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Showing posts with the label Fathering

Why Sons are Exempt

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Image from Shutterstock. Sons are exempt. Jesus said this about paying taxes but principles like this have spiritual implications and ramifications. Exemption here is not just about earthly taxes. I can see it applied to our entire sonship in Christ, for instance. We tend to box ourselves in traditionally and humanly accepted meanings and fail to see passages like this through the mind of Christ and miss the glory. Like muzzling an ox that treads the grain. How did Paul conclude that to apply to ministers of the Gospel and not really to an ox? The context in Deuteronomy 25 is to point out how imposing unreasonable punishment on a guilty offender is like muzzling an ox while it’s doing its burdensome work. The comparison is on the difficulty and cruelty. Imagine subjecting the ox to heavy work without feeding it. Sons Look for Spiritual Principles in the WORD But Paul took it to apply to ministers (though we see no hint on this whatsoever in Deuteronomy). Why? Becaus

You Can Only Raise Up People the Father Draws to You

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blogs.thegospelcoalition.org You can grab as many people as you want to become members of your church. But those you can actually raise up to be fruitful disciples of Jesus Christ depends on how many people the Father draws to you. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. [John 6.44] The principle applies to Jesus and all his true followers---no on can come to you to be raised up by you unless the Father draws them to you. If say, the Father draws only 10 people to you and you have a thousand church members, the 990 others will just play church. They may be very active members and "supporters" in the eyes of men, but they will never bear good fruit, fruit that God looks for in a believer. Aside from the fruit of the Spirit [Galatians 5], the fruit God looks for is this: If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing...This is to my Father’s glory, th

Fathering Your Family

I had written a blog here on True Fathers in Church and I thought of adding another blog on how to father your own family. Again, most fathers in church know nothing about fathering their families because all they know is on becoming a biological father. Most churches do not know anything about how fathers ought to father their families in the spiritual realms. Fathers are spiritual entry or exit points to their families. The devil cannot do anything to harm your family except what you, the father, allows him to. And your power to block the enemy's entry depends on the strength of your connection to the Father in heaven. Unless you tie up the strong man, you cannot (gain entry and) rob his house. Fathers are strong men--or at least they're supposed to be.  John said in his first letter (chapter 2): "I write to you fathers because you know God who is from the beginning." If you have such strong connections with the Father, then everything else follows---children

Making of a Samuel

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As long as Samuel was judge over Israel, all the enemies were incapacitated. They all feared Samuel and all Israel was safe--because God's hand was heavy against the enemy for Samuel's sake [1Sam.7.13]. God allowed no word of declaration from Samuel to fall to the ground void. We should see the Kingdom principles behind the making of a Samuel. We need Samuels today in the church. Samuels in church will render devils powerless, fearful, and frozen to inactivity against their will. God will cause our enemies to be at peace with us --because they have no choice. Being a Samuel is being God's flesh on earth. Barrenness God had to make Hannah barren. To produce a Samuel, God has to make you nothing. Even Christ, the greatest move of God (sending His Son), was made nothing , taking the form of a slave. Barrenness was a terrible stigma in those days, and Hannah had to undergo it--for meekness sake. God won't do anything great and powerful until he first makes his instrum

Extremely Radical

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Extremely radical. If you're doing things weirdly contrary to the norm and get both loved and murdered for it, you're nothing short of an extreme radical. Jesus was like that.  If Jesus were ordinary and tame, as ordinary and tame as your usual stereo-type, traditional, formal, and respectable church pastor, he'd just be loved, not murdered (or shall we say "persecuted" to use a milder term). Umm, on second thought, most pastors like this whom I know are not really respected; they're quietly tolerated. Extremely radical persons are highly respected--so highly regarded that they're seen as a serious threat. When you are persecuted for your extreme radicalism people secretly fear and regard you highly, though they hate you for it.  But Jesus' extreme radicalism was not out of rebellion. It was a nature. God is unique--and that uniqueness is always to the extreme, because God is all powerful. The Word says, "There is no God like God." O

Micah: God's Remnant--Fierce Lions

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Image from Kidcyber. God designed the remnant like a fierce young lion amid nations, "mauling and mangling" as it roams and spreads around [Micah 5.7-9]. That's power made perfect in weakness. From being "lame" and weak, God transforms the remnant into a fierce lion from which "no one can rescue." This lion will be in the midst of nations, "like dew or showers from God on the grass." They overwhelm and cover and give refreshment. But they also "maul and mangle." The Word of God in these remnants is like a weapon, like iron horns and bronze hoofs that "break into pieces the nations" [413]. The Word from their mouths will be fierce and offensive, radically demolishing strongholds and even what man invented for "ministry" derived from also the Word, but adulterated. This remnant God chooses in the end times will radically turn the world upside down. ABSOLUTELY NO HUMAN WAYS OR EFFORT "(Like dew and showe

Micah: He will Stand and Shepherd His Flock

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Until Jesus is really Lord of the church, God will abandon Israel (the true Israel is the church) and let it do whatever it pleases--even "answer" its prayers and provide its needs [Micah 5.3]. In Micah, while God "abandoned" Israel, he still provided for her needs and answered "prayers" according to God's general blessings. Everything went well in man's eyes. Their prayer and worship life seemed the best: "They lean (or rely) on the Lord, saying, 'Is not God among us? Not one disaster will come upon us." This is the same claim many churches today shout in their worship services. "God is here, Amen?" And church people answer: "Amen!" Yet, they do everything contrary to God's ways, like their denominations.  But God has a solution ready. It's the Jesus Discipleship. This Kingdom discipleship is designed to demolish everything of man in church, even man's church itself, to free God's church in J

True Church Fathers

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It's Fathers Day once more. And for sure many churches will base their Sunday worship programs on this occasion, recognizing fathers in their church, and of course, God the Father, to make everything sound spiritually legit. It's all a waste of time and money. How I hope it's really about true church fathers. However, let's say Fathers Day is a legit event in God's eyes and not just a scheme of businessmen to jack up their profits. How would God want Fathers Day to be? What kind of fathers are true church fathers? First John 2 says it all. True church fathers are those who are spiritual and raise up strong spiritual sons and daughters. They are not just biological. Most "fathers" in church are merely biological--they're called fathers because they're able to impregnate their wives and have children. And some of them are "fathers" because they provide well for their families. These are all good and apt, but this is not what God