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Living the More Than Abundant Life in Messiah Yeshua So, now that we have entered the new covenant with God, we become citizens of the Kingdom of God, are born again as children of God, and we received the gift of holy spirit, now what do we do? How do we live this new life we were given? Let’s begin with this quote from Yeshua Messiah:
I’ve heard Bible teachers assert that the abundant life promised in the above quote is about material wealth primarily. Obviously, it’s much more than that. Yeshus said:
On the other hand, Yeshua also said this:
So, it's great to be spiritual and have faith. But one also needs to be practical, to strike a balance between the material world and the spiritual. The material world is nothing for which to have disdain. It is God's creation. It brings glory to God. And to delve into science for a moment: E = MC² means that all matter is pure, super-condensed energy. In my mind, that means that even the material world is part of the spiritual world. When you’re living the more than abundant life in the spirit, have faith that all your physical needs will be supplied:
Back to John 10:10b: "I came that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.” The Greek word used here as “abundantly” is Strong’s 4053 (you can look it up on BibleHub.com). It’s the Greek word περισσὸν (perissos). It’s an adverb from “peri”, meaning:
When we drill down on the Greek περισσὸν (perissos), it becomes clear that no single English word is sufficient to carry the weight of it’s meaning. “Abundantly” is as close as the scribes were able to get, but it hardly does justice. “Perissos”, as pronounced in English, is an adverb, that is, describing an action. Perissos is an action-packed word, arguably, the most action-packed adverb in all of ancient Greek. How would I use it in English if it were an English word?
That was a fun exercise. I found more definition into this word using the BibleHub app. Check this out:
To sum it up, perissos means “continuously & reliably more than abundant beyond all expectations on both the material and spiritual levels under God’s grace and blessings”. In case you ever thought that living this “Bible-based” life would be just about being pious, self-righteous and desperately dull, I’m here to tell you that it is profoundly quite the opposite. It can be the more than abundant life if you are open to the fullness of what is available and if you have enough faith. If you feel that you might be short in the faith department, God in Christ in you (the holy spirit) can increase your faith. In fact, faith is one of the nine manifestations of the holy spirit which you received when you entered into the new covenant. We’ll get into the nine manifestations in a moment, but check out this interaction Messiah had with a man whose son was possessed (read the whole context by yourself because it’s interesting):
God is able to increase your faith if you ask him. This more than abundant life is all tied into that holy spirit gift we received when we entered the new covenant, as we covered here. And this perissos, the more than abundant life, is not just for you to consume selfishly by yourself. The very reason that it overflows beyond expectations is to bless those around you, to open their eyes, so they can live the perissos life too, and be reconciled with God; for Yahweh, through Messiah, is actively reconciling all things unto himself (Colossians 1:20). Here are some Old Testament verses from the prophets to consider:
You see that sense of overflowing without limits? Now, let's see some quotes from Yeshua Messiah:
Moving forward in chronological order, here is something from the Acts of the Apostles:
The pattern that the above verses are showing is that even with no money or provisions, when you have God in Christ in you, you lack nothing. And when you give of the abundance within you, you are given even more abundance to give. Not giving would gum up the works. If you confine your faith to a religious organization and only parade it around for Sunday fellowship, you may lose what little you had, like a broken cistern that can hold no water. Why? Because you would have forsaken Yahweh, the spring of living waters. A spring of water freely flows indefinitely, seven days a week. Freely you were given, so, freely give. It's a universal principal incapsulated in this common expression which I’m sure you’ve heard: You have to spend money to make money. The same is true with the gift of holy spirit. If you use it abundantly, there is no end to the supply of blessings. But, if you are not using it, it is as if you don’t even have it. A man that does not live his life, is he a viable man? A man that does not manifest the holy spirit, is he really born again? Does he really have the holy spirit? That’s between him and God. It’s not ours to judge such things. But as for us, we're going to put our lamp high on a stand, and not hide it under a bushel (Luke 11:33). What happens when you put a lit candle under a bowl? The flame goes out.
We talked about the light within us shining forth and the more than abundant life. Then one would ask, where does all this power come from? Messiah answers that:
As we’ll see, he is talking about the promise of the holy spirit. So, the next logical question is: What is the holy spirit? And you’ll notice that as we answer this question, we’ll uncover the answers to these other questions in the process:
Watch for those answers as we delve into the question: What is the holy spirit? The definition depends on whether you are talking about God himself or the gift of holy spirit. They’re similar, but not the same thing. Let’s start with God himself. The Bible says that God is Holy. And it also says that God is a Spirit.
