Independence

Independence

Our Independence might not be what we think it is. The Bible has a long history of independence, and our history books do as well. God's original plan was for us to be completely dependent on Him.

In the beginning when the All perfect God, created an all perfect creation, He chose to allow all of His thinking creations to have Independent thought, including the angels, and mankind. God's will was that we would surrender our hearts and minds to Him, and allow Him to guide our feelings, thoughts, and actions. God wanted us to be completely dependent on Him, but God knew that because He gave us independent thought, that Satan would decide to become independent of God, to try to become like God, and that as a result of this sin, Satan would be sent to earth, and would tempt mankind to choose independent feelings, thoughts, actions, in exchange for independent knowledge that would cause them to be out of God's will, and therefore sin.
This sin was committed, out of a desire to be like God, and to be able to be the god of our own lives. Today many people ask how God could create an imperfect world, and allow Satan to exist. The truth is that before creation, God knew Jesus would have to suffer and die on the cross, in order to allow His creation, with independent feelings, thoughts, and actions, to be able to have righteousnesses, as well as the freedom to do wrong or right. This is not a fault of God. God is never at fault. If God were to take away our freedom, liberty, and independence, we would be like programed robots, and or like people super-glued in place, only allowed to do what is right, but even with super-glue we would be able to have bad thoughts. History teaches us, that we can bind people, shackle them, beat them, and force them to do what we want, but we can not change their hearts and minds. God wants us to love / choose Him willingly.
Another question people ask, is if God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, then why did He appear to be more harsh in the Old Testament of scripture ? The majority of God's people in the old Testament weren't interested in God, or being God's people, unless it got them out of a tough situation. They didn't have a relationship with God, they didn't pray to Him, or approach Him. God seemed distant from their perspective, and so they decided to construct idols, legends, and myths that they could follow instead, without fearing their constructions, or having to have a relationship with it, and best of all their constructions, didn't feel, think, or act, so their idols agreed with whatever they would do, making them the gods over their own lives, and the lives of whoever else followed their construction. A leader was appointed by the people and by God, to seek God, sense the people were too afraid. The appointed leader, would convey God's message to the people, who would ignore it, unless they were desperate. After Jesus came into the world, people started having personal relationships with God. Jesus instructed us to make Him the head of His Church, and for there to be no leader except Him, and that we are to address one another as brothers and sisters of Jesus, all one family.
In the day of the first king of Israel Saul, God warned His people what would happen if they demanded a king.

1 Samuel 8:10-22Amplified Bible (AMP)

10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked of him a king.
11 And he said, These will be the ways of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
12 He will appoint them for himself to be commanders over thousands and over fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and equipment for his chariots.
13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
14 He will take your fields, your vineyards, and your olive orchards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
16 He will take your men and women servants and the best of your cattle and your donkeys and put them to his work.
17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves shall be his slaves.
18 In that day you will cry out because of your king you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not hear you then.
19 Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, No! We will have a king over us,
20 That we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.
21 Samuel heard all the people’s words and repeated them in the Lord’s ears.
22 And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to their voice and appoint them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go every man to his city.

So as you can see here, clearly, the people only wanted someone to go out and fight their battles for them. This was their reason for appointing a King, rather than following God. Traditionally God would command all of His people, who were able bodied Men, to fight the wars and battles of God's nation. Instead of trusting God, the people wanted a King to fight their battles for them, even at the expense of becoming slaves. The people weren't just slaves to the king, but also nations that ruled over them, after the people and the king did wicked things in the eyes of the Lord. So then the people became accountable for their own sins, and the sins of the king they demanded from the Lord. In the same way the founding fathers of the United States, spoke against any standing army, and called them mercenaries, and instead wanted every able bodied man to have a weapon, ammunition, and know how to use it. The difference was, that a Government was appointed by men, and the Government chose to become independent of God.
After Jesus came, died, and rose again, and after he warned all of us saying: Matthew 23 Amplified Bible (AMP)

