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Gone Fishin'

~ …“Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!”

Gone Fishin'

Tag Archives: disciples

The Truth About the Sinner’s Prayer

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Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Study, Spiritual

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disciples, Great Commission, Harvests of Souls, His Faith, His Grace, His Ruach, Holy Spirit, lost souls, not factual, preached Gospel, repeated prayer, salvation process, Savior, sinner's prayer, unbiblical, uncomfortable truths, Word SEED, YeHoVah, Yeshua, Yeshua's Followers

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh, 20 teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And remember! I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:19-20, TLV

15 He told them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to every creature. 16 He who believes and is immersed shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned. ~ Mark 16:15-16, TLV

No sinner’s prayer is biblical. Since no sinner’s prayer has ever saved lost souls, telling someone he or she can repeat a sinner’s prayer and be saved means no sinner’s prayer is factual.

Yeshua never told His Disciples to use a sinner’s prayer to lead people to Him because He knew that only the preached unadulterated Word – the Good News – has the power to lead lost souls to Him. Everything He knew about the Gospel was why Yeshua commanded His Followers to preach it to every creature. This Gospel was, and still is, the Good News about Yeshua – the One who came into the world to save this world from the death penalty.

Moreover, there is an uncomfortable truth, which is that there are far too many Christians who have used their churches’ versions of the sinner’s prayer primarily so that their pastors could keep track of the number of sinners their church members have led to Yeshua. Missionaries have been asked: How many lost souls repeated the sinner’s prayer with you? This practice also is neither biblical nor factual.

What is biblical is Yeshua’s Followers helping lost souls to be saved by grace through faith by preaching the Word to them. Another uncomfortable truth is that neither spiritual rebirth nor eternal salvation can take place without someone first planting the seed. That is why having faith in the One who came to save lost souls can only come after they have heard the preached Word and received the planted Word seed. That is why Yeshua teaches yet another uncomfortable truth via parables. This uncomfortable truth is that the Word is to the Kingdom of YeHoVaH what a natural seed is to a harvest.

Yeshua will have His Harvests of souls because His Word seed was planted via the preaching of the Gospel. This Word seed will produce YeHoVaH’s kind of Faith, His kind of Grace, and His Ruach (Spirit) in them. Faith, Grace, and the Ruach – when accepted – will move lost souls to repent their sins so that they can confess YeHoVaH anointed Yeshua to be the one and only Savior of this world. Only then can the gifts of regeneration and salvation be received.

The last uncomfortable truth mentioned here is that without repentance, there is no forgiveness of sin. That is why the Power of YeHoVaH’s Promises is in His Word seed, and those Promises include His Forgiveness, Regeneration, Salvation, Justification, Sanctification, Glorification, and Eternal Life spiritual gifts.

In summary, when we do what we are commanded to do, which is to preach the Gospel, YeHoVaH, His Grace (Yeshua), and His Ruach (Spirit) will take it from there. If we don’t follow the proper salvation process, we will be guilty of deceiving ourselves into thinking WE led people to Yeshua via a sinner’s prayer, as well as guilty of deceiving lost souls into believing they will be included in Yeshua’s Harvests of souls. Shalom!

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Spiritual Revivals Are Holy Spirit Outpourings

18 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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anointing, authorized, brethren, climatic outpouring, disciples, empowered, end-time outpouring, endow, energize, followers of the Way, Great Commission, Holy Spirit outpourings, latter rain, reborn and saved believers, revived, saints, spiritual baptisms, spiritual fillings, spiritual restorations, spiritual revivals, spiritually gifted, strengthened

…“The Father is the one who sets the fixed dates and the times of their fulfillment. You are not permitted to know the timing of all that he has prepared by his own authority. But I promise you this—the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you will be filled with power. And you will be my messengers to Jerusalem, throughout Judea, the distant provinces—even to the remotest places on earth!” ~ Acts 1:7-8, TPT