There it is. If you are talking about our Father God, he is Holy Spirit. That’s a definition. It’s not his name. His name is Yahweh. His relation to us is Father. His definition is Holy Spirit. He has also been defined in Scripture as love and light. That doesn’t mean it’s another personality of a multiple godhead.
So then, God is Holy Spirit which gives birth to the holy spirit gift which is in us. You see, those are two different things, which is why I don’t like when our modern translations capitalize “Holy Spirit” (pneuma hagion in Greek) every time it appears because it confuses the difference. The next verse proves this point, and this is Messiah himself speaking here:
That is similar to this verse, by the way, where Yeshua said:
So, the holy spirit gift cannot be the Holy Spirit God our Father because he does not speak of himself. It sounds complicated but it’s not. Your human parents gave birth to you, so, you are also human, right? A cat gives birth to kittens, and kittens are just baby cats, right? Similarly, the Holy Spirit, which is God our Father, gave birth to us, and we are now spirits, at least in part. Read the following Scripture:
Other English translations say “born again”, but this version, the World English Bible, or WEB, has it as “born anew” which means the same thing but may be silently better, especially in light of this verse:
And:
I may start saying “born anew” rather than “born again” from now on because A) it’s more accurate, and B) people’s ears have become desensitized to the term “born again”. “Born anew” may make them hear it and considerate it better. It has a fresher sound to it, and again, it’s more accurate. It's a win/win. “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Again, what is “the Spirit”? Yeshua said:
Your Father is a Spirit. He gives birth to you. You are now part spirit in your renewed life. The gift of holy spirit is born in you. We are now children of God.
So, that answers the question: Who are we? We are children of God. We are spirit born from our Father God who is also a Spirit.
So, the holy spirit (pneuma hagion – spirit holy) in most scriptural instances (and you can tell that by its context) is a gift. Whether you call it a thing or an entity, it is a component which meshes with your soul and makes you complete:
We can drill down on this in further detail. The holy spirit gift is, at least in principal: God in Christ in you.
Based on all the scriptural references we’ve just covered, it becomes clear that God, who is Holy Spirit by definition, creates a spirit connection in those who are called and chosen to become his children. The spirit connection is the conduit through which the power of God flows from God to us, and then, through us. It’s a circuit connection that tethers us to the source of power. It is the powerline that connects us to the generator of the power which is God himself. It also becomes part of who we are, as we’ve seen in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 “. . . your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless . . .”, so it’s like a natural umbilical cord which is part of God who is Spirit, and part of us who are part spirit.
So far in this section on the more than abundant life, we’ve established what we become when we enter the new covenant, that we become children of the most high God. We’ve also established what we receive when we become children of God, that we receive power from on high, the holy spirit gift. So, we know what we are, we know what we have, now let’s look into what we can do! Let’s start at the beginning. The very first day that the holy spirit gift was dispensed to the Apostles and followers of Messiah was on the day of Pentecost, also known as Shavuot, meaning “weeks” in Hebrew. This Festival of Weeks is directly linked to the Passover; the Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover, to be immediately followed by Shavuot. So, on Pentecost, seven weeks had passed from the day Yeshua Messiah rose from the dead. That’s forty-nine days. Now, after Yeshua rose from the dead, he appeared to his Apostles and disciples over a forty-day period, and then he was taken up to heaven. So, Pentecost was nine days from his ascension.
Most were taught that the Apostles and disciples, numbering about 120 people as written in Acts 1:15 were in an upper room at the time of Pentecost when the holy spirit gift was first dispersed upon them. See the next verse they point to:
And then they point to Acts 1:13, two verses earlier, to show they were in the upper room:
But clearly, the above verse shows how many were in that upper room because it lists them. It's about 18-20 people. That's about a hundred shy of those described in verse 15. How could 120 people fit in an upper room around 33 A.D. in Jerusalem? That must’ve been some mighty huge upper room, esepecially for that time period! But, again, look at verse 13, it lists who were staying in that room. "Staying", by the way, infers sheltering there at night. The list of people were Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Yeshua, and Yeshua's brothers, all stayed in that upper room, praying with one accord. That’s barely twenty or so people, not the 120 as described in verse 15. This upper room was likely the same upper room where Messiah had his Last Supper on the Passover. More on that in a few minutes. The point is, twenty people could fit comfortably in a large upper room, but 120 must’ve been gathered someplace else. The separation in the text between the upper room and this other place is marked in verse 15 when it says, “In these days, Peter stood up . . .” That’s “in these days”, not, in that same place. So then, where was that other place? Likely, it was in the temple because in the last two verses of the Gospel of Luke (Luke being the same author of the Book of Acts), it says:
The part of the temple where the 120 Galileans were gathered was likely Solomon's Porch. We'll get into that in a few minutes also. As we review the story of the dispensation of the holy spirit on Pentecost, I’ll point out more evidence that they were in the temple, and not the upper room. But for now, let’s read the entire account of the event:
Did you notice this in verses 5-6?
