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Forgive Me Wrong!/Little Flock! By Pastor Bill Taylor A publication of My Father's House, inc. Volume 9/ Issue 19 Prophecy: The presumptuous “church” around you says you don’t have to resist the world with its passions and desires; that I’ll simply forgive you and let you into My Kingdom. But I spoke through James saying, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he’s approved he’ll receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” You don’t get the crown unless you’re approved; and you’re not approved until you endure temptations. And you won’t endure temptations if you don’t love Me enough to suffer and overcome. I also spoke through Paul, who in the end said, “Finally, there’s laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who’ve loved His appearing.” FINALLY! Only after a life spent for the elect, through trials, persecutions and enduring temptations does Paul say he has the crown. So I tell you, spend and be spent for the elect and your brethren; stay close to Me and commit your ways to Me daily. Trust in Me and My grace and you’ll be approved as I work through you. And finally, there’ll be laid up for you a crown of righteousness, which I the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give. And not to you only, but also to all who’ve loved My appearing, saith the Lord. (Prophecy delivered at “My Father’s House”) Forgive Me This Wrong! Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. (1Cor9:14) God says, “none shall appear before Me empty” (Ex23:15) And how can those who minister for the Lord survive, if those they minister to come empty without an offering with which they may respect and glorify God? This is the law of the grain offering: The sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, and shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma, as a memorial to the LORD. And the remainder of it Aaron and his sons shall eat; with unleavened bread it shall be eaten in a holy place. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy. All the males among the children of Aaron may eat it. (Lev6:14-18) This is the law of the sin offering: It is most holy. The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. All the males among the priests may eat it. (Lev6:25-26,29) Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering (it is most holy): and the priest shall burn them on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD. Every male among the priests may eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy. The priest who makes atonement with it shall have it. And the priest who offers anyone’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered. Also every grain offering that is baked in the oven and all that is prepared in the covered pan, or in a pan, shall be the priest’s who offers it. Every grain offering whether mixed with oil, or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron, to one as much as the other. This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which he shall offer to the LORD: It shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering. And the priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons. Also the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a heave offering from the sacrifices of your peace offerings. He among the sons of Aaron, who offers the blood of the peace offering and the fat, shall have the right thigh for his part. For the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering I have taken from the children of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons from the children of Israel by a statute forever. (Lev7:1,5-11,14,31-34) Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? (1Cor9:13) Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Haven’t I seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Aren’t you my work in the Lord? If I’m not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. (1Cor9:1-2) For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you don’t have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I’ve begotten you through the gospel. (1Cor4:15) Not to mention that you owe me even your own self besides. (Phn19) Paul is God’s instrument to minister to these people, even as the high priest was God’s instrument to minister to the old covenant Jews. And Paul is showing here God has made provision for the priesthood to be fed from the very work they do. My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we have no right to eat and drink? Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock? Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1Cor9:3-10) You don’t work for nothing. If your work is worthwhile it will earn you a reward. With God’s work there’s a heavenly reward but also there’s an earthly reward. If we’ve sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? (1Cor9:11-12 ) You pay your telephone bill because you consider it a service worth having. You’ve contracted with the electric company for electricity in your home and you pay that bill. If you’re renting, you pay rent in order to have a dwelling place. There are many, many things in your life where you’ve received a service and are paying for that service and don’t consider it at all abnormal. Then why is it, when it comes to spiritual things which are the most important things of all, you think you have a right to receive them free. I’ve hesitated for years to preach about money because it’s so overdone by the covetous “churches.” But I’ve also known that someday I must put the things God has taught me about giving into a book. Otherwise, the Glory Of His Grace believers will be left without that part and they need to know what God expects of a Christian as a giver. But what we’re looking at first isn’t philanthropy. Philanthropy is a love gift where you’re giving beyond what you owe. At this point, we’re looking at what you owe. The Levitical offerings are brought because the one who’s offering has committed a sin or received a blessing from God. In the thanksgiving offerings for example, he shows God his appreciation for a blessing by offering a tangible thanks to the Lord. He must come to the priest to do this. On the other hand, a sinner needs expiation of his sin and he can’t get it unless he goes through the priest. And when he goes to the priest, the priest will be rewarded for the service he’s offering. A portion of the offering goes to the priest. In most of the offerings it’s food. But the skins of the animals are given to the priests too. And these can be sold so that the priests would have money. The skins can be used to make leather and weavings, etc. So, the priests are supported from the altar. Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. (1Cor9:13-14) Leviticus is the picture of what Paul is talking about in Corinthians. Aaron and his sons shall eat. All the males among the children of Aaron may eat it. (Lev6:16,18) Our High Priest is Jesus and we are His sons, so we can eat too. Those who are doing the spiritual work are to be supported by the work and they’re to receive temporal support as well as a heavenly reward for their work. It’s an obligation of the church to make sure they’re cared for. For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you? Paul indicates the Corinthian church was an inferior church because he didn’t take support from them. So he says, Forgive me this wrong! (2Cor12:13) It does seem Paul is speaking facetiously here. It should be he’s not done them wrong by not taking support but he’s blessed them. Yet it appears Paul has come to think he’s done them wrong. He’s made it too easy on them and because of that they’ve not respected him. Also they’ve not grown to the faith they should be manifesting; the Corinthian church is the most carnal of the churches. Look at the Philippian church for example, and we see they are a very spiritual church. Though they were a poor church and Paul didn’t demand help from them, they went to God and asked God what He’d have them do. He told them to help Paul even out of their poverty. Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we’d hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. (2Cor8:1-5) The Philippian church was surely poorer than the Corinthian church, yet they were so generous in giving that they became Paul’s chief supporters. (Phil 4:15-16) They also contributed greatly to the offering to the poor Jews in Jerusalem. And because of the generosity of the Philippian church expressed in this liberal giving, the Philippian church is growing spiritually way beyond what the Corinthian church is. Yet concerning the Corinthians, Paul says, “I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you.” (2Cor11:8) Will a man rob God? Yet you’ve robbed Me! But you say, “In what way have we robbed You?” In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you’ve robbed Me, even this whole nation. (Mal 3:8-9) Also in Haggai the people are cursed for ignoring God’s house. “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house that’s in ruins, while every one of you runs to (or takes care of) his own house.” (Hag1:9) If you’re not providing a fair share to God and His ministers you’ll be cursed. But if you give generously you’ll be blessed. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2Cor9:7-8) Joyful giving is what God looks for in real Christians. That’s what demonstrates Christ in you. The Macedonians/Philippians are blessed and they grow spiritually because of their generosity in helping Paul with God’s work. But the Corinthians are “stunted.” They aren’t growing spiritually like they ought, because they’ve let Paul “rob other churches” to support them. “Forgive me this wrong!” In New Covenant Christianity there are two kinds of giving. One is “equitable,” the other “charitable,” which means love. Equitable giving is when you’re just paying for what you’re receiving in service. Even the IRS says you’re not making a contribution when you buy a book from a church. What you pay for the book at fair value isn’t deductible. That is an example of equitable giving, you’re buying something or paying fair price for a service. So also according to God you’re not making a charitable gift when you just give your fair share to the support of your church. For example, if the church budget which includes rent, telephone bills, insurance, etc. runs about $3000/month and if there were 30 people in the church, then on average each of them should be paying $100/month just for their fair share of the expenses. Now we know God takes into consideration greater and lesser incomes