His ways

The King James translators have Paul telling Timothy:

"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine." (1 Timothy 5:17 KJV).

Referring to this Dr. Norman Park wrote:

"These writers made short shrift of the claim that elders have the authority to 'rule.' They knew the history of the 1611 version and the determination of King James to confer on both bishop and king the divine right to rule: 'No bishop, no king.' Hence his demand that the Greek word proistmi be rendered 'rule,' though it actually carried no connotation of authority, power, or governance. It merely meant that elders should be 'foremost' in zeal, knowledge, quality of life, and concern for the welfare of the church - a quality which rightfully should be embodied in all saints. In a very real sense, then, 'ruling' was not the preserve of the few, but the duty of all." (Dr. Norman Park "It Shall Not Be So Among You")

The assembly of God gathered to share wherever to share and eat together  bring the things of the spirit to bare in their lives,  to show how he has blessed us, and revealed wisdom to us... , it was not a Greek lecture hall, alone,  it was not a school of rhetoric  sophistry, it was pure relational  the  reached to  the lost as did their servant God our savior Christ. . It was not divided among men, for gain sake . But led by mercy and love and correction, feeding and growing.  Spiritually  sensitive aware and able to discern the fullness of the revelatory nature of God  though his people who are his temple..

love his way always. 

Spirit led personage or philosphical rehtoric.

The word "world" here is a translation of a Greek word kosmos, which means a system.

In context, Paul was speaking of the religious system at that time. We are not being trite when we say, Christianity is NOT a system, it is not of the kosmos/world.

Christianity is a person, and that person is Christ! Although Judaism and the law originated with God, in the hands of the enemy it became a system used to usurp and distract mankind from God's eternal purpose in Christ and was even used to crucify the very Offspring of God Himself.

The same is true of the Christian system where the fruit of living union with Christ, the Vine, has been supplanted by a codified and systematized "Christianity."

This is the sad world to which all true believers are DEAD. For they are not preoccupied with principles or Christian ethics but are new creations living by the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

Spirit led? where sir is that ? the boy ask me...what does that look like?... a question posed to us at night.


Dear, one your question is  best answered the very life giving power of God who is spirit, words are only print if their is not spirit their is no life of evidence of his power ...

How far have we fallenmay grace come back and abound

The Example of Christ

The example of Jesus is the most powerful argument against the idea of a ruling clergy. Did he model one thing, only to build another? We think not! Did He come serving only to elevate His anti-type later? The spirit of antichrist speaks not only of anything that replaces Christ, but also of what is the opposite of Him. Christ's likeness in a thing determines its legitimacy. Does it reflect Him or not? If not, it is not His and it is most certainly against Him. As it is the Father's will that His Son might fill all things, whatsoever does not reflect him, is most certainly not His. If it is not His doing, reflecting His image, His character, is it then His workmanship, His ekklesia?

Christ came as a servant. His servanthood is the new standard of greatness in the kingdom of God.

"But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: exactly like the Son of man came not to be served, (diakoneo) but to serve, (diakoneo) and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mt.20:25-28)

Here Jesus is contrasting the idea of Gentile ruling with serving, the idea of dominion and authority over others is contrasted by His own example. He did not come to demand service, as a king, but to serve. The example of Christ cries no! A thousand times no! "It shall not be so among you!" Historically, the church has looked nothing like the serving messiah. It has traded the servant’s towel, for clerical robe and is above the washing of feet, as kneeling has become so far beneath the priestly and kingly status of its clergy. How far we have fallen from the divine standard only God fully appreciates.

Teeling the spiritaul edible truth of the christ in the truth---- love one another, .

Office
Throughout the entire New Testament, the word office is found nowhere in the Greek text in connection with the ekklesia. Yet it is so used five different times in the KJV. One instance in which the King James translators tried to preserve their old Ecclesiastical words and imply office rather than service is Romans11:13.

"For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office." (diakonia).

Nowhere else in all of the New Testament is this word (diakonia) translated mine office.
Let us look at a few other passages in which the Greek word diakonia is used, as this will give us a greater sense of its meaning. In Luke 10:40 diakonia is translated as "much serving."

"But Martha was cumbered about much serving (diakonia), and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me."

Was Martha magnifying her office, or was she just serving? What was the nature of her service? Was it domestic or clerical?
Diakonia is translated my service in Romans 15:31, to do you service in 2 Corinthians 11:8 and service In Revelation 2:19. As you can see, diakonia speaks of service to others, not official tenure. Another instance is found in Romans 12:4.

"For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:"

The Greek word that was translated office here is praxis, which has absolutely nothing to do with office. Praxis means a doing, deed and the above passage is descriptive of the functioning of the individual members of the body of Christ. Not every member has the same function. Praxis in no way implies an elite cast of official ministers defined by title or office. This was a very clever mistranslation designed to overwrite relational body ministry with hierarchy.



