AUTHORITY AND POWER TO TAKE OVER AND TAKE CHARGE
PART 2119 — KINGDOM ERA
THE TRAGEDY OF USING SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY TO BUILD A MAN-LED RELIGIOUS SYSTEM
“I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” — Revelation 3:1
One of the greatest tragedies of Christianity in this generation is the emergence of people and religious systems that have a reputation for being alive while being spiritually dead.
They may have churches, ministries, large gatherings, impressive programs, powerful preaching, worship services, conferences, titles, buildings, finances, followers, media platforms, and worldwide recognition. Yet beneath all this outward activity, the life, government, and lordship of Christ may have been progressively displaced.
The most dangerous part is that this can happen through the misuse of genuine spiritual authority that God originally entrusted to His servants.
A man may genuinely be called by God, genuinely gifted, genuinely receive revelation, and genuinely begin a work under the leading of the Holy Spirit. But if he eventually uses what God entrusted to him to establish a system centered on his personality, preferences, traditions, interests, name, and control, what began as God’s work can gradually become man’s work.
What began as Christ’s church becomes “my church.”
What began as God’s people becomes “my people.”
What began as delegated authority becomes personal authority.
What began as Kingdom service becomes religious empire-building.
This is a tragedy the Church must take seriously.
WHO GAVE YOU THE AUTHORITY TO ALTER GOD’S KINGDOM PRINCIPLES?
Who made you God to initiate, modify, reinterpret, replace, traditionalize, or culturalize the Kingdom principles He has already revealed in His Word?
Who gave you authority to change what God has established, add human traditions to it, or remove what you do not want to obey?
The Kingdom of God is not ours to redesign. We are servants under the King, not kings over His Kingdom.
God has given us His Word, and our responsibility is to believe it, obey it, teach it accurately, and live by it.
Jesus commanded:
“Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” — Matthew 28:20
He did not instruct us to teach people what culture permits, tradition prefers, denominations accept, or crowds find convenient. He commanded obedience to everything He commanded.
Yet people often alter the standards of God’s Kingdom to accommodate crowds whose hearts are far from God. They lower the standard so that people will remain comfortable, stay in their gatherings, increase numbers, or continue supporting their systems.
When the fear of losing the crowd becomes greater than the fear of displeasing God, God’s standard is compromised.
Jesus warned:
“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” — Mark 7:8
A system can have crowds and still be spiritually dead. It can have buildings, programs, titles, ceremonies, and religious activity while people’s hearts remain far from God.
God is not merely looking for crowds around Him. He is looking for disciples who obey Him.
There is a difference between communicating the Gospel within a culture and changing Kingdom principles to accommodate that culture. The Gospel may be communicated through different languages and cultural settings, but the truth of Christ’s Kingdom is not negotiable.
Scripture gives a sobering warning concerning adding to or taking away from God’s revealed Word:
“If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll… And if anyone takes words away…” — Revelation 22:18–19
This warning specifically concerns the prophecy of Revelation, but it demonstrates the seriousness with which God regards the handling of His revealed Word.
We must therefore ask:
Who gave me the authority to change what God has revealed?
If God did not command it, we cannot make it a commandment of God.
If Christ did not establish it, we must not present it as a principle of His Kingdom.
If it comes from human tradition, culture, denomination, personality, or preference, we must have the humility to distinguish it from God’s Word.
We are not called to improve God’s Kingdom principles. We are called to obey them.
A REPUTATION OF BEING ALIVE IS NOT THE SAME AS HAVING THE LIFE OF CHRIST
Jesus said to the church in Sardis:
“You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” — Revelation 3:1
They had a name and a reputation, but Jesus, who sees what man cannot see, judged their spiritual condition differently.
Therefore, God does not measure spiritual life by reputation.
A ministry can be famous and still be dying spiritually.
A church can be crowded and still lack discipleship.
A minister can be celebrated while losing the government of Christ.
A movement can have tremendous activity while increasingly operating through human strength.
We must never confuse:
activity with life,
growth with maturity,
crowds with disciples,
influence with spiritual authority,
or reputation with God’s approval.
The ultimate evidence of spiritual life is Christ being formed in people.
THE CHURCH BELONGS TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE MAN GOD USES
Jesus said:
“I will build My church.” — Matthew 16:18
Notice the word “My.”
Jesus did not say, “I will build your church.”
The Church belongs to Christ.
The minister is a servant.
