Kingdom of God

Men, Why Gaze at the Sky?

August 21, 2017 By David Roberts Leave a Comment

“I am amazed that you can so easily be fooled into swapping the Gospel for a gimmick! The Gospel reveals the integrity of your original identity rescued in Christ; the gimmick is a conglomeration of grace and legalism. A mixture boils down to a do-it-yourself plan of salvation. (Which is a recipe for disaster.)” Gal. 1:6 (Mirror Translation)

Anyone trained to do so, can gather evidence about another group, person or people, and present that evidence like a prosecutor in front of a jury, expecting to identify those people with their crime. There’s not a problem with this if you’re a “free agent” (a person who does not have any commitments that restrict their actions), but to the ones who Christ is coming in the flesh (1 Jn 4:1-3) it’s contrary to His nature to put people “in” captivity, which comes from thinking more highly of ourself than others. It’s also rooted in proving someone else is wrong (as opposed to showing what’s right), like the Pharisees and Sadducees, who knew the letter of The Word but not The Message (within Jesus, The Word made flesh). The Spirit gives Life (1 Cor. 8:1).

When we reject His Life, we set ourselves above God, but the sad irony is, by faith in Him lowering Himself to be with us (Son of Man and also Son of God, Jesus), you were already seated with Him (Eph 2:6,7). Being seated “WITH” Him is not enough for sin, which seeks to be seated “INSTEAD” of Him. Sin seeks possessive power rather than the power that flows through us as a result of surrender to The King and His Acceptance of us (me). Sin is always rooted in fear (self- preservation or sacrificial) even though it may be presented as a trumpeting rally cry for troops.

The tears that flow down my cheeks lately, typically come from my own lack of faith, when I survey His Body. I see so few of us actually embrace how clean Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection made us that I’m a lot like Gideon, wondering How God will pull this off. There is no reason for me to point out your faults (I confess for looking at you wrongly!) except in building you up. Being out of tune with God, we see each other’s faults (2 Cor. 5:16) without offering hope in Christ. Why would we regard each other after the flesh anyway? Christ has dealt with all hindrances to Him. I repent unto the Kingdom of God. Go with me. My door is open; I desire for you to trust and obey with me. Christ is coming in my flesh (1 Jn 4:2) and I long to see Him formed in you, as well.

“Now the decisive conclusion is this: in Christ, every bit of condemning evidence against us is cancelled.” ~ Rom 8:1 (Mirror Translation)

I’d be remis if I didn’t share my train of thought that got me here. Today, there’s a total eclipse crossing America and the last few days, my attention has went toward Acts 1. When I first recognized God’s calling on me, He showed me how Christ’s return would look. He used the Galation passage where men of Galilee were standing, gazing at the sky. A cloud received Jesus, out of their sight. Two men stood by them in white saying, “men (of Galilee), why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”

What is He saying? The clouds will be removed from your eyes to see Him and be with Him. “…then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Cor. 13:12). His appearing is IN you. I’m not arguing about what happens later. If there’s an argument from me it’s about what God’s original intent is for creating you! My point is that He didn’t die for the world, only to have us share to others in the second person. In you, if you believe, is not two spirits (your spirit and His Spirit). There’s His Spirit only, so the more you abide (rest in) in Him, it’s literally Him they’re seeing in your frame, through your unique personality, size, color and quirkiness. He is with you now.

While everyone is starring at the eclipse, stare directly into my eyes and you’ll see The Son. Believe, and look in a mirror. You’re looking at Him staring back at you.
We are one in Him, your servant,
David

We are His Church, a Moving Temple- His Kingdom is at Hand

February 8, 2017 By David Roberts Leave a Comment

The premise you can join the church as if you were enrolling in school is a dangerous precedent commonly accepted and left unchallenged. The emphasis has for to long been on “who’s in” versus “who’s out“. There’s nothing wrong with identifying those co-laboring with us but I caution you not to assume our mission is to get the world to come into our camp. In His Kingdom, we go into the world.

Our mission is to BE LIGHT, allow His Light to shine, to Love with His Love as He draws by His Spirit whoever He desires (and likewise, He will harden some hearts).

“CHURCH” is certainly a school for Kingdom citizens but as members of His Church our enrollment requires submission to the overseers of His School. To His School, He gave gifts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) that we submit until we’re all One Man, able to stand in His presence, establishing His Kingdom on Earth (Read Ephesians 4).

We’re called, drawn by a personal relationship with Christ Jesus; by His Love. As we’re drawn into intimacy, we marry Him (meaning: we have intimate relationship with His Spirit). He penetrates our fig leaves with His Love, reaching the depths of our soul. He goes past the wall of fear, to the source of our very being. In this, we’re infused with His Love and purpose, previously hidden due to our previous, personal dishonesty.

In any marriage we can expect procreation. When we’re intimate with His Spirit we’re made His child. At this point, we continue until Christ is formed in us. God desires to bring His child in you to delivery (read Isaiah 66:8.9). The greater reality is you are the offspring of God, literally!

Just as in marriage we can expect procreation, we can inquire to the inability to reproduce. If there’s no procreation, there’s something wrong with the man or woman. In the natural, there could be any number of reasons why a couple isn’t procreating, but with God, we know there’s nothing wrong with His ability to reproduce. If you’re not being formed in His image, look in the mirror; there, you’ll discover the problem. You can’t blame anyone if you’re not pregnant with God’s child, except yourself or God’s timing. If it’s you, that can be corrected, but only through spiritual restoration. Sin attempts to make corrections by borrowing from the same logic that put the fig leaves on in the first place, effectively functioning as a condom. In order to become pregnant, everyone knows there must be penetration. With God, He must penetrate your heart. Because I’ve not mentioned other aspects of being spiritually pregnant doesn’t mean you can’t draw your own parallels but if we’ll keep the main thing the main thing we’ll discover all the work of ministry was being done without sound of hammer or tool as we were shaped.

The fig leaves we hide behind are fear based walls, acting like condoms, hindering Love to pierce the deepest parts of our being. When He does break through don’t stop. Carry the Child to full term. It’s Christ being formed in you.

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. 1 Kings 6:7

Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matt. 16:17,18

His Church members (His moving Temple) are very aware we don’t deserve intimacy with Creator God by our own merit, but we’re also convinced we were created in His image and DO deserve His Grace, based on HIS merit. We know Him personally because He came to us. We know Him through the way compassion He gave, so it’s natural for us to also have compassion on all.

For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. Hebrews 5:1,2

“… we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.” Hebrews 5:11,12

We submit ourselves to being washed by His written and preceding Word; being transformed by the renewing of our minds, we are no longer conformed to the world, able to prove what’s good, acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12). With our minds transformed, we see the world the way He sees it. We see people the way He sees them, no longer through the flesh! We submit ourselves as instruments He’s fashioning, unable to make a sound unless He breathes through us.

Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 2 Cor. 5:16

We are His Church (His Temple); His Kingdom is at hand. The fact there are children of God automatically refute every attack where His appearing is always in the future and the word “church” is so commonly thrown around.

What do we do if you’re a seeker and you hear?

“they’re having a huge revival at this or that ‘church'”,
“the preacher is great at our ‘church'”, or
other advertisements about their ‘church’

… don’t bother going. In fact, run the other way. Don’t go when you hear, “He’s here or over there” (Matthew 24:26, Luke 17:23)!

Our presence makes it self-evident there’s a false church, who more closely resembles anti-Christ than Pro-Christ. We are carriers of His Christ; we “re”-present Him to the world He loves. We’ve laid our lives down and found Life. Now, we preach His Gospel, not only with our words but with our lives.

“Know ye not that we are (plural) the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Cor. 3:16,17

There’s a fair chance you may read this and feel I’m being negative about the Church. You might think I’m saying your local organization isn’t measuring up. That’s the furthest thing from the truth. Simply put, quite often, many from His Church are active in our organizations, but everyone in our organization aren’t in His Church. I’m addressing The Church, whether they’re in the organization or not.

If we’re gonna discuss the within, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention what a terrible thing it is to be intimate with God. To be intimate with God isn’t what we see on Sunday mornings at the local house of worship. What you may witness there is the results of those who have allowed themselves to be penetrated by God’s Spirit. They’re pregnant and you can see the glow on their faces, along with the rocking motion that indicates they’re in rhythm with God. It’s important we identify each other instead of just assuming everyone who shows up is part of His Church. Why? you might ask. We’re called to love the world, not ourselves so we’re moved by compassion for those ignorant or out of the way. Those that are part of His Church understand the language of losing our lives to find them. Those living in Truth experience death to the old mind (self), and aren’t fooled when people describe it like it’s getting the flu. The reason: know the power of His resurrection!

We can only approach Him by faith, which is code for denial of trust in self. In my weakness, I’ve found strength. Strength in weakness is one indication you’re pregnant with Christ being formed in you. You might say, our minds are being transformed to find a new comfort zone. That new comfort zone is much like Jesus, who endured the cross for the joy set before Him. First, we’ve got to ask and answer a question. What joy was set before Him that He would endure the cross? You’ve gotta answer that question for yourself, but I was on His mind when He endured the cross. That’s how much He loved me. Now, as His Love leads me and I surrender to it, I’ll begin to love what He loves. My world and those in my path require the same sacrifice from me as Jesus patterned (as a priest after the order of Melchizedek). Of course, we aren’t the only begotten Son, but we do follow as do only what we see the Father doing. Since I’ve received such a great gospel, it’s only fitting I offer myself up for those I encounter (read and study Hebrews 5- it’s gold). Going through Gethsemane isn’t fun, but it’s required.

Christ Revealed in Play-Doh

December 1, 2016 By David Roberts Leave a Comment

All children and adults are familiar with Play-Doh. Some time ago I began using it to communicate principles in the Kingdom of God. Yes, I know it’s silly, but in my mind, it’s one of the many small things that demonstrate the divide between ‘the way things appear’ vs. ‘what they are’.

If I were to show you a can of Play-Doh, and ask, ‘What is this?’ We would agree, ‘it’s Play-Doh’. But, what if I removed the lid and removed the clay from the container? Referring to the clay, I ask again, ‘Well, if that was Play-Doh then what is this?’ And, referring to the empty container, ‘And, what is this?’ Because the Play-Doh was in the container, they are considered one, yet Play-Doh is Play-Doh whether it’s presented in the container or in another way. If the Son of Man is the Messiah, based on His Spirit in the man that came through Mary, then I’d like for you to explore the consequences of His Spirit being in our earthen vessels.

There are things all around, which announce His Kingdom in us. It’s in all creation to be seen plainly, but with eyes to see, we’ll see the Teacher appear at any time. The source of life is found in every human, so no matter what someone looks like on the outside, we should do whatever necessary to understand this dynamic.

‘The way that seemeth right unto a man’ comes from an instinct and a need to control our current circumstances and future. In ministry, there are some assumptions made that we must allow His Spirit to test and purify the intentions of our hearts. Placing a higher emphasis on vehicles to carry God than our fear of being wrong stalls our progress. God doesn’t need another vehicle to ride. The one vehicle He designed for this job is YOU; You are His tabernacle! Your ministry vehicle must NOT be a thing we create to feel safe and predictable. Encountering God in this reality isn’t safe at all. In fact, it’s down right dangerous. Surrendering to God will almost certainly include restructuring or removing what you call ministry. There’s a powerful key found in simple, childlike trust in God. As long as we’re driven by fear, we need a revolution born out of love, but because it’s love don’t assume there won’t be fire.

The greatest place of strength is found in weakness. When resources and ministry vehicles are gone or threatened, it often reveals whether it was His strength or survival that we are anchored. Mourning loss is normal, but I’m referring to the reality we married those things in the first place. We must know and understand that the shaking in our lives is a blessing from God and even a sign post given to help us allow Him to close chapters in our lives, so we can move as He moves. Nothing matures us more than total dependence on His Spirit so shaking off yesterday’s events is an automatic, in order to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. Denying self can only be done when ‘self’ (the container) is present and contrary to popular opinion, ‘self’ must be present. Reckon dead it’s lordship! Simply don’t follow it’s instinctive directions but that’s often easier said than done. We often fail to lay down some things because we viewed variables as constants.

There needs to be a shift from looking for resources so we can become ‘the resource’ for others. Instead of carrying people to church, focus on training your people to go live powerful kingdom lives in their world, and you’ll be sending ‘church’ to them. This is what needs to change; the core of our ministries revolves around the church. Wrong! It should revolve around His Throne. Whatever anchor point we revolve around is our God.

Too often, well-meaning men stopped short of discovering their kingdom purpose because they’re mixing the pure seed with something vile. It’s an interesting dynamic where we seek God’s face until one day, when we’re facing Him, He turns us around to face His world. It’s in this revolution we find our kingdom purpose. Without being empowered by God, we produce codependent relationships and organizations until God no longer permits. Until the cycle breaks we’ll never realize we were 100% adequate without all the added trimmings. God will not permit mixed seed plans to succeed.

The Church is absolutely necessary but it must be put in proper order to the kingdom. Your earthly vessel is also absolutely necessary, and it must also be put in proper order. Instead of being saved from the world we are being saved for our world. What Jesus Christ did for the whole world, we bring into manifestation, according to our calling, a dispensation of the gospel, the measure of rule He has given us.

