Biblethoughts

Gathering and Sorting

My last post centered on Jesus telling his disciples that the way to life is narrow and few find it. He said this in the midst of the multitudes that were responding to his ministry. I shared this at a church meeting recently and a brother made the comment that he had never thought of Jesus as being exclusionary.

So I wanted to offer a few more thoughts on this thread, and it isn't about whether or not Jesus is ever exclusionary. It is simply to look at some scripture. Sometimes scriptures give us teachings and doctrines. Sometimes they just minister truth to us. These are to just minister truth, not to say anything specific.

God often gathers. We are in a time of gathering. Jesus called it "the acceptable year of the Lord," or "the year of the Lord's favor."

Luke 4:18-19
¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

When Jesus said this he was quoting Isaiah 61 but he left out a phrase "and the day of vengeance of our God." He did this because he was proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor, not a day of vengeance. We are in a time of great favor from our Father in Heaven. It is a time of openness and invitation. Here are some examples.

Matthew 11:28-30
²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 9:12
¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 9:35-36
³⁵ Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus still has compassion on the crowds, knowing our weaknesses and infirmities. He understands what we are going through and he intercedes for us before our Father in Heaven. We are still in the year of the Lord's favor. We are still in a time of gathering.

But there will come a time of sorting and sometimes this message gets forgotten in the process of showing mercy and gathering unto the Lord.

Matthew 13:47-48
⁴⁷ “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.

A part of the work and manifestation of the kingdom is a great gathering. But all who are gathered are not a part of the kingdom. If we don't share all of the message like Jesus did we end up keeping the truth from people who need to hear it.

Here are some examples of sorting.

Matthew 25:31-46 - These scriptures recount the story of a time of judgement where God separates everyone into one of two groups; "sheep" or "goats." The sheep are those who feed the hungry and thirsty, gave clothing away, looked after the sick and visited those in prison. The goats are those who didn't do these things. Living faith expresses itself in our actions in caring for others.

Matthew 22:2-14 - These scriptures recount the story of a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son and the invited guests were too busy to attend. So the king had his servants gather everyone they could find, both good and bad. When the king saw the guests in the wedding hall he noticed that there was a man who did not have the right clothes on and that man was thrown out. Then Jesus sais "for many are invited, but few are chosen."

Matthew 25:1-13 - These scriptures recount the story of the ten virgins. They took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were wise and had extra oil, five were foolish and did not. When the bridegroom finally arrived the five wise virgins had enough oil for their lamps to work, the five foolish ones had to leave to find more oil and when they got back they were not allowed in with the others. In fact, the Lord refused to let them in and said "I don't know you."

None of this is to say we shouldn't be full of faith is God's mercy to us, his forgiveness of our sins, his grace, or his hand on us for good. But is does show that we are in a time when many are being gathered to the kingdom. That's great. But there will come a time when all that are gathered will be sorted. We have to make sure that our faith is a living faith, a faith that expresses itself in our actions and how we treat people, in how we prepare ourselves for service and in how we wait upon the Lord.

Multitudes and a Narrow Gate

Sometimes we change God's Word. And sometimes we do it with "good" intentions. We let ourselves start to think that God wants a "good" world, a christian world, and that we, as christians, should be working to achieve that. If we are not careful, large groups (or multitudes) responding to what God is doing will move us to change God's teachings.

Matthew 4:23-25 (NKJV)
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. [24] Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. [25] Great multitudes followed Him-from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

Matthew describes Jesus doing amazing things. God was moving among his people, healing and delivering the sick and afflicted. Great multitudes responded to what God was doing. Then Jesus did something unusual.

Matthew 5:1-2 (NKJV)
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. [2] Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

Jesus took his disciples aside from the multitudes and started teaching them. He taught them fundamental truths that they needed to know. And near the end he taught them this:

Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV)
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. [14] Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Jesus wanted to make sure his disciples saw past the multitudes. We have areas around the world today where God is doing amazing things and great multitudes are responding. But the truth remains that the way to life is a narrow way and there are few who find it. This truth is consistent, whether you are in a place of "great revivals" or a place where God seems to be doing very little. In either situation the way to life is narrow.

But this is not a truth that is popular. We prefer the multitudes. We prefer believing that there is really a wide road to life, that we can change the world, that we can have a christian nation or planet. And we quit teaching the narrow path and start to slowly change God's teachings to accommodate our new vision.

The results can be terrible.

