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Four
Truths for a Foundation
Truth
#1: What is a Christian?
Truth
#2: What is Leadership?
Truth
#3: Daily Life
Truth
#4: Meetings
(This was spoken extemporaneously by three brothers at a stop in a village in Africa, at a Pentecostal denominational expression. IN ONE DAY the entire "congregation" radically responded to Jesus and has never looked back. At great personal cost, many changes were made, forever transforming many people and even their economic structure in that village. In a matter of a FEW HOURS word was out in their area within other religious groups that something supernatural was going on amongst them. I wish it were possible to have captured the things that were said by the local brothers from that village in Africa over the next hour after these thoughts were deposited with the Saints there. It was amazing and inspiring, truly, to see their courage and "zeal for the Father's House" expressed by "love of the Truth" and action in the time since that day.)
There is a treasure that is awakening God's people around the world right now. It is our desire to deposit this treasure with you and give you a trust that you can carry with you for the rest of your lives. Even if you were few in number in your village, though you are not... as Jonathan, David's close friend, once said, "God is not hindered to save by many or by few." God also said that he who is given a trust must prove faithful. We would like to show you a few things that will change your life and change the way Church is expressed, in order to more highly exalt our King, Jesus, and see His Dream fulfilled!
These are special treasures that have always been in the Bible. It is our hope, by the Holy Spirit, that all of our eyes will be opened to see these beautiful truths! This truth has to do with the way God wants to build His House so that we can all be stronger together. He wants to build His House so that the gates of hell cannot prevail any longer. He wants to build His House so that relationships can be healed. He wants to build His House so that He will be free to heal our bodies, our minds, and our souls. He wants to build His House so that we can be strong and wise and the Good News of Jesus can go forth, stronger than ever before.
Do you have the courage to hear these things? Will you obey the Word of God as you hear these things? Will you change your lives regardless of the cost? If you have the courage to obey and to risk, then please stay, and let's talk. Let's talk about this treasure of four fundamental truths.
There are four Truths upon which we must build. Without them, God's House will never be strong, and the gates of hell will continue to make a shambles of the House. However, if we understand these four things and obey them, and if we are willing to take risks for these Truths of God, then God will honor this and He will send His power into our lives. The poor shall be rich and the weak shall be strong! This was always God's heart and intention. However, this treasure has been stolen from us from the very first century on. We have been robbed very much by the empty traditions of men.
Truth #1: What is a Christian?
The first foundational Truth is to define properly "What is a Christian?" We have been very sloppy about this around the world and in every culture. Because we have not been clear about even what a Christian is, we have built much of God's House on the sand. We have defined what makes someone a Christian by such things as sentiment or emotions or family upbringing. We have defined what a Christian is by whether a person has the "right" set of beliefs. We have defined a Christian by whether a person sings well, or attends enough, or tithes properly. That is not how Jesus defined Christianity.
Jesus said, "Unless you forsake all you cannot be my disciple." Jesus said, "Unless you take up your cross every day you cannot follow me." In the book of Acts, the Bible says, "The disciples were called 'Christians' first in Antioch." So, whenever you see the word "disciple" in the teachings of Jesus, think in your mind the word "Christian." When Jesus said, "Unless you forsake everything you cannot be my disciple," He was saying you cannot be a Christian if you don't give away your life. He did not say, "Unless you attend you cannot be a Christian." He did not say, "Unless you read your Bible you cannot be a Christian." He did not say, "Unless you give money you cannot be a Christian." Jesus said, "Unless you die to your very self you cannot be a Christian!"
Jesus is calling for a people who will die to their very self. They will forsake everything to come after Him. They will forsake their pride and their material goods to follow Him. They will turn away from personal sin and turn away from selfishness. They will love others more than they love themselves. This relationship with Jesus will change how they act every single day.
Unless we define the word "Christian" the way Jesus does, the House will sink into the sand and be washed away. This is what Jesus, the King, promised would happen if we build on the sand of hearing and singing and talking, but do not obey. The house we build will perhaps be something that is fun for us, but it means nothing to Jesus. The house we build may make us a little happier because we are singing and getting together, but it doesn't mean anything if God is not happy about it! It doesn't mean anything if Satan is still winning the battle in our lives. If we are not building a life and a Church that brings pleasure to Jesus, then we are wasting our time and God's time.
