If you want the Holy Spirit to move, first you have to move Him. Do not expect the Spirit to move if we just wait for it. We cannot walk in the Spirit unless we move our feet.
Now.. the Spirit is able to move only in a limited way in many churches. Why is this? Because of human organization. Human organizations always quench the Spirit of God. The degree to which the Spirit is quenched depends upon the degree of human organization.
I will just outline a number of ways that organizations quench the Spirit of God...to consider..
Organizations do not consider Christ alone (as the Holy Spirit in their midst) to be the only one and true leader. In Catholic there is Pope, Archbishop, bishop etc etc.. top down heirarchy like this.. also in Anglican.... in pentecostal.. many have a President or Senior Pastor as 'leader', a mini-Pope if you will.. others have group of respected brothers or elder "leaders"... but in the church of God, the Holy Spirit alone is leader. Don't misunderstand what I am saying. I am not saying that there are no leaders in church. that .everyone can do what they like.. no structure or authorities..this is chaos not order..and some pentecostal/charismatic churches are like this!.. I am saying there are no man-made leaders and structure in church. I am saying that a leader in the church should not be a man-made organized role and position.. it is a function of your spiritual maturity in Christ..it depends whether you take the lead or not...and whether or not the other brothers see your maturity in Christ.. Do not wait for others to pray first.. you pray first.. take the lead. Do not wait for others to lead you in worship.. take the lead and worship yourself. Others will realize your maturity in Christ, they will let you lead them in prayer. This is how to be a leader in God's church. It is not that you have studied for 4 years at bible college and now you are qualified to lead a church...and you pass a job interview. This is not God's way. This is man's way, the world's way. In God's church there are no titles.. only in human organizations do they have titles.. Reverend.. Pastor.. Apostle.. "father".. titles like this.. don't exist in God's church, only in organizations.
Church organizations are just like corporate organizations in many respects. They have some leader(s) who were appointed to the role by promotion or succeeding in job application.. and they have a group of "customers".. the people who attend.. and they provide a spiritual service to those customers. Well.. in the early church the concept of a "church service" did not exist. Everyone just met together and broke bread in simplicity to remember Christ and fellowship in the Holy Spirit.
Consider book of Acts... read it many times to see what church is like.. in early church they prayed and sought God's will and Holy Spirit gave them instruction. Peter or James or Paul did not stand up and say "I am important apostle, so you must all do what I am telling you". They all were brethren.. apostles were more slaves of Christ and servants than leaders.. they led not from top down but by example.. just as Christ did not lead from top down and say "I am the Christ, you must do what i say".. no.. he led by example.. he humbled himself to be below the ones whom He was leading. He lovingly lead the sheep from the front, not driving them from behind with a whip.
In many organizations there are 'councils' and it is majority vote (i.e. democracy system). People vote according to what they think in their own mind or opinion, and do not consult the Spirit of God together and wait for His answer like they did in the early church. Organization may reach a decision in a 1 hour meeting and majority of vote (democracy). But in the church of God, the brethren meet and pray together (possibly for up to 1 week or more, depending) and do not reach a decision until the Spirit has led all the members to agree and reach a conclusion. Also, they do not approach the Holy Spirit with their intended 'plan of action', what they think is right or best. They will seek the Lord for what He wants alone, without any other motive.. and not come to Him with a presumptuous opinion.
Prophesy .. which Paul said we should covet, is most important spiritual gift.. for building up the church and letting the Spirit flow.. but few churches have this. Every church has music , organ at least, or music group, band..or youth group, or Sunday school group.. this is considered an important part.. but few allow or practice prophesy in the service. So.. the Spirit cannot flow in this way either.
Organizations also have set roles and functions. The clearest and worst is clergy/laity distinction. Christ said we are all brethren, but organizations organize the church into 'common' and 'special' brethren. Only the special brothers with special theological qualification are allowed to function in the service. God intended each member of the body to use their gifts and calling for the church. But what is the situation in organizations? There is one or two or a few "leaders", pastors or priests. Only these specially gifted or chosen people are permitted to function in the church service in a free way, and the majority of congregation are limited by what they can do or say. For example, a newly saved believer is not allowed to preach an inspired message. A pastor or priest only can break the bread and bless the wine. But they are no different than you.. they too are only members of the body.. they are not the Head.. only Christ is the Head. The Holy Spirit who wants to function through each and every member is quenched by the organizational structures.
