{"id":767,"date":"2016-02-09T17:14:05","date_gmt":"2016-02-09T17:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/?p=767"},"modified":"2016-06-02T14:39:50","modified_gmt":"2016-06-02T14:39:50","slug":"why-we-must-become-spirit-contemporary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/2016\/02\/09\/why-we-must-become-spirit-contemporary\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We Must Become Spirit Contemporary"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Doug Beacham<\/strong><\/p>\n

In January at the Synergize 2016<\/a> Conference in Orlando, Florida, led by\u00a0Dr. James Davis, I had the opportunity to meet Leon Fontaine, pastor of\u00a0Springs Church in Canada. With six campuses in four Canadian cities and\u00a0a Canadian television presence, Fontaine focuses on what he calls \u201cSpirit\u00a0Contemporary\u201d as an effective means of reaching people for Christ. I\u2019m reading\u00a0a pre-release of his forthcoming book, The Spirit Contemporary Life<\/em><\/a>. It is one of\u00a0the most inspiring and relevant books on evangelism I have read.\u00a0Fontaine\u2019s early life experience as a paramedic put him into contact with\u00a0people living on the edge of life. He shares numerous stories of the miraculous\u00a0power of Jesus, bringing healing to people and also leading people into personal\u00a0relationships with Jesus.<\/p>\n

What I like about Fontaine is that he is not the caricature of a typical evangelist,\u00a0either in the pulpit or on television. He is down to earth and low key, yet\u00a0passionate about Jesus. Center stage is Jesus, not the evangelist.\u00a0On his website<\/a>, Fontaine writes: \u201cWe believe Jesus Christ came to the earth so\u00a0that all nations and people might have life and live it to the fullest. Our purpose\u00a0is to reach the world for Him, and the most effective way to do this is by both\u00a0functioning powerfully in the Spirit and by adapting ourselves to best connect with\u00a0those we aim to reach. We call this being Spirit Contemporary.\u201d<\/p>\n

For months as the IPHC has prepared to focus on our core value of Holiness, I\u00a0have found a stirring in my heart that it is imperative we remember, and discover\u00a0afresh, that holiness is not isolation or withdrawal from the world. Holiness is a\u00a0witness to the world of the glory of God and God\u2019s vision for abundant life for this\u00a0world.<\/p>\n

Abraham, the father of the faithful, was\u00a0called to live in God\u2019s presence in such a\u00a0way as to be a blessing to the world (see\u00a0Genesis 12:2\u20133; 22:17). His descendants\u00a0were called to be a holy nation among the\u00a0nations of the world. They were separated\u00a0from the nations in order to be among the\u00a0nations as a people who lived by covenant\u00a0obedience to the Creator of all peoples\u2014\u00a0to be a witness of what it meant to live by\u00a0grace, trusting in God as King.<\/p>\n

Israel did not keep the covenant and\u00a0failed to live as a people who would light\u00a0the way for the Gentiles. We believe that\u00a0one day Israel will be reconstituted as\u00a0that covenant people and the nations will\u00a0make their way to Jerusalem in fulfillment\u00a0of prophecy. But out of Israel, from among\u00a0this covenant people, God did fulfill His\u00a0promise through the lineage of David that\u00a0the Messiah would come. The Messiah is\u00a0Jesus of Nazareth, conceived by the Holy\u00a0Spirit, born of a virgin, and present among\u00a0us as the Son of God.<\/p>\n

The church is called to live as a\u00a0blessing to the world. Through Jesus, God\u00a0calls people from \u201cevery tribe and tongue\u00a0and people and nation\u201d (Revelation 5:9;\u00a014:6) to be\u00a0holy and serve\u00a0Him in the\u00a0world (1 Peter\u00a02:5, 9). Instead\u00a0of one ethnic\u00a0group in one\u00a0location,\u00a0now the holy\u00a0people of\u00a0God speak\u00a0thousands of\u00a0languages, are\u00a0in every city\u00a0and nation,\u00a0and are of\u00a0every color\u00a0and race.\u00a0I want to\u00a0invite us to\u00a0discover anew\u00a0that it means\u00a0to live as holy\u00a0people in\u00a0this unholy\u00a0world. To use\u00a0Fontaine\u2019s\u00a0engaging phrase, it means\u00a0for us to live \u201cSpirit\u00a0Contemporary.\u201d That is not a\u00a0rejection of the past; rather it\u00a0is an affirmation that Jesus is\u00a0the same yesterday, today, and\u00a0forever (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus is\u00a0always contemporary because\u00a0He is always Lord.<\/p>\n

If 2016 were the fullness of\u00a0time when the Messiah was\u00a0born, Jesus would dress like\u00a0us, not like a first century Jew\u00a0in Israel. Jesus would write\u00a0in the dirt and tweet on His\u00a0mobile device. Jesus would\u00a0call men by the seashore and\u00a0call women working at Google.\u00a0Jesus would heal lepers and\u00a0heal people with HIV. Jesus\u00a0would save a woman caught\u00a0in adultery and deliver men\u00a0addicted to pornography and\u00a0strip clubs. Jesus would feed\u00a0five thousand and give hope\u00a0to the millions trapped in\u00a0modern ghettos.<\/p>\n

