The Good Of The Father (The Church Hierarchy) "

 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites! for you are going about the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and whenever he may be becoming one, you are making him more than double a son of Gehenna than you are!" 

Matthew 23: 15, Concordant New Testament 

I recall those days well, sitting in the "assigned" pews of the sanctuary which were set aside for those of the congregation who were, shall we say...normal.  Yet I also noticed how certain individuals were granted the opportunity to sit in the pews which were reserved in the first few rows of the sanctuary.  These were the seats which were reserved for the pastoral staff, leadership and the well to do of the congregation.  I remember one of the very few times that I was even allowed to sit in these pews of royalty on the morning that I was baptized.  I couldn't help but feel that I was infringing in somewhere I was never meant to be.  Sadly, this scene has been played out in many of our churches for many, many years.  I have a dear friend, a retired pastor, who grimaces when he recalls these practices.  For even back then, he realized that something about segregating our church congregations on the basis of personal importance just wasn't right.  Someone else thought that way as well.  His name is Jesus.  In His "Woes to the Pharisees," Jesus called out the religious leaders of His day for placing themselves above those whom they were meant to serve.  Yes, that means to serve and not to oversee.  For it has never been the Lords desire that men would carve out for themselves positions of importance and honor among the congregations of the believers in Jesus.  For Jesus has even proclaimed that "Anyone who is exalting himself shall be humbled, and anyone who shall be humbling himself shall be exalted" {Matthews Account 23:12}.  What can these words of Jesus tell us about those in our congregations who continually seek their own honor?  Well, if we take His words to heart, they will indeed be humbled.  And, speaking from personal experience, when the Lord humbles you, you get the message loud and clear!  

"Yet anyone who shall be exalting himself shall be humbled, and anyone who shall be humbling himself shall be exalted" 

Matthews Account 23: 12, Concordant New Testament 

Throughout His ministry, Jesus spoke of the poor, weak and broken hearted who needed Him the most.  He has declared that "Those who are sound have no need of a physician, but those who have an illness" {Lukes Account 5:31}.  For Jesus did not come to call the just, but sinners, to repentance {Lukes Account 5:32}.  Therefore, if you are wasting your time in advancing in the hierarchy of the church, where do you think that you stand with Jesus?  Who is more important in your life, your position in the church or He who is the head of the church {Paul to the Ephesians 1:23}.  Do not make the mistake of believing that it is the Father who has delegated men to serve above the Ecclesia, the body of Christ.  No, this has been mankind's effort all along.  Despite knowing that they are not to serve themselves, but Jesus, they continue to prop themselves up into positions of importance in front of the Lords children.  This is the essence of the modern day church hierarchy.  I would suggest that there is absolutely NO room for these positions of authority in the Ecclesia of Christ.  The apostle Paul clearly states that we are all members of His body, for He is all in all {Paul to the Ephesians 1:23}.  For those who seek positions of authority in our church congregations, are you more important that Jesus?  For it is Christ who is the head of His church, not you.  

And subjects all under His feet, and gives Him, as head over all, to the ecclesia which is His body, the compliment of the One completing the all in all. 

Paul to the Ephesians 1: 22-23, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Fathers Heart)

 

And rising, he came to his father.  "Now, at his being afar away, his father perceived him and had compassion, and running, falls on his neck and fondly kisses him.  Now the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.  No longer am I worthy to be called your son.  Make me as one of your hired men.'  Yet the father said to his slaves, 'Quick! Bring forth the first robe, and put it on him, and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet.  And bring the grain fed calf, and sacrifice it, and eating, we will make merry.  For this my son was dead and revives, he was lost and was found.'  And they began to make merry. 

