Experiencing God

People under the influence of religious spirits will usually minimize experiences.  Don't get me wrong, I fully know the danger of experiences that are not aligned with the word of God - but don't let that deter you from experiencing Jesus. He desires you to know him personally, not just to read about him in a book.

Example:
What if you had read many guidebooks about DisneyLand, watched some videos about it, heard from others how great it was and what a fine time they had. But, when you got there you found the gates were closed. A person at the gate said: "There are enough things written about DisneyLand so that people don't really need to experience it any more.  Go home and read your guidebook some more!"  Wouldn't you feel a little ripped off, even cheated? I'll bet your kids would be wailing!

Reading about a beautiful sunset, or the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees is far different than actually being there - seeing it, feeling it, smelling it, savoring it!

That's what the Church of today has done to God - in fact, that's what the church has been doing since  the church became institutionalized.  The bible was taken out of the hands of the common people and only those who were "qualified" could interpret it for you. A priest had to be a mediator between you and God.  No, the Holy Spirit is our teacher and he will use his word to guide you into experiencing God and doing his will.

The bible becomes dry and dull when we don't take it as a guidebook for really experiencing him and obeying him.   As Jim Palmer put it in "Wide open spaces", it is a launch-pad, not a landing-strip.  The purpose of the bible is to get to know God and have a living relationship with him.  Many churches esteem the Bible so highly, they almost believe it is the 3rd person of the Trinity!  Father, Son, Bible.  We are not to worship the Bible, we are to worship God!  I am not minimizing the Bible - I am simply putting it in it's proper place!

I believe those who make a big deal about Sufficiency of Scripture are many times off base because they under-emphasize experiencing God.  The scriptures are only sufficient when they lead you into a real relationship with the living and very interactive God - who speaks to us today!  Of course, he isn't going to tell us to do something opposite of what he has already spoken through the scriptures, but there are a lot of areas where we will need more specific guidance through the Holy Spirit.(e.g. why are spiritual gifts necessary if the scriptures are sufficient?)  Scriptures can become twisted and bizarre when a person doesn't have a real relationship with God and is not taught by the Holy Spirit.  In fact, it is the Holy Spirit who is doing the work in Hebrews 8:10,11.  He is the one who applies God's word to our heart and teaches us. 

Heb 8:10,11
¹⁰For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
¹¹And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

The bible in the hands of a person not relying on the Holy Spirit is a very scary thing! Look at what happened to the religious people of Jesus' day.  Their over-emphasis on the scriptures, interpreted in the wrong spirit(without love), caused them to miss Jesus!

John 5:37-40
³⁷ And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸ nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. ³⁹ You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Luke 11:52
“Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

The experts in the law knew about God, but they didn't really know God.  To really know God comes from personally experiencing him.  Experiencing his love, his forgiveness, his truth.  When his truth comes into contact with our lives, it changes our hearts and makes us like him.  Real knowledge of God comes from an interactive relationship with the living God!

In conclusion:
Reading about something is far different than actually doing it and experiencing it.  Let's look at the experiences of the early disciples not as something to be theorized about or doctrinalized as events that only happened in the past. Instead, let's look at them as something to be sought after for our day.

Habakkuk 3:2
 ² LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD.
Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy

The Exuberance and Joy of Jesus

 Luke 10:21

 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

We have been reading the book "Beautiful Outlaw" by John Eldredge.  While not agreeing with some of his broad-brush strokes in other books he has written about what most men are like, we have found this book to be very refreshing and gives a much-needed glimpse into the real personality of Jesus.

Beautiful Outlaw Web site

We gathered with some friends along with our children a couple weeks ago and shared some of the different characteristics of who Jesus is, and found it to be a great discussion.  We are focusing as a family on getting to know Jesus better as he really is.  The religious fog surrounding who Jesus really is has confused and kept many Christians from experiencing a daily, interactive relationship with him. 
Some of the interesting characteristics we shared about Jesus included:
1. Fearless
2. Courageous and determined
3. Close to the broken and downcast
4. Prickly - unshaven (a picture of his humanity and realness)
5. Humble and real
6. Sacrificial Servant
7. Exuberant and enthustic
8. Exceedingly Joyful
9. Peaceful
10. Extravagant Giver
11. Good receiver
12. Eyes of Fire
13. Intense

I will add to this list as I get time, it is by no means comprehensive, but gives a picture of the direction we were heading as we shared.