There is a veil shrouding the reality of your true identity and it causes a dismissal of powerful things that are small. This veil separates the pure kingdom from that which is out of alignment to His Spirit. Until you’re able to behold him in the mirror, you’ll be viewing from a distance your inheritance, instead of connecting with the treasure. Being human doesn’t disqualify you. In fact, it’s what qualifies you. But once you qualify, you will be qualified. Take this with you: Jesus said that if any man will come after Him, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Him. The key here is to remember that your container doesn’t disqualify you from having the Great Treasure in you. Your container is where God wanted to live all along.

John wrote in 1 John that we shouldn’t believe every spirit, that we should try the spirits. He further explains that every spirit that confess Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. Have you ever considered that wasn’t just Jesus’ testimony John was writing about? Our testimony should be that He has come in our flesh. That’s what the Play-Doh is all about. The container doesn’t take credit but it does get a boat load of benefits.

If God’s Spirit in The Son of Man makes Him the Messiah, then what does His Spirit living in your earthen vessel make you?

Bullets in the Church

November 1, 2016 By David Roberts Leave a Comment

bullets 9mm closeup on brushed metal, white background, high contrast

Throwing Bible verses at people is much like throwing bullets at an intruder. Bullets are powerful, but only when you have a matching gun can the bullet be directed with pinpoint accuracy.

If I were to show you a bullet, most everyone would recognize it, but we may not realize what all makes up a bullet. For instance, a bullet that has been fired leaves behind a shell casing. The shell casing is very important to housing the bullet. ALL the power is within the casing. The casing alone has no power but in proper order, you wouldn’t want to lackadaisically toss it in a campfire while roasting marshmallows. It’s only when the casing is properly loaded, with the correct amount of gun powder (power) and placed in the proper setting that it offers predictable outcomes.

Let’s look at a 45 caliber bullet; they require a 45 caliber bore to be effective.

I’m gonna jump from bullets, guns and ammo to the idea of receiving Christ. When we ‘receive’ Christ, believing that was the end would be ludicrous. The Bullet is powerful but if you are NOT formed to carry and deliver The Bullet, then you’re of no use to the owner of the gun. The frame is important because it houses the barrel and trigger mechanism, but it can come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colors. The thing that’s consistent in frames is their unique bore sizes and presence of rifling.

Bore size is is the approximate diameter of the barrel or the bullet it fires. It’s measured in tenths or even hundredths of an inch. The example above is a 45 caliber, so it measures .45 inches in width.
Rifling is grooves machined into the barrel, which are spiraled. Rifling is often described by its twist rate, which indicates the distance the rifling takes to complete one full revolution, such as “1 turn in 10 inches” (1:10 inches). The rate of turn (twist) indicates how fast the bullet will rotate upon exit.

You can imagine if a bullet were made of hardened steel, it would resist the syncing of itself to the twisting rate of the barrel riffling (grooves). The bullet, as it goes out the barrel, is uniquely marked as coming from ‘this’ barrel; as it spins, IN SYNC with the barrel.

Religion that isn’t pure focuses on everything except Christ being formed in you. Those who are spiritual understand that in life we will be disappointed but quickly seek to understand and embrace this ‘forming’, which is transforming the way they think and setting us ‘in sync’ with Creator God.

We definitely need a frame, just like a river needs banks, but the frame is only a tool to carry and deliver what it was created to do. Don’t fall in love so much with your idea of what life is supposed to look like. Trust that God has His hand guiding you, shaping you, to be. When we can just be then you are in the place of still, where we know God, surpassing everything our imaginations could have ever dreamed. Before you know it, you’ll have His markings that identify you as His.

The Church is The Gun, sending saints into the Kingdom, with His unique markings.

Bullets are powerful, but only when they match the gun can they be directed with pinpoint accuracy. We can have all the right goals, but if we aren’t fired from the right vehicle (sending agent- gun- proper order in the Church) we’ll end up shipwrecked, with only hope for a future help. Future help is awesome, but it is ‘present help‘ our souls long for… and it’s ‘present help’ the world groans for. At some point we need to ask ourselves why we are here. As our minds are changed, we’ll discover we are here for the world. The changing of our minds transforms us. Let’s lay our agenda down and allow Him to shape us as He fires us into the world, using the Gun He created.

I hope you’ll engage in conversation by commenting below. Share what Spirit speaks to you.

Hidden in the Box

October 1, 2016 By David Roberts Leave a Comment

“If you’re reading this letter, my disease has run its course. Enclosed is some money for my burial. I would like to be cremated. I spent my whole life in a box. I don’t want to be buried in one.” -Georgia May Byrd (Queen Latifah)That line is from one of my favorite movies and it pretty well summarizes my inner thoughts. The title of the movie is Last Holiday.

A foundational shift in each of us awakens us to Reality, altering our viewpoints. Awareness comes from simple, child like faith in Spirit (God). We once viewed our human reality as the source of Life, and although very real (for short, I distinguish what I call small “r” reality from big “R” Reality), we see it (small “r” reality) is incapable of producing Life (let alone be the source of Life). Reality is that you are already in the room with God, even if you don’t know or believe it.

Few will tell you, “The cross has made you flawless” without adding caveats. The bottom line is that considering yourself equal with God is the only way you can find agreement with Him. To call the bluff on all the lies that say you aren’t worthy, simply agree with God. You ARE worthy. If I don’t preface that statement with explaining that it’s not by your own effort or if I don’t explain that He provided The Lamb, it’s no less true.

Human form is too proud to let someone see us as weak but that’s not where His (Spirit’s) strength is made perfect. As humans, we’re quick to steal honor from God. His presentation of love was in the form of putting Himself to an open shame instead of saving His reputation. We tell each other, You don’t wanna be like “these guys”or “those guys” and you do wanna be like … You understand. Eager to distract from the main thing, we focus on minor issues and methods. We’ve created massive libraries of beautiful teaching, and most of it does nothing but distract from the one thing that will produce righteousness in us, the cross. The power of being offended by the cross is overlooked because it does not make sense. Master carpenters reject the simplicity of the cross and the masses follow along blindly, as if we think they know the way. Maybe they do know the way but the issue isn’t if they know the way, it’s do you. We have enough educational material to build economies based on ways to store the information, yet we seem to lack in the simplest matters. We all understand what happens when an atom is split yet it’s like the mental program we’re running only offers, “this does not compute” when laying down our own lives. In this hour, we are sitting on a powder keg of possibility, but it’s only released when our own lives are laid down. The gospel of Christ is still the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes.

