Posted on 07/16/2016 7:48:49 AM PDT by RevelationDavid
July 16
What Does God Want?
“I am the Way.” JOHN 14:6
What is God after? What does He seek from us? What does He want?
First and foremost, He desires a people who will be conformed to the image of His Son, that they may demonstrate the preeminence of Christ in all things. But how does He gain such a people for Himself? The first step is to reveal His Son to us. This is the narrow gate. We cannot begin to walk the narrow path until we have entered the narrow gate.
Upon entering the narrow gate He begins to change us from the inside out so that it is Christ expressing Himself through us.
“Not I, but Christ.”
This is the narrow path.
This narrow path we call discipleship.
It leads us somewhere.
A path is not for standing still.
It has a destination.
Where does the path lead? What is the End? Christ as All in All. That IS the End. All things work together according to this supreme purpose, His Purpose.
Source: "Embrace the Cross" by Chip Brogden http://www.chipbrogden.com/books/embrace-the-cross
What Does God Want?
“I am the Way.” JOHN 14:6
What is God after? What does He seek from us? What does He want?
First and foremost, He desires a people who will be conformed to the image of His Son, that they may demonstrate the preeminence of Christ in all things. But how does He gain such a people for Himself? The first step is to reveal His Son to us. This is the narrow gate. We cannot begin to walk the narrow path until we have entered the narrow gate.
Upon entering the narrow gate He begins to change us from the inside out so that it is Christ expressing Himself through us.
“Not I, but Christ.”
This is the narrow path.
This narrow path we call discipleship.
It leads us somewhere.
A path is not for standing still.
It has a destination.
Where does the path lead? What is the End? Christ as All in All. That IS the End. All things work together according to this supreme purpose, His Purpose.
Source: "Embrace the Cross" by Chip Brogden http://www.chipbrogden.com/books/embrace-the-cross
He wants us to turn back to him. Wonder how many Freepers who haven’t been going to church have decided to go back?
Chip seems to be quite a prolific teacher. Discipleship appears to be an area where he presents as an expert. Since discipleship isn’t just about learning, but ‘doing’; since the Kingdom of God doesn’t consist of words, but of power... where are his works of power to validate his message? How many sick healed, how many demons cast out, how many miracles, how many churches planted, disciples personally made, things like that... Just curious...
agreed, but daily, in every moment and choice, not just on sunday, imho.
God wants to have union with us.
Thats why He became a man and paid the price for our sin.
He wants us to choose Him as the one we will serve.
“Choose this day whom you will serve”.
Yes, you’re right.
.
1 Corinthians 12:27-30
27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
I haven't had time to look through his other writings, but in this one at least, Chip is spot on.
Most aren't going to recognize God's son, no matter how much he DOes to heal the sick.
Hello Theoldmarine,
I think we must always start with your great question with ‘our-self’ and then value the gifts given to the body by the Holy Spirit...to one is given the gift of “fill in the blank”....
Chip is a teacher and prayer warrior... with some prophetical gifting I am inclined to think.
He disciples fellow believers from all around the world...keeps it ALWAYS Christ centered..and is accessible by email...or even phone.
...I find him very refreshing..in a world that is ‘for sale’ and full of inflated egos and con man for Jesus… Chip asks for nothing and delivers the power of the Holy Spirit through insight and teaching.
Hope you will be strengthened through the daily’s...
Best to you, your Brother.
No, I don't buy into the idea that some super mass popped into existence by itself, as some physicists are now trying to claim by their equations on a white board. I also don't believe in an all forgiving grand-father type entity that will forgive us for acting on the very emotions and intellect he gave us.
Yes, I do believe that Jesus Christ existed and was probably the best example of the good side of humans. I also believe much of the New Testament is true.
I've pondered this since I was a child and still do. My problem is mostly with organized religion that "worships" a being. Why would such an entity have such a need?
Signed: I Want To Believe...but my logic doesn't let me.
FYI, Paul (nor anyone else) never planted one church....”church planting” is one of the largest and most damaging errors in Christendom today......
BTW, was heavily involved in “church planting” starting in the late ‘60’s.....but have repented........
At the beach (Daughters Birthday)....will answer your question in detail tomorrow ...:)
PS. GREAT QUESTION!!
Listen to the Son. Everything else should fall is place.
I tend to simplify and go to the root in things.
The answer is not 42....it is Jesus Christ.
“Root”
...;)
Have a Happy Birthday with your daughter.
Yep, I see what you did there.
So all the churches that sprung up in the wake of Paul’s ministry.. Philippi, Berea, Thessalonika, Lystra, Derbe etc.... Pauls never would have called it ‘church planting’ ... however, he preached, made converts, called them to meet regularly together, set leaders in place, called them churches... So while you may have a problem with the modern business model of Church planting... don’t say Paul didn’t plant churches...
I used to believe and teach the same thing.....for a season when young I mentored under one of the nation’s most famous church planters. But as I continued to closely look at scripture (50 years in ministry), I saw that while Paul DID indeed plant - it wasn’t churches that he planted.
You are very close in your statement. Paul indeed would not only never called it “church planting”, he would have been aghast at what is done today under that heading.
The question is, what is it that Paul planted? The answer is incredibly important. It was not churches.
First look at nature and you’ll get a clue. What is planted is always a SEED. And the SEED NEVER looks like the plant....it is the plant in germ form, every part of its essence, but it is NOT the plant, nor does it look like the plant.
