LET…. MY…. PEOPLE…. GO !!
Chapter thirty-one
I am no longer naive – I know most evangelical leaders are thoroughly connected to and dependent on their religion, and will not consider turning from their beloved “tradition of men” and commit themselves to God’s Bible. But some will. I say again that the remaining chapters are especially directed to pastors and other evangelical leaders who have heeded Christ’s call to “Let My people go, that they may serve Me”.
This chapter is a continuation of my imaginary sermon from an imaginary repentant pastor to an imaginary assembly….
PART TWO
This is the third assembly I have pastored, the first two stepping-stones to this more prominent one. It was a pompous and professional and pretentious man-appointed pastor that first stood behind this powerful pulpit several years ago. I had always been the most religious person in our congregation, more loyal to our denomination’s customs and disciplines than any of you.
I want you to understand that while you live in one spiritual sphere, I, until recently, lived in two. Your spiritual realm is, chiefly, this congregation; my spiritual realms were this congregation AND the denomination that credentialed me. I was their go-between. They used me to pass onto you their lengthy list of “commandments of men”. I heeded them and preached to you. They had my loyalty; you had my time and energy. They were my associates and overseers; you were my ministry.
It was my submission to those above me that secured me this position and this pulpit. Denominational headquarters expected me to strengthen your alignment to their perspectives, both biblical and non-biblical.
Always ambitious for advancement, this I was eager to do. I believed their flawed doctrines because I wanted to believe them. I followed these religious managers because my peers were following them. It’s called peer pressure.
Rewards for my loyalty to those above me are a pulpit and an audience and a precious bi-weekly paycheck. These three prizes combined to blind me to the reality of my lukewarm relationship with the One who “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree”.
But I recently repented before the One I betrayed. I blame no one but myself. Whenever I consider placing blame on others the Holy Spirit reminds me of the words of Jesus to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.” God’s grace was always sufficient to overcome the temptation to confiscate His glory. More than ever I appreciate these words about our Jesus, “but was in all ways tempted as we are, yet without sin”. I often bowed to temptation, but Jesus never did. Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ!
Genuine repentance leads to commitment. I recommitted my life to Jesus Christ and to His Bible. I vowed before the Father, His beloved Son and the most Holy Spirit to never compromise again, to never place pompous “commandments of men” over His instructions.
And now my precious brothers- and sisters-in-Christ Jesus, I sincerely (repeat sincerely!) apologize to you. What could be worse than imposing on Christ’s saints words and traditions He never sanctioned? I’m not speaking of a few words and a few traditions but many. I passed on to you foreign doctrines – teachings that have no kinship whatsoever with Scripture – that were passed onto me while in seminary and from denominational headquarters.
My purpose this morning is to set you free from the spiritual stronghold that I and many others have placed on you. A stronghold is a mindset that has a strong hold on a christian’s heart. This awful stronghold came on you, as it did me, in increments so small as to be almost imperceptible. “Commandments of men” have become so embedded that they compete with the words and examples of our one, true Teacher. (Jesus: “One is your Teacher, the Christ.”)
The challenge I face this morning is that many of you, perhaps most, do not want to be set free from your religion. I understand. I was very recently where you now are. There is something comforting about sameness and routine, and something threatening about change.
And why should you believe that I could possibly be right and the huge majority of evangelical pastors and writers and public ministers be in serious error? Let’s look at it….
Isn’t the enormous quantity of opposing opinions on many spiritual issues sufficient evidence that all evangelical leaders can be in error? The Bible is loaded with examples of unified deception. Examples: Eight out of nine brothers sold Joseph into slavery. After witnessing several amazing miracles the “children of Israel” wanted to return to Egypt captivity Only Joshua and Caleb believed the Lord’s ability to overtake, through the Israelites, the promised land of Canaan. Now let’s turn to the New Testament….
Jesus to “the Pharisees”: “You are of your father the devil.” Paul to the Galatians: “Who has bewitched you?” Paul to the Corinthians: “You are still carnal.” Jesus to the church in Ephesus: “You have left your first love.” Jesus to the church in Pergamos: “Repent.” Jesus to the church in Sardis: “You are dead.” Jesus to the church of the Laodiceans: “You are lukewarm.” Yes, the Bible teaches us that many can be unified in untruth, misunderstanding and wrongdoing.
I remind you that the Bible, not contemporary christianity, is God’s standard. 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” I repeat that Scripture is God’s standard. And I repeat that contemporary christianity is not God’s standard.
Under my oversight, and that of other evangelical controllers, you have adopted many practices that have gained you acceptance with me and each other, but are contrary to God’s Bible. One example of many….
