You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Uncategorized' category.
Ever since i was born, I wasnt given a chance by this world to be anything great. Yet my heart tortured by failure craved to be the thing they said i couldent, to become great. But God in his great wisdom, has made me the weakest of all men, that he might show his great strength through me. For i once fought to bring myself glory, now i fight to make the name of Jesus be glorified. I was confused about what true greatness was, greatness is only found in the image of Christ. I can never say i am trully great, but i can say God is great, for God in his greatness has made me who i am, the weakest man on earth, and so the most susceptible man to his great power. For I will go the land which puts greatness to death, I will go not in my name, not in my power, but in the glory of the LORD!
We Christians have become obsessed with making sure what we do is Gods will, as it should be, for Christ cried out to the Father, “Nevertheless not my will be done, but let your will be done.” I have found it extremely hard to try and deciver what is the will of God. Of course Gods will does not conflict with Gods word, so if anything you do conflicts with what scripture teaches, it is not the will of God, for Gods will is shown in Gods word. So the word of God is how we know the will of God, but i know the bible yet when it comes to making decisions how am i suppose to know whats Gods will and whats my will? Ive come to notice that when we try and plan our lives out and say, this is Gods will for my life, i can feel it, actually at those times are when we are acting most in our own will. When we try to pray and find out whats Gods will on a subject that is when we end up doing our own will. For when we pray, we know in mind what we would rather desire, and usually God does not speak back with words that can be heard so we end up turning our desires into “Gods will”. Those of us who have the Spirit of Christ in us, have Christ in us, we try to go and find Gods leadership when the whole time its in us. We try to go seek out what is Gods will, when Gods will is placed in our hearts with his Holy Spirit. Jesus said the Holy Spirit is our counselor, yet we do not heed his counsel, because we have a lack of understanding our own ability to act in the will of God because of the Holy Spirit at work in us. When we look at scriptures we do not see the disciples pondering days or years on what Gods will is for a subject, why? Because they understood the concept of the leadership of the Holy Spirit. There are 6 billion people on earth, we have not the time to spend our lives trying to decide which batch of people we want to give our lives to. Even our ministry is not ours to decide to whom do we serve. Our desire is to spread the name of Christ to the whole world, to bring God glory and to praise him all over the globe. I think we now adays spend to much time planning, and not enough time action, partly i think because our concept of ministry is distorted. The whole ministry has become about finding out what God wants you to do in life, and whatever you do it is good and it is Gods will. If i chose to think like this I would live here all my life, try to start a small church help people, have my wife and kids and live out in the country some where in a happy life. But the Spirit of God at work in me has shown me that great men of God are not the happiest men on earth, they are not the greatest, they are the weakest, but by them God is glorified. And that is what its all about, giving God glory. You can live a Christian life anywhere and God could get glorified because of your way of living toward him. But he would lose, and you would lose much much more. Our lives should be like this; No matter where I am, I will give God glory, and no matter to whom i minister, God will be glorified. God is glorified with the people who live happy suburban lives and do small servacis in the church because thats what talent and messure of faith they have received. We should do Gods will, and Gods will is for us to live according to his word and his standard even if he means risking comfort or saftey.
It has been taught first by the Roman Catholic church for the past thousand years and all over Christian denominations that suicide is the sin to which is a fast track to hell. That once you commit suicide then you are going strait to hell. I heard one man explain it this way, when you commit suicide you have no chance to repent of that sin so you go strait to hell. Well i would agree with that for an unsaved person, but not for a saved born again Christian. Even the title bears the truth, saved and unsaved people, those who are saved are saved indeed no matter what sin they commit, and those who are unsaved are unsaved until they are covered with the blood of Jesus Christ. I believe the idea that suicide is a one way path to hell is in fact a distortion of the truth. Anyone who says that even a Christian who commits suicide is going to hell is somebody who has a very immature knowledge of the gospel and a very law driven salvation instead of salvation through grace alone. Remember, the way to heaven is not doing good by the law and repenting for the times we sin, if that were true then Christ died for nothing! But Christ died so that we could live under grace, that when we accept his blood on the cross as the sacrifice that it is a once for all purifying us of all our sins, past, present and future. When we accept Christ we have become as pure as Christ in the eyes of God, no matter what sin you commit your sin is forgiven by the blood of Christ. As much as some immature Christians still try to preach the blood of Christ mixed with the law of God in one grace law filled mixture. How can you say the blood of Christ washes away my sins and in the same breath say if you commit suicide your going to hell? If the act of suicide which is sin is covered by the blood of Christ then God can no more see that suicide then any other act of sin. The blood of Jesus Christ was shed once for all for our sins, he was the sacrifice which made us whole. In the old testament, a lamb had to be slain once a year for the sins of Israel, but Christ does not have to be crucified once a year, he died once for all, for sins past present and to come.
