Dear fellow-labourers,

Warm greetings in the love of God who has graciously called us to proclaim His mercies! I write this letter to share a burden from my heart that becomes heavier every day.

The Christian ministries in India and abroad suffer one scandal after the other year after year. The commonest one seems to be the money scandal. It has been upon my mind to write to my fellow ministers of God in India some of the principles by which we can escape the money trap. Honestly I do not assume a better-than-thou attitude while writing this letter. We are all organs of the same Body and when one organ suffers, all the other organs suffer with it. Not to accuse anyone but to help God's servants in India I submit these lines.

People point out there are three most profitable businesses. They say, once it was cinema, then it was politics, and now it is religion. The frontal attack is on Christian ministry. We cannot totally dismiss this accusation as unfounded. Money-for-ministry has become ministry-for-money. Coin-consciousness robs us of all spiritual vitality. Messageless pulpits are the result of moneymindedness. It is easy to excuse ourselves saying that after all we are raising money for the ministerial needs only. But if fund-raising is at the top of our agenda, we have missed the spirit of the teaching of our Master (Mt 6:24-33). God's work done by God's men at God's time in God's way will not lack God's support. This is not an empty cliche but the consistent testimony of saintly ministers of God down through the ages. It is said that George Muller (1805-1898) never once directly or indirectly appealed to people for money to run his orphanages. Though this appears to be an extreme, it will do us enormous good if we read his biography because we tend to go to the other extreme! Let's decide to say as little as possible about our financial needs in pulpit or print. God honours faith because faith honours Him.

Prosperity does not mean God's approval, nor does poverty mean His displeasure. He takes us through times of plenty as well as seasons of drought so we may learn with Apostle Paul "both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need" (Phil 4:12). Someone said, "When we have money, we pay; when we don't have money, we pray!" If there's no financial crisis in the ministry it should only humble us. We must not feel puffed up that God has given a blanket endorsement for all that we do. We must search our ways more when we have enough than when we are in want. Success can easily blind us. Difficult days naturally drive us to our knees but we must not be discouraged. God simply deepens our roots and strengthens us. This may also be a signal from God to reprioritize our life and ministry.

If God gives us much more than what we actually need for our ministry, there will usually come a temptation to enter new areas of ministry for which we are not actually called. This subtle temptation has assaulted many independent and popular evangelists. When they are left with enormous amounts of money after taking care of their crusades, printing and other media expenses, they invent huge projects for their investment. This not only sidetracks these ministers but also leads them to malpractices. To keep their self-invented projects going, they resort to unscriptural methods of fund-raising and justify their actions with a horrible lie: "God told me!" Friends, beware! It will be difficult to do away with white elephants. Don't stretch yourself beyond the "measure of faith" God has given you and exceed the "limits" He has set for you (Rom 12:3; 2 Cor 10:13). Be gracious and generous enough to share excess offerings with less popular ministers and ministries with pressing needs. This way we will help build the Kingdom of God rather than our own empires.

Agur's prayer concerning material needs is full of practical wisdom. He prayed, "Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food You prescribe for me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the Name of my God" (Prov 30:8,9). When the funds position is deplorably low, ask yourself these questions: Did I thank God enough when His supply was sufficient? Did I help the less affluent ministries and poorer preachers when I had excess income? Was I consciously dependent on God my Source rather than on the steady supply? Did I become careless about my personal giving? As preachers we don't have a right to expect people to give until we ourselves have given all we can (1 Chron 29:3-5).

Thank God for Banks and other financial institutions which grant loans for capital expenditure. One inherent danger in borrowing money for ministry is that we would not be able to ascertain whether what we undertake is in the perfect will of God. Zeal and enthusiasm can mislead us. Though it may look like an immediate success, it will adversely affect the overall purposes of God (Mk 1:40-45). The right procedure would be to pray collectively with mature Christians, wait before the Lord for a season, discuss the matter in the light of the Scriptures, confirm with a few witnesses, and then place it before the people of God for their prayers and support. See how people respond and then launch the project. Don't be overambitious but be practical. Differentiate between faith and presumption. Don't get into heavy debts and then go to people with sympathy appeals. It puts the Lord of the Harvest to public shame.

