SUNDAY, 17 JAN 2021
Read Part A Here
Recognising the Signs That Lead You either To Spiritual Death or Spiritual Life.
One can easily recognise the signs that lead you either to spiritual death or spiritual life. Organisations such as those that become formalised quench the Spirit. With them comes authoritarian male-leadership. These are always accompanied by slow spiritual death.
Formalised religion means the body cannot function properly in all its variegation of gifts through every member supplying. This is evident in the New Testament teachings of Paul. They are found particularly in his letters to the churches in Ephesus and Corinth.
History testifies to this. The translation itself shows it. 1 The church formalised it in the later writings in the New Testament. Consequently, women and Jews in the church were thrust aside from leadership.
How to Create a Favourable Resting place for the Holy Spirit
If you are seeking a way out of this kind of stifling atmosphere, I suggest you find a public or private place to meet. Invite girlfriends to join you. Start a public outreach or a private prayer meeting and bible study. Everyone contributes. As I resettle here on Chevron Island on Gold Coast.
I am doing this, first, by organising a public outreach with the help and support of girlfriends. This particular meet up is mid-afternoon on a Sunday. We can order beverages and snacks will be provided. The establishment where we meet is conveniently closed to the public while the staff prepares for the late afternoon tapas bar.
I will request those who can, to contribute to help cover costs. In this kind of meeting, we will discuss topics of interest especially to women concerning their spiritual development. It will not in any way, shape, or form fit the ‘church’ mould.
Its purpose is for friendship, networking, discussion, and spiritual growth. A safe place to say what one thinks. To begin, we will read and discuss my online paper, ‘It’s All About Eve’. It will be the focus for as long as it retains our interest. We can then agree together on a new subject. You can use my materials in this way if you so choose.
This kind of relaxed gathering will attract like-minded people. From this, a private spiritual bible-study group will be provided for those interested. Anywho require private spiritual counsel will be accommodated. It is good stewardship Where a love gift is in order those who can afford to give are welcome to do so.
The Biblical principle is clear. It applies to any that can afford it. We are instructed to give what we have, not what we don’t have.
It teaches those who do the work of the ministry full time are promised they shall live by it. I do not believe you can justify tithing in New Testament teachings. The principles are ‘Freely we have received, freely give’. ‘Honour to whom it is due’. ‘Don’t give what you do not have’. At the same time, ‘Don’t be stingy’.
How to Create a Favourable Resting place for the Holy Spirit
Begin again to create a favourable meeting place for the Holy Spirit to rest. This will happen outside the regulated meeting. Jesus assures us, so long as we all are in agreement with one another, without strife in our midst, so long as we are walking in forgiveness with everyone in our lives …
“Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I … Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Jesus replied, every time”. (Matt 18: 19-20)
You don’t need anyone’s permission to hold public or private meetings. That is if you live in a country where free expression is encouraged. It’s an entirely different scenario for those in the underground church.
Where people gather in small local groups, such as I saw in Southern Ireland in the late eighties, and other countries where the Holy Spirit had free reign, leadership skills, and gifting begin to emerge in the body of believers gathered together. The Holy Spirit is the Breath of God. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.
It’s all about gathering people together and remaining loosely structured. It is more who can play an instrument, who can sing, who has a word. In the beginning, these ministries are not formally recognised with a positioned senior leader certified by a governing body. People know who’s who in the body.
However, when changed to an organised structure, unless it remains inclusive 2 and biblical equality is practiced, the Spirit is limited. The Book of James emphasises this practice.
Other than those in southern Ireland, mentioned above, I found these new groups everywhere I ministered. These new works were literally springing up like freshly mown grass in the countries I travelled in during the mid 1980s to 1996.
This is where doors especially opened to me. Not in formalised churches where women were excluded in leadership. I had no papers, no title, no support, no finances. Instead, I was a woman with a recognisable anointing upon me, as anyone in those meetings would testify.
Other than the new groups I encountered in my itinerate-ministry travels, I did not encounter an organised church where biblical equality was understood to its fullest measure and put into practice. This has changed little, even today.
This signifies to me that the recognised church is in gross error. There is little understanding of grace and gender in the body of Christ. In this regard, I know others also agree.
Despite this lack, I can see a breakthrough in the dark gloom. The web now publishes biblical equality for all to access. My own experience of this breakthrough came when Catherine Bushnell’s book came into my hands in 1986.
Following this, through a series of events, I was introduced to other women authors and recognised women scholars and bible teachers. I began to find answers to what I encountered as a woman in ministry during my service in the local church. 3 Once I left the organised church and began my overseas travel all opposition to my being a woman in the ministry ceased.
Avoiding The Establishment, The ‘Old Boys Club’
That opposition comes under the unspoken banner of the ‘insiders’ and the ‘outsiders’. People who function in this black and white mindset think they live in their heads and can figure pure doctrine. In reality, they are actually ruled by their narrow classifying of people and are angry and judgmental of all women in the church and online, those doing anything of note. 4
The fundamentalists will always be with us. The Established Order will not change. It cannot change. It’s the World but we’re not a part of it. But we can change and we can change the order of what’s established now.