Did 120 people, somehow all crammed in one room upstairs, start speaking in tongues while pouring out onto a narrow, residential street where, suddenly, devout Jews from every nation just happened to be walking by? Of course not. No more than 20 people stayed in that upper room as we've established. “In these days” (not the upper room), they were “all in one accord”, all 120 “in one place” (Acts 2:1) at or near the temple. How do we know that? Because Luke 24:52-53 said so, and because around 32 A.D., the Jewish holiday (holy day) of Pentecost, or Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) is one of three holy days where devout Jews would celebrate with a pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem, where, as it says in verse 5, there were multitudes of devout Jews from ever nation under heaven, where they came to the temple in Jerusalem to offer their firstfruits of the harvest as a thanksgiving to God. Is it important where they were when the gift of holy spirit was first received into manifestation? Maybe, maybe not, but the above research shows how the Bible interprets itself. Biblical integrity is important. Last bit of interesting Scripture involving this “upper room” and “continually in the temple” tangent before we get back to the manifestations of the holy spirit. These next verses decribe how Yeshua sent Peter and John to set up the Passover in a large upper room in Jerusalem.
Now, I am only asking the question, not making absolute conclusions, but isn’t it likely that the large upper room in the above text is the same large upper room in the following text?
The same people, and the same number of people, more or less, were at the Last Supper in a large upper room as were those staying in a large upper room seven weeks later. Same people - same number of people - because this was Yeshua's inner circle. The large upper room was all furnished on the Passover, the Last Supper, and was comfortable and accommodating for that number of people. So, it’s highly likely that they kept using it. I’m sure they were paying rent for it too. As a practical matter, why fix something that isn't broken? I believe they would’ve continued to use that same upper room. All the master of the house had to hear was that the Teacher needed it for himself and his disciples, and so he made it available to them. Why wouldn't he continue to make it available to them? Now, when there was the sound of a mighty rushing wind where they saw tongues of fire resting on the heads or about 120 people, as we’ve established, it’s probable that they were continuing “in the temple, praising and blessing God” as found in Luke 24:53. But, were they in the most solemn part of the inner temple, or were they in a more public area of the temple which was more for the general public, and likely where the Pharisees and teachers of the law used to harass Yeshua when he taught there? Check these verses:
See? That’s the part of the temple where the 120 disciples of Yeshua would’ve felt comfortable every day. Solomon's Porch was part of the Temple complex in first-century Jerusalem. It was a colonnade or cloister located on the eastern side of the Temple's Outer Court, also known as the Women's Court. This porch was named after King Solomon, who built the first Temple in Jerusalem, although the structure that existed during Yeshua's time was likely a later reconstruction. According to Josephus, the exact dimensions of Herod's Temple formed a perfect square, and on the east wall was a double cloister or porch referred to as Solomon's Porch. Here it is mentioned in the Gospel of John:
So, it is highly likely that the Apostles and those in that inner circle spent their nights to shelter in that large, furnished upper room where they held the Last Supper seven weeks earlier, but were in the public part of the temple called Solomon’s Porch on Pentecost when the holy spirit gift was first poured out and they began speaking in tongues. That would’ve been the place where devout Jews from every nation would've come in their pilgrimage for that high holy day, and where they happened to witness this historic event of Pentecost, which was indeed meant to be seen in public as a testimony. It is also likely that, not only was the upper room of the Last Supper the same upper room described in the book Acts where the core disciples lodged, but it was the same room where Yeshua appeared to the Apostles twice after his resurrection, where the first time, Thomas wasn’t there, but the second time he was. We’re talking about the Gospel of John 20:19-29.
Moving on, let’s examine how and why speaking in tongues became the first outward manifestation when the holy spirit gift was first poured out on Pentecost. Why speaking in tongues? What was its significance on the day of Pentecost and in perpetuity? What is its purpose? Well, first of all, it was to fulfill prophesy and to be a sign to those who were yet unbelievers.