As a general rule, don't sink too much money in brick and mortar. (As a building engineer myself I have to constantly resist the temptation to go for big buildings.) We have come to the end of the age. If you are a pastor and your congregation is growing fast, don't go on extending your Church building. How much will be enough? Split the congregation into two or three and plant them in different localities to function under the secondline leaders. Decentralisation promotes Church growth the Bible way and antidotes many evils. Pastor Paul Yongi Cho of Korea is not an universal pattern to follow.

If you are in the healing ministry you must be extremely vigilant against any form of merchandising your anointing and commercialising your acts. While commissioning the twelve Jesus specifically said, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (Mt 10:8). Look at the anger of the apostles when someone offered them money to get a spiritual gift (Acts 8:17-23). There's nothing wrong in accepting an offering in gratitude, but when the intention of the giver is to earn the special favour of the preacher, it must be outrightly rejected. This is illustrated by how Daniel accepted gifts from King Nebuchadnezzar but refused what King Belshazzar gave (Dan 2:47,48; 5:16,17). Beware of offering special seats to the rich in your meetings, and visiting the homes of the affluent (Js 2:1-6). A poor widow may give you just 20 rupees whereas a rich businessman 20,000 rupees. The human tendency is to profusely thank the rich fellow with swelling words of appreciation, and take the poor for granted. But God measures one's giving not by what is given but by what's kept back. Percentagewise usually the poor give much more than the rich (Mk 12:41-44). Those who go overseas obviously earn many times more than their counterparts in India. Don't go after them or allow yourself to be dictated by them. Never forget that you are a servant of the Most High! (Gen 14:22,23).

The temptation for Indian preachers to grab overseas ministerial opportunities is simply too strong because of our low economic condition. No doubt "the field is the world," but we usually sacrifice our commitments and obligations in this vast land of India for foreign programmes. Anyone would love to preach in Singapore, the Middle East, Europe and the West. But how about the thousands and thousands of tribal and backward villages in India totally unreached where only Indian—not white—evangelists can go? Organizers in the abovesaid countries are tired of Indian preachers, especially from Tamilnadu and Kerala, because they are literally pressurised by many of these preachers to extend them invitations and arrange for visas. Wait for honourable invitations, and here again make sure that your local work does not suffer. The Government of India in the present trend has begun to restrict the flow of foreign funds into India. The Christian ministry is singularly targeted. However there's sufficient money in India for our ministries if only the Indian Christians would learn to give. This cannot happen overnight. Therefore spend sufficient time in India to motivate Christians and mobilize inland support.

When you minister in the West or attend international conferences, don't sell your vision for a bowl of broth. Don't accept offers instantly or invite unknown preachers to India straightaway. You are in for trouble. Too many have bowed down to the American dollar or kissed the German Deutchmark and lost their precious calling and rich anointing.

Accountability is another very important thing I want to write about. We are accountable not only to God but also to men. While handling large sums of money received as contributions for the poor saints, Apostle Paul testified, "No one should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us—providing honourable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (2 Cor 8:20,21). According to the civil law, all monies received as gifts, contributions or offerings must be accounted for and audited statements submitted to the Government. Any money that's not accounted for is black money, and God does not accept it because He is light and there's no darkness in Him. Don't evade tax where it's due (Rom 13:7).

It's advisable to have an internal audit system also for your organisation. Be accountable to your fellow-workers and assistant pastors. Leave the responsibility of handling money with someone else who is not your relative. Though I was the founder-leader of the Blessing Youth Mission I voluntarily surrendered my legal rights for money and property transactions. I became free with an open Bible (Acts 6:1-4). Like any of the 300 missionaries in this organisation I just received my salary. We used our family funds for our special needs. Unless you are strict with yourself in this matter, and if you are the top leader or the chief pastor, your children will be spoilt. In the New Testament economy, a son or a daughter cannot simply inherit the ministry or the ministerial money or property of the parents.

Let us not justify ourselves of luxurious lifestyle saying that we are the sons and daughters of the King of kings. Do you know our King is radically different from other kings, and while on earth He rode lowly on a donkey? Only in future glory will He ride on horses! (Mt 21:5; Rev 19:11,14). Simple living goes with high thinking. Let's lower our standard of living to improve the standard of life of people. The unfortunate situation today is overfed shepherds and underfed sheep. Let us live simply so millions can simply live.