Luke 13:22-30 (NKJV)
And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. [23] Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, [24] "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. [25] When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,' [26] then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' [27] But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' [28] There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. [29] They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. [30] And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last."

There are those in the multitudes who believe they are saved because they are part of the multitude, because they eat and drink in the presence of what God is doing and see all the miracles. But if the narrow road is not preached and lived by God's ministers then some who are looking for the narrow way may miss it. The church may forget how to help the few who are looking for the narrow path to life because we are more excited by the multitudes.

Don't be distracted by multitudes. The gateway to life is narrow and few find it. Help everyone you can to understand this narrow way and encourage them to follow it. We all need encouragement to walk this path.

 

A Tale of Three Cities

There are three primary cities mentioned in the Bible. Yes, there are lots of cities mentioned, but sometimes when God talks about a city he is describing something more than just a physical place. He is also describing all the things that make a city "that" city; the spirit of the city, the culture, the governments, the lifestyle. It is withing this overall context that I make the statement that there are three primary cities mentioned in the Bible. One of them is Babylon. One is the Jerusalem on earth. The other is the Jerusalem that is not on earth, that is above.

Let's start with the great city Babylon.

Revelation 17
¹ One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. ² With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”

 ¹⁵ Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. ¹⁶ The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

Revelation 18
¹ After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. ² With a mighty voice he shouted:

   “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’
   She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,
   a haunt for every unclean bird,
   a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.
³ For all the nations have drunk
   the maddening wine of her adulteries.
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,
   and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven say:    “‘Come out of her, my people,’
   so that you will not share in her sins,
   so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
⁵ for her sins are piled up to heaven,
   and God has remembered her crimes.

The second city is Jerusalem here on earth.

Galatians 4
²⁴ These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. ²⁵ Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.

The third is the city of Jerusalem that is above.

Galatians 4
²⁶ But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷ For it is written:

   “Be glad, barren woman,
   you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
   you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
   than of her who has a husband.”

Hebrews 12
²² But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³ to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

These are the only places we can "live." These cities contain the only cultures, the only governments, the only lifestyles, the only spirits that we can become a part of. And we will live in one of these three cities. Our hearts, our way of thinking, our desires, our hopes, all of these things will shape what city we "live" in.

Babylon is a city of great sin and spiritual adultery. It is important to note that the call of God is to come out of her. There is no call of God to save or try to redeem Babylon. She is reserved for judgement.

Jerusalem on earth is a city in great religious bondage. It's culture and lifestyle reflect a culture that is ruled by traditions and legalism. It is a city that lives under the judgement described in Isaiah 28.

Isaiah 28
⁹ “Who is it he is trying to teach?
   To whom is he explaining his message?
To children weaned from their milk,
   to those just taken from the breast?
¹⁰ For it is:
   Do this, do that,
   a rule for this, a rule for that;
   a little here, a little there.”

 ¹¹ Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues
   God will speak to this people,
¹² to whom he said,
   “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;
and, “This is the place of repose”—
   but they would not listen.
¹³ So then, the word of the LORD to them will become:
   Do this, do that,
   a rule for this, a rule for that;
   a little here, a little there—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
   they will be injured and snared and captured.

In other translation this is often referred to as "line upon line, precept upon precept." Jerusalem on earth is a city that God offered salvation to. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because it did not recognize the time of it's visitation. And Jesus will return to this city. But even with that return Jerusalem on earth is temporary and will one day be destroyed.

The city that God has called his people to live in is the Jerusalem that is above, which is free. It is in this city that we are told to lay up our treasures and set our heart and mind.

Matthew 6
    ¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Colossians 3
¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

We cannot live in more than one city at the same time. There are many who believe in Jesus but who are "living" in Babylon. They risk being ensnared by the spiritual adulteries. There are other believers who "live" in Jerusalem here on earth. Their lives are full of legalism, of "line upon line, precept upon precept." They operate each day in spiritual bondage.

But to be a disciple of Jesus you have to decide to "live" in Jerusalem which is above. And your decision will be obvious to everyone.

Hebrews 11
⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

 ¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

It will be obvious by our personal culture, by our lifestyle, by how we order our day to day routine, by the things we love, as to whether or not we consider the country we live in here on earth home. And it is important to note that the people that God is not ashamed to be called "their God" are the people who live in faith and who show by their faith, actions, and words that they are looking for another county and for a city who's architect and builder is God.