Organizations.. are concerned about how many people attend and how much money they are making. In God's church they don't worry about this. They just trust the Lord to provide.. and the Lord adds to the church daily whom He will. But organization has to try and attract people and keep people, and bring them into the door with gimmicks, humor, famous preachers or people.. or even with good music and good social activities. But this is not the Lord's way either. God's church.. if only 10 meet together.. they praise the Lord, it is His will.. He can increase or decrease their number as He desires.
So why is it important for every member to use their spiritual gifts? The church is the Body of Christ. Now suppose that in your body your leg or arm was not allowed to move.. only your head.. eyes.. you would be sick and disabled. This is the condition of organizations that limit and restrict the function of individual members.. they are sick or disabled.. they have issues.. and God cannot use them much. He can use them, but only in a limited way...He could use them much more if there was no human organization.
Further.. this is what organizations do.. they want the lower and common members to function only in unspiritual tasks.. they are allowed to hand out books or pamphlets.. make cups of coffee or tea, things like this.. but are not allowed to use spiritual gifts in the service. Only the pastor or priest or leader or chosen person is allowed to do that. Maybe God has saved a homeless man.. he comes into the door.. the pastor sees him only as a homeless man.. but this man .. has an inspired message from God.. To think of it. a homeless person in raggy smelly clothes delivering a sermon to the congregation! This rarely, if ever, happens in organized churches. Why? Not because they don't love God, not because they don't love homeless people, not because they don't know their Bibles l.. it is because they are organized by man...
In organized churches.. everything is organized by man, not the Spirit. For example.. music is organized before the service.. e.g. worship or music group leader... consults with pastor.. asks what the sermon is about.. worship leader chooses songs that match the pastor's preaching... we may think this is so well organized.. how great is it that the songs match the preaching... but what if the Spirit does not want those songs.. how do you know? You cannot presume, you cannot know unless you ask Him. The Spirit is the Lord.. not third lesser person of the Trinity, not less than Christ or the Father.. the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.. He is there and as much Lord as if Christ were standing there in the flesh. Now maybe you know why God gets so frustrated with the organizations, why they can suffer some things, why God does not bless them in a full way..God was very strict with the Israelites.. they had to do things exactly as He said.. and when they presumed .. God was not happy. We may think we can do church however we like.. but no.. it's not our church, it's God's church.. we have to do things as He leads and directs.. at least we have to have the heart to do that, if not the practice.
To experience the full flowing and move of the Spirit really the only solution is to leave the organization and meet in simplicity where everyone treats everyone else as simply a brother in Christ, no matter how long they have been saved for and regardless of theological qualification. The brethren movement tried to do this. But brethren also became an organization structure, with rules and regulations. So.. this problem will not be resolved before Christ returns.. but Christ will fix it when He comes back.. He will pull down all the man-made organizations one day. We cannot fix the organizations.. and God is not a fix-it man, a repair man, for things that He did not build in the first place. God is a builder, He really only builds up to perfection or pulls down and destroys to nothing. Consider what He did do the Temple in old Jerusalem. I know I've been in organizations that I think it would be great if God would just fix something here and fix something there..the people are lovely, but the organization remains.. it is like trying to fix the paintwork on the Titanic.. the ship is going down.. because God didn't built it in the first place.. so it will sink... I need to jump off this sinking ship. We may think.. "well this organization is not so bad.. at least they don't believe in homosexuality".. well, when will we draw the line? My line is drawn when they start not to use the bible and not believe the bible is completely true.. that is my line.. that is when I leave.. for other people.. maybe their line is when they start to marry homosexuals.. well no matter where we draw the line.. the line will be drawn when Christ comes back.. there will be no option to stay in man's organizations.
This is church:
Acts 2:46 "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,"
Believers from all walks of life.. Jew and Gentile.. of many varying opinions over doctrine, they all met together with gladness and sincerity and simplicity. They met together not because they had to , but because they wanted to...not because others believed the same doctrine and opinion as them.. not to find a wife.. not to find friends.. not to have a social life.. not to get some spiritual service from a specially gifted preacher.. they met together and ate together because they saw they were all family, brethren in Christ, and they needed each other.