"Let this mind be in you" It is interesting to note all the instances in which Jesus avoided even the appearance of the ruling class. From his birth to his grave, he chose the most humble means. He really was born in a barn. His baby clothes were swaddling clothes, mere rags wrapped about him. His crib was a feeding box for livestock. Common shepherds came to pay Him honor, while the local who's who chose to ignore His lowly birth. At the Jerusalem dedication, his parents could only afford a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons, which was the offering of the poor. He grew up in the household of a working carpenter in the lowest of all the towns in lowly Galilee. He made himself of no reputation.  Isaiah prophesied that He had no form nor comeliness, nor anything about Him that would attract carnal men. That final week of His life on earth, He chose to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, not as a conquering king on a great horse. He washed the feet of his disciples that last night. He died in the most shameful way possible, the death of a criminal with two common thieves, although He was innocent. They even buried His body in a borrowed tomb!   Those who posture themselves to rule have forgotten something very important, the mind of Christ. Christ, who was equal to God, did not cling to His prerogatives as the Son of God. On the contrary, he emptied himself, and took upon himself the slave’s apron.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:5-8 RSV)

". . . But the surest way for this to be a better world is for people to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. The model for Christian leadership in America today is not the entrepreneur, not the CEO - it is the suffering servant, Jesus Christ." (Richard Halverson)

Dear fellow believers, we invite you to pray with us, that God would inspire those with integrity of heart, like Tyndale, who are free from the ecclesiastical paradigm, to translate a new Bible, minus the old ecclesiastical words, so that this love story can no longer be used as a scepter of power in the hands of would-be kings.   servants of love and power from above, not compromise below.

Tipping ones hat to only one place for any reaa hope..

We live in a world that is desperately in need of Jesus! God has chosen and called every Christian to be a part of the answer to the problems the world faces. He has invested in us all we need to bring hope, salvation, healing and answers to the desperate needs of humanity.

 

Jesus did not come into our lives for us to make excuses, but that we would be adequately equipped to represent Him here on the earth today. Jesus personally sent the Holy Spirit to us to enable us to be “sufficient  (“able; to make sufficient or fit, to make competent, to qualify” – Bullinger’s; “to make sufficient” – Young’s; “to enable, i.e. qualify, make able (meet)” – Strong’s) ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life . . . Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (“the speaking all one thinks, free-spokenness, as characteristic of a frank and fearless mind; hence, frankness, boldness” - Bullinger’s; “freedom” - Young’s & Strong’s).

 

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed (“changed, transformed, transfigured” – Bullinger’s; “to change one’s form” – Young’s; “to transfigure, transform, change” – Strong’s) into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3).

 

I could not agree more, the  need is huge always was sir,  a nation led  by a despot  seeking power is at loss. We're seeing the suicide of a super power. It's deeply troubling  as  is when madness  takes the appearance of wisdom. Is the ole saying.

NW 

 

Fire from above

ABANDONED

Utterly abandoned to the Holy Ghost!
Seeking all His fulness at whatever cost;
Cutting all the shore-lines, launching in the deep
Of His mighty power--strong to save and keep.

Utterly abandoned to the Holy Ghost!
Oh! the sinking, sinking, until self is lost!
Until the emptied vessel lies broken at His feet;
Waiting till His filling shall make the work complete.

Utterly abandoned to the will of God;
Seeking for no other path than my Master trod;
Leaving ease and pleasure, making Him my choice,
Waiting for His guidance, listening for His voice.

Utterly abandoned! no will of my own;
For time and for eternity, His, and His alone;
All my plans and purposes lost in His sweet will,
Having nothing, yet in Him all things possessing still.

Utterly abandoned! 'tis so sweet to be
Captive in His bonds of love, yet so wondrous free;
Free from sin's entanglements, free from doubt and fear,
Free from every worry, burden, grief or care.

Utterly abandoned! oh, the rest is sweet,
As I tarry, waiting, at His blessed feet;
Waiting for the coming of the Guest divine,
Who my inmost being shall perfectly refine.

Lo! He comes and fills me, Holy Spirit sweet!
I, in Him, am satisfied! I, in Him, complete!
And the light within my soul shall nevermore grow dim
While I keep my covenant--abandoned unto Him!
--Author Unknown

Energy

Spiritual Force "All these things are against me" (Gen. 42:36).

"All things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28).

Many people are wanting power. Now how is power produced? The other day we passed the great works where the trolley engines are supplied with electricity. We heard the hum and roar of the countless wheels, and we asked our friend,

"How do they make the power?"

"Why," he said, "just by the revolution of those wheels and the friction they produce. The rubbing creates the electric current."