and such. But until the basic $3000/month expenses are paid, when each member has paid his fair share, he hasn’t yet even entered into “charitable giving.” So in “My Father’s House,” what we have coming in is mostly equitable giving, except for the portion of it that goes into the Glory of His Grace ministry. The Glory of His Grace is charitable giving because we’re giving that in love to men in the prisons, for example, who can’t pay us back. The expenses of the church itself, whatever you’re giving that’s your “fair share” isn’t considered charity. In fact, if you’re not giving enough, God considers you’re robbing the church. Whatever goes into the Glory of His Grace is charity. But according to the scripture, the church owes the Pastor support too and that isn’t charity; that’s a debt. “You owe me your own souls.” (Phn19) In “My Father’s House,” as an unpaid pastor I’m not getting that support. Recently, for example, somebody gave me a check and said, “This is for you Bill.” It didn’t end up in my pocket, it ended up paying a church bill because the church bills have to be paid first before any money can get to me. In fact, if they don’t get paid from the congregation, I’ll pay them out of my own finances. So, equitable giving is just living up to the expenses you owe and are a party to, and you must meet those expenses before you can enter into charitable giving. And even concerning the Glory of His Grace, it wouldn’t be wrong if God attributed it all to me. Since I’m not being paid, whatever goes into charity is in a sense coming out of my “income.” I’m forgoing it for the sake of the elect much as Paul is doing. So, I’m building a big treasure in heaven, but I need to have my bills paid on earth too. And the church must assume responsibility for that. “Forgive me this wrong!” Forgive me for not making you aware of your Christian financial responsibilities. And these responsibilities include paying your bills at home, using your own money wisely and paying bills quickly. Don’t withhold good from those to whom it’s due when it’s in the power of your hand to do so. Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I’ll give it,” when you have it with you. (Pr3:27-28) What right do you have to delay payment if it causes someone else to go hungry? A Christian should pay his bills quickly and not leave them until the last minute because it’s not fair to put financial burdens on others who are waiting on us for their just due. We should have faith it’s God’s will for us to do this, therefore God will provide that we can do this. Remember, faith looks at what should be and isn’t content with what is. The unbelievers in the false churches try to explain away God’s will so they can stay in what is instead of pursuing what ought to be. One thing we ought to be is a financially sound church that can abound to every good work. The pastor should be as well taken care of as the people financially because he’s one of them and he has similar needs and responsibilities. If he’s of God he provides an important service for them and deserves his hire. Then beyond that, we should have an abundance to minister to others. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. (Eph4:28) So, it’s not that you just need to take care of yourself but God will give a surplus. And out of the surplus, you’re to minister to people who need help. For example, the inmates we minister to can’t pay for what they receive so they need “free” help. Somebody else has to pay for it. And we’re paying a high price to help them. We get almost nothing from anyone outside “My Father’s House” to help us with it. We pay a high price for the internet as well and to date we’ve received very little back from our internet visitors, which is a shame to them because people on the internet can pay. They can pay for their computers, they can pay their electric bills, they can pay their phone bills, they can pay their internet access fees. They also ought to be paying for what they’re receiving spiritually. If you’re receiving a spiritual service you should be sharing accordingly. If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? (1Cor9:11) Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. (1Cor9:14) Paul says, “I’ve robbed other churches!” because I’ve taken from other churches to minister to you. But he did this because he didn’t want anything to get in the way of his preaching the gospel to these people. If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. (1Cor9:12) He did this to help get them established. However once they were established, they should be doing what God commands. That is, He commands they support their ministers. And if they aren’t doing that once they’re able, then they’re in sin and God won’t bless them. Why do you think the Corinthian church is so carnal? (1Cor3:1-3) Why is there so much sin in the Corinthian church? (1Cor5:1) Why does Paul have to write letters that embarrass them to even talk about his apostleship because they’ve despised him as an apostle? (2Cor11:5,23-28) Why does he have to warn them about the sinners in their midst and that he’ll come and deal with them if they don’t correct things? (2Cor13:2) It all comes back to, “Forgive me this wrong! Forgive me the wrong of not teaching you to pay your bills. Forgive me the wrong of not causing you