Printers and broadcasters complain that several preachers don't pay their bills promptly. One broadcaster showed me the nasty reply he received from a radio evangelist for the reminder sent to him for the payment of airtime cost. We go to such a level because we have ignored the Biblical principles of stewardship of money. When Elisha performed a material miracle for the widow of the prophet, he told her to first pay her debt and use the balance for her livelihood (2 Ki 4:7). It was in the context of payment of taxes and customs, Paul wrote to the Roman Christians to owe no one anything (Rom 13:7,8). Even when Jesus didn't have enough money, He was serious about paying taxes (Mt 17:24-27).

We go to people with a detailed presentation of our financial needs when we need their contributions. Is it not then obligatory on our part to publish a report of income and expenditure at the end of each financial year? People may not demand it but they have a right to know. Missionary organizations, Bible Societies and well-structured ministerial agencies faithfully publish their financial statements. Why don't independent evangelists and preachers do the same? Come out of your apprehensions. You will experience a new freedom.

Let me close this letter with a searching question that burst forth from the very lips of our Master: "If you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?" (Lk 16:11).

Your friend,

R. Stanley

Which Church?

Courtesy: http://www.stanelyonbible.com

The early church fathers "turned the world upside down" with their witness. They did not have automobiles, telephones, the internet, or airplanes. Yet they successfully planted kingdom colonies in city after city. They had something that God was pleased to bear witness to with supernatural signs and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Since that first generation of pioneers, the world has not been the same!

You can see evidence of their effective strategy in the New Testament epistles written to the churches in the Bible. For example, 1 Cor 1:2 says "…to the church of God which is at Corinth…." Eph 1:1 reads, "…to the saints who are at Ephesus…." Phil 1:1 mentions "…the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi…." Col 1:2 is addressed "…to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae…" Ah, you noticed the Letter to the Galatians? Yes, it references churches- plural. But Galatia was a province, not a city!

In each city there was only one church made up of many house-churches. There was no branding or franchising. When Paul called for the elders of the church at Ephesus, they knew who they were, they knew one another, they knew who they were accountable to, and they came together as one man (Acts 20:17). They were the house-church leaders of the entire city. They were given one new mandate by their apostle (Acts 20:28).

The historic church of the first Apostolic Era had two expressions of corporate life: small groups meeting in homes and the city-wide gathering or network of all the saints. There was no hybrid church like we have today, local congregations. Facility-based congregations are like synagogues in that they have a building devoted to their meetings. Christian congregations as such have been and always will be a blessing. But they do have two major problems: 1) They are too large to meet in private homes. 2) They don't interconnect with the rest of the Body of Christ in the city.

If you add to this dilemma another reality, that modern churches were not founded on the proper foundation of apostles and prophets (Eph 2:20), you have another difficulty interjected into the challenge. Most contemporary churches are not answerable to apostles nor do they receive regular input from prophets. They are usually governed by pastors or elders or boards and these usually fight to maintain the status quo.

These early Christian pioneers transformed a fiercely antagonistic Roman Empire that crucified thousands of them and fed hundreds of them to the lions or burned them at the stake. They endured awesome tribulation. Their brave preachers had one basic strategy. Wherever there was a Jewish synagogue that would receive them, they went there first and proclaimed the same Messiah their prophets had foretold in their sacred Scriptures. Then, expelled or persecuted, they would go from house to house among the Gentiles, meeting with groups of new believers in their homes. It was this latter strategy, seemingly accidental-- the development of small house churches throughout each city-- that was the true secret to their phenomenal success.

The only way they could do this was by turning laymen into leaders. (I'll say more on this in a future article when I develop the Grace Matrix concept.) They did this in small group settings or sometimes in rented halls. These new leaders could in turn tend to the sheep and could continue to expand the ministry of the gospel without becoming paid professionals or becoming priests in a synagogue performing sacred services for their livelihood. These leaders invaded and conquered their pagan cultures, waging spiritual war while remaining below enemy radar.

These heroes of the faith were nameless, faceless, ordinary men and women, not superstars. But they were outstanding workers. And they were all home group leaders and also members of a apostolic teams. The apostle Paul names many of them in his greetings at the end of some of his letters, folks like Phoebe, Priscilla and Aquilla, Mary, Andronicus and Junia, and others too numerous to mention. The apostolic ministry was not a one-man show but a team constantly qualifying and multiplying new workers. You may have noticed many of them were women. Others were husband and wife. By every measure of success, they succeeded.