I shared a dream I had about 2 years ago that helped me get a better glimpse into Jesus' personality.  I remember in the dream, there was a gathering of people who were waiting to see God revealed, like he was going to come out on stage where we could all see him.  The anticipation was great amongst the people gathered there, and I remember wanting to get into the front row.  When a man came out on stage and began telling jokes(good ones of course), we were all taken aback a little.  And, he was actually quite funny.  He then came down amongst the audience, and began to touch people, dancing and laughing the entire time.  His Joy was contagious, and everyone he touched began to laugh uncontrollably, including myself.  He was having a great time of it, he absolutely loved filling people with this joy.  I remember thinking - this is the most exuberant, excited, joyful person I have ever seen.

When I woke up, I realized that this man was Jesus Christ.  This dream has changed my view of Jesus, and has stuck with me to this day.  Many times I look back and I can still remember how this dream changed my picture of who Jesus is in my heart.

When I woke up, I was also reminded of the scripture Zephaniah 3:17
¹⁷ The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”

I am also reminded of David in  2 Samuel 6:14 "And David danced before the Lord with all his might."  He was undignified, not caring what people thought - his only focus was on "the Lord".   "with all his might" speaks to me that he was very exuberant and enthusiastic in his dancing; this was no mournful ballroom dance. David's dance was a dance of joy and an expression of enthusiastic love and praise to God.  Let's get rid of our religious, dignified, Michelangelo-like picture of what David's dancing might have looked like and see it how it really was.

Also see 2 samuel 6:5 "David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals"

Here we have a picture of David and others celebrating with all their might. This is not a solemn, dignified worship service here, this is un-restrained abandon before God. This is a picture of what the "man after God's own heart" did to show his love and passion for God.

2 Samuel 6:16, 20
¹⁶ As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.
²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
The religious spirit operating through David's wife tried to shut down this worship.  The religious spirit always despises and looks with contempt on those who express great joy and enthusiasm.  See how she criticizes and finds fault with what David was doing by focusing on what he was wearing rather than looking at his heart, sounds just like the Pharisees of Jesus' day doesn't it?

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
²³ And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

See how David responded to her criticism? Rather than attempting to please her, he gave absolutely no place for the spirit of religion - in fact, he said he would go even further next time. "Even more undignified than this"  David did not care how people perceived him, he knew his heart was pure before the Lord.

In conclusion:
We all need to have revelations and experiences to help us get a real picture of who Jesus really is.  We need to get rid of the religious thinking and demonic lies that have distorted our view of who he really is.  How can you have a relationship with someone like the man pictured in most of these paintings?
Traditional depictions of Jesus

Much Christian art (and theology) has concentrated on guilt and suffering. But Jesus came to bring joy to the world - not to make guilt-ridden wrecks. This collection of paintings from artists from 18 countries gives their impressions of a laughing, loving Jesus who is a living presence.
Jesus Laughing Exhibition

I believe Jesus is very un-religious, in the sense that he really enjoys life and people.  I believe he loves to laugh, and he has a sense of humor.  He created you with a sense of humor, didn't he? What makes us think our creator would have less of a sense of humor than his creation?

I invite you to open yourself up and ask God right now to reveal to you the real Jesus so you can experience his exuberant love and joy!

Jesus is passionate for you, his heart burns to reveal himself to you. His heart is directed towards you, his eyes are ablaze, turned in your direction. He longs to give you his joy and he is enthusiastic to spend time with you. He wants you to experience him and get to know him!  Don't be afraid of experiencing and encountering Jesus!

The Road of the Kingdom

“In the desert prepare the way for the Lord;

make straight in the wilderness

a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be raised up,

every mountain and hill made low;

The rough ground shall become level,

the rugged places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all mankind together will see it.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

– Isaiah 40:3-5

Ondrea had a vision last year while we were in prayer with a couple others.  In the vision, she saw a road or highway.  The highway was the road that represented God's kingdom and also led towards his kingdom, the Promised Land.  The hand of God was there, directing and guiding the builders.  The work was hard, but enjoyable; it was not stressful or overly-difficult because those building were doing exactly what God wanted them to do. 