to see you must have faith to rise to the standard of God’s command. Forgive me the wrong of not awakening you to the fact that until you have a paid pastor, you’re not able to raise your heads among the churches as being a church that obeys God!” You’ve not arrived at a place anywhere near where a real church should be until you can take care of your pastors. You’re not in the place where you can call yourselves a real church because there’s a very fundamental and important part missing. Now, how are you to change that? How will you become a church that glorifies God? You must take this before the Lord seriously and let Him know you know you don’t have the right to call yourselves a true church until God has fulfilled this grace in you. When you find you’re short in some area with God you must confess it. But as you abound in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us – see that you abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. (2Cor8:7-8) Don’t you see you need to be doing this also? And if you’re to be able to do this you must call upon the Lord to show you how. Once you see it’s God’s will, the next step is, “Lord show us how to do it. We repent for not doing it. We know it’s something we should be doing. Give us the grace to do it.” And this is something you should have thought about long ago and kept in prayer and in mind. Now we must get through to God to see how God will give us the victory. For us to be a real church, we must attain this. It’s certain that as God begins to move concerning this He’ll give you a part to do. Be sure your part isn’t what James calls, “Be warmed and filled.” If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, (or if your pastor is not being paid) and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you don’t give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? (Jas2:15-16) I’m not destitute but the Spirit is bringing this up now because we’re coming to a place that if this church doesn’t grow and prosper into this there’ll be problems. I’ve been paying my own way since this church started for more than twelve years. But now it’s time for “My Father’s House” to grow up. You’ve been warned. You need to make some changes in your faith, in your prayers and in your attitude towards this and start showing your faith and your love by your diligence. This is something you can’t allow to continue as is. In a sense, you only exist as a church because of my financial ability in Christ to take care of myself. But what ought to be is you taking care of me. So there’s a very important part of being a church that’s not being fulfilled here. And that’s to your shame. That’s a reproach and it must be removed. You must see it for what it is and cry out to God about it until He changes it. There are many things God can do. But we have to find out from Him what the specifics are. One of those specifics is that God would add faithful men to the church. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2Tim2:2) The spread of the gospel is by faithful men. The word I’m giving you must be committed to faithful men who can teach others. We see that happening with some of the brethren in the prisons. They’re faithful men and they’re receiving the word and they’re teaching others. Also God must give us faithful men who’ll be faithful members of the church and be faithful in their giving. So, as the church increases, there’ll be an increase in the prosperity of the church. It isn’t right for anyone to come into the church who doesn’t participate financially. They’re not brethren if they won’t do that. There has to be a financial participation or they’re robbing God. It’s like they’re not paying their electric bill, except in this case, they’re not paying their “Spirit bill” for their supply of the Spirit. The people who grow fastest spiritually are the ones who, right from the beginning, when they find Jesus, they’re generous with their finances to help the work of the Lord. That’s where it starts and that’s where God begins pouring out His Spirit on them. As in Malachi God says, “If you’ll bring the offerings in, I’ll pour My Spirit out on you and give you such a blessing that you can’t receive it.” (Mal 3:10) As a new Christian, at first you may have nothing else to give but money but if you give of your finances generously God will bless. That’s the beginning of your growth. When I first met Jesus, that’s what I did. I started pouring finances out into the churches. I was thankful to God and I showed it from my pocketbook. That’s where God can see your heart and bless you because of that. How Do I Thank You?
What can I give? What can I bring? For it’s in You I live And have all my being.
What can I say? What can I do? Lord, show me how To give back to You.
What can I give to a King so magnificent When the earth is Yours and all that is in it?
From You come both riches and honor But what do You need, what’s there to offer?
Everything I could give, it comes from Your hand But when You washed the feet, you gave a command.
You told the disciples You’d be with them no longer How could they still show they love You, I ponder.
For, who am I and who are my brothers? What thanks can we give, but to love one another?
To show You our love, we must love the brethren Washing them daily to fit them for heaven.
