Don't Beg for Funds from People, Ask God

Don't ask people for anything, don't promote your ministry, just do what God told you to do, and He will support you. Then we know it will be God Who did it.
What a blessing when God is the One Who knows exactly what is needed, then when our needs are met, we can praise Him alone.

 
God wants us to ask Him, not people. Then, when He provides, He gets all the glory.
Philippians 4:19 "And my God will liberally supply your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

 
When we ask others to supply our needs, we fret, seek after people, and depend on them. God wants us to depend on Him in perfect rest and peace, that He will provide His way, His timing, and through those whom He wants to help.

 
Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

God will compel others to help whom He wants to help. When we decide to beg people for funds or food or anything, we are depending on them instead of Christ.
I once knew a woman whose husband left her. She depended on God for everything and saw frequent miracles as she trusted Christ for everything. Then one day, she remarried in disobedience to God. Her first husband was still alive, but she didn't want to be alone, so she met another man and married him.

 
Luke 16:18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery."

After the remarriage, this woman shared with me that she was perplexed because before she married the second man, God was meeting all her needs in miraculous ways, but after the second marriage, she didn't see any more miracles.

 
When we decide to do things our own way, we miss many blessings God may have had for us. When we move out in inspiration and dependence on people, we lose the connection between the Holy Spirit and ourselves.

 
Many believers today are missing blessings because they are dedicated to the culture more than Christ. They are fearful of losing friends and family. They are fearful of the rejection of the culture as a whole if they do not fit in.

 
It is possible to be full of joy, peace, and all the rest of the fruit of the Spirit through all the rejection. When Christ is first, whether or not we are loved by people doesn't matter, we are fulfilled in every way, even when we are alone.

Colossians 2:9-11 "…9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form. 10 And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 11 In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands."

Ephesians 1:22-23 "And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church, / which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."

Philippians 2:9-11 "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Jesus Christ and all the apostles were rejected by most people. God said it would be this way, that most people are headed toward hell and will reject the love and goodness of Christ. We have no reason to believe it will be different for us.

 
John 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you."
May those who love Christ take comfort in knowing that He is all we need all the time. If He sends someone of like mind to come around to encourage, hallelujah, what a blessing, but if not, we remain faithful and full of joy.

 
And, don't forget, we have brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world going through the same things, and one day we will all meet at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and be together forever.

Let There Be Continual and Lasting Growth

It is possible to go to church all your life for 50 years and never change. Many people are no more loving at the end of their lives than they were at the beginning of their salvation experience.

 
For some, it was a lack of growth because of the lack of edification within the body of Christ, and for others, they never were changed by Christ because they wanted only to be a part of a club out of pride, but never loved Christ.

 
John 14:15 "15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—…"

There are many pretenders who attend churches today who want the companionship of "nice" people, as well as feeling safe with these people, but they don't want Christ. They want Christ when they need Him, but don't want Him to bother them with His principles and commands.

 
There are many such people within the churches today who practice the rituals of attending and doing what the man up front tells them to do, but have no intention of being changed by what they hear.

 
We want to be believers who are growing and changing to be more like Christ all the time. We want our walk to be different from when we first began with Him.

 
May each believer seek to be changed by Christ as we seek Him every day for His purposes and not our own.

Rediscovering the Biblical Purpose of Church Gatherings (Hint: It's Not ...

God's Order Within the Church Gathering

A young woman once told me that when she "goes to church" she raises her hands in worship and feels a sense of being all alone with God even though she was surrounded by people. She thought this was a good thing.

I was so sad to hear this since in the Word of God we are called to "gather together to edify one another." We do not worship in ritual or outward appearances but in our hearts and daily service to God. God never gave a building to meet in because our bodies are His temple. We can meet in buildings but it is human nature to elevate the place even more than elevating Christ. That special building is treated with reverence, but Christ often is not.

 
It makes no sense to go to gathering to "offer sacrifices to God" as was done before He died and rose from the dead. We go to receive from God what He has for us. Nothing we could do would be acceptable as a sacrifice when He already paid the best of all sacrifices, of His own Body on the Cross. Nothing we could "do" for him is worthy.