The people belong to Christ.
The ministry belongs to Christ.
The gifts belong to Christ.
The authority belongs to Christ.
The resources belong to Christ.
And the glory belongs to Christ.
Whenever a servant begins treating what Christ entrusted to him as though it belongs to him personally, he has crossed the line from stewardship into ownership.
SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY IS DELEGATED, NOT PERSONAL
Jesus declared:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” — Matthew 28:18
All ultimate authority belongs to Christ. Whatever authority His servants exercise is therefore delegated authority.
Delegated authority must remain under the authority of the One who delegated it.
Christ gives authority to make disciples, equip the saints, build His Body, advance His Kingdom, confront darkness, and bring people into obedience to Him.
It was never given to create personal kingdoms around human personalities.
A servant cannot use the authority of Christ to make himself the center.
THE STEWARD MUST NEVER BECOME THE OWNER
Paul described ministers as:
“Servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” — 1 Corinthians 4:1
A steward manages what belongs to another.
Therefore, the servant of God must continually remember:
I am managing what belongs to Christ.
The people are not mine.
The ministry is not mine.
The calling is not mine.
The grace is not mine.
The authority is not mine.
The glory is not mine.
Everything has been entrusted to me for the Master’s purpose.
When the steward begins thinking like an owner, corruption begins to enter.
He becomes threatened when people leave, jealous when another servant is used by God, offended when his decisions are questioned, and demanding of loyalty to himself rather than obedience to Christ.
He begins protecting the institution more than the truth and preserving his influence rather than advancing Christ’s Kingdom.
Eventually, the servant becomes the center of the system.
THE TEST OF SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY IS WHETHER IT POINTS PEOPLE TO CHRIST
John the Baptist demonstrated the proper use of spiritual influence.
When people could have continued following him, he pointed them to Jesus:
“Behold! The Lamb of God!” — John 1:36
Then he declared:
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” — John 3:30
This should be the heartbeat of every servant entrusted with spiritual authority.
A genuine servant does not need to become indispensable. He does not need people to depend upon his personality, control every decision, answer every question, or remain spiritually helpless without him.
His goal is to bring people into a deeper relationship with Christ.
The greater the authority entrusted to a servant, the more determined he should be to make Christ greater and himself smaller.
DISCIPLESHIP MUST PRODUCE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST, NOT FOLLOWERS OF A MAN
Jesus commanded:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” — Matthew 28:19
The goal is not to make disciples of a denomination, ministry, apostle, prophet, pastor, bishop, evangelist, or teacher.
We make disciples of Jesus Christ.
Paul understood this. He did not want people permanently attached to Paul. He labored until:
“Christ is formed in you.” — Galatians 4:19
Therefore, whenever disciples become more committed to a leader’s personality than to Christ, the discipleship process has been corrupted.
A healthy ministry should progressively make people more dependent upon Christ and less dependent upon the human vessel God used to help them.
WHEN THE VESSEL REPLACES THE LORD
The truth is that because God has greatly used someone, many people begin to treat that person as though he were God. They confuse the vessel with the One who used the vessel, the gift with the Giver, and the servant with the Lord.
Because God used a man yesterday, people may assume that everything he says today must be God. Because God worked through a particular minister, people can become afraid to question him, examine his teaching by Scripture, or follow the leading of the Holy Spirit for themselves.
Loyalty to the vessel gradually replaces obedience to Christ.
But God has never commanded us to make any human being our God, our mediator, or the absolute authority over our conscience.
God may use a servant, but the servant is not the Lord.
God may speak through a vessel, but the vessel is not the Source.
God may entrust authority to a person, but that person does not become the Owner of the authority.
God may greatly use a minister, but only Christ must receive the glory.
The vessel must always point people back to Christ, not draw them to himself.
The moment people begin to exalt the vessel above Christ, what began as honor for a servant can become personality worship, human dependence, spiritual control, and eventually idolatry.
We must therefore distinguish between God’s servant and God Himself, God’s gift and the Giver, and delegated authority and divine authority.
Christ alone is the Head of the Church.
Christ alone is the Builder.
Christ alone is the Owner.
Christ alone is the Mediator.
Christ alone must have the final place of authority in His Body.
Let every servant remain a servant, every vessel remain a vessel, and let all the glory return to the One who called, gifted, empowered, and used them.