To the house of my God I’ll set my affection Loving the saints with deeds towards perfection.
Doing my part to manifest my rebirth Till Your church is a glory and praise on the earth!
(Poem delivered at “My Father’s House”) Little Flock! Do not fear, little flock, for it’s your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. (Lk12:32) We’ve a God who delights to give. The very essence of His existence is expressed in giving and He’s created us because He wants to give to us. God created the cosmos so He can give to the things He’s created. He finds in giving the joy of His existence and there’s no questioning His existence. He exists and He isn’t asking why He exists or anything of that nature like the stupid questions so many fools ask down here. There’s no profit in vain questionings from the sense of “How do I happen to be here?” I’m here! God put me here. The important question is now that I’m here how can I make the best of it? God has determined the best thing He can do with His existence is to pour Himself out into others. And that’s the best thing you can do with yours too. We have these large “flocks” of so-called christians today but Jesus isn’t talking to them. He’s talking to the “little flock.” What makes the “little flock” different? This correlates to where Jesus says, “broad is the way that leads to destruction” and the large flocks go that way but narrow is the way that leads to life. It’s the “little flock” that goes the narrow way; few there be that find it. (Matt7:13-14) So before this verse applies to you, you must be a part of the “little flock.” Jesus doesn’t say to everybody don’t fear, He says specifically do not fear “little flock.” Christianity is a Spiritual religion and there are only two major spirits: the spirit of error and the Spirit of God which includes Christ. The great and large flocks are of the spirit of error and the “little flock” is of the Spirit of Christ. The only way into that little flock is through the narrow gate. That gate is Christ, and that means Christ crucified. So entrance into the little flock is also through embracing the cross because the only way you can be a part of that “little flock” is to be a son of God led by the Spirit. In order to enter into the Spirit you must endure chastening and you must learn to chasten your own flesh, crucify it and keep it crucified that you may have the life of Christ. (Gal 5:24) So in the first five words of this verse Do not fear, little flock we’ve eliminated most of what calls itself Christendom because they’re not the “little flock.” Even here at “My Father’s House” if you’re not in the Spirit you’re not the “little flock” either. But to the “little flock” Jesus says, “Do not fear.” He says, “don’t fear” after He tells the “little flock” not to have an anxious mind or be worried about what you should eat or what you should drink for your Father knows you need these things. Seek the Kingdom of God and He’ll take care of these other things. (Lk12:29-31) Seek the Kingdom of God is the command (v31) and the next verse is the because. Seek the Kingdom because the Father wants to give it to you. He delights to give it to you. He rejoices to give it to you. It’s His good pleasure to give it to you. (v32) I just went through a chastening with the boys. One of them let his flesh get in control and without permission put a movie on the VCR when mom and I were outside. (In our home we have no network TV, no cable, no antennae. The boys are allowed to watch only occasional rental movies which mom and I have screened and approved for them.) When he did this “sin” one of the other boys rebuked him but he didn’t heed the rebuke. I’m punishing all of them because when someone doesn’t heed your rebuke you’re not to ignore it but you’re required to go to others for help to get them to heed. (Matt18:16) The boys could have come out and told us, but they didn’t. So they’re all being deprived of some blessings. And there was a particularly good movie we had in store for them. We’d been saving it especially for them but now they won’t get to see it. And not because it wasn’t our good pleasure to let them watch it. We’d brought it home especially for them but they messed up. It would have been my good pleasure to have blessed them but their sin stops me from blessing them. I can’t reward their sin. And this isn’t a new thing. I’ve said before the reason your brother doesn’t pay attention when you rebuke is you don’t back your rebuke up with power. If you’d come to me I’d back you up and he’d learn to pay attention to you. It isn’t that we’re not willing to bless the children. So often we’d delight to bless them if they’d be worthy of being blessed. And that’s what this verse is saying about God. He delights to bless us. He desires so much to bless us if we’re worthy of His blessing. But to be fit for Him to bless us we must be crucified. We must be in the Spirit, not controlled