Serious Consequences
The number one foundation stone in building God's House is describing what a Christian is the way the Bible describes what a Christian is. We must make our decisions according to what God calls a Christian. Can a person be a member of God's Church and not be a Christian? Absolutely not! But around the world people are being taught that it is okay for Christians and non-Christians to be part of the Church. The Bible says this is not true! In 1 Corinthians 5, the Bible says, "Remove the leaven from the batch." Remove the sin from the Church. This is very important to understand, because God said, "A little bit of leaven leavens the whole batch."
Do you remember when the walls of Jericho came crashing down? God's people were mighty in a supernatural way. However, right after the walls of Jericho fell, Israel was defeated in battle. They were crushed! Why was Israel crushed in battle? There was one man in all of Israel that had sin in his tent. God was very upset because one man in the whole Church had sin in his life that was hidden. That man, Achan, had an idol buried under his tent. God caused all of Israel to suffer a great defeat because one man had sin in his life. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Amen? God is still very unhappy when people in His House and in His Church have hidden sin in their lives. This breaks His heart. The Bible says that God brings judgment for this.
Is it okay for us to say that someone who has never really given his life totally to Jesus can come and be part of the Church? No! This is a very big mistake. God brings judgment on the whole House because of that one person who claims to be a Christian but has never really has given his life to Jesus. So, if we are going to see a Glorious House that does the work of God, the first thing we must do is define the word "Christian" the same way Jesus does. The Scriptures say, "Unless you forsake all, you cannot be my disciple." "If you love father and mother and children more than Me, you cannot be My disciple." "If you love the world and the things of the world, you have become My enemy." "God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble."
We must accurately define what a Christian is. We must accurately define what a member of the Church really is. You cannot claim to be washed in Jesus' Blood, and be a part of Jesus' Body with these people and pretend you are a Christian if your heart does not belong to Jesus when you are at home, or when you are at work, or when you are in the fields. If your relationships are not Holy relationships, you must repent and give your life to Jesus.
The second thing we must define, the second foundation stone of building God's House, has to do with what leadership is in God's House. This is a very wonderful truth! This will excite you and change your life. In countries all over the world we have all made a very big mistake about leadership in the Church. We have seen that often in India and other countries it is the person who has a bicycle and can read that is chosen to be the leader. In the United States the person who goes to study the Bible in seminary or Bible schools, or is good in business or in speaking, gets to be the leader or the "pastor." This is not God's way! God's leadership is not based on who can read, or who knows the most, or who can speak the best, or who has the best business experience.
Like Jesus I will give you an example from the Scriptures. In Acts 6, there were some widows who were very hungry at times, because they were forgotten. When food was distributed, there were women from Greece who were overlooked and not cared for properly. The Church in Jerusalem had to decide how to solve this problem. They had to choose some men to solve the problem. If you read your Bible, you will find out that there was a certain way to choose those men. Does the Bible say, "Choose from among yourselves seven men who know their Bibles?" No. "Choose from among yourselves seven men who can sing well?" No. "Choose from among yourselves seven men who are experienced in business, or in the food business?" No. "Choose from among yourselves seven men who can speak very well?" No. The way to solve the problem was to "Choose from among yourselves seven men that are full of the Holy Ghost and full of wisdom."
These were men who were tested every day. These were NOT men who went to school to become spiritual, or who simply could speak well. These were men who were friends of God and deep friends of their brothers and sisters every day. Stephen and Philip and those seven men were in peoples' homes, every day, trying to help them. They would draw the water for the other believers and help them. They would hold the hands of the children of their friends and talk to them and teach them. They would go to peoples' homes when they were discouraged. They would go into peoples' workplaces during the day to encourage them. And they weren't even so-called leaders! They were just normal brothers who were living Jesus' life every day. "Choose from among yourselves seven men that look like Jesus, seven men that can see God and hear God. Choose seven men that are washing the feet of the saints every day. Seven normal, every day brothers that love God deeply from the heart, and demonstrate a super-natural connectedness to the Messiah."
Because these men look like Jesus, every day in peoples' homes, then we know they are full of the Holy Spirit. They are not full of the Holy Spirit because they can yell louder or sing better or say more things. They are full of the Holy Spirit of Jesus because they look like Jesus with their daily lives. This is the only kind of leadership in the Bible. In the New Covenant, Jesus said to the twelve apostles to call no man teacher, call no man father. Call no man leader, call no man master, Call no man rabbi, call no man pastor, call no man reverend, for you are all brothers! So now we have a different view of leadership.
