Archive for the ‘teaching’ Category

Have you not counted the cost?

Posted: December 17, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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Luke 14: 25-33: “And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 ‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first, and count the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest perhaps, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, ‘This man began to build, and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first, and consider whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him who is coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Now I don’t see how anyone can read this saying of Jesus a not ask himself, “Am I really a disciple of Jesus?” These words challenge the most earnest Christian to examine himself and to feel a certain fear. How much more should it cause to tremble any so-called Christian who is careless, lukewarm, and not deadly serious about his obedience to Christ!

At this point in Jesus’s ministry a great crowd was following Him. Among then were people He knew were not serious, who were only superficially interested. He had enemies in the crowd as well as friends, some caught up in the excitement of this strange new teacher, some who thought they were serious, but Jesus knew they were not true disciple material. So He uttered these words of challenge, with a design to reduce the crowd, to send away those who were not willing to go all the way to the cross with Him. So He said:

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple…whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Was Jesus speaking only to the crowd, or is He speaking to us today? Most certainly He was speaking to us today. He said, “if any man,” “whosoever,” and “whoever.” That’s universal and applies to every believer. Jesus wants to admonish us today, to warn us that He will not tolerate a half-hearted service.

Before we look at this passage more closely I want to explain a couple of things. First of all, the word “hate” in the Bible does not always have the same negative force that our word has today. It sometimes merely means to love one thing less than another. For example, God says, “Jacob I loved; Esau I hated.” It’s obvious that God did not hate Esau in our sense of the word. He blessed him and made a great nation from his seed. But God chose Jacob over Esau to carry on the promised birthright. In Genesis chapter 29 we read: “Now God saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.” The NAS & the NIV translate is “unloved,” and “not loved.” Jacob did not hate Leah in the sense of having malice towards her. But he thought less of her than of Rachel, with whom he was in love. You cannot serve two masters; rather you will hate the one and love the other. Again this seems to be the weaker meaning of hate. You will serve the one and disregard the other. You have to choose. So you see when Jesus says that we are to hate “father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters,” He is saying that we must make a clear choice between Jesus and our family. The Bible teaches us that we are not to hate anyone in the sense of holding malice towards them, or wishing them ill. This would be especially true of our family. But the Christian life involves clear separation and radical choices.

When He says that we must hate our own lives, what does He mean? Are we to have self-hatred? Then how could He tell us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves? Paul says, “no one hates his own body.” No. What Jesus means is that we must choose Christ over our on life, our interests, our ambition, our safety, EVERYTHING.

And of course, Jesus was not inviting his disciples to carry a literal cross made of wood. He was speaking figuratively. We have a cross to carry, so what is our cross? What did He mean when He said: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me cannot be my disciple”? Well, there are two crosses in the Christian’s life: Christ’s and his own. The Cross of Jesus is the cross by which we are saved; our own cross is the cross on which our own wills are crucified. I believe that our cross speaks of those moment—and they come to us daily—when our will crosses the will of God. God’s vertical, heavenly Will meets our horizontal, fleshly will. The two cross. And when that happens, our wills must give way to God’s.

And when Jesus said to forsake all, did He mean that we must sell all that we have, give it to the poor, and make ourselves homeless or enter a monastery? No, of course not. But He did mean something quite radical. He meant that we must let nothing, nothing—no material possession, no relationship, no profession, NOTHING come before Him in our lives!

Even after we have softened them somewhat, these are very strong words, aren’t they? These, and some of the other hard sayings of our Lord, would (as I said) challenge the most committed and faithful Christian. They would call the most serious and saintly believer to examine himself. How much more are they a reproach to the half-hearted, lukewarm, Sunday-only, part-time Christian! Jesus makes it plain in another place that He would rather a person be cold and indifferent towards Him than to be lukewarm. Where is the place, then, for the half-hearted, off-and-on Christian here? In this saying of Jesus, He lays to rest once and for all any notion that He will tolerate a half-hearted service.

When I speak of a Sunday-only Christian, I’m not referring so much to Church attendance as to the quality of our Christian lives throughout the week. I’m not talking about people who only come to Church on Sunday morning. For all I know they may have a deep, rich devotional life throughout the week. They may read the Bible and pray more than people who come to Church every time the doors open. Church attendance is significant, and it often indicates how serious a person is in his or her faith. But what I’m calling a Sunday-only Christian is a person whose only real contact with God and with other Christians is Sunday morning. The rest of the week they are pretty much like everyone else. They never open their Bibles.

They seldom pray, and when they do it’s to say grace at table or to send themselves off to sleep. Their neighbors, co-workers, and friends hardly know they are Christians, so little do they differ from their unsaved associates. Grace is wonderful; thank God for grace. But grace does not cover a lax, off-and-on, half-hearted service to Christ.

Based on these, and some other hard sayings of the Lord, I don’t think I have the right to present the Gospel in a soft, seductive way. Some of the hugely popular, seeker-friendly churches today never preach on these hard saying of the Lord. They preach only positive messages. They don’t want sinners to feel uncomfortable in their services. I’m afraid they may be swelling their rosters with unsaved (or at the very least) immature Christians. I see little resemblance between the way these churches make “disciple” and the way Jesus and the Apostles did. Jesus sought to warn off the unserious from following Him. These churches seem to want as members the same people that Jesus sent away.

