John Fenn, When Rapture? Body, Bride? #3

 

Hi all,

Last week I showed the consistency of Paul's teaching of the Feast of Trumpets throughout the scripture, as well as some oral history of the Jewish faith which contributes to our understanding of the Feast of Trumpets.

 

After telling the Thessalonians twice in his first letter we are to be delivered from the wrath to come by the trumpet call from heaven, and to the world Jesus would come for His disciples like a thief in the night, but TO US He would not come as a thief, they wanted more detail. Paul provided that detail in II Thessalonians.

 

Paul continues his teaching about the Feast of Trumpets

"But relative to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together with Him, we beg you brethren, not to allow your minds to be quickly unsettled or disturbed or kept excited or alarmed, whether by some pretended revelation by the Spirit or by letter...to the effect that the day of Christ has arrived.

 

Let no one deceive you, for that day won't come except there come the "falling away" (Greek; apostia) first, and then the man of sin will be revealed, the son of doom (perdition), who exalts himself so proudly and insolently against and over all that is called God and worshiped, even to the point of taking his seat in the temple of God and proclaiming himself that he is God.

 

Don't you remember when I was with you I told you these things? So now you know what withholds and restrains him from being revealed, so that he may be revealed at his appointed time. For the mystery of iniquity is already at work, until He who restrains him is taken out of the way, and then he will be revealed."

II Thessalonians 2:1-7

 

What is the falling away?

Paul is building on his first letter, where he said the archangel would sound the trump (shofar) and the dead in Christ would rise and those alive would also join them with the Lord in the air. With that understanding he says anti-Christ can't be revealed until there is a 'falling away' first.

 

Paul used the word 'apostia', which does in fact mean falling away. But not falling away from the faith. In ancient times this word was used to describe the visual effect of ships leaving port and 'falling away' out of view as they passed over the horizon. It came to mean any departure, a falling away from view as a traveler walked, rode, or sailed away out of sight. (The Amplified Bible notes this meaning in the margin, though not with full historical usage explained).

 

So Paul is saying there is a 'departure', a 'falling away from view' that must take place before anti-Christ can be revealed.

 

Consistency proven

Now read it as they would have understood it in Paul's time, putting what he said to Corinth and I & II Thessalonians together, and you will see the consistency of thought in what he taught the churches:

 

"Behold! I show you a mystery. We will not all die, but we will all be changed. In a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the Last Trump; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead in Christ will rise first, and we who are alive will be changed...

 

...and we wait for His Son from heaven, who has delivered us from the wrath to come...For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the Trump of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; so shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words...

 

Now brothers and sisters, we beg you by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be shaken in mind nor troubled as if the day is at hand...the day will not come until the departure comes first, and then the man of sin will be revealed....now you know what is restraining him from being revealed. Then, when he is taken out of the way, the man of sin will be revealed." (I Corinthians 15:51, I Thessalonians 4:16-18, II Thessalonians 2:1-7)

 

Doesn't that make sense? The question is, what or who is the "He/he" who is removed?

 

The Holy Spirit has always been on earth

Some would say the Holy Spirit, but that isn't correct because the Holy Spirit is the agent of salvation and it is by the Holy Spirit that God is everywhere. To remove Him from the planet not only removes any chance of salvation during the Tribulation, and we know millions get saved during that time, but it would also mean God vacates the planet and is no longer everywhere. So it isn't the Holy Spirit who is preventing anti-Christ from being revealed.

 

The body of Christ however is portrayed as masculine - the body of Christ. We are also the bride of Christ -Ephesians 5:25-32 and Revelation 19: 6-9, but everywhere else we are the body of Christ - masculine. Also, Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 we are the salt of the earth, meaning we are seasoning and preservative for the planet. Once the preservative is removed, the earth goes rotten.

 

We could say it is he, the body of Christ, which is 'taken out of the way that the man of sin may be revealed' and I believe that is what Paul is saying. But for the sake of discussion, let us draw a line between the two and say it this way: The Holy Spirit in believers will depart with them, closing His work in the body of Christ at that time while opening His work to the rest of the people of earth in the closing years of man's government on the planet.

 

The 2 sets of believers

In our untrained minds we think all believers across the centuries are the same, but in God's mind He makes a distinction between the believers from the cross until the departure, and the believers who come to Him after the departure.

 

Jesus said in Luke 21:24 of the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70: "And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive to all nations, and Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles is completed."

