life in a city church

Saw a beshabbled woman in a prison cell.  Her hair wild.  Her fingernails long.  She was picking at the scales of the bars.  However, these scales were not paint or rust.  The scales were like dried mucous or pus, hers she had once put there but now spent her time picking and flicking off.  Yet her mind was not even focused.

Josh claimed a desire to have a local church with global outreach.  There is a desire for Canberra commitment.  Yet there is an issue of recognition, connection to a specific core group due to fears of people doing things properly and not getting messy.  The other matter is that our central connection is Christ not an original group.

That would ignore our history and origins, trying to recentre it around us.  The other is what is properly?  Implies lack of trust let alone equipping and freedom.

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assuming authority over others

introduction

When Paul first came to the church in Corinth he didn't speak about God's plan with big words and impressive wisdom.  Instead, he chose to focus only on Christ and rely upon the Spirit:

• Paul used plain words
  ... people understood not because of what he said
• Paul was timid and trembling
  ... because did not know what would happen next

Why did Paul behave this way?  Because he wanted people to trust in God's power not human wisdom (1Co 2:1-5)

Yet, when he was among people who claimed to know God well, he chose to use words of wisdom.  Why? Because God gave us his Spirit so we can understand his thoughts.  Without his Spirit we cannot understand him.  As such:

• people who know God, have his Spirit and thus can understand spiritual truths when they are shared to them, however,
• people who don't know God, cannot understand, no matter how much they claim to know him.  It sounds foolish to them.

how this is generally applied in local churches

In some churches these passages are interpreted to mean that

• God sends certain people of authority to "speak into our lives", as justified by Paul speaking to the church of Corinth.
• And, because they are appointed "over you" "you need to submit to them".
• However, if you disagree with them, this evidences your own personal pride.

But what if the speaker is wrong?  Do you have the opportunity to discuss the matter?

please read again 1 Corinthians 2

Does Paul state anywhere that some people are "placed in our lives to speak into our lives"?  Can this be fairly justified because it Paul, an authority, was the one who spoke?  Who does Paul say is speaking into our lives?  How?

Who does Paul suggest we need to submit to? A person or God?  How?

Finally, what are we to make of comments like "a person is prideful if the won't receive from others" or "people won't agree with what I tell them, but prefer to wait to hear from God"?

Does these comments reveal more about the person or the person claiming authority? (1Thes 5:19-22; 1Jn 4:1-3)

Is it wrong to first consider and seek God's counsel before doing what someone asks of you?  Or is it wrong to ask someone not to do this and just do what you ask of them.

conclusion

It is one thing to be willing to be fully submitted to Christ.  It is another to submit to another person simply because they claim to have godly authority.  Yes, they might have this authority.  But what if they don't?

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are you an intecessor?

An intercessor as defined in church terminology is a person who goes to God on behalf of someone else (e.g. in prayer or request) to seek something for them. It is generally understood that intercession is a God-given calling or role.

But is this true?

Are only some people called to be intercessors or is it the responsibility of all of God’s people?  Indeed, is intercession a special gift at all?

• What does Paul mean when he asks the church of Ephesus to be persistent in their prayers for all believers everywhere (Eph 6)?
• If Paul is considered an intercessor why would he ask for others to pray for him too (Eph 6:19; Col 4:3; 1Thes 5:25; Heb 13:18)?
• What does Paul mean when he asks Timothy to pray for all people, to ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them?  Or to encourage people generally to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy (1Tim 2:1-8)?
• What about Jesus asking us to pray for those who are against us (Mt 5:44)?
• Why are we asked to pray for one another at all (Jam 5:16)?

If it true that God send his Spirit to some key chosen people, why is it that Jesus sent God’s Spirit to all believers so all could understand God’s will and interact with him personally and directly?  If God is trying to communicate with all his people, then it is possible for anyone to reveal what God wants, to intercede.

Yet, regardless of all this, the one thing above all we must remember is that there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.

And as such, how did Jesus intercede?  He took on the sins of people so they could be forgiven, no longer to be punished for them.  He took on the responsibility for what others had done, so they would not becausevthey could not.

Is this the kind of intercession we see in the church?  This willingness to be sacrificed so others may lice.

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forgive others so you will be rewarded?

It was recently stated in a church setting that "the person who benefits the most from the gift of forgiveness is the person who forgives.  Forgiveness is not so much about the benefits the other person gets.  Forgiveness is actually about you."  The preacher then went onto explain all the benefits a person gets when they forgive someone else.

But can this be true?

When God forgave us, was this action more about him (the giver) or us humans (the receiver)?  Did he send Jesus, his only begotten son so he could get something for himself?

If he did, do we need to re-evaluate the entire premise of God?

But if forgiveness is actually more about the recipient, the person being forgiven, about their freedom, and God asks us to copy how he does things and why, then surely we must put aside what we may or may not get out of it.

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