On the day Pentecost was being fulfilled, all the disciples were gathered in one place.  Suddenly they heard the sound of a violent blast of wind rushing into the house from out of the heavenly realm. The roar of the wind was so overpowering it was all anyone could bear! Then all at once a pillar of fire appeared before their eyes. It separated into tongues of fire that engulfed each one of them. They were all filled and equipped with the Holy Spirit and were inspired to speak in tongues….~ Acts 2:1-4, TPT

Almost every day, I read a Facebook posting or Twitter tweet in which a professed Christian is praying for or waiting on God to send him, her, the church he or she attends, society, or the world a revival. By revival, most of these posters and tweeps usually mean a spiritual renewal in the life of a church congregation, in the life of an individual believer, or in the life of a society—renewed spiritual life that these posters and tweeps believe will have either a local, or a national, and/or a global effect.

Then too, by revival, a few posters and tweeps also occasionally mean the renewed spiritual interest in (the restoration of) evangelistic meetings that were known as revival meetings. In these restored or renewed evangelistic/revival meetings, the focus would be on the spiritual restoration of the so-called CHURCH from its moral decline to an essential and zealous relationship with God, which would include the spiritual restoration of believers’ faithful obedience to God’s Commandments. In these evangelistic/revival meetings, the focus also would be on the spiritual restoration of lost souls. The latter spiritual restoration actually refers to mass conversions—large numbers of unbelievers being saved so that they can become Christians.

Unfortunately, these posters and tweeps don’t seem to understand that a spiritual revival is not a spiritual restoration. Spiritual revivals have nothing to do with the restored interest in evangelism—the Lord’s method of winning souls for Him—nor do spiritual revivals have anything to do with renewing the CHURCH’s spiritual relationship with God.

Biblically speaking, spiritual revivals, whether local, national, or global, really have nothing to do with Gentiles’ understanding of who Christians are or who/what Gentiles think The Church is. Moreover, every biblical spiritual revival was meant for only the already saved believers in Christ.  

Put differently, the Holy Bible never mentions any spiritual restorations or spiritual revivals that happened to Christians or The Church. That is because, biblically speaking, every spiritual restoration pertained to God turning His wayward nation of Israel as a whole back to Him, as well as pertained to every Hebrew keeping His Commandments. Furthermore, neither the term Christian nor the term The Church is ever mentioned in the Scripture as the names Christ or His initial disciples/apostles gave to believers in Christ. For sure, first-century believers in Christ never called themselves Christians. Scripture proves that first-century followers of Christ were called saints, the brethren, followers of the Way, disciples, or believers in Christ. Since they already were saved believers, their spiritual revivals were not spiritual restorations.

The main reason why spiritual revivals are not spiritual restorations is that spiritual revivals had to do with the outpourings of the Holy Spirit upon members of Christ’s Ekklesiae (His collective bodies of saints or followers of the Way who gathered locally in saints or Way followers’ houses mostly to fellowship with each other). Furthermore, in every first-century Ekklesia, there were ONLY converted, Jewish believers. Now, even though some of these Jewish believers over time either had strayed away from their first love—Father God—or His Commandments, once again, their spiritual restorations were not spiritual revivals because, once again, spiritual revivals had to do with the outpourings of the Holy Spirit. These outpourings only fell on believers in Christ (people who already were reborn and saved souls), but not to restore them. The outpourings of the Holy Spirit provided the necessary power, spiritual gifts, anointing, and authority that reborn and saved believers in Christ had to have so that they could fulfill the Great Commission.