The Seed of course is Christ Jesus - Gal. 3:16. And all through the OT. Paul tells us what it was he planted: “Christ Jesus and Him crucified.” The FULL gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In most places (not all), Paul would also attempt to disciple the new believers. But he DID NOT immediately set up “church”. He in fact, left the new believers to the Lord and the Holy Spirit, usually returning later (again, not always) to see what God had done in the lives of the saints. He never immediately set up leadership. Never. Why? If he was planting churches, he certainly would have. I believe he knew it would do great damage to set up leaders too soon - and he needed to wait and see who the Holy
Spirit had put His hand on while he was away. I could write volumes here - Gene Edwards already has.
Churches are NOT planted. They are BIRTHED or grow from a seed - by the Holy Spirit - and yes, the NORM is for the seed planted to eventually result in a church. BUT NOT ALWAYS. This proves Paul didn’t plant churches. We see no church raised up by God in Athens - though Athenians were indeed saved and responded to the gospel. If Paul was into planting churches, he would have seen that one was started in Athens.
When men “plant” churches today, they are not planting, but really producing clones - clones of what God perhaps has done before, somewhere else - a shell, a form. It is man-made, not God-born. It is man duplicating his understanding of what “church” is, and varies in as many denominations and sects of Christianity there are - all believe in and practice “planting” - which is really cloning.
No two churches in the NT were alike. They had minimal essentials in common: plurality of leadership/eldership, functioning of gifts by all saints, being led by the Holy Spirit. They had far more different than they had in common. Their problems and personalities were all different.
Today’s cloning - falsely called planting - is actually only further dividing God’s people, causing them to leave their existing churches to become a part of something new and perhaps more suited to their thinking, doctrine, or personality. Or often, to gather them around a new leader.
I believe the most serious sin in Christendom today is the dividing of God’s people. Their Oneness was the essence and heart of the Lord Jesus last prayer among His disciples - and the dividing of God’s people is grievous to God’s heart.
Most so-called “church-planting” today is simply gathering God’s people around new/different leaders or teachings of what “church” is.
This is NOT what Paul did. His apostleship first required him to be an evangelist. And then a teacher - rooting and grounding believers NOT IN TRUTH ABOUT THE CHURCH, but in truth about WHO Jesus Christ is and what He did on the cross - i.e., what we find in Romans.
Only later, when the Holy Spirit truly had birthed a church (yes, this was the norm....), and after Paul had rooted and grounded the saints in the understanding of the person and work of the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, did he LATER deal with issues of what the church is and how it functions.
Today the great weakness among God’s people is a deep lack of understanding of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, what He did at Calvary, His finished work on the cross, what it means to be “in Christ”, and lastly a deep lack of personal knowledge of truth directly from the word of God.......90% of what beiievers today know is 2nd hand knowledge - they didn’t get it from scripture, but from their pastor, teacher, or a book they read.
The church was never the focus of Paul’s ministry - I spent many years in that error, and was very good at it....and I have had to deeply repent of such focus. God’s focus is ALWAYS His Son! ALWAYS! Making the church - and church teaching - a central focus is another error of today’s church planting.
I could go on for pages - but I hope you get my drift, and my heart.....God is jealous - for His Son. That He alone be the FOUNDATION, THE CENTER, AND THE HEAD......and that all glory go to Him alone.........
If any truth takes the central place that is reserved for His Son alone - it becomes contrary to what God Himself is doing. He IS building His church - and not dividing it further - but bringing believers together under the headship and Lordship of His Son.
Good Morning NavyVet!
Thanks again for your comments yesterday. I am very happy to begin a short reply...a kind of opening dialog if it were, to begin to bring to light the most beautiful and powerful story ever told.
You want to know the TRUTH...why are we here....where did we come from.... what is this ‘God thing” really all about...who is Jesus...was there really a Jesus?
Its much simpler than people try to make it out to be...lol
Countless dialogs and arguments. A cesspool of ego driven “I’M RIGHT!!!!!”
...but at the end of the day...where does the proverbial rubber meet the theological road?
Where?
I will tell you.
...at a carved out hole, in a hill in Jerusalem.
The tomb, cut out of rock.
Lets face facts here and get real. If Jesus Christ DID NOT come back from the dead after three days... then this is all just a joke!! A horrendous deception, a canard.
...billions of people wasting their lives on a delusion.
BUT...BUT...HOLD THE PHONE....
IF....IF....IF
Jesus DID ‘come back to life’...’rise from the dead’....live again...after three days...(just as HE said he would)
...well...THAT is a game changer...Right?
come on. you KNOW it is!
a dude beaten... abused...whipped....pummeled... NAILED to a tree...speared through the side....blood and water discharging independently...removed from the tree...wrapped in linen… Laid on a stone slab, in a cold dark tomb…
....IF THIS GUY....THIS GUY....’jumped up’ after three days and presented himself as the King of All Kings.....
....lol ...then buddy, come and JOIN me at the foot of His cross....
BUT if he DID NOT. Then just as the Bible says:
“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”
1st Corinthians 15:14
Even the writers of the Bible knew the reality of cornerstone of our faith
... If Christ is still dead… Let’s all go home and forget this whole thing.… But because He is alive all things have changed for all time.
So, where do we go from here?
.... The unbelieving world we want you to believe there’s no evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Boy, are they wrong.
Its Sunday today (family day)...kids waking and there is french-toast’ to make...lol
Will write more tomorrow if you wish...
Best to you always.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.