When I was going to the jail to teach and preach, I noticed that the other minister would offer the invitation very gently, so as not to scare the potential convert off. “Every eye close, no one looking around. Now if you want to follow Christ, just slip your hand up. Don’t be shy. No one is looking. Yes, I see that hand. Anyone else? Praise God. Now if you raised your hand just come to the front.” Then he would quietly lead those who came forward in his version of the “sinner’s prayer,” with usually no mention made of repentance. So ineffective was this method that some prayed “the Sinner’s Prayer” every time we met. One man raised his hand when asked who was a Christian, then came forward at the invitation and prayed to be saved again. Bless their hearts, some of them prayed to be saved a dozen times.
Based on these and other hard sayings of Christ, I took a very different approach. I told them not to come forward unless they were deadly serious. I told them not to play games with God, not to pray for salvation unless they really meant to live for Him. When they did come forward, I had them repent of their sins, to ask out loud for God to forgive them, and to declare their intention to follow Christ with their whole hearts. When they went back to their seats, I said, “Now turn around and look at those around you. Look them in the eye and tell them this: “With God’s help I intend to follow Christ with all of my heart.” Then they sat down. I instructed them to study the Bible and pray, and when they got out to find a Bible-believing Church and to be baptized as soon as possible

Jesus Emphasized the Cost

Jesus didn’t emphasize the advantages of discipleship, although we know there are many and great; no, He emphasized the cost of discipleship. And He urged anyone who would follow Him to count the cost. In another place He said, “Whoever puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not worthy to be my disciple.” He is saying, in effect, “If you’re not determined to go all the way with Me, turn back now.”

There is a time to count the cost, to calculate just how far we will go with Jesus. There’s a time to ask, “How much of the world am I willing to give up?” How much do I really love the Lord? Am I willing to give up all sin? Can I get to heaven without being a fanatic for Jesus? Am I content to be a lukewarm Christian? But the time to ask these questions is before professing to “follow Jesus.” We need to settle that before we commit to follow Christ. These scriptures, if they mean anything, mean that following Christ can’t be a halfway thing. It’s worse to follow Him with half a heart than not to follow Him at all. After we have taken the measure of our commitment, then there’s no turning back, no lukewarm service, no compromise with the world.

In the strongest possible words Jesus says that He will not endure lukewarm Christianity.

Rev. 3:14-16: “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Pretty clear, isn’t it? Pretty clear, and pretty scary. People are lax and careless in their Christian walk for two reasons. They don’t fear God as they should, and they don’t love Him as they should. No devout, earnest Christian should be afraid of God’s punishment. But even the most sincere Christian walks in a kind of reverent, godly fear. And a person who isn’t trying his hardest to obey God in all things has every reason to fear. Even the Law commands us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Should not a Christian who is only half-heartedly serving God have fear? If we love Him we keep His commandments. If we do not love Him enough to obey Him, we should fear.

I John 4:18: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

If you are not serving God with all your heart, I want you to be afraid. Only perfect, obedient love drives out fear. I want your fear to spur you to action, to repentance, to a fierce determination to be all out for Christ.

I see nothing in all of God’s word to offer comfort to any man, woman, or young person, who is not on fire for the Lord, who is not willing to forsake all for Him, who does not put Him before family, friends, and future. On the contrary, lukewarm Christians are nauseating to Christ, and He is going to spit them out.

Discipleship is a serious business, a life-or-death matter. You must decide whether or not you will surrender the rest of your heart to Him if it is still in anyway divided. If you are holding back any aspect of your life from Him, you are not truly His disciple.

Let meditate on the words of this song:

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way.
Thou art the Potter; I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way.
Search me and try me, Master, today.
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence, humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way.
Hold o’er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit, till all can see
Christ only, always, living in me.

Amen

This article was shared from http://www.pearlofgreatvalue.com/CostofDiscipleship.php

The Cost of Discipleship

Posted: November 20, 2012 in disciples life, teaching, wilderness
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This is where we come face to face with a dangerous reality. We do have to give up everything we have to follow Jesus. We do have to love him in a way that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate. And it is entirely possible that he will tell us to sell everything we have and give it to the poor.

… You know that in the end you are not really giving away anything at all. Instead you are gaining. Yes, you are abandoning everything you have, but you are also gaining more than you could have in any other way. … Why? Because you have found something worth losing everything else for.

This is the picture of Jesus in the gospel. He is something — someone — worth losing everything for. And if we walk away from the Jesus of the gospel, we walk away from eternal riches. The cost of nondiscipleship is profoundly greater for us than the cost of discipleship. For when we abandon the trinkets of this world and respond to the radical invitation of Jesus, we discover the infinite treasure of knowing and experiencing him.

– David Platt

A Message from Peter to future radical Disciples

Posted: November 19, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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A Message from Peter to future radical Disciples;

• So be done with every trace of wickedness (depravity, malignity) and all deceit and insincerity (pretense, hypocrisy) and grudges (envy, jealousy) and slander and evil speaking of every kind.

• Like newborn babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire) the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto [completed] salvation,

• Since you have [already] tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord.

• Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men [a]tried and threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God’s sight.

• [Come] and, like living stones, be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

• For thus it stands in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen ([b]honored), precious chief Cornerstone, and he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall never be [c]disappointed or put to shame.

• To you then who believe (who adhere to, trust in, and rely on Him) is the preciousness; but for those who disbelieve [it is true], The [very] Stone which the builders rejected has become the main Cornerstone,

• And, A Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve [God’s] Word, as those [who reject Him] were destined (appointed) to do.

• But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own [d]purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

• Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God’s people; once you were unpitied, but now you are pitied and have received mercy.

• Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers and exiles [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against the soul.

• Conduct yourselves properly (honorably, righteously) among the Gentiles, so that, although they may slander you as evildoers, [yet] they may by witnessing your good deeds [come to] glorify God in the day of inspection [[e]when God shall look upon you wanderers as a pastor or shepherd looks over his flock].