Different from the World
Learning this was very difficult for me, personally. Many, many years ago I used to be the "pastor" until I realized that the Bible said I was only supposed to be a brother amongst brothers, using whatever gifts I may have "in the midst, as one who serves" - rather than as a boss or someone to look at all of the time. If that is true for Peter and John, and if it is true for James and the other apostles, it has to be true for me! "You are all just brothers." I walked away from the large amounts of money I had made in business, to be a "pastor..." and now I had to walk away from the money and position of being the "pastor!" I had to decide I was going to be a brother amongst brothers. Whatever Jesus has done in my life will show up in homes and in other lives as I hold the children's hands. I didn't have to be a big shot anymore! I didn't have to be the main man anymore. I could just do what Paul said he did with the Thessalonians, and Philippians, and the Believers in the town of Corinth -- and that is love people as a father, and friend, and as a brother, from house to house.
Paul said, "I went from house to house with tears." He loved the people as a father or as a brother. He nurtured their lives as a mother would nurture a child. The other believers did that for him, too. This is leadership in the True New Testament Church.
Jesus said to the apostles, "The Gentiles have a certain way to have leadership, but not so with you." In the True Church, the Church against which the gates of hell cannot prevail, leadership is very different from the way of the world system. Leadership comes from within, not "lording it over" from the top.
Gifts and Authority
Let me paint a picture for you. The Bible says in Ephesians 4 that when Jesus went to heaven He gave gifts to men. Jesus took all the gifts that He had (and Jesus had many spiritual gifts, didn't He?) and He gave them to His people as a whole. He didn't take all the gifts that He had and deposit them on the pastor. He didn't take all of the gifts and give them to one "man of God." The Scriptures say He took all of His gifts and gave them to His whole body. The Bible says the Spirit is deposited and given as a gift, as the Spirit wills, over the whole Church. If you are truly a Christian, if you have truly forsaken your very life for Jesus, then the Holy Spirit gives you a very special gift. Your gift is part of Jesus.
Before Jesus went back to heaven He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Me." Do you remember that Jesus said that? All authority belongs to Jesus and no one else! So, if JESUS gave part of Himself to you, part to this person and part to that person, then whatever spiritual gifts He gave each of you, there is authority in that gift. Jesus gave the gifts, and He has all authority.
The Bible lists many kinds of gifts. The Holy Spirit, for example, gives us mercy as a gift. The gift of mercy is part of Jesus that He gave to some people. It is a supernatural gift. All of us should have mercy, shouldn't we? But there is supernatural mercy that is a gift of the Holy Spirit. All authority belongs to Jesus. So, if He gave you the special gift of mercy, you have been given authority in the area of mercy. If you have the supernatural gift of mercy and I do not, if all authority belongs to Jesus and you have that piece of Jesus, then I honor that gift in you. You have authority in that area. Do you understand? This is what leadership is about. All authority belongs to Jesus. We all have our own special gifts, and the Bible says we submit to one another. The Bible says there are gifts of teaching. Hebrews 5 says, "We all ought to be teachers by now." Ephesians 4 and Romans 12 say there are supernatural gifts of teaching that Jesus gives. So, there is authority in that gift, because Jesus gives it and He has all authority. But teaching is only one gift and one part of Jesus. There are many other gifts. Every gift that each of you have is a part of Jesus. All authority belongs to Jesus, so we submit to the gifts that are in each of us.
There is not some special authority that is in one "man of God" and everyone else just sits and watches. Because of the way men have built the Church over the last 1700 years, we have acted as if there is only one gift - the gift of pastor. But that is only one gift! (Or perhaps everyone else is allowed to have the "gift of giving money!") There are hundreds of gifts, because ALL of Jesus was poured out on His Family. This is why Jesus said we are all to be brothers amongst brothers. We need each other's gifts. We need all of Jesus' gifts! If we build wrong we all lose. If one man is pushed to the front to be the pastor and everyone else just sits and listens all the time, then no one gets your gift. They only get the pastor's gifts. That is too small! If we want to see the greatness of God, if we want to see all of our lives change and our children's lives change, we need ALL of Jesus. We must not settle for just part of Jesus. Amen?