23 Then Jesus said to the multitudes and to His disciples,
2 The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat [of authority].
3 So observe and practice all they tell you; but do not do what they do, for they preach, but do not practice.
4 They tie up heavy loads, hard to bear, and place them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves will not lift a finger to help bear them.
5 They do all their works to be seen of men; for they make wide their phylacteries ([a]small cases enclosing certain Scripture passages, worn during prayer on the left arm and forehead) and make long their fringes [worn by all male Israelites, according to the command].
6 And they take pleasure in and [thus] love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,
7 And to be greeted with honor in the marketplaces and to have people call them rabbi.
8 But you are not to be called rabbi (teacher), for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers.
9 And do not call anyone [in the church] on earth father, for you have one Father, Who is in heaven.
10 And you must not be called masters (leaders), for you have one Master (Leader), the Christ.
11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 Whoever exalts himself [[c]with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low), and whoever humbles himself [whoever has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly] shall be [d]raised to honor.
13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces; for you neither enter yourselves, nor do you allow those who are about to go in to do so.

So after Jesus went to heaven, a few of the 500 followers who witnessed Him here on earth after He rose from the dead, 12 of His followers, believed themselves to be greater than the other 500 who witnessed Him here on earth after He rose from the dead, or than others who hadn't seen Jesus first hand. So these 12 followers named Churches after themselves, and appointed men as leaders in these Churches. Paul quickly realized that the people in the Church of Apollos (named after Paul) were claiming to follow Paul as their leader, rather than following God. The reason the 12 followers of Jesus appointed leaders in Churches, was similar to the reason the Israelites appointed a king over Israel instead of God. They wanted to have Church leaders, just like the Jewish leaders, and other religions, instead of allowing each person, and the groups to be lead by the Spirit of God, and God's words. Some of the people in these Churches, enjoyed having a leader, because this leader could be told to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and study His words, giving the Church members time to go on about their own lives, and do as they please, and also if they could get their leader to condone their actions, then they could try to justify them, as they did in the Church of Apollos.

In 1^st Corinthians Paul Says: 10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

In order to be united in mind and thought, our thoughts and minds, must be in line with Jesus and what He wants for us. Selfishness has no room. We must be willing slaves to Religiousness so we don't become slaves to evil.

In 1^st Corinthians 3 Paul explains that the people seem unchanged, as they fulfill the lusts of their flesh, but he still takes credit for starting the Church of Apollos, and gives credit to it's leaders, but only gives God the credit for it's growth, and God alone. Paul doesn't give God credit for everything, for watering the Church and planting it. Paul takes credit and glory for planting that Church. In Capter 3 verse 10 Paul is calling himself a Master builder, and skillful architect, and as we remember Jesus said no one is to call themselves Master, or leader, as I pointed out in this article. Yet Paul goes on to include the words of Jesus, and mix them in with His message as well. So what we have here is the product of a flawed man, appointing other flawed men, to lead a Church, that ends up with incest, and all kinds of sexual crimes and sins, that the Church of Apollos justifies. We remember the words of Jesus: Matthew 7:15-20Amplified Bible (AMP)

15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves.
16 You will fully recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every healthy (sound) tree bears good fruit [worthy of admiration], but the sickly (decaying, worthless) tree bears bad (worthless) fruit.
18 A good (healthy) tree cannot bear bad (worthless) fruit, nor can a bad (diseased) tree bear excellent fruit [worthy of admiration].
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire.
20 Therefore, you will fully know them by their fruits.

