Mystery of Faith-Ch.5-Pt.4

What Do Sheep Eat?

But he [Jesus] answered and said,
It is written,
Man shall not live
by bread alone,
But by every word
that proceedeth out
of the mouth of God.
-Matthew 4:4

     Our Creator has told us that we have been designed to eat two types of "food"--1) physical bread and 2) spiritual "bread" (i.e. from the Word of God--the King James Bible, which has not been altered as modern versions have).

  
     Therefore, we can only conclude that those who do not feed on the Word of God are only half alive.  They are in fact, the walking dead, regardless of how religious they may appear to be.  (This means personally feeding on the Word daily, as opposed to waiting for someone else to read us the Word, to preach the Word to us, or interpret the Word for us).

     Like those, who sincerely care for our physical well-being and encourage us to eat physical food that will nourish our body, every genuine minister is commissioned by God to humbly motivate the sheep to feed on the Word of God in order to nourish their own spiritual life.

     While Bible reading may be mentioned from the pulpit from time to time, the necessity to personally and consistently feed on every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God is seldom stressed.  It is not usually emphatically preached from the pulpit that our spiritual life actually depends on saturating ourselves with the Word of God, as so clearly established in the above verse.  Sadly the subtle impression is given that Bible reading is merely an option or that inferior versions will somehow provide the spiritual nutrition required to maintain the life of church members.

Be Not Deceived

     If you do not personally agree with all of the doctrines and practices of your church, you need to find another Church (if possible), because your doctrines are your "belief."  Just saying that you believe in Jesus does not guarantee eternal life.  On the last day you may find yourself among those who cried, "Lord, Lord," but did not really know Christ at all and He will reply, "Depart from me. . ."

     Like the thief, on the cross next to Jesus, you must believe who Jesus (Himself) says He is (i.e. in His Word)--Not who you think He is or who someone else says He is.

     That means that if you believe the Bible is the Word of God--if you have turned from your sin, from false beliefs, and from everything in this world that is controlling your life--and Jesus Christ and His Word are now preeminent in your life--then and only then--do you qualify as a genuine "believer" according to God's definition.

     Christ is "Lord of lords," so He must actually be your Lord--the only One directing every area of your life and the only way this can happen is to personally hear His Voice from His Written Word and follow His specific directions.

     It is amazing how many professing "christians" believe that it is okay to go to the gravesite of a loved one and have a conversation with them after they are dead.  Movies today are filled with scenes where people do this all of the time.

     Yet, the Bible, in Leviticus 20 and elsewhere, says that people who do this are cursed and, according to the old law, they were put to death.  It is a serious sin to try to talk to the dead.  This is called "necromancy."

     Many are led astray by their Biblical ignorance and misplaced emotions over the loss of loved ones, but I assure you that necromancy is a most dangerous trap.  It is only one step away from inviting demons into your life.  Demons masquerading as the "dearly departed" have used this method of spiritual deception from the beginning.  God would not say, "Don't do it!" if there was not a very important reason why we are not to attempt to engage the dead in this manner.

     Another thing that even, so-called, "christian" movies promote is the idea that after death, people somehow turn into angels.  Nowhere in the Scriptures can this be found.  While speaking of marriage, the Apostle Paul said that people in Heaven have relationships similar to that of angels, because in Heaven people do not marry.  But it is quite a leap from a simple verbal illustration about marriage, to declaring that people turn into angels after they die.

     While it is true that humans will have new, improved, bodies in Heaven, God created angels to be angels and humans to be humans.  Each type of being has a specific purpose in God's Kingdom.  They are not the same thing.

     Contrary to what is being preached on television and by other wolves in sheep's clothing, it is really hypocritical (and actually impossible) to believe one thing with your heart and practice another thing in your mind and body.  Christ and His Word simply must reign over spirit, body, mind, and emotions--the entire person.

     The problem is that the Word is often subtly or ignorantly changed and controlled from the pulpit as one verse is pulled from here and one from there to support the preacher's or Bible teacher's own interpretations and opinions in an attempt to feed the sheep the stubble of his own lofty opinions and self-serving attempts to wax eloquent, to promote denominational doctrines, or (in the name of "church growth") make people feel good so they will come back and bring their friends with them.

     However, if his ministry is genuine, the Bible teacher will expound the Word in the context in which it is written and support one passage with another, letting the Word interpret the Word, thus giving the sheep his personal example of how to digest the food properly.  What he says will come first of all from the Word, instead of from some clever/romantic story or preconceived opinion that he wants to indoctrinate and propagate.  He will encourage his congregation in their own, personal, efforts to receive God's interpretation via the Holy Spirit, Who is their primary spiritual Teacher, commissioned by God to lead believers into all Truth.

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come,

He will guide you [every believer] into all truth:

for he shall not speak of himself;

but whatsoever he shall hear [from the Most High God], 

that shall he speak:

and he will shew you things to come.

