The Pendulum Swings

By Bob Buess

Edited by Lillian Buess and Frances Buess Goodwin

ISBN: 0-934244-23-5

Revised and Published as e-book Feb, 2009 Sweeter than Honey Church

As paperback ISBN: 0-934244-04-9 in 1974

0-934244-12-X in 1975 ©1974

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The Pendulum Swings

By Bob Buess Foreword by Kenneth Hagin

Foreword

Bob Buess, who has such a good church background with one of the largest denominations of our day, has been in a unique position to know both sides of the pendulum.

Messages contained in this book could not have come at a more significant and timely part of our day. I believe these messages will cause the reader to revaluate his position before going to either extreme of the pendulum.

I believe it is long overdue for us to be reminded that there is a balance to be maintained in Christian doctrine. I feel that this book will help us all to stay on course.

It appears that these messages are so directed that they will not cause conflict or confusion, but will stir up the pure mind of Christ within us. It will help us to walk circumspectly (right in the middle of the road) and to respect and recognize the place of both men and women in our day.

This book is a tool which can be used wisely by pastors, evangelists, teachers, and any person who has a desire to be a real witness for Christ.

Personally, I have already used much of this material in my Faith Seminars, Crusades, and in our “Bible Training Center”. I give my endorsement to the book.

Kenneth E. Hagin

Preface

A few years ago I was interested in a certain teaching, so I began to pursue the Word of God to find more on this subject. I believed the Bible from cover to cover, but I allowed myself to disregard certain Scriptures. I blanked out certain truths. My mind became completely indifferent to certain verses in the Word.

My new dogma was no different from the old, but I began to defend my new doctrine. It was, in a subtle way, becoming a god which I had to defend and protect.

I was not an unusual case. It's easy for Christians to pursue a thought which the Holy Spirit aroused in them as they studied the Scriptures. In their excitement, they set out to explore the Word of God to see what could be found. When they found a few Scriptures to support this new-found idea, they soon can be running madly through the Bible trying to prove their theory.

Dogmatism begins to set in. Without fully realizing what they are doing, these people jump verses, throw out some, and ignore others to prove their point.

This is a new denomination in embryo.

People driven by this cause rush madly in pursuit of new arguments that promote their theory. As time passes they become harsh. They become those who would die for their cause. They sometimes become the very ones who "persecute the saints."

The purpose of this book is to cause the reader to slow down and look at the other side of some issues facing Christians today. It is to let the pendulum swing back into the will of God, rather than let it be hung up in dogmas in legalism It is a call to take seriously James 3:1 which condemns the teacher who dogmatically rushes ahead without balance in his teaching.

The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Galatian Christians who were leaving the simplicity of the Gospel and reverting to rules and regulations. The Galatian spirit is working in the body of Christ today, causing some believers to be legalistic in their approach to the Word, and to be hard and dogmatic in dealing with truth and with people.

We will look at teachings which will have an ill effect on the Body of Christ, because they are presented in a legalistic fashion. People are caught up in confusion and error, simply because teachers have rushed headlong into pet doctrines with no regard for the other side.

Seeing the other side requires that we pursue wisdom. Proverbs 4:7 says: "Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding..." Jesus Christ, Himself, will deliver us from legalism, for He is Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30).

We must look to Jesus for truth rather than to men and to cassette tapes.

Chapter 1, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of the Teaching on Submission

Consider another side to submission; this is not to say that you have to see it my way. That would be legalism. I do ask you to prayerfully examine this side, and then let the Holy Spirit quicken you and adjust you in places that need correction.

Submission to Jesus Christ

Submission should never violate your moral convictions. Your first loyalty is to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

One Chinese writer made the following statement which I believe is error: "Seek the oldest Christian, and submit to him." This was written by an Oriental and reflects deeply engrained teachings of ancestor worship. This writer also said, "Submission is not a matter of principles or right or wrong. It is a matter of obedience to your superiors."

This is out of balance. True, you need to obey your superiors. However, to give them full authority over your life is anti-Christ in nature. Submission must never violate your obligation to the Lord.

Matthew 22:37 ...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Anything that destroys or tends to destroy your love and loyalty to Jesus Christ is error.

Anything that violates your submission directly to God and His righteousness is error. James said, "...Submit yourselves therefore to God." (James 4:7)

Jesus said, "I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." His obligation is yours. You must build your teaching on submission around this truth.

A Christian's first duty in submission is to the Father's will rather than his own will or that of any other person.

Submission to Earthly Rulers

1 Peter 2:13 -14 "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme, Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.

It is God's plan for a Christian to follow and submit to his government. He must honor, respect, and obey the laws of those who try to enforce those laws.

But there is another side. There is another teaching that goes with this to cause us to think twice: "Peter and the other Apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29)

The religious council, with the permission of the Roman government, had demanded that they stop teaching in the name of Jesus.

This was in direct violation to the first commandment. You must first obey God, and when man's will violates God's will, you must take a stand.

David did not obey all Saul's commands. In fact, he ran from him. He even gathered men around him to protect himself from Saul, the king.

But he respected Saul as God's anointed. David refused to kill Saul on one occasion, but he (to throw the fear of God into Saul) cut off the tail of Saul's coat while Saul slept.

David did not submit to the devil in Saul. Neither should you submit to the devil in people.

A certain man, who had been under teaching on extreme submission to authorities, visited a country where Christians are persecuted. He found such submission on the part of Christians would send them to jail. It didn't take him long to change his theology to "obey God rather than man."

The three Hebrew children were commanded to worship the golden image, but they refused: "Be it known into thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.") Daniel 3:18. Were they violating God's law of submission to rulers and magistrates? Absolutely not!

You are to obey those who rule over you only when it does not violate your religious and moral convictions. Submitting to rulers with no restraint would give them charge over your soul. They could tell you to reject Jesus, and you would be bound to do so. Now this does not give you freedom to go out and do your "thing" either. Anything that destroys and hurts your fellow man in the name of religious freedom is demonic and needs to be dealt with by government.

Daniel refused to bow to the king's demands and was thrown into the lion's den. God honored his stand and delivered him from the lion's mouth. In the case of the three Hebrew children, God delivered them from the fiery furnace into which the king had thrown them for their rebellion against him.

God has never changed. He honors those who put Him first.

Submission to Church Authority

Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Without order in the body of Christ there is chaos. There has to be respect for the pastor and other ministers in the Body of Christ, but any legalistic approach to this brings bondage and does not carry out God's wishes.

Some pastors and elders set themselves up as "little Hitlers" over the flock, demanding that the congregations submit to them rather than to the Lord. These leaders are, in effect, establishing another papal system.

For me and my house, Jesus will be our intercessor. We will deal directly with Him.

1 Peter 5:3 .Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

Pastors are to guide their flocks in love. They are to be under-shepherds by example. They are to be heads of their flocks. The pastor is to have elders, or their equivalent, around him to lean upon, but those under him must never assume that their position is equal to the pastor's. The pastor asks advice when he wants it, but he makes the final decisions.

God's plan has never changed. During the time of the judges, He ruled directly through them. The Israelites rejected God's plan and requested a king. The Lord gave them a king in His permissive will. God's perfect will was to rule directly through the judges.

Today God speaks through His judge, Jesus Christ. Every Christian submits to Him directly. The under-shepherds, such as pastors and apostles, have a responsibility of leadership and judgeship in the local church, but it is a love rule. It is fatherly in nature; it is never dogmatic. It is considering thyself, also, lest you fall.

In considering submission to the pastor, we must understand that everyone is a free moral agent. God does not lead by demanding. He leads by His love, longsuffering, and gentleness.

A pastor must lead with this kind of wisdom. Anything that enters into the area of demanding submission is satanic activity on the part of the one demanding such submission.

There are times when the leaders of a church should call a person in, counsel with him, instruct him, and if need be, withdraw fellowship from him. Jesus taught this. Paul taught it. God keeps us in complete submission to the Holy Spirit. It must be Spirit-led guidance in each situation.

It cannot be a legalistic approach of, "I am chief elder; you submit." Neither can the individual member have the attitude of, "I have my will; I can do as I please."

For a further look at the other side of submission, look again at:

Hebrews 13:17: "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls."

Is this saying that you have to surrender moral convictions to your pastor? Absolutely not! Common decency demands that you hold the convictions that God has revealed to you.

Is this verse saying that you have to submit to your pastor in areas of sex? Are you to rob a bank because a religious leader demands it? The answer to both questions is, "No!"

Now, if you have privileges of refusal such as these, you have other convictions to which you can hold. It is not as the Chinese writer states, blanket obedience regardless of morals or righteousness, simply for obedience's sake.

There is another side. You are responsible to God and you must give account to Him about what you have done with the light you have.

The Chinese writer mentioned earlier made this observation in another book: "If your church is a New Testament type church (his standards), and this church falls into gross error, then you are obligated to submit to it regardless."

Is this what God wants in submission? Must you submit to error? No! A thousand times, no! If this were true, you would be a spiritual vegetable. You could not grow beyond your present level unless the pastor led you. Thousands of people today are reaching out beyond their churches for help and are receiving it.

Paul taught individualism by epistle and by action.

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for      God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Whether this verse is speaking of an older Christian or an elder in the church is not of major importance at this point. The fact is, legalistically and dogmatically, he would have to be obeyed without question.

Thank the Lord; the New Testament is a flow of love and not of dogmatic legalism. The      church cannot operate by the letter of the law.

Paul      and Barnabas violated the letter of this verse. They argued      over      taking John Mark on a mission, as recorded in Acts 15:36-39. Paul wanted to leave John; Barnabas emphatically disagreed. He had a conviction, and refused to submit. Paul had a conviction, and refused to submit. As far as age was concerned, Barnabas apparently was older in years, and was certainly older in the Lord. Paul, however, was the leader and the one who made most of the decisions.

If you took the legalistic approach, then Paul being the junior should have yielded to Barnabas, his elder. It doesn't always work this way. God exalted Paul's ministry above Barnabas', and Paul moved on into his place of leadership.

In this case, both men had heard from God. Neither would yield his convictions. God honored these men for holding to their convictions. Two mission trips were organized, and Mark's ministry was redeemed. Later, Paul, himself, used John Mark as a helpful minister.

You must remember the first rule of submission. You must submit to God first.

Peter and Paul ran into a deep clash, and Peter, the elder in the Lord, was challenged by Paul. Paul, the younger, said, "I withstood him to the face" (Galatians 2:11). Paul did not submit to Peter simply because Peter was his senior in the Lord.

You must never violate your convictions and God's plan for you. But this does not give you the right to be rebellious and stubborn. That is just as evil.

Let the pendulum swing back into the Holy Spirit position.

Submission to Other Believers

Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Colossians 3: 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Colossians 3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

The best definition of submission is "kindness, humility, and respect one for another." Treat each other as you would treat Jesus. Respect the other's views. Treat each other gently with love and kindness.

Humility and tenderness are to be your rule rather than legalism and dogmatism. You are to be subject to one another—this includes the spiritual elders and the elder Christians being subject to the younger. The younger Christian is to be respectful to the older Christian. In most cases, the older has wisdom and good advice to offer the younger. The younger should have ears to hear, but he should be able to disagree if the older is out of line with the Spirit of God.

Upon studying the background of this verse one sees a beautiful balance. The pastor is to be led by love, and not as being lord or "Hitler" over God's heritage. The younger is to submit to the elder. All are to submit to each other.

This is God's plan. It is a wonderful flow of love with each giving and receiving. Each shares and makes a contribution to the other. Neither is in bondage to the other.

To keep the church in balance, God gave to both sides an obligation to exercise submission. Both are responsible first and above all else to God.

You are to follow elders who have wisdom. When the elders fail God, then the younger should step from under his yoke in love and respect, and move on in God.

Recently, I was in a group where the elders were ruling heavily. Some of this was necessary since they were dealing with young people who had been very unruly. They needed some discipline; I thought it was too heavy. They were beginning to feel in bondage. They didn't have freedom to express any guidance that the Lord was giving them. Some came to me and asked what they should do.

I didn't feel free to teach them what I am teaching here; it was not the right time. I said, "As long as you are going to work with this group, you must submit to their rules. If it gets too heavy, you must leave. A little extra discipline is not going to hurt you. You can give a little. It will be good for you."

Personally, I would have gotten out as soon as the Lord permitted it, but I did not suggest this to them. Each case is different. In this case I felt that the Lord would handle it Himself rather than have me suggest anything.

