Category Archives: God

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13 and Part 14.

Let’s say that we conduct a survey of every Christian in America, asking, “What do you believe is the number one duty for church pastors?”

Do you have any ideas on what their responses might be?

Well, I would guess that 95% of the Christians would say something like, “Feeding the sheep.” And of course, what this really means is, “Pastor, bring on the sermons.”

What’s the scriptural logic behind this answer?

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to him, “Lord, You know all things; you know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.” (John 21:17 NKJ)

Out of this single discourse between a newly resurrected Jesus and a broken, discouraged Peter has grown the tradition of pastors preaching sermons in today’s traditional churches. So ingrained is this tradition that few of us even question its scriptural validity.

But wait a second! What was Peter’s calling? Pastor? No!

Peter was one of the original twelve apostles, chosen to be a part of the foundation for the Church, with Jesus being the corner stone. He was never a pastor, restricted to a local assembly. But instead, he was a traveling, church-planting apostle. This is an important point, one which is usually overlooked when this section of scripture is studied.

So, what was Jesus’ main purpose in His “Feed My sheep” discourse with Peter?

I believe our Lord’s main purpose was restoring and reconfirming the apostolic calling on Peter’s life.  Do you want to know why I believe this? The answer can be found in a prophecy spoken by Jesus to Peter a few days earlier:

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren. (Luke 22: 31-32 NKJ)

How would you like to receive a prophetic word like this one? And then, have it come to pass? Wouldn’t you be so discouraged that you’d believe your calling had been tossed out of the windows of heaven forever and ever?

This particular discourse between Jesus and Peter is the most personal and intimate conversation recorded in the New Testament. It reveals the compassion and love that the Head of the Church has for an individual and his unique calling.

But yes, there are some other scriptures with a “Feed the sheep” theme.

(Continued in Part 16)

This is a continuation of the nine-part series,  I’d Like to Prophesy, But…

Click on the following links for earlier articles: Part II-1, Part II-2, Part II – 3 and Part 4.

Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46)

The mainstay of today’s traditional church is the sermon based on a text from the Bible, which is usually given by a pastor.

Now, if you did a survey, asking Christians if the sermon was scriptural, ninety-five percent would say, “Yes.”

Then, if you asked a follow-up question of the ninety-five percent who agreed with the validity of the sermon, inquiring where in the Bible the sermon and its importance were located, you would receive blank stares. And maybe a few might say, “Man, because just because, and it’s always been done this way!”

Well, has it always been done this way? The answer is emphatically “NO”.

The early church had no Bibles. Yes, it’s true that letters were written by Paul and other apostles, but these came into existence thirty or forty years after the first Pentecost. And actually, the letters answered questions and settled problems that the churches were struggling with at the time.

So, what did the early Christians do when they assembled together?

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2: 42)

On the first day of the week, when we gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them… (Acts 20:7)

So, then brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. (1 Corinthians 11: 33)

The early church’s centerpiece for their meetings was not the sermon, but rather a meal, which they called the Lord’s Supper. The believers gathered around tables.

And what else did the early believers do?

What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. (1 Corinthians 14:26)

For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted. (1 Corinthians 14: 31)

And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another… (Hebrews 11: 24 – 25)

Early believers came to church meetings to give, rather than just sit on a pew like bumps on a log, and receive a sermon from a professionally trained clergyman.

And what was one of the most important questions asked of new believers?

(Continued in Part 6)

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12 Part 13.

What peerage titles come to mind when you think about the Kingdom of God? Prince? Princess? Duke? Duchess? Baron? Baroness? Earl? Countess? Lord? Lady?

Probably none of these, right?

We only think about the King, the Lord Jesus, when we consider the Kingdom of God.

But as you know, the Kingdom of God is not a democracy or a dictatorship. No one is ever elected to head it or can take it over by a coup d’etat. It is an ongoing, never-ending kingdom with the King being the supreme ruler and authority over His royal monarchy. And royal monarchies usually have peerage titles, right?

So, this being the case, what are the various titles for all the different citizens of the kingdom of God?

But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

The only title given in Scripture for a citizen of the Kingdom of God is son. No other hierarchical or peerage titles are mentioned at all, as in none, zero, nada and zip.

And guess what?

Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  (Matthew 25:34)

The Kingdom of God was a part of the Father’s plan when He created the world, even before the creation of the first man.  How awesome is that?

And yet, the Father’s plan only includes a King and His sons. No other hierarchical levels were ever envisioned by our Father, as in never-ever-never!

Every believing reader, or at least 99.9% of you, would most likely agree with me so far, right?

Then, if the above is true, why would the King allow feudal fiefdoms known as traditional churches to exist in His kingdom, with lords in the pulpits and peasants in the pews? Is it possible the Kingdom and the Church oppose each other, as in America’s separation of church and state policies?

The answers are simple: the Church was created along the same lines as the Kingdom of God without any artificial hierarchical separation known as the clergy classes or the laity classes. Period.

After all, what is the message of the Church?

This gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

The word gospel is a shortened form of the phrase the gospel of the Kingdom of God. This is the church’s message to a hopeless world.

So, is it possible that we Christians do not really understand the pastor’s calling or the role of leaders in the Kingdom of God and in the Church?

(Continued in Part 15)

This is a continuation of the nine-part series,  I’d Like to Prophesy, But…

Click on the following links for earlier articles: Part II-1, Part II-2 and Part II – 3.

Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? (Luke 6: 46)

Christianity is not supposed to be a rigid set of rules. Period.

All Christians will give lip service to the above statement, but in reality, few believers actually practice this belief, and fewer yet, attend churches who practice this concept.

Why? Because if you remove the  rules, you will have to depend on Jesus who is the Head of the Church, the Holy Spirit and grace.

Now, I know that almost everyone who is reading this article believes that he (or she) attends a church which follows the guidance of the Holy Spirit to the best of its ability. And that the church’s pastor only does what the Holy Spirit tells him to do. Right?

Well, here’s a little something you can do to check out your beliefs:

The next time you attend your church, ask the Lord to give you a prophetic word for the assembly. And then, right in the middle of the pastor’s sermon, stand up and say, “Pastor, excuse me, but I have a prophecy for the church.”

What happens next will tell you (and everyone else) whether or not your church follows after the Holy Spirit or a rigid set of rules. You see, prophecy is something that can not be controlled by a system or its leader. Once the person opens his (or her) mouth to prophesy, no one knows for sure what that person is going to proclaim.

And guess what? The person who prophesies could be dead-on accurate or could miserably err with his (or her) prophetic words. Or even worse yet, the prophecy could be a combination of accuracies and blunders which then need to be checked out and spiritually discerned bit by bit.

A prophecy is most pastor’s and most traditional church’s worst nightmare. What do you do with the prophecy? When do you give it? Where do you give it? How do you filter it?How do you check it out? How do you handle the fallout from the prophecy?

But even more importantly, most pastor’s and traditional church’s chief concern is how do you stay in control of the service and the members. For after all, everything has to be done properly and in an orderly manner, right?

(Continued in Part II – 5)

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11 and Part 12.

A bunch of nice losers!

Would the Holy Spirit really make this statement about His church?

After all, look at the forefathers of our traditional church system:  Martin Luther. John Wesley. George Whitefield. Jonathan Edwards. Charles Finney. Dwight Moody. William Booth. Maria Woodworth-Etter.  Smith Wigglesworth. Katherine Kulhman.

Plus, what about the leaders of today’s traditional churches? Billy Graham. Oral Roberts. Bill Hybels. Mike Bickel. Rick Warren. Joel Osteen. T.D. Jakes. Joyce Meyers. Charles Stanley. And many, many others.

All of these great men and women of God have been proponents of the traditional church system. If the “old time religion” was (and is) good enough for them, shouldn’t it be good enough for you and me?

NO! Absolutely not!

When Jesus arrived on the scene in 30 A.D., the Judaic Temple system had its forefathers and heroes, too. Moses. Joshua. Samuel. King David. Elijah. Elisha. King Hezekiah. King Josiah. Ezra. Nehemiah. Jeremiah. Etc.

And yet, Jesus became the Head of a new wineskin: the ekklesia or the assembly or the called-out ones or the church.

Jesus is the Head of the Church. Period.

Yes, it is important to learn truths from our church forefathers, but we are to follow Jesus. If He turns right, we must go right. If left, go left. If He stands still, do the same. He knows where we are going and why. Our duty is to follow and trust in Him…even if He walks out the doors of our traditional churches.

Okay?

When the Holy Spirit called the church “a bunch of nice losers,” He wasn’t talking about our personal beliefs in Jesus as the Savior or Lord. No, not at all. He was referring to who we are as sons of God, walking in the kingdom of God.

Do you realize each believer is:

an heir of God,

a joint heir with Christ,

more than a conqueror,

a chosen generation,

and a royal priest?

When we do not walk in our royal benefits as sons of the Kingdom of God, we are losers; and always will be. Every wave, every wind of doctrine, the trickery of men and their craftiness will toss us here and there like cork bobbers in the midst of a hurricane.

And guess what?

(Continued in Part 14)

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10 and Part 11.

In early 1994, I drove back to Illinois to attend a high school friend’s funeral. It was held in a small church and I sat with my parents in a middle row of the sanctuary.

As I sat there on the wooden pew,  listening to the pastor, the Holy Spirit interrupted my thoughts and blanked out all noise from the service and the people around me. I was there, but I wasn’t. Then, He spoke to me:

“My Church consists mainly of a bunch of nice losers,” He said. “They pray for the sick, and if the person dies, they aren’t angry and don’t really feel that bad about it. After all, they did their religious duty.

“Now, in Major League Baseball, both the winning teams and losing teams want to win; it’s a part of each player’s make-up. But after a while, the losing teams’ players don’t really mind losing anymore. They still receive large paychecks and enjoy all the fantastic benefits of just being a Major League player. So, losing is not such a big deal to them.