“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” — Romans 11:36
To be continued……
PART 2119 — KINGDOM ERA
THE TRAGEDY OF USING SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY TO BUILD A MAN-LED RELIGIOUS SYSTEM
“I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” — Revelation 3:1
One of the greatest tragedies of Christianity in this generation is the emergence of people and religious systems that have a reputation for being alive while being spiritually dead.
They may have churches, ministries, large gatherings, impressive programs, powerful preaching, worship services, conferences, titles, buildings, finances, followers, media platforms, and worldwide recognition. Yet beneath all this outward activity, the life, government, and lordship of Christ may have been progressively displaced.
The most dangerous part is that this can happen through the misuse of genuine spiritual authority that God originally entrusted to His servants.
A man may genuinely be called by God, genuinely gifted, genuinely receive revelation, and genuinely begin a work under the leading of the Holy Spirit. But if he eventually uses what God entrusted to him to establish a system centered on his personality, preferences, traditions, interests, name, and control, what began as God’s work can gradually become man’s work.
What began as Christ’s church becomes “my church.”
What began as God’s people becomes “my people.”
What began as delegated authority becomes personal authority.
What began as Kingdom service becomes religious empire-building.
This is a tragedy the Church must take seriously.
WHO GAVE YOU THE AUTHORITY TO ALTER GOD’S KINGDOM PRINCIPLES?
Who made you God to initiate, modify, reinterpret, replace, traditionalize, or culturalize the Kingdom principles He has already revealed in His Word?
Who gave you authority to change what God has established, add human traditions to it, or remove what you do not want to obey?
The Kingdom of God is not ours to redesign. We are servants under the King, not kings over His Kingdom.
God has given us His Word, and our responsibility is to believe it, obey it, teach it accurately, and live by it.
Jesus commanded:
“Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” — Matthew 28:20
He did not instruct us to teach people what culture permits, tradition prefers, denominations accept, or crowds find convenient. He commanded obedience to everything He commanded.
Yet people often alter the standards of God’s Kingdom to accommodate crowds whose hearts are far from God. They lower the standard so that people will remain comfortable, stay in their gatherings, increase numbers, or continue supporting their systems.
When the fear of losing the crowd becomes greater than the fear of displeasing God, God’s standard is compromised.
Jesus warned:
“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” — Mark 7:8
A system can have crowds and still be spiritually dead. It can have buildings, programs, titles, ceremonies, and religious activity while people’s hearts remain far from God.
God is not merely looking for crowds around Him. He is looking for disciples who obey Him.
There is a difference between communicating the Gospel within a culture and changing Kingdom principles to accommodate that culture. The Gospel may be communicated through different languages and cultural settings, but the truth of Christ’s Kingdom is not negotiable.
Scripture gives a sobering warning concerning adding to or taking away from God’s revealed Word:
“If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll… And if anyone takes words away…” — Revelation 22:18–19
This warning specifically concerns the prophecy of Revelation, but it demonstrates the seriousness with which God regards the handling of His revealed Word.
We must therefore ask:
Who gave me the authority to change what God has revealed?
If God did not command it, we cannot make it a commandment of God.
If Christ did not establish it, we must not present it as a principle of His Kingdom.
If it comes from human tradition, culture, denomination, personality, or preference, we must have the humility to distinguish it from God’s Word.
We are not called to improve God’s Kingdom principles. We are called to obey them.
A REPUTATION OF BEING ALIVE IS NOT THE SAME AS HAVING THE LIFE OF CHRIST
Jesus said to the church in Sardis:
“You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” — Revelation 3:1
They had a name and a reputation, but Jesus, who sees what man cannot see, judged their spiritual condition differently.
Therefore, God does not measure spiritual life by reputation.
A ministry can be famous and still be dying spiritually.
A church can be crowded and still lack discipleship.
A minister can be celebrated while losing the government of Christ.
A movement can have tremendous activity while increasingly operating through human strength.
We must never confuse:
activity with life,
growth with maturity,
crowds with disciples,
influence with spiritual authority,
or reputation with God’s approval.
The ultimate evidence of spiritual life is Christ being formed in people.
THE CHURCH BELONGS TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE MAN GOD USES
Jesus said:
“I will build My church.” — Matthew 16:18
Notice the word “My.”
Jesus did not say, “I will build your church.”
The Church belongs to Christ.
The minister is a servant.
The people belong to Christ.
The ministry belongs to Christ.
The gifts belong to Christ.
The authority belongs to Christ.
The resources belong to Christ.