by flesh, not an adversary to God, for flesh makes us His adversary. When flesh does what your parents tell you not to do it makes you an enemy to your parents and an enemy to God because you love yourself better than the people who are actually responsible for and caring for you. Flesh is an unthankful spirit and it always produces harm. Walking in the place where you’re the “little flock” is walking in a faith where love controls you. Caring for your brother and not being a slave to appetites for snacks, movies, or whatever but where love for others is always manifesting. And that care for the brethren must be so real it moves you to pray for them, to watch out for them, and do things where God will help you bless them. Walking in the Spirit produces peace in your life because God is with you. It’s His good pleasure to give them the Kingdom as well as to give you the Kingdom. Another beautiful thing about this verse is God doesn’t say it singular, it’s “little flock.” He wants the whole of the little flock to get it. So we have an individual relationship with God but it also works out that He’s blessing us and making us a blessing to others. In blessing I will bless you and “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Gen22:18) So our personal relationship with God is expressed in God gives to us so we can give to the brethren. He blesses us and makes us a blessing. And He says, “I want you to have the Kingdom.” Now do you want your brother to inherit the Kingdom? Then why don’t you behave in such a way as to help him attain to the Kingdom instead of such a way as to make him stumble? Love wouldn’t make him stumble. Love would be watching out for my brother and saying, “Lord, help me help my brother attain to the Kingdom and help him see how to attain to it.” “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you’ve gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.” (Matt18:15-17) The purpose here is to gain your brother. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. (Lev19:17) Although in the incident with the boys one confessed he did rebuke his brother, his rebuke didn’t accomplish anything. The purpose of the rebuke is to gain your brother. You gain your brother when your rebuke causes him to repent. So if you can’t bring your brother to repent by yourself then come with someone else and if that doesn’t do it then take it before the church or in this case the parent. There’s no doubt if the problem had been brought to me the sinning boy would have repented. When he repents we gain him back into the “little flock.” What’s the purpose of what we’re doing? If we’re satisfied to rebuke when our rebuke doesn’t save, we’re wasting our efforts in fruitlessness and tokenisms. If we think, “forget about him. He’s a sinner. He’s not worth bothering with!” Then we’re hating him and happy he’s out of the flock. To not give him any opportunity to repent would be hate. Every time we give someone an opportunity to repent, that’s also his opportunity to return to the little flock. It may seem harsh to rebuke but if I hated him I wouldn’t even bother with him. The fact that I’m rebuking is his opportunity to repent and be saved and that’s love. And of course, I want my rebuke to be effectual if I really love my brother. Jesus says to Peter, “I’ll give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matt16:19) It’s the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. In the temporal realm we may see when a son graduates from college his father gives him the keys to a new car. Now it’s your father’s good pleasure to give you the car but that car won’t run without the keys. So it’s the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom but what good is the Kingdom if you don’t have the keys? You need to know how the Kingdom operates and what to do to get in and to stay in and how to help your brethren in; you need the keys to be a functioning member of the Kingdom. God’s granting us His grace in giving us the keys to the Kingdom. And we know the keys include faith, which is one of the most important ones. And it has to be a faith that hears God. It has to be a faith for Christ to actually live in us. We must produce the evidence of a real faith and real faith has fruits. Recently one of our members read something from the Glory of His Grace book “Overcomers” in the service. I hadn’t read that book for a while and I was amazed at the genius in it. We could have stopped our service right there and that reading was a good enough sermon for us to say we’ve had church. I know it’s Jesus in me who wrote that book. I didn’t do it. Jesus did it. The book’s wisdom is amazing even to me so how can it be from me? If it was just me it wouldn’t be amazing to me. This is the supernaturality of the life of Christ in you; the faith that produces Christ in you produces things you know are bigger than you, better than you, smarter than