Once more, spiritual revivals have always been the times of vast outpourings of the Holy Spirit. Biblically speaking, there were four great outpourings of the Holy Spirit that are found in the Book of Acts. These four vast outpourings of the Holy Spirit are as follows: 1. upon converted Jews on the Feast of Pentecost (when the 120 Jewish saints who were in Jerusalem were Holy Spirit filled, and then they spoke in tongues—see Acts 2); 2. upon converted Samaritans in Samaria (when Peter and John prayed for the newly converted Samaritans to be filled with the Holy Spirit, laid hands on them, and they were Holy Spirit filled—see Acts 8); 3. upon converted Romans in Caesarea (when Peter preached to the Gentiles who were gathered inside Cornelius’ house, the Holy Spirit filled all of them, and then they all began speaking in tongues—see Acts 10); and 4. upon converted Greeks in Ephesus (when Paul laid his hands on 12 converted Gentile Ephesians, the Holy Spirit filled them, and they began speaking in tongues—see Acts 19).

Please notice that in every one of these mentioned four New Testament huge spiritual outpourings or spiritual revivals the Holy Spirit ONLY poured out on the already reborn and saved souls. In other words, only the already reborn and saved believers were revived, meaning they were fortified or invigorated (strengthened, energized, empowered, and endowed) by the Holy Spirit’s outpourings—His spiritual fillings or spiritual baptisms.

Since the New Testament’s biblical times, there have been countless Pentecost-like Holy Spirit outpourings worldwide. For example, one of the most important Holy Spirit outpourings in the United States of America is the major Pentecost-like Holy Spirit outpouring that happened on Azusa Street in Los Angeles on April 14, 1906.

Be that as it may. No one knows the number of outpourings that will happen before the last ever Pentecost-like Holy Spirit outpouring happens, but the Scripture is clear—there will be an end-time spiritual revival (Holy  Spirit outpouring). In Joel 2:28-29, the prophet Joel speaks specifically about an end-time outpouring of the Holy Spirit; however, there are many biblical prophecy scholars who believe that, according to the apostle Peter in Acts 2, the initial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy has already begun.

What is evident today is that, just like the four great Holy Spirit outpourings that happened in the Book of Acts, God still has been allowing all who follow Christ the opportunity to experience the Gift of the Holy Spirit who not only is continually living within them but also is frequently reviving them—is repeatedly filling/baptizing them so that they can function as anointed, gifted, authorized, and empowered witnesses for Christ. Unfortunately, not all believers have allowed or have wanted the Holy Spirit’s outpouring (spiritual revivals) to fall on them.

Nevertheless, whether a believer in Christ allows or even wants to experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, according to Scripture, spiritual revivals will happen but only when and where there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In other words, spiritual revivals can’t happen if there is no outpouring of the Holy Spirit because only the Holy Spirit’s outpourings are true spiritual revivals. The circular argument was intended.

Lastly,  the fulfillment of Joel’s prophesied Latter Rain or the end-time (climactic) outpouring of the Holy Spirit will only happen in Israel and among Father God’s Jewish people—an overdue spiritual revival. In other words, the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this planet neither will happen in Gentile “churches” nor in what Gentile Christians call The CHURCH, but this prophesied end-time Holy Spirit outpouring will happen in the same nation the first Holy Spirit outpouring took place. By then, the Holy Spirit’s outpourings will have come full circle, ending where they began. Selah . . . . .

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Christianity and the Christian Epithet Aren’t for Followers of Christ

03 Sunday Dec 2017

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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badge of honor, believers, blasphemed, brethren, Bride, Christian, Christianity, churchianity, contemptuous, cursed, demeaning, derisive, derogatory, disciples, disrespectful, Edict of Milan, ekklessiae, epithet, insulting, irreverent, mocking, moniker, nide, offensive term, overcomers, pagan word, saints, sarcastic, scornful, the Way, those of the Way

I'm Not A CHRISTIAN

They then who had been scattered abroad through the tribulation that took place on the occasion of Stephen, passed through [the country] to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one but to Jews alone. But there were certain of them, Cyprians and Cyrenians, who entering into Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, announcing the glad tidings of the Lord Jesus. And [the] Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. And the report concerning them reached the ears of the assembly which was in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go through as far as Antioch: who, having arrived and seeing the grace of God, rejoiced, and exhorted all with purpose of heart to abide with the Lord; for he was a good man and full of [the] Holy Spirit and of faith; and a large crowd [of people] were added to the Lord. And he went away to Tarsus to seek out Saul. And having found [him], he brought him to Antioch. And so it was with them that for a whole year they were gathered together in the assembly and taught a large crowd: and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. ~ Acts 11:19-26, DARBY