Those who were building the road did not know exactly where it led; all they knew was they were listening to God's instructions and obeying him.  Along the road were settlements, villages, houses, etc.  Many would leave the road and join the settlements.  Those in the settlements would spend time attempting to convince those building the road how great the settlements were, and why they should join their settlements.  The settlements many times were great places, filled with great people.  The settlements were not inherently evil, many great things were happening there. However, it was bad in the sense that those who settled had left their primary calling and were no longer building God's kingdom.  The settlements offered peace, safety, comfort, and could meet many needs.  Those trying to get those on the road to come into their settlements were sinning because they were distracting the builders from their true purpose in God.  They should have been able to recognize the call on others and encourage them in it rather than trying to make themselves feel better by getting others to "settle" with them.  Those on the road looked foolish to those in comfort so they felt "better than them" and a need to "help" the poor people that weren't in their settlement.
We believe the road represents the life of Faith, such as in Genesis 12 when Abraham left his country, not knowing exactly where he was going.  He was leaving a life of comfort and familiarity, leaving much of his family, to follow God. 

Hebrews 11:8-11
 ⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

I am reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 8:20
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Jesus had no place to call his own home.  He was a marked man from the time he entered his ministry, the religious leaders were out to kill him.  He lived to follow and do the will of the Father, he had no room to settle down and grow comfortable, not even a place to sleep at times.

I am also reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:13,14
¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The way to life is narrow and difficult while the way to destruction is easy and wide.  There are many detours and seemingly great places that God wants us to stay away from.  We are called to a life of faith, and that will include difficulty and self-sacrifice.

Settling for less than God's call on your life will mean different things to different people.  Listening to the shepherd's voice, obeying and following him is the key!

Leaving a Church

It is never an easy thing to talk about when to leave or stay at a church.  Here are a few of my thoughts on this sticky issue.  A couple weeks ago, I met with a man who is leading a small church. He said:  "I think people who are struggling need to just pick a church and plug in!"  Is that the kind of flippant attitude we should have, is one church just as good as another?  I don't think so, it is crucial to find out exactly where God wants us to be.  The fact that you may even be considering leaving a church(apart from selfish reasons) is a sign that you are desiring to break with the status quo.  I applaud you if you are truly seeking God.  I believe God is also excited that you are rethinking and seeking to discover where he wants you to be and what he wants you to do.

Luke 6:39-41 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher."

I have a few questions I would ask about any leadership I am considering placing my family under or removing ourselves from.  No matter how much we want to believe otherwise, we do become like those we place ourselves under.  It is prideful to believe we can remain in toxic environments and remain un-affected.

1.  Am I being taught and encouraged to Love God more?

2.  Am I being taught and encouraged to Love people more?
3.  Is there an expectation that we are building something greater than our own kingdom. Are we building our own little kingdom, or God's kingdom?
4.  Is there a religious spirit?  Is there pride, exclusivism, or pharisaical thinking.
5.  Are the main things kept the main thing, or have minor doctrinal issues and gray areas become the main thing? 
6.  Is the leadership in complete control, or are they facilitating the working of the Holy Spirit and listening to where God is leading?
7.  Is there an expectation that God can speak to more than just 1 person in the group.
8.  Are people encouraged to find their God-given purpose, and are they then released, empowered, and activated into it?
9.  Is doctrine the most important thing?  The Pharisees missed Jesus because of their over-emphasis on doctrine.
10. Have rules replaced relationship?
11. Is there life here?  Is spiritual birth happening, is spiritual growth happening?
12. How does the leadership respond to confrontation or differences of theology/practice?

 Of course, no church is without its problems - I was reading in 2 Cor. 12:20 the other day and was amazed at the problems existent in the Corinthian church.  Paul said - "For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder."