 
Our worship is in the heart, Spiritual and in Truth. Nothing outward could add to that.

 
There is no need to go to a gathering if we go there and act as though we are alone with God, we can do that at home, in the park or in our car driving somewhere. We gather with other believers to build one another in the faith.

 
1 Thessalonians 5:11: "Therefore, encourage (eduft) one another and build each other up, just as you are doing."

 
God's purpose for the gathering of believers was to build up one another in the faith, speak the Word to one another, edifying one another to be equipped for service the rest of the week while we were not in the gathering.

For years, I was discomforted by what was going on in the churches we attended, except for one, which was "the Brethren" who were closest to the Biblical model of the gathering. I didn't know all that was wrong with the mainstream gatherings, but just knew something was terribly off.

 
God clearly said these things;

 
John 4:24 states, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." This is not an outward ritual, but in our hearts, which is why he said the following:

Romans 14:4-6 "…4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.…"

We come together to help one another grow; there is not only one who speaks from an elevated position, but everyone participates as led by the Holy Spirit, man, woman, and child.

 
1 Thessalonians 5:11 "11 Therefore, encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing."

1 Corinthians 14:26-33
"26 What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification.
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it must be by two or at the most three, and each one in turn, and one is to interpret;
28 but if there is no interpreter, he is to keep silent in church; and have him speak to himself and to God.
29 Have two or three prophets speak, and have the others pass judgment.
30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent.
31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;
32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;
33 for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.
As in all the churches of the saints,"

According to the Bible, all who gather participate; one man may lead, but all interject and engage as led by the Holy Spirit.

 
In the false gatherings today, those who wish to speak are silenced as the culture considers it rude to interrupt, but God tells us to be free to interrupt if the Holy Spirit leads us to add to what the speaker is saying or correct it.

 
Women are not to lead but are free to interject as led by the Holy Spirit. Women are forbidden from disrupting things by asking questions and chattering about things not pertaining to edification.

 
God said that women were allowed to prophesy, meaning speak the things of the Word, as long as she is covered.

 
1 Corinthians 11:10-16 " 10 For this reason a woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11 In any case, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
12 For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman. But all things come from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace for him,
15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone intends to quarrel about this, we have no other practice, nor do the churches of God."

There are two separate words here for covering, one is the hair and the other is the veil over the hair; it has nothing to do with modesty or covering the hair, it has to do with the Authority that comes from Christ for each the man and the woman.
The head covering is a picture of the church for the woman and the uncovered head of the man is a picture of Christ. These practices are symbols of Authority, the man as the symbol of Christ and the woman a symbol of His church.

 
So many rules are followed that God never gave in the modern church gathering. Some people are elevated above others and even treated in a worshipful way, totally against the Bible.

This is why I began saying years ago, Protestants have their protestant popes and think they are different from the Catholics. When we elevate someone to a higher position because they have a degree, have been chosen as special, and are treated as an authority over the rest of the congregation, we are practicing popery.

 
Leaders lead by example and teaching, but only the Holy Spirit has Authority over each born-again believer.

 
We know that the phrase "women are not allowed to speak" must mean something other than total silence because of the verses in 1 Corinthians.

 
Women are commanded not to teach over men or have authority over, but this does not disallow a woman from prophesying (speaking forth the word of God) as led by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we would have to negate 1 Corinthians 11.

 
When we read the Scriptures, it is important to keep all passages in the context of the entire Bible. And, never forbidding any believer from expressing their heart as led by the Holy Spirit, this can even include children.

 
1 Corinthians 14:26 "26 What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification. "

Notice this; "brothers and sisters", each one having a psalm, a teaching a revelation, a tongue and an interpretation. EACH ONE, this suggests to me that everyone born-again has something to offer from the Holy Spirit, in an orderly fashion, not stepping out of their gender role in their interactions.

 
Completely disallowing someone to speak or interact is not Biblical, however, there are gender roles in leadership that a woman should not cross.