“Christianity” developed from beliefs that are based on far too many commandments of men taught as doctrines and from the traditions of men that have pagan roots. These reasons are why “Christianity” always has been a dinosaur, which means “Christianity” is and always has been outdated—useless to Christ’s true saints. For the 21st century’s genuine followers of Christ, “Christianity” as an organized religion is, and always has been since its inception (313 A.D., when Emperor Constantine declared “Christianity” the religion of the Roman Empire), an undesirable religion, as well as why the word “Christian” is and always has been an offensive moniker. Since 313 A.D., so many pagan traditions and doctrines have been passed down by The Roman Catholic Church as true and appropriate “Christian” beliefs and practices, including the Christianized belief that claims the word “Christian” is a person who believes in and practices “Christianity.”

The above-stated truths and facts about “Christianity”—a term that is neither indirectly suggested to be the religion of followers of Christ nor directly stated as the religion of followers of Christ. Indeed, the word “Christianity” isn’t even in the New Testament. Moreover, it is the misinterpretations of Christ and His apostles’ first-century teachings and preachings that have so many 21st-century followers of Christ choosing not to adapt to, to surrender to, or to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and His spiritual changes—His sanctification process or progressive transformation—that God says in His Word believers in Christ must undergo so that they might become Christlike. Everything that Christ and His apostles preached and taught is not being preached and taught correctly, if at all, in most of today’s Catholic and Protestants church buildings. They preached and taught about Kingdom of God living; being born again; salvation only in Christ; Christ the ONLY Way; progressive sanctification; godly holiness; the saints as overcomers; the saints, the brethren, and/or the disciples in the assemblies (eklessiae, NOT churches); being baptized with Holy Spirit and Fire; and so forth. Furthermore, apostle Paul addresses his epistles to the saints, the brethren, or the disciples in the assemblies (eklessiae)—not to any “Christians” who practice “Christianity.”

Yet today, in place of what Christ and His apostles preach and teach in the New Testament, what most churchgoers hear from the pulpits is some man-developed religious doctrines and traditions that most pastors are passing off as “Christianity” (an organized man-made religion that, as already mentioned, began with The Roman Catholic Church). As a result, members who attend said pastors’ churches have been practicing “Christianity,” or as I prefer to call it, Churchianity (a word C. S. Lewis coined). My point here is that “Christianity” and Churchianity neither represents the Holy Kingdom of God living nor represents baptized with the Holy Spirit and Fire Christlikeness. It “Christianity” or Churchianity that has been taught to modern-day “Christians”—people who say they are born again, saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit when they really are just people who personify the leafy yet barren fig tree Christ withered from its roots.

Most “Christians” today continue to overlook the fact that the word “Christianity” cannot be found anywhere in the Word of God. Moreover, they continue to overlook another fact, which is that neither Christ’s apostles nor the first-century believers in Christ called themselves “Christians.” Christ’s first-century apostles and all the other believers in Christ called themselves “the disciples,” “the brethren,” “the saints,” “the elect,” “the believers,” and “those of the Way.”

The “Christian” label/nickname originated with the pagans who lived in Antioch of Syria. These pagans first called followers of Christ “Christians,” right after many Gentiles in Antioch converted to the Way and were vocal about their conversion. Many sources tell how, in the beginning, “Christian” was a derogatory pagan word—a sarcastic, mocking, irreverent, and contemptuous pagan term. There, indeed, are more than enough trustworthy sources that were written in or close to the first century that verify “Christian” was the derisive term pagans used to describe Christ’s Disciples.