Sounds like the way things are around our house sometimes :)

This list from Paul contains different kinds of problems than the ones I mentioned in the first list. The kinds of problems the Corinthians struggled with are related to immaturity and can be resolved by helping people to grow up.  The kinds of problems that are much more difficult to deal with contain an extreme controlling or religious aspect. Of course, none of us are completely free from a religious spirit, so I am talking about a place where a Religious Spirit has almost complete and total control.  Jesus took a no-compromise approach to these kinds of people and environments.  Judging from the way he dealt with it, I don't think He would ever allow himself to be controlled by that kind of spirit or place himself under it.  Personally, I would be praying about when(not if) to come out from under that kind of spirit.

I remember when we first came to realize the fact that we were dealing with an ancient religious spirit in a church we were attending.  It was definitely sobering.  My wife sensed it spiritually as we sat in church one day, and she was able to see and sense its power and far-reaching effects.  It is so much bigger than just the church we were part of. It is ancient, and its effects are much bigger than you think.  We are not wrestling with flesh and blood in these environments.

It is certainly important to stay where you are unless the Lord moves you on.  Have you been asking the Lord if it is his time to move you on yet?  A number of years ago, my wife and I received a prophetic word that the Holy Spirit was like our Chauffeur, who would take us where he wants us to go.  When it was time for us to move on, we would get into the car and he would drive us to the next destination.  We have always sought to remain sensitive to God's timing about when and where he wants us to be.  If we are in the wrong place, it is very costly to remain there.  We don't even realize the fullness of the negative influences and wrong spirit we are under until we obey the Lord in leaving.  Sometimes, we don't even need to know exactly where we are going before we leave.  Just like Abraham, all he knew at first was that God was calling him to leave the familiar things(his country, his people, and his family).  He didn't know exactly what the promised Land was yet, all he knew was that he had to obey.  “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you."  Genesis 12:1

If a church is in serious doctrinal error or teaching unbiblically, it is time to seriously consider leaving that church. I am not talking about minor doctrinal issues, but major issues regarding who God is, who Jesus is, the authority of scripture, etc.

It is interesting to note how often the early church members would move from one area to another, or exchange people between churches to share gifts, ministry, etc.  I don't think there was such a strangle-hold on keeping people in one place to build a personal kingdom. Of course, we are to be devoted to one another, and not leave places for flippant, selfish reasons.  However, if God is leading or calling someone into a different area or to minister to a different group of believers, that is not a threat to God's kingdom.  It is only a threat to the person who is trying to build a personal kingdom.

We certainly should not leave a church because of personal offenses, personal taste issues, relational conflicts, or immaturity issues. We need to work through these issues and allow God to mature us and heal us. However, when a church is nothing like Christ really meant it to be, or is heading in the opposite direction that God is calling us to go in, we need to be in serious prayer about whether we are in the right place.

 

Excuses for not leaving:

1.  God just wants me to stay here and be an agent of change within the church.  While this may seem like a noble or lofty goal, I believe this is extremely rare.  You need to make sure that is what God is calling you to do.  I have found that far too often, this is simply an excuse to remain where you are and avoid making any serious decision.  What if Martin Luther had decided to remain a Catholic priest and try to change the Catholic church from within?  Yes, he certainly could have - but he had a much greater impact when he came out of it, stood up for what was wrong, and sought to be an agent of change from the outside.  You don't have to remain within a church structure for God to use you to change it.  Would you ever counsel a Mormon or Jehovah's witness to stay within their church and try to bring about change from within?  Doubtful.

2.  God wants me to remain faithful to the church or the leadership
Does God want you to be faithful to an organization, or does he want you to be faithful to him?  If you are being encouraged to be faithful to men or an organization, you need to be careful.  You need to be willing to follow God, whether anyone agrees with you or not.  While faithfulness is a noble virtue, we don't need to be faithful to the wrong things, particularly a church system.  While we never give up on people, we don't need to be faithful to an organization or man-made structure.   

3.  But I just love the people, they're such nice people.
We must be willing to leave behind any people or religious systems that are keeping us from really following Christ.  While we may still remain in relationship with them in various ways, we do not have to remain under the leadership structure of that church.  We do not have to go in the same direction they are going.  Also, sometimes people are just nice when you are going the same direction they are and believe all the same things they do.  When you start to go against the grain or speak up about whether God is really part of the church, you will find out quickly if these are really nice people or not!

