House Church Talk - Directed by the Spirit

[goodwordusa at att.net]

Peter said, "Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing.  
Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s 
house."   Acts 11:12

For those who are accustomed to being led of the Spirit, such words sound 
perfectly normal.  But to those who believe in Sola Scriptura, Peter's words 
sound dangerous or even Scripturally unsound.

I heard a very good brother in Christ on the radio just yesterday who warned 
against such practices as "being led by the Spirit of God" in any direct 
sense.  And I know many believers who would agree with his position, since I 
share that same theological background.  I no longer hold to that position, 
but I do respect and understand the teaching of Sola Scriptura, which is 
rooted in the Reformation struggle to break free of Papal authority.

While it would not be correct to say that God's Spirit is unable to direct 
events in the meetings of an IC or traditional church, we might expect an HC 
(housechurch) to be more open to such direction.  But that is not always the 
case.  There is no one doctrinal position held by all housechurches.  There 
is no comprehensive body of HC doctrine.

As the reasons are many and varied for having church at home, so also the 
doctrinal positions of those who meet and worship at home are many.  Just 
about any kind of doctrinal slant one may expect to see in an IC environment 
may also be seen in housechurches. ( In fact, the first HC group I ever came 
across were Philippinos in California who were Roman Catholic.)

But most of the folks who meet and worship at home seem to be more open to 
the idea of God's leading, and hoping to be directed by the Spirit of God in 
their gatherings.  At least that has been my experience so far in meeting and 
chatting with believers who practice HC.

So what about you?  Do you expect the Lord to direct your life?  Is your 
local fellowship open to being directed of the Lord in each meeting?

Jim