For sure, “Christian,” as a derisive and an offensive term, is used three times in the Holy Bible (cf. Acts 11:26b; Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). The apostle Peter references the apparent derisive and offensive nature of the word “Christian” in 1 Peter 4:16. There can be no doubt that apostle Peter knew “Christian” was a snide, scornful, disrespectful, insulting, and demeaning pagan term, even though “Christian” has Christ in it. What apostle Peter is doing in 1 Peter 4:16 is encouraging believers in Christ to wear the derogatory and hurtful term “Christian” like a badge of honor—to count it worthy to suffer for Christ’s sake and to God’s Glory, rather than to be made to feel ashamed for suffering as a “Christian,” which was the name of and a people who belonged to Christ whose name the pagans were blaspheming when they mocked and insulted “Christians.” For sure, to the pagans, being a “Christian” was worse than being a murderer, a thief, or an evil criminal (cf. 1 Peter 4:15)

Still, the truth is that neither Christ nor any of His Disciples/apostles declared or implied that believers in Christ are called to be “Christians.” Then too, neither Christ nor any of His Disciples/apostles declared or implied that believers in Christ are called to practice “Christianity.” Indeed, all throughout the New Testament, the words Christ and/or His Disciples use hundreds of times, collectively speaking, are “disciples,” “brethren,” and “saints,” In contrast, as previously mentioned, “Christian” only is used three times—twice in Acts and once in 1 Peter.

Years later, Roman followers of Christ began to call themselves, in Latin, Christiani, which was pronounced Chrestiani and meant they were followers of Chrestus. It is evident that Christiani was a pun that Romans used to give the Christian epithet a new and sweeter significance. Indeed, saying they were followers of Chrestus was the same as saying they were followers of the merciful one; the upright servant. That gave Roman believers in Christ a sense of pride. They were honored to be associated with and/or to suffer for Chrestus.

Over time, in the Roman Empire, “Christian” was considered to be a more splendid and appropriate name than how it originally was used. In other words, the scornful nickname had now become a respectable name. They were honored to have been given the occasion of their persecution and/or death. That occasion was because they were “Christians.”

Nevertheless, since the first-century followers of Christ not only never called themselves “Christians” but also actually went out of their way to avoid speaking that word and constantly declared they were not “Christians,” then we who are 21st-century followers of Christ should do the same. No justified play on words can change what the first-century believers knew was a contemptuous epithet. No men or women, priests/bishops or pastors/bishops, no organized Church, and no organized religion can tell Christ’s Ekklesia or Bride who or what She should call Herself. He and His first-century Disciples turned Apostles called all followers of Christ disciples, saints, brethren, elect, overcomers, believers, and/or those of the Way.

Finally, just as the first-century pagans used the “Christian” epithet, when they were mocking followers of Christ, the “Christian” moniker also is used to mock 21st-century followers of Christ. Thus, all believers in Christ who call themselves “Christians” need to stop calling themselves Christians and, instead, call themselves disciples, saints, brethren, elect, overcomers, believers, and/or followers of the Way. Likewise, all believers in Christ who claim “Christianity” as their religion, faith, or belief should stop and, instead, claim to be in a relationship with God and Christ.

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Manna: Food for the Spirit

01 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Devotional

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abandon, apostasy, believers in Christ, disciples, entices, entraps, evil, fallen away from the faith, forsake, Holy Spirit empowered, idol worship, idols, Jezebel Spirit, rebel, resist, secular systems, seduces, sexual immorality, spiritual laborers, wickedness

 

 

VERSE:

But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

Revelation 2:20

 

COUPLET:

Don’t give the Jezebel Spirit any
Ground, for her wickedness has snared many.