But study that above verse for a minute. It was more than just a sign and to fulfill prophesy, it also provided “rest to the weary”, and to be their “resting place”. Think about that. Wouldn’t it be nice if all believers had that resting place and used it to rest, to recharge their batteries? Oh, but some say that speaking in tongues is a gift for only certain people, not everybody. I’ll give you that there might be some who have a greater propensity toward speaking in tongues, but if it were only for a select few, or just for certain people to speak in tongues, then why would the Apostle Paul say the following?
See how speaking in tongues is equal to prophesying when the person speaking in tongues interprets? And you see how the Apostle Paul wishes we all manifested these things? This is the word of God. This is the will of God. This was written to us, the church, the body of Messiah in the age of grace in the New Covenant period. This is for us to observe. Others say, “No, speaking in tongues and other manifestations were done away with. It was only for the first century believers.” I don’t see that in Scripture anywhere. I would just point to this verse:
The holy spirit is the gift.
So, everyone who is born anew has that holy spirit gift and can, and should, manifest that gift in several different ways. I contend, and I’ll demonstrate it with Scripture, that speaking in tongues is more suitable as the first gateway manifestation of the holy spirit gift, which helps open the way to the other eight manifestations. Of course, there are always the exceptions. I personally know there are some who work other manifestations of the spirit who have never spoken in tongues. I’m merely saying that it’s recommended historically, in Scripture, that we start with speaking in tongues. After all, it was the first sign of the gift of holy spirit when it first became available on that day of Pentecost. And it is the resting place where the weary can rest. As saints and followers of Messiah, we do go through trials and tribulations in a world where we are hated by so many, therefore, we do need a place of rest, and that place is in the spirit as we speak in tongues. And you can speak in tongues to yourself silently. More on that part in a few minutes. Here is another benefit of speaking in tongues:
You can pray in the spirit, in tongues, but you should pray with your understanding also.
Did you happen to catch that? You can also sing in the spirit. You have perfect control over when and how you speak in tongues, but it is the holy spirit gift which is forming the words.
Please read 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14 because the Apostle Paul talks about the nine manifestations. And I’ll show what the nine are right now, but then I want to get right back into the benefits of speaking in tongues. Later, or on another page, we can dissect what each of the other eight manifestations are for and what they can do. Paul lists the nine manifestations of the holy spirit gift in this next section, and I’ll highlight them in bold so they stand out:
A cursory reading of the above paragraph, written by the Apostle Paul, may seem like he’s saying that each individual can only manifest one working of the spirit. But that is not the point he is trying to make here. What he’s emphasizing is that, even if you see one person doing a miracle, and another person healing someone, and yet another person speaking in tongues, they are all manifesting that SAME holy spirit gift that is in all those who are born anew. He used the word “same” five times in the above passage. “Same God” once, and “same spirit” four times. So, don’t you think that was the main point? Of course. Not that one saint can only do one type of manifestation, but can’t do any of the others. If you think that, you are misreading it. I’ll prove it by the following verses:
So, even if an individual prefers to work one, or even two or three of the nine manifestations, and rarely if ever touches upon the others, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the ability to work all nine manifestations are still there as part of the package. Interestingly, in the above verses, notably in 1 Corinthians 14, Paul says, “Now I desire to have you all speak with tongues,” and, “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all.” Here’s another benefit of speaking in tongues:
How do we know that his verse is talking about speaking in tongues? Because this was written by the Apostle Paul who also wrote in the context of speaking in tongues:
So, unambiguously, praying in the holy spirit means to speak in tongues to yourself silently as Paul also wrote in this verse:
Then jump down to:
So, back to Jude:
Speaking in tongues silently to one’s self and to God is the same thing as praying in the spirit. And how does that benefit you? Paul says in Jude that it builds you up on your most holy faith. It increases your faith, and you need that faith to work all the nine manifestation listed here below:
And that’s why speaking in tongues is recommended as the first manifestation that you should master, because it acts as the gateway to all the other manifestations. How? By building you up in faith. Faith is everything. Building up your faith makes you spiritually stronger in every way. Now, we can get into the meanings of, and the purposes for, each of these nine manifestations. They seem to cluster into groups of three when you look at them. Tongues, interpretation of tongues and prophesy are one cluster of three, because the Apostle Paul says that they are for building up and encouraging the saints within the assembly. Prophesy, in this context, is not necessarily to foretell the future so much as it is for the encouragement of those listening. And so is speaking of tongues when the one speaking also interprets. The next cluster of three is faith, gifts of healings and working miracles. This is a cluster because you need strong faith to do healings and miracles. Speaking in tongues builds up that faith in you. The final cluster of three (and this was done in no particular order) are the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge and discerning of spirits, because these have to do with intelligence and information.
