Category Archives: Discipleship

Controversial Issues Discipleship Holy Spirit guidance Perfection Prayer

You Can Ask… the Lord… And Get an Answer

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You CAN ask.. the Lord… and get an answer. Now that is really good news. Unlike the “you can ask” I got from some woman, when it was evident both that I knew and that I could NOT ask the authorities…. who didn’t know, showed that… and thus would have been highly insecure and offended and dangerous for being “asked’!  But this, no, this is a revelation. I got it from some guy teaching Sunday school. He asked God about his walk with the Lord! How wonderful!

In so many situations, we need direction. And who can give it to us? The Lord God is the one who knows. The Lord God Holy Spirit is the one sent to teach us. Let’s ask!

HalleluJah!

Controversial Issues Discipleship Holidays Questions and Answers

Feasts of Israel

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Friday night, tomorrow at about 6:00p, Rosh HaShannah (sometimes known as the Jewish new year) begins. We know considerable about the Feasts of Israel, how they foretell Jesus, and about how they foretell the “last days” — which we are obviously in. If you want teaching on this, particularly the prophetic part, let me know. We can do a series.

Ww have had some expressions of interest from some folks, from different angles, because there has been a fad/interest in other parts of the world wide church. It is very easy to get puffed up or hot under the collar or make silly invidious judgements when one does not know a great deal about the subject matter. Let’s get together and learn. It is as much about growing inside as it is about knowledge.

Controversial Issues Discipleship Holy Spirit guidance Maturity Mission News Prayer

Chariot Wheels Falling Off

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We had difficulties with Zooming today.
So, I recorded the meeting, pretty much like it would have been had we met via Zoom.
This won’t stay up … gone now.

BTW, very happy that my theme has been verified prophetically. Other, bigger “men of God” have been referring to the chariot wheels coming off. Praise God .. So good to not only protect us but to speak to us… and consistently so. And so very important in this hour. Thank you, Lord!

We will have words and pix with the music from now on when using Zoom. Sorry for that lack before. BTW, discovered that our problems Sunday were because of a glitch that Zoom had. Oh my! on Sunday? Guess we had better pray for tech and for tech protection.

Hoping to be back live on Pentecost Sunday. That is May 31. Hope it will be a potluck party. Stay tuned for an announcement.
Then after that, hoping for personal evangelism.

Course links:
https://www.patriotacademy.com/ Free course on the Constitution
https://online.hillsdale.edu/#home Constitution 101

Church growth Controversial Issues Discipleship Leadership Replication Maturity Mission

LEADERSHIP – The Way We Do Things Here

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Good leaders feed the sheep, watch over their souls, and mature the saints for more ministry and for growth into being like Jesus.

Most pastors in regular churches strive to develop a stable sheep base, so they have money for their infrastructure. Sure, many hope to actually teach some Bible along the way. But this pattern makes ministry really about placating people’s flesh, so they don’t stop giving. This model wastes a lot of time, hoping to do ministry somewhere sometime hopefully.

By contrast, we hope to develop more shepherds. If one is developing leadership in others, then one must deliver loving correction some times. One must always watch to see if lessons are learned, if tests are passed. One must rigorously lead by doing the best, hearing the best, teaching the best one can. Without this, people are not maturing and not being made ready for leadership. If the people don’t want this, they are not ready to prepare for leadership. They are not really even walking the Christian walk.

Tests for leadership don’t always come in the same order, but here are some very basic ones.
1. Work. You get to lead, or even have a say, only if you are working for the group.
2. Fulfilling the commitments you made. If you can’t do this, you are not reliable. You are not a leader. This goes along with telling the truth.
3. Being coordinative rather than rebellious. There is a place for leadership, so there is a place for respect and working with others, especially in the agreement upon direction.
4. Being civil, respectful, honoring.
5. Learning. How much should a teacher lavish attention on a student who refuses to learn?
This includes just plain being lazy lazy lazy. You were not meant for decoration.
This includes the full cup syndrome, that is, thinking you a lot, but showing you don’t.
This is related to avoiding the demons of division and strife — who often manifest as religious spirits and often get all caught up in nonsensical details.