 

PRAYER:

Holy Spirit, keep us from forsaking, abandoning, rebelling against, or falling away from what we believe, as apostasy is the product of an evil unbelieving heart. Help us resist the Jezebel Spirit. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

 

~ a page from my manuscript, “Daily Manna: Bible Verse, Couplet & Prayer for Each Day of the Year”

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We Didn’t Choose Christ

01 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Devotional

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authority, Branches, Christ, disciples, Divine Call. Divine Care, finished work on the Cross, Fire, God's Economy, Holy Spirit, Husbandman, life in the Vine, Living Water, power, Practical Sanctification, rabbis, revolutionary Kingdom, students, teachers, upside down Kingdom, Vine

John 15_5

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ~ John 15:5, ESV

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide…. ~ John 15:16, ESV

 

 

In the Jewish culture, students (disciples) traditionally choose their own Rabbis (teachers). However, Christ reverses that tradition. He does the choosing. This reversal of Jewish tradition is typical of God’s Economy—His sovereign Plan for mankind. For example, God’s Kingdom is revolutionary primarily because it is an upside down Kingdom in which the first becomes the last, or the last becomes the first; the leader becomes the servant, or the servant becomes the leader; and so forth.

Now although most of today’s college or university students can choose their postsecondary schools, professors and majors, believers in Christ still do not choose Him. They also do not choose their calling(s).

Because of His finished Work on the Cross, Christ gets to choose who gets to abide in Him. In other words, the Vine selects who He wants to be His Branches. The uncomfortable truth for many of today’s believers to swallow is that we are not called to work in Christ’s Vineyard, because of a feeling within us, or because others believe God wants us to be preachers, pastors, Sunday School teachers, and etcetera. 

The bottom line is that Father God ordains us so that we can work for Christ in His Vineyard. Then too, even though the Lord is our true Vine, it is the Holy Spirit who is our true Husbandman. As branches, whatever we do or say that glorifies God comes from the Vine—comes from Christ via the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. This Divine Truth is why we have to allow the Life of the Vine (Holy Spirit) to flow through us so that we can produce the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit prunes and cleanses our lives, via Living Water and Fire or His Practical Sanctification Process, this is the reason why He (Life of the Vine) and Christ (the Vine) expect us to bear much fruit.

As moral free agents, we can choose not to follow the purpose Father God has for us—we can refuse to respond to the Vine’s Divine Call and the Husbandman’s Divine Care—but to do so will cause us to forfeit our fruit-bearing position in the Vine—to be deprived of our service privilege. The point here is that the only way we will be able to produce the Fruit of the Holy Spirit is to answer the Vine’s Divine Call and then yield to the Husbandman’s Divine Care. Shalom. 

 

~ from my soon-to-be-published manuscript – Keeping It Real: Daily Renewing the Mind

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Be Truly Set Free Disciples

24 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Study

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"church" titles/offices/positions, ALL power and ALL authority, apostle, bishop, break the chains, disciples, elder, evangelist, Headship office, Lordship office, pastor, prophet, talmidim, Teacher, THE truth sets you free

Get Set Free!

So Yeshua said to the Judeans who had trusted him, ‘If you obey what I say, then you are really my talmidim, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ ~ John 8:31-32, CJB

 

In case you might be wondering why I have stopped capitalizing the words pastor, apostle, prophet, etc., except for when they precede a first name that is used to begin a sentence (e.g., Apostle Paul explicitly discusses spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians chapters 12, 13, and 14.), it is because of what the Holy Spirit revealed to me, concerning the words pastor, apostle, prophet, and so forth, being used as titles, offices, or parts of names. Several years ago, the Holy Spirit kept taking me back to the following biblical verses:

Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. Also there are different ways of serving, but it is the sane Lord being served. And there are different modes of working, but it is the same God working them all in everyone. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, CJB (Complete Jewish Bible)

After some time, the Holy Spirit finally opened my understanding about these above Scriptures. Since then He frequently continues to remind me about that understanding. The understanding He revealed to me is that apostles/ambassadors, prophets, evangelists/preachers of the Good News, pastors/shepherds, and teachers are special spiritual gifts (or domata; spiritual people gifts) and NOT titles, “church” offices, or parts of believers’ names (cf. Ephesians 4:11-12). The Holy Spirit’s initial and repeated reveal also was/is that the giving of, the serving/administering with, and the functioning/operating in our spiritual gifts involve the Triune God working in us as a unified whole—as One.

