RM Value 3 - Spirit Empowered

Below is a re-post blog from our dear friends at PLANT NIJMEGEN outlining the key values our network of churches (Relational Mission) holds dear. We recently sent a wonderful couple called Ben and Mikka Parker to be part of the core team that is pioneering the church plant. Ben served as an elder at Redeemer, and Mikka was on staff. They helped plant Redeemer in 2015 and are going again. Head to the PLANT NIJMEGEN website to find out more.

As we pursue our mission to plant churches, it is absolutely vital to clarify on which foundations we seek to build these churches. We identify 3 maindoctrinal values. We seek to build churches that are

1. Word based
2. Grace filled
3. Spirit empowered.

Word based because we want to build upon the blueprints of scripture.
Grace filled as this is how God relates to us and we are called to relate to one another.
Spirit empowered as we believe that Jesus builds his church through the work of the Holy Spirit.

In this blog post we will look at what it means to be a Spirit empowered church.

We believe that Jesus builds his church through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s desire to empower us for Christian life and witness and we count on him to move in power both in our meetings as a church, and in our daily lives as his disciples.

As part of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) we see the Holy Spirit actively present throughout the entirety of the bible. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit played a specific role in empowering certain individuals (such as Judges, Kings, Prophets) to be used greatly by God and guide his people; but one of them, the prophet Joel, prophesied with expectancy that there would be a time coming when God would pour out his Spirit on all people (Joel 2:28-29). Jesus reiterated this prophecy and told his disciples that he would soon fill them with his Holy Spirit (John 14:26).

On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), we see that promise fulfilled. A group of believers are all filled with the Spirit together at one time: They felt a rushing wind, some began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them, and they were empowered to spread the good news of the Kingdom of God. We continue to see believers being filled with the Spirit and empowered with heavenly boldness throughout the New Testament. Not only does the Holy Spirit live in and mark us as believers, but he also empowers us to be his witness to every nation on earth (Acts 1:8). 

Baptism in the Spirit in the New Testament usually happens at the start of a believers journey after prayer and the laying on of hands. However, the apostle Paul urged the church in Ephesus, and we believe this still applies today, “Do not get drunk on wine… Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” In the original translation, the verb “to fill” is in the present tense, so in essence Paul is saying, “Be (continually) full of the Spirit”! We see this as an ongoing action, not just a one-and-done event when first submitting to Christ.

As Jesus’ followers, we are a people of the Spirit! We believe, and even expect, that the Holy Spirit will work among us and that all the gifts in Scripture are available to build and empower the church today. We believe that being filled with the Holy Spirit is available to each believer who seeks to receive him and that the Spirit alone keeps a church flourishing and full of power and life.

God speaks in general ways through the world around us showing us his existence, and specifically through his word so we may know him, and also by his Spirit speaking into specific areas of our lives and changing our hearts to be aligned with his. The Holy Spirit makes the Word living and active and brings conviction to our hearts, through words of wisdom from others, impressions, dreams or miracles. It is crucial that the Word and Spirit go hand-in-hand, and we test and interpret when the Spirit speaks to us, to ensure what we’re hearing is in line with what the bible teaches. Furthermore, we believe that the manifestation of the Spirit is given to the body of believers as we hear God together and build each other up (1 Cor. 14:26).

On a personal level, we see the fruit of those who live by the Spirit results in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:23). We believe that the church is more than just a Sunday meeting; we are sent to be a blessing to our local communities and to every corner of the world. The Holy Spirit empowers us to be Christ’s witness and example of his goodness in our lives, which is shown in the way that we treat people with the fruit of his Spirit (kindness, gentleness, etc). We aim to be a people who are overflowing with these traits of the Spirit and who are wholeheartedly sharing the good news of the Gospel in our spheres of influence. Through the Spirit, we get to enjoy the delight of the Triune God and share that with others.

We want to be a church empowered by and fully relying on the Holy Spirit because we see that Jesus equips his church through the power of his Spirit. There are different kinds of gifts, i.e; faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, words of knowledge, discernment of spirits, tongues and interpretation, and the Spirit distributes them as He determines (1 Cor. 12:4-11). We eagerly desire the spiritual gifts, taking the book of Acts as a vision of what church life can be rather than a record of what it once was. As a church plant team, for example, we have each received (many!) prophetic words from God, that have encouraged us to take this step of faith, and we continue to desire His direction and expect Him to lead us as we bless the city of Nijmegen and all of The Netherlands. We believe that the local church should enjoy the presence, power, fruit and gifts of God’s Spirit and we continue to earnestly desire it!

Beverly Meijers
Part of the Plant Nijmegen team

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