Lukes Account 15: 18-24, Concordant New Testament 

How many times have you felt this way?  You are aware in your heart that you have done something which you feel goes against the Lord.  You feel the guilt and shame of your actions.  Then, you pray, admitting your faults and telling Him that you are a sinner and not worthy of that gift which He has already bestowed upon you through Christ Jesus on the cross.  You are not worthy?  Have you ever even wondered how it is that the Father feels in these same moments?  Has He already decided our punishment?  Is He waiting for us to somehow "Make amends" for our actions?  Well, neither of these is true in any way.  The other day I had a good conversation with one of my Gym Rats on the merits of the parable of the prodigal son spoken by Jesus.  Now, it is well known that when Jesus spoke to the people of His day in parables, that He was speaking to them in a way in which they could better understand His message.  This parable was no exception.  This mans son had taken his inheritance and squandered it on personal pleasures.  When the money ran out, he found himself homeless in a strange land.  What was his first thought?  To return once again to his father, not as a son, but as a servant.  In this kids mind, he had sinned with his actions, and he felt as if he somehow was no longer worthy of his fathers love.  Sound familiar?  But what of his father?  Has he forgotten his son for leaving home?  No!  This boys father has been patiently waiting at home for his sons return.  We know this by how it is that he welcomes him home.  He is not waiting for the young man to come groveling to him.  No, the father RUNS to his son and embraces him!  Think of the young mans reaction to this.  Here he was prepared to bargain with his father for a hired position on his property.  His guilt over his actions must have been tremendous.  You.ve been in that young mans shoes, right?  You are aware that your actions go against what the Lord has planned for you, and you feel guilty for that.  You might even feel as if God could never forgive you for what you have done.  But remember this, through all of it the Father has been waiting for you to return to Him.  He is waiting to embrace His child.  

He who is not loving knew not God, for God is love 

First Epistle of John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

My conversation with my friend meant a lot to me not only because I've been there but because of what I have come to know of the love of the Father.  One of the reasons that I have been so critical of the mainstream church is because its misleading message to the Lords children.  In fact, if we look at Jesus' parable of the prodigal son, we will see an example of this as well.  The reaction of the fathers eldest son to his brothers homecoming speaks volumes.  This young man points out that he has remained faithful to his father while his younger brother journeyed far off and wasted his own inheritance.  HE had remained faithful.  HE deserved his fathers devotion more so than his wayward brother.  This smacks of many today in the mainstream church.  They pay their tithes.  They serve in the church congregation.  They are more worthy of Gods attention than that sinner sitting in the back pew.  I also believe that Jesus was speaking to this very issue in this parable.  And why not?  It was also Jesus who berated the Pharisees for their treatment of the people {Matthews Account 23:23-39}.  The older brother in this parable spoken by Jesus IS the Pharisees of His day.  These Pharisees indeed placed themselves above the "common man."  They were the ones who, in their minds, had remained faithful to the Lord.  In reality, these Pharisees were the ones who misled the Lords people.  Sound familiar?  I consider the Pharisees of old and many of our modern day pastors and mainstream church leadership to be cut from the same cloth.  While they preach repentance and effort to please the Lord, the Father patiently and lovingly waits for His children to return to Him.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (A Fathers Invitation)

 

Now, similarly, the spirit is also aiding in our infirmity, for what we should be praying for, to accord with what must be, we are not aware, but the spirit itself is pleading for us with inarticulate groanings.  Now He who is searching the hearts is aware what is the disposition of the spirit, for in accord with God is it pleading for the saints. 