• Be submissive to every human institution and authority for the sake of the Lord, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,

• Or to governors as sent by him to bring vengeance (punishment, justice) to those who do wrong and to encourage those who do good service.

• For it is God’s will and intention that by doing right [your good and honest lives] should silence (muzzle, gag) the ignorant charges and ill-informed criticisms of foolish persons.

• [Live] as free people, [yet] without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness; but [live at all times] as servants of God.

• Show respect for all men [treat them honorably]. Love the brotherhood (the Christian fraternity of which Christ is the Head). Reverence God. Honor the emperor.

(1 Peter 2:1-17)

Life through Death

Posted: November 15, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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Life through Death

Jesus is significant on so many levels. As we read through the Gospels, we are amazed at Jesus’s power, His compassion, His wisdom, etc. But ultimately, it was very difficult for the Jews to believe that this man was their promised Messiah for one very important reason: He was executed as a criminal.

Israel’s history was filled with kings and judges who conquered their enemies, and the prophecies about the Messiah
pointed to a victorious king. So it must have been confusing when Jesus began to speak about His death. And they didn’t know what to do about this would-be Messiah once He died.

In Mark 8:31–33, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to “suffer many things” and be put to death. (He also
foretold His resurrection.) Peter, unable to see how such a course of events could fit with Jesus’s mission, replied by rebuking his Master and suggesting another path. A triumphant king who dies on a cross? Who ever heard of that? Yet all of the Gospels describe Jesus’s death as central to His mission, and Luke spent almost ten chapters dealing with Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem to die (Luke 9:51–19:27).

Before Jesus was born, an angel declared that He would “save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). John the Baptist referred to Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The problem of sin had threatened humanity’s relationship with God ever since Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the garden. In order for God’s people to be in a right relationship with Him, sin had to be atoned for. All of the sacrifices that God’s people made in the Old Testament pointed forward to the sacrifice that Jesus would offer on the cross (Heb. 9–10). Jesus was the true Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7)—He sacrificed Himself so that we can live.

In the last Old Testament session, we talked about the promise of a new covenant, and the reality that the death of Jesus established this covenant. As we discuss Jesus’s death here, we cannot forget this connection with the new covenant.

As Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, He held the cup and said, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). Thus Jesus fulfilled both of the major promises that carry over from the Old Testament: (1) He was the coming King from the line of David (the Messiah), and (2) through His death He established the new covenant that would heal and recreate His people.

Of course, the ultimate proof of the power of the cross is the resurrection. Many had claimed to be the Messiah, but only Jesus rose from the dead to prove it. After all, a conquering King cannot remain buried in a tomb. The resurrection is crucial to our faith and to the fulfillment of God’s saving purposes. Without it, we have no hope. The Gospels testify that Jesus rose from the grave and appeared to His disciples.

Francis Chan
Excerpt from Multiply material @

Disciple of Christ – or – disciples of the world?

Posted: November 14, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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The cool-aides been removed & the waters been drained – time for the True Gospel.

We can talk about love all day and try to rah, rah, rah ourselves into a hyped up emotional state and never even begin to move then enemy out of our lives one tiny inch – Its time to wake up, step up and enter the war – Hell isn’t playing games & its time we stop playing games, playing Church and start being the Bride whom our Lord went to the cross for.

Jesus isn’t looking for cheer-leaders, He’s looking for humble warrior servants who are not afraid of getting dirty by touching the lives of the unwanted, visiting the widows, taking care of the orphans and sitting in the hospital waiting rooms praying with people we don’t even know. True warriors who don’t sit around the TV all night because they are so hungry to spend their nights on their faces weeping for the lost in this nation and around the world.

You can tell the strength of the soldiers who surround you by their dedication to training, study & attention at the briefings before the battle – How many of those who sit with you on Sunday, join in when its a prayer meeting? The Bible never said a thousand excuses will drive the enemy away.

Are our meeting just a public place where information is passed and people feel good?

Or are they meeting’s where people leave changed from who they were when they entered?

Do we desire meetings that will make us feel better about ourselves or do we want meeting where Holy Ghost comes into the room and does some surgery – painful yes, but the pain is worth it as it is a purification that is needed on the road to Holiness? Because the meeting’s Jesus held were about death to self and service to others, not one step self promotion meetings to improve our opinions (pride) and motivate us too a deeper love of ourselves.

Many exclaim “Lord put the coal to my lips” yet when a little persecution comes they cry “To Hot, to hot”

Jesus never built the Church to be a social club or even a hospital, He built it to be a dominion taking, Hell smashing war machine to claim back the world by ejecting the evil one, all to the Glory of the Father by the Authority He has given us.

If we cant see the Kingdom around us its because we have not died to the world, death which gives access to Holy Ghost to enter in and open our eyes. Come on people you will never grasp the Kingdom as long as your hands are filled with the pleasures of this world. It’s time to end the traditions of men and start living the Kingdom life – An all out submitted life to Jesus as Savior, Lord, King and most of all Master. A totally surrendered life that is willing to tell Jesus “No longer my life, my dreams nor even my heart but yours and yours alone Lord”. That’s what He asks for in fact that is what He demands and nothing short of it – if you don’t believe it you better read your Bible, especially the Red Letters.

Many seem to think the Keys to the Kingdom Jesus spoke of are keys to the bank, to the pleasure club and freedom from labor. Nope, so sorry Charlie, the keys Jesus was talking about where to the storehouse for mission provisions, for opening the doors of hell which has taking captive the lost, to the prayer room with a direct line to the Throne room and to the Armory to suite up with the weapons of Spiritual Warfare.