And the glory belongs to Christ.
Whenever a servant begins treating what Christ entrusted to him as though it belongs to him personally, he has crossed the line from stewardship into ownership.
SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY IS DELEGATED, NOT PERSONAL
Jesus declared:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” — Matthew 28:18
All ultimate authority belongs to Christ. Whatever authority His servants exercise is therefore delegated authority.
Delegated authority must remain under the authority of the One who delegated it.
Christ gives authority to make disciples, equip the saints, build His Body, advance His Kingdom, confront darkness, and bring people into obedience to Him.
It was never given to create personal kingdoms around human personalities.
A servant cannot use the authority of Christ to make himself the center.
THE STEWARD MUST NEVER BECOME THE OWNER
Paul described ministers as:
“Servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” — 1 Corinthians 4:1
A steward manages what belongs to another.
Therefore, the servant of God must continually remember:
I am managing what belongs to Christ.
The people are not mine.
The ministry is not mine.
The calling is not mine.
The grace is not mine.
The authority is not mine.
The glory is not mine.
Everything has been entrusted to me for the Master’s purpose.
When the steward begins thinking like an owner, corruption begins to enter.
He becomes threatened when people leave, jealous when another servant is used by God, offended when his decisions are questioned, and demanding of loyalty to himself rather than obedience to Christ.
He begins protecting the institution more than the truth and preserving his influence rather than advancing Christ’s Kingdom.
Eventually, the servant becomes the center of the system.
THE TEST OF SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY IS WHETHER IT POINTS PEOPLE TO CHRIST
John the Baptist demonstrated the proper use of spiritual influence.
When people could have continued following him, he pointed them to Jesus:
“Behold! The Lamb of God!” — John 1:36
Then he declared:
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” — John 3:30
This should be the heartbeat of every servant entrusted with spiritual authority.
A genuine servant does not need to become indispensable. He does not need people to depend upon his personality, control every decision, answer every question, or remain spiritually helpless without him.
His goal is to bring people into a deeper relationship with Christ.
The greater the authority entrusted to a servant, the more determined he should be to make Christ greater and himself smaller.
DISCIPLESHIP MUST PRODUCE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST, NOT FOLLOWERS OF A MAN
Jesus commanded:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” — Matthew 28:19
The goal is not to make disciples of a denomination, ministry, apostle, prophet, pastor, bishop, evangelist, or teacher.
We make disciples of Jesus Christ.
Paul understood this. He did not want people permanently attached to Paul. He labored until:
“Christ is formed in you.” — Galatians 4:19
Therefore, whenever disciples become more committed to a leader’s personality than to Christ, the discipleship process has been corrupted.
A healthy ministry should progressively make people more dependent upon Christ and less dependent upon the human vessel God used to help them.
WHEN THE VESSEL REPLACES THE LORD
The truth is that because God has greatly used someone, many people begin to treat that person as though he were God. They confuse the vessel with the One who used the vessel, the gift with the Giver, and the servant with the Lord.
Because God used a man yesterday, people may assume that everything he says today must be God. Because God worked through a particular minister, people can become afraid to question him, examine his teaching by Scripture, or follow the leading of the Holy Spirit for themselves.
Loyalty to the vessel gradually replaces obedience to Christ.
But God has never commanded us to make any human being our God, our mediator, or the absolute authority over our conscience.
God may use a servant, but the servant is not the Lord.
God may speak through a vessel, but the vessel is not the Source.
God may entrust authority to a person, but that person does not become the Owner of the authority.
God may greatly use a minister, but only Christ must receive the glory.
The vessel must always point people back to Christ, not draw them to himself.
The moment people begin to exalt the vessel above Christ, what began as honor for a servant can become personality worship, human dependence, spiritual control, and eventually idolatry.
We must therefore distinguish between God’s servant and God Himself, God’s gift and the Giver, and delegated authority and divine authority.
Christ alone is the Head of the Church.
Christ alone is the Builder.
Christ alone is the Owner.
Christ alone is the Mediator.
Christ alone must have the final place of authority in His Body.
Let every servant remain a servant, every vessel remain a vessel, and let all the glory return to the One who called, gifted, empowered, and used them.
“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” — Romans 11:36
To be continued……
AUTHORITY AND POWER TO TAKE OVER AND TAKE CHARGE
PART 2119 — KINGDOM ERA
THE TRAGEDY OF USING SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY TO BUILD A MAN-LED RELIGIOUS SYSTEM
“I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” — Revelation 3:1
One of the greatest tragedies of Christianity in this generation is the emergence of people and religious systems that have a reputation for being alive while being spiritually dead.
