DO YOU HAVE A SPIRITUAL HOME? Part 2

DO YOU HAVE A SPIRITUAL HOME?

Part 2

I finished the first chapter by encouraging the pastor or the shepherd to act as a good daddy. A shepherd should feed the sheep and protect them from wolves and other wild animals that could in the worst case kill the sheep. Jesus is describing a situation when the shepherd left the 99 sheep in order to find one that was lost. Jesus is caring for each person as well as the entire group.

Some pastors think that they are kind when they allow everybody to come to the church without any restrictions and they might even allow people to come forward to pray during a prayer-meeting even if they pray from a wrong source. Maybe the pastor doesn’t have a gift of discernment. Every pastor actually needs that gift and should ask the Lord to give him that. When a person comes with a message that doesn’t agree with the Word and the Spirit, the pastor should contact the person afterwards. Maybe the person has a demonic power that he or she needs to get rid of or maybe he or she speaks out of the flesh. If the person is newly saved, this has to be done in a very gentle way, but we act in love when we help each other to be more clean, and more like Jesus. The Bible says in 1:Timothy 3:6 that a newly saved should not get a leading position in the church unless he would get proud. Many pastors forget this Bible-verse. I myself took with me a relatively new man in faith on a prayer-walk that included spiritual warfare. That was not good, and I had to repent since it was my responsibility. He did nothing wrong, but he could not resist the devil when he came and tempted him afterwards.

Most children are born into a small family where everybody knows each other and where everybody is supposed to feel safe. I know that every family isn’t like that, but they should be. I believe in small groups and home-churches. It doesn’t need to be contradictory to the large churches where one gets together to praise God and to be spiritually fed.

I have contact with people from different churches and from different countries. It is very obvious that we have the same Father and the same spirit. We can talk with each other without misunderstandings, and we are moving forward in the same direction. I feel that this helps me to grow in Christ.

Everything in the Body of Christ doesn’t need to be led by a leader. Christians might sometimes get together spontaneously, and they can pray and do a work in the Spirit without announcing the meeting many months ahead. I have participated in such events where we have prayed in one spirit with the same goal before our eyes. I have unfortunately also participated in prayer meetings where one is crying out to God and others are going against the devil without any unity. I do not believe we will receive any answers to our prayers then since there is chaos in the spirit world. If many people come together to pray, it is important that everybody knows what we pray for and what we want to have for a result. If we are supposed to go against the devil, everybody should know that we enter into spiritual warfare. If you live in sin, I do not recommend you to do any spiritual warfare. The devil knows about your sins and might attack you because of that.

Before when I lived in Norway, I had a group for spiritually homeless people. None of them belonged to a church. We got together to praise God, have some teaching and to pray for each other. Today I call my home for Bethesda since that was a place of water and when an angel touched the water, the people that jumped in the water got healed. A Bible-teacher also said that Bethesda meant mercy. I really want my home to be full of mercy and grace.

You can also turn your home into a house of mercy.

A body has many members with different functions and purposes. Some churches use only a few of the members and that is not good for those being passive. All of us has something to give. God was very exact when He said how the temple should be built. He picked the artists and what colours to be used. Everybody is important. There are times when some people need to rest, but not for eternity here on earth.

In one of the churches that I have attended, they asked us to lay down our own calling in order to support the calling of the main pastor of the church. I do not agree with that. I consider the calling from God over my life to be holy and I feel that I would sin against God by lay it down. I recommend you to find a church where they will help you to develop the calling of your life. If you do not know your calling, seek God from all your heart to show you.

If you do not feel that you are seen and used enough, maybe you should take some initiative and stop waiting for the pastor or some leader. Many people sit at home and feel very lonely and complain that nobody invites them to their homes. Maybe you should start inviting somebody yourself?

I do not believe that God wants us to live isolated on an island as a Christian. He has given us a commandment and He want us to become part of something bigger than ourselves.

FIND OR CREATE A SPIRITUAL HOME!

Mother Else