 

So in Jesus' mind, there is a 'time of the Gentiles'. Paul echoed this in Romans 11:25-26: "For I don't want you to be ignorant of this mystery brethren; that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has been fulfilled. Then all Israel will be saved."

 

In the Lord's mind there is a distinction between the times of the Gentiles, where the gospel will be preached in all nations and all peoples will be given the chance to partake in the covenant given to Israel, and the final focus on Israel after the fullness of the ingathering of Gentiles has happened.

 

Why 1967 is so important

The times of the Gentiles according to Jesus, draws to a close when Jerusalem is no longer 'trodden down by Gentiles'. Jerusalem was controlled by Gentiles from the year 70 when Rome destroyed the city, until 1967 when Israel took control of the city.

 

This is why the blindness on the Jews concerning Jesus as Messiah has started to lift ever since the mid-1960's and continues to gain momentum. As the time of the Gentiles winds down, correspondingly, the blindness on Israel lifts. So in the Lord's mind, He makes a distinction between people from all nations coming to Him between the cross and rapture, and those who come to him between the rapture and His return.

 

We - the Gentile believers that come from all nations - are the body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, the salt of the earth. Those saved in the Tribulation are not. They aren't invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. They are saved, but those saved from the cross to the catching away hold a special place in the heart of the Lord, for we were the wild olive branches grafted into the covenant of Israel by faith.

 

(If you've listened to my series on the 10 virgins of Matthew 25, you'll remember the 10 virgins/bridesmaids are not the Bride and it is incorrect to assign that parable to mean the body/bride of Christ - the bride is not found in the parable, it is about bridesmaids, the bride already being with the Groom in the marriage feast)

 

Now we must ask 2 questions: What happens in heaven with the body of Christ and who is going in the departure (what does the Feast of Trumpets have to say about that?) and what happens on earth after the 'departure' and revealing of anti-Christ (and what does the Feast of Trumpets have to say about that?).

 

One of the themes of Rosh haShanah, the Feast of Trumpets, is the wedding of Messiah, so I will answer the first question next week.

 

Until then, blessings,

John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

The Precious Seed

“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
JOHN 12:24

Everything accomplished by way of the Cross brings the fullness of Christ and His Irresistible Kingdom into the heart of every person who believes that He “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). This great Gift of Christ has been deposited into the depth of the disciple the same way as a precious seed is buried into the soil. Contained within that seed is a bountiful harvest of rich fruit. But one does not plant a seed on Sunday morning and expect to find fruit on Monday.

The seed must surrender itself to the process of growth before it can mature into something that bears fruit. This amounts to a death, burial, and resurrection.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

God Rewards Our Reckoning

“Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed
to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
ROMANS 6:11

We do not reckon something to be so after we see it happen, but before we see it happen. What happens if, right after we reckon ourselves dead to sin, we fall back into sin? Does this nullify the Word of God? Does this make God a liar? We can become disappointed and quit (which is what most people do), or we can repent and go right back to reckoning.

Here’s what happens: God rewards our reckoning. He delights to see us believing in His Word when it seems impossible! And so He says, “Very well, you have believed having not seen; now you will begin to see the truth of what you have been reckoning!” And eventually we begin to see that our reckoning begins to produce fruit. Sin will be broken, not just in theory, but in actual practice. Victory will be ours, not just in principle, but in fact.

Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

John Fenn, When Rapture? Body, Bride? #4

 

Hi all,

I hope my series on the Feast of Trumpets is pulling verses together that before had been pieces of a puzzle that didn't seem to fit, but now do. Today we'll continue putting the pieces together, for within the Feast of Trumpets is the coronation and wedding of Messiah...

 

The wedding of Messiah

Revelation 19:1-14 shows us the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in heaven and the return of Jesus:

 

"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters....saying, Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready. And to her was granted to wear fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he said to me, Write 'Blessed are they who are invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb..."

 

"And I saw heaven opened and behold, a white horse; And He that sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war....and the armies in heaven who followed Him on white horses were clothed in fine linen, clean and white..."

 

The key to notice is the fine linen, clean and white which is given to those in heaven participating in the Marriage Supper AND worn by those accompanying Jesus at His return - they are the same people.

 

We who participate in the Marriage Supper return with Him because Jesus is returning to set up His government on the earth, and I Corinthians 6:3, Hebrews 2:5 and 6:5, and Revelation 20:6 tell us those who take part in the first resurrection (Feast of Trumpets) will reign with Christ for 1000 years on the earth in a forced righteousness age, governing by the gifts of the Spirit.

