It is late-April 2020 and the Covid19 pandemic is in full swing. The numbers seem to be decreasing but our governments reactions to it are ramping up. I recently noticed a local county leader publish a guide for local church’s about how to conduct church meetings during this time of virus fear. I suspect he received his guidelines from Albany NY.
In the article the executive tells church members how to sit, (in their parked vehicles, windows up), he tells the pastors how to deliver the “sermon”, he tells all how to give “tithes” and when and how to dismiss.
I’m not knocking this guy I’m sure he’s obeying orders coming down from on-high (ie…from whomever is controlling Albany these days).
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While reading this article it occurred to me that who is in charge of a Christian meeting is as important as meeting at all. I’m not suggesting we should ignore these guidelines I’m setting out to make a broader point.
Jesus Christ, the ACTUAL Lord of the church, displayed how to conduct Christian meetings for years. And in all those no gatherings no real estate was purchased or constructed, no buildings were remodeled, no corporations were formed, and no tithes were collected for salaries and property upkeep. And especially no Roman officials or soldiers were consulted regarding how to gather. Back then all that the authorities could muster was orders to stop gathering and to stop speaking of this Jesus.
The Apostle Paul also openly taught his people how to meet, gatherings are written about with considerable detail in some of his letters.
How Christians gather together is a display on earth of Jesus’ Lordship and kingship. This is a critical aspect of the gospel of The kingdom of God that most Christians I know seem to not understand or ignore.
Running Christian meetings will be either Jesus Christ himself through the spirit, working through each member yielded one to another from the foundation of love …. or it will be some ambitious brother or sister who feels the need to dominate meetings to feel fulfilled, or it may be some great elder/ pastor who simply knows (or will accept) no other way.
…or now, here in NY in 2020 it’s atheist politicians with their thumb on the congregations using a waning virus as a pretense to direct Christian meetings.
But most importantly if it is not Jesus Christ running a meeting through the Holy Spirit I suspect it doesn’t really matter much who it is. It can be atheist Albany, or the Vatican, or some talented and domineering Protestant Christian, or some slick clergyman sheister insistent on extracting a salary from our “tithes”.
If it is not Jesus Christ running the meetings it’s just not a big deal, it’s all the same spiritually … and the measure to which it is not Christ is the measure that it will be a spiritually irrelevant meeting.
Evil powers in high places DO care IF and HOW Christians gather, (I think it terrifies them more than anything else, I think they will kill before they allow his dominance over the church again.)
To maintain their grip on earth they must have a say in the money, and in the message, and ESPECIALLY in the face to face interactions among Gods people. (“Quiet everybody, look up here all of you, listen now, you can greet and interact briefly, …out there, …when I am done, and please make sure you keep the conversation about my sermon.”
They must impose dominance, they must displace the dominance of the spirit of Christ or there will be trouble.
Jesus-followers however meet in such a way that is almost invisible financially to the wicked powers over us. Money given to the poor among us. No buildings, no hierarchy, no corporations, no tax exemption is necessary.
Had Jesus met like most US Christians do today, the Pharisees would not have needed to bribe Judas (with their tithe money) to find him. He’d have his place in his designated building with his approved license and highest of titles.
But Jesus was not hiding from them, he was being led of the spirit… the devils in power don’t easily know where that is, they need a single leader (a neck to grab) in a single building (that they’ve told us how to build), to try to control Jesus on earth.
The ultimate aim is control and hindrance of Jesus Christ in the earth. Kingship and Lordship over the earth is at stake and this has always resulted in great violence.
Always remember that Jesus prayed “on earth as it is in heaven.” This prayer has brought great conflict that still rages within and around his follower.