Paul to the Romans 8: 26-27: Concordant New Testament 

Growing up, I was told that my prayers were anything from a wish list to a last ditch measure.  This was all based on the separation theology model which we see in the modern mainstream church.  Man, here on earth, "Lifts" his prayers "Up" unto God in heaven.  At the heart of this thinking is that, due to the fall of man in the garden, that mankind has been separated from God and will remain that way until the coming of Christ the Savior.  Well, forgive me for upsetting the institutional apple cart, but has not Jesus already returned?  The obvious answer is that Jesus has returned from tomb in which He was buried after He was crucified.  But beyond this, Jesus has also returned and has been witnessed by hundreds of people.  The scriptures testify to this {Paul to the Corinthians 15:6}.  So, the belief that man will remain separated from the Lord who created us until after Jesus has returned does not hold water in my opinion.  Jesus is already here!  Not only that, He has proclaimed that we now live in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Can we live separated from God and yet still live union with Him?  That's a good story if you can sell it, and the church has been doing a good job of selling such tales over the centuries.  The reality is that the Father, through Christ Jesus, has restored His relationship He once shared with His creation in the garden.  We now live each and every day in Him {Paul to the Romans 6:5}.  So, what does this have to do with our prayers?  Why do we continue to offer up prayer to a Father we continue to see as separated from us?  In reality, shouldn't we be praying "In union" with the Father?  Are not His desires our own?  The apostle Paul gives us an indication in Romans that the Father is already keenly aware of what we need to be praying for {Paul to the Romans 8:27}.  It is God who is searching our hearts and inviting us into a conversation with Him. 

"Father, those whom Thou hast given Me, I will that, where I am, they also may be with Me, that they may be beholding My glory which Thou hast given Me, for Thou lovest Me before the disruption of the world" 

Johns Account 17: 24, Concordant New Testament 

How is it that Jesus looked at what we refer to as prayer?  Weren't the prayers of Jesus simply conversations which he was having with the Father?  Why would it be any different, then, for we who live in union with Him daily?  Paul speaks to the reality of Christ living in us {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Has not God searched our hearts?  Has He not already known what it is that we should be talking to Him about?  What we see as lifting up prayers is simply our own intimate conversations with the Father.  And, if God has indeed searched our hearts, as Paul has declared, does He not know what we need to be speaking to Him about?  The author Norman Grubb has described our prayers as an invitation from the Father within us.  God already knows our hearts.  Grubb describes Jesus as "He in us is the prayer."  If Christ lives in us, as Paul states, then it is Christ Jesus who stirs within us what we should be speaking to the Father.  It is Jesus in Whom we are living each day.  We are Him.  So, if He seeks to speak something unto the Father, what better way than to speak that desire unto us?  For our part, we are the ones who speak the desires of Christ unto God.  Remember, He has already sought what is in our hearts.  Our prayers are simply speaking unto the Father the desires of Christ Jesus in us.  This is our union life in HIm.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Healing Faith)

 

Who Himself carries up our sins in His body on the pole, that, coming away from sins, we should be living in righteousness; by His welt you were healed 

Peter to the Dispersion (1) 2: 24, Concordant New Testament 

I was struck by a scene from the Chosen series the other day.  In this scene, a woman who had been suffering with a disease which produced her bleeding sought out Jesus to be healed of her condition.  Yet, as she followed Him through a crowd, certain religious leaders recalled that they had deemed her "unclean" to her condition.  Therefore, she was treated as an outcast.  Undaunted, the woman continued to follow Jesus through the crowd until she was able to reach out and touch his clothing.  Immediately the woman realized that she had been healed.  Also, as she touched Jesus, we see Him react to her act of faith, despite not knowing she was even nearby.  Immediately, Jesus stops and asks those in the crowd who had touched Him {Lukes Account 8:45-47}.  See, in that moment in which the woman touched Him, Jesus felt the healing power leaving out of Him.  This made me ponder, is it Jesus who heals, or is it our faith in Him which does so?  There are many passages in scripture where Jesus proclaims that faith has healed {Marks Account 5:34, Lukes Account 18:42, Matthews Account 15:28}.  The author of Hebrews proclaims that without our faith it is impossible to please the Father {To the Hebrews 11:6}.  Many a believer has often been told that our faith is a major issue.  Even those within the mainstream church focus on faith being all important in our lives.  But I ask the question, is it Jesus who heals, or our faith in His ability to do so.  The story of the faith of the Roman Centurian is a cornerstone scripture on the topic of faith {Matthews Account 8:5-13}.  In this passage, this Roman soldier approaches Jesus apparently KNOWING already that Jesus has the ability to heal his servant.  Now, this event has also been embellished in the Chosen series as well.  In fact, the Roman Gaius becomes an important figure in the life of Jesus and His apostles.  We can assume that this Roman had heard many things of the miracles and abilities of Jesus.  Still, it took belief on his part to know for certain that Jesus could heal his servant.  