There’s an old saying that bears much truth, “the devil is in the details”. Many fail to fully mature, for at least two reasons: 1) they don’t have a proper relationship with someone on Earth, to submit as a spiritual leader (father – son), 2) they stay surrendered just long enough to understand some of God’s plan (refer back to reason one) so they run off to save the world before real power comes on them. Our libraries fill to capacity and there never seems to be a shortage of those drinking the humanistic KoolAid.

Real authority isn’t a system, a group or a council. Those are all very important and wonderful tools we can later use but first we need to learn some things (mainly, we need His mind). We need to understand how it all works BEFORE we begin (again). The early church seemed to capture something very important when they had everything in common. We need to learn all the rules (the blue prints) before we begin with an old mindset (pre-conceived idea).

Real authority looks on Earth the same as in heaven; it’s a mirror (hint: that’s why there’s 24 elders around the throne- 12, but in a mirror there are 24). Submit yourself to someone (preferably, the one God chose in your life). They are either in your life, been there, or on their way. Personally, I don’t care who it is. Your act of turning your heart toward a father will have a reciprocal effect in him. You have great revelation; great, we all get that. And, you wanna build something wonderful in the Earth, possibly because you want to please your father (Father). But actually, he (He) never told you to build anything. You just assumed that. Take a more simple approach and readjust what you deem minor and major. Allow the atom to be split inside you. Make it your mission to pursue and trust Love. Then, love as you are loved and stop trying so hard. Let me let you off the hook on something: Jesus never expected you to love everyone on your own. He said to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and body. He then said to love others as you love yourself. Your responsibility to love others is “AS” you love yourself. The further you understand you are in the room with God, that is the measurement to love others. Love as you are loved. The entire process begins with Him first loving you. It’s by the measure you have the clouds removed from your own eyes, that you’ll be able to understand what is right and noble.

Many saints have been raised up already to look after your soul. These “elders” often will not have an official title in a “church”. Don’t underestimate their purpose in changing your life. Our greatest desire is that Christ be formed in you. We prepare, empower and send you on your way, as you begin (again) your journey, understanding the Kingdom of God. Don’t think it strange but the method we use most likely is the same Jesus used. He told us straight out every time He prayed over food “bread”. All too often, our programmatic mindset gets stuck because we fail to wait to be; 1) blessed, 2) broken, 3) and sent. Without proper relationships on earth we will continue a pattern of babysitting rather than true discipleship. Obviously, there can be abuses in every submitting relationship but just because some husbands are abusive doesn’t mean we should do away with marriage.

God’s love IS an offense to all flesh, even “Billy Graham’s”. No flesh is immune from offense. God’s amazing kind of love is the most profound truth there is and yet it’s wrapped in a simplistic (plain) wrapper that has the power of an atom being split. No-one should take Grace for granted. A mentally challenged individual has a better chance of experiencing His Love than the one who is rich in information. “The cross has made you flawless” is an anchor point to transform the way you see yourself and others if you believe without taking it for granted.

You are flawless because of a choice God made, not one you made. The choice you make, to believe in Grace or not is the fork in the road to whether you’ll be aware you’re an heir or continue in self effort.

The Power of the Cross; Pentecost

June 7, 2016 By David Roberts

You’ve gotta be a man before you can be a “Mr.”,
You’ve gotta be a woman before you can be a “Ms.”,
You’ve gotta believe before you can be called “a believer”.

Above all else, this article is not intended to pigeon hole us further; but rather, explore where we are, especially as we remember the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Showing up at church or learning to parrot the right things doesn’t mean we’re anything, other than we’ve learned to wear a certain flavor of mask. Why would anyone wanna wear a mask? It’s because we’re afraid of not fitting in, so we manipulate our presentation to “fit in”. With respect, we often fear people and the systems of this world more than Creator God. This could possibly be because many say “I believe” with our mouths yet fail to to it in our hearts.

Yesterday evening, I ran into Walmart for a few last minute items. The dog was getting hungry and my wife wanted that special creamer only they carry. As I raced to the sections of the store where my items were, my mind was opened to notice again, all the packaging and manipulation through presentation. Suddenly, I once again saw a glimpse of myself and the way we (humanity) view life. We live in a world where packaging is king! Let’s face it. Most of us simply buy the package, and whatever is on the inside, then we deal with that later. Even though we say we care, we balance that against our love of money, and we say we’re being good stewards. Well, maybe we are. Either way, this isn’t really a problem until what we’ve purchased breaks (and it will!).

Neat and orderly is what our world demands. If you’re out of place, you have no place, thus you don’t fit in! The promise of making our lives easier, less stressful, pain free, is certainly appealing and I often take them up on what they’re selling! I live in an air conditioned home, with running water, electricity and all the comforts that can be imagined. The problem many times is that we often buy promises from people who don’t have ‘the goods’ to sell; although, with their packaging you’d never know it. They jockey for shelf space, brand recognition and popularity; all which are driven by alliances (that’s just another way of saying, “branding”). All these alliances are to make you feel included (warm and fuzzy, to meet a need you may not even have). Honestly, I’ve got no problem with the world operating this way. It is the way of the world and I’m not afraid to operate within it.

What often alarms me is when I see so many “Christian” organizations function in the ways of the world, “wearing their clothes“. I know: Why am I looking at their short comings? Well, I love them and want to help! We’ll get to that in a minute. There is a way of peace. These organizations, captained by someone, market their daycare, children or youth programs; announcing “we’ve got what you need“. They print ads promoting their latest “special” service and mention how good “their” praise team and/or choir is, while mentioning there’s plenty of parking; and it’s well lit! If that weren’t enough, social media is blasted with campaigns to brand their church or movement, and their members are “requested” to “like” their post/page and share. You’ll hear things like, “our preacher can really preach” and “oh boy, we had a great message today“. There isn’t anything wrong with any of these things, except it seems like they’re always focusing on all the minor subjects. They invest all this energy in labor that won’t produce an eternal harvest, all in the name of “who“, I ask? I’m certain their zeal is usually on target and I’m not faulting or attempting to modify behavior. Behavior modification doesn’t work anyway!

It’s just that we’ve almost lost sight of the reason for having a gathering in the first place! If you’re gonna gather, don’t do it to cover the same base over and over. In baseball, you’d get to first base and never score a run. Let’s gather to train the people, so they can be empowered to go into their world a blessing to others, demonstrating God’s true compassion for the world!