You must respect others. I respected the work the brethren were doing in this particular fellowship. I cannot assume the place of lord over God's heritage. I make myself available should the Lord want to use me.

Keep a tender, loving, humble, and submissive spirit toward all people.

Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

This is God's way. Each person is responsible to humble himself to the other.

In most Scriptures used in this book, the word "submission" means "to set yourself in array under." You must not be dogmatic and play on every Greek word. The Bible says, "Not the letter but the spirit." The letter will kill. The Spirit gives life. Read 2 Corinthians 3:6.

I submit myself to every congregation to which I minister. I submit myself to every person I counsel. I respect their background and their teachings. I try to understand how they think. I do not submit to the point of getting down beside them and walking in their ruts. I submit to them and treat them as human beings. They are not play dolls for me to push around with my pet theories.

You are to love people. When people come to you with different understandings of the Scriptures, listen to them. Respect them. Treat them gently. Respect their right to feel the way they do. Gently tell them your ideas, but never insist that they surrender their own convictions. Ask them to pray about it. Ask them to seek God about it. Give them freedom to find God for themselves.

Does this give me the liberty to demand immoral things from you in the name of submission? Never! It means that I love and respect you. You do the same to me. Gently and in love we walk together. We agree around the love of Jesus. He straightens out our doctrines as we walk along. Things fall into place as we magnify the Lord.

Submission of Wives to Husbands

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

A mean cantankerous woman drives her husband from God. There are reasons why a woman becomes rebellious. Many times her wicked husband drives her until she fights back and develops this type of spirit. Others inherit this from parents. Others develop it for no apparent reason.

The Scripture teaches in 1 Corinthians 11:3 that "the head of woman is the man..." A woman needs to recognize God's divine order today. Her husband is her head, but she cannot forget her allegiance to the Lord. It is first and above all else. Any teaching that puts the husband over the woman in making decisions that affect her relationship to Jesus Christ is anti-Christ. No man can rule over any woman's soul and still be in God's will. Each woman must have freedom to serve the Lord.

In looking at the other side of the subject of husband and wife relationship, remember that God is first.

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof.

God gave man a companion. He did not give him a slave. He took woman from his rib near his heart so that she could share his love and emotions and undergird him. Any teaching that attempts to destroy this relationship is from Satan.

When the woman marries, she does not sell her soul to her husband. She does not get her head cut off and become a robot. She has mental ability before and after marriage.

God ordained marriage, and it is good. It is not to be considered a demotion for a woman. It does not cancel out her thinking and leadership abilities. Marriage does not cancel out her basic freedom of will before God.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11, 13 .Let not the wife depart from her husband:

1 Corinthians 7:11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

1 Corinthians 7:13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.

Paul, by the Holy Spirit, gives the woman some part in decision making. She has a decision to submit to her husband's ungodly demands or not. She has a decision to depart from her husband or not. I have heard some teaching lately that would forbid the women to take any action at all in these matters. There are times when a man must submit to his wife. Here is one case: "and God said unto Abraham. In all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice." (Genesis 21:12).

Should a woman get behind her husband and walk at his pace in the name of submission?

Certainly not!

To understand this answer here are a few questions: How far behind him should she get? Should she go out and get drunk with him? Should she run with the opposite sex as he does in many cases? Should she rob and cheat others as he does in some cases?

No. A wife must obey the Lord. Some men do not have the ability to walk at the same depth that the wife is walking. For a woman to slow down to the snail's pace of her husband is to invite spiritual suicide.

Jesus did not tell the women who followed him to go home and get behind their husbands and wait on them. You do not have to get drunk to win a drunk. You do not have to smoke pot or shoot dope to win a person involved in such things. Move in love, compassion, and understanding; but morally stay above him that he might follow you out of the mess he happens to be in.

A woman who is prone to be rebellious toward her husband needs to watch herself very closely. She needs to correct this attitude. Some of these women may need deliverance.

How should a woman withdraw from the place of leadership she has taken from her husband?

Each of these cases must be handled separately. In cases where the woman finds her husband moving on in God, she may be able to transfer her place of authority almost completely to him. This is especially true when the man has a strong, victorious spirit, or has just been saved and is starting out with a fresh spirit and a beautiful relationship with his wife. Some men can assume a place of leadership faster than others. Each case must be handled on its own merits.

There may be times when she will never be able to step down, and other times it will require patience and perseverance for a woman to throw the entire load of leadership into the hands of a husband who has not previously had it. Many men become frustrated when too much of a load is placed on them too quickly. This can cause chaos in the family. The woman must be wise. She must not throw too much on him at once.

Should a woman throw all of the handling of finances on her husband in the name of submission regardless of the wishes or ability of her husband?

It takes time to bring people into maturity. Backgrounds sometimes play havoc with personalities. Some people never will mature enough to handle finances. The woman needs to exercise wisdom.

Some husbands need to get the finances out of the wife's hands. Some women are not mature enough to handle money. Other men need to let their wives handle the money since they themselves are not mature enough to do it. They may want to spend it on boats, guns, and other playthings which the family may not be able to afford. A good wife can save her husband from financial disaster in situations like this. It is what you have in your home. Develop the weaker side, be it the wife or husband. Bring it into strength.

Let the stronger help the weaker. Encourage each other. Let neither side be foolish in the name of submission by turning leadership over to the immature. Walk wisely and gently with your mate.

Is there an illustration in the Word of God where a woman went against the will of her husband?

The husband is to treat his wife as he would his own body. Man loves himself. Even when he is wrong, he still loves himself. Man is to love his wife even when she is wrong, mean, and rebellious.

Man is to love his wife as he loves himself.

Should a woman submit to her husband's demands and get a job away from home?

This depends upon the needs of the children and the finances of the home. It should be discussed with prayer (where possible) and be decided upon by both the husband and the wife. If the husband needs help financially, and it can be worked out for the wife to work without neglecting the children, certainly she should help him.

The children must be taken into consideration. It is never wise to leave a child or children alone. Babysitters and nursery schools are poor substitutes for mothers. You would be better off getting by with less money than to subject your children to too much of this life.

Some husbands will lean on a wife too much at this point and take advantage of her and use her income to buy playthings for himself. Take all things into consideration in making this decision.

Some men will not develop or mature properly if they know they can lean on the wife's income. Be wise.

Is it Biblical for a woman to work away from home since the Bible teaches that the woman's place is in the home?

First of all, the Bible does not give a blanket demand for women to stay at home. Certainly this is her basic job, but it is not a rule for every woman.

1 Timothy 5:14: "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary ..."

This Scripture gives women's basic place of service—the home. An older woman with grown children may extend her services for one reason or another outside the home in a greater spiritual activity or in secular work.

Read about the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31:20-31. Her basic activity was the home and caring of her household, but she had activities that demanded her decisions and time outside the home as well. She considered a field. She bought it. She planted a vineyard. She stretched out her hands to the poor.

These activities required some time outside the home. They also required her to be somewhat independent. It shows leadership qualities. It shows her going ahead in a business-like manner outside the home. She was a queen going about doing a job that needed to be done.

For a proper attitude toward women, let us look to Jesus.

Martha had her nose to the domestic grindstone; Mary sat at Jesus' feet. Jesus said, "Mary hath chosen the good part" (Luke 19:42).

Matthew 27:55-56 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

These women had left their homes to minister to Jesus, and were several days journey from home. Jesus did not tell them to go back home.

One Christian woman said she felt that she was doing what the Lord wanted her to do when she helped her husband in the field. Her house didn't get cleaned up as well as she would have liked. The beds didn't get made up every day, but the family was happy.

Each case must be handled on its own merits.

Luke 8:1-3 And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

The dogmatic teaching that goes out today would order these women back to their homes, but Jesus said, "Follow me."

A woman's first obedience is submission to the divine will of God for her life.

What about going out without the husband's blessing?

Some women have so much trouble at home that the husband will not do anything for them. She is to go as the Lord directs under the Lord's blessing. She doesn't have to get some other brother's covering. It is a husband and wife situation and does not need the interference of a third party.

I send my wife everywhere. She goes with my blessing. This is fine if you have a working relationship with your husband.

Mary was espoused to Joseph, which was practically the same as being married to him. She did not get Joseph's permission to conceive Jesus. In fact, the angel had to deal with Joseph and tell him that Mary was acting in all faithfulness. Joseph was an unbeliever in this matter until the angel gave him a revelation. The fact remains that Mary did not get Joseph's blessing.

God's program moves through men and women whom God chooses. It must not be delegated to committees, boards of elders, or unbelieving husbands. A blessing is ideal for a wife, but it must never be an ironclad rule. Give the woman freedom to breathe and act on direct guidance from God. Here is where balance is very important. If the woman has a good relationship with her husband, she will operate under the husband's blessing. Even then there will be times when she will step out into areas without his specific blessing for that particular action.

Can you imagine Deborah, the judge over Israel, sending a messenger back home to her battlefield? On the contrary he was probably like the other men; they looked to her for a blessing.

What about women who do not keep a clean house? How should a husband respond?

If the woman is working eight hours a day at an office, the husband is reaping the benefits of her income; he should not leave all the housework to his wife. True, some women are lazy. They need to be dealt with on an individual basis. They need much prayer and counsel. They might even need outside counsel.

For a woman to sit in a chair or lie in bed all day reading books, even religious books, or listening to tapes, and neglect the home is error. She needs help.

One lady said she sat in the chair until her husband drove up; then she ran to open cans for his meal.

I told her to fix her husband a decent meal daily, and bake him a cake once in a while. This same lady stayed out until midnight several nights a week with her husband home waiting for her. I told her to get home with her husband.

Wisdom will call you away from home at times, but not consistently night after night.

Some women do not get their house clean because they are sick, or they have too many small children. The husband needs to take everything into consideration. Above all, he must be tender and understanding.

Here is a good rule for husbands to follow in dealing with their rib when it irritates them:

"likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life." (1 Peter 3:7)

Study the words "heirs together" You are one in Christ. This does not do away with the headship of man.

Some cantankerous women try to justify their meanness with Scripture. They say woman's subjection to her husband came as a curse of the law and that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Even though Christ has redeemed us from the curse, part of this redemption is still future. Death is part of the curse, but men still die. It will be abolished when Christ comes again.

The New Testament still placed women in subjection to their husbands after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A wife must honor this, but the husband is to honor his wife. He is to be considerate of her since she is the weaker vessel. "Ye are heirs together" ought to keep the husband from being a dictator. The following Scripture is a good one for man and wife to follow when considering the other side of submission:

"Having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful; be courteous:      not      rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing." (1 Peter 3:8,9)

Blessings and growth come to the family relationship when these instructions are followed. Love and compassion are the order of the day. You are to love as brethren. This would indicate that you are to treat each other as you would treat a brother visiting your home for an evening meal. You would be very tender and kind to this person. This is the way you are to treat one another as husband and wife.

This is the divine order in the home. Neither side is to cut into the other. Arguing, insulting, scolding, and tongue-lashing are Satan's tools. When a person argues, berates, and cuts into another, he is acting as judge over the other. The Scriptures tell us that those who judge will be judged. A home that is set up on the basis of each person judging, condemning, and berating the other is doomed.

Many times it may be the angry husband who does much of the judging, but he will reap what he sows. It could be a woman who raves all day long at her children and her husband. She will reap what she sows.

Some brothers and sisters who do this are victims of conditions during childhood. Often such a person takes upon himself the spirit of his father or mother. Sometimes a husband mistreats the wife so much that she becomes hard on the children and in many cases returns the tongue-lashing and berating to her own husband. Whatever the cause, work to correct it. Each day determine: "I will walk in love today with my mate. God is perfecting our home today. We have harmony in our home today."

Breathe in the precious beauty of the Holy Spirit at this point. Relax and let Him do a work in you. Enjoy His divine blessings, but do not judge your progress. Some days you will be great; other days you will be terrible. Keep on determining to love. Relate to God's truth. Relate to a positive confession. Your faith will take root and the Word of truth will grow strong in your home. When possible, husband and wife together can make these positive confessions of faith several times daily. God will honor this.

Must A Wife Submit To Her Husband In Perverted Sexual Activity?

Certainly not! Go back to your first duty in submission. Jesus must be first in your life. One woman said that her husband demanded homosexual activities in their marital relationships. He demanded that she commit other things at the same time. He would scream at her, "Submit, woman, submit! The Lord demands that you submit!"

