Get ready Church for the mountains of mans traditions are being bulldozed over by the Power of God’s Holy Spirit….
The landscape of the modern day church is be re-landscaped back to that which was ordered from the commander in Chief, Christ Jesus, it’s King & Master. For His Kingdom in these last days is being re-aligned to the foundation upon which it was laid.
Holy Ghost fire is removing the cracked, polluted mortar and stones that has been applied over the centuries by what some might conclude where the good intentions of men, yet none the less without the authority of the Builder. For the Builder, Jesus Christ has the blue prints, for He is the Chief architect, and like a good architect, upon close inspection, when He sees things that have been constructed and set in place that are not according to His blue prints, He will order the non-authorized work to be removed. And this is exactly what is happening with the Church today.
Many of the doctrines of men that has been laid upon the true foundation of the church over the past centuries is not authentic- though from a distance appear to be correct, yet upon close review and when laid over the original blue prints, the errors are apparent, the weakened sections of the structure are exposed
Many of today’s “Leaders” are kicking against the transforming & moving wave of Holy Ghost – As He, upon the directive of the King is removing from the landscape of the church, the entrenched doctrine of the “One-man Show” that is central to what is called a “Church service” today.
For centuries, men have attempted to steal the lime-light from He who is the only WORTHY One to get the attention, Christ our Lord. The established church as rested the leadership of the Church, not upon He who is the Chief Cornerstone, rather upon individuals who are not called to such a position. there are many false flames in the landscape in today’s church, though they may have started off with the true Fire of God, they having strayed have transcended into strange fires, vacant of the Oils of Heaven.
The center stage “pastoral role” as it has been portrayed is honestly UN-biblical. Oh, now the religious crowd will jump all over this – but you know what, I do not have to answer to them, I need only answer to the one who has called me, Christ Jesus, my Lord & King. Show me in the Word of God, where the system of “church that is displayed today – you will not find within Spiritual truth – You might line up a good argument by twisting the Word, but line upon line you can not find it.
Today we have “Super-Stars” self proclaimed, though often times promoted by the religious establishment as legitimate, for they are crowd attractors which means more coins in the offering plate, who charge large sums of money, often times in the thousands, robbing the local storehouse of that which is intended for the local Brides needs. They are promoted as “Super-star” miracle workers, Prophets, Evangelist and Apostles – Again “One-man” show, Great performers yet in the wake of all the hype – peoples lives are never truly changed – it becomes an addictive spiritual drug to them as they are induced with the belief that there really are those who carry an anointing that is not available to the “regular” folks and they end up running from meeting to meeting, while to whole time their lives contain now true, lasting victory’s, mere quick fixes until the next “Show”.
With all this said, we can now take up the matter of today’s “formal meeting”-life of the church; concerning this kind of meeting- and we speak here particularly of the Sunday morning meeting [the meeting held on the “first day of the week” (Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor. 16:2)] – we turn to 1 Cor. 14:23, 26-33:
“If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad [crazy] ..?
“How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
“If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
“But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
“Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
“If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
“For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
“And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” (I Cor. 14:23, 26-33)
This is one of the few instances in the Bible where the “formal meeting” life of the early church is discussed, and while the circumstances which surround Paul’s mentioning of this series of particular meetings were admonitory, much can be gleaned from this passage which sheds a great deal of light on the meetings of the so-called “Apostolic Church.”
One of the first things that comes to mind in examining these meetings is that these meetings are not “one-man performance.” The meetings referenced were not a “one-man show,” but meetings in which everyone was expected to participate – either by calling out a song (that is, after all, what the psalms were all about), by teaching, by testifying to God’s goodness, etc. – and there is nothing to indicate from this passage (either by inference or direct statement) that Paul found anything amiss in any of this. True, he speaks against the confusion of the meeting, but he evidently does not attribute this to the fact that the meeting is not a “one-man performance;” instead he attributes it to the unbridled use of tongues in the meeting. And this is substantiated by the method that he suggests to end the confusion:
“When ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.
“If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
“But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
“Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
“If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
“For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.” (1 Corinthians 14:26-31)
Where is there here any evidence of a “one-man show?” There is none! The meetings of the early church were characterized by mutuality and cooperation under the authority of the elders acting under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. How different this is from the “one-man shows” of today’s Christianity.
The Lord made it clear through the New Testament writes that “ALL” are to participate!