Maybe it’s coming across as bashing or being harsh. I’m sure some will think these subjects shouldn’t be talked about in the open, but I can’t imagine a better place for it. What I’d like to see is honesty about where we are. In my personal relationship with God, that’s where I experienced Him so it seems reasonable to expect it corporately, in like manor. As I contrast (or survey) our present presentation of Jesus to the world, I just don’t see Him being lifted up IN THE WAY HE DESIRES. How can I say I know His desires? Because my mind has been changed and I can see how His engine room operates in the world.

Let’s look at what the Apostle Paul wrote just after he addresses hero worship; whether Paul or Apollos should be given credit (read 1 Cor 4 in it’s entirety HERE or listen to it HERE but below are the verses we’ll discuss)

I can’t for the life of me understand how the modern church can say we have the same leadership as what we read in these verses. Honestly, I can say but you won’t want to hear it. Well, that settles it; I’m gonna tell you for sure now. “Everything we call church isn’t The Church”. So much of what we call “Church” is really a supporting organization to facilitate a real move of God. We fell in love with the idea that we could lean on this system (instead of leaning on His understanding) to help, kinda like a crutch. Somehow, we’ve come to accept it’s okay to help Him since being His flesh was too difficult. I’m not saying God hasn’t allowed or even led at times, to have denominations (as some might say). I certainly don’t think those are a complete expression of who He is, but everyone has ideas and opinions about what they believe, so in that light, there are as many denominations as there are people. Let’s look at denominations as fractions. We know that all fractions are part of the whole. Somewhere along the course of studying basic mathematics, we began working with fractions. We learned that fractions are not the whole, but they were part of the whole. So, what did we do? We learned to find “THE COMMON DENOMINATOR”! What do we all have in common? We are all loved and accepted by God. We can start and end with this simple common denominator. With a common denominator we can find equivalent fractions, expressed other ways. Through the cross, we discover it doesn’t matter what organization you or I belong to, or where our membership is. We discover that God really did love the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son. Now that He sits at the Father’s side, we are His flesh, for Spirit to live. In light of being a unique individual, viewing the world through unique eyes, there is nothing wrong with being a slice; in fact, THAT’S THE PLAN! When I’m speaking of being a part of The Whole, I’m speaking of being a member of His Body; human flesh for Spirit to live and move and have His being.

The Nation is a many membered body; ONE body, which when we’re in tune with Spirit, we produce ONEvoice (that’s why we are aka ONEvoice or Restoration House Ministries). Well, now that we’re back from that commercial break, let’s read verses 9 thru 13 of 1 Corinthians 4:

4:9 If you really want to know, there is nothing glamorous about being an apostle! It seems to some that God has us on exhibition as it were, as clowns in the circus; the laughing stock of the religious world-system! We are the latest gossip in town. Even the angels frown upon us! And you want to idolize us, think again! We are not handing out autographs! Neither are we your latest brand of Christianity! We have a death-sentence hanging over our heads!
4:10 Because of Christ we are considered fools (in the eyes of the religious society!) Our foolishness serves only one purpose though: to prove to you that Christ is your wisdom. Our weakness serves to convince you of your source of strength in Christ; our ill repute in the eyes of popular opinion is to persuade you of your honored standing in Christ! (Do not allow what we are suffering for you to distract you from realizing how wise, and strong, and honored you really are in Christ.)
4:11 While writing this to you my life would seem such a contradiction! I mean here I am telling you how complete and without shortcoming you already are, and I can hardly remember when last I have had a decent meal! As I am writing this my mouth is dry with thirst, I’m stripped of my clothing; I have been beaten black and blue, and have nowhere to go.
4:12 I feel the fatigue from my physical labor. When people insult us we make sure that we speak well of them. We are harassed, but bear with it.
4:13 Hurtful rumors do the rounds but we find refuge and comfort in our true identity. We are reckoned as scapegoats, the scum of society. This is what we are faced with on a daily basis. (1 Cor. 4:9-13 Mirror)

To my human understanding it seems strange we have so many churches led by so called “apostles”, “prophets”, “evangelists”, “pastors and teachers”, who seem more interested in campaigning, strategizing, advertising, packaging, aligning, branding, and a whole host of other marketing angles rather than demonstration of power. I see so few leaders exhibit the reckless abandonment to Christ, as seen in the preceding few verses. It’s a lack of fathers; I am convinced, but it’s also our lack of submission to apostolic fathers in the Church. Looking on Facebook and other social media, you’ll get a good idea of ‘who is with who‘ by the posts we ‘like‘ and by the people we ignore. No wonder the world thinks we’re just a bunch of religious bigots. Often, WE ARE!

To anyone who does not believe the message of the gospel, it’s to their own loss the message of the cross seems foolish; but to us who discover our salvation there, it is the dynamic of God. Isaiah wrote: I will confuse the wisdom of the “so-called” wise and prove their experts wrong! (1 Cor 1:18,19 Mirror)(Isa 29:14)

Too many times I’ve been surprised to discover I’ve been wrong about people and their approach to ministry and life. I think we often are a little quick to pronounce judgement when we’re often saying, “they’re not like me“. Possibly, that’s what I’m doing again right now. I hope so and am willing to learn, even if it’s the hard way. There’s a list of people I could tell you about, where my initial instinct was in error because they appeared to be of the world; they presented themselves in a way that I was not familiar with being abandoned in Christ, so I discerned incorrectly. In those times, I was wrong. We’ve got to give each other this grace. Grace to recognize God is bigger than our understanding. Hopefully, we can learn to recognize when our hearts burn from hearing truth, so much the Holy Spirit can interrupt our plans for His, ceasing our divisive ways. When I got to know the people I am thinking about, it was easy to hear their heart and passion to see God’s children be led into the place of promise and it was then I could appreciate the amazing Gift in them. When I stopped looking at their package I began to see people as Christ sees them.

The main reason I didn’t recognize them as being a gift from God was I didn’t know their story. I hadn’t gotten intimate with them, probably because of fear. I was caught up in my own circumstances and more than likely, marketing my own products, calling them “whatever“. I’ve come to believe there is a small place of power, where He rests and we’re invited to reign there with Him (in His Rest). This throne is a place in the perfect Love of God, where Love governs and fuels everything. It’s not a worldly definition or an emotional love. It’s through faith in Him, that we are Baptized by fire to see God is/as Love. This is the engine room of God and the power plant. The offense is foolish to the world. The power of Pentecost is available, and possibly more, so that we too have all things in common (common denominator). Once we find the common denominator, we can begin to make whole numbers out of the fractions (we can understand people and appreciate them as a gift).

Close Enough to Perfect to Me

June 5, 2016 By David Roberts Leave a Comment

Off and on, for some time now, a scripture has come to mind often: For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. It’s Ps 84:10. In this scripture, where he says he’d rather be a ‘doorkeeper’ really jumps out. A doorkeeper? Yes. The longer I think about it, the more I realize being a doorkeeper is not a shabby gig. The keeper of the door can only be a trusted son, who can carry out his duties based on intimately knowing his Father’s Heart. He must know who to let into His House.

