious decision) to stay in prayer and especially the Word, otherwise we've lost the battle.
To me, it's that simple...cast all our cares upon God and actively make the effort to support our Pastor and each other.
"...I believe in the significance and the power of tongues and interpretations, however I am not completely sold on the interpretation as stated "a spirit of apathy seeks to overtake you."
The sound of that statement to me sounds like it is trying to justify a reason to not look inwardly at our own faults and shortcomings, and to instead focus on the spiritual realm..."
This seems contradictory to me. For one to say that one believes in tongues and interpretations but then accusing it of trying to justify the flesh. Or is one saying that the deliverer of the interpretation is lying and it is a fraud, trying to divert attention from personal sin. A statement like that says either God is leading us astray, or the interpretation is false.
Now introversion, that is a real problem in some places. I whole heartedly agree! Its one of the great crimes of the western church! And I think that introversion can cause people to feel apathetic. But I have never seen that to be a problem with our church, praise God! I have been in churches like that, and the feeling is just terrible. My personal testimony of Crimson House has always been the wonderful spirit of community, that is always the first thing I tell people concerning our church. And its authentic, its not contrived like it is in some churches, I was at mens camp-out this weekend, with a friends church, where all I found was competition, shallow chit chat, and bragging about certain outreaches that each was involved in. This made me so glad to come home to Crimson House, where there are humble people that I love and can learn from. There doesn't need to be a schedule, or a program, or an event for true community, all those things are attributes of a mere social club. And the church that Jesus built, the one to which he is the cornerstone is not a club. I see my brother's and sisters several times a week, I am at the church every time the doors are unlocked. It is my church, they are my people.
I understand how people might feel alienated if they only see us once a week, because the rest of us are there all the time. Things happen which a "sunday night only" member would completely miss. This has been the case in the past. When certain members in leadership roles just had no care to come to core-group meetings or prayer meetings (which are the blood and spirit of Crimson House) all of a sudden you have individuals who are alienated by there own absence from the direction we are moving in and the inspiration that God has breathed in us.
Now one more thing that concerns me about your premise is that you seem to have mistaken between the spirit warning us about apathy and "the spirit of apathy"
Apathy is a characteristic of the flesh. I agree with you that not everything is demonic, the majority of our struggles are against our flesh. That is basic bible, no one argues that. We must die to our flesh daily, and it is something that will never leave you alone. But when Holy Spirit warns us specifically of the "spirit of apathy" and tells us to do battle, this is something entirely different! I personally have not felt it, personally I have felt nothing but optimism about out our situation, Holy Spirit reassures us every week in prayer meetings of his promises concerning us. Now you saying that you have felt this spirit strongly suggest that you understand that it is spirit driven.
Now I personally have felt a strong spirit of apathy in the building before. It hits you when you least expect it, when you think everything is going well. "
But that also contradicts what you said concerning this apathy being solely of the flesh.
Holy spirit said in the interpretation that it is spiritual, this means vertical, you would see this if you were to read the interpretation in a context of a whole, especially in the context of what has been being spoken over the last several months. I feel the apathy that you are speaking of is some sort of negativity about certain situations (like the building issue). No one accuses anyone of apathy over something so superficial as that, that is a welcomed opinion. I have my own opinions about our building, most of witch are formed around what Holy Spirit has spoken concerning our building. In fact no one has even whispered the word apathy until Holy Spirit warned us that it could creep up. As far as I am concerned we are on the winning side of another battle.
I truly hope that you don't feel alienated because you hold different opinions on secondary subjects, If I have said anything to make you feel that way then I have misspoken, that is not my feelings at all. I beg you not to let that fact bother you, or make you feel paranoid about my feelings toward you or your spirituality.
But I do hold to my opinion that if you truly want community then you should prove it by making an effort at just being there, your absence shows the contrary, you suggest different activities but you don't even come to the most basic ones that we offer. This tells me that you have an issue with Crimson House that a mens breakfast wouldn't solve.
If i am totally off base here I want you to tell me about it. I am truly interested the well being of all. these are my opinion's based on my observation, if you have commentary i would like to here it. Let me know, we can get coffee or talk on the phone or something. I'm not to keen on doing this via blog, because i like immediate commentary. Hit me up Brother.
Nick--
First off I appreciate healthy dialogue and let me reiterate that my posts have been respectful digression from the stated points of view.
1. In my dialogue on tongues and interpretations, my stance is that we are all human. Humans translate what is said to be a divinely inspired word from the Lord. The possibility of things being lost in translation from one or all of us ALWAYS exists. (I am guilty as charged, as well.) I stand for a rigid check/balance system regarding tongues and interpretations, especially with so much weight being placed on them in regard to word content and how that affects the day to day operation of our church.
2. We will discuss the introversion issue offline due to the sensitive nature of what I would otherwise be writing.
3. Let me refer to your quote here...
When certain members in leadership roles just had no care to come to core-group meetings or prayer meetings (which are the blood and spirit of Crimson House) all of a sudden you have individuals who are alienated by there own absence from the direction we are moving in and the inspiration that God has breathed in us.