Yes, Jesus would be a\u00a0threat to the Herods, the\u00a0Emperors, and\u00a0the Caiaphas\u2019s\u00a0of the modern\u00a0world. And\u00a0yes, modern\u00a0media would\u00a0lift Him up in\u00a0order to tear\u00a0Him down. And\u00a0yes, at the end\u00a0of the day, we\u00a0would crucify\u00a0Him before a\u00a0Congressional\u00a0Committee and\u00a0then display\u00a0Him as Enemy\u00a0Number One.\u00a0But Jesus\u00a0would be holy\u00a0among us.\u00a0And He would\u00a0call us to be\u00a0holy with Him.\u00a0And He and\u00a0we are called\u00a0to be \u201choly\u00a0contemporary.\u201d<\/p>\n

The call of the prophet Isaiah stirs\u00a0my heart as I reflect on holiness and\u00a0evangelism. The call occurred in the midst\u00a0of a national crisis, one that reflects a loss\u00a0of national leadership and direction. In the\u00a0midst of that confusion, God speaks with\u00a0His vision: \u201cHoly, holy, holy is the Lord of\u00a0hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory\u201d\u00a0(Isaiah 6:3 NASB). Did you catch that? God\u00a0sees the whole earth as full of His glory!<\/p>\n

I suspect we would respond the same\u00a0way as Isaiah, we are \u201cundone, unclean.\u201d\u00a0But the revelation of divine holiness always\u00a0wants to reach people like us and \u201ctouch\u201d\u00a0us from the altar. It\u2019s appropriate that one of\u00a0our earliest Pentecostal Holiness magazines\u00a0was Live Coals of Fire. Sanctifying power,\u00a0evidenced in the removal of iniquity and\u00a0purging of sin, is always followed by God\u2019s\u00a0call, \u201cWho will go for us?\u201d<\/p>\n