Time to end the self preservation meetings and enter the battle field, people are dying spiritual around us as we ponder the meaning of life. Jesus summed it up – Die to self, allow Holy Ghost to transform us into His image, teach others to do the same and bring Glory to the Father.

~Russ Welch

Destroy Your Idol

Posted: October 2, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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Norm Millar – Senior Pastor – Harvest London, Ontario

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
-2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Jesus Christ is everything. He is to be worshiped. He alone is to receive glory. He is majestic, all-powerful, perfect, and beautiful. His many attributes can all summed up by the word awesome! And we are none of those things! We simply can’t compare, yet because of our pride, it doesn’t take long for us to try to remove Jesus from His throne and attempt to be lord of our own life.

Now you might be thinking, “I never do that.” The truth can often hurt as it pierces into our soul. So this may sting a bit, but truth is—we all do that at times; most of the time, actually. There are many evidences of this, but a common example is getting upset when someone doesn’t acknowledge or respect our position. “How dare they speak to me like that: She walks right in and didn’t even acknowledge me.” “I am the leader of this team, but he won’t give me the respect I am due.” Sound familiar?

We craft our own idols, made in our image, and then expect others to worship them. Sound a little harsh or extreme? The truth is, we don’t acknowledge our sinful pride for what it is—idolatry. Essentially, we are prone to try to take God’s rightful place and want others to bow to us.

We excel at covering our idols with a façade so they don’t appear to be idols. Take a peek below the surface and you find stinking, selfish, ugly pride which is vying for Christ’s throne. When others don’t bow to and recognize our idol, we get upset, angry, bitter, jealous, and won’t let go of being offended. Beloved, it is exhausting to always stand guard by our idol trying to get others recognize and bow to it. But it doesn’t have to be this way!

Freedom, rest, and joy comes as we humbly and willingly tear down our idols and fall at the throne of the only true God. We must declare that He alone is worthy of our worship. Freedom is found by boasting in our weaknesses. I don’t mean a false humility and self-deprecating words spoken in hope that others will disagree. I mean truly boasting about your honest inability, lack of resources, struggles with obedience, and weak faith.

What will History’s testimony of this generations disciples be?

Posted: September 11, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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By Russ Welch

We must ask ourselves what is “untouchable” in our lives? I mean, what is there in our lives that we are not willing to sacrifice in order to serve the Lord? Is it work? Family? Friends? Reputation? Finances? Houses?

Whatever it is, until you are able to surrender it upon the alter of obedience, you will never truly be sold-out to the Master. The enemy knows it as well and it is that very thing that the enemy will key in on until he has you cornered.

Radically sold-out to Jesus or sold-out to the world?

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” (Matt 16:24-27)

We can see how this passage strikes a death blow to the current trend in much of the modern day Christianity that echoes and leans toward self-centered consumption. Many people wish to identify themselves with Christianity only for what they can get out of it. They view Jesus as a utilitarian genie, fulfilling every whim.

Sadly we find that some (with a growing number) in the Charismatic movement say Jesus wants to make you healthy, wealthy, and happy. If you are not all those things, then you supposedly don’t have enough faith to appropriate what’s yours. They claim Christianity is designed so you can get everything you need and want.

We even see where evangelicals and fundamentalists through the years have been guilty of propagating a Jesus who is a panacea for everything. They promote the get without the give, and the gain without the pain. Self-esteem promoters tell us Jesus came to boost our self-image. But they have fallen victim to narcissism–the pervasive self-love of contemporary society.

We must have a radical mindset transformation to where we realize that true disciples (radical disciples) have counted the cost, weighed their options, and they have stood their ground upon a personal & spiritual conviction that there is nothing in this world that can even remotely compare to the Lord nor is there anything that would hinder them from whole hearted totally abandoned life of servant-hood to Him….Just as history testifies to when we read about the radical disciples in the early years of the Church, when men and women who had counted themselves as bond servants unto their Lord, King and Master Jesus Christ even in the face of death.

We can read in the scriptures of how first century disciples “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41). These simple, humble, but dedicated and convicted people were willing to risk and, if necessary, lose security, property, limb, and even life for Christ’s sake. And yet we think we are “suffering above and beyond the call of duty” if our religion might cause the loss of some “friends,” the approval of our family, or the esteem of the social leaders in our area.

History testifies to the fact that disciples of the first century Church, as well as those of earlier periods in our own nation, could always be identified because they lived “soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world” (Titus 2:12). Although they did not seek to be “odd-balls” or non-conformists just for the sake of being eccentric, they were different even as Peter indicated in 1 Peter. 2:9-12.

Yet with great sorrow we find that a large scale portion of the modern day Christianity has ushered in the era of being,”more tolerant” and “open-minded” about sin than before. To such an extent that we have become amassed with those who call themselves followers of Christ who dress (or undress), curse, drink, smoke, fill their minds with smut, and divorce, etc., just like the world around them to such a degree that it is next to impossible to tell who is the Christian and who is not by the way they live.

Brothers & sisters, these things ought not so to be!

Now, I am not saying that these qualities do not exist anymore today, or that the church is failing. There are many devoted disciples; I know some of them. We must realize that the Lords people in this generation have great possibilities. Yet we must also realize that these trends seem to be developing among us as they have in every previous era and I mention them only to warn us to be on guard. Unless each one of us has the kind of attitude displayed by the people of God of the first-century as revealed in the New Testament, we cannot be the kind of influence He wants us to be in this life, and we simply will not get to heaven

So, one of the questions that must be asked today is;

How shall history look back upon this generations disciples?