 

The coronation and wedding of Messiah in the Feast of Trumpets

The concept of 'Ha Melech' which means 'the King', and the coronation and wedding of Messiah are wrapped up together in the Feast of Trumpets. The dead in Messiah and those alive who are changed, are changed and hidden with Messiah for a reason. That reason is those in Messiah have been His betrothed and now the Groom is coming for His bride for the wedding which takes place in heaven.

 

The Marriage of Messiah - Understand the betrothal

A marriage supper then lasted 7 days as it does sometimes today in Jewish weddings. The 7 day celebration is a prophetic type of a future Marriage Supper, with each day standing for a year, therefore a 7 year celebration in heaven. So we shouldn't read Revelation 19 which is right before Christ returns, as if it had just happened and we were all getting a quick snack before accompanying Him at His return.

 

Revelation 19 is informational, a view of what has been happening in heaven while other things have happened on earth, and understood in the context of the Feast of Trumpets, we know it to be a 7 year celebration that has been going on, not a box lunch eaten quickly right before His return.

 

We are right now in the time of betrothal. We aren't yet 'married' to God. The consummation of the marriage will occur when we depart and celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven when the Groom comes to get His bride.

 

When a prospective groom wanted to propose to a young lady he would go to her home and talk to her father. He carried 3 things to her home: A large amount of money in order to pay the price for the bride, the 'bride price', a betrothal contract called the Shitre Erusin, and wine.

 

IF the father agreed, the young lady was called out, and if she agreed, she drank the cup of wine. The contract was signed, the price of the bride was paid, and they were now betrothed, requiring a divorce to break off the engagement - but they didn't consummate the marriage until the 7 day wedding celebration.  

 

What Jesus said

The groom would then say this to the bride: "In my father's house are many rooms, and I am going to prepare a place for us, that where I am you may be also."

 

Jesus used the betrothal ceremony words in John 14:1-2 to his disciples. "In my Father's house are many places to live*, and I go to prepare a place for you that where I am, you may be also." (*The word 'mansion' is not in the Greek and was inserted by King James translators so King James would think he would have a mansion in heaven. It is the Greek word 'abode' or 'places' used also in 14:23)

 

In the regions even today where homes are made of mud-brick, they are easily added on to, and this is what the groom would do until the day his father declared enough preparation had been made, the rooms for the bride and groom were complete, and then he would give the order for the groom to go get his bride.

 

In ancient days the groom's response to when he thought the father would give permission would be: "No man knows the day nor hour but my father", which Jesus again pulled from the context of betrothal in Matthew 24:36 (Sketches of Jewish Social Life, Edersheim)

 

Once under contract as the betrothed, she would spend her time getting to know her groom and how to become a wife. This is a beautiful type of our discipleship in Christ, knowing Him better each day and preparing ourselves to one day be with Him at the Marriage Supper celebration. All these things are part of the Feast of Trumpets, so every reference in the gospels and epistles reference this feast.

 

Now I see it

The disciples would have understood Jesus' use of the betrothal ceremony in John 14 when He said He is going to prepare a place for us, they would have understood the 'no man knows but my Father' in Matthew 24, but we miss it because we don't know the Feast of Trumpets.

 

And when Paul said in I Corinthians 6:20, "You have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's", and repeated it in 7:23. They would have understood his references to the betrothed being bought with the bride price, and her expected faithfulness to the groom.

 

This is also addressed in the betrothed context in James 4:4: "You are like unfaithful wives, flirting with the glamour of this world, and never realizing that to be the world's lover means becoming the enemy of God!" A betrothed woman was considered married as a divorce was required to break the engagement as you'll recall with Joseph and Mary in Matthew 1:19 (Phillips translation)

 

All these references to being betrothed, to being bought with a price, to being faithful, all tie back to the Feast of Trumpets and the Groom coming for His faithful and pure bride. And like an infomercial on TV, 'But wait, there's more...'

 

The Lord's Supper therefore...

And now we understand the double meaning of the Lord's Supper as well because of the cup of the covenant drunk by the bride at the betrothal ceremony. 

