…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you… Ephesians 1:17-18
What is the most missing component in the American Church at this time in my opinion?
The Holy Spirit. His indwelling Presence within those who gather within the 4 walls every Sunday for “worship services”. Paul tells the group of The Way in Ephesus (in his epistle to them) that he prays for their eyes and hearts to be enlightened. Spiritual enlightenment can only come one way. And that is through the Holy Spirit. When’s the last time the subject of the Holy Spirit was brought up in your church as the MAIN topic?
If you’ve had this ‘enlightenment’, this illumination by the Holy Spirit within you and experienced it, it requires no explanation to you, you KNOW the change in you. But to those who haven’t had it, it sounds like a mystery to them. His ‘Presence’ within you is vital in understanding the written scriptures, and for one’s own personal spiritual walk. Once the ‘event’ has happened in your life all sorts of adjustments were now required in your life. The Holy Spirit literally has put you on another path … of understanding and enlightenment as He walks with you, teaches you, guides you, and illuminates the scriptures to you. This ‘revelation’ will take you much farther down the road of personal spiritual growth, but it also brings you into the realm of conflict and cost. But they are necessary to God’s end in your life.
Obviously then those who don’t know this experience it raises the question: “How do you get it?” “It seems quite clear, but we haven’t got it!” And I would ask these questions of them: “Do you have a truly undivided heart for the Lord?”, “Is your heart solely set upon the Lord to know Him in a deeper way?” “Do you truly desire to be filled completely with the Holy Spirit?” If one’s heart is truly set in pursuit of Him, you will find Him. It may not be in a day or an hour. It may come over time or in a flash. But once the illumination and indwelling happens you move into another realm of understanding and almost everything in your point of view changes, and your values change, and your standards change, and your insight changes. It may take months or a moment but once it happens you will say, “I have changed! Something has happened to me. I no longer can accept what I used to accept!” How this all happens does not matter, but that it does is the most important thing. Paul prayed for others he wrote to for this ‘enlightenment’. Let us also pray for others that they too might have this experience of illumination and indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit, and that ALL of the Lord’s people would have it.