you. You’ve proven and are fulfilling the Word where Jesus says, “Come unto Me and take My yoke upon you and I’ll give you rest. I’ll carry you and do things you can’t do on your own and you won’t have to work hard to do them. Just obey Me and you’ll see how I’ll lift you up into realms of the supernatural because I’m with you always if you’ll have faith.” That’s what we’re to demonstrate to others, Spiritual Christianity is fulfilling the Word that Christ will give us rest by carrying the burden with us, entering into the yoke and being part of us. But for the Spirit to manifest one of the other keys is the cross. The cross even looks like a key. You’ll never get into the Spirit without the power of the cross to crucify the flesh. Although God can and does work miracles through men who aren’t crucified as Matthew 7:21-23 indicates there’s no doubt that the greatest and mightiest works of God occur when somebody picks up the cross and lays their life down for someone else. Awesome things happen when that takes place. The things that accompany the crucifixion of the flesh always pertain to the resurrection life of Christ. In the book “Martyrs Mirror” we’ve seen how after the martyrs would give up their lives there’d be an extraordinary outpouring of the Spirit that would cause many new believers to be saved. Of course we want to see God’s power in miracles, healing and such. And healings which give a physical blessing to someone or save their life from cancer etc., are wonderful but nothing surpasses the power that actually makes someone a son of God. The life that makes them a son of God is the highest gift God can give. It may not seem as supernatural as a healing of a cancer but when somebody is moved upon by the Spirit of God, brought to life and seated in the heavenlies with Christ Jesus, (Eph2:5-6) that’s an awesome work of God. When someone is raised out of the death of sin and transgression and into the life of Christ that’s a powerful work of resurrection taking place to make them a child of God. And the power it takes to actually crucify the sinful flesh in a human being and bring them into obedience to God, far surpasses any power to heal even a virulent cancer. In my experience as a pastor, it’s nigh unto a physical raising of the dead. The greatest fruit of the truly crucified life is it produces living sons of God. When you crucify the flesh the life of God can manifest and show what real Christianity is to a world where all most people have seen is fleshly christianity. Fleshly “christianity” is no different than anything else that’s flesh. It impresses no-one. When people can see the real thing God can give them the power and the faith to attain to it also. There’ll be no fruit without the cross because it’s by putting to death the deeds of the body God gives life to your mortal body. Through the Spirit you must put to death the deeds of the body. (Rom8:11,13) It’s by bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Christ’s life may be manifested. (2Cor4:10) So the most important of all the keys to the Kingdom is faith in Christ, but one key that has to accompany that is you must be dead with Him; the cross has to put your flesh to death for you to live with Him. So the cross is a major key to the Kingdom. Do you want to enter into life? What did the rich young ruler need to do to enter into life? Keep the commandments? That’s easy! (Matt19:16-22) What Jesus was really asking him to do was to pick up the cross. “Come follow Me” means pick up your cross and follow Me. Give up the thing that’s most important to you. Put down everything of this life and seek the Kingdom! What Jesus was asking of that young man is exactly what Paul says he’s done, “I’ve counted it all loss that I may gain Christ.” (Phil 3:8) And that’s very much the outworking of the crucifying of the flesh by the Spirit. To put to death the deeds of the body is to count it all loss. Count everything loss that gets in the way of gaining Christ. It’s the key of the cross that opens Christ’s life up to you. But the rich young ruler didn’t do it. He couldn’t enter into life because Jesus gave him the key and put the door right in front of him and said now open it up and walk in but he wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t give up his life in this world. He wouldn’t lose his life to save it. And that all comes back to the important key of crucifying the flesh if you want to enter into the life of Christ. So if you’re to attain entrance into the Kingdom that it’s the Father’s good pleasure to give, you have to receive it in the way He gives it and that requires the crucified life. And the key to that is the cross; the key of the cross is what opens the door for you to actually enter the “little flock.” That’s why “few there are who find it.” But it’s the Father’s good pleasure to give it to those who do!
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