Courage to Change and Courage to Run
Do you see why I said you must have courage? Things must change! You can't keep doing what you have been doing. You are going to have to decide to use your gifts more. You are going to have to decide to be obedient and to have courage. If you keep sitting in your chair all the time and don't use your gifts more than you have been, your gifts will continue to dwindle away. "He who has been given a trust or a gift must prove faithful." Do you remember what happened to the man who buried his talent? Jesus said, "You wicked, lazy servant." That's what He says to us when we don't do what we are supposed to do. If I don't use my gift or if you don't use your gift, we are wicked and lazy. Do you see how the traditions of men steal and rob the Word of God? What if you were an Olympic runner and you were lying in a bed and we took a rope and tied it around you? If we left you there, even though you might be a champion athlete, your muscles would shrivel and you would die. All of the potential that you have would be lost because you have been roped to a bed for your whole life. The way we have built for 1700 years in God's House has roped most of God's people to the bed. They have not been able to get up and run and fulfill their destiny because we have built wrong. If we build or structure the church in a way that exalts one man or "staff" and quenches others' gifts, we are criminals in the Heavenly Courts! It's not usually because people are bad that we have been building wrong. Mostly it's because we just didn't know how to build God's House.
The first building block for a true Foundation is that only true Christians can call themselves members of the Church. The second foundation stone that will build God's House is that we have to understand leadership properly. We have placed just one man in charge for 1700 years. We have taken one gift, the gift of "pastor" (or shepherd, better translated), and made it the primary gift. This is FAR from true in the church in the Bible! And it must not be true now, either. This has roped most of God's people to the bed so they could no longer be who God called them to be. Leadership is in ALL of God's people. The Bible calls us a Kingdom of priests. The Bible does not say a Kingdom with priests, but a Kingdom of priests. There is not just a special group like the Levite priests of the Old Testament. In the New Covenant ALL of God's people are supposed to be priests to one another. GOD said, "When Revelation comes to the second, LET THE FIRST ONE SIT DOWN!!"
If you are full of the Holy Ghost and full of wisdom, then you are a leader. It's not whether you went to school or if you speak very well. It's not whether you are male or female, or young or old. Leadership is a person with a gift of Jesus and relationship with Jesus full of the Holy Ghost and full of wisdom. Leadership is holding the children's hands every day. Leadership is healing the wounds of God's people from house to house every day. Leadership is helping to solve problems of sin in peoples' lives every day. Leadership is washing people's feet every day. That is what leadership is. That is the only kind of leadership of which the Bible speaks - using the part of Jesus that His Spirit deposited in each of us, and that is our area of leadership and authority. This means we have to change how we are currently functioning. We have to change how we view leadership. We have to change how we act out the process of leadership.
This is very revolutionary. This will change how we function in our meetings. This will change how we function in our every day lives. There is a cost to it. There is a price that we pay. But God rewards us one hundred times whatever we give up, according the exact Promise of Jesus.
When I was the "pastor," I decided that I was going to live differently. I decided that I was going to believe and obey the scriptures about Leadership. I chose to be a brother in the middle of brothers rather than in front of brothers. I was afraid. I was afraid of how I would support my family. I was afraid that perhaps I would lose touch with God somehow. I was afraid that people would not respect me anymore. I was afraid of many things. But I knew what God said in the Bible. He wanted me to be a brother amongst brothers. In my every day life I wouldn't be the boss anymore. I would just be one of the brothers, and still use my gifts from Jesus as "a brother amongst brothers" who were also equally using their gifts. It changed everything for me, but God was very, very faithful. He promised that no one who has ever given up anything would fail to receive one hundred times as much or more than what was given up. God keeps His promises! Amen?
A Circle Around the Throne
From a practical standpoint, one of the things we may change right away has to do with even how we sit when we are together. This sounds very silly, but it is very important. I will give you an example from the Scriptures. In Mark 3 and 4, Mary and Mary's children were going to find Jesus. They came to the door where Jesus was with God's people. "Jesus, your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside." Do you remember what Jesus said in response to that? He said to those seated the circle around Him, "Who are my mothers and brothers and sisters?" Seated in a circle around Him! Wasn't that the most natural thing to do, when we are gathered to hear HIM, and not a mere man with limited gifts? Of course.