Why did you call me pastor? Can you find one precedent in the Bible of one christian calling another christian pastor? The Bible declares “the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the church” and yet many wives consider me, not their husbands, their pastor. Does anyone think Lord Jesus wants you to call someone other than Himself pastor? When you called me pastor you were implying that I was your spiritual shepherd (pastor means shepherd); isn’t Jesus alone your Shepherd, your Pastor? Don’t you think it’s an insult to Jesus, “that great shepherd of the sheep”, to call a brother by that title?
I suggest you called me pastor because everybody calls me by that title. This is one example of bowing to contemporary christianity rather than submitting to Scripture which “is profitable for. instruction in righteousness”. Jesus said, “Do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.” Does anyone think our Lord doesn’t want you calling a fellow christian teacher but approves calling a fellow christian pastor?
If you come to the conclusion that it is indeed contrary to Jesus Christ and contrary to Scripture to call a brother pastor, an internal alarm should go off. Not only have you called me by that title but also many other religious overseers. Now I want you to get the bigger picture: christians throughout worldwide evangelicalism have been taught by church leadership to call them pastor. Is that not sufficient evidence that united fallacy is not only possible but prevalent?
I do not say this to bring condemnation. No, no, no! I am trying to open your eyes to the reality of spiritual bondage. How can you be set free if you are not convinced you have lost your freedom? My heart this sunday morning is to obey Christ’s command directed to me and all religionists: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me”. To serve our Lord you must cease serving denominational overlords.
I want you to see what you don’t see, that which has always been quite visible. I will try to lift the veil that hides the real me in my role as leader….
It was not the Lord Jesus Christ who authorized me to be the pastor of this assembly; it was flesh-and-blood that appointed me. If you find that hard to absorb, try to find me in the Bible. The New Testament teaches “one another” ministry, not a salaried one-man overseer. (To verify, simply type in “one another” in a searchable online Bible, i.e. Bible Gateway). No christian should have the degree of influence over you that I had. You assimilated my untruths, which were many, as well as truth. I want you to see that, as leader, I had a vile leverage over you.
For example….
If you did not call me pastor you would have paid a hefty price. I have learned over the years to efficiently deal with dissention. I have subtly intimated from this very powerful pulpit that the only way you can publicly serve God is through this assembly, or one similar, and you correctly sensed that to do so my approval is paramount. Also, you know
your friends within this congregation will withdraw much of their warmth if they sense any dissention between me and you. Harmony is everyone’s friend; tension is everyone’s enemy. And so everybody was careful not to cross me. Not only is that the reason you called me pastor but it’s why you submit to many other “commandments of men” that I have imposed.
I also had unfair leverage over the board-of-elders (that gave my ‘authority’ as exclusive leader increased credibility). Paul gave Timothy a list of qualifications to be an elder; the qualification that I required was their intention to faithfully support me and my ministry. I only allowed those with a history of cooperation and loyalty to serve on the board. I made it appear that their acceptance was a group decision, but in reality I was in the background calling the shots.
You have to understand that just as you are good at what you do, I was good at what I did. Because of much practice I excelled at dominating people. The first step to control people is to unite them. The pastor’s method for gaining control is not divide-and-conquer but rather unite- and-conquer. That’s why you often heard me quote David: “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” And that’s why I often said, “We can do more together.” And that’s why I echoed such expressions as “our church family” and “be a team player”.
This pulpit and this microphone can make any man powerful. Every sunday I grew in stature, certainly not in God’s heart but in yours. Every sunday was an opportunity to teach, to shepherd, to solidify, to impress and to direct. I am not saying my motive was entirely wayward. Not at all. But I am saying my motive was a mixture of honorable and insidious. I wanted to bless you and I wanted to control you.
It will shock you to know that my chief Competitor for your obedience was the Holy Spirit. Let me explain….
You and I and every christian were intended by Jesus Christ to be governed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “He will guide you into all truth.” If the Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus to “guide you into all truth” why do you need me? Do you remember the words of Jesus, “I will never leave you or forsake you”? But Jesus is in heaven; how can Jesus be there and here at the same time? Jesus speaks to us via the Holy Spirit. (Jesus: “He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak.”)
Obeying the Holy Spirit is obeying Jesus. Ignoring the leading of the Holy Spirit is ignoring the very “head of the church”, Pastor Jesus. The Father, your Father, wants you to be lead by Jesus who speaks to you by the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit, in turn, often speaks to christians through christians, but He never assigned a credentialed, salaried pastor to replace Him! It is so very important you understand that.
Two shepherds cannot lead a flock of sheep, especially if the two are going opposite directions. If I am your shepherd than the Holy Spirit is not your Shepherd. And if the Holy Spirit is your Shepherd, I am not your shepherd and you have no business calling me pastor. You call me pastor because of the two you have chosen me to shepherd you, to guide you, to teach you. When I replaced the Holy Spirit as pastor I, at the same time, replaced Jesus as your pastor. To confirm this….
