Christ Our Elder Brother's Hand-Me-Downs - Righteousness, Holiness and Redemption

Two weeks ago a friend of mine sent me a book called TrueFaced... Since he and the authors are both still part of the institutional church I have to admit I was surprised by the message of this book and the way Father is still impacting my life through it. It is a book I highly recommend for everyone who struggles with seeking to please God verses trusting God especially with who he says we are or an other way to put it is struggling with performance verses grace.

For the last couple of weeks I have been struck by what Father says about who you and I are in Christ. It is not what the world thinks of you and me that matters... the truth about who and what we are is what Father says about us.

Christ came to call sinners and not just any sinners, but the ones society both secular and religious consider the worst of the worst and the least of the least.

Matthew 22:8-9 (New Living Translation) “And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.”

Like in the parable of the wedding feast invitations went out to those who think they have and appear to have everything together, but those are the ones who thought they had better things to do then to accept the Kings invitation to attend his son's wedding banquet. (Read Matthew 22:1-14)

So He sent his servants out to invite anyone who would come. To the places where they would find all types of people including those society and the religious consider rejects, low-lifes, good for nothings, have-nots, and never-wills inviting all who would accept the invitation.

1 Corinthians 1:26-30 (New International Version) “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”

1 Corinthians 1:26-30 (The Message) “Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”

If we are in Christ we are fully and perfectly righteousness, holy, and redeemed. Like a younger brother who receives his older brother's hand-me-downs once they are given, they are yours, but when we first receive them, they are bigger than we are.

Then through the process of growing relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we grow into them over our entire lifetime. Just like the boy receiving his elder brothers clothes eventually through the natural process of physical growth eventually fits into what used to be his elder brother’s clothes. Nevertheless even before they fit they are his.

In other words we who are in Christ are not just sinners saved by Grace... We are Saints who sin...at least for the rest of our lives on this earth, but we are being transformed as we learn to abide in Fathers love.

Some of What I Believe Some Essentials and Some Not Regarding Faith and Practice

Since this is Memorial Day weekend, I am not going to write one of my customary blog entries instead I am going to share something else I have written so I can focus the rest of this 3-day weekend on family, friends, and neighbors.

Since I have left Institutional Church (IC) and have begun investing time in speaking out about IC some especially those who knew me when I participated in IC have expressed great concern regarding my relationship with Christ whether I actually believe the essential foundational truths of faith in Christ from the Old and New Testament Judeo/Christian Scriptures.

In hope to relieve that concern I want to make it clear that is not the case. Nevertheless, I have chosen to reject that which is not scriptural and is empty traditions of men. Traditions that have proven themselves via the worldly, morally, and spiritually bankrupt condition of a vast number persons professing to be “Christians” and therefore the body of Christ’s ineffectiveness in being lights to the world within “Western Nations” and those places to which the “Western” version of Christian faith and practice have been exported and copied.

The following will be my Statement of Faith, but rather than remake the wheel I have chosen to use the both the Apostles Creed followed by my own words. Neither of which contradict the other.

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

from thence, he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

My Statement of Faith and Practice In M Own Words

1. There is one God consisting of three unique persons Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are equal and live in perfect unity in every way. Also known as the Trinity, this must be believed to correctly understand God’s character and nature. The triune nature of God transcends man’s finite comprehension.

2. God is the author of the Old and New Testament Judeo/Christian Bible and in its original Hebrew/Aramaic/ and Greek manuscripts is inerrant.

However, for various reasons in translation some individual words have been changed to fit the bias of its interpreters or those who employed them.
For Instance, the word church is found within the pages of the majority of English translations of the New Testament. However, in every case, the original Greek word used is ecclesia yet the word church is not a translation of the word ecclesia it in fact is a translation of the Greek word kyriakon. Kyriakon is found nowhere within the pages of the Greek New Testament scriptures.

The word ecclesia and the word kyriakon actually have two distinctly different meanings. The word ecclesia refers to the members of a gathering or community of called out ones and in Greek culture was used for gatherings of Governmental Officials and Politicians. Paul the Apostle adopted ecclesia in reference to the community of followers of Christ. In contrast, the word kyriakon was the Greek word used for pagan religious and governmental buildings interestingly that is similar to the meaning of the word church within western culture and society.

This word replacement actually changes the meaning of the New Testament scriptures in which this has been done and has resulted in largely a wrong understanding and application by followers of Christ when gathering since the time of Constantine.