Now faith is an assumption of what is being expected, a conviction concerning matters which are not being observed 

To the Hebrews 11: 1, Concordant New Testament

I've often been asked what living with the faith of the Roman Centurian would be like.  To that I ask, do you know Jesus?  Do you believe in your heart that He lives in you?  If you answered yes then you already live with faith in Him.  For the author of Hebrews proclaims that our faith is "An assumption of what is being expected" {To the Hebrews 11:1}.  We trust Jesus to do what He claims that He can do.  This includes His healing.  The one time in which I threw this into question was when my mother passed.  I had been praying for God to heal her for more than a few years.  I knew that He had that ability to heal her.  Yet that wasn't in His plan for her.  Later, I learned perhaps one of the most important lessons of the Lords healing that I will ever know.  That God had indeed healed my mother, just not in the way that I had expected Him to.  I had prayed that He would relieve her pain, and that He did.  When I finally got over myself, I realized that my prayers for her had been answered.  There are many instances in which believers have been in prayer over people or situations in which these prayers have been answered.  Is it Jesus who has been working in the lives of the Fathers children, or is it simply our faith in Him to do so?  Whatever our thoughts on this question, it has always been the desire of the Father that we put our faith and trust in Him {First Epistle of John 5:4}.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Moment Everything Changed)

 

Then the eyes of both of them were unclosed, and they realized that they were naked.  So they sewed fig leaves together and made girdle skirts for themselves.

Genesis 3: 7, Concordant Old Testament 

We've all heard of the fall.  That day in the Lords garden that His creation suddenly disobeyed His instructions and took of the forbidden fruit.  Indeed, Adam and Eve had been warned by the Lord never to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil {Genesis 2:17}.  So, it's not like we can say to the Father, "Hey, why didn't you warn me about this stuff?"  The Lords instructions to Adam were clear.  So, then, why the fall?  Well, enter the serpent, more cunning than any other beast of the field {Genesis 3:1}.  It is argued, and well known by many believers that this serpent was, in reality, Satan the accuser.  What do we know about Satan?  Well, we know that he was once honored among the Lords creation {Ezekiel 28:12-15}.  Yet, as the most beautiful of the Lords creation, Lucifer eventually became filled with pride in himself and began to feel as if he were better than God {Issaiah 14:12-14}.  Basically, Lucifer began to think of himself as an individual, separate from God.  It is this notion which he would soon introduce into the hearts of the Lords creation in the garden {Genesis 3:4-5}.  So it was that from the moment in which Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and after taking of it, also offered it unto Adam who was with her, both of their eyes "Were unclosed, and they realized that they were naked" {Genesis 3:7}.  In essence, this was the moment by which everything changed for us.  For this is the moment in which sin entered into the world.  Yet, this was also the moment by which our redemption through the second Adam, Christ Jesus, was put into action.  Indeed, Jesus is that second Adam, the first in line of a new creation.  The apostle Paul speaks to Jesus as the "Last Adam" {Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15:45-47}.  The first man was out of the earth, while the Last Adam is the "Lord out of heaven" {Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15:47}.  Can this be the reason by which Paul referred to those in Christ as a new creation {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:17}.  Indeed, for the old has passed away.  From the moment Eve took of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, this new creation had been set in motion. 

