Hi family -
There is a gentleman who started a ministry that I have been hanging around who I believe is underneath me in God's pecking order. I told him that today & he refused to accept it. The reason I believe this is because the bible says "And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better." Heb 7:7 & approx 5 years ago God sent me to anoint him w/ oil. I tried to tell him that so he dabs some oil on my head. Well I realize one reason that God put him into my life, because we are so alike in the refusal to acknoledge a human's spiritual authority & to teach me 3 things w/ this incident -

• I now understand how other people feel when they have authority over me & I don't acknoledge that fact.
  
  
• I now understand how God feels when we don't acknoledge His authority in our lives (I never knew b4 that God got fustrated).
  
  
• I now see how foolish & prideful I look when I don't acknoledge someone's authority when it is above mine in God's pecking order.

Now the 1st scripture God gave me when this happened is this one - 1 Sam 8:7 "they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me" so I am not supposed to take it personally but nevertheless I was fully irritated & my stomach even got sick while I was meditating about it.

He gave me 2 reasons why he doesn't accept my authority - I don't have any colledge drgrees & I am about half his age. As far as the degrees I told him "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." (Gal 1:11-12) & as far as my age I didn't tell him but my thought is I wonder how he would respond in the days of 2 Kings 15:1-2 "In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem." ? I wonder if he would tell him "Your not the boss of me!" - When Nabal didn't accept David's authority he wound up dead shortly thereafter & the last thing I want to do is give this guy a curse.

So this all got started because he wasn't listening to me when I was trying to teach him something - that it is not good to complain - Num 11:1 "And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD" - he has a habit of complaining about how people that he sees doesn't give him money (people across the ocean that he doesn't see give more) - I told him Hag 2:8 "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts." & so if he wants money he shouldn't look towards man but rather to the Lord.

But I guess he is comming from this scripture "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (1 Jn 3:17)& disgusted whith what he sees as hypocracy of churchgoers who won't help his ministry with the homeless but will build new church houses for their rich members etc etc.. I told him "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thess 5:18) so if someone doesn't give you money you should thank God for what you do got instead of complain about what you don't got but I don't think he gets it. I just hope he isn't greedy in wich case I should give him this passage in 1 Pet 5:2 "to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it "”not for sordid gain but eagerly." (NRSV).

In any case the main question concerning this incedent is: How would you handle a situation like this?

And my prayer requests are:

Please pray that the gentleman I am talking about & I can both acknoledge the spiritual authorities that are above us.

Please pray that if I am wrong about being above him in God's pecking order that I will hear God tell me that.

Please pray that if God doesn't appreciate this person complaining that God will teach him that even if He doesn't use me to do it.

"The more you know, the more you should realize how much you have to learn"

Slade

"God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you" (1 Sam 12:23)

"let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified" (70 Ps 4)

All scriptures are King James (Authorized) Version unless otherwise noted


http://www.geocities.com/walkinlovelivebyfaith/