Now, let’s talk about the detractors to this teaching that there are nine manifestations of the holy spirit gift available today. They, probably because they lack the faith to operate any manifestation of the spirit, claim that these manifestations are all done away with now. They are obsolete. They were only for the first century while the Apostles were still alive. Really? We’ll see. They point to this bit of text here:
And without applying the principals of biblical interpretation where we understand that the Bible interprets itself (for more on that click here), they lean on their own understanding and interpret it themselves privately. And without even reading the above text in context, they declare that “when that which is perfect has come” means the completion of the Scriptures. So, let’s read it in context from “. . . that which is in part will be done away,” to the end of verse 12:
So, then, “that which is perfect” implies being “face to face” rather than seeing “through a glass darkly”. The Apostle Paul wrote this epistle to the Corinthians. He is talking about Messiah’s return when he will see him “face to face”, rather than as we see him now “through a glass darkly”, that is, the Shroud of Turin (see the science page here). How do I know that he’s speaking of the Shroud of Turin when he says, “now we see through a glass darkly,” is another Bible study for another day. But for now, let’s just agree that when Paul says “when that which is perfect has come”, he’s speaking about seeing Yeshua Messiah “face to face” when he returns.
Did any of that happen yet? Did the dead in Messiah rise? Did those in Messiah, alive at the time, get caught up with the resurrected ones in the clouds to mee the Lord in the air? I think we’d know about it if it happened. But still, even if it meant what some say, “when that which is perfect has come” means the completion of the Scriptures, then explain why Scripture says that saints are manifesting the holy spirit right up to the times of the end? This is Peter speaking on the day of Pentecost which I quoted earlier:
So they prophesy, see visions, show wonders right up to the “day of the Lord”, which, if it’s quoting Joel is the day of Yahweh, meaning the end of the world of men’s rule. This is text of Joel that Peter was quoting from, or paraphrasing:
Obviously, the manifestations of the outpouring of the holy spirit did not cease after the gospels, epistles and Book of Revelation in the New Testament was written. The Book of Revelation is arguably the last book of the Bible that was written, and still speaking of a future time, it says this:
Had the manifestations of prophesy and miracles been done away with in the above passage? No. Quite the opposite. Had the time of the above passage already passed us? Is it in the past? No. It’s yet in the future. Then the point is proven. The manifestations of the holy spirit gift is still available today, and the following words of Messiah and the Apostle Paul still apply:
Is there any caveat in the above two verses, like: “. . . until the Apostle John finishes writing the Book of Revelation on the island of Patmos?” Of course not. So, let’s stop being silly then.
Now, when you operate the manifestations, that is up to you:
And the manifestations depend on your level of faith. Faith is one of the nine manifestations. You can pray to increase your faith if you think you may be lacking.
Again, I recommend that believers start with speaking in tongues. Like marijuana is called the gateway drug, speaking in tongues is the gateway manifestation. That’s a bad analogy but I think you know what I mean. You can start alone in prayer, silently to yourself.
And what does praying in the spirit (speaking in tongues) do for your spirit and your faith? I’ve made this point earlier, but it bears repeating:
It’s builds your faith (faith being another manifestation of the spirit), and it strengthens you with power in the inward man (meaning the holy spirit gift). So, you are encouraged to speak in tongues a lot, and in so doing, you will find that the other eight manifestations will, for lack of a better word, begin manifesting more readily. Perhaps you will be given dreams, revelations, words of wisdom and knowledge, healings, miracles and so forth more routinely and consistently. We can delve into what words of wisdom and knowledge are more deeply at another time, but for the sake of brevity, let’s just say that a word of knowledge is something you need to know at a given time, and a word of wisdom is to show you how to deal with a certain situation, and it may also give you the right words to say at the right time to certain individuals in certain challenging situations.
If you have any questions regarding any of the above points made so far, or anything taught hereafter, please go to the contact page and simply ask me, and I will do my best, using Scripture, to answer.