They may have churches, ministries, large gatherings, impressive programs, powerful preaching, worship services, conferences, titles, buildings, finances, followers, media platforms, and worldwide recognition. Yet beneath all this outward activity, the life, government, and lordship of Christ may have been progressively displaced.
The most dangerous part is that this can happen through the misuse of genuine spiritual authority that God originally entrusted to His servants.
A man may genuinely be called by God, genuinely gifted, genuinely receive revelation, and genuinely begin a work under the leading of the Holy Spirit. But if he eventually uses what God entrusted to him to establish a system centered on his personality, preferences, traditions, interests, name, and control, what began as God’s work can gradually become man’s work.
What began as Christ’s church becomes “my church.”
What began as God’s people becomes “my people.”
What began as delegated authority becomes personal authority.
What began as Kingdom service becomes religious empire-building.
This is a tragedy the Church must take seriously.
WHO GAVE YOU THE AUTHORITY TO ALTER GOD’S KINGDOM PRINCIPLES?
Who made you God to initiate, modify, reinterpret, replace, traditionalize, or culturalize the Kingdom principles He has already revealed in His Word?
Who gave you authority to change what God has established, add human traditions to it, or remove what you do not want to obey?
The Kingdom of God is not ours to redesign. We are servants under the King, not kings over His Kingdom.
God has given us His Word, and our responsibility is to believe it, obey it, teach it accurately, and live by it.
Jesus commanded:
“Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” — Matthew 28:20
He did not instruct us to teach people what culture permits, tradition prefers, denominations accept, or crowds find convenient. He commanded obedience to everything He commanded.
Yet people often alter the standards of God’s Kingdom to accommodate crowds whose hearts are far from God. They lower the standard so that people will remain comfortable, stay in their gatherings, increase numbers, or continue supporting their systems.
When the fear of losing the crowd becomes greater than the fear of displeasing God, God’s standard is compromised.
Jesus warned:
“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” — Mark 7:8
A system can have crowds and still be spiritually dead. It can have buildings, programs, titles, ceremonies, and religious activity while people’s hearts remain far from God.
God is not merely looking for crowds around Him. He is looking for disciples who obey Him.
There is a difference between communicating the Gospel within a culture and changing Kingdom principles to accommodate that culture. The Gospel may be communicated through different languages and cultural settings, but the truth of Christ’s Kingdom is not negotiable.
Scripture gives a sobering warning concerning adding to or taking away from God’s revealed Word:
“If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll… And if anyone takes words away…” — Revelation 22:18–19
This warning specifically concerns the prophecy of Revelation, but it demonstrates the seriousness with which God regards the handling of His revealed Word.
We must therefore ask:
Who gave me the authority to change what God has revealed?
If God did not command it, we cannot make it a commandment of God.
If Christ did not establish it, we must not present it as a principle of His Kingdom.
If it comes from human tradition, culture, denomination, personality, or preference, we must have the humility to distinguish it from God’s Word.
We are not called to improve God’s Kingdom principles. We are called to obey them.
A REPUTATION OF BEING ALIVE IS NOT THE SAME AS HAVING THE LIFE OF CHRIST
Jesus said to the church in Sardis:
“You have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” — Revelation 3:1
They had a name and a reputation, but Jesus, who sees what man cannot see, judged their spiritual condition differently.
Therefore, God does not measure spiritual life by reputation.
A ministry can be famous and still be dying spiritually.
A church can be crowded and still lack discipleship.
A minister can be celebrated while losing the government of Christ.
A movement can have tremendous activity while increasingly operating through human strength.
We must never confuse:
activity with life,
growth with maturity,
crowds with disciples,
influence with spiritual authority,
or reputation with God’s approval.
The ultimate evidence of spiritual life is Christ being formed in people.
THE CHURCH BELONGS TO CHRIST, NOT TO THE MAN GOD USES
Jesus said:
“I will build My church.” — Matthew 16:18
Notice the word “My.”
Jesus did not say, “I will build your church.”
The Church belongs to Christ.
The minister is a servant.
The people belong to Christ.
The ministry belongs to Christ.
The gifts belong to Christ.
The authority belongs to Christ.
The resources belong to Christ.
And the glory belongs to Christ.