The doorkeeper operates at the vestibule, at the threshold, where we enter. Not to be too explicit, but the vestibule is also the entrance tissue to a woman’s vagina. To be a mature doorkeeper to God’s House you must be incredibly intimate with God, which will renew your mind in order to properly know how to govern the door of His House.

There is a well known scripture in Ephesians 4:11. In it we read where God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Regardless how you read this verse there is a clear description on “why”. He gave them for the perfecting of the saints.

Listening to a local country station the other day, an old song by the group Alabama came on, “Close Enough to Perfect”. As I listened, my attention was arrested. God impressed to me a deeper appreciation and understanding of His love; and as leaders, our purpose.

“Don’t you worry about my woman,
And what you think she aught to be!
She’s close enough to perfect for me!” [full Lyrics below]

The perfecting of the saints has long been misunderstood. Perfecting does not mean robotic performance. It means you’re coming into adulthood, understanding your entire sin debt was paid by Christ, and walking in this truth. No, people won’t just go robbing banks or leaving to start their own church if they are told this. That may be what you did, but that’s what happens to those who focus on sin nature; they became what we behold.

As we become more intimate with Christ, we discover we weren’t saved only by His grace; His grace also keeps us. The song “Close Enough to Perfect” is about a man accepting his wife right where she is. That’s perfect Love folks! It will unlock her heart. Christ loved His Church so much He gave His life for her. His Church, His rules. The Bride doesn’t call the shots and Christ isn’t abdicating His role to lead; He’s just leading by becoming her servant, with His righteousness.

What happens when we focus on the goodness of God? It disarms us! We have no reason to sin since death has lost it’s sting. When Christ speaks it’s not with accusation. It may not always be with approval of our actions but it is always with Love (approval of our person). He leads Her (Christ’s Church) by Love. She responds like a mirror to His love (glory of the moon- reflecting the Sun) as she receives His seed. She, operating in His name, plants the same Seed in others and He’s reproduced as the glory of the Sun.

Men, it would radically change our homes if we’d simply love our wives as He loved His Church. By no means have I arrived in this (ask my wife, lol), but I’m determined the only thing that will make me leave is a higher court to rule, saying I must go. The only thing that could separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus would be for The Higher Court to reverse His decision to love the world so much He would give His only Begotten Son; that’s not happening!

The only thing that could separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus would be for The Higher Court to reverse His decision to love the world so much He would give His only Begotten Son; that’s not happening!

So, let’s say you’re the doorkeeper in God’s House. Who do you suppose you’d open the door for? In light of Christ’s amazing Gift, to give Himself for His Church, to show His Love to the world, I’d say the door needs to be propped open; for whosoever will, His Church. I’m speaking of course of His House and not an individual ministry or what most of us know as a church (contrasted with The Church). So often, leaders become overly focused on the ‘work’ they’re doing to see Christ gently guiding them in another direction; sadly, many still see men as trees.

In my 18 years of ministry, I’ve seen all sorts of believers, coming from many different positions; most have a passionate heart to do the will of our Father.

We need to clear something up. In His House, we are all doorkeepers. The question isn’t, “are you a doorkeeper?”; it’s “are you hindering people from entering?” I don’t think Saul knew he was persecuting the Church until he had his encounter with God. Much the same, The Church doesn’t know by carrying His name we carry His authority to open the door for others, or hinder them from entering. We are all doorkeepers to the people around us, in our world. You are a doorkeeper if you’re part of the family of faith in Jesus Christ. You and I are both doorkeepers into our Father’s House. As we grow into perfection, we begin to understand that to God we’re kings, but to others we’re priests. You don’t need a certificate or an ordination to be a priest for Him. You just need to be still in your earth suit.

The Church doesn’t know by carrying His name we carry His authority to open the door for others, or hinder them from entering.

Of those of us that know we’re doorkeepers, many act like ‘bouncers’ at a night club, waiting on you to step out of line, measuring and weighing individuals for flaws. No, I’m not picking on you to condemn you. I’m picking on all of us so we all hopefully lighten up. Even the ones who act this way, they’re welcome in His House too. Christ covers their sin as well. We’re perfect, but we’re also growing into perfection. We’re perfect because we’re spotless in Him, as the Gift of Christ. We are growing into perfection by the gifts He gave; Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. These gifts help us to appropriate Christ occupying us, as His flesh.

As doorkeepers, we have people around us often who are often grown up children. They need patience. Don’t run off and leave them alone. Hold their hand, invite them to lunch and model what it means to no longer think and act like a child. The Higher Court has ruled to send His only begotten Son to pay the sin debt for the world. As doorkeepers you can’t overthrow the Higher Court.

“Don’t you worry about my woman, And what you think she aught to be! She’s close enough to perfect for me!”

Read the lyrics to this song; watch and listen. It’s really a spiritual song that reflects Christ’s attitude for His Bride.

In Him, David

[clear-line]

Lyrics:
“Close Enough To Perfect”, by: Alabama

Sometimes the morning coffee’s way too strong.
And Sometimes what she says she says all wrong.

Right or Wrong, she’s there beside me,
Like only a friend would be!
And that’s close enough to perfect for me.

Now, She’s been known to wear her pants too tight.
And drinkin’ puts her out just like a light.
Heaven knows she’s not an angel,
But she’d really like to be.
And that’s close enough to perfect for me.

She kisses me each mornin’
And smiles a sleepy smile!
She don’t have to say it.
I can see it in her eyes!

Don’t you worry about my woman,
And what you think she aught to be!
She’s close enough to perfect for me!

Sometimes she gets down and starts to cry!
But then again a lady has a right.

She’s everything I ever wanted!
She’s all I’ll ever need!
She’s close enough to perfect for me!

She kisses me each mornin’,
And smiles a sleepy smile!
She don’t have to say it.
I can see it in her eyes!

Don’t you worry about my woman,
And what you think she aught to be!
She’s close enough to perfect for me!

Whooooa… She’s close enough to perfect… for me

“Close Enough to Perfect” is a song written by Carl Chambers, and recorded by American country music band Alabama. It was released in August 1982, as the third single from Alabama’s album Mountain Music.

Judicially Set Free by Grace

April 30, 2016 By David Roberts Leave a Comment

Humans believe sin can separate us from God but sin is actually the thing that drew Him near; it’s where Grace abounds. Because of Grace, all evidence is not admissible in His court. Whatever you think keeps you from being reconciled to God has been dealt with by Him. Now, it’s simply a matter of you believing it in your heart and confessing it with your mouth, so you can be free from it.