Everything is a lesson. Everything is a test. Just because no one says anything to you, doesn’t mean they don’t know what you did; it doesn’t mean you got away with it.
We have already seen an amazing amount of spiritual warfare for such a little group. Just because you are the one scandalized, doesn’t mean you are the most right, the most holy. Often it means you are the most demonized. Don’t be scandalized; instead, be delivered, be healed, and be taught.

We know that given our mission and design, we will attract those who want to be leaders, but haven’t been in the past. This can be a place that will heal the wounds, fill in the holes, and cast out the demons. I hope this will help. Only you can make the decisions.

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A New and More Biblical Prosperity Gospel — A Call to Commitment to Assignment

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Studying Haggai. There we are in endtime prophecy. The Lord calls the church to repentance, because it has been building its own house and not his.
This is a new and clearly Biblical prosperity teaching. God would like to bless your house, but can’t if you aren’t building His.
There are a lot of people God has called to leadership. But there are leadership tests that need to be passed. Without a commitment to learn, it is pretty hard to be a Christian. Without commitment to work, you are not a leader. Without a commitment to pull together, you can’t be on a team of leaders.
And yes, sure, there are wounds of previous top leaders who didn’t deploy you, but there needs to be a commitment to healing, too. Come to the Lord.
It is a call to commitment, my friends.

Controversial Issues Discipleship Leadership Replication Maturity

The Weakening of the Church

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One of our leading members brought this pamphlet to our attention: “Is Your Church Going Purpose Driven?” https://www.swrc.com/media/pdfs/Going%20PDC.pdf

He has a book out on the topic of the pamphlet too, entitled *The Dark Side of the Purpose Driven Church.* I can not verify the details contained therein such as whether Rick Warren is against the fundamentals of the faith (including virgin birth, atoning death of cross, literal resurrection, and inerrancy of the Bible) and whether Warren explicitly teaches pastors to disenfranchise lay leaders and isolate/vilify resistors. We hope we have misunderstood the claims that Warren’s organization has put pressure on ministries and book sellers to suppress this discussion. We understand  that Hybels has repented of his teaching on “seeker-sensitive.”  However, we certainly and clearly do see a general blandness and sleepiness in churches and  we are concerned.

We know things are not good. We were amused a few years ago when we saw a church choosing to add a statement of denial (what they don’t believe) to their statement of faith. Of course, we have long been aware of a blockage in churches for any kind of application to the civic arena.  We have observed with discomfort that expertise is often not wanted, but instead yes-men without expertise. We have very sadly observed that discipleship and Bible study have become a thing of the past in amazingly many places. We were shocked to discover formerly strongly pentecostal or leading charismatic churches are now both hiding and suppressing any sort of charismata.

Hutchings was a conservative Baptist broadcaster.  Of course, I do realize that Noah Hutchings is mistaken in his claims about the Masoretic text versus the Textus Receptus. Overall, however, Brother Hutchings had a long, faithful and fruitful life and ministry. We do not have to agree on everything to take someone’s point.

Hutchings is making a good point, especially if taken in general: modern fashions in the church growth movement are enervating, weakening the church.  Let us not be so concerned with numbers that we fail to actually be (let alone convert) Christians. Let us not be so seeker-sensitive that there is no reason for anyone to be seeking for God near us. Let’s don’t be snookered out of faith.

At Jesus Name, our model of how to do church is much less concerned with money and show and much more concerned about growth in God and reaching out in real community for others. We hope a model that sacrifices the niceties of space and art can grow more quickly. We hope that leadership that is more concerned with replication than return customers can evangelize and fission more quickly. We hope a model that adheres to the Bible more faithfully can be more fruitful in the eyes of our Lord.

And surely a church with Jesus Name as its name will not forget a relationship with the One who has shared His Name with us.