Month: August 2023

For every earnest seeker of The LORD and His Word, must learn that the higher we seemingly go in man’s eyes, the lower we go in humility as a servant.

Our perfect example in The Bible is Jesus Christ our Savior and LORD.

For example, I have experienced the intimacy and special love for the brethren by following Christ’s example in washing the feet of the believers.

The times I experienced foot washing, I was so blessed by God to wash those feet!  Those people I love, and I know, I so identified with those feet who bring good news and good tidings.

It is really a wonderful spiritual event and I found that sitting there having my feet washed was a lot harder to receive than to give.

It demolished all my pride and boy did the tears flow as I prayed for those precious feet and received in all humility.

Jesus himself took off his robe and took the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet.  Everything that Jesus did has an eternal lesson even today.

“So, He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.
He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“Never shall You wash my feet!” Peter told Him.
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.”
Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!”
Jesus told him, “Whoever has already bathed needs only to wash his feet, and he will be completely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.”
For He knew who would betray Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garments, He reclined with them again and asked, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am. So, if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you. Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.””   John 13:4-17 BSB

The older and more mature I get in The LORD, the less I know!

There is so much value in having godly relationships that you are accountable to.  There will always be much more to learn, and we will never gain all knowledge or know everything.

If we did, we wouldn’t need to rely on the Holy Ghost or on the body of Christ.

If someone says they know the whole Bible and understand it all, we need to run, run, run away from them.

We must depend on The Holy Ghost no matter how mature we think we are for confirmed instructions.  As time continues forward, it will be very necessary to know those who labor among us! (1 Thessalonians 5:12-18)

Bible scholars all fight for knowing their truth.  But if you look at most godly examples in The Bible, many if not all people who were chosen or called to lead God’s people, there was a long seasoning process.

Why do we measure ourselves among ourselves?  The Bible says those who measure themselves among themselves are not wise. (2 Corinthians 2:12)

God is a jealous God and His Spirit can be grieved and provoked.  Over the years I have watched a pattern over and over; God will provoke a heart, to get us to react, then on to action, to get us to see our own heart of the matter.

It is not because The LORD doesn’t know what’s in our heart, but because he wants us to see our own heart!

Why do we hold on to petty jealousy, aggravation, and reasonings?

Why do we feel threatened, and why are we jealous?

We need to ask ourselves these questions.

What is God doing with us?

He tests our motives and will provoke a reaction to action to get to our heart issues.  God has our best interests at heart.

He already knows the problem and what hinders us, but He wants us to see the problem!  That we may not realize.

Once our heart issues are revealed, we repent and press forward to the high calling in Christ Jesus!

We must remember that Satan sends tribulation and trial, but God tests us in our strengths hoping for a greater outcome!

Jealousy and envy are evil and if continued can cause serious divisions among God’s people.  Jealousy and envy will eat away at our bones and jealousy will destroy relationships! (Proverbs 14:20)

Did you know that bitterness can defile many?

Jealousy and envy are nothing to dabble with or put off, because the results left unchecked will cause division in the home, Church and in all relationships.

I have personally seen the results of jealousy and envy.  I have watched it divide even after a clear leading from The LORD to repent!

In rebellion, I watched them turn away and I have seen marriages and many relationships ruined.  It is so sad.

When The LORD reveals our sin and makes it plain, He expects us to be quick to repent.  It is time to repent and turn away from the sin that so easily besets us.  If the condition warrants it, there are ways to make amends if necessary.

IMPORTANT: If you cannot seem to get free of jealousy, envy, or division you need spiritual counsel and prayer for deliverance.  It is so important to be accountable to those whom you trust so they can pray for you.

We are stronger together, not apart.  Satan will try to keep us apart and isolated from each other.

Jealousy, envy, and division are destructive and deadly; look at Joseph’s brothers in how they treated him when they wanted to kill him but sold him instead into slavery. (Genesis 37:26).

The Bible says that envy, strife, confusion cause every evil work. (Study James chapter 3)

If you personally have experienced this, you need to remember that in the last days there will be false ministers in every form, even like Angels.

That is why we need to assemble ourselves together for strength because iron sharpens iron, and we need each other.

Just because someone serves and looks the part, but behind the scenes has no evidence of a growing prayer life and their fruits are rotten we need to take a deeper look.

We need to judge ourselves lest we be judged.  We need to watch our own lives!  Are we becoming more of a servant and loving to others in public?  What about behind the scenes?

Yes, we all need to watch and pray about everyone and ask The LORD, if we are seeing facades and pretenses?

What are we witnessing behind the scenes?  Are they spewing hatred out their mouth?

When they are not in front of anyone that matters to them, are they a totally different person?

We must understand that not only does God see us, but he also sees all and knows all! (1 Corinthians 11:30-32)

In a group setting and if sin presents itself, the one with the Spiritual knowledge is accountable to confront it and call it out and or leave.

Especially if the group are Christians.  We are not supposed to even eat with those who say they are believers but practice lawlessness. (1 Corinthians 5:11-13)

We will fully know them by their fruits!

