Recent prophetic words are alerting the global church body to begin expecting divine encounters with the Kingdom of God. These appointed times will serve to position the Church to advance the Kingdom of God in creative new ways. These times will also be very strategic in seeing a church body become engaged with the Kingdom through fellowship that is purposed to bring acceleration, as well as divine encounters. These times can often be identified or marked where obvious transition is occurring within one or more assemblies within the body of Christ. In one season, a body knows their members by the part that they're connected with. In another season, we see God moving to bring convergence to one or more parts. When we understand how to apprehend the times that God is moving through, fellowship always serves to reveal the greater part, or the next part. Without seeking God for the next part, our members can become agitated or even frustrated with the times that bring transition to the part that we are most comfortable with.
With some insight to the coming times, a number of years ago, I began moving out to allow God to demonstrate the fellowship, or relationships that would need to be present in what God had begun speaking to me about. The sermon notes that are posted at the end of this message are actually from a Pastor friend of a Pastor that I related with through a local church several years ago. I don't personally know the Pastor who wrote the notes below, but the message he is preparing for his congregation is very relevant for the times that we are embarking upon. My Pastor friend had permission to post them and I was also given permission to post them.
Before I do, I feel that it is beneficial to paint a visual landscape that serves to reveal the many parts being represented where God begins moving in his body. With every move of the Spirit, there is often both light and dark. Vision casting helps people in seeking to be spirit led. We also need to identify the ditches so that people don't fall into them. Right alignment to the things of God produces God's strongholds in the people to establish them in the Kingdom of God. Misuse of the same can create deep wounding in the body and results in strongholds that people will need to be delivered from in order to overcome them. One is light and the other is dark.
Regarding the organic church body, ministry, and order, it helps to reflect on how the human body is created. As intricate and exquisitely designed as the skeletal system is, it's greater purpose is in "housing" the internal organs and the works of the human anatomy.
For a number of years, God has been leading me in the revealing and demonstration of the Koinonea fellowship that Acts 2:42 speaks of in relationship to the Church body. In light of the fellowship that the Greek name, Koinonea (fellowship) identifies, we look for the Kingdom to come down in our midst to be manifest in God's people. For this to happen, we find that we must all be on the same page. This is especially so where we need to all be relating to the same concepts and perspectives. To accomplish true Koinonea, we find that we often need to define and redefine areas of communication that can become grey areas where clarity is needed.
When I was led out of apostolic networks, God began using local denominational bodies to reveal another kind of networking. Lifestyle and the Marketplace became the venue for ministry in the latter part. While one administration establishes the order that God will build one or more branches of ministry through, the second administration established an order that greater relationship could be demonstrated through. Networking in the latter part was more like, "the foot bone connecting to the ankle bone and the ankle bone connecting to the leg bone; the leg bone connecting to the knee bone and the knee bone connecting to the thigh bone". I believe this paints a clear picture of the vision that is needed in order to apprehend the times that are purposed to reveal Christ in a people. Once ministry begins to permeate lifestyle, family and community, we begin to see how impacting the Kingdom of God is in the heart and soul of community. This is actually where God is needed the most!
With all of that being said, if we are not discerning of the pitfalls, we can fall into the trap of giving allegiance to one part alone; so much so that we loose functionality of the many members that make up the church body.
Allegiance means, "the loyalty of a citizen to his or her government or of a subject to his or her sovereign." It also means, "the loyalty or devotion to some person, group, cause or the like." Knowing this, it's very easy to see how imbalanced any order can become in respect to the greater part it was created for.
Koinonea fellowship always leads to covenant that God will openly demonstrate among His people. Wrong allegiances lead to the slavery that is being addressed in the sermon notes below. The notes below turn up some interesting study that identifies "the times" that the early church faced. At the death and resurrection of Christ, the early Church found themselves to be on the bottom of a social hierarchy within the Roman government. Where people are rising in their stature in relationship to the ascension ministries of Christ, we find it needful to establish watches to insure that we don't fall into the same pitfalls that man's natural flesh will lead him to. Enjoy the sermon notes below from this local Pastor!
Kind regards,
Cindy Allen
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| Sonship vs. Slavery |
Sermon Notes from a Local Pastor, June 29, 2013
The text is I Peter 2: 18-25.
The issue is the question of how slaves who are now disciples of Jesus can live faithfully under the harsh conditions of their bondage.
I don't have time to go into describing 1st century slavery but suffice it to say that it was not of the same variety as American slavery. I will say this much: in the first century slaves were considered members of the household. None of that is to take away from the truth that slavery, and the institution of slavery, is evil. It not only deprives the slave of the dignity that is due to him/her as someone created in the image and likeness of God, it deprives him/her of the gift of freedom that is given to all by the gracious God.
