Qualifying for rulership

[Colin]

We watch the developments taking place as increasing numbers of refugees move from their war-torn homelands and seek safe havens in Europe (or other countries willing to provide assistance); political leaders debate and argue about possible solutions.   As one avenue is followed, additional problems arise to perplex them.  It leads me to recall

Amos 5:19  As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
No sooner is one decision made than another crisis appears on the scene.   

If we take a closer look at this fifth chapter of Amos, we will note many similarities of the criticisms that are levelled against Israel and which would apply equally well to our modern day......our societies are based on bribery, deceit, oppressing the poor.  (vv7, 10, 12 eg)

Ray pointed us to 1 Corinthians, which clearly says that these recorded scriptures remain applicable to us; Paul wrote that everything that happened all those centuries ago did so by design....  For us....for us to take note.

1Cor 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Cor 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Paul was saying, in effect, "be wise - take notice and learn from the examples (types)....think about it".
1Cor 10:15   I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.    All these verse are connected.

Amos emphasised the greatness of the Creator, making reference to the universe and the control He has, maintaining how our planet operates (v8).   This followed the dire warning of calamities to come upon Israel, and by extension, upon our civilisation.

There are two woes mentioned, the first being in verse 18 and extending to verse 27, the second in chapter 6.   
Amos 5:18  Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.
Amos 5:19  As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
Amos 5:20  Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
These three verses are interlocked.   In contemplating Amos 5, I think it is saying that if we think we are in "troublesome days" now - which we are - just wait, because the day of the Lord (not simply "one day" but a period extending over a [long] period of judgment and correction) – will, by comparison, be an even harder time of testing, to achieve the outcome God has planned for all humanity. 

To those who "yearn" for the Day of the Lord, it is a caution not to think that a sudden period of bountiful pleasure is about to burst upon the scene  - there is a needful period of correction and re-education to come - "before the desert  blooms".

Ray told us to be taking the opportunity, now, to qualify for rulership – no matter how inadequate we feel .....see the transcript of his Bible study "Qualifying for rulership".    This was one which I had not read for quite a while and was "led" to do so again, as I feel somewhat inadequate as I go about the Hospice volunteer work.   Colin

[Kat]

Hi Colin,

It's always a good idea to review a subject Ray spoke on. I had to hunt for that topic 'Qualifying for rulership' and I found it in the '09 Mobile Conference. It's on audio 10 of same conference http://bible-truths.com/audio/THEONEGODPT1.mp3

On the transcript it's near the bottom of the page with the sub-heading 'QUALIFYING FOR RULER-SHIP WITH NO LEADERSHIP, MONEY OR TALENTS.' Here is an excerpt.

http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,11521.0.html ---------

This one is entitled Qualifying for Ruler-ship with no leadership or no money or no talents. I know a lot of people fit in that category. People say, 'oh Mr. Smith, you teach and preach and you've got this site and you give Bible studies and you will probably be over 125 cities. I can't do all that, I don't have any talents... oh woe is me.'

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world (comment: that's me) to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things (comment: that's me) of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world (comment: that's me), and things which are despised (comment: yeah and do they ever), hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not (comment: yeah that's me, I'm a nobody), to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in His presence.

You say yep that's me all right, don't see how I'm going to rule over five cities, or whatever. But it says...

Revelation 2:26 And he that overcomes, and keeps My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

You say, 'how am I going to do all that? I have no education... I don't have any money... I don't have any place to entertain people... I don't have a car to visit the sick, I'm sick myself. I'm old, I just learned these truths a year ago, I was already 75 or 80, what can I do? I'm an old man... I'm an old woman, how am I going to qualify for this, to rule the world... to rule the nations... to judge angels? How am I going to do that, come on.'

Well, how is he (she) going to do that? I'm here to tell you, whether you believe it or not, it's possible to develop talents, abilities and character without having those qualities and talents inherently within you. They can be developed without natural abilities, without leadership, without education, without money, etc. But they can be developed!

Here's how and why they can be developed. I don't care if you're a paraplegic on your back in bed, if that's how you live, you can do this. Here's why. Because of two principles.

1.)  Proverbs 23:7--
(KJV)  For as he (or she) thinks in his (or her) heart, so is he (she):
(ASV)  For as he thinketh within himself, so is he:
(CLV)  For as one who calculates within his soul, so is he;
(Rotherham)  For, just as he hath thought in his own mind, so, he is:

And the second principle is this.
2.)  Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

On those two principles, you can be flat on your back a paraplegic and you can develop character traits, virtues, fruits of the spirit, wisdom and knowledge so that you can rule nations. (Notes) Likewise, one can meditate (think) and what he thinks then becomes what he IS. Not having money, education, talents, or possessions is no excuse for not being able to produce the kind of character and leadership necessary to "have power over the nation."

It is in SPIRIT that we accomplish the things of the spirit:

No matter what your condition is, you can keep the law of God. Why? Because it is spiritual.  It is in SPIRIT that we accomplish the things of the spirit:
We can pray in the spirit:

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...

Anybody can do that, "Praying always."  I pray always, that is continuously. I don't think; oops, I thought of something I got to pray to God about and I got to find a room or a closet.  Oh shoot, I'm in the car, I'll pull off to the side of the road or I'll use a public rest room, because I got to go and pray. I pray wherever I am! 

I told you how I found my house, driving down the street. I was the only one in the car and I said, God if you want me to move to Mobile, find me a decent house. It was about a four second prayer. Within minutes, minutes, I had me a house!

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance (self control): against such there is no law.

Is there any one of those that you need an education to acquire? Is there any one of those that you need money to acquire? Is there any one of those that you need special talents or an education, where you have to go someplace different to acquire it? No.

The mind, "as you think..."

Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

It's in the heart - in the mind - in the spirit.

Philippians 3:3 For we are the circumcision, (comment: how so?) which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

It's what's inside that counts!
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mercy, peace and love
Kat

[judy]

Wow Kat, that was good. It's all true, power and might are not the answer but the Spirit gives us wisdom with ourselves and with others and having done right and choosing effort, well, by the end of the day you know you ruled your little kingdom wisely because one can actually sense God's good pleasure in yourself.

[Jeff]

I suspect this is something I should know, but I tend to forget things easily, which then confuses me, so if I did understand it at some point, it's confusing me now.

Can someone point me to a paper of Ray's that explains what it means to:

Be in the spirit
Pray in the spirit
Walk in the spirit

How does one do this?  What does it mean to do the opposite of this (walking, praying carnally I suppose...)?

I don't even know if I'm asking the right question, but much thanks in advance.

Peace
Jeff

[Kat]

Hi Jeff,

Here are a couple of emails that I think should help you with this. I made a few underlining to emphasize what you are looking for.

http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,6662.0.html

Dear Don: If you understood my views of such things, you would not even be in such a church or denomination in the first place.  However, you are correct in asserting that the "ritual" of baptism in literal water has little if any effect on many who have been so baptized. Witness the thousands and thousands of disciples that John baptized by IMMERSION in water, but by the time Pentecost came around there were only 120 disciples left (Acts. 2:5). Baptism is "in the NAME of Jesus," not "in the WATER in some creek."  Baptism is on par with foot washing, passover symbols of bread and wine, physical circumcision of the physical foreskin, etc.  Are these necessary? YES, absolutely, but in the SPIRIT, and not in the flesh.
         
        We MUST be baptized into Jesus, into His death (John 6, especially verse 4).  We MUST wash our brothers feet by SERVING him, not by washing his feet in soap and water;  we MUST eat Christ flesh and drink His blood, but not in physical ritual, but in spiritual application of these symbols;  we MUST be circumcised in heart and spirit, but not in the flesh with a sharp knife, etc.  Hope this helps your understanding.


http://bible-truths.com/email8.htm -------------------
[Ray Replies]
Dear ...:

Thank you for your email and interest in our site.

More important than "being right with God" is the fact that "God is ALWAYS right with us."
Conversion is a process. It starts with faith and desire. Both of which are gifts of God. When you come to the place that you no longer hold out on God, you are no longer playing church, see the deception and corruption in the Babylonish Church System smothering the earth, and surrender your will to God, then you will start to feel "right" with God. When your desire is to mortify the lusts and deeds of the mind and body rather than to feed them, you will begin to feel right with God. When you find yourself thinking about God and praying to God for yourself and for the suffering of others EVERY DAY, ALL DAY LONG, then you will begin to be RIGHT WITH GOD.

I remember a friend saying to me years ago, "Ray, is this stuff with God all you ever thing about?"  I thought for a moment and replied, "Yah, pretty much." The longer you hunger and thirst for righteousness, the stronger you faith and emotions toward God become. Your heart's desire is to do God's will in the spirit and not your own will in the flesh--you are now RIGHT WITH GOD!

Trust me when I tell you that people who are concerned and fear committing the so-called unpardonable sin or being blotted out of the book of life, are not the ones that it will happen to. These two things are virtually synonymous.  First understand that "book of life" is an idiom used to describe something SPIRITUAL, not a literal physical book with pages and names on them.

What is the book of life? JESUS CHRIST IS THE WALKING, TALKING, LIVING BOOK OF LIFE.  The Father has given His son  LIFE, and Jesus can give that same LIFE to anyone He desires. People don't have their names written on a page in a literal book, and then later have an angel come with a bottle of white-out and remove it. Those who are not walking, talking, and living the life of Christ in them are CONTINUALLY BEING BLOTTED OUT OF LIVING BOOK OF CHRIST. Life is not in a book, but in CHRIST WHO IS THE LIVING BOOK.

But even if one is being blotted out somewhere along his life, he can be restored. Paul turned people over to SATAN THE DEVIL to have their flesh destroyed (not there physical body, but their CARNAL HEART AND MIND) so that they would learn not to blaspheme. But after they learn not to blaspheme, then they are RETURNED to fellowship with man and God.

It has been the churches that have caused men to fear God as a fickled kind of a god who one never quite knows for sure which side of the bed he got up on and therefore we must always be in fear and trepidation of our salvation. The "Pastors" (you are correct there is truly only ONE PASTOR of the sheep and that is Christ) love this power over the dumb sheep.
Have no fear. If you love God you will NEVER be blotted out of Christ the true book of life.

"Error laden sermons" is not nearly as huge a problem as error laden hearts and minds. As most pastors of Christendom are not converted and actually despise the True Word of God, they will have to be purged with the fire of God's Holy Spirit. In one way or the other we ALL must bear our cross and go through the fire (See First Cor. 3).  Also be sure to read my paper on the Lake of Fire which is now being posted in installments on this site.

Isaiah tells us that it is the "shepherds" that have LEAD GOD'S SHEEP ASTRAY. They will bear the greater accountability for their sins.
Let me know if you still have questions. God be with you always.

Sincerely,

Ray

[Jeff]

Thanks Kat, that does help.  I've been re-reading the 2009 Mobile Conference and I think the thing that I'd forgotten, that is the one thing that keeps us on track, is that "Obedience is Worship".

Jeff