God's Performance Evaluation for church leaders today could be, "Are you equipping the saints?" A performance evaluation precedes a promotion. Ask yourself: Are the believers sitting in our congregations discovering their purpose in life, learning the awesome power of prayer, growing in their knowledge of the Lord, and excitedly thwarting the devil's work? Or, are they frustrated, bored, and over-fed?

Admittedly, equipping believers for the work of the ministry is nearly an impossible task given our present church structures and religious expectations. Our meetings are too big, too formal, and too dependent on skilled oratory, amplified music, and polished presentations. Church has become big business. As a result, church staff is usually too busy caring for programs, budgets, and buildings to develop the ministries that God has hidden among the saints. Besides that, making the mental and theological transition from "me fulfilling my ministry" to "helping equip them to fulfill their ministry" is too big a hurdle for many contemporary church leaders to jump over.

I love pastors. But they are too few to get the job done. And often their good past prevents their better future. Most modern pastors are good preachers. They are the product of good seminaries, Bible colleges, and historic denominational church models. They may not realize the standard their Chief Shepherd uses to measure success. Christ uses Ephesians 4:11 as his baseline for evaluating performance. In this Scripture, our Risen Lord says he deliberately gave certain ministries (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) in order to do one main thing: equip the saints. What ever this means, equipping the saints is apparently their main job description. Note, in this Scripture, it is not to win souls, which is certainly necessary, nor is it to erect buildings, which may not be necessary at all. We know Jesus came to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15) and we are ordered to participate in prayer for all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:1-8). Yet Jesus placed the emphasis on more workers (Matt 9:37-38). With God, the harvest is never an issue.

Soul-winning would be far more effective if the sheep were the ones reproducing. That's multiplication. If the shepherd of the flock is winning all the converts, that's merely addition. Erecting more church buildings may in fact be the greatest hindrance to fulfilling the great commission. It begs for more professionals to run the business, thus leaving out the huge pool of laymen who are indeed qualified by biblical standards (Titus 1:5-9). Buildings formalize our meetings whereas the Body of Christ is a living organism, not an organization. The real church is alive and corporate, the ekklesia. In the Greek language and custom, this word meant "an assembly of called out ones." These Greek citizens, when assembled, had power to legislate local affairs. This is still true today for the saints: they have spiritual authority when coming into agreement in prayer. This also illustrates the truth that the church is not a building on the street corner but a body of people. As Derek Prince said, "There is no way to say in the New Testament Greek language, 'Let's go to church.'" Why? Because the people are the church not the meeting place.

The five ministries named in Eph 4:11 were meant to function even in the context of the post-Temple era, after the fall of Judaism in 70 AD. For awhile, the Church was mostly Jewish. Later, starting in Acts 10, it became mostly Gentile. Until the third century after Roman Emperor Constantine, the church was an underground movement without formal houses of worship. It was led by laypeople energized by the Holy Spirit but touched at foundations and transitions by apostles and prophets. They went from city to city and from house to house ministering the Word and training more workers. They were (and are) post-resurrection gifts to the Body of Christ, not organizational titles in a religious hierarchy.

Yes, these five titles are ministry offices-- real badges of heaven's authority-- but even more than that, they are job-descriptions for workers set apart for specific missions. These Five-Fold ministry gifts (Greek, doma) are Ascension Gifts by Christ. They are unique in that the man or woman who occupies this office, the person himself, is the gift. The office gifts are distinct from the charismatic gifts (grace-lets) of the Holy Spirit (also called the pneumaticos or spiritual gifts of grace). The Five-Fold persons themselves are gifts given by the ascended Savior to the whole Body of Christ. Therefore, the office-gift is an identity, a role, and a calling based on God's choice with specific power to act received from the Head of the Church not from men. It is not a charismatic anointing that briefly rests upon someone and then quickly departs. What I mean is this: apostles are still apostles even when they are not obviously anointed. The same is true for God's prophets, and for all the Five Fold ministries.

What is the mission of the Five Fold Ministry? It certainly includes The Great Commission. (Matthew 28:18-20) This is the record of Jesus' final orders to the Church. Jesus spoke this commandment to his eleven remaining apostles. Remember, Judas had killed himself, reducing the Twelve to eleven, and Matthias wasn't yet chosen to replace Judas until days later in the upper room (Acts 1:26). Just so you know, the Bible has fourteen apostles mentioned by name before the resurrection of Jesus and fourteen more are identified by name after his resurrection and ascension. Let this startling fact sink in: The Ascended Lord Jesus is still doing what he did then-- recruiting, equipping, and sending forth apostles and prophets to the Church today!