If there is a soulish body, there is spiritual also.  Thus it is written also, the first man, Adam, "Became a living soul:" the last Adam a vivifying spirit.  But not first the spiritual, but the soulish, thereupon the spiritual.  The first man was out of the earth, soulish; the second man is the Lord out of heaven

Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15: 45-47, Concordant New Testament 

The question was raised this week if God knew beforehand that His initial creation of man would fall into sin.  I would say that this was definitely the case all along.  For nothing escapes the Lords notice.  So it is that from the moment Eve took of the forbidden fruit in the garden, everything changed for all mankind.  Yet the work of the serpent remains an issue to this day.  For there are many who stake the claim that, as a result of the fall, that mankind is now separated from God.  You will hear this message echoed throughout the halls of the mainstream church.  Remember how Lucifer got it in his consciousness that he was separate from the Lords creation?  That he was somehow a separate individual?  Well, welcome to the mantra of the institutional church.  The church has made it clear that mans separation from God is a reality.  Yet it is through the redemption of Christ Jesus, the second Adam, that our new creation has come into being.  Now, just because the philosophy of the mainstream church seems to deny this truth does not make it a false teaching by any means.  The truth is that we have never been separated from He who created us.  For we were formed in His very likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  Jesus Himself has also proclaimed that we now live in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Does this scripture sound like we are separated from God?  The only place I have heard this separation doctrine spoken is from the pulpits of the church.  It is the true word of the Father that proclaims our true life in Him.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (A Matter Of Faith)

Faith is the God-implanted, natural and only way by which man can go through all the processes of doing or obtaining the things he desires 

Norman Grubb ~ The Law Of Faith 

His disciples implored Jesus to increase their faith {Lukes Account 17:5}.  The apostle Paul speaks to not walking by sight, but by our faith {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:7}.  Growing up in the mainstream church, I was told all too often of the importance having faith.  That if I desired anything from God, that it was more faith that I needed.  Yet here, as in more than a few other circumstances, the mainstream church has missed the mark.  We understand that we have been created by God in His exact image {Genesis 1:27}.  We also understand that it is God who has given unto us the breath of life that we have become a living soul {Genesis 2:7}.  Therefore, those attributes we associate with God have been given to us as well.  How is it that we can be created in Gods very image and not share in that identity of who He is?  The author Norman Grubb writes in The Law Of Faith that we are created in Gods image, with all of the attributes of His personality.  We feel.  We desire.  We think and we speak.  All of these are attributes of the Father who created us.  These attributes in themselves are neutral, neither good nor evil.  Our faith is among these attributes which we have received from the Father.  The rub comes when we, possessing these attributes of the Father, choose to use them in a way they were never intended.  We get angry, we lash out at others, we choose hate over His one true nature of love {First Epistle of John 4:8}.  People ask me constantly, how can God be proud of a creation which is inherently wicked?  Well, this isn't the way we were designed by Him to be.  This is the path our own choices have led us to.  For man has been created with the free attribute of the Lord to choose for himself.  Adam and Eve chose, and the church continues to live out those dire consequences to this very day.  It is the church which continues to preach that man is somehow separated from his creator as a result of the wrong choices of Adam and Eve in the garden.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  For God has now reconciled His creation unto Him through the work of Jesus on the cross {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  We are no longer condemned, but reconciled. 

Faith is action.  By faith alone can a man act.  Faith carries out the urges of love.  Faith works by love. 

Norman Grubb~ The Law Of faith 

What I have described is not merely a story, but the truth of how we have been reconciled, through Jesus, to the Father once again.  Now, we can choose to utilize our God given faith and accept this truth for what it is, or we can choose to ignore it.  The fact is, our faith is ever present within us.  It dictates all which we do.  We see food, and we have faith that we can eat it for our nourishment.  If that faith is somehow disrupted, however, we will fail to see that food as a good thing.  We have been created with these attributes of the Father to live a certain way {First Epistle of John 5:4}.  As Norman Grubb writes, do we utilize our attribute of faith to walk after the flesh or after the Spirit?  We can choose either path.  Adam and Eve chose the path of the flesh and humanity paid the price for that choice.  Through Christ Jesus, we are once again reconciled to the Father.  As I think back, I never really needed to "Increase my measure of faith" as the church once told me.  What I needed was to realize the God given attribute of faith that I possessed as being created in His likeness.  By faith we trust that we are not only created by God, but truly live in union with Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  

By these men are made "after the similitrude of God," and by them they walk the course of this world.  What matters is, do they walk after the flesh, or after the Spirit? 