Dear precious sister, you must never submit to the devil or evil spirit in anyone. I told her to leave this man immediately.

If a woman were obligated (thank God she isn't) to submit to this kind of thing, she would be obligated to deny Christ should the husband demand it.

I have had women tell me that pastors have told them to submit to their husbands, regardless, and in so doing, they would win their husbands. Sometimes I wonder what problem the pastor must have to give this advice. You do not move down to the evil of a sinner to win him. You move above him into the holiness of the Lord and invite him to join you.

There have been a few cases of women winning their husbands by leaning over backwards in submission to them. Each case must be handled as the Spirit directs.

Many, many women have gone berserk by following the extreme submission teaching. Do not ask a weak sister to wade out into sin with a husband to win him. She may never get back to shore. How stupid and horrible is the teaching that demands a woman to commit immoral acts in the name of submission! May God have mercy upon those who teach such ungodly perversions!

Some say, "If a woman is close to God, her faith will deliver her from such activity." This depends on many things. Many women are close to God and have this type of a demon-possessed man to live with daily. Some can move in faith and bind the demons in the husbands. Some women do see great results; most reap nothing but Hell.

Some women have lived with their problem. They grit their teeth and submit. However, the dogmatic teaching of submission demands complete submission in all areas. The woman would be forced to enjoy the sin she was submitting to with her husband. God never demands this.

Paul said, "Abstain from the very appearance of evil." Get away from it.

Although a few women submit in these perverted areas and finally see their husbands saved, there is a high cost for the multitude of women that do not win out. Many wives are now backslidden and in sin because some teacher or preacher told them to wade out into sin with their husband, in the guise of submission, that she might win him.

Does a woman have a Scriptural choice in this matter?

Certainly she does. A lady called me and said, "Brother Buess, don't I have a choice in my obligations to Jesus Christ?

She said that her pastor told her to submit to the perverted sex spirit in her husband. He told her to do what her husband demanded of her. She ended up in a bar drunk and backslidden with her husband in the name of submission to him.

She said, "Please, don't I have a choice?"

"Yes, you do," I said. "Stop this foolishness right now and get back into fellowship with your Lord."

What about Sarah submitting to Abraham calling him lord? You might want to consider 1 Peter 3:1-6.

1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

This will win the man if anything will. Yielding to his sin isn't going to give him respect for her.

The woman is to live in harmony with the Word of God. The husband who reads not the Word will hear it in the conversation of the wife. She must use wisdom and not club her husband with the Lord, but must live the Word before him at all times. Living in the same filth in which he lives would be a testimony of defeat. Remember, in submission you would have to enjoy the sin, also. Your husband could not be influenced to accept Jesus when he saw his wife enjoying the same sinful life that he enjoys.

One writer stated that Sarah is the example for all women to follow. She submitted to Abraham to the extent that she lied and joined the king's harem (Genesis 20). Using Sarah as an example, this writer taught other women to follow their husbands' demands as far as their faith would carry them. Faith does not carry you into a life of sin and shame. Let the pendulum swing into line with the Word.

Consider Sapphira. She lost her life because she foolishly obeyed her husband.

Acts 5:9-10 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. 10 Then fell she down ... and yielded up the ghost.

What about going to church?

Suppose your husband wants you to go to an old, cold, dead church, but he never goes. Should you obey him? Probably not. If he is going to this church, then you need to really seek the Lord. Your place, probably, is at his side, but this must be handled as an individual case. What is true for one may not be true for another.

The wife must use wisdom and certainly be Spirit-led at this point. Some men hate the more spiritual churches and insist on their wives going with them. This is just being a dictator over the wife. She must decide for herself about her church activities, but she must employ love, prayer, and wisdom.

Sometimes a wise woman will occasionally stay home with her husband. She knows him better than anyone else does; she knows the mind of the Lord for herself far better than anyone else does. Certainly she must be fed and will seek Christian fellowship often. She must not follow a backslidden or indifferent husband to the point of ending up as he is.

Chapter 2, The Pendulum Swings To the Other Side of the Teaching on Elders

Today, Christians are seeking to return to the New Testament plan for church government. Some are becoming extremists and are shouting out that they have the full truth. In doing so, they renounce the basic patterns of yesterday. Sometimes these groups fail to recognize that they, like folks of yesterday, are teaching a partial truth. Each person wants to think that he has a corner on the truth. They fail to recognize that God leads individuals in different paths to get a job done.

Some pastors feel that they need to set their church up on one system, and others feel that they need to follow another plan.

It is up to each local group or pastor to seek the Lord and come up with a system that will work for that situation.

The New Testament was and is a flow of the Spirit and not a set of dogmas.

Today, many groups are not recognizing God's plan of leading individuals and are trying to force legalistic views on the other fellow in the name of New Testament truths.

All local churches in the New Testament did not have the same type of government.

The Jerusalem church had a communal type of living. There is no record that the other New Testament churches also practiced communal living. Today each local group needs to seek the Lord and come up with a system that will work for them in their situation. If your group works best with a strong leader, do it, or vice versa.

Romans 4:2-3 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Whether it be salvation, healing, or church government, it requires faith above all.

There is a basic plan of Salvation, but what works for one does not necessarily work for another.

There is a basic plan for believing God for healing, but what works for one does not necessarily work for another.

There is a basic plan for church government, but all are not forced into the same situations.

Different people need different types of church activity and approach.

In the case of Salvation or healing, many times it takes a special work from God to hit the basic need of the individual before deliverance comes. In the case of local church government, it takes the same thing. The Holy Spirit must direct the local pastor or group to obey what they feel is the Lord's will for them.

It is not of works or legalism. It is of faith.

I have been in many great churches. Their governments have varied as much as the day and night. What is the answer? The answer is love and a Spirit-directed life.

The New Testament is a flow of the Spirit rather than legalism. We must flow with what the Spirit is doing now. Some want to go back to yesterday's revivals. Never! The Holy Spirit is not going to pass that way anymore. It is what God is doing in the now that counts.

John the Baptist represented one phase of Christianity. He presented Christ to the world; then he faded out. The transitional church out of Judaism into full faith represented another type of church. Paul, during this time, would go back to the temple and take vows. The church was considered by historians as a sect of Judaism. It came out of Judaism; it took time to wash it out of their minds.

Then came the transition into home fellowships when nearly all the local churches met in homes, due largely to persecution. This demanded many elders and pastors over the small groups with a central apostle, as seen in Ephesus. The two books to Timothy were written by Paul when Timothy was the apostle under Paul over Ephesus. The elders were subject to him in a love relationship.

Later, the church developed into a harsh dictator-type leadership as the power of God departed. Still later there was the transition into large central units with church buildings as soon as the persecution lifted. It was like fire crossing the land. Churches sprang up everywhere. The Corinthians had apparently met together at times. Paul said in 1 Corinthians14:26, When ye all come together.," and again in 1 Corinthians 11:20, "When ye come together therefore into one place." These indicate one central meeting place.

(History seems to indicate that the only city in which the early Christians consistently met together in one place was Jerusalem. Occasionally, they rented halls in other countries for get-togethers, such as the time Paul went to Troas. See Acts 20:7, 8. Even in this instance it is possible that this group, being small, may have used this hall all of the time. In most instances during the early period, there was the use of the home-type fellowship, but in others it was a coming together in one place occasionally.)

Immediately after the persecution lifted, rapid transition came into local central church bodies. Over these churches would be one strong pastor. Under this pastor were elders working with him, but subject to him. Then part of the church entered into a strong government and became way out of balance. For years, there was tremendous conflict within the church, the cold church fighting the faithful believers.

The Dark Ages began to lift. The church began to experience another transition. Believers faithful to the Word of God broke away from their traditional teachings and came forth with partial truths. These movements continued. In each transition period the Lord brought forth more and more truth. It was a flow back to basic principles with freedom to move on into the "now." Never does this flow violate basic truth; neither does it take the church back to the legalism of the past.

What is meant by legalism of the past? An example: the many folks in the Pentecostal movement who want to go back to the great revivals of the early 1900's. This would never work. Those people lived in the light they had; they worked with what they had.

Another example: Christians in one group found that they received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit if they just sat silently, sometimes for days. Later another group found that, by praising the Lord, the Holy Spirit would come more quickly.

The earlier group by now had a doctrine of sitting and waiting. This group began to persecute the group that praised the Lord to receive the Holy Spirit. They accused them of having something besides the "real thing." The Pentecostal folks who were persecuted for praising the Lord to receive the Holy Spirit have made a doctrine out of their method. They are now actively engaged in persecuting the charismatic Christians today for their simple faith method in receiving the Holy Spirit.

Many Baptists want to go back to the great men and revivals of yesterday, but it will never be the same again.

God moves in new areas. He meets the needs of society as He finds them in each generation. The church has to flow with the "now" generation. The church is in transition right now. She is moving into the end-time Church.

You cannot pattern your life after yesterday's movements. There must be a flow of the Spirit.

God will do new things today. He is on the move; He is in the now.

A Look at the Elder System

Exodus 18:13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.

Exodus 18:25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

The elder system came from Moses. He was ruling the people himself. He was overworked. He kept the people in long lines waiting for his counsels. Jethro, his father-in-law, was used of God to get him to change and set up elders under him.

The elders were responsible to him. They were not co-elders; they were not even equal among themselves. Some were over thousands. Others were over fewer people.

Any church that has co-elders is headed for trouble—it is like having two husbands in a home.

Elders work under a head. Now, this doesn't tell the whole story. Sometimes the Scriptures call the main leader an elder. John was an apostle; he also called himself an elder. The real problem is recognizing a leader. God worked directly through the judges. He worked directly through Moses. All the elders were to help relieve the work load.

Notice the escalated authority under Moses:

"Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders and your officers, with all the men of Israel (Deuteronomy 29:10).

There were elders under the captains of the tribes. They had other officers under them, but all were responsible to Moses. God has always had His pastor in charge.

The church is set up much like this. One or more apostles are over the local works; then, within the work are the pastor, prophet, teacher, and evangelist. These officers do not always stay within the local body. Sometimes they flow to the entire Body as in the case of the apostle, prophet, teacher, and the evangelist.

Many times the pastor becomes an apostle within his local church. He moves into a new anointing, his work grows, he has several elders under him, and his ministry is developing new churches. He now has a dual role of apostle and pastor.

The pendulum is swinging back. Folks are now beginning to see that God directs local works through a man as he seeks God's face for that direction. It doesn't have to come from any particular group. Jesus directs His man.

It is time to recognize that God has His men out on the field who have found the answer for their needs. They may not fit any of the so-called "Divine Order" groups or patterns. The relationship of the apostle over the local church, like the pastor over the local church, is a love ministry rather than a dictatorship.

The pastor who has moved into the anointing and ministry of an apostle with a great outreach program will, in many instances, have other apostles outside his local church, to whom he looks for spiritual guidance.

This must never be legalistic.

You cannot come to this man and insist upon this pastor-apostle submitting to you. Let the Lord bring things together. Let the Lord gently lead you to help a brother who needs help. Use all the wisdom that you can receive from the Holy Spirit.

When God puts an apostle over a work people will recognize it. They may not call him an apostle, but in love they look to him for guidance. There will be a bond of fellowship between the pastor and church with that apostle which is absolutely Heavenly.

Yes, there is another side to submission.

What about unmarried women submitting to men? Any normal submission such as, "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God" (Ephesians 5:21) is in order. This merely calls for politeness and tender attitudes toward each other rather than rebellion and hate.

Unmarried women should submit to church authorities in a spirit of love as long as it does into violate a moral code, demand improper actions, negate her commitment to the Lord, or supersede her right to seek the Lord for His will on her own. An unmarried woman, like anyone else, should have the right to pray and follow her inner convictions. An unmarried woman can seek counsel of pastors or elders, but never should she come down under some self-appointed blessing for her.

Never should an unmarried woman submit to a man who would attempt to usurp the role of a husband over her. Reports keep coming to me of men demanding that unmarried women, in the name of submission, submit to them sexually.

Men cannot demand submission, even in the case of the husband and wife. A man can only love his wife as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25). The wife is commanded to submit (Ephesians 5:22). The unmarried woman is never to feel obligated to submit to a man just because she is a woman.

There has always been a power structure in God's work. In the Old Testament, the first authority was God to Adam. Then it was God to the judges. God was dealing directly through His man. Then, due to rebellion on the part of the people, God gave them kings. God permitted this, but He did not fully sanction it. Under the kings you had a dictatorship. The king had his advisors, but he was chief.

