For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;
but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Romans 12:3
Jesus is the head of the church . . .
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 1 Peter 5:6
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For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Ephesians 5:23
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The
stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner:
this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Matthew 21:42
and we that serve
God are the body . . .
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. 1 Corinthians 12:27
The head leads the
body; directs it in which way it should go.
When we do not allow Jesus, as the head, to control the body, we set ourselves up for errors and sometimes catastrophes.
This applies both on an individual level as well as on a corporate
level.
Apostle Paul gives us an
excellent example of establishing and maintaining order in the church. What is interesting to note in this review of Apostle Paul is that He always kept Jesus as the head and maintained through the
demonstration of his words and actions that Jesus was indeed the head of his
life. He did not exalt himself above his
service or commitment to God. At one
point, he made this affirmation:
But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand. But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. 2 Corinthians 10:13-18
King Solomon spoke of the dangers and pitfalls of pride:
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
James picks up that same thought and re-enforces it:
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:5-7
We are not, by virtue of
our God-given appointments, gifts or our talents, to present our self as higher
than we are. Peter was explicit when he said:
Apostle Paul tells us:
For
I say,
through
the grace
given
unto me,
to every man
that is
among
you,
not
to think of himself more
highly
than
he ought
to think
; but
to think
soberly, according as
God
hath dealt
to every man
the measure
of faith. Romans 12:3
In the church [body of Christ], God has ordained order and set in place the manner in which the body should operate:
And
he
gave
some,
apostles;
and
some, prophets;
and
some, evangelists;
and
some, pastors
and
teachers; (Ephesians 4:11)
God has a reason and a purpose for everything He does. The
reason for appointing some within the body to a higher position is not for self
elevation or ego boosts. It is set in place:
Apostle Paul cautions us of
becoming lifted up in ourselves because of our gifts:
Alas, too often, this
passage of scripture is not taken to heart and as a result, pride has crept into the church [body of Christ] and
into the hearts of men. In many cases, the
head (Jesus Christ) is no longer leading. We've allowed our flesh; our self nature, to rule in the form of our ego and we are
thinking more highly of our self than we ought.
The reason why people in
the main stream of ministry are being exposed is because there is an ungodly spirit that God is rejecting. The spirit that God is resisting is the spirit
of Pride.
We have become an extremely
prideful church; much more so than ever before. The spirit of pride; the
spirit of mega; the spirit of look at me; the spirit of look at what I have; the spirit of look at the size of my church; or the size of my membership; - - well not so much presently due to COVID-19. But now we have social media which is fastly overtaking the church building and the spirit of pride has not left. Within the body, people are still gloating on themselves; negating the power of God and thinking it's all about them, not
to mention, look at me - at the car I'm driving, at my house, at the clothes
I'm wearing. This is all the spirit of pride!
So what has happened now is that the anointing is no longer determined by us
being delivered and set free from sin but by numbers; the size of our church or our social media platform, the size of our membership or followers and by crowds we draw in our churches or on the television or radio or social media outlets. We have become shallow without substance; celebrities and not
servants; demigods instead of God's messengers. We know through God's word that this is not pleasing nor acceptable in the eyes of God.
Because of this insidious spirit of pride, peoples’ lives are no longer being changed by the anointing and power of God. People are being led by prosperity plans, healing cloths, healing water and healing oil, social messages when the word clearly tells us that God desires us to prosper EVEN as our SOUL prospers.
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1-2
People are being lured by charismatic speakers that exault emotionalism rather than the power of God.
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2 Timothy 3:5
Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. Matthew 22:29
Plans and healings that have little or no emphasis on the condition of our soul go against the will of God. We need the
spirit of God back in the church and not the spirit of ego! How do we change this? How do we bring
ourselves and the body of Christ back into alignment with the will of God?
We have to make a
conscious decision to take authority of our body in the manner that our Lord,
Jesus Christ commands if He is to be the head.
We are authorized by God and powered by the Holy Spirit within to take
dominion of our mind, our body, our sphere of influence, the atmosphere in
which we operate, and our homes. This
also includes our local church assembly
which is to operate in love and unity with Jesus as the head and we as the
body.
We must exercise authority
over ourselves before we can properly exercise authority over others. We have to rid our self of our own selfish
thoughts and desires and see the big picture of God. It does not take a PhD to do this. All it takes is:
Ö active knowledge of the
word of God [hear and do],
Ö an active [two way conversation] prayer life,
Ö demonstration of the fruits of the spirit,
Ö squash the works of the flesh; pride
being a big one,
Ö obeying those that have the rule over us
Ö not taking advantage
of those in whom we are charged to attend.
Ö Trusting in God that your pastor was set by God and God speaks through your
pastor.
Know that when you are
disrespectful in your words and actions toward your pastor or spiritual leader that you are
disobedient to God. (Refer
to Numbers 16 regarding the matter of Korah and Dathan)
Pastors are to lead with a servant mentality; having a heart for the sheep under their care. Apostle Paul explains to Timothy of the manner in which ministry leaders should conduct themselves. Let us all strive to come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man.
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Ephesians 4:13
(Bible Study)
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03/20/21
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