tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4594466655926701168.post8026372286359282523..comments2024-01-20T06:33:12.603-08:00Comments on Created to Give God Glory: Making the Dead LiveCreated to Give God Gloryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17298394573836878999noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4594466655926701168.post-81108525728233819792012-04-12T20:16:53.944-07:002012-04-12T20:16:53.944-07:00Cont. from preceding page
As individuals in our i...Cont. from preceding page<br /><br />As individuals in our informal, often times, even, solo ministry, often times, we help in each others' ministry, as a brethren helping another brethren's ministry. We support each other. Now the poser is this: replace the individuals with churches, do we get the same picture. Perhaps, bodies of believers, churches, have been more selfish than individual believers! As an individual, I am accountable and answerable to God, if I bless another brethren’s ministry. Now, for the church, who is primarily responsible? Yes, the pastor in charge; he got lead his flock. If the pastor in charge does NOT want the church to be generous, the church cannot be generous as a church; only the members, as individuals, they could be counted as generous by God, but NOT that church as a whole. As an individual, I support others in their ministries, and they in turn, support my ministry; it is a beautiful thing, in the eyes of God. But do you see that for churches? Or are churches eyeing too much on, <i>“We must have advantage over the other churches”, so that the sheep stay with us”! or “If we do this, we may end up having our sheep going over to the other churches!” or “Let them do their own things, and we do our own things. They got the same God we have-what! If they want to move like we move, then let them ask the Lord themselves, I don’t think we need to share “this” with them (another church)-right?”</i> <br /><br />Sometimes, church leadership themselves show bad examples for far-sightedness or for faith; but they expect the individuals to do better! Such church leadership sure does NOT please God. For example, a church can tell individuals to give to the church in offerings and tithes, by faith; but the church herself insists on accumulating years and years of sinking funds or to set aside money for many years of operations! A church can tell individuals to help fellow brethrens, but the church herself would NOT help another church or share blessing with another church. If local churches are failing, maybe church leaderships have some self-examination to do. If the formal body (churches) would NOT function appropriately, God is NOT going to sit idle; He will work with the informal bodies (“loose association” of believers). If there is anything lacking about institutional churches, this could one. In short, are churches getting more selfish than the individuals? <br /><br />Now, if dead bones can be referring to “slumbering” or lethargic believers and the like, it means these bones are in the local churches. If there is patch of dry bones over there, that local church over there, who will go over to those dry bones, and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!’ or are we to say, “They got a senior pastor-what, let him work with God”. You see, for individuals, we don’t tell our individual sheep, “Hello, why you bother about that brother or sister, he or she is a Christian-what, he or she can go pray to God and get God to help-lah; why must you be bothered to pray and minister to him or her!” We teach from the Word, “Please bear with each other, and bear each other up”, and then as a church to another church, we say, “You solve your own problem with God-lah. I do the same with mine-what!” Maybe, God is saying, “ABC church, can XYZ church, pile of dry bones live? And then God hears the answer, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know." And, then before God could speak further, He hears this: “But don’t ask me to speak life to those dry bones!” Maybe, this is the sad state of some of the local churches. Other churches are telling God, “You go, do the job yourself!” When it is the other churches, they have to do a part, and God will come in, and do His part. Who will be a part of making the dead live? Ezekiel 37:1-4 is NOT necessarily talking about a pastor in His own patch; more like someone’s patch! If you have just been “posted” to this patch, then perhaps, you can read it as your own newly acquired patch.<br /><br /><br /><b>Anthony Chia, high.expressions</b>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4594466655926701168.post-20899519934717015872012-04-12T20:15:24.642-07:002012-04-12T20:15:24.642-07:00Indeed, it is we are to hear from the Lord and the...Indeed, it is we are to hear from the Lord and then we move according to the desires of the Lord. But just as you pointed out, at times, we thought it was such and such, and then we moved, but it can turn out that we are wrong; worst still we do NOT know if we are wrong, and we are still carrying on with the thing that we are doing. It is NOT easy, at times. <br /><br />Many just don't want to admit it, we don't hear so well, often times. <i>“I am the pastor in charge, how can I say, I am NOT sure what is supposed to be the direction we are to take!” “How can I listen to this guy; he is just a member only, NOT a staff, shift direction, and "everybody" will know I don't hear as good (as that fellow)?” "Since I cannot be sure, I better stick with the "safe path", and do the things, that most do; in that way, I cannot be said to have acted wrongly, for if I were wrong, then, so many others are wrong, too! Yes, I shall find safety in numbers!” </i>Do we honestly want to honor God and do what He wants? We got to be honest with ourselves. We need to examine ourselves. <br /><br /><i>“But I don't hear that well, what do you expect me to do; do nothing?”</i> No, that is NOT the thing to do; do nothing, I mean. But you can start with the "safe path", but you must still want to find the path God has for you and your church. The safe path cannot be "permanent" path you stick with, unless that is the path God has intended for you and your church. <br /><br />We need to rethink if it is correct to regard all churches as the same. All churches are the same in some respect, but they are NOT the same. You and I are the same in some respect, but we are NOT the same, even in God's eyes. The common things, we are to recognise them, and do them, but God does NOT use you exactly the same way as He uses me; it is also the case, I believe, when it comes to different local churches. <br /><br />There is perhaps, something I am particularly, to do more; something, you do more - different calling or whatever we want to call it. Would it also not be possible, that the same applies to the churches? <br />In addition, another thing to note, is that, as in the individual's case, whatever the "more" that is done, it cannot be a self-interest thing solely. What I do (more), if it is from the Lord, it got to benefit others, either non-believers or believers or both. In other words, I am being used to bless, and I got to be blessing others, and NOT self-blessing. So for the churches context, there might be something the Lord wants a particular church to do more, and it too, must be that it is blessing others, non-believers, members, AND MEMBERS OF OTHER CHURCHES or the CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY. If for an individual, the person self-interest is emphasized most of the time, it is NOT honoring, to God; it probably is NOT achieving what God wants. The same for a church, if it is the church self-interest that is emphasized most of the time, it too, is perhaps NOT working towards what God really would like to see. <br /><br />COnt. on next page...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com