Without doubt, apostle Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6 that, first, it is the Holy Spirit who gives different spiritual gifts to different people. Secondly, it is the Lord Jesus who calls/commissions/ordains different people to serve Him through the different administrations of their Holy Spirit given different spiritual gifts (cf. John 15:16). Thirdly, it is Father God who decides the different modes (ways, forms, styles, manners, method, approaches; in essence, the effectiveness) of the different functions/operations/workings that different people use to differently serve the Lord in His ministry with their different spiritual gifts!

Furthermore, for the record, contrary to popular opinions and usages, in our English language, precisely speaking, the abbreviations Rev. and Hon. (for Reverend and Honorable) are neither titles, nor offices, nor parts of a person’s name; reverend and honorary are really adjectives! As proper title abbreviations go, in our English language, contrary to popular opinions and usages, the most commonly used proper titles that either precede full names, or first names (only), or last names (only), which also are usually in abbreviated forms, are as follows:  Mrs., Mr., Ms., Prof., Dr., Gen., Rep., Sen., St. (for Saint)!

The bottom line is that if we are the Lord’s disciples and He truly has set us free from the unbiblical traditions of the institutional “church’s” men (and women), then we should be living lives that are faithful and obedient to His Word instead of lives that are faithful and obedient to unbiblical customs. As I write in my blog posting, No Gender-Based Limitations For Christian Women,

…the fact that “churchgoers” tend to refer to “pastor” as a “position” or “office,” meaning a ruling position of authority instead of a FUNCTION or service, also adds to the institutional “church’s” ignorance about women being able to be spiritual leaders in Christ Jesus’ ekklesia. The truth is that just like many biblical scholars declare that the word “church” never is used in the New Testament, because whenever Christ Jesus or the apostles are speaking about the Body of Christ, ekklesia is used instead, many biblical scholars also declare that the word “office,” which is in many English translations of 1 Timothy 3:1, 10, and 13 (KJV), is not found in the original New Testament Greek manuscripts, either. Many of these same biblical scholars also declare that even though “office” was added much later, contextually “office” in no way means a ruling position of authority. In other words, “pastor” is not a wannabe king or a powerful controlling CEO’s position of authority, and “pastor” is not a title (e.g., Senior Pastor, Teaching Pastor, or Worship Pastor), nor is “pastor” a part of someone’s name (e.g., Pastor Keen, Pastor Jones, or Pastor Smith).

~additionally~

Then too, what also cannot be found in the Holy Bible are Scriptures that say pastors, elders, or bishops, which basically have similar functions, are to be considered as different kinds of “offices,” nor as a stacked hierarchy (or top-down hierarchy) that depicts, for example, the bishop as being over the pastor, the pastor as being over the elder, the elder as being over the “church” members, and so forth. Nevertheless, the sad truth is that today’s institutional “church” clearly has a stacked hierarchy (or top-down hierarchy)!

Now even though the above quotations primarily are about “churchgoers” wrongly using the words pastor, elder, and bishop as “church” titles, “church” offices, or parts of believers’ names, the truth of the matter is that just as God never uses the words pastor, elder, and bishop in His Holy Bible as a title, office, or part of believers’ names, we also are not supposed to use the words apostle, prophet, evangelist, and teacher, as a title, office, or part of believers’ names! The reason why none of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, teacher pastor, elder, and bishop terms is used in the Holy Bible as a title, office, or part of believers’ names is because these mentioned terms are clearly only used in the Holy Bible to teach Christian believers about God’s various kinds of spiritual gifts, about their spiritual gifts’ administrations/kinds of service, and about their spiritual gifts’ functions (see KJV of 1 Corinthians 12:4-6).