Look at Samson, a man filled with the power of the holy spirit who killed himself as his last act on earth. Samson asked God to restore to him the power that he once knew so that he could knock over the pillers and kill himself and all his enemies who were with him. Do you think that God would let one of his great men of the bible commit suicide if it were an automatic path to hell? To be saved we must accept the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross which is accepted through faith and repentence. Repentence is not the means of salvation, it is a way of accepting the salvation which is bought through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ which we know is for sins past present and future. So even if you do not repent for a sin, does not mean you are going strait to hell. For when we put our faith in Christ and repented of our sins and accepted the atonement of Jesus blood then no act of sin could separate us from Christ in God. When we knowingly sin it is good to repent and stay humble in faith before our God, but if the theory that unrepentent sin is more powerful then the blood of Jesus is true then even the smallest unrepented white lie of your life would leave you in hell. I know that even since I have accepted Jesus as Savior im sure there has been a time or two when i have forgotten to repent of some small sin, or maybe i didnt even think about it cause it was so small. Does that mean im going to hell? No! Because when i accepted Christs gift of salvation that shadow of salvation does not just clean me of my past sins, it cleans me of my present and future sins and if i commited suicide it to would be covered by the atonement of Christ.
They say, Joe how come you love Israel? How could anyone not! How could you love Jesus but not his people? thats like saying you are a follower of Jesus but not of God! For how could you love God when you hate the very servant to whom you have been saved. Was not Christ a jew? Jesus said salvation is from the Jews, yet you say the Jews killed Jesus? Do you not know that it was not only the sins of the jews that put christ on the cross but your sins and mine, all of our sins have crucified christ. And for love of all Christ died to all for all. For God did what man could not, God brought us salvation by himself for man could not save himself. Christ did what the law could not, for by Grace Christ died to save all, and by the stumbling of the jews all men have been saved, what shall there inclusion mean but life from the dead! When i read my bible, how could i not long to walk where Jesus walked? How could i not long to live in the land which God gave to Abraham the father of our faith, how could i not long to kiss the ground of the only place on this earth which could be called, Holy Land. How could my heart not long to live in the land to which God loves, how could i not long to live in the land to which Christ came and Christ is returning to! How could i not long to pray on mount Zion, the mountain to which Christ will rule and to which the eternal kingdom will be brought down from heaven. And how could i be blind to the ignorance of my fellow brothers. How could i ignore the fact that the great servant of God Israel, is but a remnant, how could i Ignore the fact that God hardened there hearts so that i might be saved! How could i not desire with all that is in me to first of all repay to the jews what they have given to me. How could ignore the fact that Gods servant Israel is lost and going to hell, how can i ignore the fact that the holy people of God are being attacked from all sides. Do you not know that if the Jews did not reject Christ you would not have been saved? Do you not know that without the Jews you would have no faith, for all of your Christian prophets are actually Jewish prophets, and your Christian Christ is actually the Jewish Messiah! Your God, he is to be called the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the patriachs of the Jews. The question is this, how could we Christians, think ourselves so different from the jews? The Jews in the old testament were worshiping the exact same God we worship as Christians. The only difference between us and them is the difference between the old and new covenants, we have been given a new covenant of grace, while they are still trying to live under the covenant of law. But do you not know that there hearts were hardened so that you might receive this covenant? God did not save you so that you could go to heaven and his servant Israel could go to hell, God hardened the hearts of the Jews so that we might be saved that we might once again bring the faith to the Jews that all might partake of the new covenant. I view it as the greatest purpose of our generation to reach Israel with the Gospel of Christ, we have gone to every nation on earth and except the most important one. Christ will not return until we Christians do what we were sent here to do, make disciples of all nations! God has a plan for Israel, do you think that God forsook his people Israel never again to graft them back in? No, but they shall be his witnesses to the world in the time of the Antichrist when he rules over this earth for a time, they shall be the remnant of believers, for those who nailed Jesus to the Cross shall mourn over him as one mourns for an only son! The servant God first used, shall be the servant God uses last, that servant is Israel. I believe it the greatest duty for believers in this generation to reach the hearts of the Jews, for God has said that when they return to there land he will turn there hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. That happened sixty years ago, yet we have failed to see them come to Christ, why? Because us gentile Christians have been ignorant to the importance of Israel, we have come to think we have replaced Israel in the eyes of God. But God made a covenant with Abraham and God made a covenant with his descendants, that Jesus Christ will rule over that land with the remnant of Israel. The reason i care so much about Israel is because God cares so much about Israel, God is jealous for his people, and i am jealous for his people, and you should be jealous for his people, jealous of the fact that our God is the God of Israel, yet Israel themselves are living in blindness. This is the last mission field, Israel is the last frontier of the spreading of the gospel, those who received first shall receive also last, and as God has said, through them the world will be blessed forever.
Romans 11:25-32 “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part untill the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for Gods gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have not received mercy as a result of their disobediance, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy AS A RESULT OF GODS MERCY TO YOU! For God has bound all men over to disobediance so that he may have mercy on them all.