4. I don't want to hurt the pastor's feelings or the people's feelings by leaving
The New Testament does not tell us to be nice to each other, it tells us to love each other.  Sometimes doing the loving thing or the right thing is not going to be interpreted as the "nice" thing.  You need to do what God is telling you to do whether it is interpreted as nice or not.

5.  I am breaking covenant if I leave this church
Time to get out of that church soon!  If you feel like you are a covenant-breaker, or you will come under some sort of curse for leaving that church, you need to find the exit soon.  That is a spiritually abusive and controlling environment, and you need to get out of it!

How to leave:

Assuming the church is not abusive or cultic, we need to make sure we communicate very openly and honestly with our church leaders about why we are considering leaving. Generally, there should be no slipping out silently with everyone wondering why you left. Of course, I never had that option since I was involved in leadership in some way in the last two churches we were part of. It was imperative to explain my position well and lovingly talk to the pastor(s) about why God was calling us out of those churches. The leaders may not be excited about you leaving, they may try to get you to stay - so it is very important to know exactly why you are leaving, and to remain obedient to God.

Conclusion:
It amazes me how much time, effort, prayer, and thought we Americans will put into temporal things such as Jobs, Houses, Finances, etc. - but how little goes into finding out about our place in his eternal Kingdom. A large part of this is, what do I do about church? What is the church? How am I to be part of the church? This is a critical issue, and it is important to find out what God wants us to do. Much prayer and seeking needs to take place - it is not something to be taken casually or lightly.

Are we raising Disciples or Pharisees?

The question that has been going through our minds lately is:  Are we raising Disciples or Pharisees?  First, we parents need to get rid of any Pharisaical leaven in our own lives before we can train up true Disciples.

I remember when our family was heavily steeped in the following:
1. Our daughters and my wife had to wear skirts (I am all for modesty, just not defining it so strictly)
2. We didn't watch any Television
3. We had to have lots of Children to be of any spiritual worth
4. We felt like we had to have a small farm in order to be highly self-sufficient in case the end of the world occurred or the stock market collapsed. (I am not against being prepared, but in this case I was making decisions out of fear - not faith!)
5. We had to homeschool(By the way, we still homeschool and value it highly)
6. The Man needed to be the Priest of the Home
7. The wife should have no real thoughts of her own, the man chooses the direction and what he says goes!  If the wife disagrees - she must just quietly submit and not say anything - let the man make his mistakes and blunder through life.  Just feed him and do his laundry, but never, ever confront him or question his motives.
8. We had to have Family Worship twice a day and it was my job to theologically instruct my family. (By the way, not against this either, but we also don't have to do it the same way every time - and I don't do it because I feel like I have to)
9. Our Children were expected to outwardly behave a certain way whenever in public or in church.  Any fleshly behavior was frowned on and parents were made to feel bad if any display of flesh occurred.
10. We would never, ever put out kids in a Children's church or nursery.  They might get corrupted by the other children there!  (By the way, we are careful about not letting our kids be around bad influences, but in the past we lived in complete fear - not believing that our kids could possibly act responsibly and influence others in a positive way)
11. My wife was expected to grind her own wheat and bake her own bread.  (She still does this at times, but she doesn't have to in order to feel spiritual)
12. It was important to have our own milk cow and make our own yogurt, cheese, etc.
13. You must give birth to your children at home.  Hospital births and C-sections are frowned on.

I am not against limiting television, having lots of children, dressing modestly, homeschooling, etc.  But you see where we can get off track if we judge others for the standards or convictions the Lord has placed on us personally.
Of course, some of the standards in our list were unspoken and somewhat self-imposed, but you see where I am going?  How many of us have some list in our minds that we judge others by?

We and our children judged other people's spirituality upon whether they were upholding the same external standards.  Do they dress like us, do they have as many children as us, do they homeschool, do they watch TV, etc.  These were the standards we judged others by.  We began to notice that we and our children began to love others less, have less compassion on them, and instead were judging them for the way they looked or whether they measured up to our list.  We measured our success as parents by how well our children performed when around other people.  We measured our success by how well they performed at home too.

