Winona Conference Part 1 – Intro to the Spiritual Community

Saints in Chicago, it is together. You are to live with one another, fall in love with one another, care for one another, marry one another, yeah, grow old with one another, and bury one another, with Christ as the centrality of your experience. You can’t have Ephesians: Put on the whole armor of God. I never did like that anyway. Thank God that’s not to me. Thank God that’s not to me. I can’t do that—that helmet’s too big, that sword’s too heavy, that shield’s got holes in it. I don’t care how many times a preacher preaches all this stuff to you and tells you this is what you’re supposed to do and believe. That’s not true. We say in Texas, that’s a bunch of bull. It is a bunch of bull. Now in Texas, it’s okay to say that; up here, it’s not. It’s all right. You can say it from the pulpit. It’s a bunch of bull. It was written for a church to put on the whole armor of God. Not the individual. Say, Praise the Lord! That’s liberation. Philippians is not to you; that was written to a church. There’s not a verse in it for you. Colossians was written to the church in Colossae.

But Gene, what about 1 and 2 Timothy? Ah ha! But your name’s not Timothy. And your name’s not Titus. But here’s what I want you to know: Those three books were written to church planters, and the subject under discussion was how to plant the church and raise her up, and then leave her under the headship of Christ. And you know what? That’s all the epistles of Paul except one. And that’s Philemon. And it’s ten verses long, or eleven or twelve. You can have that. That’s great. It’s yours. You can have that. Now, the problem is that it’s discussing slavery. So, if you’re ever made a slave, that book will be for you. All the rest of them are for that church. Oh, to God that you would have your eyes open and see this.

You belong in that community. And you know I said she’s rare, and I will tell you without blinking, every one of us has got to go before the Lord and settle our relationship to her. To her. My great-grandma’s name was Garcia. I’m really leaning on my great-grandmother tonight. There’s Spanish blood in this body, and the rest of its Cajun. I tell you, brothers and sisters in Chicago, treat holy what you have. And this weekend we are here, not to deepen our relationship to one another, not to become more caring or loving, but to know Him better in more ways—more ways—more ways. And the more that spoke drives toward the hub, the more you will notice that you are very, very close to another spoke, headed in the same direction.

Now that’s my message to the brothers and sisters in Chicago, Illinois. It is Christ to be your center and your circumference, and He is the wellspring of that spiritual body of believers. It’s not doctrines. It’s not teachings. It’s not concepts. It’s not visions. It’s not goals. It’s not movements. It’s not standards. It is your Lord. Know Him. Praise the Lord.