I was raised in a society that said God Bless America, a society which teaches us to pledge allegence to a flag, but wont let us pray in our schools, a society which puts country over God, which puts tolerance over truth, and which puts Idols above the one true and living God, the creator of heaven and earth. They teach us to put our patriotism at such a high position in our lives that anything unpatriotic is heresy, but that is not true. America was built on Christians, seeking a new land to freely worship Jesus as LORD with all purity of mind and body. Then the puritans were indoctrinated with a culture of tolerance, the people of this country tried to count equal all religions, they tried to make it seem as if these idols were gods, when there is only one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth. America survived for the sake of the elect that are living in this country, and also for the sake of Israel, the chosen servant of God, who by americas help prophecy was fulfilled. It is said that the greatest calamity a country could undergo is the loss of worship. America has lost the worship of the one true God and his only Son Jesus Christ. We have tryed to make God no different then all the false gods, and we began to teach our children that there is no God. We accept worship, but it is not the policy of this country to practice worship. They did not want to be called a christian country, they did not want there children taught about a Creator, but america is teaching its generations to worship an Idol, the idol of money. We have become enslaved by lust and greed, money is americas god, sex is americas god, for these things and many more judgment will be brought upon this country. America has taught against the commands of God, they have taught that homosexuality is not a sin, thus by directly defying Gods law. How long America do you plan on defying the LORD your God? How long america do you plan to hand your generations over to the devil. Mothers kill there children, they dont even allow them to be born! The people commit fornication, in fact it is not only tolerated, but it is encouraged. The people are caught in all kinds of drunkeness and murder, in perversian and ungodly speech. The people are currupted in mind in heart and in flesh, there is no part of them that is clean. America has taught that there is no moral law, that there is no God and no judgment, the country is a country run by sex and money and all other kinds of idolatry. If it were not for the sake of the elect this country would have already been destroyed. To them that pervert the word of God, to them that hate God and all things good, the LORD is bringing judgment, not in due time, but in this time, and for the reason of treason against the Kingdom of God and the injustice against the LORD Almighty you have been found guilty, punishable by death, which is to be carried out by Gods anger in judgment of the once virgin turned harlot.
2 PETER 2:13-
“They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasure while they feast with you. WITH EYES FULL OF ADULTERY, THEY NEVER STOP SINNING; THEY SEDUCE THE UNSTABLE; THEY ARE EXPERTS IN GREED–an accursed brood! THEY HAVE LEFT THE STRAIGHT WAY AND WANDERED OFF TO FOLLOW THE WAY OF BALAAM, son of beor, who loved the wages of wickedness… …These men are springs without water and mists driven by storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity- for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. if they have escaped the curruption of the world by knowing our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end then they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, then to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true; “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”
This scripture is talking about the immoral people which brought the wrath of God against the world when God destroyed the world by the great flood in the times of Noah. This is a short description of the people of Noahs day and also a description which could be said about the people of Sodom and Gomaroah who by which God destroyed by fire in the time of Lot, the nephew of the Patriarch Abraham. Jesus said that in the times before his return it would be much like the times of Noah, that this description given here could be applied to the generation before the return of Christ and Gods final judgment. When i read this scripture, it really described to me this generation in America today, i know this as i have been a witness and both a participant in her wickedness. I have scene first hand her convincing evils, her decietful wickedness of lust and greed and the like, of which i was once apart. But by the grace of God provided through His Son Jesus Christ i have been freed from the chains of the slavery of this sin and these worldly desires. And the blood of Jesus has cleansed me from all sin and slavery. With this eye that has lived in and scene the wickedness from a first hand perspective i can attest to as a witness against this country of her great wickedness. I have prayed and prayed for this dear country to repent and turn from her evil ways and turn back to the Living God, the Living Stone from which it was born. I can say now with full vigor from the Holy Spirit that the time has been coming and is now at the door, when America will turn its back on Israel, and God will turn his back on America. For God said to Israel, whoever blesses you i will bless you and whoever curses you i will curse. America will turn against her brother, the saints will be called up to join the LORD and all that is left in this land will be like filthy rags, full of darkness awaiting the wrath of God like a man on death row. America has defyed Gods Word, and Gods Law, she has turned her back on the God who made her great, the God who gathered her peoples from all over the globe. Brought together for a time in which the followers of Christ might worship freely, and for a time in which Israel might be in need. In Gods eyes, America was built as a place for Christians to worship Jesus, and then was sustained as a place to which Israel might rely on while facing annialation. Do not forget that the scriptures say that God is the one who establishes governments, God established this government as a tool for which his eternal plan might unfold. When a tool is never again needed, what good is it to have? If America was established by God, so he could use her, what good is america if she is no longer needed, what God has established for a purpose when the purpose is fulfilled the establishment is no longer needed, what was established shall then be abolished. When the Christians are brought up to heaven with Christ, and America turns her back on Israel, the need for america is no more and america will be only useful as a graveyard of doomed souls; not a country, but a desolation fully repayed for her abominations. The crop of Believers of Christ is now ready to be harvested, the good crop will be kept, but the useless crop will be thrown into the fire to be burned. America, is now ready to be harvested by God, for the harvest is ripe!
I do not hate America, i hate its idolatry, i am angry with a righteous anger over the loss of reverance for the LORD God almighty. I am but a citizen of one country, the Kingdom of Heaven, and i pledge allegence to one object, the Cross of Christ. Under God they stood, under Idols they fall. America has turned its back on the Living God, may we all pray that God brings revival instead of wrath in these last days.
Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, David, Paul, Peter, John, James, John the Baptist etc.. What do all these names have in common? They were all pillars of our faith, they were some of the greatest men of God to ever walk the earth. We hold them in the highest of regard, we make statues and paint pictures and hold them in the highest reverence, and why? Because they were in a world that didnt even deserve them and they counted themselves as nothing giving up there bodies even unto death. And there was no greater example of this then Jesus, because Jesus was the perfection of all things good, the mighty God, the Prince of Peace. But yet he humbled himself even unto a despisable death and humiliation.
Philippians 2:5-11 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature of God, did not consider equal with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!”
Yet even though we somewhat today see these great men for what they were, the world rejected and despised them in there time and even they thought of themselves as the least of all men, the refuse of the world. But God chose them because of there hearts, and God glorified them because they humbled themselves and brought Glory to God.
Isaiah 53:3 “He was DESPISED AND REJECTED BY MEN, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” (this verse is about Christ but it really sheds light on most of the men of God, that they were despised and rejected.)
1 Corinthians 4:9- “For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. We are fools for Christ… We are weak… …we are dishonored. To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. up to this moment WE HAVE BECOME THE SCUM OF THE EARTH, THE REFUSE OF THE WORLD.”
Hebrews 11:36-38 “Some faced jeers chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.”
Now this is how the greatest men of God lived, they lived humbly and lowly and not in high status or in good living, they were disliked and hated, they were murdered and persecuted, yet they humbled themselves all before God not thinking of themselves higher then they ought have. This is the type of men we should look for to lead us in our society and church organizations. Our society has transformed the way the church conducts its business, this should not be so. We look for Pastors and leaders the same way that businesess look for there employees and managers. We look at there education, there outward appearance, there record of wrongs, we look at there age, and there experience and we judge them by the same measurements that the world judges itself. This should not be. We should look for leaders the same way God does, we should judge them by there hearts, and by there humility, the word says that God opposes the proud but glorifies the humble.
1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, BUT THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART.”
My point is this, the greatest men of God were great because they humbled themselves, they humbled themselves not as a single act of humility, meekness was not an act performed before the LORD, it was a characteristic exhibited every day of there lives and in every act of there worship toward God. The humility which led every aspect of there lives to obediance and even sacrifice which all brought Glory to God. And when we desire to pick a leader to lead us, we should look at him like God made Samuel look at David when Samuel was looking for King to lead Israel, not at his outward appearance or accomplishments, but at his heart, and at his humility with which the greatest few have obtained.
I was sleeping the other night and i heard the name David softely, though not with my audiable hearing, or in my dreamlike hearing, it was a whisper that i heard in the Spirit. I prayed for clearity in a subject and the LORD whispers one word, and yet thats all it took.
Im not studying the Story of David and Goliath, im studying the reasoning of Warfare and when is it approved by God. I Think the story of David and Goliath is a great example of clarity on the Morality of Combat.
So everyone knows the Story, Saul was the Anointed King of Israel, and Israel is the Anointed people of God, they stood on one side of a valley ready to fight the philistines, and the philistines stood on the other side of the valley eager to destroy the Israelites. And a mighty warrior from the philistines named Goliath who was a huge man and a lifelong warrior went out every day for fourty days cursing the God of Israel and challenging any one man of the Israelites to come out there and meat him one on one to decide the Battle. But the Israelites were afraid, and noone would go out there to fight Goliath because he was so huge and terrifying. But when this young kid named David comes to bring his brothers who are in the army food he heres goliath defying the Israelites and God, and David full of Zeal for God is sent before Saul and convinces Saul to let him fight the Philistine Goliath. So david with only a staff and a slingshot goes out there and kills goliath and cuts off is head and brings it before Saul the King of Israel. Now this is the man of whom it is said, “A man after Gods own heart”? This is the conflict to me that i think this story answers, how could a godly man justify essentially murder? For this we have to look at Davids reasonings for wanting to fight the philistine.
1. Goliath defied the purpose and will of God by defying the army and people of God.
1 Samel 17:26 “…Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he sould defy the armies of the living God?” David was not fighting out of hate, but out of Zeal for God, and for the purpose of God which was being lived out through the people of Israel. God was using Israel for his purpose in his altimate goal of Salvation for the world, David was not fighting a man who wanted a piece of land, David was fighting for the purpose of God and for the glory of God for the will of God. The way of our God is peace, but the way to peace is through Gods will, and it is Gods will for his chosen people to live, God is a God of life, yet it was his will that Jesus would die for us, from death came life to the world, from Davids warfare came the protection of a people that from them would come the Savior of the World Jesus Christ.
1 Samuel 17:45-47 “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I COME AGAINST YOU IN THE NAME OF THE LORD ALMIGHTY, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and Ill strike you down and cut off your head. Today i will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know THAT THERE IS A GOD IN ISRAEL.
47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORDS and he will give all of you into our hands.
So David went out to fight David in the Name of the God of Israel so that people would know that there is a God in Israel. This was not to give glory to david or to the Jews of Israel, but to the God of Israel, who is the one true God. Through Davids victory God is still being glorified today, who hasnt heard about David and Goliath? why is it one of the most popular stories of all time? because God worked a miracle, by which God is glorified.
