House Church Talk - Who's In Charge Here, Anyway?

[goodwordusa at att.net]

In every age and in every generation there are men and women in every 
community who want to live & act & speak by their own authority.  Some crave 
power for themselves, and others simply reject any and all authority in their 
lives.  And many more are a kind of mixture of the two.

It is unfortunate that we also find such souls in the church itself, or at 
least directly involved with the church, and so considered as part of the 
body of Christ.  Sadly, it is also possible to find such people in 
housechurch circles as well.  

Such men and women can sometimes fool others into thinking that they are very 
godly, very spiritual people.  Sometimes such deceivers gather other people 
to them, becoming leaders over many.  How can sincere believers be warned?  
What signs should we look for?

The best and only real defense is to have an active and meaningful -- a 
living -- relationship with the Lord Jesus in your own life, and to have your 
faith firmly anchored in the Scriptures.  Many who've had a shallow faith 
have ended up becoming Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormon.  And many more have 
ended up in much smaller, lesser known cultic groups.  And by "cultic" I mean 
any group that tends to revolve around the revelations and teachings of any 
person other than Jesus Christ Himself -- the Jesus that is revealed for us 
all in the Bible.

Look at the following passage:

And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who 
whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God?  Should they seek 
the dead on behalf of the living?.  To the law and to the testimony!  If they 
do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in 
them.  They will pass through it hard pressed and hungry; and it shall 
happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king 
and their God, and look upward.  Then they will look to the earth, and see 
trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into 
darkness.  (Isaiah 8:19-22) 

Few sincere believers would stoop to going to a medium or psychic -- at least 
not to one who advertised themselves as such.  But too many have been snared 
by men and/or women who do not speak and teach according to Scripture.  Such 
false prophets or teachers consult themselves, or may even consult with evil 
spirits for their direction.  Where did Joseph Smith and Brigham Young get 
the Mormon doctrines?  Where did JW's teachings really originate?

Did you notice what Isaiah said?  In Isaiah 8:20, he says, "To the law and to 
the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there 
is no light in them."  And that warning is being ignored today.  Even many 
who claim to base their beliefs on Scripture do not speak according to the 
Bible.  Men and women are setting themselves up as spiritual leaders to the 
church who do not speak according to the words and teachings of Scripture.

Some of them claim that believers in Jesus do not have to live according to 
rules laid down in the Bible.  And others simply twist the Scriptures around 
to make them "prove" or support some false teaching.  Either way, they are 
not willing to speak the message of God or teach what He has revealed to all 
the world in Scripture.

True, we do not living according to a law, according to a set of rules.  
Eternal life comes to us by faith in Jesus Christ.  But we do have the rule 
of God, the law being written to our hearts by the Holy Spirit.  And the Lord 
will not direct us to contradict what He's already revealed in the prophets, 
and by His own Son, as true righteousness.  What He called evil in ages past 
He will not start calling righteousness today.  Adultery and murder and 
stealing, and all the other sins of humankind are still sins.  

The result of false leaders should be obvious to all.  Men and women who are 
false to God will be false in whatever they teach about God.  And the result 
is that more and more people (whoever follows after the false leaders) will 
be ignorant of God altogether.  

Amos talks about this, as one aspect of God's judgment on those who no longer 
desire the truth.  If we reject the truth, we will soon lose contact with the 
truth.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the 
land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words 
of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even 
to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and 
shall not find it.  (Amos 8:11,12)

Paul also talks about this same kind of thing (but to a greater degree) in 
Romans 1:18-32.

No one needs to worry about this, so long as we live our lives unto the Lord 
Himself -- and not merely unto men.  

Know the Lord and walk closely with Him, trusting Him and trusting in His 
work of grace in your life.  Good teaching is certainly good, but pay 
attention to the Scriptures themselves -- in your own daily walk, reading the 
Bible often and applying what it plainly says to your life.  Ask the Lord to 
open your heart and mind to understand the Scriptures, and then write down in 
a daily journal, if possible, whatever He shows you in the Bible as you read 
it alone with Him.  Share what the Lord is saying to you with other believers 
in your family or fellowship, and allow them to share from their lives with 
you.

God is the one and only true authority, and He has given all authority to His 
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Let Jesus rule your heart and mind.  Don't allow 
anyone else to take that place of Shepherding you.  

According to John's Gospel, chapter 10 (not to mention Psalm 23, and Ezekiel 
34), you already have a good Shepherd, one who laid down His life for you.  
What more should anyone want?  Let us all be sure to know His voice and 
follow Him in all things.

Jim