[even tell you what is coming in the future]

-John 16:13

     Unfortunately, churches today are filled with S.A.D. (Spiritually Attention Deficit) individuals who are unable to spiritually focus and get a grip on the Scriptures because they have been fed fragmented bits and pieces of selected verses and various versions of the Word, causing their diet to be very limited and unbalanced.  So their thoughts and lives are based on a disorganized heap of unrelated and inconsistent beliefs which rob them of spiritual confidence because they don't know, with any certainty, what they really believe.  The cause of this?--ministers who are S.A.D themselves and have probably come from S.A.D. seminaries.

     Nevertheless, the real responsibility lies on the shoulders of the one who calls himself "a believer in Christ" but is not really interested in what Christ has to say to him.  Either he does not care or he does not realize that if we do not listen to God, He will not listen to us.  So he goes on and on with his prayerful platitudes and "good works," unaware that God is not paying any attention to his rebellious, self-determined, vain efforts--and then wonders why his prayers do not get answered.

Corporate Designer Religion

     In the corporate world today, worldings have discovered that knowledge is power so they see the advantage of withholding valuable information.  Often when one employee is assigned to train another employee, he often does a very sloppy job of it.  He fears that the new employee, equipped with the specifics of the position, could someday replace him.

     When effective training is derailed in this manner, ultimately very few employees will know what is needed to do the job.  So this self-serving attitude can bring destructive consequences to the entire company.

     Today we see this corporate training being assimilated into churches, even though Jesus taught that we should freely give, because we have freely received.

     Nevertheless, a church leader may withhold knowledge and motivation from his congregation, fearing that he or the denomination may lose control over the members, if they begin feeding on the Word and are able to arrive at truth themselves.

     A symptom of this can be seen when a member of the congregation makes a statement of truth, but instead of one in authority publicly confirming the statement, he ignores the comment and either moves on to a new topic or uses parts of the statement which was presented--only twisting it a little to water it down, or make it fit into his own opinion, but never encouraging or showing any gratitude for the initial contribution--refusing to give credit where credit is due.

     Corporate worldlings very seldom, freely give information or public credit to anyone else, for fear of losing their hierarchical position--unless of course, a generous attitude at the moment, serves to feather their own nest.

     The problem comes from the fact that churches today do not really understand God's definition of the word, "Church."  They do not realize that the real "Church" is not a religious organization or a building.  The real "Church" is made up of the physical bodies of genuine believers indwelt by the Spirit of God.  The real "Church" does not have any geographic or denominational boundaries. . .and it definitely is not a building.--The Church/Bride of Christ/Body of Believers, can assemble anywhere, any time because they are the Church.

     Defining the word, "Church," correctly is more, eternally, important than we realize.  Much destructive false doctrine is attached to this one definition which has lead to the apostasy of these End Times.

     If anyone happens to come into one of the world's corporate-styled "churches" today sharing the whole truth of the Word of God, they are often very subtly patronized or "kindly" shunned in order to provide an example to those who would dare "usurp" the preacher/teacher and speak from the Scriptures, when they do not have a seminary diploma or possess a denominationally sanctioned hierarchical position given to them by the church.

     It is true that in the early Church there was a structural order to the Body of Christ and certain members held specific responsibilities and this should be followed as well today.  But at the same time, everyone--men, women, and children were, and still are, expected to freely fellowship in the Word and minister to one another through the Word of God.

     If you listen carefully to what some evangelical preachers are saying today on television "under their breath," you may even catch them "dis" or criticize the Word of God by rebuking those in the audience who may be "too Word-focused" (in their opinion) and not enough works-focused when it comes to representing their church in the community or the world, by feeding the poor or doing other good works.

     In this way they admonish church members to put the "work of works" before the "work of faith."  Interestingly, this is the same attitude Judas had concerning the oil that was used to anoint the feet of Jesus:

(3) Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard,

very costly,

and anointed the feet of Jesus,

and wiped his feet with her hair:

and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

(4) Then saith one of his disciples,

Judas Iscariot, Simon's son

which should betray him, [betray Jesus]

(5) Why was not this ointment sold

for three hundred pence,

and given to the poor?

(6) This he said, not that he cared for the poor;

but because he was a thief,

and had the bag, [controlled the money]

and bare what was put therein.

(7) Then said Jesus, Let her alone:

against the day of my burying

hath she kept this.

(8) For the poor always ye have with you;

but me ye have not always.

-John 12:3-8

     Mary had her priorities in order.  She was focusing on her Lord and Savior and was in harmony with His Word and His mission.  She was demonstrating that Jesus Christ was preeminent.  Therefore, in her life, Jesus and His Word had to come before any "good works."

     How can we do what God wants us to do in the manner He wants us to do it, unless we listen to His Word so we know His specific will in the matter?

