I’m
looking for a Church to Join
by
Lynn Ridenhour
I’m
looking for a church to join.
And
here’s what I’m looking for.
These are the requirements.
Requirement
#1: His
Manifest Presence
I’m
looking for a group of Saints who have a white-hot
passion for the Presence of the Lord!
That’s the number one requirement.
They must possess a holy frustration, a holy
desperation for Him!
Their hearts echo the Psalmist’s sentiments:
“…As
the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul
for You, O God, My soul thirsts for God, for the living
God. When
shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while
they continually say to me, Where is your God?….”
--Psalms 42:1-3
They
must have Him!
God
and God alone satisfies!
Not doctrine.
Not church attendance.
Not allegiance to a sect.
Not Bible study.
Not sermons.
For these Saints, their Christian life has been
reduced to one thing—where
is your God! It
was the cry of David’s heart; it’s the cry of their
heart. I
would like to join that church.
Requirement
#2: Take
God out of the box.
I’m
looking for a church that is no longer interested in
posturing and defending its traditions & doctrine.
A church that is willing to let God move
supernaturally in any way He so desires.
No limits! No
preconceived notions.
No historical and cultural hang-ups.
A church that is willing to--let
God be God in our day!
A church that is willing to let God do
something out of the ordinary.
Perhaps contrary to its theology and traditions.
I’m looking for a church that is willing to
take God out of the box and permit Him to do a new thing
in our day. A
church that’s more concerned with seeking His Presence
than preserving past history.
I
would like to join that church.
Requirement
#3: A
Prophetic Church
I’m
looking for a local church with a sense of destiny.
One with a worldwide vision.
One that believes its members have “…come to
the kingdom for such a time as this…”
I’m looking for a church whose members
prophesy, see
visions, and dream dreams.
They possess a radical passion for global
ministry, and believe their small active involvement can
make a huge difference in a big world.
They’re busy discipling teams to send out into
the world for Jesus.
I
would like to join that church.
Requirement
#4: Signs
and Wonders
This
church is at home with the miraculous.
It believes in and expects signs and wonders.
Its members experience daily worship.
And know that the gospel is more than “Sunday
lectures.” The
gospel of Jesus Christ is a demonstration of signs and
wonders. This
church, in other words, welcomes the miraculous.
And knows signs and wonders are the life of the
gospel.
I would like to join that church.
Requirement
#5: Worshippers
I’m
looking for a church that believes in and knows how to
worship.
I’ve
had enough of hymn singing!
That is, I’m no longer interested in a mere
song service. I’m
looking for worshippers!
Those who are passionate about the Bridegroom.
I’m looking for a church that sees itself as
the Bride of Christ, making herself ready for the coming
of the Bridegroom.
I’m looking for worshippers who have a passion
for Jesus! Who
are not intimidated by “selfless,” uninhibited
worship. Who
are at home dancing in the aisles for Jesus!
He is their lover!
They lavish their praise, their passion and love
upon Him. He
is as fresh as this morning’s dew to them.
He is their Magnificent Obsession.
I’m looking for lovers and worshippers.
I
would like to join that church.
Yes,
these are my five requirements.
·
His
Manifest Presence
·
Take
God out of the box
·
Prophetic
Church
·
Signs
& Wonders, and
·
Worshippers
Guess
what?
I
just described the early restoration church!
I’m
looking for a group of Latter-day Saints who hunger and
thirst for a
return to the experiences of the early Saints!
To walk under what our beloved Prophet walked
under—an open heaven.
To experience what the Saints at Kirtland
experienced. Nothing
else will do. As
one brother put it, “I’m interested in returning to
the roots of our movement.”
Me too.
Let’s
look at each of the five requirements in light of church
history.
I. His
Manifest Presence
Say
what you will, the heart of the restoration gospel is a
return of His Manifested Presence in our midst!
It
all began on that eventful morning in the grove when
Joseph Smith had a personal encounter with the Living
God. Brothers
and sisters, is
not the grove experience the very linchpin of this
movement?! I
think so.
It
grieves my heart that Latter-day Saints have strayed so
far from the impetus and driving force of this
movement—a
return to the Lord’s Presence!
Of all peoples in the earth, Latter-day Saints
should be the ones paving the way, who know what it
means to bask in His Presence.