I know you are referencing me here, and I will respond by simply saying I was not referring to myself when speaking of alienation.
The direction in which the church is moving must involve EVERYBODY. Not just the core group.
I will make it known that I do not attend core-group prayer meetings simply because of a preference. I have referenced in a prior comment that I am not well-versed in tongues and I actually may very well be a borderline Baptist when it comes to the entire issue. (Shocking!) My non-attendance of prayer meetings is because I left feeling the same way I came and that was not due to lack of effort on my part, or anyone else's. It just simply isn't what I need and if I don't function well in that environment I do not want to be a hindrance to those who do.
Ultimately I do not feel alienated, but I do feel in a sense awkward because my personal convictions for some reason disagree with the popular viewpoint on issues such as this. We serve the same God so why then would I be feeling something so much different from everyone else?
I don't have any "issue" with the church, but I do seek to be an agent of constantly evolving ministry methods. It is hard to change and we have to want change if we are going to grow spiritually and numerically.
4. As for me not being at the most basic functions, I mentioned my reasoning for non-attendance of core group meetings. I do not feel it appropriate to defend a meticulous church attendance record.
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At any rate, like I said before, I am trying to foster respectful dialogue but I must apologize if my opposing viewpoints are perceived in a critical spirit. Like you Nick, I am for the well-being of all and it is clearly evident that I have a way of achieving that, that is completely different than what CH is currently doing.
May God bless our church.
Prayer meetings have been the catalyst for every revival history has ever recorded. Revival instigates change from the inside out, causing those who are saved to be renewed into a passionate relationship with God, which in turn creates a church passionate about God, which in turn causes said church to reach out with God, which in turn brings glory to God and salvation to those He died to save. Reading the NT I see that the early church flourished precisely because of prayer meetings, and during these times the Spirit of God often spoke and gave them direction as to what they were to do. So, it's not surprising that prayer meetings would be a time we, too, would hear from God. As a house of prayer, we need to be doing just that, singularly and corporately.
And Chris, perhaps the answer to your question, "We serve the same God so why then would I be feeling something so much different from everyone else?", is that you are a "borderline Baptist" trying to convince those who are clearly Pentecostal that they are wrong in their beliefs and practices. It would be like me going to a Baptist church and trying to convince them that the way they believe and operate is incorrect. We all have our viewpoints and convictions, so maybe we need to just respect one another, accept what CH is and let it go at that.
I'll respect the final comment here and just ask two questions just to know:
What is the definition of a core group? Every church has (needs) one.
How do we bridge the gap between the core group and those who are part of the church, love Christ and are dedicated to Him but are not in that group?
Lastly I just want to add that I care about everyone and I wouldn't be asking these questions if I didn't have a concern and a love for everyone in the church. I just want to see the church, ours and the church as a whole, flourish and be blessed.
Chris,
I will try and answer your questions and this is just my opinion, but here it goes.
"What is the definition of a core group? Every church has (needs) one."
In my opinion, the core group is made up of anyone who attends on a regular basis to all services and is willing to do what is needed and necessary for CH to function both spiritually and physically. Now I am not at church every time the doors are open, but I consider myself part of the core group. We at CH realize that sometimes people just can't be there. But to be in the core group, a person would have to be willing to participate in the ministry that God has for CH.
We don't look at the core group as an elite club; it is just the members that we can count on to take care of things in the church, both physically and spiritually. I also believe that God has birthed His Vision for CH in the entire core group. This has happened through our Friday night prayer. It wasn't until we started the corporate prayer time, that we found ourselves growing as whole and finding unity in vision. That is why Friday night is key to the core group. Believe me; I have been through times that Friday nights seemed like a waste of time for me because, just like you, I left the same way I came. God has shown me since then, mostly due to the prayers of my CH family, that He was always there on Fridays. I just chose not to completely fellowship with Him.
"How do we bridge the gap between the core group and those who are part of the church, love Christ and are dedicated to Him but are not in that group?"
Really there shouldn't be a gap between those who are part of the church, love Christ and are dedicated to Him. That is the core group. When someone in the church truly makes the decision to be part of the church and not just part of the congregation, then they are a member of our core group. Again this isn't "official CH policy" it is just how I see it.
Last thought; when you are a small as CH you can't afford to allow anyone to feel alienated from being part of our core group. Having said that, to be a part of the "group" you must be willing to sacrifice yourself in prayer, fasting, and work for the good of the church and for your brothers and sisters in Christ. If you make that commitment I assure you that God and CH will make you feel like a core member.
my dearly beloved sisters and brothers at crimson house, peace from Jesus and greetings from the frozen waistelands! i just want 2 say here that i miss u all and the freedom that the Lord Jesus has helped u at crimson house operate in! God is doing many things in the church right now and one of the greatest things is the unity that He is drawing us into! praise God! 4 when they were all 2gether praying of one accord the holy spirit came upon them as fire! God is preparing us 4 the grt Restoration of all things in the body of Christ and the day of the saints! we must stand strong against the enemy who seeks 2 destroy that! i am with u in prayer and am praying 4 u with fire!! be blessed in Jesus mighty name!
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