The fruit of the Church of Apollos was sexual sin, incest, and justification of sins. Man's leadership in the Church, never fully accomplishes the will of God, and ends in disaster. Later Paul goes back to the gospel of Jesus, after calling himself a master builder: 21 So let no one exult proudly concerning men [boasting of having this or that man as a leader], for all things are yours,

So many times in Churches, and other religious circles and groups, Pastors / elders / leaders of Churches, will say that Jesus' scripture that says there are to be no leaders except God, does not apply to them, or that those who are not leaders, or who haven't been educated in Bible College, can't understand that scripture correctly. God is the same, today, yesterday, and forever. He has, does, and always will want to be the leader over us as individuals, as a body, and at any other level. In order for this to happen, we must all surrender to His perfect will, and continually pray for help to be humble, and not look at ourselves as better than anyone else, and not to allow ourselves or others to appoint us as spiritual leaders. It is all a pyramid scheme. In the beginning God made us equal to Him in righteousness. Not in authority, or power, but in righteousness. God gave us dominion over the earth, and everything in it, just like appointing a King over a nation, or a leader over a Church, except that the animals and nature were not people. The same consequences took place when man kind sinned as well. All that Man was appointed over, suffered because of Man's sin, just as a nation suffers because of a king, and a Church suffers because of appointed leaders. After that Man was still not cut off from God, because God allowed Man to have righteousnesses, if Man would only have faith in God as Abraham did. This religiousness, restored Abraham in God's sight, but it didn't make Abraham a brother of Jesus (as far as we know) or a son of the Father God (as far as we know).

After Jesus came, died, and rose again, He paved the way for us to become His brothers and sisters, adopted by God the Father as sons and daughters. We were given all authority, as equals with Jesus in God's sight, as long as we are completely dependent on God, His will for us, keep our faith and trust in Him, and ask Him for help to do what He wants us to do, and keep from Sin, our daily bread... (the Lord's prayer) So in God's sight we are now equal with Him, as long as we completely submit to Him, and follow His will, after being reconciled by Jesus. No matter how close to God we get, our human nature is to think and act independently, with our own common sense, knowledge, and effort. We all make these mistakes from time to time. None of us are perfect, and this is an excellent reminder. The stories and the people other than Jesus in the Bible are all examples of imperfect people. In the book of Acts, the followers of Jesus argued, and had division amongst themselves.
The only way to be free, and independent from the slavery of sin, death, decay, immorality, lusts, criminal, and selfish desires, is to become completely dependent on God, and become slaves to righteousnesses. We must always be open to correction from God, even if it's threw someone else. We must also not allow those who go on crazy tangents to stomp all over us with their so called righteous anger. We also need to understand, that some of us were raised in good, moral homes, and others were not, and that when people act out, or do unspeakable things, there is usually a reason why, and a root cause. Jesus loves everyone equally. No one is worthy of any more honor or glory than anyone else, and no one is worthy of any honor or glory except Jesus. To say that elders / leaders are worthy of a double honor, is to say they deserve a double honor of Jesus. Timothy was flawed in that way in the Bible. All men and women are flawed, and it is by design, for if we were not flawed, then we would not need God for anything, and by our own religiousness we could become gods.