 

Drinking the cup of covenant meant she not only accepted his proposal of marriage, but she would eagerly look for and prepare herself, looking towards the day he came to get her for the marriage celebration. Paul said when we receive the Lord's Supper we do so in remembrance 'until he comes', which is a reference to the Feast of Trumpets as Messiah comes for His bride. (I Corinthians 11:26)

 

Therefore we not only celebrate the Last Supper as a Passover event, marking His death, but we do so also looking for His return, and we do so as the betrothed bought with the price of His blood, committing each time we partake of the Lord's Supper to forsake all others, saving ourselves in faithfulness to Him alone, until the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

 

It all ties together with the Feast of Trumpets

Now we see the many references to this amazing Feast of Trumpets in scripture. From Jesus using words from the betrothal ceremony about preparing a place, to His reference to no man knowing the day, to Paul's references of being bought with a price, to the cup of covenant, to the Last Supper, the Last Trump, to John seeing the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in heaven that has been going on for 7 years ever since the bride was changed...wow...but what is happening on the earth while the Marriage Supper is happening in heaven?

 

The Feast of Trumpets begins what is called 'The Days of Awe' on the earth. And that is what we'll cover next week.

 

Until then, Blessings,

    John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

 

 

The Two Become One

“[God] raised us up together,and made us sit together
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
EPHESIANS 2:6

Just as certainly as the Vine was crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended and seated, so the Branches were crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended and seated. The whole issue is: will we abide in the Vine and share in the overcoming, or not? Overcoming is bound up with abiding. The Lord says, “Live in Me, and I will live in you.”

Now the Lord says that overcomers will sit with Him in His throne. How is that possible? Because we are in Him, and He is in us: “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17), and “The two shall become one” (1 Corinthians 6:16).

Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

When Temptation Fails

“The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”
JOHN 14:30

The temptations of Christ were not random attempts to trick Him into making a mistake, but were part of a calculated effort to destroy or disqualify Him by any means necessary. From that time on the adversary determined that a direct assault against the Lord Jesus was a pointless waste of time. Why? Because He was so selfless!

You cannot tempt a man who seeks nothing for himself. He wanted nothing and desired nothing but what was given to Him from Above. With Jesus the only option was to destroy Him through the evil intentions of other people. Even in this the Lord Jesus merely passed through crowds who sought to stone Him. He was untouchable and unkillable. Eventually He submitted Himself to betrayal and crucifixion; but even in this He overcame death and rose up in victory. Never before or since has any man so thoroughly routed his enemy. The devil had finally met his match.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

The Authority of the Ekklesia

“As we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ.”
ROMANS 12:4,5

There is tremendous authority in the Ekklesia, but it bears repeating: the greater the authority, the greater the responsibility. There is no such thing as authority in the Kingdom of God without responsibility. If God gives you authority to represent Him, there is a reason. Authority is not given to us so we can order people around and make them serve us. Authority is given so we may carry out our own responsibility. There is a task, a function, a mission, an assignment, given to every member of the Ekklesia. Since all the members share in the same authority, all the members share in the same responsibility – though not all share in the same function.

Just as different parts of the body have an equal responsibility to perform their specific function, so the many members of the Body of Christ have equal responsibility to function in the time, place, and manner which is given to them by the authority of the Head.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

Two Destinies Linked

“He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
2 CORINTHIANS 5:15

Not I, but Christ. That is the goal, and the Cross is where the process begins. The crucifixion of Christ is inexorably, inescapably linked to the crucifixion of the disciple. It cannot be otherwise. This is where everything that is Christ’s becomes ours as well. On the Cross the two are made one, and the destiny of the One is linked forever with the destiny of the Many.

There in the Cross the Head is joined to the many members of the Body; the Vine is made one with the many branches. “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17). Where are they joined? At the Cross. Paul was not there physically when Christ was crucified; yet Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ.” Obviously this is a spiritual union, a spiritual oneness.

Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

Our God Delivers

“There is no other God who can deliver like this.”
DANIEL 3:29

The Lord reveals Himself to us when we are at our end, when the fire burns the hottest. When we have reached the end of ourselves then He intervenes. He is committed to us there in the fire, because we are committed to Him outside the fire. As we have stood for His Will and His Kingdom in a state of universal compromise, darkness, and deception, so He will stand with us in our state of temptation, testing, and trial.

Toward what end? That the preeminence we have been proclaiming may be demonstrated. He will rise to the occasion and prove Himself faithful.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

The Real Meaning of Baptism

“As many of you as were baptized
into Christ have put on Christ.”
GALATIANS 3:27

What does it mean to be baptized? It is to go down into death and to come back up into Life. We were baptized into Christ. The water of baptism does not merely signify the washing away of sins, but the death of the sinner. We go down into the water, and we are brought up out of the water. If we were to stay under the water for long we would surely die. But we are quickly lifted back up out of the “grave.” This represents death and resurrection.

