I read some statements that General André Cox made at The Salvation Army National Advisory Organizations Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, April 21-24, 2016. The theme of the conference was “Expect Change.” The General’s comments reminded me of these biblical concepts:
Christ-followers are called to come together as His body to listen directly to God and then allow the Spirit to freely flow among us, using each one of us to build up one another. (1 Corinthians 14:26) Then we are called to go back into our daily lives as Christ’s witnesses and let the Spirit freely flow through us, wherever we are, as we: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) “Quench not the Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19)
What the General said at NAOC 2016:
“We have seen so many testimonies of God at work in people’s lives. God is intervening in the world, even amid the chaos because He wants all to experience change and transformation. And God expects us to be part of the process — not spectators sitting by watching things happen.” –General André Cox
“Never has there been a time when people were more engrossed with communicating, but who is really listening? The virtual environment cannot replace looking someone in the eye, talking directly to them and knowing that they listen. God must get frustrated with us because He keeps talking, but do we listen? He speaks through nature, through experiences and other people, and of course, though His Word. But He has spoken most clearly to us through Jesus. When God sent Jesus, He gave us a clear example of how to order and live our lives. But it’s never been harder to listen to Jesus. Yet He continues to speak to us through all the days of our lives. The fact is, we are always in the presence of God. Our problem is that we are not aware of Him.” –General André Cox
Perhaps it is time for Christ-followers to gather in Jesus’ name, become aware of His presence in our midst, listen to His voice, and allow ordinary people freedom in the meeting to say and/or do whatever Jesus tells them to. This would build them up in holy boldness so that they could go and be aware of God’s presence in their daily lives and say and/or do whatever He tells them to.
Here are some more thoughts from General Cox. And here’s more about learning to flow in the Holy Spirit.