3. In the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments God has given us an authoritative disclosure of his character and will, his redemptive acts and their meaning, and his mandate for missional living.

4. The biblical gospel is God's enduring message to our world, and followers of Christ are called to defend, proclaim and embody it.

5. All human beings, though created in the image of God, are sinful and guilty, and lost without Christ, and this truth is a necessary preliminary to the gospel.

6. The Jesus of history and the Christ of glory are the same person, and this Jesus Christ is absolutely unique, for he alone is God incarnate, our sin-bearer, the conqueror of death and the coming judge. He is the Son of God born of a virgin and is therefore perfectly man and perfectly God.

7. On the cross Jesus Christ took our place, bore our sins and died our death; and for this reason alone God freely forgives those who are brought to repentance and faith in Christ.

8. Other religions and ideologies are not alternative paths to God, and human spirituality, if unredeemed by Christ, leads not to God but to judgment, for Christ is the only way.

9. Followers of Christ demonstrate God's love visibly by caring for those who are deprived of justice, dignity, food and shelter.

10. The proclamation of God's kingdom of justice and peace demands the denunciation of all injustice and oppression, both personal and structural; Followers of Christ will not shrink from this prophetic witness.

11. The Holy Spirit's witness to Christ is indispensable to evangelism, and without this supernatural work neither new birth nor new life is possible.

12. Spiritual warfare demands spiritual weapons, and that we must both preach the word in the power of the Spirit, and pray constantly that we may enter into Christ's victory over the principalities and powers of evil. However, the word “preaching” is defined differently within the pages of the New Testament then is most often practiced since the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine.

13. God has committed to the whole ecclesia/Body of Christ and every member of it the task of making Christ known throughout the world.

14. Members of the Body of Christ must transcend within our fellowship the barriers of race, gender and class.

15. The gifts of the Spirit are distributed to all God's people, women and men, and their partnership in evangelization must be welcomed for the common good.

16. Without creating a performance culture we who proclaim the gospel must exemplify it in a life of holiness and love; otherwise our testimony loses its credibility.

17. The ecclesia individually and corporately must turn itself outward to its local community in evangelistic witness and compassionate service.

18. There is urgent need for the ecclesia and its mission agencies and other service organizations to cooperate in evangelism and social action, repudiating competition and avoiding duplication.

19. It is the individual followers of Christ and the ecclesias duty to study the society in which we live, in order to understand its structures, values and needs, and so develop an appropriate strategy of mission based on both demonstrating and proclaiming the Good News of The Kingdom.

20. I affirm my solidarity with those who suffer for the gospel, and will seek to prepare myself for the same possibility. I will also work for religious and political freedom everywhere.

21. God is calling the whole ecclesia to take the whole gospel to the whole world and to determine to proclaim it faithfully, urgently and sacrificially until he comes.

22. The concepts of clergy, laity, licensing, and ordination are not found in scripture and have hindered the maturation of followers of Christ and the spread of the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Economic Crisis an Invitation into Freedom to Place Value Where it Belongs

I had a difficult time decided between two titles for this week’s blog entry the one I chose or “Fathers Stimulus package for Breaking Free from Love of Money and the World's Treasure.”

I checked several dictionaries and unanimously Crises is defined as “a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something. I also looked at the definition of stimulus and again all defined it as “something that motivates a response.”

This week I have been struggling within my heart as I realize I am at a point of crises knowing the best course of action is beginning a lifestyle of even greater simplicity by getting rid of by selling even more earthly treasures that I have held onto.

I began to understand as Scriptures came into memory this week that, because more of my heart then I cared to acknowledge is tied to earthly treasures. I found myself being tempted to justify holding on to specific things based on the idea that they will not sell for enough money to make much of a difference financially.

Matthew 6:19-21 (New Living Translation) “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

As I consider the above words of Jesus I am more convinced today then yesterday that Jesus knew this would happen if we spend any amount of our resources with the purpose in mind of obtaining things to keep for ourselves, because it leads to loving things and using people which is opposite of God’s intentions.

If I were to be honest there are things I currently have that until now I would have never considered giving to someone else, because I only have one and if I did I could not financially afford to buy another and I was not willing to accept with that.

I have had to go through this with other stuff within the last couple months when I took something I had taken pride in building for myself and sold it to take care of family necessities. I can testify in doing that I experienced freedom and joy, but only because Father in his loving patience took the time necessary to show me that keeping that thing was bondage, because I valued it too highly. However even knowing that I initially found the idea of releasing more to be difficult as the things are not bad in themselves and I enjoy them.