The outward sign of water baptism is meant to represent an inward spiritual truth – that I am baptized indeed, not into water only, but into Christ. I died with Him, and I was raised with Him. If I am one with Him then His death is my death; when He is raised, I too am raised. God has placed us in Christ, and since we are joined to the Lord, we are one spirit with Him. The Branches will go the way of the Vine. The Body will go the way of the Head.

Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

God's Primary Purpose

“In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him,
who is the head of all principality and power.”
COLOSSIANS 2:9,10

Everything God has done, is doing, and will do is aimed at bringing us deeper into Christ, to finish what was begun in us when we first received Him. God is the One Who brings us through the Gate, and God is the One Who leads us along the Path.

Everything God has done, is doing, and will do has the same purpose, and that purpose explains everything you have been through, everything you are going through, and everything you will go through.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

Created for Him

“All things were created through Him and for Him.”
COLOSSIANS 1:16

In the beginning, when man walked with God, there was an obvious Heavenly Order in the earth. This simply meant that Christ was in His rightful place. When Christ has the preeminence, when He has the centrality and the supremacy, then all is well.

God created all things “by Him and for Him” and installed Him as Lord of All. With Christ in His rightful place the rest of creation could proceed. Six times in the Book of Genesis God declared that what He had just made was “good.” When the work was finally completed, God judged the final state of things to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31) and by far the greatest benefit of living under this Heavenly Order was the spiritual condition of man before the fall. Spiritually he was at peace with himself and at peace with his God. In a word, the state of things as they existed in the Heavenly Order was perfect. It was, quite literally, heaven on earth.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

Jackie and Carol share about their CO2

LK10 Update: Jackie and Carol share about their CO2 

May 2, 2014

The CO2 (Church of Two) is one of the foundational practices for the LK10 Community. Hundreds of them are springing up across the US and around the world.  In this post, we share four reasons why CO2s are so powerful.  And, in a video, Jackie and Carol describe what their CO2 looks like. Click here to see the blog post

John White is the director of LK10 and lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife, Tamela.

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Everything for Him

“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
REVELATION 4:11

All things were created by Him, and everything was created for Him. For Him! Why this earth, the moon, the stars, the galaxies? Why the animals, the birds, the fish, the insects? Why men and women, angels, cherubim, and seraphim? For Him! All for Him!

God’s original thought is for Christ to fill every created thing with His Life, Love, and Glory. A design implies a Designer, a plan implies a Planner, and a creation implies a Creator. We are not drifting along aimlessly, and we did not come into being by accident. We were created by Him, and we were created for Him. We were created to love Him, and to be loved by Him.

Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

John Fenn, Spiritual Butterflies #1

Hi all,

In my e-newsletter of the 16th I shared a recent visitation with the Lord in which He talked about His people chasing 'spiritual butterflies'. (If you did not receive the e-newsletter please go to cwowi.org and click 'articles', and in the drop down menu click 'newsletter')

 

A recap

The Lord came to me and said this: "Many are wondering about the coming year, but I am working in hearts to the degree that many have determined they will no longer chase spiritual butterflies, but will center in on the core of who they are in Me and what they believe, and seek out those who have the same spiritual priorities.”

 

Then we were standing next to a field with children chasing butterflies. But some stopped chasing butterflies and sat down on the edge of the field, facing out, and gave water and food to those outside the field. Again, follow the above instructions if you haven't read it yet.

 

What did He mean by 'spiritual butterflies?'

When the Lord returns He tells us in Matthew 25:34-40 of those righteous in His eyes:

 

"The King will say to those on His right 'Come, you who have gained my Father's blessing! Take your inheritance - the kingdom reserved for you since the foundation of the world! For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was lonely and you made me welcome. I was naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you came and looked after me. I was in prison and you came to see me there.

 

Then the true men (righteous) will answer Him saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry/fed...thirsty/gave drink...lonely/visited...sick or in prison/visited?' And the Kind will reply; I assure you that whatever you did for the humblest of my brothers you did for me."  (JB Phillips Translation)

 

Those words will happen exactly as He stated. If we believe that, and if we believe we are in the end times, shouldn't we be able to read the above passage with assurance and say, "Yes Lord, that is my life, that is what I do, those are my priorities too!"

 

What if He came right now to those who think the height of spiritual experience is getting 'slain in the spirit' or 'drunk in the spirit' or feeling 'spiritual goose bumps'? What if He came right now to those who think having some minister lay hands on them for a fresh anointing is the highest and best God has? What if a person was so focused on personal prophecy - or deliverance - or going to the 3rd heaven - they think these types of things are the highest and best God has and is doing right now?

