Take a Pyramid turn it upside down, the Pastor being the Servant of all, the least of the least! Remember Jesus words, if you want to be great in HIS KINGDOM you have to be THE LEAST……. I am among you as ONE WHO SERVES!
The heart of the… Pastor should be at the tip of the upside down pyramid, which is at the very bottom!
The deacons and elders should be occupying the the next least place, there to assist the Pastor for the EQUIPPING OF THE SAINTS FOR THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY! What does this equipping consist of? Is it formal education, elite roles and positions, programs on how to, and sermons on financial planning and behavior modification? NO! It’s taking on the role of being the ABSOLUTE NEGATIVE!
Paul is a symbol of what a Pastor should be! Struck down, but not destroyed, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, AND IN ALL WAYS bearing in our bodies the DEATH OF THE LORD JESUS<> SO THAT HIS LIFE might be made manifest, to who? THE SAINTS, so they also know the bearing in their bodies, so they can see LIFE come from Death! It’s beiing the CHIEF LAMB to the slaughter, the ONE WHO LAYS HIS LIFE DOWN FOR THE SHEEP!
It’s not some elite position such as a CEO of a major corporation! It’s not preaching regurgitated pablum week after week, while 99% of the sheep are neglected, starving, and eventually thrown to the wolves, outside of the protection of the sheep fold! It’s a life of brokenness, isolation, and misunderstanding! Becoming the ABSOLUTE NEGATIVE……. SO THAT He might be the ONLY One who is manifested, it’s exchanging and willingly doing so, a LIFE OF KNOWN DEATH, so that temporal death is manifested ONCE FOR ALL AS ETERNAL LIFE!
What is the WORK OF THE MINISTRY? It’s knowing HE IS THE ONLY WORKER who can perform the work….. and apart from Him we can DO NOTHING!
Finally, the congregation is at the top of this upside down pyramid! They are cared for, loved without condition, and without favoritism! Denominations and division are things of the past to them, and everyone is together in one place having all things in common, and there is NO LACK! That upside down pyramid starts out as a point, and it has no end to it, because God Himself grows it to infinity, to “the ends of the earth!” And everyone is aware of the fact, that neither the one who plants or the one who waters is ANYTHING, ONLY GOD!!!!!!!
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:14-16)
Our churches today have become extensions of corporate America, run by the Pastors and his top executives, also called elders and deacons! They have become the served rather than what Jesus describes as the servant of ALL! What about the people of God? The congregation has become the bruised and beaten minimum wage employees scratching and begging for something more to sustain Life for themselves and their families!
Except a grain of wheat FALLS (It’s ALWAYS good to fall) to the ground and dies, it lives only to and for itself! It has no other choice!
Gracebook (a community of like-minded believers that gather via facebook) is a company of like hearted men and women who have decided minimum wage is not enough, and have by faith chosen the road less traveled in order to find the PEARL OF GREAT PRICE! I for one, am proud to be among the lowly, and the base, and the broken! The things that are not, SO THAT like Paul, our message has a TRUE impact on society today!
“my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Gal 4:19 )
“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to KNOW NOTHING (so much for the god of education) while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT’S POWER, SO THAT… YOUR FAITH MIGHT NOT REST ON MEN’S WISDOM, BUT ON GOD’S POWER. (I Corinthians 2:1-5)
Written by Rich Novek 2010
Edited by Dave Geisler
Tags: behavior, corinthians, dave geisler, eternal life, God's True Hierarchy, Grace, Pastor, priest, Rich Novek, truth
So much of Christianity has become a behavior modification plan and our churches have turned into a “self-help” fig leaf center but Christ did not come to make bad people good but to give dead people life. Stop trying to change and trusting that you are already changed and then walking this “New Creation” life out in His rest and peace
Tags: behavior, dave geisler, eternal, eternal life, jesus, jesus christ, pgm, promisedgrace, salvation, sanctification, Saved, saving, sin, victory over sin, Video Devo
Today we talk about the vicious cycle of sin that most well meaning Christians find themselves in after they come to Christ.
Tags: aroused, dave geisler, delight in the lord, devo, god, jesus christ, law of sin, power of sin, promisedgrace, sin cycle
So much of religion talks about love but makes 3 vital errors. We see it lived out in a religion without love, which makes it void of God and results in hurt.
Tags: 1Cor, 1Cor 13, bible, christ, corinthians, god, jesus, love, love is patient, lust, new testament, paul, relationship, religion, self-centered, selfish, Video Devo
Today we are looking at the mixing of the two covenants and what the Bible says about the doing so. I illustrate it with water and oil and our scripture is taken from Luke 5:36.