There is no city on the earth where Jesus "lives" today. To either Babylon or to Jerusalem Jesus is outside the city, in a place that those cities despise and reject.

Hebrews 13
¹¹ The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. ¹² And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. ¹³ Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴ For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

On the earth Jesus is still outside the city, outside the camp. We are called to leave the city and go to him outside the camp and bear the same disgrace he bore. We are not called to save the city, we are called to call others to come outside as well and to bear Jesus' disgrace.

All that I have said above has to do with our hearts and our way of thinking. None of this means we can't enjoy things on earth. None of this means we can't give ourselves to good works and help others. None of this means we can't vote or participate in earthly governments. But out treasures, our mind, our heart, our culture, our lifestyle, our faith, and our words should clearly demonstrate that we are outside of the camp with Jesus.

Consider your life, your language, and your faith. I invite you, through faith, to become a "resident" of that city that is eternal, that is full of light, whose architect and builder is God, where the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple.

Revelation 22
    ¹² “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

   ¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

   ¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

 ¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

 

A Mystery

Ephesians 5:31-32
³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

Isaiah 53:3
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Hebrews 13:11-14
¹¹ The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. ¹² And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. ¹³ Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴ For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Colossians 1:24-27
²⁴ Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— ²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

I have seen a lot of thoughts and writing on the purpose for suffering. But the reality is that Jesus was despised and rejected and is still despised and rejected. He is still outside the camp. And this is in all nations. There have been a lot of religious nations and governments but never a nation of disciples of Jesus. The Kingdom is still not of this world. So, as the writer of Hebrews said, let us go outside the camp and bear his disgrace.

Most of us would prefer to consider hardships as suffering for Jesus. We like the camp, and if we consider general hardships as suffering for Jesus then we can stay in the camp. Many preachers and ministers preach a gospel of "saving the camp," or changing the world. But the call is not to save the camp. The call is to come out and be one flesh with Jesus. And we can't do that in the camp because Jesus is not in the camp.

When Paul said he was filling up in his flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, he wasn't saying that in isolation from the church. He was being an example and presenting an invitation to all of us to come outside the camp. What is still lacking in Christ's afflictions are what those who are one flesh with him will suffer in this world. I'm not talking about hardships. Blessing come upon the just and unjust, and hardships come upon the just and unjust. That is just life. But the world will not think kindly of those who are obviously looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. Anymore than it looked kindly upon Jesus.

I want to invite you to come outside the camp and be the bride of Christ. Come outside the camp and be one flesh with Jesus. This really is a profound mystery, but it is life changing and is one of the core elements of what God is doing on the earth.

Bearing the Best Fruit

Consider two churches: the church at Antioch and the church at Corinth. From the few references we have, the church at Antioch seemed to be a mature church with excellent teaching and ministry. It was in Antioch that believers were first labeled as "Christians." Saul and Barnabas were teachers and prophets at this church. The ministry at this church was to both Jews and Greeks, which was remarkable. There were teachers and prophets at Antioch and it was this group that, by the Holy Spirit, eventually sent Saul and Barnabas out on their journey.

Later on in his journey Saul (now Paul) started ministering in Corinth. He had a lot of opposition but God spoke to him to continue in Corinth for a while.

Acts 18:9-11
⁹One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. ¹⁰For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." ¹¹So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

Later, when we read in the letters to the church in Corinth, we find a group of believers who seem to be very carnal. They have division and factions among themselves. Some of them are getting drunk at communion while others are going without. Instead of being eager to use the gifts of the Spirit to build each other up they are just eager to be seen using the gifts of the Spirit. It is, at least on the surface, a very immature church.

There are those who pastor "mature" churches where people operate in unity and harmony. Many people are impressed with these ministries. There are those who pastor "immature" churches where there are problems. People usually aren't that impressed with those congregations.

What is interesting is that there are no letters to the church in Antioch included in the Bible. There are rather long letters to the church in Corinth, which include some of the most quoted scriptures of all time. It was Paul's ministry to this "immature" church that produced writings and teachings needed by so many people throughout the ages, not his ministry in Antioch.

I understand that all of Paul's life was connected and we probably have many of his teachings from Antioch in his letters to the various churches. My point is simply that the best fruit may not be what is apparent at the time. The best fruit comes from just being obedient to the Holy Spirit. When Paul was in Antioch he bore the fruit he needed to there. When he was in Corinth he bore the fruit he needed to there. He didn't avoid a ministry like Corinth because it looked immature. He was obedient to pastor and serve God's people. And God had many people in Antioch and many people in Corinth.