“But this is not true for the winning teams’ players. Each of these players hates to lose and will do anything and make whatever sacrifice is needed to win games. They absolutely hate losing!

“I want My Church to hate losing!”

The conversation ended and I began weeping so hard I thought I was going to vomit. My sister leaned over. “Don’t you think that you should get a hold of yourself? You’re making a scene,” she whispered.

I shrugged my shoulders. There was nothing I could do, nor did I care what others thought of me at that moment. I was devastated by the Holy Spirit’s description of the Church:  “a bunch of nice losers.“

Now, what’s funny is that I was upset with God for allowing my friend to die. I had witnessed to my friend over the years. Prayed for him. Fasted for him. Invested time in his healing. But still, he died and I was mad at God as I sat there in the pew!

So, wouldn’t you think that God would have corrected me about my anger at Him? And yet, He didn’t. Instead, He redirected my anger toward the Church’s losing attitudes.

From whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)

(Continued in Part 13)

This is a continuation of the nine-part series,  I’d Like to Prophesy, But…

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. (Luke 6:46 – 48)

For years, I looked at the above verses and believed Jesus was talking only about His written words which are contained in the New Testament, and especially the first four books of the New Testament.

And this was because the Greek word logos is translated words in verse 47.

Now my thinking went along with Kenneth Hagin and other Charismatic teachers who taught that there was a difference between the two Greek words, logos and rhema, which are both translated into our English language as word.

These Charismatic teachers believe that the Greek word logos refers mainly to the written word as found in today’s Bibles, while the Greek word rhema refers to an uttered word.

These teachers would use the following examples to prove their beliefs:

For the word [logos] is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

And take up the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word [rhema] of God. (Ephesians 6: 17)

There are many other scriptural examples these teachers would use to explain their beliefs, but to be honest, there is a major flaw in their teachings. And the flaw is that there are more exceptions to their teachings than there are examples of it being valid.

Now, I am not saying that there is not a difference between the two Greek words, logos and rhema, but I would guess that it is a subtle nuance which has been lost (so far) to us over the centuries.

Strong’s Concordance defines both logos and rhema as being spoken words or utterances.  And if you want to study more on logos versus rhema, Theo-Enthumology has a great study on them.

So, as we continue on in this series, I will be looking at Luke 6:46 -49 as also referring to prophetic words or Jesus’ now words.

(Continued in Part 2)

An Updated Rerun Series

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8 and Part 9.

Rather, the present-day pastor was born out of the single-bishop rule first spawned by Ignatius and Cyprian. The bishop evolved into the local presbyter. In the Middle Ages, the presbyter grew into the Catholic priest. During the Reformation, he was transformed into the “preacher,” “the minister,” and finally “the pastor” – the person upon whom all of Protestantism hangs. To boil it down to one sentence: The Protestant pastor is nothing more than a slightly reformed Catholic priest. (Again, we are speaking of the office and not the individual.) (Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna, Tyndale Publishing; pp. 141)

To have pastors in a church is Scriptural, but the present-day pastoral system is quite unscriptural; it is an invention of man. (The Normal Christian Church Life by Watchman Nee)

No expression of a New Testament church is ever led by just one professional “holy man” doing the business of communicating with God and then feeding some relatively passive, religious consumers Moses-style. Christianity has adopted this method from pagan religions, or at best from the Old Testament. The heavy professionalism of the church since Constantine has now been a persuasive influence long enough, dividing the people of God artificially into laity and clergy. According to the New Testament (1 Timothy 2:5),  “there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” God simply does not bless professionals to force themselves in-between people and God forever. (Houses That Change The World by Wolfgang Simson, pp.10)

“Larry is a stubborn believer,” says my wife, elongating the word stubborn so that it echoes off walls.

Okay, admittedly, I’m stubborn. But my stubbornness pertains mainly to when I believe I’ve heard the voice of the Lord.  And if I think I’ve heard the Lord, then I will hang on until something happens or the Lord loosens my grip.

Have I ever erred in thinking it was the voice of the Lord when it wasn’t? Yes, I have my share of wrong presumptions under my belt…and the scars to prove it.

But as Graham Cooke says, “I’d rather err on the side of presumption than to not step out in faith when I believe the Lord has spoken to me. Presumption isn’t a sin, but fear is.”

I agree with Cooke.

And yet, when the Lord asked us to walk away from the traditional church system, I really struggled with it. I felt as though we were the only people in the whole world doing something as ridiculous as this.

Thanks to the internet, I soon learned that millions of believers in the United States were doing the exact same thing. I read books by Gene Edwards, Frank Viola, Wolfgang Simson, Watchman Nee and others. All of these encouraged me on my journey out

In a nutshell, Edwards, Viola, Simson, Nee and others proclaim the royal priesthood of the believers (1 Peter 2:9) and denounce the unscriptural clergy-laity separation in the traditional church system.

Though I agree with the teachings of the above men, I have a different passion for encouraging people to exit the tradition church system, especially on the West Coast.

(Continued in Part 11)