Lastly, if we are the Lord’s disciples and He truly has set us free from the unbiblical traditions of the institutional “church’s” men (and women), then we should have a true biblical perspective (we should base our approach to understanding how to use the terms apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, and so forth, on nothing but Scripture). The biblical perspective on how the Holy Bible deals with the issue of how to use the terms apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher is that there obviously is a very big difference between disciples of Christ Jesus “holding an office in the Body of Christ” and disciples of Christ Jesus “functioning in the Body of Christ.”

If we are faithful and obedient to the above biblical perspective, then we not only will be able to know and understand but also live according to this biblical Truth: In Christ Jesus’ ekklesia, there is only One Person who has been given any office/position, and He is the Lord Christ Jesus. The primary office/position God has given to His only begotten Son is that of Headship. God made Christ Jesus to be the ONLY Head over the entire Body of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 1:18; Colossians 2:19). Secondly, God has given His only begotten Son ALL authority in Heaven and on Earth so that Christ Jesus not only is the One true Great Shepherd of His sheep, but also He is the ONLY Person who holds the true title of Lord. In other words, Christ Jesus is the ONLY Person who also has been given the office/position of Lordship, which gives Him the right to exercise ALL power and ALL authority over every Body of Christ believer (cf. Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 14:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:20-21).

On the other hand, every Body of Christ member biblically is described as a believer who has both a service/administration and a function to fulfill in the Body of Christ. No believer in Christ Jesus is ever biblically described as having been given a title or an office/position. As apostle Paul explains:

For just as there are many parts that compose one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function; ~ Romans 12:4, CJB.

 ~and~

Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. Also there are different ways of serving, but it is the sane Lord being served. And there are different modes of working, but it is the same God working them all in everyone. ~ 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6, CJB

Finally, if you want to be a true disciple of the Lord, then you will have to let THE Lord’s Truth set you free. Do it today. Don’t wait for tomorrow. Let the Gospel of Christ Jesus break those false-teaching chains off of you, right now, because those false-teaching chains do not tie you to sound doctrine. A word to the wise is sufficient!

For additionally information on spiritual gifts, please read my blog posting: Are Spiritual Gifts Still Misunderstood?

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Love Is ACTION

08 Thursday Jan 2009

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Devotional

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

cursing, deficient, demonstrated, disciples, genuine, grumbling, love, neighbor, procrastinating, quarrelling, sensitive, sermonizing, yelling

People in general do not feel like they need anyone to tell them, or show them, how to love their neighbors, because they believe they already have mastered the principle of loving others. However, most of these same people believe that showing love to their neighbors is based on how “sensitive” they are to others’ sufferings more so than derived from how often they practice giving genuine love.

The truth is that even if we were extremely sensitive to all the hurts others endure, our deepest sensitivity still wouldn’t be a mark of real love. While being sympathetic about others’ pain, hunger, misery, sickness, and so forth, can communicate some degree of love, TRUE love is one hundred percent ACTION. Thus, love without action really doesn’t exist, because love needs to be demonstrated. If we just say we love people but don’t do anything for them that supports our claim, then we aren’t showing TRUE love!

How, then, will we know when our “love” is deficient and actually out of touch with reality? We will know that our love isn’t a bona fide, right-now love when we are unable to love our enemies, or incapable of loving someone labeled as “unlovable,” or unwilling to do what we “can do” for anyone we know and/or see is in need. If we sincerely wish to keep the command to “love our neighbor,” then we have to practice the following principle: What we can do, we should do.

Moreover, we should do what we can for others without grumbling, quarrelling, sermonizing, yelling, cursing, or procrastinating. These kinds of behaviors cancel out any good that we might do. So today, by the loving Grace and perfect Will of God, let us receive and obey God’s command to love our neighbors by showing them Christ-like love. AMEN.

“…thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself:…” (Leviticus 19:18b, KJV; cf. Matthew 5:43; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27).

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Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen

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