Isaiah 53
¹ Who has believed our message
       and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
       and like a root out of dry ground.
       He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
       nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

³ He was despised and rejected by men,
       a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
       Like one from whom men hide their faces
       he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities
       and carried our sorrows,
       yet we considered him stricken by God,
       smitten by him, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
       he was crushed for our iniquities;
       the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
       and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
       each of us has turned to his own way;
       and the LORD has laid on him
       the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
       yet he did not open his mouth;
       he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
       and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
       so he did not open his mouth.

⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
       And who can speak of his descendants?
       For he was cut off from the land of the living;
       for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
       and with the rich in his death,
       though he had done no violence,
       nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
       and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
       he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
       and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

¹¹ After the suffering of his soul,
       he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
       by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
       and he will bear their iniquities.

¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
       and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
       because he poured out his life unto death,
       and was numbered with the transgressors.
       For he bore the sin of many,
       and made intercession for the transgressors.

There was nothing in Jesus that would cause people to desire him. He was despised and rejected. Yet his obedience in this path has given us eternal life. There was not a lot to desire in the church at Corinth yet Paul's ministry there has given us some incredible, life changing scriptures.

It is a good thing to evaluate your walk and service to God occasionally, but be careful about judging the fruit according to what people would desire. Just be obedient and you will bear the best fruit.

When church leadership "falls," pt 4

In the previous posts on this topic I presented the following thoughts.

1. We are a part of each other and are all responsible for our service to each other and the results of that service. God has graced some people as leaders and they are gifts to the body of Christ as well as being a part of the body of Christ. We are all sheep in God's pasture. And we will all have to give an account of our service to each other as well as the results of that service. (from part 1)
2. It is important to grow in wisdom and understanding and to seek God on what he is doing at any time when we are making decisions. And this is especially important when leadership falls into "sin." It may be that the problem is with the church in general and God is just giving the church an example of repentance and humility because the church is not walking in repentance and humility. (from part 2)
3. Jesus dealt with the Pharisees the way he did because they answered to him. The Pharisees were taking care of a vineyard that belonged to Jesus and his Father in heaven. Members of a church cannot deal with people in leadership this way. They don't answer to us. They are not accountable to us. And they are still in a place of authority. (from part 3)
4. Jesus made it clear that our relationships with him and the Godhead are personal and independent of leadership. That does not mean we are not under authority or that we don't honor those in leadership (and each other). We must maintain a servant's heart, realizing that we are accountable for how we bear the fruit of the Spirit and how we walk in wisdom regardless of what our leadership goes through. (from part 3)

All of this is to help us grow in wisdom and to mature as the body of Christ. There are times when leadership falls and needs restoration just as we do. There are times when leadership falls and we need to be the ones repenting. There are times when leadership falls and needs to be replaced. In any of these situations wisdom and maturity in the Spirit will help maintain unity and peace in the church.

The last thing I want to address is grieving. For many people there is a deep sense of loss when leadership falls. There is very real grief and a time of grieving. This means there will be a lot of different emotions; strong emotions. Grief counselors often talk about the stages of grief. One model includes: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Kubler-Ross). We may not go through all of these emotions and not go through them in any specific order. We may bounce around. But when we feel loss we experience strong emotions. And strong emotions can work against us.

If we are in denial we may not be willing to face a real problem in the church. If we become angry we could become critical and judgmental. We may start bargaining to avoid any change in the church when God is in fact changing something. We may become depressed and just walk away from what God is doing. And we may accept a loss that God does not want us to accept but rather restore.

When problems arise with leadership the church members will experience strong emotions. That is a part of us. But if we are growing in wisdom and maturity in the Spirit when things are good then we will have a foundation to help us when problems arise and our emotions rise up. 

Hebrews 2:5-9
 ⁵It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. ⁶But there is a place where someone has testified:
   "What is man that you are mindful of him,
      the son of man that you care for him?
 ⁷You made him a little lower than the angels;
      you crowned him with glory and honor
    ⁸ and put everything under his feet."

    In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. ⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

1 Corinthians 3:21b-23
All things are yours, ²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

All things are yours. Be filled with faith. Keep your peace, keep your unity.

When church leadership "falls," pt 3

Let's look at what may happen when leaders actually despise God. This post will include a lot of scripture.