God can bless churches that have less than His perfect will in church government. Many great things can come about under this ministry. The kings were a great blessing, but the judges were His perfect will. There have been great revivals in the past with imperfect church government. The church is moving forward. Let us keep our hearts set on God's best.

It is good to look at this power structure since the church copied much of its structure from knowledge of God's previous dealings with His people.

Luke 22:52 Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders.

Luke 22:66 And as soon as it was day, the elders      of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together.

Acts 4:5-6 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the high priest.

The High Priest, rulers, elders, and scribes all made up the council. There was a sharing and working among them, yet there was a definite power structure. You will see this in the trial of Jesus. The High Priest was the head. This later transferred to the elder system with the pastor being the head of the local body and the apostle over him.

The apostle set the elders and/or pastors in the churches (Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5).

Keep in mind that the New Testament was a flow that met the needs.

It was never a legalistic law demanding that each submit to the other. They learned together. They accepted others' suggestions, but at the same time they remained independent of each other. You can see some of this in the Jerusalem council. They came together and discussed the issue. The Jerusalem church did most of the giving. The Gentile group accepted some good advice that the Jerusalem fellowship had to offer. It was a flow; it was give and take. It was searching and reaching out for the best way to operate with the present need.

Keep this in mind for finding the will of God today. Never go back and bind yourselves in an iron clad rule to the past. Keep the basic concepts, but adapt them under Spirit guidance.

Let the pendulum swing back into the perfect flow of the Spirit of the Lord.

Paul operated more or less independently. He did not go to Jerusalem for advice or approval. Later Paul did go to Jerusalem to share. He did not go to Jerusalem to receive a blessing.

At that time, the Jerusalem church missed God and did not want to acknowledge what God had done in him. (Read the following verse.) God deals with individuals, not necessarily boards or elders. When God puts a man out as an apostle, he does not have to ask anyone. This was Paul's case. God cannot wait for a group of men to make up their minds.

Acts 9:26-27 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

He went to minister and report to them the miracle of God. He went, also, fleeing for his life from Damascus.

He first came to the local church, the disciples, which included the elders or pastors. They rejected him completely. Barnabas finally got it through the apostles' thick heads that Paul was chosen of God.

Paul Never Recognized Any Head except Jesus

Galatians 1:17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

Here he was preaching and serving the Lord with no formal approval from anyone but the Lord.

Immediately following Saul's salvation, God sent Ananias to lay his hands on Saul for healing from blindness, for baptism of the Holy Ghost, and for baptism in water. Ananias did not get the elders' approval to do it. God said do it, and he did it. (Acts 9:10-18).

Galatians 1:18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

Paul recognized the authority of love and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He waited three years before he even checked in to see the apostle Peter.

Praise God for individuals who hear from God and bow only to the rule of love and tenderness before the Lord.

Leave the Galatian spirit, and spirit, and move on with the Lord Jesus today. Let the pendulum swing back to Jesus' way.

When Paul and Barnabas were sent out by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:1-3), it was not a group of leaders that got together formally to make a decision on them. It was the Holy Ghost speaking through the apostles and prophets who confirmed what was already in their hearts. "The Holy Ghost said, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.'" (Acts 13:2).

This is my idea of flowing with the Spirit. Do what God does. Jesus said He did what He saw the Father do. (John 5:19).

Move with God

Acts 16:6 ... were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia.

It was the Holy Spirit who sent Paul, not the local church.

All the local church did was recognize what the Lord had already done. If they failed to recognize it, this did not stop Paul. He could not stop for local church approval or coverings. In many cases he had to send letters to the churches to prove his apostleship. The local churches were missing what God was doing.

In different instances the local brethren tried to keep Paul from going to Jerusalem. Right or wrong, Paul had to follow his own convictions which he felt he had received from God.

The pendulum is swinging back. God's children are becoming individuals who recognize leadership. They recognize love. They also recognize that when God speaks, they must move on regardless of the board of elders or what have you.

Acts 21:12-13 And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

Here is a case where Paul directly refused to listen to the local body. He would not even listen to his own fellow apostles and workers.

There is a beautiful balance. You need one another. You listen to advice. You recognize the authority of the local church. You also recognize the responsibility of the individual before God. You must obey God. Seek love and fellowship with the brethren, but you must never be in bondage to them.

Much of God's work operates independently, especially in the beginning. Otherwise the work of God would be pigeonholed by committees. No man could move on into the deeper things of God if he had to constantly submit to elders or pastors.

Move in love. Honor each other. But, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, do not get locked up by the letter of the law approach.

There are times when you need to get together. At these times there is give and take. It isn't all the "Holy Fathers" handing down rules and regulations. It is love and tenderness. You must consider each other. You must walk gently before the Lord lest you stumble and fall through pride.

The pendulum is swinging back to a Jesus flow.

Peter did not operate entirely within the framework of the approval of Jerusalem. In considering the power structure of the early church, notice the balance. This section is emphasizing strongly the independent side so that you can see the balance. Keep even this in balance.

Let the pendulum swing back into Jesus' easy relaxed way.

Do not leave this book and rise up in rebellion against order and present structures; you must love people.

Should the Lord lead you in a way that you have to stand alone, then you must stand alone. Go on with the vision God gives you.

Peter received a vision from God to go to Cornelius, a Gentile. The Jerusalem church never would have approved of this. He went independently. Later, they called him on the carpet for it. He explained to them the vision and its results. They then accepted it. (Acts 10 and 11:1-18).

Notice the flow. You work to the best of your ability with the local structure, but you do not bow and scrape to anyone. You are responsible to your heavenly vision.

Move on with God even if the whole world is against you.

I do not refer to wrong spirits. Some folks accept wrong spirits. They have a persecution complex. They think they are the only one who stands for the faith. This person is sick. A man who moves in true revelation of Jesus Christ is a man of wisdom, love, and compassion. He is balanced. He loves his fellow man. He respects his brethren. He is tender. He is also an individual.

The Apostles Set the Elders in the Church

In examining the power structure in the early church it will be noted that the apostles set the elders in the church. In a way, then, this puts the apostle over the local church, at least the ones that he has established, or the ones to which God has joined him. A person may not have started a particular church, yet the Lord may have set that man as apostle over the work. The apostle, like the pastor, has a love leadership rather than a dictatorship.

Titus 1:5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.

This was a flow. It was a logical thing. The local work needed some leadership. Paul placed Titus there to get the job done. He was acting under Paul's authority. He was to ordain elders in every city.

In most of these cases it was probably situations where the churches met in homes. There were many small groups. They needed at least one elder over each group. In cases of larger groups they would need many elders or at least several elders.

Most local churches will develop to the point that many elders need to be set in the church. A wise pastor will have many people carrying out the duties in the church to relieve his time and energy for more important things such as prayer and the Word.

Many times, these men will never be officially appointed as elders in the body, yet they are there. They are functioning. Anything that demands that you follow a pattern borders on "fleshly programs of men." God is running the church.

I have been in churches where they strongly emphasized the letter of the law, and, in most cases, things were a mess. There was always a strong undercurrent of unrest. I have been in other churches where the spirit of the law was in operation. They knew very little about rules and so-called divine order, and it was beautiful. The structure was there. The leaders were there. God had set it.

Relax the rules. Let the Holy Spirit set up the power structure. Things will begin to come together in a beautiful way.

Beware of men who are over-anxious about getting you set in with elders. Hang loose. Let the Lord perfect His work.

The apostle ministry pioneered and guided the church at Ephesus.

1 Timothy 1:3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine.

Timothy, acting under Paul's apostolic authority, was head of the church at Ephesus. There were many elders.

"From Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church." (Acts 20:17)

Let the pendulum come into perfect Jesus balance.

There were many elders or pastors in the church at Ephesus because they had many, many church homes. Each needed a pastor or elder to guide it. These pastors were more or less equal in power when they came together to discuss the work. However, each pastor was head, in love, over his own local congregation.

Timothy was the apostle to whom the pastors looked for leadership.

In Ephesus, there were perhaps one to two hundred prayer group type churches. This is my observation. Study situations like I am going to give you in the following paragraphs and see if you agree or disagree with me. This also is the general consensus of historians. For a starter read Halley's Bible Handbook under "Ephesus."

Ephesus, a city of 225,000 was the mother of the Asian churches. (Halley's Bible Handbook, pp. 700, 24th ed.)

If this is true, and logic and historical background of the Word indicate that it is true, then there had to be many home churches. A church that is strong enough to be mother of the Asian churches needs more than one home      out of which to work. Yes, there were many home churches.

If there was any success at all in converting people to Jesus, they would not fit in one house. I conclude that there were a hundred or more, perhaps two hundred home churches. The church at Ephesus was made up of many home fellowships. This was true of nearly all the New Testament churches. The Scriptures only recognize one church in every town. However, there were many congregations with pastors over each.

Romans 16:3, 5 Greet Priscilla and Aquila .Likewise greet the church that is in their house.

Philemon 2b And to the church in thy house.

There is no need for more than one elder in smaller groups.

1 Peter 5:1-3 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

This epistle was written to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. So the elders that were among them referred to many local fellowships. Some of them had only one elder. Others had several, depending upon the need.

Certainly every pastor soon needs a good body of elders to surround him, to counsel with him as the flock begins to grow. These elders must remember that, as pastor, he is like an apostle over them, and they are subject to him and his appointment.

These same "under the shepherd" elders can, eventually, if God so leads, come into the full ministry of a pastor or whatever. Philip began in Acts 6 as a table waiter in the church. He ended up, later, as an evangelist with a beautiful ministry. (Acts 8:5 and Acts 21:8)

Some pastors, due to their type of anointing and ministry, develop into apostolic pastors. There is another side to this co-elder teaching that is being taught today.

The church at Ephesus was guided by many local shepherd elders with one apostle to guide them.

The Corinthian church began to develop many divisions. One group said, "I am of Paul." Others said, "I am of Apollos." Others leaned to Cephas. Divisions began to isolate them. Denominational walls began to rise between the home fellowships. Each local home church seemed to be going its own way.

There was strong emphasis on the doctrinal viewpoints of each man such as Paul, Apollos and Cephas. Men began to split hairs over what each taught. They soon began to follow men rather than daily looking to Jesus for direction.

Legalism separates the body of Christ. Today, one group says, "I am a Baptist." Another group says, "I am a Methodist." Another group says they are Charismatic. The Charismatics divide and identify with the co-elder teaching, extreme discipleship type teaching, or many others.

Personally, I want to stay in the flow. I want to be gentle. Unity cannot be forced. It can only flow from Jesus. May He establish unity in the body today.

I confess the pendulum is coming back into line with the Holy Spirit for today.

Consider the power structure used during the early church and apply it to your situation, today, with a Spirit-led approach.

Chapter 3, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of the Teaching on Covering for Ministers

The idea of a "covering" is basically scriptural. It deals with the idea that one must recognize the authority in the body of Christ in the home.

In the church, the ministries recognize the authority within the different ministries with the apostle being the head over the church. The pastor is the head within the local church. There is to be recognition of the authority in love. Nothing can be of force or dictatorship.

In the home, the husband is the head of the wife and the home. He becomes a "covering" for his wife. The church body becomes the "covering" for the individual church members. The ministers become the "covering" for other ministers.

The extreme teaching that is going about today is that the wife must submit to her husband, regardless. He is her "covering." She has to walk down under his every desire. This teaching demands that she get his permission to "breathe." It is a very carnal, legalistic thing in many circumstances.

Other extremes demand that she get "coverings" or permission from other men if her husband is not around to ask. (I do not want my wife to get permission from anyone to do anything. She has a head of her own. She has guidance. She does not need to ask anyone else. She may call for prayer or counsel, but never a "covering.")

These extremes demand that every minister must get permission from some local body before he can minister. Many of these men are mature in the Lord and have proven ministries. It boils down to one thing. You must get some particular person's "covering" or approval. It is the rise of denominationalism again.

Isaiah 30:1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin.

Legalistic demands for coverings are carnal. The only true covering is the Word of the Lord. Flowing with fellowships forms a type of covering and is precious, but there are times when one man may have to stand alone with only the covering of "Thus saith the Lord."

Does a minister have to have a "covering" from a local body to minister the Word of the Lord?

A novice, unproven minister going out from a body from which he has received instruction, should walk under their blessing, if he can do so without violating his convictions. Even here, he needs breathing room. God may want to lead him on beyond the vision of the local body.