Our Prophet lived under the Open Heavens!
And so should we.
Why,
or how, have we gotten so sidetracked?!
Why
do we debate the senseless?
When we no longer bathe in His Presence!
Bathing in His Manifest Presence should be the
theme of our gospel!
It is
the theme of our gospel.
Basking in His Presence should set us Latter-day
Saints apart from the rest of the world.
Joseph, our Prophet, submerged himself in His
presence. On
one occasion, he said that Sidney was not as used to the
Shekinah
glory & presence as he.
The
same should be said of us—the
rest of the world is not as used to the Shekinah glory
& presence as we!
O,
brothers and sisters, all else pales in comparison.
If we lose His Manifest Presence, nothing else
matters! Issues
and arguments and splits and debates over D&C
sections become senseless!
A waste of time.
Exercises in futility—that’s what they are.
The
early Saints reveled in His presence.
And we must!
O,
hear the story of a little girl.
Prescindia
Huntington describes her experience that week in
Kirtland.
“…A
little girl came to my door and in wonder called me out,
exclaiming, ‘The meeting is on top of the meeting
house!’ I
went to the door, and there I saw on the temple angels
clothed in white covering the roof from end to end.
They seemed to be walking to and fro; they
appeared and disappeared.
The third time they appeared and disappeared
before I realized that they were not mortal men.
Each time in a moment they vanished, and their
reappearance was the same.
This was in broad daylight, in the afternoon.
A number of the children in Kirtland saw the
same…” --Women
of Mormonism, p.p.207-8
Our
children need to see angels walking on top of our church
buildings!
One
of the most powerful gatherings took place on January 28th,
1836. Joseph
wrote in his journal, “…Elder
Roger Orton saw a mighty angel riding upon a horse of
fire…President William Smith, one of the Twelve, say
the heavens opened, and the Lord’s host protecting the
Lord’s anointed…I retired to my home, filled with
the Spirit, and my soul cried hosanna to God and the
Lamb, through the silent watches of the night; and while
my eyes were closed in sleep, the visions of the Lord
were sweet unto me, and His
glory
was round about me.”
--History
of the Church, p.p.2:386-87
O,
Saints, are we no different?!
Do we not need to see visions of the Lord in the
sweetness of the night?
Does not his glory need to be around us as well?
I submit—if we’ve lost His Manifested
Presence, nothing else matters.
Tell me--what’s the shell of a dead man worth
anyway? It
stinks. When
the Manifest Presence leaves, we’re left with the
putrefied flesh of man.
The smell of Ichabod lingers.
The
glory of the Lord so settled on the Saints during one
particular worship service that unbelievers in Kirtland
called the local fire department.
The church building was on fire—so they
thought. Unbelievers,
and believers alike, stood nearby and watched the flames
not consume the rooftop.
Yes,
I’m looking for a group of Latter-day Saints who are
more consumed by His Presence than concerned about
posturing. More
passionate about seeing angels on rooftops than
splitting D&C hairs.
The
early restoration Saints were passionate about His
Presence. It’s
the theme of the restoration gospel.
The Psalmist was right:
“…O
God, My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?…”
And
Joseph was right:
His
dedicatory prayer will be fulfilled, “…For
thou knowest that we have done this work through great
tribulation…that the Son of Man might have a place to
manifest himself to his people…”
Joseph
prayed for the Manifest Presence.
II. Take God out of the box
This
is what I love about the early Saints.
And about Joseph:
they were not afraid to take God out of the box.
Their experiences took them to waters never
before charted. Claiming
to be the Israel of the latter days?
Claiming to live under an open heaven?
Writing new scriptures?
Come on. Talk
about taking God out of the box.
We
must be just as willing in our day to allow God to move
in strange and new ways.
Out of the box.
For
instance, what if God told you to take your clothes off
and preach the gospel?
You say—how ridiculous.
He would never do such a thing!
Yes, He did.
"…The
Lord said,...my servant Isaiah ... walked naked and
barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon
Egypt.... " -Isa.20.2
I’m
talking—really taking God out of the box.
Are we willing?
Let me put it this way.
God only keeps the desperate around.
If He can
run you off, He will!
You say, God would not do that.
Yes He will.
