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Discussion Forum : Articles and Sermons : Companionship by Oliver Peng

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But the Lord does have structure just as an earthly family does, so does God's family. Mature leaders that did not take a shortcut to "leadership" and are servants that are not lording over God's flock. They provide oversight because they have come through God's process of maturation and have submitted to the Lord's dealings in their lives. We have all been taught that they are prominent in a gathering rather than taking the place of one that oversees and allows the Church to function. The opposite is sadly true, whereas they are prominent and the Church is not functioning.

The key is discerning what is of God and what is of man rather than make blanket characterizations. Almost two thousand years ago the Lord Jesus made this great declaration, "I will build My church." Down through the ages He has been building. Unfortunately, man has been building also. And the worl of man is ALWAYS detrimental to the work of God -- even when it is done in His name.

The Lord will not lead you to rebel against Himself. He will lead you away from anything that is not of Him. We need discernment for this and just cannot blindly call everything that operates in His name as HIM.

We must discern what is labeled "Godly authority". Lord help us to see you and to understand your ways.

 2010/10/8 20:54
NewCovWinDor
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Joined: 2007/2/10
Posts: 72
A Little Town In Iowa

 Re:

An excellent synopsis of what I wanted to say, but was not eloquent enough.

Discerning submission... the crying need of the hour!

Thanks!


_________________
Ryan G.

 2010/10/8 21:34Profile









 Re:

Continuing on regarding the discerning of leaders and discerning God's work.

Let me illustrate:

Does God select great men of God to do His work on earth?

Or does He just use everyday people? Maybe we should ask what makes a man a "great man of God".

MOSES:

In the natural realm, Moses was great in every sense of the word for much of his first 40 years. He was raised and educated in Pharaoh’s courts, empowered with military command, trusted with planning and building, gifted with oratorical skill, and he was consumed with a burning zeal to serve God. The religious world would fall head over heels to make a man of this caliber their great leader.

But not God...

God not only rejected Moses as a spiritual leader, He deemed him as being totally unsuitable – except for being a sheep-herder in the back side of the desert – for the next 40 years of his life. God cannot use any of Moses’ greatness until every last drop of it got drained into the sand.

When a royal vessel is reduced to a common vessel – humbled and abased, and barely articulate – then will God have secured His vessel of honor, way past his prime and not a minute sooner, I might add.

Credit to Oliver Peng for this bit on Moses.

Or how about what happened on the plains of Shinar?

A long time ago there were some people who were wanderers on the earth. They had a dream and a vision to find a place and establish themselves as a people who worshipped God and who experienced unity amongst themselves. So, they found a beautiful land and with much hard work and self-sacrifice they began to realize their dream as it unfolded day by day.

It would be hard to deny that these people did not know something of the heart and purpose of God. In the last book of the Bible we see that God is ultimately after a city. Abraham knew this and he spent his life searching for that city.

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Heb 11:8-11

I think it would be difficult to fault these people whose motives seemed so noble. However, they had one shortcoming. God had neither commanded nor requested them to build a city for Himself. Therefore, it is not surprising that when these people built, they built with man-made bricks instead of God-made stone. When God, the MasterBuilder wants something built, He equips and instructs His people as to how He builds. His methods and His materials. Man's work always looks like man and is detestable in the sight of God. "...for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God." Luke 16:15b

God eventually stopped the construction of the "holy" city on the plain of Shinar. The place later became known as Babel. Most people forget that it did not start out as Babel. It began as a city with a tower that would reach into the heavens - to God. It is easy to sit back and judge them as a people with some evil imagination in their hearts. Afterall, when people think of Babel they usually think of the worst when it comes to the people that were involved. Pagan, evil, sinister, etc. The fact is, they were people like you and me with ideas, plans and designs for doing something for God. Isn't it amazing that almost every church building today has a tower reaching to the heavens.

Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: Psalm 127:1a

 2010/10/8 21:47





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