A mature man with a strong ministry for the entire body of Christ may or may not have another's blessings or so-called "covering." Common sense will tell you it is good to get blessings from one or more bodies to cover you in prayer and support; however, for people to dogmatically demand that ministries seek shelter under their wings is another demonic approach to dictatorship and denominationalism.

Paul did not seek "covering" from anyone. He went out under the Lord. Later, he did check in on the brethren with love and tenderness. (Galatians 1:17-2:2)

Peter did not get permission or "covering" to go to the Gentiles. They would have talked him out of it. Let the pendulum swing you back into balance in this. There are times when a man may have a new truth direct from the throne of God. All men may forsake him. He must not sell out his convictions for the pleasure, or so-called "covering" of a local group. (Acts 10:11)

I, personally, like to identify with several local bodies. I love all of the churches to whom I minister, and in a way, I submit to all of them. We have a mutual; understanding of love and trust. I do not formally submit to any of them. There are two or three churches with whom I identify, but not to the point of coming under them for a "covering."

I could name many churches right now that accept me, and I accept them in the sense of belonging, but neither of us requires papers to prove our "covering" or submission to the other.

These are love relationships. It is kindred love and respect. They may or may not agree with me in everything. I may or may not agree with them. Working together cannot be based upon doctrines. People are not that united as yet.

I have many churches that claim me as their own. I claim them. We have a wonderful relationship. The spirit of these churches and the fellowship with them is all that I need. I do not formally submit to any of them. I would say that I am probably better "covered" than some of the legalists.

This dogmatic letter-of-the-law approach to covering that is being presented by some today is just another Galatian situation on the rise again.

Is there a Scriptural basis for this teaching?

Let the pendulum swing with the Word of God rather than teachings of men. Stop reading your convictions into the Word. As a denominational man, I, at one time, tried to make the Scripture fit my dogma. This devil is still around today.

Acts 8:5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

He may or may not have had a formal blessing to do this. The indications are that he did not. There was not much organization. You do not need it when the Lord is working.

Acts 8:1 tells us that they were all scattered abroad. These were persecution days. They did not worry about getting permission, or "coverings" to do the work of the Lord. They were out on a mission and not playing church with toy elder meetings and man's approval.

Acts 8:26-27 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went.

This is the Gospel in action. This is obedience to the Spirit and not to men. God spoke to Philip and he went.

Can you imagine him calling long distance to the elders in Jerusalem for permission and "covering" to obey the Lord?

Is it possible that Philip received his "covering" when they sent him forth to preach?

Perhaps! He may have, but there is no record of anyone ever doing anything except to make a table waiter out of him in Acts 6. But, is it wise to build a doctrine on "perhaps" or vague situations?

I am asking you to let the pendulum swing in the freedom of the Holy Spirit. I am asking for gentleness and tenderness. There is a balance. There is another side. Let us come into His fullness rather than our narrowness.

In Acts 10:20 the Lord told Peter to go to Cornelius' household. Peter took some of the local brethren with him as a matter of fellowship, and perhaps they went along out of great wonder. One thing is certain; Peter was from the Jerusalem church. He was visiting in Joppa. His home base was Jerusalem. He did not have a "covering" to go to Cornelius.

In Acts 11, Peter explained to the Jerusalem church his activity. They tried to shame him and convince him of his error. He held his ground, and in the end, they submitted to him. He could never have received a "covering" for this act. God does not wait for any "coverings" except His own.

God's work must go forward. You cannot let it get bogged down with denominational committees or carnal elder meetings.

I would like to insert here that many of the lately appointed elders are not men called of God to this ministry. Many have messed up their own family life, which is contrary to the Word of God. Many are not qualified teachers or leaders.

1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach.

A person might forgive a brother if he happens to have had two wives, but there is no excuse for an elder to have no knowledge of the Word of God and no ability to teach it. I say this with tenderness, but certainly it should be prayed about.

I do not say this to be pressuring any elder or elders who have been appointed by men and not by God. This is to be prayed about. Be willing to back off if you find yourself in error.

It is beautiful when the church brethren do lay their hands on a brother and send him forth on special ministries. Such is recorded in Acts 13.

We are against unscriptural demands being made unduly upon individuals. Many of those making the demands have never been called to the ministry themselves. Many are self-appointed, so-called elders.

I am fully against this Pharisaical dictatorship. It smells of the rise of denominationalism again.

It is true that many God-called men are teaching this error. I love these brethren and know they love the Lord. I call for the pendulum to swing back into place.

Let much prayer be made. Let there be a searching of the Word in honesty for truth.

"Coverings" are beautiful when they are in the flow of the Spirit, but for you to stop a precious minister and demand that he produce his "covering" paper is error on you part (I have heard of this many times lately from some very good ministers.)

Recently I heard of a strange case. A man flew from the south eastern part of our country up into the north central part of the United States. He was not of that fellowship. He had no legal connections with it. Yet, he invaded this group and demanded that one of the ministers employed by the local group return home and get under a "covering." This minister had previously been in sin. He had spent the past eighteen months in prayer and repentance. One of the men who did not even know the brother personally got a burden for him. He invited him there to speak. God was using him mightily. God set His approval upon Him, yet a product of this extremism demanded that he get back home and submit. The brother was submitting when he accepted the invitation to come and speak at this rally.

How can we control error from coming in upon us?

Error will come in faster with this legalistic approach; for with this approach, you begin to honor men of like papers rather than men whom God has sent.

It is a very dangerous attitude that demands that a brother produce his "covering" papers. There is no automatic cure for false teaching.

We do not want to invite the "pat on the back" type ministry. We do not want another political and denominational spirit to arise in the body. This type of approach says, "You scratch my back, and I will scratch yours." We have had this in our denominations for years.

Look at the other side and let the pendulum swing back into balance.

This back slapping teaching is "in-breeding" which magnified errors and weaknesses. It is like marrying brothers and sisters or close relatives. The weak parts begin to come alive in the off-spring.

When you settle down to your own groups and demand submission to dogmas and "coverings," you operate with your own clique. This is no different from many of the denominational churches today. It is no different from some of the Pentecostal denominations of our day. Do we really want this to arise again in our midst?

I call for the pendulum to swing back to tenderness, love, and humility.

Have no dogmatic viewpoints. Walk in love.

Say with me, today. "Lord, I seek your will. Lord, I seek your face. Lord, I want no doctrine of man. Teach me Thy path today, In Jesus Name."

Chapter 4, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of a Woman's Place in the Church Today

Is it true that women have no place in public teaching?

Certainly not! In Chapter 1, it was noted that Jesus had women in His group. It can be assumed that they were learning things which, later, would be taught to others.

Mary carried the first Gospel message of the resurrected Christ, while men were still in doubt, fear, and unbelief. The message of the women was received with much doubt and unbelief on the part of men. (Mark 16:1-11)

Is it true that women are inferior to men before the Lord?

Galatians 3:28 .There is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Often men receive an out-of-balance teaching and walk around as lords over women in the church and out of the church. Sometimes delegations of men are sent to women's meetings to keep the women in line or to keep check on their teachings.

Man needs to recognize his place as head in the home. This can only be exercised in love. He must never assume a dogmatic role as head in spiritual things.

The woman does not have to go through the husband to get saved. She does not have to go through any man to get saved. She goes directly to the Lord Himself.

It is good when the husband can take the lead in spiritual things as well as physical, but never is he to be a dictator or a watchdog.

Is it true that women must keep silent in the church?

No. There is another side. 1 Corinthians 14:34 would indicate that the woman should keep silence in the church, but 2 Timothy 2:15 seems to indicate that the entire Word has a balance rather than a dogmatic one-sided answer.

Acts 21:9 would indicate that women spoke in church. "And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy." Philip, the evangelist, had four daughters who were prophetesses. The most logical place to prophesy is in the local church.

Luke 2:36 There was one Anna, a prophetess.

Luke 2:38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Anna, a woman, entered the temple and turned to Jesus, the Son of God, and prophesied over Him.

Mary prophesied in the temple (Luke 1:46-55.) Read it, please. Every time that Scripture is read in the church, Mary is prophesying again in the church.

Every time a person reads any of the book of Ruth or the word of Esther in the church, these women are again speaking in the church.

There is another side. Let us keep a balance in our teaching.

Is it true that women cannot be prophetesses?

Read Judges 4:4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

Peter tells us in Acts 2:17 that our daughters should prophesy.

Anna was a prophetess. (Luke 2:36)

Is it true that a woman has to have a "covering" every time she makes a move?

Can you imagine Deborah sending back home to her husband for a "covering" or permission to do certain unforeseen things while on the battle field? This woman had attained the highest position in the land. She was God's mouthpiece. God spoke directly to her. She didn't have to get a "covering" from anyone. She was responsible to God. She ruled the nation. Answer it yourself.

A woman was listed among the big three in bringing Israel out of Egypt.

Micah 6:4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

There were many men among the elders that the Lord could have listed, but He chose to list Miriam as one of the big three in leadership.

Can you imagine Mary running home to get permission from John or some other man to report on the resurrection, or ask permission to report it when they didn't believe it anyway? Jesus told her to make the report. He didn't tell her to get a "covering from some man first.

Jesus is capable of telling a woman things today for which it would be utterly impossible to get permission or "covering." Many of these things could be in the area where the man would not give her a "covering." She must make sure it is God and follow Him.

Certainly it is ideal for a woman to walk in submission to her husband. (I expect my wife to do so.) Circumstances do not always make it possible.

Let us look at the other side, and get off the women's backs.

I don't have a position on "women's place." I flow along with each situation as it comes to me. I feel that God wants to use men to do most of the work in the church. Certainly this is seen in the choosing of the twelve apostles. He did not have one woman.

Personally, I do not lean toward women pastors, but I do not kick them down when I run into them. I work with them. I respect them.

God is able to raise up whomever He chooses to do His work. I feel that God does raise up women at times to do special tasks.

I do recognize that there are a number of loud-mouthed women preachers who need to submit themselves and get tender before the Lord. A rebellious spirit on the part of a woman that makes her act like a man is distasteful and abominable.

At the same time, I know there are a number of men preaching who need to straighten up also.

I have not dealt fully with woman's position in this section. Much of the teaching going forth today is needed to bring the "loud-mouthed, rebellious women" in line.

As the pendulum swings back into place, you must remember that there is a place for women to submit. It is to call her to tenderness. It is to further recognize that loud-mouthed women and troublemakers must be dealt with in some way.

As the pendulum swings back into place, get off of the women's backs. Stop picking on women.

Chapter 5, The Pendulum Swings Back into Line on Attitudes toward Women's Dress

You must understand that women are instructed to put emphasis on the "hidden man" of the heart rather than extremes in dress. (1 Peter 3:3-4)

Is it true that a woman cannot wear pant suits?

No, this is not true from a strict interpretation of the Word. Pray about it. Let the Lord guide you in this. Here is actually what the Scripture says about it.

Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

The Scripture speaks of women staying away from men's dress, and, likewise, the men are to abstain from wearing women's clothing.

Some homosexuals like to put on women's clothes and impersonate women. It is my opinion that this was the problem rather than the simple act of wearing the clothes of the opposite sex.

One thing is certain; the woman can be a woman whether she has on slacks or a dress.

Tradition says that women should not wear pants. The Bible says nothing to this effect.

If you are working with a group of people who have another view on women and pants, then you need to conform to them lest you be a stumbling block to them. If you feel that you cannot conform, you should pray about moving to another group who shares your convictions.

By the way, women's pant suits are not men's clothing. Also, in Bible days, the men wore skirts and the women wore the pants. Perhaps the women need to have the pants and the men need to wear the skirts!

A woman called me long distance recently. She said her preacher emphasized very strongly that women should wear long dresses. She said she felt that she should do this also, but she had to help her husband on the job. A long dress would be very dangerous in this situation. She asked my advice.

I said, "You must obey God. Do what you feel in your heart you must do; however, personally, I think you would be wise to wear pants on the job with your husband."

She felt that she should do this, also. It was the fact that her pastor did not approve that had caused her to be disturbed.

I did not make the decision for her. I just told her to obey the Lord.

It is very important that you follow your peace. Some have a strong background teaching against women wearing pants. Wear what your society permits you to wear, but do not try to force your views in a dictator spirit on someone else. You can share your convictions, but do not demand.

1 Peter 3:3-4 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, ...even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.