Are we raising performance-oriented children who look down on others who aren't performing so well, or are we reaching their hearts?  Do our children have a desire to really please and follow Jesus out of love, or are they just trying to keep all the rules we have set for them.  We will know this if they obey our rules when we aren't looking :)

Are we training our children to value and listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit?  Can they discern the voice of the Shepherd for themselves, or do we have to personally tell them what to do all the time?  Are they taking ownership for their spiritual state - are they willing to repent when they have wronged their brother or sister without being asked?  These are areas our own children are growing in, and are far from perfect - but at some point a couple years ago, we realized we were on the wrong track.  We have switched tracks, and are now beginning to see some fruit - but it is a process.  We are learning to look at our children differently, look at others differently, and look at life differently.  We are learning to look at life and at God from a relational point of view, not a performance-based point of view.

I am reminded of the verse in Luke 6:39-41 - He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher."


It is important for us to be teaching our kids to love like Jesus did, and follow him wholeheartedly.  No amount of external standards can produce disciples.  Discipleship starts with the heart, continues in the heart, and ends in the heart.  We need to be modeling a passion for God.  So many times, we substitute passion for God with rules, regulations, and external standards of righteousness.  We need to be very wary of any mindsets that focus on washing the outside of the cup, but ignore the inward decay.  We want everything we do to be based on love.  They will know we are his disciples by our love for one another.  Let's stop hiding behind our outward displays of morality and begin to just love on people right where they're at.  The pharisees saw the lepers and outcasts as untouchable.  Have we in the protection of our churches fallen into the same trap?  Are those we don't agree with untouchable, or can we touch them with compassion and let the love of God flow through us?

Mark 1:41,42
41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and said to him, I will; be clean. 42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

Fresh Bread

Some people think the main purpose of gathering as the Church is to hear the Word of God. Is this true? Not entirely. Our main purpose is to meet with God, worship God, and share God with others. That certainly might include hearing the Word of God.  Of course, we do need to gather to hear the word of God, but not in the way you might traditionally think. The Word of God comes through more than just 1 person teaching. Most of the time in church, people are hearing someone(the pastor) reading what some commentator or theologian thinks about what the Scriptures are saying.  Best case scenario in this setting is when the pastor is in tune with the Holy Spirit and shares what God wants to say to the church.  This is good, but the church meetings were meant to be so much more! The entire church body is intended to be sharing the Gifts of the Spirit during its meetings. Prophecy, exhortation, etc. People do not get bored when the Holy Spirit is really speaking through people. People get bored when they hear the regurgitation of a bunch of information. That is not really feeding sheep solid food, that is just giving the sheep stale bread. God-hungry people want fresh, daily bread that is God-breathed and spirit-inspired. People need a “demonstration of the Spirit’s Power”.

I believe there are to be different types of meeting in the church.  There can certainly be meetings where one person is sharing or teaching in order to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.  And, then there can be the types of meetings where spiritual gifts, worship, prayer, fellowship, etc. are shared.  There needs to be a variety of meetings - without locking ourselves into any 1 type all the time.

Acts 2:42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

I don't believe for a second that the apostles' teaching was what we see in most churches today. I believe the people devoted themselves to the apostles' way of life - the life of following Jesus. The apostles were teaching people and leading people in such a way that the people were coming into an intimate personal relationship with the one who had just risen from the dead. I don't think they got together and had big doctrinal debates, I believe their purpose in getting together was to let the life of Christ flow from one to another.

I and my family desire real life, not dead, stale Religious services where the same pattern is repeated over and over with no real change week in and week out, year in and year out. It seems the pattern of 1 Cor 14 is being ignored for the most part in our church gatherings today. 

1 Cor. 14:26-29
When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. 29Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.

This scripture says 2 or 3 prophets should speak. Not 1 person dominating the service with an extra-long teaching every time. We should have people sharing hymns, words of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, an interpretation, or a prophecy. I encourage you to really imagine what this might look like. Maybe the problem is, you don't really believe God can speak to or through people today. Maybe you believe God can only "illuminate" the scriptures, not actually speak to you personally. If you don’t believe God can reveal(only illuminate) then this scripture will mean very little to you. It says very specifically that someone can share a “revelation”, not just an “illumination”.

The following links have been a source of inspiration to me over the years.

http://askdrbrown.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=178