I want to suggest to you that if we are really going to honor the gifts that are in each of us, if we are really going to draw out all of the gifts that are in all of God's People, there are many things we need to change. One of them may be how we sit when we are gathered together. When Jesus was here, He had a circle of people around Him. This may sound very simple to you, and it may not even sound very important, but I assure you it is. If someone at the work place or in the market were to say something to you, does it matter HOW they say it to you? Of course it does! If they are sitting, leaning back against a stone and say something quietly with a yawn, that would be very different than if they put their face right up into your face and glared in your eyes with fire, and said the same things. HOW anything is said matters a great deal.
When we sit with everyone facing the front, it brings all the attention to one man. We are not equals amongst equals any longer. I am subservient to whoever has taken the throne in front of me as my master, or the conductor or facilitator or traffic cop or expert of the "class" or "service." But note this well! A true servant of God does not desire attention for himself. The greatest man born of woman up until that time, John the Baptist, said, "Jesus must increase, I must decrease." Every true man of God says the same thing, "Jesus must increase, I must decrease. I don't want to draw attention to myself. I don't want people looking at me all the time as the person that has all the answers. I don't take great joy in being the one who gets to speak. I just want to love and serve Jesus, and help everyone else do that, too. Jesus must increase. I must decrease."
Every true man of God wants to back away so that Jesus will get the spotlight rather than himself. Again, some will say this is meaningless, but I assure you as having been in many countries and cities, it is not unimportant. It is absolutely important HOW we say something. When we set the chairs in rows instead of a circle seated around Jesus, it's like turning a spotlight on one man. Everyone else is just an audience and one man is the attraction. That is very wrong, because there are many gifts amongst us, and they are equal parts of Jesus. If we put everything looking toward the front, we are exalting only one gift. What if we were to move these chairs and put them in a circle, where everyone is facing each other, and Jesus is in the middle? Then all the gifts have an equal place. Remember the Bible says, "To those seated in the circle around Him -- these are my mothers, my brothers, my sisters." Perhaps there is someone with the gift of shepherd sitting in this chair in the circle. Maybe someone with a gift of teacher is sitting here and a gift of mercy sitting there. The gift of help may sit here. One with a gift of prophecy may sit here. All of the gifts are equal because they are all Jesus! Does this make sense?
Now, in this circle, if a mother is in tears about raising her children, the gift of teacher can speak to this sister and teach about what Paul says in Titus about women. The gift of mercy then could offer the thoughts of mercy to that sister; perhaps she had young children one time and she could share the feelings of it. The gift that has prophetic insight can see into the heart of why this sister is having problems with her children, and so on. Now, FINALLY, we can truly obey the Command from God, "When Revelation comes to the second person, LET THE FIRST ONE SIT DOWN!" Hallelujah!! (shouts, echoed!)
Every One, Equally Important
In 1 Corinthians 14 God also said, "When you come together, when the whole church is together, brothers, let everything be done for the building up of the body. Every one of you has a word of instruction, a song, a revelation." There is no one boss except Jesus! Call no man leader, master, teacher, or pastor. You are all brothers. You all have Jesus. Jesus is equal in each of us. Sometimes we need the mercy of Jesus. Sometimes we need the teaching of Jesus. Sometimes we need the songs of Jesus. Sometimes we need the help of Jesus to solve problems. But it's all equally Jesus.
Can you see that this takes courage? Can you see that this takes faith and obedience? Can you see that this will change your life if you begin to live in these things? You will no longer be roped to the bed! Your gift will no longer be pushed back. Your gift is equal to my gift; it's just different. I need your gift just as much as you need mine.
Some of the most important things that have happened in my life have happened because a twelve year old with their gift affected my life. Women affect my life. Children affect my life. Old people affect my life. Not just on Sunday morning, but every day. A Kingdom of Priests. Every day. Meetings are just extra, really. Ninety percent of our growth comes from living together, and maybe only ten percent comes from meetings. That means you have to get out of your house and get into other peoples' homes. You bring water to their house, you bring food, you bring clothing to their house. When you see they are angry with a child, you may need to pull them aside; you talk with them and walk with them. When you see pride in their life, you put your arm around them and ask them not to have pride. When you see selfishness in a brother's life you put your arm around him and say, "Please don't be selfish anymore." We don't just close our eyes until the next meeting. We live in the middle of each others' lives every day as priests doing the work of God. This too is an absolute command from God, in Hebrews chapter 3, and a hundred other places. "Be called alongside, encourage and admonish one another every single day, so that we may all be saved from being deceived and hardened by sin, as long as it is called Today." We must speak more of this.
