No Pastors Mentioned and Some Words on Love

No Pastors Mentioned

In yesterday's posting we saw where the church is promised gifts given by the Spirit of God for the common good, yet who has seen any workers of miracles or healings or real prophetic words in their church? We know God cannot lie, if he said that miracle workers and real prophetic words, and healings etc etc would be given to people for the common good, he meant it, he cannot lie, so what happened? In today's posting we see part of the problem....men's traditions, men's systems, men's interference, men's pride, men's doctrines have all gotten in the way.

If the Lord promised to make water flow out of a hose and men jam the end of the hose with dirt and debris preventing and stopping up the end of the hose, is it any wonder we see no water flowing? This place in Corinthians is an example of how the bible spotlights what's wrong in the churches today.

1 Corinthians 12: 27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tonguesd? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desiree the greater gifts.

Notice who is NOT mentioned in the group above... Pastors-no mention of pastors whatsoever, zero, zilch, nada. If pastors were supposed to be the centerpiece in every church that they have made themselves today, don't you think the Holy Spirit would have at least given them honorable mention as he was listing what we should see in the churches... "and in the church God has appointed......" everything you see above BUT pastors.

Now, if you think this is incorrect, and pastors really are the guru/CEO style leaders that God would give us to oversee the church, then someone please show me in the bible where "pastors" get their biblical authority to do what they do? I know they like to run wild with the scriptures and pick out all kinds of things that do not belong to them but I want to see the word PASTOR and then words attached before or after that word specifying who they are and what they do in the church and I want to see all that in the bible. Problem is...it's not in there. You won't find anything like that in the bible. If you think this judgement is incorrect, please also explain WHY it is that our God tells us we should see workers of miracles, prophetic words, healings, people who interpret tongues, messages of wisdom and all kinds of other gifts and yet you have never seen one of them in your church? Why not?

There have been many imposters in the church who claim to have healed people, many televangelists who claim to have worked miracles etc but I'm asking you for your firsthand account of seeing these things with your own eyes, not on TV. When is the last time you saw any of the gifts of the Spirit, without a doubt, no imposters included in your church? And if you have not, why not? Its a question that you need to answer because it will lead you to the truth. The truth is not afraid of light because the truth loves the light. Only darkness tries to squirm away from the light.

I have seen miracles, I have been healed so I know our God is not telling tales when he describes the gifts he gives to his people for the common good. Its not that I am anything, its a matter of our Lord doing what he said he would do. Have you ever seen even one of the promised gifts in your man made organizations masquerading as churches? If not, why not? And if not why do you stay there?

Some Words on Love

1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,b but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

This ^^^ here is just huge. Everything we are doing and everything we are about should be about love, as our God defines love. What does he tell us? You can do every wonderful work known to the mind of man and if its done without love, it was all useless. Now hold that thought and read this:

Rev 2:1 These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

You have forsaken your first love. You do all kinds of wonderful works for the Lord, but without love, they are all utterly useless. He is our first love, he must be our first love. He is everything. He is looking at our hearts all the time. Our God is not like men who have be deceived with words, he looks at the heart. What's in our hearts? We must have love in there and not just any love, the kind of love our God describes to us in his word: 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Let me be the first one to throw a hand up in the air and say I have ALOT of work to do in this area.

Ok, so over the past couple days we've seen that the Lord promised many different spiritual gifts to his people to include such things as working miracles and healings, we have also asked why it is that most people have never seen a single instance of these things in their institutionalized, pasteurized (pastor)-sterile, devoid of life, manmade organizations. We have also see 2 places immediately after the description of the gifts in the book of Corinthians of WHY we do not see the gifts.

1 Cor 12:7-11=the gifts

1 Cor 12:27-31=why we see no gifts, compare who makes up the church according to the bible (no pastors mentioned) to what you see in your church (pastors everywhere). Pastors everywhere in your church and nowhere in the bible. The one mention in Eph 4:11 tranlates as "shepherd" NOT pastor... and its mentioned ONE time.

1 Cor 13=love, or lack of it being another reason we do not see the gifts in todays manmade church organizations. How much damage can a lack of godly love do? Read here:

Matt 24:9 Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold

and here

Rev 2:4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

So, why talk about these things today? How is all this "encouragement" and not a beatdown? The theme here over the past 4 months or so has been about centering ourselves in the very middle of the narrow road that leads to life. That road is a road of love, hope, faith and obedience. Part of knowing the truth is exposing the lies masquerading as truth. In the book of acts we see many churches that met in people's houses, no multi-million dollar "sanctuaries" to be found. So lets imagine for a moment the church that meets in a believers house today. Let's also imagine that our Lord's words are true (they are) and in that house where the church meets, there are miracles, healings, messages of wisdom, speaking in tongues WITH interpretation of those tongues etc etc and all the other gifts we read about in 1 Cor 12:7-11. Now that you have a real church in mind, imagine an unbeliever walking into THAT house....miracles, healings, real prophetic words, are you getting the idea of how a person might react to THAT? How could a REAL church change this world?

The Lord cannot lie, we should be seeing the gifts of the Spirit but we get in the way. Like John said "I must become less and he (Jesus) must become more"

John 3:30 He must become greater; I must become less.
He must become greater; I must become less.

As we move closer and closer to the very center of our Lord's will for us on that narrow road that leads to life, we should expect to see more and more of the many promises our Lord gave us fulfilled. If you need a miracle,a healing, a prophetic word or whatever else is needed, then align yourself in and with Jesus. That is what I must do, and what you must do. We are being called to perfection in Jesus. Will we mess up along the way? If you are like me then probably, yes. But we must fight on to the very end, giving ourselves to our Lord with everything we have. We must commit ourselves daily to our master. The walk we walk is not a one day event, its an every day event.

done for today, we are dearly loved, grace and peace