To confirm this, simply self-inspect to see who you are obeying. Are you obeying “commandments of men” or are you obeying God’s commands? Is calling a man pastor a “commandment of men” or a commandment of God? Is allegiance to many other evangelical traditions allegiance to christians or allegiance to Christ?
I don’t want you to think that I made an intentional attempt to replace the Holy Spirit. No way. And yet this I did, unknowingly and unintentionally. I assumed that God’s order in given oversight to Christ’s church-on-earth is: Jesus….. Holy Spirit…. pastor congregation.
That’s what I learned at seminary and from those who rank higher in our denomination. But in fact that is catholicism. Catholics are taught God’s order is: Jesus…. Holy Spirit…. catholic church catholic. That same type of order is found in mormonism, anglicanism and every other christianized religion.
Lord Jesus wants to rule His people, individually, through the Holy Spirit. Freedom is being pastored by “that great Shepherd of the Sheep” via the Holy Spirit who “will guide you into all truth”. Freedom is what Lord Jesus wants me, and every other person who has sabotaged congregational leadership, to “Let My people go, that they may serve Me”. Jesus wants you to have what you once had when first “born of the Spirit” before being snatched by religionists.
Evangelical leadership refute this logic with Hebrews 13:17: “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive.” “Those who rule over you” rule in a very limited sense; they are restricted to God’s word. Even the authority of Moses was limited to God’s word, possessing no authority whatsoever to add words to His word.
Leadership led the Galatians astray. Paul: “Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?” The only plausible answer is church leadership. Who else could it be? Who introduced many “commandments of men” to evangelicals? The same answer: Who else could it be? Your true Leader must be none other than Jesus Christ.”One is your teacher, the Christ.” If man is your teacher, your leader, your shepherd, your guide you have a serious problem. You must set yourself free, this by the grace of God.
It has been said that we have as much truth as we want. If you want more truth – truth regarding your religion, truth regarding the lordship of the Holy Spirit, truth regarding the spiritual bondage that has seriously devalued your relationship with Christ, truth regarding my words to you this morning – ask The Teacher (“One is your Teacher”) for more truth. “Ask, and you will receive.” Again I say, if you want more truth, ask The Truth for truth. (Jesus: “I am. the truth.)
I know this has been a most challenging word this morning. And there is more to come. Freedom is not cheap. The Israelites were occasionally under much pressure to reconsider their pleas to God to be set free.
Consider all the drama they withstood – the drama of the plagues, the drama of “the Lord’s Passover”, the dread of Pharaoh’s army in pursuit and encountering the impassable Red Sea, the arduous trek to the promised land, the evil reports of most of the twelve spies.
I say again that I will mail each of you a copy of this message so that you can listen again and again at home. Let me know if you want extra copies for friends.
And now I must confront you about another most important matter – your money.
(Part 3 is chapter 33)
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Dirty tricks. If you make a decision to choose Christ’s commands over “commandments of men”, if you refuse to be a follower of christians, beware of what I call dirty tricks.
A dirty trick is a nasty message given in a sly manner. The essence of the message is, “You are no longer welcome here!” I received this message several times, by various people, in imaginative ways. I will relate one such frosty incident. But first I want to make it clear I was never a loudmouth, not a troublemaker. Adversely, I was a loner. I pursued Christ diligently, more so than most. Anyhow….
I was at an evening service at Kelowna Christian Center, about forty years ago. The Holy Spirit was moving, there was an altar call for those wanting prayer. About fifty people were kneeling at the altar and I was one of them, my wife kneeling on my lefthand side. David, the pastor, who had just given an inspirational message to the congregation, prayed over each individual, starting on one end of the lengthy lineup, an elder on either side of him.
I was deep in prayer, eyes closed, seeking a special touch from the Lord. After praying for my wife David skipped past me. This is one example of a dirty trick meant to give me a silent but emphatic message: “You are no longer welcome at this church.”
I think my trespass was Financing the Great Commission, a book I had written challenging the tithe that David so favored. Anyhow….
A brother standing behind me noticed the snub and he put his hand on my shoulder and prayed for me. Another brother, standing a distance away at the back of the church, was drawn by the Lord to also come and pray. (All this time I was deep in prayer, eyes closed, but I could hear the conversation of the two brothers.) The second brother was absolutely amazed at what the Lord was showing him regarding my future. I was going to be used by the Lord in mighty ways, he prophesied. (I really believe Let….My….People Go !! is one of many examples of the
fulfilment of that prophecy given four decades ago.) Anyhow….
I tell this story to warn you that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Jesus: “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.”