The first foundation stone is "What is a Christian? What is a member of the Church?" If you have people that are not truly converted to Jesus in the Church, then you will constantly have battles and fights that you don't need to have. The Bible says, "From the least to the greatest they will all know Him." When everyone who calls himself a member truly is in love with Jesus, there is so much more peace - no fighting, no gossip. And there is deep love of one another every day. You cannot be a true member of the Church of Jesus unless you have forsaken your very life. Only Christians can be members of the Church. Everyone else is only visiting. But they are not members of Jesus' Church. This is absolutely what the Bible says. And "leaven" must be removed from the batch, or we do not love Jesus as much as we say. "If you love Me, you will obey My Commands." The church is for bonding and strengthening and equipping and protecting of those washed in His Blood, having chosen to die to themselves in order to Marry the Master, Jesus, forever. Anyone that has not made that decision, as evidenced by their lives and choices, and whether or not the "love the Light" (John 3; 1 John 1), according to God is NOT to consider themselves a Christian or a member of the Body of Christ. Any other definition of "church" is man-made, and the "gates of Hell" WILL prevail against such a counterfeit. Look around. You will see it on every street corner in city after city, nation after nation. It is NOT God's Plan, but something to accommodate men's flesh, while using the logo of Jesus to salve their consciences. But there is no healing there! The Messiah only circulates where He can leave a Lampstand!
The second foundation stone has to do with leadership. The Spirit and Current Life of the Resurrected Christ -- is our only leader. "The world won't see Me, but YOU WILL!" The measure of that Spirit that anyone has, the gift that one may have, that maturity and depth of real living relationship with the Living Jesus that they have -- that is the biblical definition of "Leadership."
The third foundation stone has to do with our daily life together. We have talked a little bit about our daily life together. Daily life has nothing to do with how many meetings we have, but rather how much we are involved in each others' lives. Are we involved every day as a priesthood in the marriages of those around us, with the children of those around us, with the work habits and the character traits of those around us? Are we involved every day, on a heart level, with brothers and sisters? Do we "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ?" Do we "confess your sins one to another, and so be healed?" Do we "contend as one Man for the Faith," "joined and knit together by every supporting ligament" - and accept NOTHING LESS as "true Church" and the very "BODY OF CHRIST?" Only THERE will you find out what Jesus meant by "I will build MY Church that the gates of Hell cannot overcome or withstand!" Everything else is a "house built upon the sand" of compromise, lukewarmness, disobedience, disconnectedness, and rationalization. And it will bear the appropriate fruit, unfortunately. GOD SAID it DOES matter HOW we build!
I will give you one Scripture, but it change the rest of your life if you will obey it. If you will do this one scripture, you will be amazed at how these other things make sense. It is a COMMAND from Jesus. Will you do it? Will you? Do you love Him? It will change your whole life to DO what He says, rather than just agree with it, or study it, or sing about it, or have meetings about it! Let's look at it together in your language. The Scripture is Hebrews 3:12-14:
"Be careful then, dear friends. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ."
Notice what this scripture says. This is from God. Almighty God says to me and says to you that we must, EVERY DAY, warn each other and help each other. We must be alongside each other every day. The Holy Spirit chose the word "every day." He didn't say every Sunday. He didn't say every Sunday and every Wednesday. He didn't even say in meetings. He said get involved in each other's lives EVERY DAY. If you are not, God said: you will become harder and unable to feel what He feels, and you will be deceived into thinking that you know what is right, when you do not. He didn't just say to do it. He said if you don't do this, it will hurt you greatly. If I don't have brothers talking to me every day about my life, every day, I will become hard. I will become deceived. You may say, "But I read my Bible every day!" "But I pray every day!" "My wife is a Christian and I see her every day!" That's not what God said. You can read your Bible and pray every day, but if you won't be involved in each other's lives every day, you will become more and more hard, and more and more deceived.
Who wrote the Bible? God? God said that we have to be involved in each other's lives every day. If you see me being selfish, you need to come to me and say, "___, don't be selfish. That makes Jesus sad." If you see me being proud, please help me and remind me that God opposes the proud. I don't want God to oppose me. You have to help me, because I can't see it all the time. No one can. Admonish one another daily so that none of you are hardened and deceived. This is an important (and almost totally disobeyed, world-wide) part of our daily life together. This is how you are a priest using your gifts. So you can see it's not very much about meetings, is it?