Despite the popularity to mix law with Grace in society, which denies God’s legal justification to accept you, Love always wins. Don’t get me wrong, for those who roll their eyes whenever they hear someone speak on grace. I love His law but won’t use it to incarcerate others. There is a distinction in a boat and the wake it produces. The boat produces the wake, not the other way around, so if you knew who you were in Christ, you’d delight in His laws as you moved through life.

Not optional: Followers of The Way reckon ourselves and others as acceptable, placed in right relationship with God because His justification is a judicial reckoning in His court.

He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious loving kindness]. 2 Cor 5:21 AMP

Believing with the heart will change your mind. Speaking with your mouth creates the environment for change. Although simple and His yoke is easy, it’s not easy to believe with your heart. Changing your mind into a Grace mindset IS the cross between our ears! It’s illogical (to human calculation) that your neighbor could be equally accepted by God. Believing with your heart the Son of Man was raised from the dead by God requires you to identify what exactly Jesus did. Without the remission of Sin, then He was just another good man.

Forgiving others is counter-intuitive to what “seems” right. From human argument, we hold grudges, unable to flow in the kind of love that sets captives free. Without accepting His love is unconditional, we can’t give it unconditionally, presenting ourselves to the world as His offspring.

Forgiveness doesn’t come natural to flesh because it assumes natural consequences must be set aside. Someone out of sync with Spirit assumes they’re the prosecutor; they lie in wait to introduce evidence because that’s how they live, circumstantially.

Imagine a man jumping from a tall building; who’ll fall to his death unless he supersedes the law of gravity with the higher law of aerodynamics. Unless he “grows wings” he will die naturally. Christ supersedes the law of gravity by carrying us up with Him to His equal. As gravity is to the law of gravity, Christ is wings to the law of aerodynamics. The law of sin and death no longer has it’s sting.

God lowered Himself to become a man, then offered Himself as a permanent sacrifice to judicially become sin on our behalf; He was buried and raised from the dead by Creator God. The transformed mind accepts this love and gives it unconditionally because we are His offspring. The circumstantial mind fails to accept truth because it doesn’t understand how Grace effects natural consequences. Since we’re all living in earthen vessels, ALL our human natures think circumstantially. The cross reckons this old man as dead, as a judicial ruling. By faith, we accept the ruling of the Court.

The truth is that if it rains on the just and the unjust (those who are morally upright and those who oppose Him) then so is His love given to those who love Him and are unrepentant (Matt 5:45). If you love only those who love you what reward do you have? If He loved only those who loved Him, then He’d cease to be God.

David Roberts,
an ambassador sent by God

Why Does God Have a Body?

April 17, 2016 By David Roberts Leave a Comment

Although we become accustomed to recognizing each other by the way we look, our physical appearance is a house for the real you. It’s your spirit and your soul that people get to know when they think of you. Your personality, your mind, your unique way of seeing life and others all make up ‘YOU’. You live in your body just like God’s Spirit lives in His. Think about how exiting that is, but also think about the heavy responsibility to take His name. If you’re married, chances are that one of you took the others’ name. Similarly, taking God’s name, as part of His family takes on the responsibility that you’ll be a truthful ambassador, revealing God’s true self. This is done without effort simply by having faith in Him. The miraculous manifestation is a body of world-wide believers who demonstrate who God is. Just like your neighbors know you when you step outside, the same is true when His body steps into the world.

The purpose of God’s Spirit living in one person or a group of people isn’t to make them prideful, but so He can express His nature to all the nations of His world. Unless you’re an identical twin, or a doppelganger, your body is one of a kind. Even with identical twins there are differences, which are unique, based on the individual’s life. As an example, if one twin is in a terrible accident and loses an ear, the other twin will still have their ear, so recognizing someone is based on more than genetics; it’s also about scars from life experiences. The bottom line is that people know you when they “see” YOU and they know God when we show HIM to them. Being known by our love one for another isn’t just a side effect; it’s the blue-print.

On the television show “Cheers”, we all remember Norm entering the bar with a joke. Everyone knew him, or did they? When people get to know you, they recognize you, and also begin to recognize your voice and sense your ways. The very same truth is with God’s body, His Church. The purpose of God having a Church is to make Himself known. The question begs an answer, “To whom does He need to reveal Himself?” I would argue that we’ve preached to the choir enough. Maybe we should take the same meetings we’re having on Sunday, and use them like a university, where we mature people rather than trying to be a hospital. Leaders, if we did our jobs correctly, we’d send the hospital to the sick.

God’s body has the same function as your body; it carries you where you want to go. His “called out” are called to reveal God; so the world can “see” Him, and understand His ways. Without purpose “the church” would be just another group of people, who compare ourselves by ourselves. Our purpose is to show the world God, as He really is [He really does love you]. Local church government not founded with this foundational truth will always find itself in competition with God instead of in cooperation with Him.

If you think you’re part of His church, it really boils down to one thing; have you taken His name in vain? If you’re a leader in His church this topic is an apostolic truth that does not waiver.

Submission to Authority

September 22, 2015 By David Roberts

Part of our ineffectiveness in today’s Church (intended to bring attention so we can fix it, not to bash) is so many of us are out of position. People lead themselves, believing it’s okay to merrily bounce from one place to the next, taste-testing wine from every table. We do all this without being sent, usually because the church down the street has a better “you fill in the blank”. We all know there is nothing wrong with paving our parking lots, having a nursery or having the best youth department in town, but I think we could all agree those things are added conveniences.

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America defines dementia this way: Dementia is a general term that describes a group of symptoms-such as loss of memory, judgment, language, complex motor skills, and other intellectual function-caused by the permanent damage or death of the brain’s nerve cells, or neurons. -In the past, I’ve described our human condition as having an identity crisis. We haven’t had our identity stolen, that would be impossible. You are who you are, even if you don’t know it. Either building on or drilling deeper, I do not know, it is most likely our disconnect from our spiritual head that could be diagnosed as spiritual dementia.

Fueling “our” dementia is a belief rooted in the assumption God was created in our image rather than we in His. We transfer that to assuming our spiritual authority should appear in our image. We say with our mouths “we submit” but in our hearts it’s only to the point that we’re familiar. Some insist spiritual authority on Earth must have a meeting on Sunday. Some say, “no building at all”. And some say, “no meeting at all”. Whatever your flavor, we’ve created a Jesus that can meet the perception of your need. I realize this sounds a little cynical but if we’re ever to receive healing and then wholeness, we need to know “from what” we’re being healed. Your greatest enemy may be your failure to rest in God. In your defense, you can’t do it before He leads but it’s the disconnect from the Head that I’m addressing, not the action of “faith” or “lack of faith”. What we often call “faith” is really our present “trusting God”, which we treat as if it’s the standard. In reality, the standard is really to eat from the Tree of Life so we start out deceived making it impossible to “hit the mark”.

