We need shepherds who know themselves first and foremost as sheep, and only secondarily as leaders and teachers.” We should be expecting kingdom growth one believer at a times and if we are not teaching personal and spiritual growth we have failed the mission of our calling and our communities.
As we come to the end of our study in church on the role of the believer in the community, we cannot ignore that Jesus says in Matthew 24:11 - "And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray." I think this gets confused at times with "if someone disagrees with my theological stance they are spewing false doctrine." Unfortunately, it isn't as simple as I am always right and the rest of the world is wrong. There are many times in the scripture that denominational or theological concepts can be argued on both sides of the fence. The best part is that there is one principle that no one can argue scripturally. Jesus says, "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me."- John 14:6. I figure I will have alot of questions when I get there and I am pretty sure I will find out that I was wrong in my thinking and interpretation on a few things. Jesus talks about us being sheep who need a Shepherd and we need leaders who understand the servant heart of Christ. Arrogance in our faith and witness does not serve the kingdom, it serves the person. Every election cycle, every conflict, every social movement or historical evidence that gets uncovered we see people take a polarizing stance that says, "my thoughts are the true Christian approach."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "The real difference in the believer who follows Christ and has mortified his will and died after the old man in Christ, is that he is more clearly aware than other men of the rebelliousness and perennial pride of the flesh, he is conscious of his sloth and self-indulgence and knows that his arrogance must be eradicated. Hence there is a need for daily self-discipline.”
John Wesley tells of a dream he had. In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. There he asked, "Are there any Presbyterians here?" "Yes!", came the answer. Then he asked, "Are there any Baptists? Any Episcopalians? Any Methodists?" The answer was Yes! each time. Much distressed, Wesley was then ushered to the gates of Heaven. There he asked the same question, and the answer was No! "No?" To this, Wesley asked, "Who then is inside?" The answer came back, "There are only Christians here."
I am pretty sure when I get to heaven there will be people there I didn't think would make it and there will be people not there that I was convinced would because the real test comes in whether Christ is the center not in a pseudo intellectural, denominational, theoretical stance. The Christian principle comes down to this simple idea, "do I realize I am a sheep and in need of a Shepherd just like everyone else."
Romans 10:9 - "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Much love..
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