Tags: 10 commandments, dave geisler, gulf oil, Law, law covenant, luke, Luke 5, mixture, mosaic covenant, new covenant, oil and water, old covenant, pgm, ten commandments, Video Devo
Other Things (God’s Gag order)
“And these are the seeds being sown in the thorns; they are the ones who are hearing the Word, and the anxieties of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for OTHER THINGS coming in choke out the Word, and it becomes fruitless.” ~ Mark 4:18-19
Remember that Jesus IS the Word. That being true, this is some statement!
My thoughts, My actions, My decisions can actually place hands around the throat of my Lord and choke out His influence so that it has no effect in my life! I know that such verbal imagery is offensive, and it should be – but it is in fact what we do none the less.
Grace… What’s Grace?
Now believe it or not, it becomes important here to define grace. It has been my unfortunate experience, that most Christians do not understand what grace is – only how it comes.
This is typical of our current “carnal state” in the body of Christ. We are SO caught up in the HOWs of religion that we most often miss the WHO of relationship.
When I was young, one of the Southern Baptist Churches I attended was Pastored by a really great man. Mind you, I do not believe he was called to be a Pastor – but an Evangelist. He could lead more people to a genuine relationship with Jesus by accident than I could on purpose. I greatly admire him!
When it came to the topic of grace, he used an acronym as a teaching aid and it went like this:
- G – God’s
- R – riches
- A – at
- C – Christ’s
- E – Expense
Now that is a terrific teaching tool if all you are wanting to explain is the ‘HOW’ of grace. This tells us:
1. Grace comes from God
2. It is available because of what Christ did.
All true – but what IS it? Yes, I know that the above tells us that grace is His riches – but WHAT are His riches?
Something as straightforward as a Strong’s concordance reveals the true nature of grace. It is Greek #5485 χάρις charis (khar’-ece) and means… “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude.”
Grace is the influence of God upon the heart of man. That is what makes it different than the Law in function, but not purpose. The Law set a standard before us which was good because it was a revelation of God’s very character.
The Law however had a negative effect on fallen man – condemnation. It made us aware of God’s character while leaving us completely incapable of attaining His likeness.
Ironically, the “grace movement” as it has come to be called, often teaches a grace which it fails to properly define. Once grace is defined, SO many things in the Word become clear.
Under the influence
In our opening text we see that “other things” entering into our hearts have the ability to choke the Word and make the Word unfruitful in our lives. Now let’s compare the negative example of “other things” influencing our hearts with God’s influence upon our heart.
Both…
- “enter into” our hearts
- encourage us to believe a certain way
- empower us to take action (or bear fruit).
The fact is, that they both work exactly the same way!
Now if the cares and anxieties of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for “other things” are simply “other” influences upon my heart…
- What makes one “influence” work and the other fail?
- Why does it sometimes seem that the influence of the world “enters in” easier than God’s influence?
Now that is the real question!
“Other Things” are grace stoppers!
I believe the largest reason for the powerful influence the world seems to have is simply our flesh.
Paul says it this way, “For I know that in me (that is in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” (Rom. 7:18)
James says, “But when a man is tempted, it is his own passions that carry him away and serve as a bait. Then the passion conceives, and becomes the parent of sin…” (Jas. 1:14-15)
Where do these passions come from?
“For while we were living in the flesh, sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies to bear fruit for death.” ~ Rom 7:5
You might say, “But I am no longer in the flesh”, and if you are Christ’s that is true, but you still have flesh and it is far from obtaining the fullness of its redemption.
“However, not only creation groans, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly wait for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.“ ~ Rom 8:23 ISV
I like the way Weymouth puts it,
“And more than that, we ourselves, though we possess the Spirit as a foretaste and pledge of the glorious future, yet we ourselves inwardly sigh, as we wait and long for open recognition as sons through the deliverance of our bodies.” ~ Rom 8:23 WNT
Paul while writing the Galatians said,
“For what the flesh wants is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, and so you do not do what you want to do.” ~ Gal 5:17 ISV
The Good News:
The same gospel that describes our difficult state of being torn between our spirit and flesh, also tell us the cure.
“If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” ~ Rom. 8:11-13
It sounds too good to be true, but it is not! These same basic words are spoken by Paul in another place, which we have already read,
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” ~ Gal. 2:20-21
That is the good news!
- Christ lives in me – Gal. 2:20
- I am complete IN HIM – Col. 2:10
- I died and my life is now hid with Christ IN God – Col. 3:3
The list just goes on and on.