Here, women are admonished to put the emphasis on the hidden man of the heart. They are to be tender and feminine. They are to have a gentle and quiet spirit.

This Scripture does not say she cannot fix her hair. It says she isn't to put the stronger emphasis on the clothes and hair. If you take this literally, she is not to plait the hair, wear gold, or put on clothes. We know she is to wear clothes, so you can assume that the Scripture is saying let there be an emphasis on the humble spirit rather than on the dress. Some of the "holy" women, as far as dress is concerned, are some of the meanest women in the world. They seem to develop a "holier than thou" spirit.

1 Timothy 2:9 ... women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.

Actually the Scripture deals with extremes. It cautions about excesses. Ornaments are denounced rather than the type of clothes. Some women who are heavy on ornaments treat women in pant suits as if they were snakes. To say the least, such women should be consistent with the Scripture.

Chapter 6, The Pendulum Swings Back into Place on How to Receive the Holy Spirit

When a person gives his heart to Jesus, he is born of the Spirit. (John 3:6)

When he is baptized with the Spirit, he receives power to witness. (Acts 1:8)

When he receives the Spirit, he can and should yield to the Spirit and speak in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. (Acts 2:4)

Today, God is filling people with the Holy Spirit freely. It is a simple act to receive the Holy Spirit: yield yourself to the Spirit, and speak in tongues.

Paul said that a person edifies himself when he speaks in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:4)

Paul also taught that a person speaks mysteries to God when he speaks in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:2)

Some have made a doctrine out of how to yield to the Spirit and speak in tongues. Pentecostals of yesterday received the Holy Spirit by spending hours, and in some instances days and even years in saying, "Praise You, Jesus," or "Glory, glory, glory."

Today, people have learned to yield and with a little encouragement are able to speak in tongues with ease. Tremendous miracles take place when this happens. They are yielding right into the flow of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:4 teaches that they were first filled with the Holy Spirit. Then, they began to speak with tongues as the Spirit gave the utterance.

Notice, first, they had to receive. Second, they had to speak. Third, the Spirit did the miracle.

The person first must receive the Holy Spirit. Then the person begins to speak by faith. Then the Holy Spirit takes over and gives the miracle.

This is consistent with the Scriptures.

In Exodus 14:16 Moses had to put his rod over the Red Sea before God opened it up. In 2 Kings 4, the woman had to pour the oil, before God gave her a miracle feeding which lasted for months and months.

Each of these cases demanded that man do something by faith before God responded.

Recently, one outstanding female preacher took issue with the charismatic view of receiving the Holy Spirit. She has a strong Pentecostal background. She spent two days teaching in a recent Full Gospel Business Men's meeting on how to receive the Holy Spirit.

She emphasized the last phrase in Acts 2:4 ".As the Spirit gave utterance."

Her point was well taken. The Spirit of God must give the utterance, but there is a balance.

Many people receive salvation, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, or even healing very simply. This is especially true when there is a real manifestation of the Lord's presence, but to make this rule and say that all men must receive with no help or instruction is gross error.

There is another side.

To force a person to speak utterances that are not from the Spirit is flesh and is not the Holy Spirit, but to encourage men to take a step of faith and speak in a heavenly language by faith is Scriptural.

Peter began to lift the lame man before he could fully respond to his healing. (Acts 3:7) Peter had to encourage his weak faith.

In Acts 14:10 Paul commanded the crippled man to stand upon his feet. He leaped up and walked. There was no coaching. It was dramatic. The Holy Spirit did great work in response to the man's faith.

Both Scriptures are the Word of God. Let the pendulum swing back into the Holy Ghost line.

The sister mentioned in this chapter operated Scripturally in her miracle ministry, but her teaching was wrong. In her miracle ministry she would praise the Lord. She would build the Spirit's presence in the room. She would magnify the Lord some more. Then she began to yield to the Holy Spirit. She began to call out sicknesses and healings by the word of knowledge. People began to be healed. People would receive from the Holy Spirit in this atmosphere fairly easily.

She created the atmosphere. She brought down the power of God. Praise the Lord for this precious anointing and ministry, but the poor saints who sat under her teaching were bewildered. Many of them doubted their experience. Others had to be helped back into the faith.

What was wrong? This person emphasized one side. She kept saying, "As the Spirit gave utterance." She said, "This is the real thing. The other is false."

No, my brother and sister, there is a balance. Just as she would yield to bring the Lord's presence, evidenced by the miracle taking place, so you can help your fellow man to yield to the Holy Spirit, and the miracle of tongues will take place.

You are to help others to salvation. You are to encourage others to be healed and to stand on the Word. You are to encourage others to step into the flow of the Spirit and speak in tongues of the Spirit.

Throughout the Bible, you always see God's provisions, man's response, and God's move.

Chapter 7, The Pendulum Swings Back into Line on Attitudes toward Demon Possession

For too long the Church has ignored the possibility that some of its people might have demons. Some people really need help. These people should not be ignored.

For the Church to ignore this, when facts to the contrary are presented, is to slap the needy one in the face and turn aside the hungry.

To over-emphasize demons is equally wrong. My main emphasis is to live a strong overcoming life with a strong positive confession. This usually scares the demons out of you.

To constantly identify with demons every moment of the day makes you demon conscious. You think of demons and problems rather than Jesus.

Let the pendulum come back into balance. Get Jesus-conscious. Confess victory. I have a book, “Setting the Captives Free”, in which I deal extensively with the problem of demons in people. This is not to be a source of devotion, but it should be understood. Any problems that you may have should be dealt with by yourself, or with outside help as the need may demand.

After deliverance, the main emphasis should be victory. If you keep identifying with your former problem, you suck the problem right back into you.

Get your mind off self and onto Jesus.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Speak the Word of God in your trouble areas.

Look to your problem areas and speak truth over them. Instead of confessing your pains, confess healing. Instead of confessing poverty and bills, confess prosperity. Find Scriptures to cover these truths. The truth will take hold and grow in your spirit. Do not confess your problem or it will grow more. Emphasize Jesus and what He speaks in His Word.

Let the pendulum swing away from "self" consciousness and back to Jesus, or "Word" consciousness.

Chapter 8, The Pendulum Swings Back into Balance on the Issues about the Teachings on Falling from Grace

The Baptists and Presbyterians, along with Lutherans and others, have been strong on the security of the believer.

The Methodists, Pentecostals, and others have been equally as strong on the opposite side.

I have been deeply indoctrinated by both; I can understand each group, having been in their schools and stood in their pulpits as a teacher and preacher.

Each side drives a hard set of rules. Both have much Scripture.

Loosen your tension at this point. Relax, and stop arguing the Scriptures. Study to see what God says. Let God dictate what you believe instead of tradition.

Forget the rules. Stop throwing out one set of Scriptures to prove your own viewpoint. Learn to permit the Lord Jesus to be supreme. Let each verse in the Bible speak to you.

Let the pendulum swing back.

Allow God to cut you up in strips, if need be.

Let God's Word teach you rather than you trying to teach it.

I allow each verse to be mine, and a part of my doctrinal position, whether it makes my doctrine come out right in the eyes of man or not. I have learned to enjoy all of God's Word.

There is another side. Open up. Let Jesus come in. Let Him teach you something fresh today. Stop holding Him off at a distance.

I enjoy both sides. I enjoy the security of the believer. Jesus said, "I give unto them eternal life."

I also believe there is an area where a man can deny Jesus and tell Him that he wants no part of Him.

Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

These were partakers of the Holy Ghost. They had tasted of the Heavenly gift. They had tasted of the powers of Heaven, the world to come. Then it speaks of the possibility of falling away.

However, if you have a strong background and can see no falling away, then I do not argue. I love you. I am still learning. I do not know all of the secrets of this great salvation.

All I am asking here is for you to let the pendulum swing back into the flow of Jesus rather than hitting your doctrine with a dogmatic approach. Practice tenderness. You do not have to give up your basic teachings on eternal security or falling from grace. However, I do ask you to relax from this harsh, cutting approach in studying and teaching God's Word.

If you have a very negative background concerning salvation, such as holiness groups, Methodists, and others, you need to study the mercy of God. You need to become acquainted with the grace and longsuffering of God.

God wants you to know that you are saved. Stop hoping about salvation. Stop guessing about your position in Christ. Confess your salvation daily. Otherwise, the negative will set in, and you will doubt your place in Christ. Doubting your salvation will cause confusion and fear.

Rejoice before the Lord. If you do sin, repent. Return quickly to the victory side. Do not entertain doubts and fears. Kenneth Hagin says, "I do not believe in backsliding, for if I did, I would practice it."

I like what an elderly Methodist preacher told me. He said, "To the fearful and disturbed person I say, 'Look, you have eternal life,' but to the indifferent and cocky person I say, 'Take heed lest ye fall.'"

This perhaps may not minister fully to you, but at least it has some balance to it.

Your security in Christ should never make you vehemently defend your "eternal life" viewpoint. It should give you a deep security and peace. It should never cause you to be careless in your obligations to God or your fellow man.

If you must believe in falling from grace, then be positive enough to know that God loves you, and you have passed from death unto life. Live like a son. Confess God's Word like a son. Refuse to be tricked by Satan into thinking you can fall from grace every day.

Chapter 9, The Pendulum Swings Back into Perspective on the Human Activity Involved in a Spirit-Led Life

James 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect

James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have, give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Acts 3:7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

In each of the above Scriptures, faith had action with it. Faith without action is dead. Faith without action is not made perfect. By works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Peter spoke the Spirit Word. This alone did not heal the man. He then began to lift the man. This was action or works. Then the healing took place.

Do not get hung up at this point. God is God. He can move differently. Sometimes it seems that God moves where there is no faith or works. Remember the man whom Jesus healed who did not even believe in Him? Later Jesus appeared to him and explained to him that He was the Lord Jesus. The man then worshipped Jesus.

However, there is a faith way by which God usually works in our day-by-day experiences. He emphasized this much during His ministry. Many times He would say to the sick or crippled, "Arise," or, "Stretch forth thy hand." This involved faith and action on the part of the individual. Many times He said, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."

Some say, "Well, I have the Holy Ghost; He will do all of my visitation. He will do all my planning. He will guide me each step. He will make my church to grow."

Do not forget that Jesus said, "Go into the highways and hedges." Jesus sent the disciples forth to the harvest field. Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world."

There is balance. There is work to be done. There is a place where you believe God and growth takes place in your church and business. There is another area where you must pray, visit, work, and step out on the water by faith.

Use different plans and Spirit-led "gimmicks" to get yourself, your church, your business, or whatever out of death row and into life. Gimmicks that your flesh dreams up will only invite burdens to you and to those about you. There is a cost involved. You must seek the face of God. You must hold out for the power of God.

This is not teaching another denominational program of works. This is teaching a balance between God and you.

There must be an understanding that the Spirit and the flesh cooperate together. When the flesh does it, God is not in it. When the Spirit moves the flesh, then there is Jesus growth.

Satan can produce growth in a church or in a business without Jesus being involved.

When real revival breaks out nationwide, then you can really see the Holy Spirit go into action. However, you and your flesh will be involved, also. It is not all Spirit even in the midst of a great revival. He will use you and your flesh.

Right now, the world is on the low side of this revival, and you must keep punching every lick with all the strength you have. You must love the Lord with all of your mind and strength, as well as heart. This involves planning, work, and effort.

Do not get lazy in the name of trusting in the Holy Ghost.

Chapter 10, The Pendulum Swings Back into Balance Concerning Education

Certainly the Lord is your teacher. The Holy Spirit is in you, and you need no man to teach you. (1 John 2:27)

Peter and John were ignorant men as far as letters of recognition from the world, but they had the greater education of the Lord Himself.

Some men need to go to school. Moses was an educated man. He had the best education in Egypt. God used his education and his wisdom. Paul was educated much above average, being of the Sanhedrin. God used this part of Paul, also.

Sometimes God uses educated men to deal with educated men. On the other hand, God may send a very ignorant man (letter-wise) to a modern university campus to confound the wise. God is God.

But some men do not need formal education. Some church groups want to get you into their pattern and force you through their two- or three-year program. Some men do not need this; others do.

Give each individual the privilege of obeying the Holy Spirit.

Many churches today would reject Paul and other great Christians because they did not conform to certain educational requirements, or because they did not attend certain schools.

God has laid His hand upon men with no education and raised them to the top in business and/or in the spiritual realm.

Let the pendulum swing into balance. Let our programs be flexible. Allow room for God to do what He pleases in each situation.

Chapter 11, The Pendulum Swings Back In the Area of Positive Faith

Positive faith is an area where you flow with the Spirit and walk in the will of God. It is the area of Mark 11:23. ".he shall have whatsoever he saith."

Positive faith teaches you to decree it and then confess it until it happens. This is a beautiful walk. This is where my ministry loves to dwell. In this area you move forward into a faith and a faith that commands.

This is a beautiful flow of victory. It is a place of rest. It is a place of confidence. Here is where the eagle saints love to fly.

There is another side, however. It is recorded in Luke 11:5-10 which speaks of praying almost to the point of begging. It is a persistent type of prayer. The man was persistent in prayer until the door was opened and the blessings flowed.

In positive faith there sometimes comes forth an extreme teaching in which some almost forget that there can be persistent prayer involved.

Luke 11:9-13 "So I say unto you, Ask, keep on asking, and it shall be given you; seek, and keep on seeking, and you shall find; knock, and keep on knocking, and it shall be opened to you. For every one who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he that seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him that knocks and keeps on knocking the door shall be opened." (Amplified)

This Scripture balances out some of the extremes (error) which sometimes become involved in positive faith.

The extreme in positive faith says, "You have asked once, and that is enough." However, there are times when you just have to keep on asking.

Mark 11:23 teaches that you will have what you say if you doubt not. Many have asked in doubt, but they have to keep on praying until faith comes into action.

Others have asked for something that was out of the will of God and never could be of faith.

Certainly it is good to ask the Lord of something and then praise Him until the answer comes; but in the praise you are actually saying, "Lord, here I am still praising You for that which has not yet arrived. I have it in the faith realm, but it is not here in the natural yet.

This is a form of prayer. Prayer and praise are very close.

Stay away from the ridiculous in positive faith. Some folks want to come for prayer more than once, but they are afraid that they will destroy their faith by coming again. Nonsense! God understands. Many times the Spirit will actually call a person out of an audience to heal them, and they will not come because of this erroneous attitude toward faith. They say, "Well, I asked once for it. I figured God would give it to me."

The truth of the matter is that many times you ask, or believe; in the sense realm and it is not faith. So you need to return until you break through to real faith. Once you really reach the true faith realm, then it is done. In such cases you probably will not wait for months and months before you see the answer. There is a season with God for some answers; this must be taken into consideration. (Psalm 1:3)

There is the other side. Consider the little woman who tormented the judge until he gave her what she asked.

Luke 18:7-8 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

This woman actually tormented this judge. Jesus really approved of this for certain individuals and certain cases.

An extreme in positive faith will not allow this type of prayer.

Let the pendulum swing back into its proper place.

There is the beggar who kept crying out to Jesus for his sight. (Mark 10:46-52) Jesus kept ignoring him. Who knows why? Perhaps it was because he was crying out in unbelief. Nevertheless, he kept crying out. Many charged him to hold his peace, but he kept on crying out a great deal for Jesus to have mercy.

Finally, after a long period, Jesus stood still and heard him out.

There is that area where you tarry in prayer and fasting until God hears you.

At times there arises an arrogant spirit where positive faith is preached, and people act like they are God. They think that their every little fleshly desire should come to pass at their command. The flesh has no part in faith. You get only that which is in accordance with His will for your life.

This is a hard message for me to bring you, for I am a strongly positive preacher. I believe it. I preach it, but I see some misunderstanding in it.

I am asking for a cushion in your confession.

This extreme causes much confusion and disillusionment. I have seen people backslide because they confessed things that were not God's will. They never came to pass.

It causes some folks to say, "God, You are a liar. Your Word says I will have whatever I say."

Actually the Word says you will have whatever you say if you doubt not. (Mark 11:23) If there is the absolute absence of doubt, then it shall come to pass. When there is absence of doubt, then it is the Spirit of God speaking through you.

When there is doubt, your flesh or Satan spoke it through you. Do not get real faith mixed up with emotions.

One man said, "I confessed that I would get my wife back. I knew I would get her back, but she married another.

His question was, "Why? How could this be? Where am I? What is going on here? What happened to God? Is He a liar?"

I explained to him the difference between emotion and faith. I put a cushion in his confession for future workings with God.

I usually get so many confessions going for me that the ones that do not come to pass do not bother me. I get such a good yield from the good confessions that the few failures do not get me all "shook up."

Put a cushion in your confession. Allow it to go down the "drain" if it is not pleasing to God. This will not hurt your faith. I do it constantly. I also get a good return on my positive confession.

Look at another illustration along this line in Matthew 15:22. This little lady approached Jesus on behalf of her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus apparently ignored her. His disciples wanted to run her off. They may have been on the border line of insulting her.

Jesus seemed to hold her at a distance by telling her that He was sent to Israel and not to the Gentiles (dogs). She could not be driven off. She could not be insulted. She had her heart set on the victory through Jesus Christ.

There is holding on in faith. Hebrews 10:23 exhorts us to hold fast the confession, or profession, of our faith.

This is a definite part of the true teachings on positive faith; but some folks fail to recognize this persistent part, the part where you not only have to hold on, but you have to come in and nearly break the door down yourself. I feel that this little lady put her spiritual shoulder against that closed door and "blasted" it open.

The little lady said, "Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table." That did it. She broke through. Jesus gave her her heart’s desire.

Let balance come to your positive faith. Recognize that there is warfare. Keep confessing. Keep kicking. Keep believing. Move out, and do exploits. Hold on until you see the fireworks of victory for you and destruction for Satan.

However, keep a cushion in your confession to allow for times when you may be confessing the wrong thing or are failing to wait for your season. There is a season for some things. Keep that cushion there to keep that unrest spirit from setting in on you.

Here is another extreme in the positive faith area. Some people get so zealous over making a good confession that they actually lie to one another.

Naturally, in a good confession, you are going to speak what the Word says rather than what you see or what you feel.

There is a balance here. Let the pendulum swing back into the Holy Ghost line. Walk softly. Keep the positive confessions going. If a brother or sister is not quite as positive as you are, do not run them out of your fellowship. Keep them close. Treat them gently. Teach them to get out of the negative area. If a brother or sister is not quite as positive as you are, do not run them out of your fellowship. Keep them close. Treat them gently. Teach them to get out of the negative area.

There are times when you just have to face up to how things really are so that the brethren can pray for you. Stop being two-faced.

For you to constantly speak of your problems is certainly not God. But when all evidence is to the contrary, keeping a positive confession, to save face, is a lie.

Let the pendulum swing back into line.

Love is the answer.

Chapter 12, The Pendulum Swings Back into Line Regarding Laymen and Their Positions in the Business World

This is a day for laymen. It is a day when faith is rising in the hearts of men. They have fire in their bones and don't know what to do with it.

There is an out-of-balance teaching going on in the Body of Christ today which causes laymen to feel that they are not doing God's perfect will if they are not preaching the Word of God in a full or part-time way.

True, everyone is to be a witness. He is a soul winner. Every believer is a preacher of the Word of God, but every believer is not called to be in the ministry.

Every believer should be excited about himself. He should be sold on his life.

God has called the believer right where he is. He is to make a success of his life right where he is working.

True, in some instances, God will move a man or woman to a different position or a different job. However, this individual needs to know that God anoints men for the business world just as He anoints men to preach.

Every layman should get as excited about bringing Jesus into the "now" of his business as he would if he were a preacher.

Leviticus 20:24 ... Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God."

Genesis 24: … let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

Every layman should get excited about this. There are situations out there in the business world that belong to you. Satan is sitting on your success. You go forth through prayer, fasting, and holiness. Keep in balance. Stay in the Spirit. Walk softly, but get out there, and possess the gate of those who hate you.

Jesus has purchased victory for you in the natural world just as He did for you in the spiritual world. Apply your faith to your natural surroundings just as the successful minister does in the church world. Be a success. Work it out. Fight the good fight of faith. Hold on. Refuse to give in.

Numbers 33:53 ... ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it. Isaiah 53:12 ... I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong.

Jesus destroyed principalities and powers for you. (Colossians 2:15)

All things are yours. (1 Corinthians 3:21)

He has blessed you with all spiritual blessings in Heaven. (Ephesians 1:3)

You are complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:10)

You have received His fullness. (John 1:16)

Jesus has won the victory for laymen as well as for preachers. You are complete in Christ to be a success in business. All things are yours in the financial world to make a go of it. He has blessed you with all spiritual blessings from Heaven so that you can bring Jesus into the now in your business. You are a success. You are complete in Christ. You are a success because Jesus gives you His fullness.

You dispossess the inhabitants of the land. You dwell there yourself. Satan is sitting on your finances. Dispossess him! Occupy the territory purchased for you at Calvary. Jesus is a success in the business world, also. Hallelujah! He has divided the spoil with the strong. Be strong by faith and occupy your land purchased at Calvary.

For some, this will come easily. For others it will be a long, uphill climb. This is true in the ministry, also. Some find it more difficult than others to get into the flow. Work at it daily. Confess favor in the world. Confess victory. Confess victory when it looks like failure. Growing is as involved for the layman in the business world as it is for the minister in the pulpit. Hang on until you see results. Then hang on some more for complete victory.

Many of the outstanding Bible characters were laymen.

Daniel was a layman. He moved in prophecy, and, in some ways, he would be considered a prophet. Certainly he did much prophesying, but his basic calling was as a political advisor. He occupied high office in the Babylonian and Persian empires.

By this you can draw some conclusions. A layman can have a calling to fulfil ministries of part-time prophet while his primary task will be that of the natural or business world. In Daniel's case, it was the political world.

There is a great need today for great Christian statesmen. God is raising Christian men today in high places. May more men be challenged to share in this burden to bring our country to a place of victory!

The three Hebrew children, like Daniel, were taken captive into Babylon. There they remained faithful to the Lord. You can study about them in Daniel chapter one.

Because of their honesty and faithfulness to God, they found favor with God and man. They were promoted to governors over different provinces. Their faithfulness to God was tested. This is recorded in Daniel chapter three.

They would not bow. They would not bend. They remained loyal to the Lord. They were thrown into the burning, fiery furnace. God delivered them from the power of the fire. The king promoted them to a higher place in the land.

May the laymen today be challenged to find their places in business and become witnesses that will shake the land for Jesus!

Esther is a beautiful example of a laywoman. Because of her beauty and confidence in herself and her Lord, she was chosen to be the queen. All the other girls had nothing to offer when they stood before the king as Esther did. Because Esther took the challenge, she brought the Lord to the king's court. As a result, the Jews were saved from complete destruction. Read it in the book of Esther.

May most of you precious women, who get so excited about Jesus and want to do something, forget about becoming a full-time preacher, and became a full-time success for Jesus in the world about you. God has challenged you. You are excited. You want to serve. Most of you will never be preachers or teachers. You must reconcile yourself to what God has called you to be. Be a success right where you are. Get excited about what you have to offer in the world about you. Find your potentials. Begin to develop these. Work at it. Do not back off when success seems so far away. Keep moving forward. God has placed you there. Be a success for Jesus.

Nehemiah was in charge of rebuilding the wall at Jerusalem at the termination of the Babylonian captivity. He was not a preacher. He was a statesman. (Read this exciting story in the book of Nehemiah, especially chapter two.) Here is a man who is not a preacher, yet he had a burden to help the work of God to be re-established.

Ezra, during this time, was priest and teacher. He was in Jerusalem teaching the people as our modern pastors and teachers would be doing, but he did not do much about building the temple and wall.

God put the responsibility of building the wall on a layman. He rallied to the call and was a success.

What a challenge to laymen today! Stop trying to get out of your business or whatever. You have talents. You have influence. You have abilities. Get in there and be a success for Jesus.

Some men are accepting this challenge already. Some men are now engaged in Christian publications. Others are engaged in Christian schools. Others are engaged in Full Gospel Business Men's activities. Others are business executives in local churches.

You do not have to be a preacher or teacher to be involved in tremendous ministries for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joseph certainly was not a minister; he was a slave. He was in jail. Every situation in which he found himself was a challenge to him. He became a success in every situation.

As a slave he was so successful that the slave owner promoted him to full responsibility of the house including his finances. Read it in Genesis 39:4-6.

He did not go around with his head down wishing that he were somewhere else. He did not go around defeated, wishing that God had called him to preach in a full time way. He accepted the challenge. He was determined to be a success regardless of circumstances. He made it.