So David fought with Zeal for God, not hate for man, David fought for the will of God, not for his own will, David fought to bring God glory, not men, and through his obediance and bloodline came the Savior of the world, the Son of God, the Messiah! David had a heart after Gods own heart, for this God blessed his descendents one of which was Mary who gave birth to the Christ! If Davids actions of warfare were unjustified and wrong, God would have not so richly blessed him. This with the multitutudes of other occations in the scriptures of the Holy Spirit leading men into battle along with the knowledge that God does not change, we must conclude that it is possible and reasonable for us to say that God could and will lead men into battle, for his will and his glory and his divine purpose. And this is in fact the answer to my question i raised up to God in prayer, in which he lead me to the answer through one word, “David”…
Galatians 6:1-6 “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.”
We are suppose to confess our sins to each other are brothers in Christ, if one of us is caught in sin, we should restore them gently. Were suppose to help each other and be as one body. Not to be pridefull, or to think higher of ourselves then we are. Be humble. Were suppose to test our own actions, whether or not they are godly and right, or sinful, so that we could be happy with ourselves that we are upholding the gospel of Christ. And when someone receives instruction, they should be open with the instructor about everything. We should have this type of relationships with the members of the church.
Jesus taught, that we should do Gods will on earth AS IT IS DONE IN HEAVEN. Matthew 6:9-10 “This, then, is how you should pray; “Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN…” In heaven, the church and body of Christ is one body with one leader and one teacher, one master, one Father, the Christ, our LORD Jesus! on earth we should be united as one, as it is in heaven. In John 17 Jesus Prayed that we should be one on earth, as he and the Father are one. John 17:11 “…Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-the name you gave me- so that they may be one as we are one.” We are called to be one body in Christ! In the early church, we see that they acted as one. Acts 2:44-46 “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Everything they did, they did together for the glory of God!
Matthew 23:1-12 “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to is disciples: The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on mens shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; They love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them Rabbi.(teacher).
BUT YOU ARE NOT TO BE CALLED RABBI (TEACHER), FOR YOU HAVE ONLY ONE MASTER AND YOU ARE ALL BROTHERS. AND DO NOT CALL ANYONE ON EARTH ‘FATHER, FOR YOU HAVE ONE FATHER, AND HE IS IN HEAVEN. NOR ARE YOU TO BE CALLED TEACHER, FOR YOU HAVE ONE TEACHER, THE CHRIST. The greatest among you wil be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
This scripture is talking to the fact that the pharisees liked themselves to be exalted, as church leaders and teachers, the pharisees had disciples, Jesus is saying YOU, MY DISCIPLES, YOU ARE NOT TO BE LIKE THE PHARISEES, you are not to have disciples, you are not to be in charge over someone, you are not to be called teachers or fathers or be elevated beyond the rest of your brothers, for you are one, and Jesus Christ our LORD is the only Father, the only teacher, the only discipler.
Back to the first point now, Jesus said we are to be as brothers, as one, not to elevate each other beyond one another, not to be exalted in any way, only the LORD is to be exalted. His will in heaven, is that we are all one, and that we are together as one worshiping the Father as one body. In heaven, men are rewarded, but we are not elevated beyond one another as some would think, for God is not a respecter of persons. So if Gods will is that, the way it is in heaven it should be on earth, then why do we try to elevate men above other men when Jesus said not to do this! Do as it is done in heaven, in heaven men do not follow men, but God alone, so on earth we should not follow men, but God alone. We should be as brothers worshiping the Father as one body, as it is in heaven. How can men have disciples or be disciplers, when men are not suppose to be exalted above their brothers in Christ? When it is Gods will in heaven that we are one with only the LORD as father and teacher, yet we try to be father and teacher to other men. Ive heard the term spiritual father so much, men try to be spiritual fathers to other men, without knowing the scripture which says you have one Father, and he is in heaven. It is confortable to be a follower of a man, to trust in what you can see, to be discipled so to speak by a man, and oneday be a discipler yourself, this is gratifying and exalts the person who is the discipler, yet if we are in any sort of postion to be exalted, we are trying to rob God of his glory.
Nowhere in the new testament does it talk about the disciples having disciples, no where in scripture can you find a verse that it says the disciples of the 12 apostles, because Jesus taught them they were not to be disciplers, but fellow disciplees of Christ, we are called to go out and make disciples of all nations, these disciples were not disciples of the original 12, they were fellow believers in Christ, disciples of Christ.
There is a very thine line, moses hit the rock once water came out, God was got the glory, moses hit the rock a second time, he got the glory. Because of this he was not aloud in the promised land, because he tried to obtain glory for himself. The problem is that we get confused with the idea of fruit, we try to build people up as our disciples and train them in the Gospel so that they can go out and make more disciples, the fruit we bear is not our fruit, we are branches of one vine, that Vine is Christ. If we call men our disciples, it is like a branch calling the fruit of the branch its fruit, is it not the fruit the fruit of the vine, in this case our fruit we bear is not our fruit just because it grows off our branch, our branch is only alive because it grows off the vine, the vine can live without the branch, the branch cannot live without the vine, Jesus can live without us we cannot live without Jesus. We only bear fruit through Jesus, in Connection with Jesus. The fruit we bear, are believers and disciples of Christ. We go out into the world to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. We are suppose to branch out and with Christs spirit in us working through us we bear the fruit of the vine.