Now I know I that for even more increased freedom from bondage to materialism, which is love of the things of this world, I have more stuff I am being invited to do the same thing with.

I also know that Father’s love, pleasure, and favor toward me is not in whether or not I accept this invitation it is only in my relationship with Him as His adopted child. Strange as it may sound letting that knowledge sink in makes accepting this invitation feel much less like giving something up and therefore easier, because Father has proven and proves to me every day that He is 100% trustworthy and his love for me will not change regardless my response...

Individuals, families, states, and nations worldwide are experiencing economic crises. I believe we who are followers of Christ and even those who are not would be blind to not see this crisis resulted from our hearts being set to blindly pursue the world’s treasures even at the cost of potential personal, family, governmental and global economic collapse. In others words, because of greed. Nearly all of us are responsible by not being satisfied with Fathers provision and or living beyond what Father has provided in order to get more.

I however believe that the invitation that Father has given me into freedom is an invitation to all of us. This freedom will take authentically acknowledging our sin and changing our minds and therefore our habit of loving things, which is what the word repent means. Father loves us the same regardless whether we accept the invitation.

He is offering this invitation and it is an invitation into valuing what He values, which is relationship with Him and our neighbors.

In heaven, the treasure is Jesus. In heaven, things we value so highly like gold is just pavement and building materials. Father’s treasure is the Son, you and I. The Bridegrooms treasure is the Bride and the Brides the Bridegroom.

Matthew 22:34-40 (New Living Translation) “But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Matthew 6:19-21 (New Living Translation) “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

Philippians 4:10-12 (New Living Translation) “How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little”

Father let us learn to depend on you for our needs and to be content with your provision and with the measure, you provide in. Transform us into those who view the things you give as resources primarily to demonstrate your love to our neighbors and secondarily for ourselves. Father I pray for the grace to change our minds about what is valuable and to begin valuing what you value. I pray give us the grace to accept your invitation to freedom and open our ears to hear how you invite each of us to act on the invitation and for the grace to accept that how you show each of to apply this freedom may not be the same for everyone.

Following Christ vs. Religious Conversion and the Infamous Church Bus

Approximately 4 years ago, I believe that at the prompting of Father I began reaching out to residents of Trailer Parks and "Residential Hotels" along a stretch of road that the institutional church (IC) we were part of was located.

If my memory is accurate the two faithful servants I joined, had been delivering bread and other food items and demonstrating Fathers love in other ways to these neighbors of ours for about 2 years.

Before leaving the church that morning, these men asked me to preach. Interestingly there had been a message living in my heart for months and when they asked the Holy Spirit confirmed that was what I was supposed share. That day the first place we went is the Budget Inn. Soon as the front wheels of the large truck we drove turned into the driveway suddenly without seeing any of the people it was as if I fell in love with the residents and suddenly I had a vision to see Jesus raise up a community of followers of Christ there. At that time, I must admit I was thinking in the terms of planting a church.

Within 2 months, the “Community Pastor” of the IC the other men and I were part of asked me to begin leading this outreach and to focus 100% on the Budget Inn. I immediately knew this was confirmation of that first morning. We had already seen in those 2 months over 100 people respond to the gospel and many asked me to lead a bible study. They were like hungry little birds in a nest with their necks stretched to eat to learn about Fathers love and walking with him.

Soon after I began leading the outreach, 10 other men and women from the IC we all attended joined us. By the end of first 3 months from the first day I went out over 170 responded to the preaching and a number began growing in relationship with Father.

The Budget Inn was fenced in and it was like a little community within that area of town. When I first started going to the Budget Inn it was notorious for gangs, crime, violence, prostitution, drug dealing...

Within 9 months, God transformed the little community. Such a high percentage of the residents placed faith in Christ and turned from their former way of life, those that did not come to faith either stopped criminal activities or moved elsewhere for lack of customers.

By that time we had a program for the Children, were providing a hot meal for over 200 adults and children and every week an average of 60 adults were coming to the bible study and 25 children participated in the children's program. People were growing in Father's Love and for their neighbors and they began sharing with each other as anyone was in need.

In the mean time, I began noticing some extreme changes in the "Senior Pastor" and other members of the paid staff at the IC. I recognized signs that extreme teachings on the topics of authority, honor, and submission to leadership began coming from the "Senior Pastor" and quickly the false teaching is being passed on and practiced by others.