Shall History testify to a generation of “radical disciples” who were Radically sold-out servants to Christ the King or will it testify to a generation of “servants of compromise” who sold-out their King for the comforts of this World……?

Seek ye first………

Posted: September 9, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt 6:33)

We need to take into consideration everything in our lives and lay them on the table before the Lord and truthfully ask Him – Lord, are these things what you desire for me? I believe that often times we seek after to accumulate and establish things that may be good, yet they are not the desire of God.

When we look at everything in our lives, if Jesus Christ is not the central focus point then they do not bring Him Glory. My marriage struggled in the early years yet once we made Jesus the very central point, there was a harmony, strength and love that has become the foundation of our marriage, because Jesus is the Rock upon which our marriage stands.

Are we building to promote who we are, or are we establishing Kingdom to promote who Jesus is?

There are ministries that putter along and even though their focus may be on the prophetic, deliverance, healing or discipleship if the main focus is not Christ, the Father has no desire to pour out His blessing.

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Col 1:18)

He has established His Son in the position for everything in Heaven and earth to worship Him. Yet in much of the Church Jesus is the theme but not the central focus.

How can we expect the nations to honor Jesus in His rightful place among them when we the Church resist doing so. God’s purpose is that the Church reveal on earth, both individually and corporately, the centrality of the Lamb, Jesus Christ in our midst.

We’ve built Churches that are driven by the personality of the senior pastor, ministries that are focused on its leaders. Until we make Jesus Christ the focus point in every area of our lives, we can not and will not walk in our inheritance of Victory and power. We will not be able to release the Glory of the Lord to the world.

So again, take everything in your life, put it on the table and ask the Father “Is this purposed by You Father, or out of my own agenda and desire?

In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:33)

Are you radical enough to settle for nothing but the Will of the Father? In order to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, you must.

So you have a better view than the Lord?

Posted: September 6, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (6:34)

Why is it that we like to use verses that encourage us yet the ones that challenge we close the Bible and put it back on the shelf? Jesus is plainly here talking about not worrying about tomorrow yet I constant hear Christians” speaking with a spirit of fear in regard to the future.

Let’s take it to another level, now speaking to Christian leaders, why do we set an agenda for the Church? Why do we establish monthly, annual and annual topics and agenda’s?

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:28-34)

Oswald Chambers said in light of these passages:

“The great word of Jesus to His disciples is abandon. Immediately we look at these words of Jesus, we find them the most revolutionary statement human ears ever listened to. ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God.’ We argue in exactly the opposite way, even the most spiritually-minded of us–‘But I must live; I must make so much money; I must be clothed; I must be fed.’ The great concern of our lives is not the kingdom of God, but how we are to fit ourselves to live. Jesus reverses the order: Get rightly related to God first, maintain that as the great care of your life, and never put the concern of your care on the other things.

I wonder about what Christian pastors and teachers are thinking when the teach the Bible with their lips, yet their lives are not a demonstration of the very words they are speaking.

I listened as men and women establish ministries and they set an
agenda and then say “God gave this to me”.

Really?

Because all through the Bible I read if how God gave his generals orders for the task right in front of them;

Abraham, get up and go and he went, yet all through Abrahams life God gave him instructions for the next task at hand…. David you are anointed King of Israel….yet at every battle David had to ask the Father for His plans for the Lord only gave Him the plans for the battle in front of Him. Jesus to the Apostles “go and tarry”
Yet we speak as though God sees no need for us to have faith, because He is like a fortune teller and show us from start to finish.

James said:
“Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what [shall be] on the morrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye [ought] to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.”

No wonder the world see’s the Church but as a bunch of hypocrites for we profess the scriptures yet we do not live what we are speaking. Or is it because we have been deceived and bought into the Americanized version of the Gospel message that has toned it down and almost completely erased the radical call of Jesus Christ because it is to offensive?

I like what David Platt says in his book “Radical – Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream” – “We desperately need to explore how much of our understanding of the gospel is American and how much is biblical.”

We make our agenda and then cry out to God to show up and when He does not we act like spoiled little children who didn’t get their way and some go as far as opening the door to the father of lies to come and convince them that God the Father let them down.

If we are truly radical disciples of Jesus Christ then we need to radically cross the line of simply professing the Word to the life that lives it. We need to see a radical transformation of Church government back to the foundational teachings of our Lord and His disciples as written in the Word. We need to stop promoting people so quickly because we see that they may have a gift. We need to protect the flock and make sure we do not send out immature Christians to be their fathers and mothers in the faith as their immaturity can turn the new born Christian away from the Faith.

So many pastors are tired and worn out (because they do not see the need of true Biblical elders in place i the Church) that they grab the first one that looks promising not realizing that they may have just welcomed an Ismael into their leadership. Because of this we have seen Church split after Church split.For such immaturity leads to division, strife, envy and jealousy and once they’ve been placed in a position of leadership they will never step down without and all out brawl, most of the time turning “their” followers against the leadership of the Church. Paul warns us and lays out the qualifications for leaders in the Church.

‘Jesus never said we could slice and dice His Gospel and still be His disciples in fact He went so far as to say if we obey ALL His commands we can be His disciple.

Its time to stop playing Church according to mans rules – its time to get back to the blue print that the Father has given us in His Word.

Lets get radical –lets not just preach the Bible – lets be Bible!!!

Radical New Leadership Model

Posted: September 4, 2012 in disciples life, Kingdom Teaching, teaching, wilderness
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Empowered Elders

Leadership in the Church should be different from leadership in the world. In the world leadership takes the form of a pyramid. There is a hierarchy of power with one person at the top. In contrast, leadership in the New Testament is always defined in the plural. No one is ever designated as the single leader of a local church.

