Recently I read an article written by Pastor Andrew Brunson. You may recall he pastored a small church in Turkey until Turkish authorities imprisoned him on charges of espionage. It was baloney. An Islamic nation decided to make an example of a Christian leader by putting him through the wringer. He was locked up for two years for his faith while a kangaroo court deliberated what to do with him. An international outcry built over this injustice. Between that and many prayers on his behalf, he was finally released and returned to the USA in 2018. President Trump personally welcomed him home. His testimony has made him famous. He is giving warning to all who believe in Christ that persecution is coming.
I believe his warning. Turkish prisons have always had an ugly reputation. The fact that he endured there for 2 years earns my respect in a big way. I’m not sure I could do that. Something he said bothers me, though. He cried out to the Lord nonstop, yet never felt His presence draw near. FOR 2 YEARS? IN PRISON FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL? He has concluded God was testing him. Perhaps he’s right, but that seems uncharacteristically cold for the Lord I serve. It bugged me, so I inquired about it. I count on the Lord to uphold me through trials; if He withdraws from me, I’m sunk. The morning after I prayed, then slept, He spoke to me. This is what he said.
Him: He could not be comforted, because he did not receive My Comforter.
Me (somewhat shocked): Then how did he endure, Lord?
Him: My word abides in him. It is unbreakable; therefore, he was not broken.
Pastor Brunson states he broke many times. Emotional breakdowns are not the same as renouncing Christ, though. His faith stood, even if it was shaken. Whole denominations have erred, declaring Holy Spirit baptism is automatically bestowed at the time of salvation, and the evidence of speaking in other tongues is no longer part of it.
My response is this: did Jesus ever give us unnecessary instruction? Then why did He breathe on them and tell them to receive the Holy Spirit? That plainly implies they had a choice. If the Lord does not change, then how could He justify taking the choice away from us since then? But if it automatically comes with salvation, then that’s exactly what He did. Why was Peter sent to Cornelius in Acts, if it’s automatic? Why did Paul have to update Apollos’ ministry, which was winning converts but not imbuing anyone with the Holy Spirit?
He is the One who conforms us to the image of Christ. There is nothing automatic about it. It takes time to bring every part of our lives into submission to Him. Every adjustment He makes in us requires us to choose this day whom we will serve. Salvation is a work in progress, not a get out of hell free card. Can two walk together, unless they be agreed? The Holy Spirit is also God, perfect in His ways, so to walk with Him, it’s OUR direction that has to change in order to remain in His company. If we walk away from Him, it won’t take long for an unclean spirit to take His place at our side. Be careful who you find yourself agreeing with!
Pastor Brunson did good when all is said and done, but God wasn’t testing him. His stubborness toward Christ’s instruction made things harder on himself. I’m not throwing stones. I make things harder on myself than they have to be too, sometimes. Two days after the Lord shared His insight with me, I woke to receive another one, much more personal. You see, I struggle with depression. We all have our weaknesses and that’s one of mine. This was His word to me:
YOU are not comforted because you do not rely on My Comforter as you should.
He was right. I’d let weeks go by without praying in tongues. It’s the only way I can actively give Him freedom within me to do His work, my act of faith He can use to work His miracles in my life. Paul said, “I thank my God I speak in tongues more than you all.” Why? Because it freed the Spirit to comfort Him in His labors and the persecutions he endured. Paul would have been overwhelmed by loneliness, otherwise. If the great apostle needed the Comforter, how much more do we?