In our contemporary world, let us be the\u00a0ones who will respond, \u201cHere am I! Send\u00a0me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This article was published in\u00a0the February\u00a02016 issue of Encourage<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[180,108,134,46,39,290],"class_list":{"0":"post-767","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bishops-blog","8":"tag-180","9":"tag-bishop-doug-beacham","10":"tag-bishops-blog","11":"tag-doug-beacham","12":"tag-february","13":"tag-iphc-general-superintendent","14":"entry"},"title_es":"\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 nos debe convertirse en esp\u00edritu contempor\u00e1neo","content_es":"Por Doug Beacham<\/strong> En enero de 2016 en la Conferencia Synergize en Orlando, Florida, dirigido por el Dr. James Davis, tuve la oportunidad de conocer a Leon Fontaine, pastor de la Iglesia Springs, en Canad\u00e1. Con seis campus en cuatro ciudades canadienses y una presencia televisi\u00f3n canadiense, Fontaine se centra en lo que \u00e9l llama \"esp\u00edritu contempor\u00e1neo\", como un medio eficaz para llegar a las personas para Cristo. Estoy leyendo un pre-lanzamiento de su pr\u00f3ximo libro, El Esp\u00edritu la vida contempor\u00e1nea. Es uno de los libros m\u00e1s inspiradores y relevantes en la evangelizaci\u00f3n que he le\u00eddo. experiencia de la vida temprana de Fontaine como param\u00e9dico le puso en contacto con las personas que viven en el borde de la vida. \u00c9l comparte numerosas historias del poder milagroso de Jes\u00fas, con lo que la curaci\u00f3n de las personas y tambi\u00e9n a las personas que conducen a relaciones personales con Jes\u00fas. Lo que me gusta Fontaine es que no es la caricatura de un evangelista t\u00edpica, ya sea en el p\u00falpito o en la televisi\u00f3n. \u00c9l es a la tierra y bajo llave, sin embargo, un apasionado de Jes\u00fas. el centro del escenario es Jes\u00fas, no el evangelista. En su p\u00e1gina web Fontaine escribe: \"Creemos que Jesucristo vino a la tierra para que todas las naciones y pueblos tengan vida y vivirla al m\u00e1ximo. Nuestro objetivo es alcanzar el mundo para \u00e9l, y la forma m\u00e1s eficaz de hacerlo es por tanto el funcionamiento de gran alcance en el Esp\u00edritu y por adapt\u00e1ndonos a conectar mejor con los que se pretende alcanzar. A esto le llamamos siendo Esp\u00edritu contempor\u00e1neo. \"Durante meses como el IISP ha preparado para centrarse en nuestro valor fundamental de la santidad, he encontrado una agitaci\u00f3n en mi coraz\u00f3n que es imperativo que recordamos, y descubrir de nuevo, que la santidad no es el aislamiento o la retirada desde el mundo. La santidad es un testimonio al mundo de la gloria de Dios y la visi\u00f3n de Dios para la vida abundante para este mundo. Abraham, el padre de los fieles, fue llamado a vivir en la presencia de Dios de una manera tal que sea una bendici\u00f3n para el mundo (v\u00e9ase G\u00e9nesis 12: 2-3; 22:17). Sus descendientes fueron llamados a ser una naci\u00f3n santa entre las naciones del mundo. Ellos fueron separados de las naciones con el fin de estar entre las naciones como un pueblo que viv\u00edan de la obediencia al pacto con el Creador de todos los pueblos- a ser testigo de lo que significaba vivir por gracia, confiando en Dios como Rey. Israel no cumpli\u00f3 el pacto y no vivir como un pueblo que iluminan el camino de las naciones. Creemos que un d\u00eda Israel ser\u00e1 reconstituido como el pueblo del pacto y las naciones har\u00e1 su camino a Jerusal\u00e9n, en cumplimiento de la profec\u00eda. Pero fuera de Israel, entre este pueblo del pacto, Dios cumpli\u00f3 su promesa a trav\u00e9s del linaje de David que el Mes\u00edas vendr\u00eda. El Mes\u00edas es Jes\u00fas de Nazaret, concebido por el Esp\u00edritu Santo, naci\u00f3 de una virgen, y presente entre nosotros como el Hijo de Dios. La iglesia est\u00e1 llamada a vivir como una bendici\u00f3n para el mundo. A trav\u00e9s de Jes\u00fas, Dios llama a la gente de \"toda tribu, lengua, pueblo y naci\u00f3n\" (Apocalipsis 5: 9; 14: 6) para ser santo y servirle en el mundo (1 Pedro 2: 5, 9). En lugar de un grupo \u00e9tnico en un solo lugar, ahora el pueblo santo de Dios hablan miles de lenguas, son en cada ciudad y naci\u00f3n, y son de todos los colores y razas. Quiero que nos invitan a descubrir de nuevo que significa vivir como personas santas en este mundo profano. Para usar la frase de acoplamiento de Fontaine, que significa para nosotros vivir Eso no es un rechazo del pasado \"esp\u00edritu contempor\u00e1neo.\"; m\u00e1s bien es una afirmaci\u00f3n de que Jes\u00fas es el mismo ayer, hoy y siempre (Hebreos 13: 8). Jes\u00fas es siempre contempor\u00e1nea porque \u00c9l es siempre Se\u00f1or. Si 2016 fueron la plenitud de los tiempos, cuando naci\u00f3 el Mes\u00edas, Jes\u00fas se visten como nosotros, no como un primer siglo Judio en Israel. Jes\u00fas iba a escribir en la tierra y p\u00edo en su dispositivo m\u00f3vil. Jes\u00fas iba a llamar a los hombres por la orilla del mar y llamar a las mujeres que trabajan en Google. Jes\u00fas curar\u00eda leprosos y sanar a las personas con VIH. Jes\u00fas iba a salvar a una mujer sorprendida en adulterio y entregar hombres adictos a la pornograf\u00eda y la tira clubes. Jes\u00fas iba a alimentar a cinco mil y dar esperanza a los millones atrapados en guetos modernas. S\u00ed, Jes\u00fas ser\u00eda una amenaza para los Herodes, los emperadores, y los Caif\u00e1s de del mundo moderno. Y s\u00ed, los medios de comunicaci\u00f3n modernos se levante \u00e9l con el fin de romper \u00e9l hacia abajo. Y s\u00ed, al final del d\u00eda, nos crucif\u00edcale ante un Comit\u00e9 del Congreso y luego lo mostrar\u00e1 como el enemigo n\u00famero uno. Pero Jes\u00fas ser\u00eda santo entre nosotros. Y \u00c9l nos llama a ser santos con \u00e9l. Y \u00c9l y nosotros estamos llamados a ser \"santo contempor\u00e1neo.\" La llamada del profeta Isa\u00edas agita mi coraz\u00f3n al reflexionar sobre la santidad y evangelizaci\u00f3n. La llamada se produjo en medio de una crisis nacional, que refleja una p\u00e9rdida de liderazgo y la direcci\u00f3n nacional. En medio de esa confusi\u00f3n, Dios habla con su visi\u00f3n: \"Santo, santo, santo es el Se\u00f1or de los ej\u00e9rcitos; toda la tierra est\u00e1 llena de su gloria \"(Isa\u00edas 6: 3 NVI). \u00bfViste eso? Dios ve toda la tierra como llena de su gloria! Sospecho responder\u00edamos la misma forma que Isa\u00edas, que se \"deshacen, impuro.\" Sin embargo, la revelaci\u00f3n de la santidad divina siempre quiere llegar a la gente como nosotros y \"tacto\" nosotros desde el altar. Es apropiado que una de nuestras primeras revistas de Santidad Pentecostal fue brasas de fuego. Poder santificador, evidenciado en la eliminaci\u00f3n de la iniquidad y la purga del pecado, siempre es seguido por la llamada de Dios, \"\u00bfQui\u00e9n ir\u00e1 por nosotros?\" En nuestro mundo contempor\u00e1neo, seamos los que van a responder, \"Aqu\u00ed estoy yo! Env\u00edame. \"Este art\u00edculo fue publicado en la edici\u00f3n de febrero 2016 Anime<\/a> .<\/em>","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/02\/PHOTO-1-Beacham-2-e1464878354636.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-cn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}