REVIVAL through "KOINONIA"??
Posted by: revival4 <revival4@...>
book about a Revival that occurred in Papua New Guinea during the
late 1970's and on into the 1980's. Really, this Revival was based
around all the things we have been discussing lately - the wonderful
SIMPLICITY of New Testament Christianity. -They learnt to do
everything just as they saw it written in Acts.
It all started when some missionaries and nurses at a mission
hospital repented deeply and were filled with the Holy Spirit. This
movement soon spread outside the hospital and God challenged
them to start living 'church life' as they saw it in the Bible. When
somebody repented, instead of waiting for WEEKS or MONTHS
afterward, they were baptized in the river STRAIGHT AWAY and
prayed-for to receive the Holy Spirit. Healings started to occur.
Demons were being cast out. They were led to cut down on
'sermons' and allow the members of the body to minister to one
another in their meetings. The spiritual gifts began to flow amongst
ALL believers, just like in the Bible. "Ordinary" Christians were
encouraged to take communion in their homes and to baptize
people. The whole thing simply exploded and spread from village to
village! In a way it was a Revival "of the people". -The 'everyday'
believer being empowered to do the work of the kingdom.
And all they were doing were the 'SIMPLE' things. -Just getting
filled with the Holy Spirit and having 'koinonia'-type fellowship and
doing the basic things found in the New Testament. Suddenly the
Holy Spirit could flow.
Several emails from readers about this concept are below:
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From: Rick Roman <wonderlakebicycle@yahoo.com>
"How Should We Come Together as a Church?"
-by Rick Roman.
The way we assemble in church today is not the way the Bible
teaches to assemble. Church should be a supernatural happening
with God. We should have a divine encounter with The Holy Spirit.
Much of the structure we have today stops the Lord from moving
through His people. We are to be building a habitation for the Lord.
1 Corinthians 14:26-40 is a picture of how we are to come together.
The New American Standard Version says:
"What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one
has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an
interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." (v 26).
New Living Translation says: "Well, my brothers and sisters, let's
summarize what I am saying. When you meet, one will sing, another
will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one
will speak in an unknown language, while another will interpret what
is said. But everything that is done must be useful to all and build
them up in the Lord."
This does not sound like a pastor getting up and giving his 5 point message.
No, its sounds like a body ministry to me. The Holy Spirit coming
forth from every member, from every part of the body. Jesus is the
head of the church.
***********************
From: "Wendy Wilcox" <wwilcox@wideopenwest.com>
Our home fellowship is very small, just five adults and one child on
a consistent basis, but the Lord has given us something very special:
each of us would do anything to meet the needs of the others. We
are deeply involved in each other's lives, both in prayer and in practical
things. When one of us rejoices, we all rejoice, and if one of us
struggles, we all struggle with him or her. We see each other as I
understand Christians should see their brothers and sisters in the
Lord--none of us is perfect, but all of us make room for each other's
gifts and weaknesses. We all want the same thing: for the Lord to
TRULY have His way in our lives. No games, and to borrow from
Keith Green, no compromise. As often as is practical we eat together
before we meet together, and everyone knows that our home and our
table is always open to each of them and any guests they may want
to bring, without notice, if they're hungry or need a place to stay.
This is what I understand "normal" Christianity - the Christianity of the
Bible - to be. It isn't rocket science, it's right there in the Book for
everyone to read. Why do we insist on making it so difficult? Can we
really call ourselves His children if we won't allow ourselves to be
inconvenienced for each other? Was Jesus inconvenienced, just a
little bit, for us?
*************************
From: "John England" <johnengland1@bellsouth.net>
I think you really hit on something else of tremendous importance,
too, in regards to fellowship in the Body of Christ. I have been
hungering for true body fellowship for a long time, and it doesn't
seem to hardly even exist in the church anymore. And our brothers
and sisters, never having experienced it, don't know what they are
missing! I truly believe that we will have that glorious fellowship
again when we repent of our worldly mindedness and determine to
obey the Lord's commandment to (agape) love one another so much
that we will begin again to gather in houses for daily communion,
pot luck meals and fellowship, followed by Holy Spirit led times of
body ministry and gifts as described in 1 Corinthians 14.
Can anyone deny that this is the biblical pattern that was given to us,
or try to say that things are fine the way they are in the church, with
no power, no true fellowship in the Biblical sense, and our love of one
another waxed so cold that we only want to see each other once a
week, if that often, and don't really want anyone to even know where
we live? If we will only do this - begin to come together daily in this
manner, will we not begin again to see the power, the miracles, the
healings, the maturing of the saints unto the measure of the stature
of the fullness of Christ, the oneness that Jesus prayed for? And the
love for one another that proves that we are His disciples?
John 13:34-35: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love
one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one
to another."