Equal In The Kingdom

Within the kingdom of Jesus Christ there is equality, the people are on equal footing from the greatest to the least of us.

There is not dependence of the least on the great in regards to knowing the Lord. All have equal access to the Lord Jesus in his kingdom. We may need just a little discipleship in regards to seeking and hearing and being led by him. But just a little is all that is required.

“FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF I SRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN, AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’ FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”” – Hebrews‬ ‭8:10-12‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Hearing the Lord can come natural to a real Christian. Jesus said once “My sheep hear my voice”, he meant that.

So then it implies that wherever this is not the case where the least (not so great) must depend on the great people, the talented and gifted and wealthy, upper class people.

Wherever the people from a higher religious caste are needed to guide the lower caste. Saying this is the word and will of God for you today or for this week. The extent that this is the case is the same extent to which that group is not from, or not operating within, the kingdom of Jesus Christ. The rules and norms of some other kingdom with some other king are in effect (at least partially) among that group.

It’s a real tragedy that this still happens. It seems we took a massive step backwards after the first century within Jesus Christ. We built a very pagan and worldly religious system around Jesus Christ, then called it “church”. We still do this today.

But the fact that this post and many like it are being written by a nobody in the body of Christ. Someone squarely from the least wing of the church makes me feel optimistic that Jesus is still increasing and still being heard.

to gather together

How We Gather… How We Behave

How Christians Gather:

How Christians gather has a major impact on how Christians routinely behave. Much more so than I think any of us realize. Christian meetings themselves are designed by Jesus Christ to do many things. The meetings themselves are designed to disciple, to correct, to soften, to sharpen, to encourage. They are designed to provide for and to fill us with his life and his joy.

Nothing affects how Christians behave more than what happens (or does not happen) during our weekly Christian gatherings.

In every meeting are we?:

Large crowds of Idle listeners to a lifetime of sermons? OR Every member actively sharing Jesus Christ one by one?

Hearing legalist pleas to be better and to try harder. OR Actively sharing of Jesus Christ by all involved.

Bringing “songs, testimonies, prophecies” and everyone speaking up. OR Amatures in pews repeating after the religious professionals on the elevated stage?

Feeding one another Jesus Christ one by one. OR Demanding to be fed by finding the most personally entertaining “church meeting” we can.

Jesus Defined His Gatherings

The truth is that Jesus Christ has already defined how Christians are to gather. He demonstrated it in the gospels and taught about it in great detail in the epistles and in Acts. Even portions of the Old Testament refer to and outline it.

IF Jesus Christ is really our day-to-day Lord and not just a religious idea that we love. Then we will be willing to let him personally run our meetings of the future. Jesus our indwelling life-giving spirit certainly can run a gathering if we learn to yield to him.

If this post intrigues or even angers you then please reach out to me by commenting or emailing me. This book by Frank Viola goes deeper into this. An increasingly large number of people are Rethinking how we gather.

Ministering by A Living Hope vs. A Money Hope?

I have several people asking me for money for their church planting or building ministries. I believe in giving and sharing and being overly generous whenever possible. My wife and I love to give and share and believe in having an open hand, and we both wish we could afford to give much more than we do, to many more people than we do.

I understand  that money makes almost everything in life on this planet easier. But, I can also see that many protestant ministries, funded by wealthy churches have and are exporting a major stronghold about the ministry of the church and about money… along with some evangelism on the side.

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