The other leaders are now recognizing the “Senior Pastor” as an Apostle and he began turning children from their parents and destroying marriages by encouraging children to leave parents and men and women’s spouses who did not except the false Apostles authority and instruction to divorce.

In the middle of all this, a couple buses were donated to the IC and were used to bring people from "Budget Inn" and other places “to church” on Sunday Morning.

Within a few months, I began noticing changes in the residents of the Budget Inn they were becoming more and more religious and complacent about living in authentic relationship with God and their neighbors. They were slowly changing from a giving and loving community to a consumer mindset going to church for what they could get out of it. They were learning well from the example of the hundreds of people that surrounded them on Sunday morning and the performance (Law based) teaching being mixed within the "Senior Pastor's" sermons.

I became convicted as the Holy Spirit spoke to me the words from Matthew 23:15 (New International Version) "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are."

Convicted, because I had supported the idea of bringing these immature followers of Christ there I repented and prayed for father to provide a way to get these beautiful lambs out of there and for me to leave too.

Then I began remembering a time 25 years earlier when I had experienced genuine organic community with other followers of Christ and relationship with Father. As I did for years I began once again to hunger to get back to that kind of relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the Church/Ecclesia and I committed to it.

The condition of the physical structure of the Budget Inn and the health conditions remained horrible all this time, because the owners refused to bring it up to code and to do what is necessary to get rid of the rodents and other disease carry pests.

This became what Father used to deliver the residents from the institutional church. The City of Sacramento California took authority over the owners and then gave them the opportunity to bring it up to code, sell or tear it down. They received an offer from a charitable organization to purchase it over time with the intention of the Charity to completely remodel and bring it up to code in order to turn it into low-income housing for seniors and disabled and the plan was approved by the City.

This became the catalyst for many of the residents to not only get them out of the IC and their horrible living conditions, but for many of them to find employment or receive training that were not working, but able. Others moved into much better conditions. Most left that part of town to make a better life and stopped attending IC altogether. This set many free from becoming progressively more apathetic about their relationship with God and allowed them to recognize IC hinders growing in relationship with Father and others.

I believe this was put on my heart to share, because I genuinely believe many though not exactly the same have had similar experiences. I have personally experienced and watched this happen to 100's of people who authentically place faith in Christ and start with a genuine desire to grow in relationship with Father.

I can tell you that though leaving the institutional church can be scary for those like me who remained part of it for years, in my case even though I did not believe in it, but leaving does bring authentic freedom.

By the way, I still have relationship with former residents of the Budget Inn and they once again are growing in relationship with Father.

For me authentic relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is growing more than ever and with the Church/ecclesia outside of the institution as is my relationship with my neighbors as the love of Father transforms me. I can tell anyone who is on the fence about leaving IC, because of familiarity or any other reasons leaving as I said already is Freedom. There is real life in Christ outside IC vs. the artificial life and artificial community within. If you are hearing Father, calling you out I encourage you to follow him into freedom that is real freedom and life that is real life.

I end with something I know I wrote elsewhere, but I am uncertain if I have shared here.

Institutional church is an artificial environment therefore; it can only produce artificial community, which in turn produces artificial disciples.

It is like artificial flowers which of course are not real flowers at all and do not contribute anything to the environment or even the other artificial flowers that share the same artificial environment.

Therefore, discipleship in an institutional church is like polishing the leaves of artificial flowers it makes them look prettier, but does not change them into real flowers or reproduce life.

Jesus Came to Lay Down His Life For and To Serve the Poor

Christian your empty diatribe is a bore, your dogma leaves people spiritually poor.

What I want to know is will you lay your life down for someone who has nothing to give in return or the one walking the street selling her body to feed her children this woman who people call whore or even the man who is addicted if he happens to be your neighbor next door.

In Acts it says the Saints had everything in common and no man among them had need.

You spend money on unnecessary junk for your churches and send more far away while neglecting the widow, orphan, needy, the single parent with children that have little food and nowhere to lay their head, but the floor.

Even when part of “your church” or the same town more often than not you ignore those nearest your door. You claim to be Christ’s disciples though He came to lay his life down and serve the poor.

While you sleep in your comfy pew or bed there are thousands not few near needing to be spiritually and physically fed and like the Lord when walking this earth have nowhere to lay their head.

Jesus told his disciples to go into the world he didn’t call the world to come, but rather then go most spend themselves on judging those in need near them a bum.

37013-090502-287270-70


© 2009 All Rights Reserved.