He did it. Jesus
was preaching one day and the people didn’t like what
He was saying. So
they left. He
ran them off. He
then turned to Peter and said, “…you going
too?…” (Jn.6:66-68).
God
is looking for a group of people who have dumped their
doctrinal idols. They have pitched their theology at his
command. They're like Peter:
Lord, you've ruined me. You ruined my theology
and I'm not interested in returning to my vocation.
Religion no longer interests me, Lord, and neither does
my career.
Kingdom
builders are left and stuck with Him. They've exhausted
their options, really. They have no other place to go
but to follow the Master. The world doesn't want them
and most of the religious folks won't have them.
The early restoration Saints had come to such a
crossroads. Have
we?
It
comes to this—just how bad do we want his presence?
Bad enough to pack up and leave our homes?
Bad enough to preach naked?
Bad enough to take God out of the box?
III.
A Prophetic Church
Need
I say it? No
one was more prophetic than Joseph Smith.
The early Saints truly had a sense of destiny.
They believed they could affect the world with
their gospel. They
believed they were active players on a stage in a
worldwide drama. Latter-day
Israelites, that’s what they were.
Descendants from one of the twelve tribes.
Relatives of Manasseh and Ephraim.
Placed in Joseph’s Land—the New Jerusalem--to
be an Ensign to the nations in these last days.
They were truly a prophetic people.
Are
we no less? Must
we not do the same:
send anointed team ministries around the world.
IV.
Signs & Wonders
I
love church history!
Especially the life & times of Joseph Smith.
Our heritage is so alive & well with the
power of God! Look
what I found:
Spiritual
gifts as experienced by the Church in the book of Acts
have always been basic to the restoration movement.
In fact, I went through the eight volumes of RLDS
church history with a yellow marker, and marked the
various passages dealing with charisma and the power of
God.
…Angels
and personages ministering—19 times
…Anointed
praying—1 time
…Anointed
preaching—2 times
…Anointing—50
times
…Authority
of the Believer—19 times
…Baptism
in the Holy Spirit—33 times
…Blessings—18
times
…Demonic
Deliverance—3 times
…Discerning
of spirits—7 times
…Dreams—2
times
…Fruit
of the Spirit—15 times
…Gift
of Faith—14 times
…Gifts
manifested—33 times
…Gifts
of healing—35 times
…Glory—5
times
…Hearts
moved upon—3 times
…Heavens
opened—3 times
…Holy
Spirit spoke—8 times
…Interpretation—16
times
…Laying
on of hands—23 times
…Led
by the Spirit—10 times
…Ministries
initiated—2 times
…Miracles—28
times
…Overcome
by the Spirit—2 times
…Pillar
of fire—1 time
…Power
of God for today—25 times
…Praise—31
times
…Prophecy—34
times
…Signs
& wonders—17 times
…Singing
in tongues—4 times
…Speaking
in tongues—26 times
…Spirit
of revelation—17 times
…Spiritual
warfare—5 times
…Uplifted
hands—5 times
…Visions—18
times
…Word
of knowledge—27 times
…Word
of wisdom—10 times
Saints,
what a rich heritage we have!
Joseph
went so far as to say in an editorial in the Times
& Seasons:
"...We
believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost being enjoyed now,
as much as it was in the Apostles' days; we believe that
it [the gift of the Holy Ghost] is necessary to make and
to organize the Priesthood, that no man can be called to
fill any office in the ministry without it..."
"...no
man can be called to fill any office in the ministry
without it..."
That’s powerful.
Need
I say it? Signs
and wonders were a vital part of the early church.
"……During
the harvest I introduced the gospel into Batavia
village. I preached seven times in the courthouse to
attentive audiences composed of many of the first men in
the place and others from the country round about. This
served to break down much of the prejudice through this
country. Since then we have had access to many
neighborhoods through this region, and many are
believing in almost every direction, and the Lord works
with us and confirms the work with signs following them
that believe; for they speak with new tongues and
interpret them, many sick are healed, and even the deaf
are made to hear and the dumb to speak..." -RLDS
Vol.2, p.522
Hear
Lorenzo Snow, another eyewitness:
“…There
[in the temple] we had the gift of prophecy—the gift
of tongues—the interpretation of tongues—visions and
marvelous dreams were related—the singing of heavenly
choirs was heard, and wonderful manifestations of the
healing power, through the administrations of the
Elders, were witnessed.