Some people say everything is a Pyramid. That is to say the structure of a pyramid scheme, is common and acceptable. In Jesus there is no pyramid or scheme. Everything and everyone is equal. Satan however has no authority on his own, except authority that is given to him, by those who follow him. Satan was given authority by Eve, and she got her husband to participate under her false authority from Satan, when she really was giving authority to Satan. The authority each one of us has to hand over to Satan, is authority over us, our lives, and our destiny. Once we give Satan authority over us, he instructs us to take from others, and make them subject to us, making others subject to Satan by proxy, however believers who have dedicated themselves to Jesus, will still belong to Jesus, even if those who follow Satan, appear to have authority and dominion over the followers of Jesus. Those who follow Satan become slaves to sin, selfishness, lusts, and all evil desires and impulses. Once their chains become thick and are connected to all areas of their lives, Satan can easily manipulate them, and have them do Satan's work, or lead them off a cliff. Satan makes them robots / puppets, without an ability to be independent from him, because they are completely controlled by their lusts, wants, and desires. Only Jesus can set them free, and only by submitting fully to following Jesus voluntarily, can you be free from Satan. In this world, in this day, many are submitting before evil cults and criminals, in exchange for a false promise of security, a job, safety, wellbeing, wealth, prosperity, power... not only for themselves, but for their children, friends, and relatives. These people may be good people, who just can't seem to get ahead, so they submit to evil, and they still seem like good people. They don't fully trust God, to stand alone with God, and not give in to any kind of evil. It's that mentality of shut up and do what your told, no matter what, and you will get ahead, and have no problems. If these seemingly good people would have put their faith and trust in God, and God alone, He would have allowed them to participate in brining the evil down, and showing others the way to God. Instead they give in to fear. They seek the easy way out. The wide road that leads to sin and death and destruction. It seemeth right to men, to do as your told, and get ahead, no matter the cost or compromise, but in the end is sin and death. Only the narrow road leads to life, and few find it. It's a road of direct dependence on God. I have seen people who work for Churches “submit to man's authority” to gain false authority, and prosperity, with a promise of a good job. This is a false foundation. Any time, in a Church, or spiritual group, you are told to submit to another person's authority, rather than submitting directly to God's authority, you are laying your foundation on sinking sand, and building a house made of shoddy materials; wood, hey, and stubble. Instead build your house directly on the Rock who is Christ Jesus, and your house will be made of Gold, Sliver, and Costly Stones, and won't burn up in the fire. The fruit of your labor will be good, and last !
This can seem difficult. Imagine a Denomination, or Church Label tells you that if you will submit / bow to their leadership, and do what they say without question, that they will make you the pastor / leader of a Church, and have all the people in your “flock” (I thought it was Jesus' flock?) submit to your authority no matter what, and your wife will be taught to submit to you and the elders of the Denomination / Church Label (sounds Biblical right ?) as well, and they will even finance everything, and make sure it succeeds. What if God has another plan, as we see in the Gospel of Jesus ? What if His plan is to be the head and leader of the Church, and have God the Father as the Father of the Church, and Jesus as the teacher ? What if God wants to start a revival that goes across the entire world ? What then ? Well all I have to say, (sarcastically) is that Jesus had better check with the Church elders of whatever Denomination / Church Label that you have submitted yourself to, before He uses you or anyone else to do a move of God ! Think about that now.
John the Baptist, was a voice out in the desert. He didn't have any Church or organization funding his operation, message, printing bulletins, or papers. John didn't have any TV spots, or stand in the big cities preaching from the synagogues, or anything like that. From our perspective, John the Baptist didn't ever amount to anything. He didn't have any wealth, his followers all left him, and he died as a prisoner. Yet Jesus said no greater man was born of Woman than John the Baptist, and John had the honor of baptizing Jesus. John didn't check with his earthly father, or the priests, or the synagogue before starting the ministry God had for him. Because of John's faithfulness to God, obedience, and faith, he now has a great reward in heaven !
What if God calls you to do something, very different right now ? Maybe while you are reading this message. Do you go against the grain, and put Jesus as the ruler over you, in your life, or do you submit yourself to an earthly leader, or allow yourself to be appointed as a leader over others ? Are you bold enough, do you have enough courage, and do you have enough faith, given to you by God (all glory and honor given to God for anything you think, feel, or do that is good) to follow His ultimate destiny for your life, your family, your finances, and your efforts, or will you become a part of Satan's evil pyramid scheme that ends in sin and death, and limits you from all God has for you ?
I am not saying that it is evil to submit to the authority and leadership of others in employment, because we live in a fallen world, and it is the nature of things to have leadership, and a pyramid structure in most businesses, corporations, military, and government, but when it comes to spiritual things, we should have a relationship, not a religion.

I can honestly say I was offered $20,000,000.00 to be invested into a business I would run, if I would give up my faith in Jesus.

~ Justin Breithaupt 07-05-2014 #IndependenceDay #July4th