It can look like a duck, quack like a duck, and even waddle like a duck, but it can be a decoy! In these uncertain days ahead, we each need to be accountable and have relationships where people know us and love us.

If we were to see behind other doors, we would be shocked!  They perform a good act, but the truth is not in the act, the act is behind the door and that is what God judges.

There are those who are insanely jealous but cover it up by doing “can you top this? ” For these, it is more of a competition in aggression instead of a person who is humble, broken, and lowly of heart.

Yes, we are to fear God and not man.  However, there will be evidence to others in authority about a person’s integrity, honesty, loyalty, commitment, accountability, and all the fruits of the Spirit.

We are not to judge by the gifts either, only by the fruits.  God will make room for his gifts.

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death,Jealousy as cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame.”   Song of Solomon 8:6 NKJV

 

In HIS Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey

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See also   Religion, Humility, and False Humility — Part 1

I served in a very large church (3000 plus members 1980’s) and I witnessed many things.

I have always learned OJT (on the job training) as The LORD has His reasons.  I have always learned and experienced things firsthand.

Sure, I have questioned many things through the years, but I learned some powerful lessons at that particular Church — both good and bad.

Sometimes we think when there is conflict or disagreement, (even serious disagreement) we should just leave the Church.

God taught me early on and through prayer and fasting to seek His Will.

I was led by God to the Church I am writing about.  I also learned early on when God plants you in an assembly you are not to leave unless The LORD specifically tells you to leave.

I am going to share just a few of MANY things I learned.  I thank God for keeping me rooted there.  So many people like to uproot and run.

I call them “potted plant” Christians — and a potted plant is limited by its container as the roots can only grow so far and they can get root bound and die.

As you read the few accounts I reveal, if I went by what I had seen, felt, and experienced I would have left.  However, The LORD did not release me.  I had to obey The LORD to remain among them, because I wanted to leave.

The LORD reminded me of a Biblical experience of a man of God who lived and went through a lot for what he carried.

If you have read and studied the life of Jeremiah, he was called “The Weeping Prophet”.  During his four decades as God’s Prophet in Jerusalem, he was a laughingstock to the people of the city.

He prophesied so much and wept over Israel for their rebellion.  No one would take him seriously with the warnings God sent.

Jeremiah prophesied that Israel would be taken into captivity to Babylon — and the people laughed at him, threatened to kill him, scorned him, beat him, even left him in a pit!

Jeremiah suffered much to deliver the Word of The LORD to Israel.  Why didn’t he just get up and leave?  No one was hearing him anyway, and he could have left long before, but God DID NOT release him!

The prophecy did come to pass, and Israel was taken captive to Babylon.  On their journey, Jeremiah was right there with them prophesying as they were taken away into captivity to Babylon. (Study Jeremiah 25)

One time I was in a service and the pastor said, “The book of Job should have never been written. If Job had enough faith, he wouldn’t have had to go through what he did.”

That troubled me big time, and I even asked the pastor’s wife, and all she did was avoid answering me.  It did not sit well with me.

I continued to serve that Church as The LORD led me.  There in many ways I learned so many lessons.  I found out later why The LORD wanted me there.

The LORD taught me very well during those three years.  He equipped me with understanding of what would be needed to expose religious, legalistic and cultic churches and organizations.

I know God sent me there, and I know when he told me to leave three years later.  I have seen so many religious facades.

God wants all the gifts to operate in The Church.  To see, is a powerful gift when God lets you see what is there.

Some people who have always been in a good Church all their lives may find these things offensive and have limited understanding.  But those who have been forgiven of much — love much!

There is no perfect Church.

There were so many things I learned while I served there.  I am thankful to God that He taught me Himself.  The LORD wanted me to learn this firsthand.

This pastor didn’t want you to question anything he said as he had the final say.  This one time, the pastor went out and purchased a multi-million-dollar golf and country club type of place.

He just decided to do it, and he had no one to answer to, because he had only yes men whom he appointed, who did not hold him accountable for anything.

The pastor and his wife were “Word of Faith” but came out of “United Pentecostal” which is extremely legalistic, (for example if you were a woman you couldn’t cut your hair)

As you read this, you might remember there were a number of famous ministers at that time that fell from grace and were exposed in the early 1980’s who had huge ministries and some made their ministry into a theme park.

I questioned a lot of things, and you might say, “Well, why didn’t you just leave?”

I developed a strong prayer life early on way before I came to that Church, and I asked God repeatedly if I could leave and it was, “No!”

Looking back, I can see the wisdom of God, by having me witness everything in person.  I served that Church three years, and was involved in many things including, pastoral care of discipling every new convert to Christianity, teaching, women’s ministry, prayer ministry etc.

My point being, I saw a lot of the internal workings of the ministry. I  learned a lot of things while I was there.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Back to the theme park type of decision the pastor made; not only did his deliberate decision put the Church into hardship, but he also told the assembly that we were to meet there to clean it up!