The sick were healed—the deaf made to
hear—the blind to see and the lame to walk, in very
many instances. It
was plainly manifest that a sacred and divine
influence—a spiritual atmosphere pervaded that holy
edifice.”
--Biography of Lorenzo Snow, p.11
Daniel
Tyler wrote, “…All felt that they had a foretaste of
heaven…and we wondered whether the millenium had
commenced…”
Over
one thousand people attended these meetings.
The Savior appeared in five different meetings
held in the temple.
Visions, including a vision of the Father and
Son, were beheld at eight meetings, and the congregation
saw heavenly beings or angels in nine meetings.
In other sessions many Saints reported that they
experienced such manifestations as the gift of tongues,
the sounds of a mighty wind, a pillar of fire resting
down upon the temple roof, prophesying, and the voices
of angels (Joseph
Smith’s Kirtland, p.170).
So
great was the outpouring that our beloved Prophet was
constrained to write,
“…It
was a Pentecost and an endowment indeed, long to be
remembered, for the sound shall go forth from this place
into all the world, and the occurrences of this day
shall be handed down upon the pages of sacred history,
to all generations; as the day of Pentecost, so shall
this day be numbered and celebrated as a year of
jubilee, and time of rejoicing to the Saints of the Most
High God.” --History
of the Church, 2:432-33
Joseph,
under the inspiration of his pen, writes “…the
occurrences of this day shall be handed down upon the
pages of sacred history…”
That hasn’t happened yet. That prophecy has yet
to be fulfilled. Church,
I submit—not enough of us are handing down the story
of Kirtland to our children.
I believe, because of the lack of knowledge among
today’s Christians regarding these widespread
occurrences, events of 1836 have yet to reach their full
impact. There
will come a day when the Body of Christ will know.
Eyewitness John A. Boynton’s prophecy shall be
fulfilled. “…Within
that house God will pour out his spirit in great majesty
and glory and encircle his people with fire more
gloriously and marvelously than at Pentecost because the
work to be performed in the last days is greater than
was in that day.” --May
6, 1834, Kirtland, Ohio
We
must tell our children,
“…the
work to be performed in the[se] last days is greater
than was in that day…”
Our children must inherit our mantle, and for
them to do so, we must be storytellers--storytellers of
our great beginnings at Kirtland.
We
must not only tell
the stories of the early saints to our children, we must
walk in them!
Experience them.
V.
Worshippers
And
finally, I’m looking for a church that knows how to
worship. O,
how the early saints knew how to worship!
“…I
retired to my home, filled with the Spirit, and my soul
cried hosanna to God and the Lamb, through the silent
watches of the night; and while my eyes were closed in
sleep, the visions of the Lord were sweet unto me, and
His glory was round about me.”
William
Smith--History
of the Church, p.p.2:386-87
"...the
Holy Ghost was poured out upon us in a miraculous
manner--many of our number prophesied, whilst others had
the heavens opened to their view, and were so overcome
that we had to lay them on beds..." -RLDS
VOI.1, p.87
Zebedee
Coltrin, eyewitness, wrote,
“…I
have seen the power of God as it was on the day of
Pentecost…I saw the Lord…The angels of God rested
upon the Temple and we heard their voices singing
heavenly music…”
They
worshipped and sang with the angels.
“…and
the gift of tongues and of prophesying rested on the
greater part of the brethren and we continued in tongues
and prophesying through that day and the greater part of
the night." --Address of Zebedee Coltrin, Feb.5,
1878
Think
about it. In
a state of worship “…through that day and the
greater part of the night…”
That’s
truly different from most Sunday morning “clock
watchers” I know.
O, Saints, I’m afraid we’ve lost the spirit
of worship in our midst.
I would love to be with a group of restoration
Saints who prophesied and continued in tongues into the
greater part of the night.
SUMMARY
As
said, I’m looking for a church to join.
A church with the above characteristics.
One that shares the experiences of the early
restoration church.
I’m interested in returning to our roots, our
wonderful heritage.
I’m not interested in anything else.
Gladly,
I’m not alone. There
is a hunger in the land, a holy desperation.
I know of other Latter-day Saints who feel the
same. It’s
time we claimed that which is ours.
We
are the people of the Manifested Presence.