We are all brothers fulfilling the great commission to make disciples of Christ, we are one body, one church for we all live through one life, the life of Christ. There is one father, one teacher, one discipler, and one disciplee, the church which is one body! We are called to bring people into the body of Christ, into becoming one body, one church of disciples of Christ!
Introduction
Apart from His sacrificial work on the cross, the most significant thing our Lord did upon the earth was to make disciples. Our Lord had written no books, He had built no organization; there were no physical structures or monuments left to commemorate Him. He had placed the future of His earthly work entirely in the hands of His disciples. Had they failed their task, humanly speaking, the church of Jesus Christ would not exist today.
In the last decade, discipleship has become a popular subject in Christian circles. The great difficulty is that when we use this term we frequently mean something entirely different from that denoted by the biblical term. For instance, we hear much talk about discipling others or being discipled. Being in close proximity to a great seminary, I have seen many young and enthusiastic theologs come and go. Very frequently, they will go to the pastor of their church and ask to be discipled, just like Paul ‘discipled’ Timothy. A friend of mine and fellow-laborer in the ministry used to respond to such a request, “And just how did Paul disciple Timothy?”
This is precisely the problem. We almost completely fail to grasp the biblical concept of discipleship. It is interesting that we never find the term ‘disciple’ used with reference to the relationship between Paul and Timothy.194 As a matter of fact, we find the two primary terms for discipleship195 employed very frequently in the Gospels, sporadically in the book of Acts, and almost never in the rest of the New Testament. Did Paul really disciple Timothy, and if so, how? Most of the young men who desire to be discipled, and I say this seriously, ask more of me than does my wife. It is because of this lack of clarity as to what discipleship really is, and how it is done that we shall devote several lessons to its study. What was so important in the life and ministry of our Lord should be very clear to us today who wish to be known as His disciples.
The Backdrop to New Testament Discipleship
The concept of discipleship was not foreign to men in the days of our Lord Jesus Christ. The terms used in the New Testament of disciples had through years of use developed nuances important for us to comprehend. It is the distinctions between our Lord’s concept of discipleship from those of His contemporaries which is most crucial for us to grasp, for it is here that the great differences arise between Jesus and His opponents. It is also here that many present day misconceptions find their origin.
In Ancient Greek, the verb manthano is used to denote the process by which one acquired theoretical knowledge.196 A disciple was a learner. A man was known as a mathetes or disciple when he bound himself to another in order to acquire his practical and theoretical knowledge.197 The word was sometimes nearly synonymous with the term apprentice.198 There was never a disciple without a master or teacher. In some Greek circles the teacher was paid by his disciples.
In the Old Testament, the concept of discipleship is strikingly absent.199 Men were, of course, to be learners of the will of God (cf. Deuteronomy 6:10-12, etc.), but they were not disciples. In my estimation the reason is to be found chiefly in the fact that there was no master worthy for them to attach themselves to. We know of the relationship between Elijah and Elisha, Moses and Joshua, and so on; but these men were known as servants, not disciples. Moses was, in the final analysis, only a servant of God, one through whom God revealed Himself.200
Rabbinical Judaism, unlike the Old Testament, made much of the concept of discipleship. The advice of a pre-Christian writer was: “Take to yourself a teacher and acquire a companion.”201
As R. T. France has observed, “Every Jewish teacher worth his salt had his circle of ‘disciples’ who ‘followed’ him (literally walking behind him as he rode or walked ahead), looked after his daily needs, and soaked up his teaching. Their teacher was the most important person in their Lives.”202
In Judaism one must learn not only the Old Testament Scriptures, but also the oral traditions, the traditions of the fathers. One would attach himself to a Rabbi, who would serve as a kind of mediator between the student and the Scriptures. One dared not to interpret the Scriptures independently, and could only speak with authority after years of study under a master.203 Since there were several masters, there sprang up several schools of rabbinical thought, each in competition with the others.
The New Testament Definition of a Disciple
In the New Testament, the picture of a disciple is not as clear or simplistic as one might wish, for the terms, mathetes (disciple, learner) and akoloutheo (to follow) are used in a variety of ways.204
Not only did Jesus have His disciples, but so did John the Baptist (Matthew 9:14; 11:2; John 1:35,37, etc.), the Pharisees (Matthew 22:16; Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33), and even Moses (John 9:28).
There is great diversity among those who are identified as the disciples of Jesus in the Scriptures. John (John 6:60,66) uses the term ‘disciple’ to refer to those who are uncommitted, unbelieving followers of Jesus, motivated mainly by curiosity or impure desires. The masses who have come to faith and trusted in Jesus as their Messiah were also called disciples (John 8:30,31). Then, of course, the term was used particularly and most frequently of the twelve disciples (Matthew 10:1, etc.) one of whom was His betrayer (John 6:70,71). Within the circle of the twelve was an inner circle of three: Peter, James and John (Luke 9:28). In the book of Acts, the word ‘disciple’ seems to be used synonymously with the term ‘believer’ (cf. Acts 6:1,2,7).