Drinking from many fountains causes our purpose to become confused and diluted. Our hearing becomes dull when we search everything we can find, to make what we call our gift manifest in the Earth. When we see ourselves as our gift, we are lost; maybe we have salvation for a future heaven but we’re unable to bring the reality of heaven into our world. We’re caught in the in between. It’s in this state we exhibit symptoms of spiritual dementia (loss of memory, judgment, language, complex motor skills, and other intellectual function-caused by the permanent damage or death of the brain’s nerve cells, or neurons). Of course, we know nothing is wrong with The Head. It’s just that the body is disconnected from Him, simply by trying to find Him. He was right there, but many leave in search of an already present God. He takes us to a situation to teach us, but our itching ears and sweet tooth lead instead. It’s in this mindset that we are seeking to discover who we are. We are drawn to support those who give us purpose in the natural, which isn’t all bad. It’s when we seek this for validation and identity that we eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. As long as this is our mindset we’ll never be able to experience real circumcision. We give others what we are drinking; it’s the same convoluted mixture we drink and we think we’re doing well.

Occasionally, I’m misunderstood so I should clarify that I see diversity as our strength. I’m not saying we shouldn’t connect with others, or learn from each other. God reveals Himself anyway He chooses. I’m just sharing from an apostle’s viewpoint where that is. What’s important to understand in each of us, we carry light (lamp or lamp-stand). Just like you, we are each responsible for tending that light. I use a lower case “l” when spelling light because as long as we’re tending it, we aren’t there yet. Where’s there? You’ll have to read further to learn a little about the third dimension or seventh day, but when we’re in alignment with His Kingdom in Heaven, we’ll mirror it on Earth. In short, “there”, is walking behind the veil, where He provides the Light.

His Kingdom has come but our body is learning what this looks like on Earth. I don’t suppose to tell you what your specific ministry should look like. I can only say that you were fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. Borrowing a little light from many takes their revelation and treats it with dishonor. It also makes your life a mess because you don’t have the authority to speak their revelation, as if you carried their light. What happens is that you quote them and place it in the context of your life, but they were given that light for an entirely different purpose; one that’s very personal between God and them. They lost more than we can possibly imagine to have their revelation trampled on. The bottom line is that tending everyone’s lamp-stand will wear you out. Let’s talk about spiritual authority and submission, for a moment. As it concerns leadership in His body; someone speaks and your baby leaps because they carry the same light. That’s how you know where you are being joined into His body. If this happens to you, then God may be showing you who you should be submitting. No baby has three fathers so this connection is very important to discern where God has placed you in the body. Many are sick because they don’t allow their afraid to have their hearts circumcised. I understand what you may be thinking; it’s scary. When we buy into having more than one father, we set ourselves up for a harder road than is really required.

You have a lamp-stand, and in one sense, you are that lamp-stand. Just like Jesus went to sit at the right hand of the Father and is preparing a place for you, maybe we should consider that the place He is preparing, “is you“. In His House there are many mansions. The things you are going through is your mansion being restored. You shouldn’t hear any negativity in this article because you are one of His mansions and His desire is to take residence and live in you; not just in you but through you. If you submit to spiritual authority, it is in the context of helping guide you to trust Him. You should never allow anyone to control your life, except if someone steals your coat, then maybe you can give them your sweater too. If God’s called you, His Word is in you, so simply by falling to the ground in surrender His authority, you will “grow” just like any other seed. Jesus taught that the children of God are His seed. As you desire to sow His Word in others you were designed to manifest His Word and be sown in the Earth. The idea that God is distant is a world view and not anything like reality. God didn’t touch you so that you could save your life by what makes human sense. He touched you so you could become a son and receive your inheritance.

It’s a super-natural resurrection that happens. Jesus said He came to make war and not peace. There is nothing nice or pleasant about taking authority over your own flesh, but only you can do it as He leads. The ways that ‘seem’ right are to take in as much information as needed to reach a logical conclusion, but God was already perfect Logic. He makes perfect sense if you have eyes to see. He connected you to Him and has connected you in His body. The pain of much of life’s struggles are Him uncovering what was done in the open. That’s right; it was done in the open, not in a corner. Our salvation is plain to see and He desires much more that you go along with Him than you could ever chase after Him. Since we are so use to hiding and doing things in secret, we’re a little slow on this, but never to worry, He’s been on our side the whole time and demands we not glory in our own flesh and this is one of the primary reasons He places spiritual authority in your life. We travail in pain to see Christ be formed in you.

It does no good to bare burdens He already bore and He receives no honor or glory when we fail to receive what He died and resurrected to give. When we feed others with this same cup, Jesus said you’re making them twice a son of hell as you. The act of submission is not only necessary to learn; it’s fundamental to how authority functions on Earth and in Heaven. So many have a great desire to teach and that’s wonderful, but if no one is asking questions of you, or bowing at the anointing in you (2Kings2:15), they aren’t ready to hear. What you probably need is to wait until you are sent. But, if you’re bound and determined to plow ahead, if they aren’t buying what you’re selling, stop talking and listen. Listen until their heart softens so they can receive. In that environment, it’s impossible to learn unless Someone has to submit to your authority or your wasting your time trying to teach. It’s much more wise trying to love them to repentance until their hearts are soft and pliable enough to teach, than to take authority over someone other than own life. That’s just wrong.

As it stands now, those carrying the label of Christian look like drunk fools to the world. Out of our mouths come a message of forgiveness but many of our homes are a wreck. The church’s divorce rate is higher than the world and hotels bid for denominational leadership conventions so they can sell more porn. Humans love to worship “form” so it’s not an easy path to follow Christ.

I want to leave you with one final thought about what it looks like dancing from table to table drinking any wine that’s served. This is more that a thought; it’s a reality of not submitting to the authority God places in your life. There was a chief priest in Acts 9 that tried to do miracles in the name of the Jesus that Paul preaches. The demon replied that Jesus he knew and Paul he knew but who are you? I don’t see it as conferring with flesh and blood but wouldn’t the best baseball players submit to their coach for training and game day? Even Paul went and submitted his gospel to Peter, James and John. He wrote that he submitted to them in private because he was fearful that he might be running, or had run, in vain. Arrogance and pride are not compatible with teaching; and submitting to spiritual authority is very different than submitting one to another in brotherly love.

In Him, David

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