However, for most of history, the church has moved towards the hierarchical model with the episcopal form of government. Even the modern independent churches have senior pastors above their elders and other pastoral staff. They are now moving even further towards hierarchy by creating a new breed of apostles, who will take a place in the pyramid above the senior pastors.

I believe that the New Testament calls us to a radically different model of leadership; a model which has never really been tried, except in the early church. This model is joint leadership by a team of leaders who are equal in status, but who bring different gifts to the leadership process. There should be no hierarchy or pyramid. The co-ordinating and directing role is assigned to the Holy Spirit.

The power of a team is greater than the sum of the abilities of its individual members. A team of leaders who are empowered and lead by the Spirit has the potential to be more effective than the pyramid model which is used in the world. As the church moves into a time of intense battle for the future of the world, an extremely effective model of leadership will be needed for the people of God. The church will never be victorious, while it relies on a leadership model borrowed from the world.

There are four important principles that are essential for this new leadership model to work. These are:

Plurality of Leadership
Fourfold Ministries
Discipleship
Replication of Ministries
All of these principles are important.

i) Plurality of leadership.

The principle of plurality of leadership is basic to the New Testament. Each church should be led by a team of elders (Acts 14:23). The minimum number would be three or four. A Church will be led by a group of elders working together.

The elders would all agree to submit to each other. None of the elders will make an important decision without the concurrence of the others. They will each give the others permission to speak into their lives to provide correction. All important decisions for the church will require a consensus among the elders. This principle of plurality of eldership provides covering and protection for the church. There will not be one elder who stands above the others. Having one leader at the top is both dangerous and unbiblical.

An example of this structure is found in the Church of Antioch, one of the most successful Churches in the New Testament. Luke tells us that in Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen and Saul (Acts 13:1). That is, there were five elders who led the Church together. There is no suggestion that one of these elders was the overall leader.

According to Acts 14:22,23, Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in every place where there was a group of disciples. This was all that was needed to make a group of disciples into a Church. Nothing more was needed. They never appointed a single pastor to take charge.

The circles in the diagram below represent the elders of a church. The lines represent their commitment to each other and the relationships between them. The strength of these links between the elders is the source of the strength of the church.

I have drawn a church with five elders. However, the number is not as important as the strength of the relationships between them. Even though they have different ministries, they must have strong relationships with each other. Maintaining these relationships will be almost impossible if there are more than about five leaders. (They will also be maintaining relationships with six or seven people whom they are discipling.) One person cannot relate in this way to more than about twelve people. Therefore if the number of elders increases to more than about five or six, the relationships between them will weaken and the covering will be broken and the strength will be lost. The chinks in the relationships will allow evil to get in.

Plurality of leadership has not been taken seriously by the church. It has long been normal in the church to have one person, usually a pastor, as leader. Even churches with elders will have a senior elder or pastor. The common cry in the church is “We need a pastor” or “We need a leader”. However, this desire for one man to lead is a consequence of the fall. Sinful people have a tendency towards slavery and domination (1 Samuel 8:6-9), but those who have been redeemed should have the same mindset.

The New Testament never states that a church should have “a pastor”. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in each church. They never left one man to run a Church or singled out one elder to be a senior elder or pastor. They “committed them to the Lord in whom they put their trust” (Acts 14:23). In Antioch there were “prophets and teachers”, not one pastor.

When Jesus ascended, he left his disciples with no one person to be the leader. He had carefully discipled them, and taught them to expect the Holy Spirit, but he deliberately avoided appointing a person to take charge. An attempt by two of the disciples to obtain a position of precedence was strongly challenged by Jesus (Mark 10:35-45). The disciples did very well without a single leader. (see Dangers of Leadership by One Person)

Plurality of leadership has not worked well in the world, as sin gets in the way. Sometimes, one of the leaders will try to dominate and take control. In other situations the leadership is divided and is paralysed by mistrust or bickering. Most people believe that because group leadership does not work in the world, it will not work in the church. They find it safer and easier to have one person in charge. However, the church should be different from the world, especially in its leadership. We need to understand the implications of Jesus command to “Love one another as I have loved you.” This command is particularly important for church leaders. It is the key to understanding how plurality of leadership can work.

Christian leaders should be free of the sinful emotions, attitudes and behaviour that divide and corrupt leaders in the world. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 outlines a set of attitudes that will enable several Christians to lead together. These attitudes are not easy, but they are very important. If they cannot be emulated between the elders, we cannot expect the church members to love one another. The commitment of the elders to loving each other is the key to how the body of Christ “grows and builds itself up in love” (Eph 4:16). Love at the top produces love throughout the body.

The best example of this leadership style is the Trinity. The Father said about the Son, “Listen to him”. However, Jesus said he could only do what he saw the Father doing. He also said it was better for him to go away, so that the Spirit could come; but the Spirit, when he came, gave glory to Jesus. Each of the members of the Trinity have absolute freedom and authority to exercise their perfect ministry. Yet each one honours and submits to the others. No one is in control. They demonstrate perfectly how three persons bound together by love can work together in perfect unity.

ii) Fourfold ministries

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of the role of elders. He lists four different functions that elders may have. An elder can be an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, or a pastor and teacher. These are not different offices, but represent different tasks that an elder may do. Each elder will fulfil one of these functions, according to the gifts that Christ has given him. Not everyone is an apostle or a prophet, but each one exercises the ministry to which God has called him. Whatever his gifts, the elder uses them to strengthen the people of God and to build up the whole Church. And while apostles, prophets, and evangelists are important, primary leadership in the Church will be exercised by elders who are pastors and teachers.