 

If Jesus came back right now could each one of us say what is most important to Him is also most important to us? Is his idea of the work of the ministry also our idea of the work of the ministry?

 

At the start

The apostles heard Jesus tell them directly what He is looking for at His return, and they imparted that priority and lifestyle to others, for in Acts 2 through 6 the people are going so far as to sell excess resources to help care for the physical needs in their midst.

 

"And the multitude of believers were of one heart and soul. No one said anything they had was their own...neither was there any among them that lacked; for as many as were possessors of lands or houses (people who owned multiple homes and lands) sold them and brought the prices of those things sold and laid them at the apostles' feet for distribution." (4:32-34)

 

That doesn't mean they lived in a big commune, no, they retained their own homes to live in, but their hearts were devoted to helping others in their midst, and if there were needs people were willing to take from their savings and investments even, to help meet the needs around them. (They didn't have banks in those days, so all cash investment was tied up in homes, lands, livestock and such)

 

All these resources were going to provide water, food, clothing, shelter and more to those in need, consistent with Jesus' priorities. Over the next 30 years that Acts and most of the New Testament cover we see the work of the ministry continue to be defined this way, with the body of Christ having Jesus' same priorities. In Antioch when Agabus prophesies about a coming famine in Judea, the body (who met in homes) gathers an offering to send to Judea for famine relief. (Acts 11:28-30)

 

Paul receives offerings for the poor in Jerusalem in I Corinthians 16, II Corinthians 8&9, Romans 15:25-26.

 

James says this: "True (pure) religion and undefiled before God the Father is this; To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep yourself unspotted from the world." (James 1:27)

 

How do you spell religion?

So we consistency through all the leaders and people, and through all the New Testament that the body of Christ' priorities were consistent with Jesus' priorities at His return. Shouldn't our priorities be the same?

 

Do we define pure religion that same way? To keep ourselves unspotted from the world? To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction?

 

Or do we now, or have some of us in the past, defined pure religion as learning to give personal prophecy, or going out on the street to talk to strangers and see the Lord give us words, or to yell and scream at God to open heaven to us, or to be drunk in the spirit and wobble around like a child's spinning top?

 

Why do people get distracted with spiritual butterflies?

From the start Christians have met in homes as their primary gathering place to be the church. Being in a living room every week with roughly the same people means you get to know one another and the needs in the midst, and everyone takes personal responsibility out of a heart of love to care for everyone. Things naturally flow therefore to how a person can be helped; money, skills, time, wisdom and other resources are used to help meet the needs.

 

In the auditorium church it is all about the program that does the work of the ministry, it is not based on individual responsibility. There is a Friday night outreach to the apartment complex, a food and clothing drive in which all that is required is to bring a can of soup and a coat you don't want any more to put in a large box as you walk into the auditorium. There are prison ministries that you can give money to, a bus program to bring underprivileged children to church, and more, all funded by your tithes and offerings.

 

But you don't have to do anything. That gives Christians in the auditorium church the luxury of chasing spiritual butterflies for themselves. They have no other responsibility to anyone once they give their tithe, offering, can of soup or spare coat. Relieved of responsibility, they can chase butterflies!

 

"Have you been to _____? I got so drunk in the spirit, I have a whole new level of anointing in my life now! We prayed down heaven I tell you, we yelled and screamed for God to open heaven and some said they were caught up to the 3rd heaven, wow, one lady was rolling and screaming the Lord was on her so mightily! I even heard a demon talk to someone before it was cast out, wow what a powerful time of ministry we had."

 

No matter how much I look at Jesus' words in Matthew 25 I can't imagine Him saying something like:

 

"Come and inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you. For I was the needy family next to you in church, but you didn't want to associate with people dressed as they were. I was the single mom who needed a little cash for some clothes for her children, but you felt giving your old worn out coat into the box in the foyer was the extent of your duty - good for you!"

 

"I was your neighbor struggling in their marriage and rather than reach out to them you ignored them on your way to church. Great! Come inherit your kingdom! For you ignored those around you though by your own words I gave you increased anointing (what did you think that was for, yourself?). Enter into your kingdom with those goose bumps! Come and prophesy all you who think you are prophets because you are a little experienced in personal prophets!"

 

Hmmmm....spiritual butterflies, or having Jesus' priorities? And what does that look like if we want to change - until next week!

 

    Blessings,

        John Fenn

cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

 

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