 
The key to it all is this; "being led by the Holy Spirit." No one can go wrong who depends on the Holy Spirit to compel them.

Order Within the Gathering of Believers

A young woman once told me that when she "goes to church" she raises her hands in worship and feels a sense of being all alone with God even though she was surrounded by people. She thought this was a good thing.

I was so sad to hear this since in the Word of God we are called to "gather together to edify one another." We do not worship in ritual or outward appearances but in our hearts and daily service to God. God never gave a building to meet in because our bodies are His temple. We can meet in buildings but it is human nature to elevate the place even more than elevating Christ. That special building is treated with reverence, but Christ often is not.

 
It makes no sense to go to gathering to "offer sacrifices to God" as was done before He died and rose from the dead. We go to receive from God what He has for us. Nothing we could do would be acceptable as a sacrifice when He already paid the best of all sacrifices, of His own Body on the Cross. Nothing we could "do" for him is worthy.

 
Our worship is in the heart, Spiritual and in Truth. Nothing outward could add to that.

 
There is no need to go to a gathering if we go there and act as though we are alone with God, we can do that at home, in the park or in our car driving somewhere. We gather with other believers to build one another in the faith.

 
1 Thessalonians 5:11: "Therefore, encourage (eduft) one another and build each other up, just as you are doing."

 
God's purpose for the gathering of believers was to build up one another in the faith, speak the Word to one another, edifying one another to be equipped for service the rest of the week while we were not in the gathering.

For years, I was discomforted by what was going on in the churches we attended, except for one, which was "the Brethren" who were closest to the Biblical model of the gathering. I didn't know all that was wrong with the mainstream gatherings, but just knew something was terribly off.

 
God clearly said these things;
John 4:24 states, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." This is not an outward ritual, but in our hearts, which is why he said the following:

Romans 14:4-6 "…4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.…"

We come together to help one another grow; there is not only one who speaks from an elevated position, but everyone participates as led by the Holy Spirit, man, woman, and child.

 
1 Thessalonians 5:11 "11 Therefore, encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing."

1 Corinthians 14:26-33
"26 What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification.
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it must be by two or at the most three, and each one in turn, and one is to interpret;
28 but if there is no interpreter, he is to keep silent in church; and have him speak to himself and to God.
29 Have two or three prophets speak, and have the others pass judgment.
30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent.
31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;
32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;
33 for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.
As in all the churches of the saints,"

According to the Bible, all who gather participate; one man may lead, but all interject and engage as led by the Holy Spirit.

 
In the false gatherings today, those who wish to speak are silenced as the culture considers it rude to interrupt, but God tells us to be free to interrupt if the Holy Spirit leads us to add to what the speaker is saying or correct it.

 
Women are not to lead but are free to interject as led by the Holy Spirit. Women are forbidden from disrupting things by asking questions and chattering about things not pertaining to edification.

 
God said that women were allowed to prophesy, meaning speak the things of the Word, as long as she is covered.

 
1 Corinthians 11:10-16 " 10 For this reason a woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11 In any case, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
12 For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman. But all things come from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace for him,
15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone intends to quarrel about this, we have no other practice, nor do the churches of God."

There are two separate words here for covering, one is the hair and the other is the veil over the hair; it has nothing to do with modesty or covering the hair, it has to do with the Authority that comes from Christ for each the man and the woman.
The head covering is a picture of the church for the woman and the uncovered head of the man is a picture of Christ. These practices are symbols of Authority, the man as the symbol of Christ and the woman a symbol of His church.

 
So many rules are followed that God never gave in the modern church gathering. Some people are elevated above others and even treated in a worshipful way, totally against the Bible.

This is why I began saying years ago, Protestants have their protestant popes and think they are different from the Catholics. When we elevate someone to a higher position because they have a degree, have been chosen as special, and are treated as an authority over the rest of the congregation, we are practicing popery.

 
Leaders lead by example and teaching, but only the Holy Spirit has Authority over each born-again believer.

