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<\/p>\nFor many years now I have heard evangelists cry out to whomever would listen, “You need to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.” I must say the word for today is; “You need to know that Jesus Christ knows who you are.” You need to know your rank, your file, your position, which outfit you are joined up with and know what you are to do when the devil sends emotional mortars into your happy camp. It is time to get ready for a war. And this war will determine who is willing to live and die for Christ and His people.
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Over the past few centuries various men have felt the need to take control of the church and shape it into what they think it should look like. In their plan they started with changing the church government, setting it up to where they could be in control of all the functions within the congregations. Whether they control it as the pastor or as the chief elder or a wealthy congregational member, they were manipulating the church to fit their needs and desires.<\/p>\n
Nowhere in the Bible do we find Jesus telling anyone to go to church, for if you are one of His then you are the church. From the Bible we can easily see that the present church government looks nothing like what our Lord has mapped out in the Bible. Early on we see that those who wanted to control the church first had to make a list of what would be accepted and what had to go; including what books and letters would be placed in the Bible. As the process continued the leaders began amputating certain ministers and ministries from the body of believers. Moving forward, they made many political changes dictating how the church services were to be conducted.<\/p>\n
Slowly, most all the gifts of the Holy Spirit were forbidden and then came the amputation of the five-fold ministry, except one (Ref. Ephesians 4:11). It is as though they had planned to slowly mutilate the body of Christ by removing the arms, the ears, the eyes and feet; you get the picture. All that is left is the navel and not much happens there. Dissecting the church left it almost powerless by forbidding anyone from operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Ref. 1 Corinthians 12:1-10). No squinty-eyed prophets were allowed in the building for they may reveal the heresy that has been committed before God and His people. Only outside of the walled fortress of their sacred buildings could the prophets speak. However, you need not despair, for in the past few decades the Holy Spirit has been busy reattaching these lost members like spiritual prosthesis. The Spirit of God is transplanting back into the church the delicate and gifted organs, equipping this once dysfunctional body of believers to a ready Bride of Christ (Matthew 25:1-13).<\/p>\n
here are you being commissioned to enlist so you may have the freedom to serve our Lord in the manner in which you were predestined? So many people are being called to serve in God’s army, but they do not fit in their local church. We are looking more like a band of rag-tag, blood-bought soldiers. We are the elect of God and look nothing like the religious bunch who have a form of godliness but deny the Holy Spirit’s authority over the Church. They portray a theology of doubt and give great concern for what the world thinks about them while not giving much concern about God’s thoughts. We are not responsible for them or their lukewarm attitude. As long as we are doing what the Holy Spirit is telling us to do then we are protected. We cannot be in any safer place than in His will. “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:18-19).<\/p>\n
First, we must go to the Holy Scriptures to find out what our Lord desires us to do for Him, so that we may prosper as His kingdom prospers. What the Scriptures reveal is that Jesus wanted His disciples, as well as all of us, to obey the voice of His Father (Ref. Matthew 16:13-19). Jesus repeatedly demonstrates in the Bible that He first prayed to His Father then He either spoke or acted according to what His Father revealed. This is the first and only thing you must do to find God’s will for you and His purpose for your life. This is why our slogan is: “Pray, Hear and Obey, for it is the Christian way.”<\/p>\n
The only way to be righteous is to be right with God, and the only way to be right with Him is to do whatever He says you are to do and say. Jesus Himself said; “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak” (John 12:49, 50). Therefore, who are we to think that we should do it any differently? I love to read and study my Bible. God often speaks to me through His Book, but I do not worship the book. It is a mistake to make the book an idol before God.<\/p>\n
Many of us have been told that we cannot know God’s will without knowing the Bible, that the Bible is our guide, man’s operator’s manual, or that if it’s not in the Bible it’s not from God. The adage I most often hear is the only way you can know God’s will is to read your Bible. All of these statements carry some truth, but they also teach us something that Jesus never intended. Here is what Jesus has to say about the Bible, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39, 40).<\/p>\n
