LET…. MY…. PEOPLE…. GO !!
Chapter thirteen
From the book of Exodus….
“The children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.”
“They set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.”
“The Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage–in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them was with rigor.”
“And the Lord said: I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.”
“Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and tell him, “Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: ‘Let My people go, that they may serve Me.’ ”
Pharaoh validates the aphorism, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Not only did he brutalize “the children of Israel”, he defied God’s sent-ones, Moses and Aaron, several times. Power corrupts to the degree of power acquired, perhaps not always, but usually. Little power, little corruption; much power, much corruption.
The (Bible-plus) senior pastor has corrupted himself more fully than his (Bible-plus) assistant pastor who has been corrupted much more than the fledgling (Bible-plus) youth pastor. By corruption, I am not suggesting theft or illicit sex, but rather having given oneself over to “commandments of men”. If you agree all “commandments of men” are corrupt, you are conceding that corruption blankets the entirety of evangelicalism.
The people you govern have much in common with the enslaved Israelites who could not determine for themselves the outcome of their future. Like the Israelites of old, evangelicals are subject to “commandments of men”, not a few but many.
It was the threat of painful, physical reprisals that kept the Israelites subservient to their Egyptian masters, whereas your people are free to walk away at will. Or are they? The penalty for an evangelical withdrawing from your dominance can be severe. Suddenly he is excluded. Suddenly warmth is withdrawn. Suddenly his reputation is tarnished – now he is a troublemaker, a dissident, a rebel, a divider.
The spiritual stronghold you have over yours is less powerful than the military stronghold Pharaoh had over his, but firm nonetheless. A spiritual stronghold is not a prison cell or a pair of handcuffs. It is a mindset that took years to develop. A stronghold has a strong hold on one’s outlook and conclusions and attitude. A stronghold keeps the catholic catholic, the mormon mormon, the evangelical evangelical.
The spiritual stronghold that has imperceptibly overtaken your congregations keeps them compliant to your (non-biblical and counterfeit) authority. You have brought much harm to your people with the enormous influence this bogus authority has given you. Surely the anemic state of Christ’s church-on-earth, most of which is under your collective management, is evidence that something is terribly wrong.
And surely you must consider yourselves responsible. (Who else could be?)
Your governance is the reason Typical Christian is functioning at a small percentage of his potential. He is not serving Christ, but serving you and the religion you have imposed on him. You are his Pharaoh. You charge your people lots of money to make of them disciples of Christ, but you have no ability whatsoever to do so. only disciples of Christ can make disciples of Christ. Under your management your congregations have been made disciples of evangelicalism. Their continued bondage to you and your religion will result in sparse “treasures in heaven”.
Under your tutelage your people have become incapacitated, not fully but considerably. Jesus is no longer their “first love” because He is not yours. They bear fruit but not “much fruit”. (“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.”) Corruption (giving oneself over to “commandments of men”) has become an entrenched way of life. What Paul dreaded for his beloved Corinthians – “I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted” (NLT) – has come to pass, with rare exceptions.
To your congregations you have become much bigger, spiritually speaking, than you are. Sunday after sunday after sunday after sunday you have made yourself seen and heard. The pulpit has inflated you.
Every time they call you “Pastor” (“Shepherd”) a piece of their loyalty shifts from Jesus – “that great Shepherd of the sheep” – to you. The control you have over their christianity is only slightly weaker than the control priests have over catholics.
Understandably you find this hard to believe. “How can so many of us be wrong?” Doesn’t catholicism, anglicanism, mormonism and many etceteras convince you that, yes, so many can be wrong? Don’t the words of our Teacher – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” – tell you that multitudes can walk in united error and united hypocrisy? It is your duty to cross-examine, via Scripture, every evangelical tradition and teaching you have absorbed from Bible school, and passed on to your congregations.
Jesus: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”…..
“On a high mountain” the Father spoke to Peter, John and James: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” That’s all I am suggesting: “Hear Him!” Spend much time considering the red words in your Bible. And then scrutinize the entire New Testament. (“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.”) You must choose which words you will preach and obey, Bible words or Bible-plus words.
Freedom is available. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” With truth comes freedom. If you want truth, ask “the truth” for truth. (“I am the way, the truth and the life”.) Yes, “Ask, and you will receive.” Do you have the courage to pray for truthregarding your religion? “Ask, and you will receive.” Want truth regarding denominations and Bible colleges and credentials? “Ask, and you will receive.” Want the truth about your salariy and all money matters? “Ask, and you will receive.”
Truth may not come instantly, but it will come. Jesus: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.” The reason you have such a huge depository of un-truths infecting your heart is simply because you had preferred untruth over truth. (It was untruth that got you the powerful pulpit, your substantial salary, recognition, significance.)
Your people, millions upon millions of Christ’s blood-washed saints, must be set free. Their only hope is the lordship of Jesus Christ. To recapture “first love” they must be set free from the religion that stole their “pure and undivided devotion to Christ”. Can…. you…. see that?
Very (very!) important….
Because you are the ones who have ensnared their love and loyalty, because they are relationally tethered to you, because you are their chief influence, you are the ones most able to set them free!
The Father to you: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” Jesus to you: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.” The Holy Spirit to you: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.”
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I was one of about fifty or so pew-people listening to a pentecostal pastor during a sunday evening service. Bible in hand, he declared (paraphrasing) “Confusion comes when you mix words of the Bible with other words!” Throughout his sermon he repeated it again. and again. and again. “Confusion comes when you mix words of the Bible with other words!” Finally I got it. Hmmm. So that’s why I was so confused. And now I understood why so many of my born-again, catholic friends suffered from confusion. they tried to consolidate the Bible and their catholic traditions. (Looking back, I see the irony of an evangelical preacher, himself an avid Adder and Subtracter, scolding others for combining Scripture and tradition.)
I was deeply moved, and before going to bed I recommitted my life to Jesus Christ. Rededicating myself to Jesus is something I often did (and do), but that night I did something I had never done. I committed myself to the Bible (as I progressively understood it). From this time onward I would always choose Bible words over traditions of men. In the presence of the Father, Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit I solemnly signed the last page of the Bible, directly under Revelation 22:21.
Evangelicals cannot do what I did. If they solemnly (repeat, solemnly) signed the Bible as a declaration of obedience to the Bible they would immediately cease to be an evangelical. And they would immediately become Christ’s disciple. (Should a pastor make such a commitment to God’s Bible he would soon be unemployed.)