All of the ministries listed in Eph 4:11 will be represented in the church eldership. This gives balance to the church. Without this balance the church will not grow to maturity and unity.

At least one of the elders will be a prophet (R). He provides vision for the church and keeps it on the right track. He will ensure that there is an emphasis on holiness. At least one of the elders will be an evangelist (V). This will ensure that the church continues to grow. The rest of the elders will be pastor/teachers (P). They will ensure that new Christians are discipled and grow spiritually, leaving there old lives behind. There should be one of each of these three ministries in every church. There will be more pastor/teachers than evangelists and prophets. A balanced leadership will ensure that the church has the correct balance between evangelism, nurture and discipleship.

In the New Testament, teaching was done within a teacher/disciple or shepherding relationship, not by giving lectures. So pastor and teacher are not different ministries, but different ways of looking at the same ministry. Paul says that elders who teach are worthy of double honour (1 Tim 5:17). The elders to whom Paul is referring are pastor/teachers. The other elders are prophets and evangelists.

Moving into an ascension ministry is not a “great” or “heavy “thing. An Evangelist is a Christian who loves to reach the lost. A prophet is just a person who has a passion for truth and righteousness. A pastor is a Christian who loves to see people restored and nurtured. The church has made these ministries so “big” that only few can enter them. This has robbed the church. Most believers should be able to enter into one of these ministries.

The Role of the ascension ministries is fully described in a new book from Kingwatch Books. It also explains how they work together as elders.

BEING CHURCH
Where we Live

Click here to find our more

The elders would meet together on a regular basis to develop strong relationships with each other. It was at such a meeting of the “body of elders” that Timothy received the laying on of hands (I Timothy 4:14). At these meetings the elders would pray for each other, and for their Church. They would guide, encourage and teach each other. As a body they would exercise oversight over the whole Church.

Any decisions affecting the whole Church would be decided by all the elders, when they met together. If a church is based on relationships, rather than programmes, there will not be many decisions to be made. The only really big decision will be when to send out a new apostolic team.

When Jesus ascended to the right hand of God, he poured out the Holy Spirit. He also gave gifts to the church for building it up to maturity (Eph 4:8). The gifts he gave were apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor/teachers (Eph 4:11). Jesus obviously considered that all four of these gifts were necessary for the church to build itself up in love. Yet, we seem to think we can manage with only one, the pastor/teacher.

The modern church has been almost universally dominated by pastors. Prophets and evangelists have been sidelined to para-church organisations or itinerant ministries. Many evangelists, and some prophets, take appointments as pastors so that they can get into ministry. The ministry of the apostle has virtually disappeared. All churches want a pastor/teacher as leader. We have become so used to this, that most Christians cannot even imagine anything different. I do not know of any local church which has tried to set up a leadership structure that includes all four of these ministries.

Jesus was only able to lead his group of disciples on his own, because he functioned perfectly in each of these ministries. He is a pastor, a prophet, an evangelist and an apostle. However, a human leader can only function in one of these ministries. A church must have all these ministries to function effectively. Without an evangelist, a church will not grow, as it should. The church will need to adopt church growth techniques from elsewhere. Without a prophet, a church will be weak in vision and at risk of sinfulness. The pastor will often have to go and look at what has been successful in other churches to obtain a vision. I suspect that the reason that we have so many immature and weak churches is that we have not accepted the gifts of leadership that Jesus gave us.

All of the ascension ministries are needed for a local church to grow to maturity. Many of the spiritual gifts required will be manifested in other church members, but the ascension gifts must be manifested in the leadership of a church. One person cannot exercise all these ministries. This leaves no alternative but plurality of leadership.

We need to start taking the ascension gifts seriously. A local church should be led by a team of elders. At least one will be a prophet. At least one will be an evangelist. The others will be pastors/teachers. Each will bring different gifts and skills, but no one will take preference. No one person will be leader, instead different people will lead, depending on the situation and who has the gifts that the situation requires. This model of leadership will be extremely demanding. It will require incredible trust, loyalty, honesty, humility and love. Some will say it is too hard, but it is what Jesus expects of his leaders. It is what makes us different from the world.

iii) Discipleship

Every person who becomes a Christian will be discipled so that they grow to maturity. Discipleship means learning to be a Christian by following the example of another Christian. The disciple will be taught the truths of the Christian faith in the form of on-the-job training. The person discipling will provide correction if the disciple goes wrong. The person discipling will work in a very close partnership with the Holy Spirit. They will bathe the disciple in continuous prayer.

Submission to the eldership will be a condition of entry to the church. This is symbolised by their being inside the lines between the elders. I am not talking here about the heavy-handed submission that has damaged some churches and destroyed some Christians in some cults. Submission should not be a “heavy” thing. It is just a willingness by believers to allow more mature Christians to speak into their lives, by being teachable and willing to accept correction. Eldership is not about control, it is for protection and development.

Submission must always be voluntary. While Christians are in submission, they are protected from evil. Disciples should be free to leave at any time, if they do not accept the authority of the elders. The elder’s goal is to see them grow to maturity, not to build an empire.

Each church member will be submitted to one of the elders in particular and to all in general. Each elder will be accountable for some of the church members, but all elders will be able to speak into the life of any member. This will not be a very formal process. When a new member joins, one of the elders will say to another, “You look after this one” or “I’ll take this one”. Quite often, some of the discipling will be done by other mature members of the body. The elder responsible will just watch from a distance.

A new Christian will be taught the basics of the Christian life. They will have lots of questions. Some may need deliverance or healing. They will be taught to read the scriptures and to pray. The most important thing they will learn will be to hear God speak. This will allow the Spirit to work in their life. He will do most of the work.

The basic things should be covered within the first few weeks of their being a Christian. From then on it will be a matter of watching from close by. The elders may still need to answer an occasional question. The disciple may need an odd warning, “Have you prayed about that” or “What is God saying about that”. Prayer covering will be the most important part of discipleship.

Towards the end of the first year, the elder should start guiding the disciple into a ministry. They will help them to identify their gifts and calling and put them in contact with those who can teach them. For example, a potential pastor may start to assist with discipling even newer Christians.

Most of the discipling will be done by the pastor/teachers. The evangelist will be more occupied with preaching the gospel, than developing new Christians (unless they have an urge to evangelise). Prophets tend to have very high expectations of their disciples, with the result that they can easily be crushed. They will be more focused on developing holiness and vision in the whole church as a group. However, prophets will have a role in discipling potential prophets and evangelists will assist with discipling potential evangelists. Every member will need the ministry of the prophet from time to time. The evangelist will encourage all members to witness to Jesus. Sometimes new believers will be discipled by one of the other members of the church, with the more difficult aspects being handled by the elders.

Jesus managed to disciple eleven men successfully. Therefore it is unlikely that one elder would be able to disciple more than ten (c.f. Deut 1:15). This means the elders will be very focused. They will get very fast growth in their people. The danger when elders are spread too thin is that people do not grow. (One leader with 120 disciples will have no impact.)

iv) Replication of Ministries

Elders will replicate their ministries in their disciples (i.e. produce clones of themselves). This is an extremely important principle. Every person who has developed in a ministry, should be training up several people in that same ministry. In this way the ministries of the church will multiply. Multiplication of ministry is as important as multiplication of membership.

Potential evangelists will tend to be drawn to the evangelist. Potential prophets will be drawn to the prophet. Potential pastors will be drawn to the pastors. They will learn all that they can from them. That is why each elder is shown as having people with a similar ministry close to them in the diagram. Each elder will be developing some people who have potential to develop into a similar ministry. They will train someone to replace themselves if they are called to leave. Jesus said that everyone who is fully trained is like his master (Luke 6:40).

The true test of the quality of a church is what has happened to a person who became a Christian in the church three years earlier. Are they functioning in a ministry (Jesus disciples were)? If they are not, then the church is not functioning correctly. Is there a development path for the new Christian? Can they expect to be functioning in a ministry within three years? In a quality church this will be normal. (People who come to Christianity with severe problems, may take longer to grow to maturity, but they should be on the same path).

Key Points

The following points about this leadership model should be noted.

The strongest Christians are on the outside. The elders are on the edge providing protection for the church. Their protection comes through submission to each other.
The elders are held together by a strong bond of love and commitment. Unless they are submitted to each other, it will be dangerous for others to be submitted to them.

There is a clear distinction between being inside and outside the church. The lines represent the boundaries of the church. Their purpose is coverage and protection, not control. There will be no one sitting on the fence.
In the modern world it is no longer possible for the church to hold people in the church by fear or authority. If people are not happy, they will leave. The only way to hold people is to draw them in by love.
The love of Christ will be modelled in the relationship between the elders. This love will be replicated amongst the rest of the Christians.

Each Christian has strong relationships with other Christians. The relationships between the members are where the strength of the church resides. A key role of the elders is to build these relationships.

The newest Christians will be in the centre. They will be drawn to the centre by the love that will be evident in the church. The centre is the safest place to be, as they will be surrounded and protected from the world by many Christians. They will be surrounded and held in the centre by love that is real.

Everyone will be looking to the elders, so they will also be looking outward. For example the potential evangelists will be going out to share the gospel.

I am suggesting a radical change in the leadership model that is common in the conventional church. (If it does not seem radical then you have misunderstood what I am saying.)

This model provides excellent spiritual protection to everyone in the church.
One size does fit all

This leadership model should be applied at every level in the church. It is suitable for a small church or a large church. One person leadership is always dangerous and to be avoided.

A small house group, cell or house church should have four or five leaders who submit to each other. There will not be a full-blown pastor, prophet and evangelist. However, there should be one with prophetic tendencies, another with evangelistic leanings and one or two with pastoral gifts. Otherwise, the group will be unbalanced.

Large churches should also be led by a team of elders, which includes at least one prophet, one evangelist and several pastors As the church gets larger, someone with gifts of leadership (Rom 12:8) or a person with gifts of administration (1 Cor 11:28) may also be needed on the eldership team. I am not enthusiastic about large churches. However the principle of plurality of leadership is more important than the size of the church. The New Testament is clear about the former, but is silent about the latter.

At the other end of the scale, the leadership of the church in the city, should be a group, who are submitted to each other. Some will be pastors, but there should be at least one prophet and one evangelist. Some may be the key apostles in the city.

If the leaders of the church in a city are all pastors, they will be unbalanced.

One person cannot be Jesus.

It takes three people to represent God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One person cannot contain the fulness of the Spirit. It takes two or three to contain him. Therfore, only “shared leadership” can represent the fullness of God.

The best example of this leadership style is the Trinity. The Father said about the Son, “Listen to him”. However, Jesus said he could only do what he saw the Father doing. He also said it was better for him to go away, so that the Spirit could come, but when the Spirit came, he gave glory to Jesus.

Each member of the Trinity has absolute freedom and authority to exercise their perfect ministry. Yet each one honours and submits to the others. No one is in control. The Trinity demonstrates perfectly how three persons bound together by love can work together shared leadership. To manifest the full glory of the Trinity, the church must have shared leadership.

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