And so, when God wants to bring more power into your life, He brings more pressure. He is generating spiritual force by hard rubbing. Some do not like it and try to run away from the pressure, instead of getting the power and using it to rise above the painful causes.

Opposition is essential to a true equilibrium of forces. The centripetal and centrifugal forces acting in opposition to each other keep our planet in her orbit. The one propelling, and the other repelling, so act and re-act, that instead of sweeping off into space in a pathway of desolation, she pursues her even orbit around her solar centre.

So God guides our lives. It is not enough to have an impelling force--we need just as much a repelling force, and so He holds us back by the testing ordeals of life, by the pressure of temptation and trial, by the things that seem against us, but really are furthering our way and establishing our goings.

Let us thank Him for both, let us take the weights as well as the wings, and thus divinely impelled, let us press on with faith and patience in our high and heavenly calling. --A. B. Simpson

In a factory building there are wheels and gearings,
There are cranks and pulleys, beltings tight or slack--
Some are whirling swiftly, some are turning slowly,
Some are thrusting forward, some are pulling back;
Some are smooth and silent, some are rough and noisy,
Pounding, rattling, clanking, moving with a jerk;

In a wild confusion in a seeming chaos,
Lifting, pushing, driving--but they do their work.
From the mightiest lever to the tiniest pinion,
All things move together for the purpose planned;
And behind the working is a mind controlling,
And a force directing, and a guiding hand.

So all things are working for the Lord's beloved;
Some things might be hurtful if alone they stood;
Some might seem to hinder; some might draw us backward;
But they work together, and they work for good,
All the thwarted longings, all the stern denials,
All the contradictions, hard to understand.
And the force that holds them, speeds them and retards them,
Stops and starts and guides them--is our Father's hand.
--Annie Johnson Flint

Spiritual Food.

“Do not pray for easy lives! Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle. PHILLIPS BROOKS” 




 “The beauties of nature come after the storm. The rugged beauty of the mountain is born in a storm, and the heroes of life are the storm-swept and battle-scarred.”



“When faith goes to the market, it always takes a basket.”

1Corinthians  1-4 kj3

NW

The beauty of Wisdom

“As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing (2 Corinthians 6:10).

Sorrow was beautiful, but her beauty was the beauty of the moonlight shining through the leafy branches of the trees in the wood, and making little pools of silver here and there on the soft green moss below. When Sorrow sang, her notes were like the low sweet call of the nightingale, and in her eyes was the unexpectant gaze of one who has ceased to look for coming gladness. She could weep in tender sympathy with those who weep, but to rejoice with those who rejoice was unknown to her.

Joy was beautiful, too, but his was the radiant beauty of the summer morning. His eyes still held the glad laughter of childhood, and his hair had the glint of the sunshine's kiss. When Joy sang his voice soared upward as the lark's, and his step was the step of a conqueror who has never known defeat. He could rejoice with all who rejoice, but to weep with those who weep was unknown to him.

"But we can never be united," said Sorrow wistfully. "No, never." And Joy's eyes shadowed as he spoke. "My path lies through the sunlit meadows, the sweetest roses bloom for my gathering, and the blackbirds and thrushes await my coming to pour forth their most joyous lays."

"My path," said Sorrow, turning slowly away, "leads through the darkening woods, with moon-flowers only shall my hands be filled. Yet the sweetest of all earth-songs--the love song of the night--shall be mine; farewell, Joy, farewell."

Even as she spoke they became conscious of a form standing beside them; dimly seen, but of a Kingly Presence, and a great and holy awe stole over them as they sank on their knees before Him.

"I see Him as the King of Joy," whispered Sorrow, "for on His Head are many crowns, and the nailprints in His hands and feet are the scars of a great victory. Before Him all my sorrow is melting away into deathless love and gladness, and I give myself to Him forever."

"Nay, Sorrow," said Joy softly, "but I see Him as the King of Sorrow, and the crown on His head is a crown of thorns, and the nailprints in His hands and feet are the scars of a great agony. I, too, give myself to Him forever, for sorrow with Him must be sweeter than any joy that I have known."

"Then we are one in Him," they cried in gladness, "for none but He could unite Joy and Sorrow." Hand in hand they passed out into the world to follow Him through storm and sunshine, in the bleakness of winter cold and the warmth of summer gladness, "as sorrowful yet always rejoicing."

Should Sorrow lay her hand upon thy shoulder,
And walk with thee in silence on life's way,
While Joy, thy bright companion once, grown colder,
Becomes to thee more distant day by day?
Shrink not from the companionship of Sorrow,
She is the messenger of God to thee;
And thou wilt thank Him in His great tomorrow
For what thou knowest not now, thou then shalt see;
She is God's angel, clad in weeds of night,
With 'whom we walk by faith and not by sight.”
― Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert