A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it
ISAIAH 35:8 NASB
God’s plan is to build His church, a church in which the gates of hell will not prevail against. From the beginning, whenever there was a deviation from His purpose, He moved to bring about a recovery. This recovery involved calling men and women out of institutions that He had previously established, but which had turned their back on Him. Yesterday, we went through church history and examined major moves of God from the inception of the church. After the death of the apostles, the church moved into what is known as the dark ages, where the true Word of God was hidden and men only followed what they were told by the Vatican. Out of this came Luther and then John Wesley, the evangelicals, the baptists and the pentecostals.
While all these were instituted by God, due to the nature of man, one of the big errors of the transitions was that rather than the revelation bringing light to the ignorance in the church, the nature of men allowed these differences to cause strife. Soon enough, these moves became monuments and relics. Yet God’s plan cannot be thwarted. He is calling people out of these monuments and religious institutions to seek the right way and walk in it. Since it is a way we have not travelled before, It is very advantageous to know the way we are going. There are clear markers of this way, which we will discuss today.
1 Chronicles 15:11-13 KJV
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, [12] And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it. [13] For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.
One of the first things God emphasized at the start of this path is the need for due order. In 1 Chronicles 15:11-13, David, after suffering a breach due to Uzzah holding the ark, learned the hard way that God has a set order and a clear way He would like to be worshipped. The Israelites placed the ark on a cart, following the way of the philistines, when God had designed that the ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the levites. David, being the king, learned to submit to the levites and let them do their God ordained duty, 1 chronicles 13. One of the keys of this way is learning to submit one to another. A Plural leadership has always been the set up of the church from the beginning, Mark 3:13-15. In such a case, submitting is not easy because men are not that patient. However, in the company of the wayfarers, old and young are regarded alike without preference. Wayfarers are those who learn to seek God after the due order.
Another key characteristic of this way is the Kindred Spirit or the importance of discerning the body, 1 Corinthians 11:28-30. This body is not limited to a local fellowship alone, but the entire body of Christ. Regardless of understandings and spiritual maturity, each must learn to fellowship with their brother. The kindred spirit is the ability to relate with all with a large heart without pride and carefulness. It is being your brothers keeper. It is a case where, nine out of ten may agree on something, but that one person would cause the entire group to seek the Lord again, because there must be harmony. Here Love flows, discipline is done in love. No backbiting, no quarrelling. Here, according to Psalm 133, God commands a blessing, even life eternal. These are some of the marks of this way which are foundational to the church that will be the bride of Christ, reigning with Him in glory. May the Lord help us seek Him after the due order and teach us to discern His body. Amen.
Prayer for today: Father, thank you for revealing Your Word to me. Lord, I know that You are moving again in my generation, calling men and women to worship You as You would like to be worshipped. Reveal to us the due order in which You would like to be served and give us the ability to walk in Your truth. Help us to walk in genuine Christ-like love, discerning your body that we may remain steadfast in Your path of life. Amen.
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