“THE PRESENCE OF GOD” By John Kilpatrick (The Brownsville Revival)

2 comments

• Jabez H. July 15, 2011 at 2:40 am

  Perhaps it is as others have shared here in comments, that modern and post modern Pentecostalism has come to actually read Timothy’s second letter in the NTcontext of the buzz phrase misquoted by the speaker in the clip, as to what Paul meant indeed over and above their own past 20th Century religious meeting based experience of past personal and cultural reference. The passage quoted out of context is not really about “the Presence” in meetings, or in a speaker’s anointing, or tones, making all the difference as to power as such [as the clip speaker mentions]. And it is really sad that an “Evangelist” is so persuaded here to post this as believed as constituting above what is written in the New Testament as to what the buzz phrase actually refers to in the NT passage misquoted. In the passage of NT reference “the Power” is toward living the truth, in the face of suffering, and presents its own content to direct hearts into the love of God and into the endurance of Christ when faced with personal suffering associated with identity with Him.

  To construe other meaning from one’s own cultural religious tradition, as in the above clip, is really what Jesus was dealing with with His own social-political-religious opposers of the life He fulfilled throughout the Gospel accounts, and would be akin to the “form” error Paul mentions in the passage reguarding religious observances conduct in the place of misunderstanding what constitutes truth, grace, and a personal life of abiding in Christ. It is clear in the 2nd chapter of 2nd Timothy that the passage buzz phrase misquoted above is not about America’s “Old time religion” as expereinced as conducted in meetings at all, but about how one lives in Christ.

  “In 1 and 2nd Thimothy and Titus 7 kinds of lovers are mentioned: 1) of self, 2) of money, 3) of pleasure, 4) of God, 5) of good, 6) of husbands, and 7) of children….also two kinds of nonlovers are mentioned, 1) nonlovers of good, 2) nonlovers of God” (NT Recovery Version, notes, p, 1002). The reference the clip speaker uses of “religion” is actually “godliness” in the original language. This certainly shifts the writer’s meaning away from the clip speaker’s meaning, as such. The quoted NT commentator goes on to say “the root of the church’s decline was the loss of her first love toward the Lord (Rev. 2:4). To maintain the victorious standard of the church [Jesus Christ’s work], we must be lovers of God and lovers of the good that pertains to God’s economy”. God’s economy is about discipling to Jesus, and doing his will, not about who proclaims this or that in his name with the anointed tone from pulpits in meetings (as the clip speaker states). The quoted comments just offered seem to catch the contextual meaning of 2 Timothy 2, discovered in context of the passage of comment being layed out in verses 1-5.

  What Paul was commenting on was not about meeting based speaker or activity actions at all, but about kinds of lovers and bearers of the power of the Gospel in their personal lives, in last days time, contrasted with hearts captured by a nondevotional standard abiding in Christ Jesus. It seems the speaker has continued the Charismatic regard of meeting based phenomena as greater than bearing and being a true witness and disciple of Jesus Christ (as the subject Paul gives in the buzz phrase context of its passage).

  Paul goes on in verses 10-13 to contrast his own bearing and being in Christ with those who are blinded with pride, pleasure, and rebellion in their arrogant self centeredness. He speaks then of the power of godliness being, in the passage, in conduct, teaching, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings,etc. in standing with the truth of Jesus Christ, and remarks “indeed all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”, as was Paul. This measure of godliness and power differs from an emphasis of meeting based pump em up whip em up phenomena. You know, it goes home into everyday life and living, as well as how one loves when gathering together. Ironically, it may be those who emphasize Charisma who get it wrong, where such aids itching ears and their own sense of power and its exercise–as is linked to religious meeting based behaviors by the clip buzz phrase speaker. Paul states in his summary definition of the power of godliness in the passage, “Such persecutions I bore, and our of them all the Lord delivered me” (v. 11, b & c). The power of bearing up with the truth, in Christ, carried him to another day, not another anointed pulpit experience.

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• Jabez H. July 15, 2011 at 3:33 am

  Correction, the passage I discuss is 2 Timothy 3, as led into by chapter 2. All verses quoted are from that 3rd chapter, as such. It seems strange, at best, that “revival” focus here, via the media clip, totally disorients its perceiving and affirming listener to religious meeting based phenomena, rather than what Paul actually wrote. In elementary school my now 5th grader spends time reading various assigned literary, historical, and scientific passages, then answering specific questions about them to see if he indeed understood what the author was saying. Children are then trained to understand what is indeed written in sentence based passages. When they do so they are reinforced as to understanding and accomplishment.

  In the above buzz phrase emphasized in the clip, as misinterpreted for its meaning to be centered as founded of a religious meeting based context, it remains appalling that what is written to Timothy shape shifts into something else entirely. The heart of the listener shifts to getting it in that context rather than from what Paul has written as to bearing the truth and recovering for another day to bear the truth. We need to return to being discipled by the teacher Jesus Christ and His sent Apostles words, to understand what it means to become revived in faith indeed.

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