Matthew 21:33-39
³³"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. ³⁴When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

³⁵"The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.

³⁸"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' ³⁹So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Look at the different groups in this scripture. You have the landowner (God), the farmers (the Pharisees), the servants (prophets, teachers), and the son (Jesus). The farmers were leaders charged with tending the vineyard. The servants were leaders charged with manifesting what was in peoples' lives (wine, fruit). The landowner and the son were in authority over all of them.

When Jesus dealt with the Pharisees he wasn't dealing with religious leaders or a government. He was dealing with people who were under his authority and who had been set over his vineyard, over his sheep, by God. The Pharisees were accountable to Jesus. They were supposed to deliver a wine and had instead consumed it themselves. Even the servants that were sent were sent to help manifest the wine, or fruit, God was looking for.They weren't sent to condemn the farmers.

My point here is that we don't have the authority to talk to religious leaders the way Jesus did. Even churches that vote to put someone in leadership don't have the authority over those leaders like Jesus. But if we are not careful we can usurp Jesus' authority over leadership and end up falling into arrogance. Be careful with your words.

Matthew 23:1-12
 ¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ²"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. ³So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

 ⁵"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'

 ⁸"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. ⁹And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Two things here. One is the recognition that there is authority in leadership. In all that Jesus said about the Pharisees he never said they didn't have authority. God may put someone in a leadership role with an amount of authority. Their falling into sin does not change that. Only God can remove the authority he has given. We need to recognize that.

Second is, again, the recognition that we are all accountable for what is happening. Some people read verses 8-12 and decide that no one is over them, no one is their teacher. These people ignore verses 11-12. If no one is over you, if no one is your teacher, then you are no one's servant. This goes back to what I discussed in pt 1. We are all accountable. We are all brothers. We have been graced with different ministries to build each other up. Leaders are not people we follow as if we are dumb sheep. That is what Jesus is talking about here. When leaders have a servant's heart they will serve the local church. When we have a servant's heart we will respond to these human gifts God has given us. If someone in leadership looses their servant's heart the rest of the church can still operate in a servant's heart. We can keep our peace. Do not act like a "Rabbi" is responsible, or a "father" is responsible, or a "teacher" is responsible. We are all responsible. We are all brothers.

We can keep our peace.

When church leadership "falls," pt 2

Every time I start working on this post I get sidetracked by the same thing, so I'm going to go down a rabbit trail for a moment to emphasis a foundational principle. Salvation is personal with God.

John 5:38-40
³⁸nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. ³⁹You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Many people have a law or "pattern" way of thinking. All of us tend to see things as cause and effect; understandably because this type of thinking is an essential part of early learning. It is also very comfortable if we fill like we are following the rules. And it can destroy our faith when we fill like we are failing the rules.

Salvation is personal with God, it is not rule based. Life is not found in the written word of God except as it draws us personally to Jesus. Life comes from Jesus. It is not in the law; keeping it or breaking it. 

Romans 9:14-16
¹⁴What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." ¹⁶It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

Hebrews 11:4-6
⁴By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

⁵By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Abel and Enoch pleased God because of their faith. It was not faith in a promise or faith in a covenant or faith in a sacrifice. It was faith in God personally. The promises and covenants of God are not given to be the objects of faith, they are given to help us know and understand God. And when I say "God" I mean our Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

My point here is that we grow in knowledge and understanding of God, not in knowledge and understanding of promises, covenants, and laws (though we do learn from them and they help us understand the nature of God).

Now we can get back on topic.

2 Samuel 24 describes an event where God was angry with Israel and incited King David to act in a way that brought judgment upon the nation. Many people died and David felt it was all his fault. Yet God's anger wasn't with David, it was with Israel (which does include David). David, in his reaction to judgment, was an example to Israel on repentance and humility towards God which is exactly what God wanted from Israel.

I'm sure many in Israel at that time blamed David for the judgment and deaths. People who are rule or law oriented in their thinking would have said something like, "if David had not done this no one would have died." Cause and effect. But those who understood the nature of God would have recognized that God was doing something here; it wasn't about David's "sin". This was God's hand. And the correct response on Israel's part was to follow David's example in repentance and humility towards God.

The same applies to a church or group, sometimes, when leadership "sins" and that church or group suffers for it. If the leader repents and is humble before God then it may be a good idea to follow that example.

More examples in the next post.

When church leadership "falls," pt 1

In the book of Ephesians it says that one of the roles of leadership in the church is to prepare the church in general for the work of the ministry.