The foundations of grace are to be laid with shoutings of joy. The present foundational teachings that exclude grace are shaky to say the very least 5 Those men of the Established Order are proud of their feigned humility. They even boast about it by writing books on it.
They claim they are divinely ordained as the spiritual head and protector of women. But they are posers who love the pre-eminence. They revel in domination and control.
Indeed, power and authority are amongst their favourite subjects. They insist on titles and the prominent place. James taught them to go and howl for what is coming upon them. He warns the rich of their audacity.
“In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business”. Jesus taught “You cannot serve God and Mammon”. My own experience is the more money I have to squander the weaker my faith.
I came into an understanding of Biblical Equality through my dear friend, the late Catherine Clark Kroeger (CBE co-founder). I studied it through the CBE newly published Pricilla Papers. This is when I began to ask God for the grace to recognise its fundamental bible teachings and prayed I might learn to put it into practice. It’s a life-long journey.
I believe millions of Christians are in bondage to this heresy of man’s superiority to women. A new church must, will, emerge with strong foundations of equal balances and weights. Teachers will grasp this truth and gain a full understanding of God’s grace. They will rid the church of this gross error.
Quenching the Holy Spirit: Dualistic Thinking
During my itinerate-ministry travels, apart from the new groups I encountered, in other settings there were the Insiders and Outsiders, those Included and those excluded, us and them. I did not attend an organised church to preach where I found biblical equality was understood to its fullest measure, taught, and put into practice. This remains the same today worldwide.
It signifies to me that the recognised church is in gross error where the understanding of grace is concerned. I know others also agree although they may not be so outspoken. Despite this, I can see a breakthrough in the dark gloom.
My own experience of this breakthrough came when Katharine Bushnell’s book was given to me. I contacted the man who kept them in named Ray. 6 I ordered so many he offered me if I would take it on. I had no resources to do so. It’s now available free on the web.
I was then introduced to a number of other women authors and found answers to what I encountered as a woman in ministry. This happened after ten years of service in the local church. 7 The Establishment, the ‘Old Boys Club’ the ‘insiders and the ‘outsiders will always be. It’s the World and we’re not a part of it. The Established Order will not change. It cannot change. It’s built on the wrong foundations.
Those who love wielding power and authority
For the last forty-five years as a Christian, I have studied Biblical Equality. I first came to know about it through my friend the late Catherine Clark Kroeger (CBE co-founder).8 I prayed to God for the grace to recognise it so as to practice and teach it. From there it’s been a life-long journey to understand better the negative effects its non-practice has on the church community.
I believe millions of Christians are in bondage to this heresy. A new church must, shall, will emerge with cries of grace as new foundations of equality are laid. Teachers of the NT scriptures will grasp this truth fundamental to our faith. They will gain a full understanding of God’s grace and will in turn practice and teach it. Finally, the church will be free of this gross error.
(continued next Sunday) Part C: New foundation stone on which to build. The church’s opportunity to lead the way.
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FOOTNOTES
- The Apostle Paul: Language of a Godly Leader. The Freedom Paper 3. Watch: Published following this paper.
- Here it’s shown how the bible was mistranslated to approve and appease slaves and slavery. This mistranslation concerning slavery has long passed, thank God, but not so for keeping women in bondage to husbands. Marriage, separating mothers from their children by taking the husband’s name and church laws. I acknowledge I do not address the complexity of the struggles of women of colour. “Gender-based hierarchies that patriarchy builds affect girls and women of colour differently than it affects white women and girls. Our work against patriarchy is one dimensional unless we truly aim to represent all women and girls and not only white women and girls”. “Parable of the Brown Girl” by Khristi Lauren Adams
https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2018/february/freedom-in-christ-how-this-bible-was-used-to-manipulate -
https://www.cbe.org.au
There are many others!
- https://www.relevantmagazine.com/current/john-macarthur-told-beth-moore-to-go-home-for-having-the-audacity-to-preach-the-gospel-and-help-people/ see also where 79-year-old MacArthur claimed that social justice values borrowed from secular culture are currently undermining Scripture in the areas of race and ethnicity, manhood and womanhood, and human sexuality.”
- ‘Shaky Foundation Stones’. The Freedom Papers. RWVM. Coming Soon.
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I carried a box of Bushnell’s book, God’s Word to Women: One Hundred Bible Studies on Woman’s Place in the Divine Economy. and distributed them wherever I went. Bushnell passed away in 1946.
https://godswordtowomen.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/gods_word_to_women1.pdf
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I Suffer Not a Woman: Rethinking 1 Tim 2: 11-15. Solid spiritual scriptural and archaeological evidence refutes the traditional interpretation used to bar women from leadership
https://www.amazon.com/Suffer-Not-Woman-Rethinking-Evidence/dp/0801052505
- https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/article/mutuality-blog-magazine/setting-movement-aflame-power-cbes-founders