     Jesus was not teaching that we should ignore the poor, but that the poor cannot come before our relationship with Him.  God has a specific method of ministry.  When the Word of God is our priority, we will understand the important specifics regarding feeding the poor and will not just be throwing food and money at the world's problems, telling the poor to say that they believe in Jesus and then sending them back where they came from, instead of helping them build a new life in Christ.

     Like so many in ministry today, Judas had a money problem and those who have this sort of problem also often have the same related problems Judas had--they are likely to also be thieves and betrayers--even willing to cause trouble for genuine Christians for monetary gain.

     Therefore, Jesus told Judas that the poor will always be with us.  The Gospel is not just about counting up how many souls we think we have "won to the Lord" or our religious church group, or how many poor we have physically fed.

     While we should follow the example of Jesus and feed the poor, we must not forget that the priority of the Gospel is to spiritually feed the poor.  In this way they will learn to first access all of the spiritual blessings God has made available to them, so they will be equipped to also receive all of the physical blessings God has waiting for them, as they learn to hear His Voice and follow Him themselves.

     As the Gospel is spread throughout the world, the principles of life it carries, will cause many more to prosper than we may think.  It is obvious that the poor will always be with us because it is obvious that very few will ever really allow the Word of God to be preeminent in their life.  Jesus knew this.  This is the reason He also told us that the road to eternal life will be very narrow and few will be found on it.

     The truth is, our own works are just "filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6) when they are not the result of hearing God's Voice from the pages of His Word and following His specific instructions regarding the works we are actually called to do.

     But let us give ministers the benefit of the doubt by considering one other reason why knowledge and motivation may be withheld.  Could it simply be that ministers are doing what they have been taught to do in seminary?  They may have been told that these are the proper techniques seminary students must use in order to qualify as ministers, get their diplomas, and do "the work of God."

     Nevertheless in God's scheme of things, the true sheep that spiritually survive seminary and go out with the sincere intention of ministering to the flock of Christ, will themselves be feeding on the Word of God--or they would never have had the power to spiritually survive in the first place.  The rest will be preaching on the broad road that leads to hell.

     If indeed, they are true sheep, they will see the value of the Word of God, sooner or later and through the Word, God Himself will teach these ministers that it is His will for them to train the sheep to also independently feed on the Word.

     But, "Woe," to those who would put a stumbling block in the path of anyone who desires to know God and His Word.  Surely, He will one day personally deal with them.

     The genuine minister will know the difference between preaching about the Word and actually preaching the Word, will not withhold knowledge of the Word, but will be dedicated to teaching the sheep how to feed on the Word.

     He will not spoon feed the sheep in an attempt to make them dependent on himself and the denomination, but will freely give the sheep the necessary motivation and instruction to successfully feed on the Word of God themselves through the power of the Holy Spirit, Who has promised to lead us into all Truth.

Then Jesus said unto them,

Verily, verily, I say unto you, 

Except ye eat

the flesh

of the Son of man,

and drink

his blood,

ye have no life in you.

-John 6:53

     Some understand that a believer is one who does good works; therefore we have false professors who try to convince themselves and others that they are genuine believers by exhibiting their good works.  But they are really "putting the cart before the horse."

     On the other hand, Jesus gave us the above Word to test our genuineness.  Only those who do the work of eating His flesh and drinking His blood actually qualify as true believers and have eternal life.

     What a strange statement for Jesus to make.  This sounds like cannibalism!  Keep in mind that the stranger the statement, the more important the lesson.  This statement was meant to get the attention of un-believers and it certainly did get their attention.  It was so outlandish that many of His disciples stopped following Him, after He said this.

From that time many of his disciples went back,

and walked no more with him.

-John 6:66

     Interesting that the biblical reference number is "666."  I don't know about you--but I do not believe in coincidences.  If God can preserve His Word for thousands of years, He can certainly dictate where the numbers will ultimately be placed in His Word.

     Could it be that this idea of eating His flesh and drinking His blood is, in some way, going to be tied to the antichrist, whose number is "666?"
. . .Just saying. . .

     Some believe that communion is a time to confess sins and celebrate the death of Jesus.  However, it is His resurrection that we are to celebrate and sins should not be saved up for a time of a "communion ritual," but be confessed every day--even moment by moment--in private to God, alone, or to other believers if we have personally wronged them in some way, or so they can pray for us and encourage us to be accountable to God--but always remembering that only Christ, alone, has the power to actually forgive sin(s).  It is His death on the cross and shed blood that makes Him qualified to forgive sin.

     When we ask forgiveness from others, it is not the same as asking forgiveness of Christ, for no human has the power to eradicate sin.

     So what is the real purpose of "communion?"

     As we shall soon see, "communion" is really supposed to be a time set aside to remember the first love lost.

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