Norman Grubb ~ The Law Of Faith 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Watching For Jesus)

 

Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, that is superior to every frame of mind, shall be garrisoning your hearts and your apprehensions in Christ Jesus 

Paul to the Philippians 4: 6-7, Concordant New Testament 

I've been doing quite a bit of Jesus watching lately.  I have offered up more than a few prayers within my circle of friends, and now I watch for what Jesus might provide in these situations.  After all, isn't it Jesus who ultimately works in these situations of offered prayer {Johns Account 16:23-24}?  Granted, the prayers which I offer up are not always over believers in Christ.  Many of my prayers are for those who have struggled to know who Jesus even is.  And that is usually how I began my prayer for them, that Jesus would reveal Himself in them as He did me.  I remember the days that I used to struggle with the knowing the truth of Christ in me.  I also know that there were friends of mine who prayed that Jesus would be revealed in me.  How wonderful it must have been for them to witness firsthand the Fathers revelation of Christ in me.  Once they prayed over me, they were certainly watching for Jesus to do His work in me.  Well, that prayer has been answered.  Now, this is the same prayer that I offer up for my friends.  When I talk to my friends about prayer, I get a few different responses.  There is the common, Christian theology response that whatever we ask for in prayer will be given to us {Matthews Account 7:7, 21:22}.  But I've also had discussions with others about those prayers which remain unanswered, through our eyes anyway.  Does unanswered prayer mean that Jesus has given up working in our situation?  No!  In my opinion, those prayers which we often see as being unanswered are simply more of an opportunity to watch for the works of Jesus in our lives.  I recall the days of the "Name it and claim it" doctrine in the mainstream church.  Where far too many Pharisee school educated pastors pushed the belief that we could ask for anything and it would be given unto us.  After all, look at all the scripture passages that proclaim that whatever we ask for in prayer will be delivered unto us.  Well, it wasn't long before congregations everywhere were bowing their knees in prayer to God for everything from new cars to fancy houses.  Why not, God said that He would provide for us, right?  I've often wondered if these pastors ever read from Jesus' sermon on the mount that the Father knows what we need even before we ask Him {Matthews Account 6:19-21}.  Besides, what good is watching for Jesus if we already know what He's going to do?  

"You, then, should not be worrying, saying, 'What may we be eating?' or 'What may we be drinking?' or 'With what may we be clothed?'  For all these things the nations are seeking.  For aware is your heavenly Father that you need all of these 

Matthew 6: 31-32, Concordant New Testament 

In my community of friends, there are often times when a few of them will relate to me difficult situations which they are facing.  Sometimes I share that I will be praying over them, while other times I simply pray without telling them.  A good friend recently thanked me for praying for his son who had been sick for some time.  The funny thing is, I never told him that I was praying for him.  However, it seems that he knows me well enough to know that once I am aware of a friend's difficult situation, that my first reaction is to offer that situation up in prayer.  Whatever the case, my friend's son is now doing well once again.  This is all part of our Jesus watching, waiting and looking for how He will work in any given situation.  Scripture tells us that He hears us when we pray {First Epistle of John 5:14}.  So, if He hears our prayers, can we not be confident that He will work in a way that is beneficial to us {Jeremiah 29:11}?  He knows our needs.  He also knows how to work in every situation so that it will be the best outcome for us.  This is the confidence we have in Him.  If our prayer for a fancy car goes unanswered does that mean that God is not interested in our needs?  Not at all.  Remember, He knows our needs.  I remember being angry with God after my mother passed.  For more than a few years, my prayer had been that He would heal her and deliver her from her pain.  The night she passed away, my anger with God simmered.  How could He not honor my prayer to heal her?  Yet, months later, after I'd had time to cool down, the Father revealed to me that He had indeed healed my mom.  She was no longer suffering and in pain.  God worked in this situation not in the way I expected, but in one that produced the best outcome.  For that I am thankful.  

~Scott~