The meeting of the church should seek to emulate this form of meeting (the kind described in 1 Corinthians 14:26-31); it should be based upon the twin principles of mutual help and mutual edification. But this is impossible when the “success” of the meeting is contingent upon just one “gifted” member (or even a few “gifted” members). Under such circumstances, how can there be any mutuality? – and how can the other members ever gain any experience in ministering the Word of God? We repeat, the meeting of the church should be conducted by the church – the whole church – under the guidance of the church’s elders.
The dependence of the church on one man for the success of its meetings – meetings in which church members are encouraged to become passive and indolent, always expecting to be helped, rather than seeking, in dependence upon the Holy Spirit, to be helpful to the other members – should be discouraged.
True, “one-man shows” often have a “better flow” and “polish” to them – but more often than not, it is the same kind of “flow” and “elegance” (refinement, dignity, grace) that one can expect to see in a performance on Broadway or in a Hollywood movie. Stagecraft and “special effects” are what count there; but stagecraft and “special effects” are “pretendings” (i.e., pretenses). They’re not real. They don’t produce life. What they produce are good performances.
But they certainly don’t build up the saints. What they create in the saints is an “audience mentality” – i.e., passivity and listlessness; they don’t (indeed, they can’t) create living, active, vigorous members of the body of Christ anymore than a performance at the theater can be expected to create actors from the audience. The fact is, a “good” audience in the theater or at the movies is one that will remain silent and listen, not one whose members jump up from their seats and join the actors on stage.
Once a church’s meetings are reduced to a “performance” and dependence on stagecraft and “special effects,” it’s only natural that an atmosphere will develop in the church where only the most “gifted” saints will dare to function. Those who are not so “gifted” (i.e., eloquent, articulate, persuasive, charismatic) will be encouraged to remain silent; after all, when such saints minister, they detract from the “show’s” “professionalism” and flow (elegance). Indeed, the meetings of the church become “performances” and “productions” in which only the most “qualified” can hope to participate. The fact is, when such an atmosphere is generated, the “normal” saints become too embarrassed to even open their mouths, let alone “try out” or “audition” for “better parts” in light of the “professionalism” of the more gifted “actors” – kind of like an actor at a local theater in some small mid-western town trying to share the stage with Madonna or Tom Cruise.
“Functioning” for the normal Christian in this kind of a situation means working as a “stage-handler” – i.e., moving the stage sets around, helping the actors with their makeup, taking tickets at the box office, cleaning up after the performance, etc., and this is precisely why so many in today’s evangelical church are weak and passive. They have no opportunity to exercise themselves spiritually in the meeting-life of the church. Each member’s responsibility for the success of the meeting has been lost sight of, and passivity has hindered the spiritual development of the individual members. We must get away from the idea of the Sunday meeting of the church being a “performance.” Such thinking is carnal in the worst sense of that word – everything for the “outward man;” nothing for the “inner man.” God deliver us from this kind of church-life, from this kind of meeting-life.
What about authority in the Meetings?
Ultimately, the authority in all the meetings rests with the Holy Spirit; that authority is administered through the elders of the local assembly or house-church who are, of course – and by definition – best equipped to discern the leading of the Spirit. Concerning the elders, Peter writes:
“Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according unto God; nor yet for filthy lucre (money), but of a ready mind; neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock.” (I Peter 5:2-3)
And Paul writes,
“Let the elders that rule well be counted of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching.” (I Tim. 5:17)
Now in this context, it is important to note how the Word of God uses the term “rule” in connection with the elders. It does not mean to “lord over.” Jesus said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and [their] great men exercise authority over them.
“It is not [to be] so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,
“and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;
“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. ” (Matt. 20:25-28)
Again, we must remember that a scriptural church does not consist of an active and a passive group of brothers and sisters, the former controlling the latter, and the latter simply submitting to their control, or the former bearing all the burden while the latter settles down in ease to enjoy the benefit of the elders’ labors. “That the members … should care for one another” is God’s purpose for His church (I Cor. 12:24).