Remember, Eternal Life is to know Jesus. To know the same Living Word the Holy Spirit plants in our hearts and satan would love to choke out of you with “other things”.
So we have then a choice set before us even as the Israelites did under the old Covenant. God said to them and to us,
” I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for He is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” ~ Deut. 30:19-20
Tags: christ, christian, condemnation, desire, eternal life, faith, flesh, galatians, god, Grace, grace of god, heart, jesus, Law, love, revelation, satan, self, sin
This one is based on Romans 5:19 and many other places in the bible where it talks about a Christian and righteousness. There is a doctrine out there that says we are only positionally righteous but not practically righteous. This doctrine is from the pit of hell and works against the Holy Spirits witness in the Christians life (John 16:10) in convincing them of their righteousness. It is an identity issue not a performance based identity but a Christ purchased identity that is born from above
Tags: born again, christ, dave geisler, John 16:10, performance based, pgm, positional, positional righteousness, practical, Romans 5:19, Video Devo
Growing up and even recently I was being tossed in the ocean of uncertainty of the Character of God. Thinking somehow instead of trusting Him I could control Him with what I did or didn’t do. If I wanted my “vats overflowing” then I would make sure my offering was sacrificial. If I wanted His wisdom then Bible study would increase daily. If I wanted my marriage to be successful then we’d better repent if we fornicated before the rings and the cake! If I wanted to hear “well done faithful servant” then my “holy check list” better be being checked off daily. If I wanted His protection then I’d better be towing the line of spiritual “goodness”…You know what I mean..Make sure He’s #1 in the morning, don’t make your prayers short, rather long and “holy like”. Better not “rush into His presence” with crying out to Him. Acknowledge His greatness before making your supplications known.
If I wanted forgiveness and mercy I better be sure I was forgiving other’s. If I wanted Him to acknowledge my prayers then my sins were being confessed and the slate was clean between us. (to be really honest with you guys I would fall asleep confessing all my daily know and unknown sin before I even begun with anything else). Bottom line if I wasn’t doing this “walk with God” program correctly then I wouldn’t be blessed and even more frightening I would be cursed by Him..something bad would happen. You guys have been there “oh my car broke down, this is because _____”.” My marriage is in shambles because our family hasn’t been participating in regular worship at our church.” My children have walked away from God because we did this or didn’t do that with the youth group.”… This may seem like a horribly scary relationship and that we are slaves to our ever increasing desire to “control the way things go in our lives”..It’s really draining and sad. There is no “joy in Lord”..Consequently our other relationships in our lives begins to be dictated in like manner. Full of expectations and requirments in order for us to respond with acceptance and rewards also punishment and painful withdraw.
The good news!! Your blessings and love from the God of love is not based on what you do or don’t!! When you get this it’s freeing and your heart is filled with this new wonder and love relationship with the Father. Then reality hits “Oh no, I am no longer pulling the strings on God’s favor in my life. I have to trust this love now, what if something bad happens, what will He do when I give my marriage and my children and finances to Him to do with what He will”? Will He “Job” me! LOL…
He says those in fear have not been perfected in His love (1John 4:17-18). I speak to myself here. If we spend less time trying to impress Him or get His blessings and more time just resting in His love, unconditional love, then I believe Him that He will perfect His love in me. He doesn’t intimidate us into loving Him, He doesn’t force us into “perfect Christians”. There is no fear in love. The age old saying “go with the flow” is true..His flow, His perfect, loving flow. Jeremiah 29:11 comes to mind a lot for me. He knows the plans He has for us, and TRUST it’s the perfect one for you! Love you guys…
Written by Christina Wing 2010
Tags: bible study, bottom line, desire, faithful servant, forgiveness and mercy, god, goodness, marriage, prayers, program, relationships, shambles, supplication, uncertainty, walk with god, wisdom, youth group
On here we briefly discuss the difference between law and Grace and how a Christian is to live their life once they come to faith in Jesus Christ. Should we check our lives by the ten commandments and the law of Moses or are we to live solely off the life of Christ through faith…
Tags: 10 commandments, dave geisler, faith, galatians, Grace, jesus, Law, Moses, pgm, romans, sin, ten commandments, titus, victorious life, victory over sin, Video Devo
This Video Devo is from a highly misunderstood verse in 1 John. Many have read this verse and the deceiver has brought them back into bondage over the forgiveness of their sins…people have become more sin and self focused then Savior focused…
Tags: 1John, 1John 1:9, christian, confess, dave geisler, forgive, forgiveness, gnostic, gnosticism, promised grace, Video Devo