Ephesians 4:11-13
¹¹It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹²to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

That's a lot of responsibility and many leaders work hard at trying to help the body become mature and to be prepared for all types of service. One of the things we don't often get prepared for is what to do when leadership falls. We might get "prepared" for what to do if a leader "falls" or there is hypocrisy in another church, but what about when it is in your own?

Earlier in Ephesians these church leaders are described as gifts to men. And in Corinthians it says:

1 Corinthians 3:21b-23
All things are yours, ²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

The concept of leaders being gifts and belonging to God's people indicates that there is an accountability on our part when it comes to how we treat and view leaders. This accountability extends to all things as noted in Corinthians, but for now I'm going to focus on how it extends to leadership. Often we are taught a church concept that has the leaders as "shepherds" and the church members as "sheep." The problem with this picture is that we often give it a very simplistic interpretation. Sheep are supposed to follow, to go where they are told. But the sheep of God's pasture are men. And when men have a simplistic "follow" mentality for a while then find out the one they followed (and were corrected by) is wrong or has broken his own rules there is usually resentment, anger, and division.

So let's try a different approach. The sheep of God's pasture are men. All of us are called by God and graced to be in his pasture. Each of us is graced to be effective in doing works of service so that the body may be built up. We are not given this grace because we earn it, it is a gift. And some of the men in this pasture are graced to be leaders, to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Not because they earned it. Rather because they were chosen to live a life of service to God's people to help them live a life of service that the entire body (leaders and everyone, everyone in God's pasture) may become mature in Christ.

There is an accountability here that works both ways. Leaders must give an account of their service and the results of that service. We must also give an account of our service and our results as well. And we all must give an account of our service (and results) to each other. To pray for each other, to hold each other in higher esteem than ourselves, to forgive each other, to love each other, and as a result to bring the body of Christ to maturity. If we get our foundation right there will be more of this type of behavior and less resentment, anger, and division when problems occur.

It is important that everyone in God's pasture understand what God is doing at any given time and understand the types of service they are accountable for at that time. One of the things my apostle has always done is teach everyone in our church that each of us can be exactly what he is; can do the same types of ministry, can touch people the same way, can serve God the same way. He does not want us to act or live like "dumb sheep." It is important for everyone to grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. So the next few posts will include some examples of different ways God works with leaders, including when they "fall", so we can increase our understanding, our knowledge, and hopefully our wisdom.

Security in Being a Son and a Servant pt 3

The clearer we see that we are sons of the living God, the more we realize we need to live as servants.

Philippians 2:1-11
¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 ⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
 ⁶Who, being in very nature God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
 ⁷but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.
 ⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!
 ⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name,
 ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

Verse 7 mentions taking the very nature of a servant, or a slave. Paul did this. You often see him introduce himself as a bond-servant of the LORD. He humbled himself before God and took on the form of a servant.

Luke 17:7-10
 ⁷"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? ⁸Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? ⁹Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "

In verse 10 it says our attitude should be that "we are unworthy servants." The word "unworthy" means to have no worth, to be useless, of no effect, empty and hollow. In Philippians 2:7 the word "nothing" means to be useless, good for nothing. This is important. In Luke 17 Jesus wasn't telling us that we should think we are unworthy or worthless. He was saying that he had taken the very nature of an unworthy, worthless, and useless servant and he was commanding us to follow him in taking on that nature.

Our flesh is really offended by this. The worldly way of reasoning has problems with this. But this is how Jesus submitted to the Father. This is often a struggle for us. We can tell ourselves that we are servants, but just let someone who has authority over us in this world treat us like a worthless, good for nothing servant and see what what kind of feelings rise up. We might do okay as a servant (at least in our own minds) as long as we feel appreciated, as long as someone kills a fatted calf for us. As long as someone celebrates our service. But a mature son has to learn to be a servant without getting a fatted calf. A mature son has to learn to become of no reputation, or to become useless, and take on the form of a useless servant.

Jesus knew that his Father was with him always. And he knew that everything under his Father's authority was under his authority as well. We need to let this knowledge grow and mature in us.

Luke 15:31
 ³¹" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 

1 Corinthians 3:21b-23
All things are yours, ²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

All things are yours. Know that, settle it in your heart. Know that you will always be with your Father in heaven. Then let it all go. Take up your cross daily. Let go of the ring and robe and fatted calf.

Be a servant.