So, in covering the more than abundant life, we, necessarily, had to cover the manifestations of the holy spirit (the holy spirit is the gift and it comes available with nine manifestations), which we did. Now, let’s talk about the five gift ministries before we declare that this whole section on the more than abundant life is complete. Here is the bible text in question:
The word “some” was used four times in the above text, which means that it’s driving home the point that it’s not talking about all disciples of Messiah, but rather, just some. These are generally leadership positions, so it’s not for everyone. There must be a basic level of experience to be achieved before someone can be called to one of these positions. As Yeshua said:
When a disciple gets to that level of being so well-trained as to be like his teacher, Yeshua Messiah, he may be called to one of these gift ministries in an official way, whether or not the disciple in question is officially part of some organized religion, because one does not need to be a part of an organized religion to be seen by God as a disciple who has risen to this level of a gift ministry. As Messiah said:
It is theoretically feasible that certain disciples can exhibit qualities consistent with some or all of these gift ministries. But to be given one of these gift ministries via the holy spirit and God himself, it is apparent that, for example, an evangelist had the specific proclivity and aptitude beforehand to be an evangelist, and that, once given this gift ministry as an evangelist, he is quite effective at being an evangelist. Just like myself having the aptitude to teach, I may have been given the gift ministry to be a teacher. But don’t let me make that declaration, but rather, let my work attest to it, for or against. Let’s go over them one by one. Here’s the list once more:
An apostle is a foundational pillar of the faith, as Messiah chose the twelve to rule over the twelve tribes of Israel:
But the Apostle Paul was called to be an apostle to the gentiles.
Since “apostles” were mentioned first on this list in Ephesians 4, it’s probably an indication that they are the top tier of those with a gift ministry. Whether new apostles can emerge after the first century, or in this age, I don’t know. I don’t think so, but I don’t know. If anyone reading this has thoughts on that, I would love to hear it, and I would post our conversation on the Media & Forum page of this site. “Prophets” are in the number two slot, so it is conceivable that they are right under “apostles” in importance. I do know that their stature in the Old Testament was prominent. Noah was the first prophet mentioned in the Old Testament. Then you had Abraham, Issac and Jacob, Melchizedek the High Priest whom Messiah himself replaced in that office, Moses, and all the other prophets. King David was a prophet. The entire Old Testament was written by prophets. So, yes, they had high stature. Have true prophets come along since then? Yes. John the Baptist was a prophet. Prophets were mentioned in the book of Acts. Future prophets in the end times were predicted in the Book of Revelation. So, the answer is, yes, true prophets can exist in this age. You know a prophet if his prophecies come true. But false prophets can also emerge, so, be careful.
“Evangelists” come in at number three. That may be because they are more common than prophets at number two, and apostles at number one. There are lots of evangelists, but be careful of them also. To be an evangelist, one must travel, speak to many, be charismatic, but more important of all, he must never contradict the word of God. So, how can you tell a real evangelist from a false one? You must first learn the word of God thoroughly!
“Pastors” at number four on the list are the next in plentifulness. It also means “shepherd”, they shepherd the flock. This is a person to whom you can approach with your daily troubles, seeking advice. He will teach sermons to the flock, sometimes weekly, sometimes more than that. He’d likely lead your local congregation. Can a pastor who is not 100% aligned with the doctrines taught in Scripture, who may be in another denomination outside yours, still be an affective pastor in God’s eyes? I lean toward yes, but don’t quote me on that. If some readers have a point of view on that, please share it with me, and we can openly discuss it on this site. For now, I would point to this text on the question:
To see the basic requirements to be a pastor, shepherd, bishop, overseer or an elder in the assemblies, see 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. “Teachers” are mentioned at number five, the last on the list. There are many teachers. But test the spirits to make sure that they are of God.
It says “spirits” and “false prophets”, but certainly this applies to teachers, pastors, evangelists, prophets and apostles! How do you test? Again, 2 Timothy 3:16, compare them to Scripture. Here is more from 2 Timothy:
Test the spirits using Scripture, and then always be prepared, any time, to "reprove, rebuke and exhort with all patience and teaching." Summation on the More than Abundant Life As children of God on this Earth, we are expected to make a difference in the furtherance of God’s will as he reconciles all things unto himself through Messiah Yeshua.
So, you are expected to make a difference, and you are equipped with power to do so. Only, don’t go out there without being adequately trained in the Word.
Live the more than abundant life, my friends. It’s a promise that Yeshua Messiah made to you. It is available. Receive it into manifestation.
Here’s a little exercise to psyche you up first thing in the morning. This was taught to me when I was quite young, and I never forgot it. Say to yourself, “I am what the word of God says I am; I have what the word of God says I have; and I can do what the word of God says I can do; therefore, I do!” |
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