Nothing that Peter writes should be taken as an endorsement of the practice or of the institution.
Keep in mind that life under Rome, while good in some respects, was particularly good for those on top. To be among the honored and the wealthy was not a bad place to be, especially when Rome was being directed by a relatively decent emperor. To be on the bottom of the social hierarchy was not a good place to be although one might benefit from the "Pax Romana", the Roman peace.
Second, keep in mind that Rome was very committed to order and order maintained 'under the blade." In a way, Rome was fascist if by that we mean "virtue at the point of a gun."
Fascism is virtue under force. Remember when your dad said: "You will go visit your old aunt and you will enjoy it or else?" Dad was being a little fascist.
On another note, the word 'fascist' comes from a Roman symbol of the 'fasces'. The 'fasces' was a bundle of wooden rods tied together around an ax. The fasces was the same kind of symbol as a 'velvet glove on an iron fist.' The binding of the rods symbolized the unity of Rome. The ax symbolized the power that lay at the center of that unity.
Roman Order
Rome was committed to order for several reasons. Their notions of order were borrowed from the Greeks. However, practically speaking, order also grew out of social and political necessity. By the time of Jesus, the authority of Rome extended over a great portion of the Mediterranean world. It extended over large portions of Spain and all the way north to Britain.
Further, Rome was constantly under threat from without and from within. They lived in constant fear and threat of the 'barbarian' hordes to their north. The barbarian tribes (mostly Germanic) had been Rome's enemy for well over a century before the birth of Jesus. (They were called "barbarian" because the Romans said their language was "barbar"....grunting nonsense. i.e. they lacked Rome's good graces.
Rome also lived under constant fear of rebellion within. Remember the old movie Spartacus? Kirk Douglas played a rebellious slave/gladiator (gladiators came form the slave class) Spartacus, who probably did not look Kirk Douglas, was a historic figure who lead a slave revolt against Rome about 70 years before the birth of Jesus. He was a real pain to Roman authority and it took several years to quell his rebellion. (Incidentally, when they did quell the rebellion, the general who defeated Spartacus took 4000 of his followers and crucified them. He placed the crosses about 50 feet apart and nailed each captive to a cross. The line of crucifixion extended about 125 miles and provided a reminder to any slaves who thought they might like to follow in the path of Spartacus.)
Roman Order and the Household
The household was central to Roman order. As a matter of fact, it is likely more appropriate to say that the household was the fundamental unit of Roman society and order- even more so than in America, which says such things but which also extols the individual as the fundamental unit of society. (incidentally, the helps explain why America is so confused about marriage and family: how do you both extol the individual while extolling an institution that places limits upon the individual?)
Household operated according to what is called "the code of the Household". These household codes did three things: (1) they reflected the hierarchy of power that was part of Roman society. (i.e. Just as Caesar was head of the Roman household so the husband/father was head of the household..and head in a way that reflected Roman power. i.e. virtue under force.) (2) the household code assigned the members of the household a 'station' or 'place' in the household (and in the world) and (3) the household code defined the duties of each person in his or her place.
Finally, the household code was an important means of evaluating outsiders. When anyone came from the outside of a community, or from outside the Roman world, they were evaluated in terms of the household code. Those whose households did not reflect the Roman model were summarily rejected and sometimes even driven out.
Incidentally, and this will figure into our study in a week or two...Romans were deeply suspicious of 'outside women.' This was in part due to their experience with barbarian women who often fought alongside their men. Further, outsider women symbolized settlement, homemaking, and childbearing. For Romans, it is one thing to be invaded by a bunch of barbarian male warriors. It was quite another to be invaded by barbarian families who produced barbarian children who stood to penetrate and destroy Roman culture.
So, Roman citizens (and Roman powers) were suspect of outsiders. And they measured the fitness of outsiders for Roman culture on the basis of whether they kept the Roman household code.
The Text
When you read this text, I Peter 2:18-25, read it with that in mind. Peter is addressing a problem: how to encourage unity and faithfulness among a people who are on mission for God but who are 'suspect' and who are being judged by whether they 'keep the code.'
Some things to note:
1. vs. 18: for whom do the slaves he writes live? What is their motive for 'subordinating' their lives to their earthly Masters, whether good or harsh?
2. vs. 19: Does Peter endorse the institution of slavery or does he recognize there is not much that can be done in a direct manner about it? What kind of behavior does he commend and why? How does that teaching serve to subvert slavery?
3. vs. 20 ff: What model does Peter offer to encourage these Christian slaves who are living under such harsh conditions? What did that model do and how did he do it?
4. vs. 24-25: What comfort does he offer these slaves?
Okay...that ought to give you something to do this week-end. Hope you have a good one and I will see you SUNDAY!