Jesus showed us how to do it when he gathered his original twelve disciples. Yes, he preached to the mixed multitudes, but he also drew aside his devoted followers for special hands-on training. During his earthly ministry, he demonstrated the kingdom of God by driving demons out of suffering people, by healing people of sickness and disease, by raising the dead, and by preaching the good news of the gospel to the poor. He had both good words and good works. But did he stop at preaching?

No… but that's where most of us draw the line. For modern Christians, church is all about preaching and worshipping. Basically, we think good preaching is what the work of the ministry is all about. We tell the pastor, "Great sermon, Preacher!" We never think to say, "Wonderful to hear that you spent all week with those young people desiring to serve God."

Jesus did more than preach. He modeled a small mobile community of faith (at first, a deeply committed team) that displayed the values of his new kingdom. He loved and trained this small band of brothers so they could know God's will. He showed them how to pray persistently, how to stop reacting in sinful ways, and how to stop judging sinners. He forgave others freely right up to the cross. He gave generously to the poor and he gave away everything the Father had given to him. He deployed these raw recruits, these agents of the kingdom, these revolutionaries of a new age, into the same kind of preaching and healing and mentoring work that he had been doing. Then he did something truly amazing… he got out of their way so they could do it themselves in the Holy Spirit's power.

Understanding Jesus' method helps us see the challenges we are now facing. The congregational model of contemporary Christianity brings with it an unquestioned assumption: that is, if we fill the building with hundreds of people and a few people are being saved, we must be successfully doing the work of the ministry.

For many evangelicals, the problem is that they don't know there is a problem. Our small success deceives us. The paradigm of professional clergy in front of laymen as listeners is so pervasive that we don't question it anymore. The perks of success are too powerful to ignore in our church culture so now we have new ministries springing up with a TV mentality and even small churches in poverty-stricken Third World countries that think they can't do church without a PA system. We've made the building and the size of the crowd our status symbol and the validation of our success.

However, even if successful, this paradigm has several problems associated with it. The first problem is that it is unbiblical. The second problem is that it isn't working well enough to get the job done in our lifetime. The third problem is that it robs ordinary believers of the opportunity to do the work of the ministry by keeping it in the hands of paid professionals. The fourth problem is that there aren't enough resources to build enough buildings to gather everyone inside that God wants saved… such as whole cities!

About thirty years ago, I wrote an article while pastoring my first (organized, traditional, Spirit-filled) church. It was entitled "The Church in the City." That article, quite ahead of its time for the prophetic insight in that day, was published by New Wine Magazine. That word described how the Lord looks at his church in each city. Let me summarize what I said. When the Lord looks down from heaven into a major metropolitan area, does he see only Baptist churches? Does he see only Spirit-filled churches? Does he see only churches inside buildings? What does he see? The answer is—he sees the whole church at once, all of it, every flavor and variety and style you can imagine. They are all his people, everyone who names the name of the Lord and has been redeemed by the blood of his Son.

If you're saved, you'd better learn to love your brothers and sisters, even those of different races or liturgies, since we'll all going to spend eternity together! And if you're following the pattern of the apostles and prophets settled in the Bible and affirmed in church history, you'd better start believing in the legitimate church as it really is: congregations plus a myriad of small house groups and the whole network of all the saints in your city.

Under the Headship / Lordship of Christ

The crucified ones have a strong sense of and security in the headship of Jesus Christ. They resist the pressures of traditional Christianity to submit to the headship of other men but are given to the scriptural order of 1 Corinthians 11: 3: "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." Any other headship, to them, would be false and offensive to their sincere spirits.

Their insistence upon the headship of Jesus Christ is an offense to the traditionalists/institutionalists who, for some reason, want to bring men into submission to men.

Nevertheless, the crucified ones are submitted one to another, especially to those others who are sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. Having come through the cross as it were, they are humble, broken before the Lord, and eager to examine themselves to see if there is any evil within. They voluntarily and willfully present themselves accountable one to another.

They have no ambition for self but see themselves as servants. They are willing to do their service before God in secret, making no acclaim for themselves. They do not seek for themselves "a city, and a tower, ...and a name" (Gen. 11:4). They are without ambition to increase themselves in power, position, or riches. They are not interested in building churches and memberships for themselves, devising programs, or gaining reputation and titles. They have no agenda of their own. They only want and pursue what God wants.