Whenever a servant begins treating what Christ entrusted to him as though it belongs to him personally, he has crossed the line from stewardship into ownership.
SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY IS DELEGATED, NOT PERSONAL
Jesus declared:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” — Matthew 28:18
All ultimate authority belongs to Christ. Whatever authority His servants exercise is therefore delegated authority.
Delegated authority must remain under the authority of the One who delegated it.
Christ gives authority to make disciples, equip the saints, build His Body, advance His Kingdom, confront darkness, and bring people into obedience to Him.
It was never given to create personal kingdoms around human personalities.
A servant cannot use the authority of Christ to make himself the center.
THE STEWARD MUST NEVER BECOME THE OWNER
Paul described ministers as:
“Servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” — 1 Corinthians 4:1
A steward manages what belongs to another.
Therefore, the servant of God must continually remember:
I am managing what belongs to Christ.
The people are not mine.
The ministry is not mine.
The calling is not mine.
The grace is not mine.
The authority is not mine.
The glory is not mine.
Everything has been entrusted to me for the Master’s purpose.
When the steward begins thinking like an owner, corruption begins to enter.
He becomes threatened when people leave, jealous when another servant is used by God, offended when his decisions are questioned, and demanding of loyalty to himself rather than obedience to Christ.
He begins protecting the institution more than the truth and preserving his influence rather than advancing Christ’s Kingdom.
Eventually, the servant becomes the center of the system.
THE TEST OF SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY IS WHETHER IT POINTS PEOPLE TO CHRIST
John the Baptist demonstrated the proper use of spiritual influence.
When people could have continued following him, he pointed them to Jesus:
“Behold! The Lamb of God!” — John 1:36
Then he declared:
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” — John 3:30
This should be the heartbeat of every servant entrusted with spiritual authority.
A genuine servant does not need to become indispensable. He does not need people to depend upon his personality, control every decision, answer every question, or remain spiritually helpless without him.
His goal is to bring people into a deeper relationship with Christ.
The greater the authority entrusted to a servant, the more determined he should be to make Christ greater and himself smaller.
DISCIPLESHIP MUST PRODUCE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST, NOT FOLLOWERS OF A MAN
Jesus commanded:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” — Matthew 28:19
The goal is not to make disciples of a denomination, ministry, apostle, prophet, pastor, bishop, evangelist, or teacher.
We make disciples of Jesus Christ.
Paul understood this. He did not want people permanently attached to Paul. He labored until:
“Christ is formed in you.” — Galatians 4:19
Therefore, whenever disciples become more committed to a leader’s personality than to Christ, the discipleship process has been corrupted.
A healthy ministry should progressively make people more dependent upon Christ and less dependent upon the human vessel God used to help them.
WHEN THE VESSEL REPLACES THE LORD
The truth is that because God has greatly used someone, many people begin to treat that person as though he were God. They confuse the vessel with the One who used the vessel, the gift with the Giver, and the servant with the Lord.
Because God used a man yesterday, people may assume that everything he says today must be God. Because God worked through a particular minister, people can become afraid to question him, examine his teaching by Scripture, or follow the leading of the Holy Spirit for themselves.
Loyalty to the vessel gradually replaces obedience to Christ.
But God has never commanded us to make any human being our God, our mediator, or the absolute authority over our conscience.
God may use a servant, but the servant is not the Lord.
God may speak through a vessel, but the vessel is not the Source.
God may entrust authority to a person, but that person does not become the Owner of the authority.
God may greatly use a minister, but only Christ must receive the glory.
The vessel must always point people back to Christ, not draw them to himself.
The moment people begin to exalt the vessel above Christ, what began as honor for a servant can become personality worship, human dependence, spiritual control, and eventually idolatry.
We must therefore distinguish between God’s servant and God Himself, God’s gift and the Giver, and delegated authority and divine authority.
Christ alone is the Head of the Church.
Christ alone is the Builder.
Christ alone is the Owner.
Christ alone is the Mediator.
Christ alone must have the final place of authority in His Body.
Let every servant remain a servant, every vessel remain a vessel, and let all the glory return to the One who called, gifted, empowered, and used them.
“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” — Romans 11:36
To be continued……
0 Comments
0 Shares
6 Views
Arabic
French
Spanish
Portuguese
Deutsch
Turkish
Dutch
Italiano
Russian
Romaian
Portuguese (Brazil)
Greek
हिन्दी