What is a disciple? I suspect that Mark summarizes it best in his gospel: “And He went up to the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. And He appointed the twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out demons” (Mark 3:13-15).
Who is a disciple of our Lord? Anyone who is deeply and personally committed to Jesus Christ by faith, who manifests the power and authority of our Lord, and who continues and extends His work.
Distinctives of Christ’s Discipleship
Although the concept of discipleship was common knowledge in the days of our Lord, His teaching on discipleship differed greatly from contemporary thought. Several of these distinctives will serve to illustrate what I mean.
(1) Jesus called His disciples. In Jesus’ day, it was the followers who chose their master.205 The students chose their teacher or rabbi. But in Jesus’ ministry, it was He Who chose them (cf. John 15:16). Some of those who ‘volunteered’ their services were put off by the Master (cf. Luke 9:57,58,61,62).
(2) The relationship between Jesus and His followers was more personal than pedagogical.206 In Judaism, the relationship between a rabbi and his disciple was largely a matter of academics. It was the impartation of knowledge. Granted, on the part of the disciple, there was a very pronounced dependency upon the Rabbi, but there was never the sense of intimacy which existed between Jesus and His disciples (cf. John 15:15). Although Jesus taught His disciples, they perceived their commitment as a very personal one. It was only after His death and resurrection that His teaching was fully understood and valued. For example, when Jesus was crucified, the disciples were so taken back by the loss of His person that His teaching about His death and resurrection never occurred to them.
(3) The path of a disciple of Christ was far different that than of contemporary Judaism. One who chose to be a disciple of a great rabbi looked forward to the time when he, too, would be a great leader in Israel. The path which a disciple of our Lord chose to walk was the path of service and self-sacrifice. His disciples must take up their cross (Luke 9:23-24). They must suffer rejection and persecution (John 15:20,21). They, as their Master, must give up their lives in service (Mark 10:45).
(4) Christ’s discipleship was not a burden, but a blessing. It is obvious that the demands of our Lord’s discipleship were great. These we shall study in a later message. But it is amazing that in the final analysis it is the disciple of the scribes and Pharisees who has the real burden: “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger” (Matthew 23:4).
How different is this from that of our Lord: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
The Dangers of Discipleship
Failure to fully comprehend the distinctions between the discipleship of our Lord and that of the Jews of His day would have led to disaster for the followers of Christ. The horror at Jonestown is perhaps the most striking reminder in recent times of misdirected allegiance. The warning of our Lord recorded in Matthew chapter 23 addresses the dangers of discipleship as practiced by the Jews of His day.
“Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying ‘The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them. And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries, and lengthen the tassels of their garments. And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called by men, Rabbi. But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:1-12).
At first glance, the direct connection between this warning in Matthew chapter 23 and discipleship may not be convincing. However, we must bear in mind that the meaning of the term disciple implies that the disciple submit himself to a higher authority who will serve as his teacher, guide and leader. This is the way the Jewish leadership regarded themselves and their position of authority. In effect, the whole clash between Jesus and the Jewish leaders was one of authority (cf. Matthew 21:23). They were greatly distressed over the fact that the masses appeared to be slipping from their grip, and submitting to the leadership of Jesus (cf. Matthew 27:18; John 4:1,2; 11:47,48). The warning of Jesus in Matthew 23 is at the heart of the dispute between Judaism and Jesus. It also exposes the critical danger threatening evangelical churches today.
The error of the scribes and Pharisees was that they had exalted themselves to a position higher than that of Moses (verse 2). They had boasted to the man born blind that they were disciples of Moses (John 9:28). Such was not really the case, however. To have been a disciple of Moses would mean that they would have placed themselves under the authority of his teaching and doctrine. In effect, they had ousted Moses (that is the five books of Moses) by making the interpretation and application of these sacred writings subject to their own traditions and interpretations (Matthew 15:1-9).
In a more contemporary vein, I suspect that the authors of our constitution might roll over in their graves at the way the Supreme Court has changed the intent of the Constitution by their interpretations of it. This is precisely the error of the scribes and Pharisees. They had placed themselves in the chair of Moses. They were now over the Scriptures, judging them rather than being judged by them. Such is the case in much of religion today. Man is the highest authority. If Paul condemns homosexuality, that is just narrow-minded Paul, they would have us believe.
The scribes and Pharisees usurped the authority to subject men under them as disciples. In so doing they commanded men to follow the clever system they had created by codifying the Law of Moses into 365 prohibitions and 250 commandments.207 The effect was to place upon unsuspecting Israelites a burden which no one could bear, and which they did nothing to lighten (verse 4). While they ingeniously devised ways to circumvent their own regulations, the masses were buried under them. It is no wonder that our Lord said to His hearers: “My yoke is easy, and it load is light” (Matthew 11:30).
The motives of the scribes and Pharisees were at the heart of their sin. They were proud and puffed up, just as Satan was when he fell (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:2,17). These men desired disciples because they basked in the glory and adulation of men. They desired the seats of prominence and greetings which puffed up their pride (verses 5-7).
Verses 8-12 are some of the heaviest words of the Word of God for church leaders. Here is described in the plainest of words the great danger of Christian leadership: We wish men to become our disciples. We aspire to have authority over others who become our disciples.