 
We know that the phrase "women are not allowed to speak" must mean something other than total silence because of the verses in 1 Corinthians.

 
Women are commanded not to teach over men or have authority over, but this does not disallow a woman from prophesying (speaking forth the word of God) as led by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, we would have to negate 1 Corinthians 11.

 
When we read the Scriptures, it is important to keep all passages in the context of the entire Bible. And, never forbidding any believer from expressing their heart as led by the Holy Spirit, this can even include children.

 
1 Corinthians 14:26 "26 What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification. "

Notice this; "brothers and sisters", each one having a psalm, a teaching a revelation, a tongue and an interpretation. EACH ONE, this suggests to me that everyone born-again has something to offer from the Holy Spirit, in an orderly fashion, not stepping out of their gender role in their interactions.

 
Completely disallowing someone to speak or interact is not Biblical, however, there are gender roles in leadership that a woman should not cross.
The key to it all is this: "being led by the Holy Spirit." No one can go wrong who depends on the Holy Spirit to compel them.

"Edification & the Home Assembly" / Dr. Tom Wadsworth / HFW2025

Sheep Stealing is not a Thing

Many years ago, I heard a phrase that left me in disbelief. it was used when someone left a church gathering, and others followed. The one who left was called a "sheep stealer" because they influenced others just by leaving the group.

 
I was once told by a friend that my husband and I were causing division in the church by leaving it, as though once you attend that gathering, they own you. My response was that those who cause division are those who bring in false doctrine, not the ones who leave because the false teachers will not correct their error.

 
I laughed when I heard it because I thought it was a joke.

 
No one is bound to any church gathering or owned by any pastor. We are each autonomous in our walk with Christ and are free to meet with whomever we please at any time we please.

 
When we are born-again, it is Christ Whom we follow, not any man and not any particular gathering.

 
Nowhere in scripture is there a description of formal membership in any one group of people.

 
It is my opinion based on may years of walking with Christ that remaining in one gathering all your life with certain people to act as authority figures over the gathering, will diminish your walk and retard your Spiritual and emotional growth.
Gatherings that have no contact with anyone outside their own group tend to establish rules and standards to keep people from outside influences, rather than encouraging interactions with other believers outside that clique.

 
There may be some people who never want to go anywhere but the place they are familiar with, and this is alright as long as it is led by the Holy Spirit.

 
There are those who would be an asset to many if they move around as they bring a fresh perspective to other groups. The wonderful thing about being born again is that we are not dominated by human rules and decisions. All our marching orders come from the Holy Spirit. No person will know what God is calling us personally to, unless they too are being led and support the decision of those who have heard from God.

 
John 16:13: "The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, will guide believers into all truth."
Romans 8:14 says, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God".

 
Galatians 5:18 "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law".

Man's rules and ideas can be good suggestions at times but they are not obligatory rules for a person led by the Holy Spirit.

 
We can know God's will for us from reading His word. His principles guide us as His Holy Spirit gives us the specifics about them.

 
For example, we must teach women to dress modestly and leave the conviction of the Holy Spirit on their hearts as to what that looks like. Making rules about clothing is not proper, but using the principles from the Word of God while encouraging someone to seek Christ in their clothing is appropriate.

 
If a leader has made a rule about clothing and someone follows it because of intimidation and fear, all the leader managed to do was cause obedience to him. But if a leader brings the scriptures to bear and leaves the decision to the person and that person changes because the Holy Spirit convicted them, there is a greater good, obedience to the Holy Spirit counts, obedience to the man does not change the heart, it only changes outer actions while the heart remains the same.
Our hope is that the Holy Spirit will lead in each heart for the Spiritual permanent change, not a superficial change to please men.

 
When the change was to please men, but the heart remains the same, all that has happened is the rebellious heart remains unchanged, but with an outer appearance that fools others.

 
Those who seek the Holy Spirit will obey Him because of their desire to please God. Those who make outward changes to please men are pretenders.

 
Galatians 5:16: "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh"

Forcing others to follow man's rules, no matter how good, does not change their heart. Leading them to Christ will change their heart.