The pastor — with his prideful and deluded mindset — believed he would have his name in lights and have the next Christian theme park!

It did not take long for the strain he put on the Church to surface, and the pastor ended up letting the bank take it back.

Everything was kept hush hush, and I was upset and angry that the pastor never got up to say he missed God or apologized!  He just blew it off acting like nothing happened!

His pride and delusional thought process would never allow him to say he made a mistake.  That was a lesson that taught me a lot about pride, false humility and his deceptive charisma!

During an event he was angry and walked across the front of the Church, and as he was speaking, he suddenly took the microphone and threw it across the sanctuary and demanded another one!  The people looked at each other, but no one dared to voice a word about it.

So many things happened at that Church, and it would take me a very long time to write it all.  But I have valuable lessons I have learned to help others who have come out of the bondage of cultic, pride based religious system Christianity.

The LORD equipped me and said that it will be needed in times to come.  I have taught some of it, but I believe there will be a need for more teaching as people will be coming out of these types of abusive churches and organizations.

I imagine in time The LORD will expose more of this type of cultic behavior.  He has proven to me over and above that I was to experience this.

The LORD gave me first-hand knowledge about detecting religious spirits and cultic behavior in churches and to expose this type of thing to the true Bible based, and led remnant believers in Christ.

I believe what kept me solid was how The LORD taught me early on about prayer and how it is the most vital and important discipline you must learn.

Next to getting saved it is vital that you need to be discipled and disciplined and learn to pray and communicate with God and study The Holy Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of The LORD!”   Luke 13:34-36 NKJV

My point in all this is that pride, false humility, deception, error, extreme teaching and not being accountable to godly men and women is detrimental to an assembly!

The Word of God is our plumbline, and we are to align our lives by that Word!

This so-called pastor was a charlatan, but I knew God sent me there, and I know when he told me to leave three years later.

But let me tell you this, I left equipped with what God wanted me to experience.  I have seen so many religious facades.

Beloved I remained faithful to God in doing ministry and especially my prayer life and when The LORD told me to leave three years later, they said if I leave this church, 99% of the people who leave that church fall away from God!

Beloved, this type of manipulation, control, and abuse is more common than you might think.  I could go on and on…

God wants all the gifts to operate in The Church.  To be able to see is a powerful gift because it’s for protection, because The LORD lets you see what is going on behind the scenes.

That pastor did not like what I could see, and it went a lot further than what I am writing about today.

God wants all the gifts to operate in The Church, not just a few.

When all the gifts are there it is powerful and designed by God to be protective.  To see and hear what The Spirit is saying to The Church is a powerful Gift, when God opens your eyes and ears to hear!

That charlatan was being so irresponsible, dangerous and cultish.  There were the religious and cultish in Jesus’ day, in the form of Judaism and other sects that had things added to it and taken from it.  True to religious dogma, any belief held without certainty or questioning, is dangerous.

Jesus dealt with a system of religious doctrine that revealed Christ, but the religious if his day could not see.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem just like we must weep, because they cannot hear or see what The Spirit was saying to The Churches.

Religious spirits do the outward things that attempt to make our appearance look the part of what we think we are.

We attempt to act differently thinking to gain attention, popularity, and notoriety from those who are in authority.

However, service to the King of Kings isn’t about who’s who, or what works to gain access to those in authority and control.

The peacock can be symbolic of pride, because of the dance and the display of all the feathers.  Have we been dancing the dance and fanning our feathers to display ourselves in false humility and have we adapted to a religious mind set to gain entrance into the club of who’s who?

Who do we vie for attention in negative ways?  Do we think in our mind, that we are the most invaluable and capable person in our midst?

Pride is like a peacock, so beautiful and thinking I must be the best thing that has ever happened in my church?

Beloved, it is more prevalent than we know.  Pride is an evil spirit and why The LORD threw the devil out of heaven because of it.

Politics isn’t just how our government rules, it is also in The Church.  People who seek to rub shoulders with leadership and vie for position, need to be warned and corrected.

A flattering mouth works ruin.  Why?  Because God is a jealous God!

Are we to conform to the ways of this world’s system?  It is time that judgment must come to the house of God!

If the ways of a Church — or religious system — doesn’t lead us to Christ in true repentance by turning away from sin, being holy, obedient, Christ like, humble, broken, lowly of heart, it is a very dangerous place to be in!

The religious Christian organizations and churches that are self-serving instead of Christ serving are NOT the true Church of Jesus Christ.

“The Church must not conform to the world but come out of the world and be separate,” says The LORD “and I will receive you.”

You cannot come to Christ on your terms, you come to Him on His Terms — and if you can hear Him, harden not your heart….

“For it is the time for the judgment to have begun from the house of God; and if from us first, what will be the outcome of those disobeying the gospel of God? And, If the righteous one is saved with difficulty, where will appear the ungodly and sinner?”   1 Peter 4:17-18 BSB

See also   Religion, Humility, and False Humility — Part 1

In HIS Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey

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