“But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:8-12).
Although this passage in Matthew has always been significant to me, I never really grasped its full impact until I came to it from the perspective of discipleship. Essential to discipleship is a master, or teacher to whom the disciple submits.208 The sinfulness of Jewish religious ‘establishment’ is beautifully contrasted against the humility of our Lord in this matter of disciples. They gloried in the limelight, while He came to be overlooked and rejected by the nation as a whole. He came to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45); they lived only for the praise and adulation their position gave them.
Our Lord cautioned His own disciples and the crowds that the favorite titles of the scribes and Pharisees were not to be part of their religious vocabulary. The three titles, Rabbi, Father, and Leader, were never to be taken by men, nor were men to bestow them on mere mortals. There is only one authoritative teacher or Rabbi, our Lord Himself. No one dare usurp His title (as did the Jewish Rabbis). Moreover, there is to be no hierarchy among men in Christ, for we are all brothers (verse 8). The title ‘Father,’209 respectfully applied to Jewish men of prominence, belongs only to God. He alone is our Father. To take His title is to usurp His authority (verse 9).
Neither should we assume the title of leader, or guide, for the Lord Jesus alone is our guide and leader (verse 10). Greatness in the kingdom of God is not measured, as the Rabbis supposed, by determining how many disciples they had under their authority. It was rather to be measured in terms of service. It is the number whom we serve that reflects our measure of greatness in God’s sight (verses 11-12).
Conclusions and Application
Frankly, I am frustrated by the lack of understanding in Christian circles of this concept of discipleship. We use the term glibly, without any real grasp of its implications. Worse yet, I am frightened as I look about the Christian community and observe that the very same evils practiced by the Jewish leaders in New Testament times are blatantly evident in the church of Jesus Christ.
Many who are either poorly informed or insufficiently motivated find it easier to be the disciples of men than to become the disciples of Jesus. They cannot go to the Scriptures independently to search out a matter. Instead, they would prefer to read a man’s book on the subject, especially if a truth is presented in a very cut and dried or simplistic way. I do not condemn the use of books, or tapes, or printed messages, or listening to sermons ‘live.’ I do insist that an attitude of dependence and unqualified submission to any one man or group of men is wrong. The reason why we have so many authoritarian, dogmatic, puffed up preachers today is because people want them that way. How much easier to believe something because an authoritative, pulpit-pounding preacher does, than by personal study and conviction.
I cannot stop yet, for the other reason why so many ‘little popes’ are prevalent in Christianity (as well as the cults) is because there are men whose pride has been fanned by unwitting followers who have become their disciples.
I know it is difficult to explain to other people why we, as a church, do not have a man that we call ‘our pastor.’ But, you see, to take on a title such as that in our day and time implies that there is some physical head of the church, who usurps the place of our Lord. I remember well hearing one preacher refer to himself as the chief shepherd from 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 4, a passage in which Peter himself only dares to refer to himself as a fellow elder (verse 1). In this same passage, the elder is forbidden to oversee as a lord (verse 3, ‘lording it over’) but as an example.
We are a church that fallibly strives not to exalt men, but our Lord Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that we reject titles commonly used by other Christians. More than this, whatever the titles may be, we reject the concept of men setting themselves in the place of our Lord.
Perhaps the heart of what I am trying to get at so far as our church (or any other) is concerned is found in the use of either the definite article, ‘the,’ or the indefinite article, ‘a.’ If you say, Bob Deffinbaugh is a teacher, an elder, a leader, hopefully you are not terribly far from the truth. But when you say Bob is the minister, the pastor, the teacher, then we have a real problem. God has ordained leaders who guide and give counsel, but not in such a way as to elevate themselves above others.
Lest you think that this is only the problem of an individual (usually the full-time preacher, or senior pastor), it can also be a great problem collectively. I have read recently of churches in which the elders, as a group, have placed themselves in a position of total and unquestionable authority. In a rather dictatorial and arbitrary fashion, they direct the wife contrary to her husband. They tell a man what job to take or to turn down. In short, they assume the position of our Lord in the lives of their congregation. These things should not be! As I view the authority of an elder, it is not due to his title or office, but is a direct result of his work, his manner of life, and his skillfulness in the Scriptures (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:10,11, etc.).
Herein lies one of the great dangers in Christianity. Men and women seem to be more interested in being a discipler or a disciplee than a disciple. Worse yet, we are seemingly encouraging people to become our disciples rather than disciples of our Lord.
In Matthew chapter 23, our Lord was warning His disciples not to look at themselves as did the disciples of the Pharisees. They were not to view their discipleship as a kind of stepping stone to prominence and authority. They were not to seek to get men to be their followers and to submit to their authority. They were not to take upon themselves either titles or positions which would exalt themselves while usurping the position and prerogatives of God Himself.
Let us not seek to disciple others, so much as to be disciples ourselves. Let us not seek to become disciples of men but rather followers of God. I fear that we have become obsessed more with the process, the practice, and the prestige of the discipler than we have with the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. I fear that we all too often equate the study of the Bible and theology with spirituality. I fear that there is far too much emphasis upon becoming leaders, rather than becoming servants.