Now the question might fairly be asked, what exactly is an example? It is a pattern for others to follow. Since elders are to be a pattern to the brethren, then obviously it is neither God’s thought for them to do all the work and the brethren none; nor for the brethren to do all the work while the elders simply stand by and command. For the elders to be a pattern to the brethren implies that the brethren work and the elders work as well; and it implies that the elders work with special diligence and care so that the brethren should have a good example to follow. The elders are overseers of their brethren, but they are not “lords,” standing aloof and commanding. Such is the scriptural conception of the rule of the elders – not only with regard to the church in general, but also with regard to their participation in the meeting-life of the church. Again, we must always bear in mind what ALL authority in the church is aiming at; it aims specifically at –
“… the perfecting of the saints … for the edifying of the body of Christ:
“Till WE ALL come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
“From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Eph. 4:12-16)
The perfecting of the saints! – this is what real authority in the church is aiming at. Could there be any question regarding this matter in light of the above passage? Isn’t this what the themes of this passage clearly indicate? – “the perfecting of the saints” (plural, not singular); “the edifying (building up) of the body of Christ” (that means everyone); “we ALL” (again, everyone); “the whole body fitly joined together” (again, speaking about everyone); “edifying (building up) itself in love.” It is the duty, then, of the elders to encourage (but not necessarily to command) the participation of all the members in the meeting-life of the church.
To this end, the elders should not be aiming at a “good performance,” but full participation. This is not to say that the meetings should not have direction; they should – and it is the duty of the elders to set that direction and “flow;” but as much leeway as possible should be granted to the saints – even to the point of letting them make mistakes; after all, how is it possible to learn without making mistakes? We repeat, the meeting of the church is not a performance; if anything, it should resemble a family coming to the dinner table and conversing with one another while they eat.
As in all families, there are some who are older, and some who are younger. There are grandpas and grandmas, and there are infants. There are children and teenagers. There are mothers and dads. There are aunts and uncles. There is everyone. All are invited to come and eat, and to participate in the conversation.
In such a context is there any mother and/or father so “proper” and “correct” that they do not want to hear from all the members of the family – even the youngest and most immature? Certainly not! Sometimes the happiest moments at a family dinner – the most memorable – are when the children have something to say. How the father and mother rejoice to hear their children; to listen to them share their joys and sorrows. But how can the parents know what those joys and sorrows are unless the children speak out. Remember, dinner time is not a performance where only the grandpas and grandmas, and the mothers and dads speak? That’s not what God wants! To be sure, there should not be chaos at the table. No one wants to sit at a table where there is disorder and confusion. Let everyone speak in turn. Let everyone listen in turn.
We are entering a season when much of the world’s financial institutions are going to collapse – we are going to see a world who is seeking real answers, a real solution and the governments of this world are not going to have (actually they already do not have) the answers. Much of the churches finances are tied up in buildings today and this has caused a weakening of the Word, much of the preaching as transcended into a user friendly version – The Church at large has allow the worldly systems to influence how the operate, how they “market” they service and “their” ministry. Many of these building are going to be deserted and many ministries are going to not only go out of business, they are going to have to file bankruptcy because they have build man-made and man funded empires totally outside of the “blue-prints” of the King. Thus is already happening, such as we have seen that glass cathedrals can come crashing down, especially when the are personality focused, rather than Jesus focused holding onto the Word in all purity.
Am I sounding like a dooms day prophet?
No friends, not only is the writing upon the walls of history as it unfolds before our very eyes – it was already writing about in the Word of God -let those who have Spiritual eyes discern what the Spirit of the Living God has spoken and is speaking.
The Remnant shall survive – those whose faith is in the Lord and not in man shall, through faith over-come – the true Ekklesia shall rise up in this day and even in the face of the worlds financial structures crumbling, they shall not lack – those who are building up and sowing into God’s true and faithful storehouses, shall eat of that fruit. God is not a God of lack, He is a God of Abundance and two of the keys to the store house of His abundance is obedience and faithfulness.
Hunger for His Word, for His unadulterated Pure Word, seek and ask Holy Ghost to open the book to you as you’ve never seen it before, to expose the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven which can only be seen through Spiritual eyes, one must be Born-again of the Spirit to see the Kingdom of God!
We are living in the days when the hearts of men shall faint, when people will be running to the mountains in fear, terrible days for the unbelievers – Yet Praise God for the saved, for we are living in the days when we are seeing the Glory of the Lord rising upon His Bride.
Those who have ears, listen to what the Spirit of the Lord is speaking in these day’s, those who have Spiritual Vision, look and you shall see the Hand of the Almighty, moving the lines of nations around, reordering things that men said could never be moved.
These are days in which, having repented and crying out for His Kingdom, His Will we shall speak and see the Kingdom of God in all its authority transforming the very atmosphere, climate and culture around us. For our God is a God we can boast about, for indeed our God is an Awesome God!!!
Radical Disciples - A Remnant Revolution 