We speak to God on many matters. Even trivial ones, sometimes. And we ask many questions. Even stupid ones, sometimes.
But Abba always answers.
We tend to talk about current matters.
Sometimes we speak to God on pressing matters that lay heavily on our hearts as well.
Like the time my daughter needed to decide what to study and what career would be in her best interest. Or when we have to make important decisions in our lives.We really are children
Like naughty children, we do not always follow His advice, but over the years we have joyfully realised that doing so is good for us.
I have posted a lot about prayer before (such as here).
Of course talking to God about trivial, worldly stuff could never take the place of worshipping Him for what Jesus had done. But in this confidence we take boldness to talk about anything and sometimes everything.
And He loves it!
Reminiscence
Today I was reminiscing and recalling our time and journey from religion to freedom. We moved from being staunch, doctrinal, religious churchgoers to uncomplicated, doctrinal-free people who do not subscribe to any institutional church any longer. Instead, we realized and started applying the fact that WE ARE THE CHURCH (ekklēsia). If you don’t know what I mean then check out this post.
So, I rediscovered a note of mine dating all the way back to 2012 and January 2013.
My reminiscing took me to Luke during my early morning conversations with Abba.
Here, in my Bible at the office, I rediscovered a note that I wrote to myself on January 13, 2013. It was about a decision that we took as a family right at the end of 2012. (Spoiler alert: 2012 is somewhat significant, just like Luke 12)
There was a journey
If you are familiar with our family journey with Jesus, you’d realize that there came a time in our lives when we started questioning everything that we were taught by religion and instead, we commenced talking to Jesus directly.
Read about our journey here and here.
The note
On January 11, 2013 Abba gave me Luke 12:56 as an answer to a very direct question I asked on whether or not to leave the institutional church we were attending, following a series of events.
Luke 12:54-56 reads: When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Luke 12:56 is in bold and it is very specific. We’ll get to that …
There was a series of events
In July 2010 we prayerfully moved from our religious birthplace, the prominent Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk to a small local charismatic institutional church. At our new church we acclimatized quickly. We attended services dutifully twice every Sunday and were involved as often as further church-events were scheduled, participating in special outreaches, church camps, special gatherings, prayer-sessions, Sunday school teachings and as intercessors.
We never skipped an event. Our dedication was unrivalled. And our friendship grew, even with the church leadership.
Enters the Spirit of Grace
However, this was the time when our introspection and questioning of religion really propelled exponentially.
On our own, we would sit for hours with Yah'shua studying His word, learning afresh from His Word, obtaining a new understanding of the prophecies pointing towards Him and hearing His heart first hand.
Amazingly, a revelation process unfolded not just with us as a family, but with many other similar-minded members of our congregation at the same time.
Some of us, almost (and even) supernaturally, got acquainted with the Grace teachings of other Grace preachers both internationally and locally. (A story for another time)
Enters Grace Himself
A new "perspective" opened itself to us - Grace Himself!
And we could not hold back.
Some of us were so excited that we started sharing our newly found revelation and joy with others, including the church leadership.
But it is the Truth that you know that sets you free
We were swiftly reprimanded by our church leaders.
It was also the time whence I gained a Holy Spirit guided perspective on prayer. I embraced these revelations and applied them in the intercession sessions that I was leading every week.
Without delay my intercession was questioningly audited by the senior pastor who attended one Wednesday evening. For this purpose she solicited the services of a church-advisor-prophet of sorts and brought her with to the intercession. I was interrogated and told in no uncertain terms how intercession must be conducted as opposed to my freedom-induced encouragements during these sessions.
Other likeminded fellow church-goers shared books on Grace with the church leadership and were immediately admonished.
A proportional astronomic counter-reaction
Sunday services progressively became anti-Grace by nature in response to our excitement and sharing of this true Gospel of unmerited Grace.
The reaction became so intense that sermon after sermon was preached without even so much as a mention of Jesus. Law preaching was the order of the day and we were told that our church must revert back to its “rules and ordinances”.
It was a time of church-doctrine propaganda such as I have not experienced before.
I contacted the pastor and we had a heated conversation about the whole situation.
Time for prayer
I prayed for guidance.
And I was guided to the very letter of the word.
How?
I am still perplexed at the direct answer I received.
I am still surprised over even the very meaning of the words Abba gave me.
Chills ran down my spine.
At the time back in 2012, I was studying (which includes the meaning of words) the book of Luke since about a week or so before. In the last days of 2012 when I was speaking to Abba about this, I was almost done with Luke 12. Only 4 more verses to go … when I popped the question …
Time for an answer
Luke 12:56, God responding to my question, reads: Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time (kairos)?
What is so significant and mind-blowing about the answer?
It's about time!
I don’t like to name and shame, but there is no other way of bringing it across. And many years now after these events, I feel comfortable enough to speak plainly.
The Greek word for time is kairos.
The church we attended for almost 3 years called itself Kairos.
Abba was responding to me in the very words of Jesus, His Word. His Grace.
Definitive words.
I was even more amazed about how that the same situation we found ourselves in at Kairos, played itself out in the time of Jesus when he healed a woman with an eighteen year long disability, not being able to stand up straight. The leader of the church back then, was immediately offended and filled with much indignation because Jesus did not follow the church rules (doctrine, ordinances and prescripts). The leader even lashed out at the congregation for coming to be healed on a day not set aside by rule for healing. How appalling?
Jesus did not keep quiet. This was a weak church in the bondage of their own man made rules and prescripts!
Definitive words that required definitive action …
What's to do?
It was time to leave.
The decisive last part of my note on January 13, 2013 reads: Today I will step down as intercessor leader for Kairos and resign from the church with the hope that the leadership will stop preaching in reaction to my Grace revelation. My hope is that they will start preaching on the love and grace of Jesus when we leave.
We left Kairos.
For a while we looked around for another congregation to fellowship until we realized that the real church had already been prepared.
Our Grace revelations, convictions, opinions and conduct have become far too radical for any doctrinal church to accept.
At the same time the rules, protocols, traditions and expectations of the institutional church had become far too oppressive, incarcerating and debilitating for us to accept.
We came to such a point that we knew that there was nothing we could ever do to earn His goodness and love towards us, that we are heirs in His kingdom by virtue of His finished work and that we can never be slaves again.
So, we prefer to stay away from such traditions and like things …
As we continue our walk, we draw even closer with the help of the resident Teacher Himself!
All other ground …
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