Let’s take a look at how much value Jesus placed upon hearing the word of God, and, mind you, He is not talking about reading from the Bible. It is written, “Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, ‘Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it'” (Luke 8:19-21). Jesus is saying that his family is composed of those who hear God and obey. Those who follow the Holy Spirit are called out by the voice of God. Those who will obediently march into whatever battle He sends them to deliver His Word. This was an important message that Jesus wanted to convey to his disciples and to us today.<\/p>\n
When Jesus commanded His disciples to eat of his flesh and to drink of his blood, thousands of followers left him. Can you imagine how shocked they were; it’s not enough to hear His voice you must know what He means? He then turned to his disciples and asked if they were going to leave him, too, but they had no place to go because they had given Him everything they had (Ref. John 6:43-58, 60-68). That is the place we all need to be. Give Him your all until there is no place else to go. Jesus is the only way; so go to our Father in prayer and do whatever He commands you say or do; for obedience is far better than your sacrifice.<\/p>\n
“So Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams'” (1 Samuel 15:22).<\/p>\n
Here is one more scripture from the Bible you may have missed. “And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!’ But He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'” (Luke 11:27-28).<\/p>\n
Jesus is alive and speaking to you and me. It is not important which group you are a part of; however, who you are listening to and obeying can be a life or death issue. We have one king, one leader, one captain, one head of the body of believers, and it is Jesus Christ. He is the one who will lead us by his word into the battle. It is not about whether we will go or not go. It is how we will go. We will either submit unto his word or reject Him. Remember, He chastens those who are His. (Ref. Hebrews 12:6-8) Therefore, we will go if that is His will. He will not have a spoiled church. He will not tolerate brats in His kingdom. He wants a fit army. He wants a people who are committed to their calling.<\/p>\n
The kingdom of God is NOT a democracy. It is a “triarchy” consisting of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It starts with the trinity and comes down through the ranks of the church. Nobody comes from below and moves up ahead. Oh you can move yourself up from the church’s lowest position to the senior pastor but if you are not called and anointed of God for the job you and everyone around you will be miserable. You cannot move out of your position until you are told by God and it is confirmed by others. We are the body of Christ and we need to find out where we fit in His body. We need to know what our spiritual gifts are and how to use them. We need to know what we are called to do and where we are commissioned to work within the ministry that He has anointed us individually to oversee.<\/p>\n
Most people think we are all equal. In the kingdom of Heaven there are different layers of authority. There are commanders, generals, and privates. What you do in this life will determine where you sit for eternity. If you are willing to serve the Lord and His people in the ministry He has entrusted to you then do it to the best of your ability. My earthly father told me many times; “A job worth doing is worth doing right.” How you do your job for Jesus on earth will determine how high up you will sit with Him in heaven and that is forever. Whatever your job is when get to heaven your surrounding and your mansion will be much greater than any position or mansion the world could ever offer. Even to sweep heaven’s streets and polish the pearly gates is far greater than the most honorable job the world has to offer. We are talking about eternity here; no one gets laid off in heaven and the retirement benefits are out of this world.<\/p>\n
We are talking about surrendering and submitting to the King of kings. This is about being led by a Spirit you cannot touch but who can touch you. You must be willing to die to your flesh until your spirit cries out “Abba Father.” Then you know in your “knower” you are ready to do all that He asks of you. Your heart must be sold out to God in order to know what your marching orders are on a daily bases.<\/p>\n
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:14-16).<\/p>\n
Regardless of reputation, regardless of what others may say or think of you, God is going to put you in a place where you will come face to face with the devil. The word of the devil may come from an in-law, a close friend, or somebody at work, but be reassured that God will put you in a place of decision. Will you pronounce Jesus as your Savior? Will you confess Jesus as your Lord? Will you go to war for His Church? Are you willing to love your enemies, turn the other cheek when you are abused, minister in the nine fruits of the Spirit, lay down your life for a stranger? If you can use these weapons to fight and never be angry, hateful, or condemning you will witness the power of the Holy Spirit and see His angels do miracles before your own eyes. Amen, so be it!<\/p>\n
SPIRIT TO SPIRIT by, Kent Simpson<\/strong><\/p>\n