While they are genuinely submitted one to the other in the Spirit, they are not motivated by the fear of man but by their reverence for God Almighty. Jesus is absolute Lord in their lives. They have renounced all forms of idolatry.

Radical Obedience

Non-Religious

Non-materialistic

Non-Sensational

The Church without Walls

The crucified ones are the church without walls. They have gone outside of the camp with Jesus, bearing His reproach (Heb. 13:12-13).

The churches are like walled cities within which to keep their own.

The ecumenical movement is an attempt to overlap these walls so as to give an appearance of unity. But all of these attempts will never remove the reality of the walls.

More often, even among the most sincere believers, these walled cities become social clubs for their kind. God is not calling for Christian country clubs. Rather He is calling for His people to come out of them. The only wall that God and His crucified ones are interested in is that wall of fire mentioned in Zechariah 2:5: "'For I,' says the Lord, 'will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.'" These crucified ones are a people who have been called out of a people: the ekklesia, "called out ones." 3 {1}

They view the gifts of the Spirit and the ministries of the Spirit as belonging to the whole body without regard to particular church membership.

The crucified ones have taken for themselves no other name but His name: the name of Jesus (Acts 15:14).

They gather in no other name but His (Matt. 18:20).

They submit to no other headship/Lordship except the headship/Lordship of Jesus Christ who is the true head of the church (Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23).

They follow no one but the Holy Spirit of God who is Himself bound only to do and say what Jesus, the Head, is doing and saying (John 16:13).

They know no other voice but that of the Good Shepherd (John 10:14-16).

They are joined to no one or no thing but to Him (1 Cor. 6:17).

They have been bought with a price (1 Cor. 7:23) and, therefore, dare not attempt to own anyone or to be owned by anyone except Him. Yet, they belong to each other in the deepest spiritual sense of the word (1 Cor. 3:22 NAS).

They have no other life to live but that His life should be lived in and through them (Gal. 2:20).

Prophets

Rivers of Living Water from Within

These crucified ones are self-starters. The life and power of the Spirit is the driving force within them. They have themselves become that living water welling up from within their innermost being, flowing as rivers of life (John 7:38).

They do not need to be prompted to praise and worship, to pray, to fast, to give, to respond to all that is demanded by the Spirit.

They do not need to run to this seminar on healing or that workshop on deliverance. They will not have to buy all those books and tapes on "how to this" and "how to that."

They will not have to try to grasp the promises of God in their lives through endless incantations of faith confessions.

The Kingdom of God is within them (Luke 17:21). The Word of God is within them. They are in Him and He is in them. They are one, even as He is one with the Father (John 17:21). The Word of God is the promises of God; therefore, the promises of God are within them and cannot be attained by grasping outwardly for them.

Moreover, they not only have the Kingdom, the Word, the promises, and the Person of the Word within them, they are themselves becoming the manifestation of the word of God in and through their lives. They are living epistles (2 Cor. 3:2-3), oracles (1 Pet. 4:11). They are the Word made flesh in their own bodies as they are the body of Christ in the world.
 

Normal Christian Life

Born out of Fire

These crucified ones are born out of fire. Acts 8:1-4 records an example of this among those first century Christians. Here we read that Saul had consented to Stephen's death; thus great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem. Because of this persecution, the disciples were scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. These scattered Christians went forth preaching the word.

Jesus Christ had given those first disciples the commission to "go...and teach all nations, baptizing them..." (Matt. 28:19-20), but they were at ease in their Jerusalem cove and were not going out as they had been commissioned. Therefore, it took persecution to scatter them and the word abroad.

I sense that once again, it will take persecution to scatter the saints for the spread of the true gospel.

I say "true" gospel because any gospel that does not preach "Jesus Christ and Him crucified" is not the true but is "another gospel." Social justice, the rebirth experience, holiness, faith, prosperity, church order, and other such teachings may be truths but are not in and of themselves "the" gospel. They may be by-products of the gospel to one extent or the other. But the gospel, according to the apostle Paul, whose writings we hold inspired and sacred, is Christ and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2: "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."

Persecution is often God's shaking--His tool for the fulfillment of the great commission.

A Higher Realm in the Spirit