For 1700 years the Christian world has confused the issues. Who is a Christian? Who is a leader? What is daily life supposed to look like? The fourth foundation stone has to do with our meetings. What are meetings supposed to look like? In this too, Christianity has built improperly for 1700 years. Our Father wants to restore these things to you in your lives now. And God will change your life miraculously and change everyone around you as a result. These are very powerful and precious truths. But we must have the courage to do something about it. We must have the courage to have meetings like the Bible describes in 1 Corinthians 14, "When you come together, brothers, everyone has a word of instruction, a song, a revelation." There is no one in charge except for Jesus Himself. We gather together having considered how we can spur each other on towards love and good works. We give thought and prayer about how we can help each other when we do come together, and each of us takes responsibility to be a bearer of the word of God and the love of God. We have EACH "considered how to spur one another on to love and good works." This is in Hebrews 10. Please be sure and look at the very next Scripture! This is for all of us, even in "meetings!"
1 Corinthians 14 says, "When revelation comes to the second person, when a second person hears something from God, let the first one sit down." That's what the Bible says. Why don't we do what the Bible says? There is no "special person" who "automatically" is expected to do ANYTHING -- except listen and respond to God like everyone else. If any person is bringing a teaching from Jesus and everyone comes with a word of instruction or song or revelation, if this brother or this sister is sharing something that Jesus showed them and revelation comes to a second person, the first one sits down. Just like the Bible says. The Bible has always said that. Why don't we do that? We have inherited a heavy load of traditions from the Roman Catholics and from our forefathers. There has been a priest or pastor up front, and then there has been the laity - all the poor people, all the audience just sitting and listening. This is the practice and "doctrine" that Jesus said that He hated -- that of the "Nicolaitans" (those that "conquer His People," translated). Instead, Jesus said to "the circle seated around Him" that everyone has a word of instruction, a song, a revelation, and we are all equal - we are all brothers, we are all sisters with different parts of Jesus poured into us individually, for the common good. How amazing and wonderful this is! He is setting us FREE from the "empty traditions handed down by our forefathers" with clergy and laity and ritual -- and letting us free into the dangerous world of trusting and loving HIM as our all-in-all! And there will be no chaos there, because He calls Himself "the God of Peace" and "of order." It is simply HIS order, rather than man's manipulations "for" Him.
Foundations for Change
Is this different from what you are used to? Do we have the courage to build God's way? Is it frightening? Does it sound like fun? It is very fun! We have had men that were part of the church we are a part of - some had been Christians for twenty years and were still babies. But when they learned these ways and began to function as priests, they grew ten years' worth in just one year. Hallelujah! Others had been "leaders" of churches that had hundreds and even thousands of people. They found out they were only spiritual babies, still! They thought they were leaders, but they found out that there were many children and mothers that were more spiritual than they were. Then they had to grow up from being babies, and they have! All of this is very frightening, but it is also very exciting.
If you put into practice these truths that have always been in your Bibles, you will be amazed at how much closer to Jesus you will be two years from now. Admonish one another daily. Be involved with each other's children and marriages and workplaces every day. GO THERE! You must get out of your "comfort zone" and GO THERE when you would not have done so before! Yes, I mean YOU! Please, for Jesus! Speak the word of God into each others' lives, in a practical way, every day. When you come together, brothers, everyone has a word of instruction, a song, a revelation. When revelation comes to the second, let the first one sit down. As you walk this out, you may find that some whom you thought were Christians don't love Jesus as much as you always thought they did. While you may also find some whom you thought to be very weak becoming stronger and wiser than you could ever imagine. God's ways expose the frauds and the counterfeits and make the weak very strong. Glory to God!
So we entrust these riches to you and we ask you to put them into practice for Jesus' sake. These stones are foundational. You must define what a Christian really is. You must understand leadership and what it is really suppose to be. Live your lives every day, together, encouraging each other, building one another up and helping each other to grow and love Jesus more throughout your afternoons and throughout your evenings. Come and meet together in a circle around King Jesus.
If you love Jesus and build the right way, the gates of hell will no longer prevail. Sin will be crushed. Weakness and sickness will be healed. Relationships will be built or restored, beyond what you could imagine in wonderful dreams. You will shine like stars in the universe, displaying the goodness of God. And the Bride, the Church, will "make herself ready" and be ready when the Groom returns!! Amen?