Later, in jail, he was so successful that the jailer gave him the full run of the jail. He was in charge of all activities in the jail. (Genesis 39:21-22)

Do not let job limitations stop you. Do not let business conditions stop you. Walk in the strength and favor of God. Laymen, get your heads up. Be excited about being a layman for Jesus. Later Joseph became so strong that he changed the entire world.

Notice, in all these situations these laymen had contributions for all people. They had wisdom to share with the world. These men and their contributions are still used to guide our lives, today. Just because you are a layman does not mean that you will not share eternal truths to the world, so that all may benefit.

We could keep going through the Word to bring out this truth, but I believe we have covered enough for you to see the point.

Many laymen get so excited about the Lord that they think they are in sin in the business world. Some men are called to change jobs or businesses. The Holy Spirit can guide you in this. Others are called to the ministry. God will lead. However, there is a majority who are all stirred up so that they may accept the challenge of being a miracle worker right where they are.

Too often, men have let their business, practice, or whatever, go to nothing because of misunderstanding a call to the natural world over the preaching world.

Most of you are not called to be ministers. You are called to use your talents right where you are. Get with it.

Chapter 13, The Pendulum Swings Back into Balance for Laymen and Their Attitude toward Ministers

God has placed ministry gifts in the body to run the body.

Ephesians 4:11-12 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints.

Galatians 1:17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me.

1 Corinthians 3:2 I have fed you with milk.

1 Corinthians 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

God places the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in the body in love. These ministers function by the appointment of Jesus. They were called before the foundation of the world.

There are prophets who operate in the local body. Some of these are of the elder class, and some are not. Some are in the ministry bracket, and some are not. However, there are prophets whom God raises up and moves in sometimes as pastor in a church or sometimes to the full body of Christ. Regardless, he is a man of authority in his area.

Apostles are over the pastors. Some pastors are apostles. It depends upon their vision and outreach. It depends upon their anointing and presentation of the Word. Some pastors are under pastors, so to speak. They copy other men to a large extent. They are students of men and sometimes even operate under the mother church. The mother church may have an apostle over it. The churches operating under this church would probably have pastors operating over them. Sometimes a pastor, due to his nature, would be independent and still be a pastor and not an apostle.

Some apostles are over other apostles. This depends upon the thrust that the Lord has given them. It depends upon the relationship that God gives them to other churches, pastors, and apostles. It is all a love establishment and not a dictatorship.

Paul operated as an individual. He asked no man what to do. He moved by the Spirit of God. "Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me." He did not bow to the apostles. He did not bow to the laymen. He answered to God. He did move in the Spirit. He did move in love. He was not an arrogant person who was reckless with his authority. He was a man of humility. He was a man who loved men.

Do not fall into a spirit of rebellion. Move on with the authority that God has placed in you if you are one of the ministers that God has placed in authority.

1 Corinthians 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed.

1 Corinthians 5:4-5 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved .

Laymen need to recognize the authority of the leadership in the church. Paul asked no questions. He moved in and took authority over the situation. He had fathered these people, and they looked to him for help. Churches with good pastors sometimes need to look to outside help for leadership. Even churches with apostles for pastors sometimes need outside help to push them on into victory. Hallelujah! God has a wonderful program.

Laymen need to submit themselves to authority. I have discussed balance in this; so do not miss this balance. Remember, it is a love place rather than rigid control and dogmas of church authority.

1 Corinthians 9:2 If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.

Men were fighting Paul and challenging his apostleship. In this case, Paul could prove his apostleship since he had fathered them in the Lord. Sometimes a man can be an apostle over a work without fathering them in the beginning. If God unites him to the church, it will be a work of the Spirit. He will have a definite part in establishing them in certain areas. All will recognize his position. The man does not have to declare his position. His life will prove it. The church will know it. Many times this is operating, and neither the man nor the church involved calls it by name.

Men were teaching contrary doctrine, and Paul insisted that they listen to him in the matter. He was acting as a father over the group. Every layman and pastor needs to recognize this authority in some person. Again, let me emphasize this is all love and not force. Anything else will not work. The apostle or teacher of authority will never force his way. He will never demand. It will be suggestions and tenderness. This does not rule out a direct move of the Spirit where a forceful action might be taken, but it will be limited in nature. Praise ye the Lord!

1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Every person needs to look to someone for guidance but never complete control. I look to fellow ministers for counsel and advice from time to time.

Every layman needs to get under some minister and receive his teaching. Please walk softly here. Some ministers are into fit to feed you. Seek out a man of wisdom and balance to whom you can submit. Let there be freedom to breathe. Do not submit to the point of rubber stamping everything the man says. Submit to the extent of accepting his teaching and counsel in general. Each must allow the other room to grow and think.

God has ordained that true pastors, teachers, and apostles feed the laymen. Laymen need to recognize this. They must not try to run the ministry. There have been too many laymen trying to run the ministry.

I am sure that there are areas when apostles go off into error, and under-pastors, under-apostles, and under-pastor elders might have to band together and call this man to account for his error. There has to be this liberty, also.

The minister may or may not respond to the body. He may be right and all of them in error. It reverts back to being Spirit-led.

Find a church or prayer group that has a good teacher or pastor in charge of it, and flow with it. Stop this independent spirit of floating freely with no responsibility.

Some men have special tasks that place them in many prayer groups and many churches. These men will find it hard to flow with any particular group due to their calling. Certainly you need to recognize that you are not a drifter if you fall into this category. Do not let this be an excuse if this is not your situation.

Some areas are so spiritually desolate that it is practically impossible to find a place where you can flow with the pastor and church. Certainly you cannot submit to this situation either.

There are many good areas with many good things going, and still many of you, due to rebellion and laziness, have refused to get involved.

Repent of this attitude. You are responsible for the body of Christ      in your area.

"Awake, thou that sleepest," and let Jesus get you involved      today.

Yes, you need to submit to some good ministry. Look for a place. Pray for a place. You are not likely to find a perfect place. Remember you aren't perfect yourself. Get in there and go to work.

Chapter 14, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of the Discipleship/Shepherd Principle

The Scripture teaches a balance on the sheep and shepherd principle. Psalm 23 and John 10 are the foundation Scriptures for this principle. There is a great need for true shepherds today. There is great need for sheep to relate to their shepherds today. In the charismatic work today, much is being done at this point. Many new works are being established with a good sheep and shepherd relationship. Beautiful works are being established. Order is moving in the body of Christ.

But, today's sheep and shepherd teachings in some charismatic circles are extremely out of balance.

In this chapter I have listed some of those teachings of the shepherd and sheep principle as are being taught today.

Pray about these situations and hang loose. Let Jesus guide you into making correct decisions with regard to these teachings and your life.

The shepherd/sheep principle teaches that the shepherd must know his sheep by name.

This is based on John 10 which portrays Jesus being the good shepherd who knows His sheep by name. Under-shepherds are to follow Jesus' example.

Jesus alone is our shepherd. He alone can know everyone by name. There are evidences in the Scriptures where disciples had no shepherd, yet Jesus knew them by name. (Acts 19:1)

In Acts 18:23 Paul went through the country strengthening the disciples. There were no apparent shepherds to know them by name.

In Acts 21:4 they found certain disciples who apparently had no shepherd but Jesus.

The shepherd/sheep principle places many shepherds over a few sheep. This could be a good relationship, but it does not need to be a rule. A large church would need some under-shepherds to help counsel and guide the flock. In this case the under-shepherds would know some of the sheep by name.

Jesus had twelve apostles who were sometimes called disciples. He made thousands of disciples. He had over 500 to whom He appeared. (1 Corinthians 15:6) There were no under-shepherds over these.

There is no solid evidence in the New Testament all disciples had shepherds who knew them by name.

On the day of Pentecost three thousand were born into the kingdom of God. These were from all nations. Many departed soon with no shepherds to know them by name. Later, five thousand more believed. There is no evidence of a strong shepherd/sheep situation here.

There was a flow in Jerusalem fellowship where they had apostles and elders to help them in their needs. There is absolutely no evidence of a shepherd who knew the sheep by name. It was here that they had to elect table waiters to lift some of the load that was on the apostles. (Acts 6) Had there been one shepherd over a few sheep, the question of neglect would never have arisen in the group.

Today's sheep and shepherd principle teaches that one must always go through the shepherd to get to the sheep.

If this were true, there would be no charismatic movement. There would be no prayer groups. There would be no freedom on the part of individual Christians to find the will of God for their lives. They would be bound to the will of denominational shepherds who reject the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and charismatic "doctrines."

The basic concept is good. We should work through the shepherds when possible. Paul would go to the synagogues first, and then he would turn to the people. He did not insist that the people follow their false shepherds. He turned them to the True Shepherd.

The current extreme teaching on sheep and shepherd relationships seems to insist that the shepherd is over the sheep. The only way to the sheep is through the shepherd. In actual practice, in many of these fellowships, they reject all other shepherds and only recognize their own appointments. They are thus free to go to anyone's sheep and lead them to their own fold.

The sheep must be free to follow new light and new shepherds as the Holy Spirit leads. Otherwise you have an iron-clad system that keeps the individual in bondage to the system. If the system goes bad, then the individual is bound to a coffin.

Aquila and Priscilla were Apollos' shepherds if you were to follow modern day sheep and shepherd terminology. Therefore, to reach Apollos, you would have to deal with Priscilla and Aquila. However, Paul did not go to them. He went directly to the man, Apollos, in dealing with him. (Acts 18:24-27 and 1 Corinthians 16:12)

Acts 18:24-27 points out that Priscilla and Aquila taught Apollos the Word. In 1 Corinthians 16:12 the Scripture says, "As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time."

Paul dealt directly with the man. The man had a will of his own. Neither he nor Paul had to ask the man over him.

The shepherd/sheep principle as is being extremely taught today says a man must obey the man over him.

This extreme teaches that you are a part of the body such as the elbow, anklebone, or other part. Therefore you cannot make decisions; you merely obey. You cannot depart once you are set in the body. You don't move around; you stay put.

In the case of Apollos, he obeyed God alone. He did not ask Priscilla or Aquila. Neither did he obey Paul. He sought the Lord. He was sensitive to the Holy Ghost.

If such extreme teachings had been present in the New Testament, there would never have arisen the argument between Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15:36-39. There is no evidence of dictatorship practiced here. It is strongly evidenced that both parties had wills of their own and exercised them.

In Acts 15:6 is the record of the Jerusalem council. There is no evidence of submission to superiors there. It was an open discussion to see who was right and who was wrong. There was not a pyramid system which required those "inferior" to jump at others' commands. The Gentile Christians were making demands. The Jerusalem leaders were making demands. Basically the Gentiles won the argument. It was not submission to the man above you. Hallelujah!

Acts 15:34 Notwithstanding It Pleased Silas To Abide There Still.

Silas had his own guidance. He stayed. This made him available to go with Paul on his second missionary journey after the argument with Barnabas.

You had better look to the other side of today's extreme teaching. Let the pendulum swing into balance here. The shepherds are also a part of the body of Christ. If you want to follow types, shadows, or analogies to extremes, then follow this one all of the way. An anklebone cannot tell the feet what to do. You head tells your feet what to do.

Jesus Christ alone is your head, and you had better believe it.

The under-shepherd is a part of the body along with the      sheep. As under-shepherds they can only encourage and help. The head alone gives the commands.

Utter confusion would follow in the body if ankles and elbows were to control      the body. There is one head; that head is Jesus Christ.

Whenever the elbow jumps out and becomes the head, trouble is in store for that body. The under-shepherd, being a sheep also, cannot ever be the head. He, too, must flow under the one head, Jesus Christ.

The current discipleship and shepherd principle is based on sheep and shepherd analogies.

Like type and shadow teachings, one can become extreme on analogies and teach error. Anything can be taught by using analogies. The precious little saint is caught unaware by erroneous teachings that evolve from this extreme. Let the pendulum come back into balance.

The extreme shepherd/sheep principle teaches that you are sheep and must be treated like dumb, stupid sheep. You have little ability to act or think on your own. Your shepherd makes your decisions for you.

A certain brother said, "I will be making a move in a few weeks. I am glad I do not have to make the decision. My shepherd will do it for me." This is laziness. It is a "cop-out." One cannot grow if he never faces up to his need to stand on his own guidance.

The analogy breaks down again. It is true that new Christians need attention, care, and guidance. There must be a close relationship here. In larger churches there needs to be some system of under-shepherds.

This should never violate the will of the individual. Never should it destroy the growth pattern. A person must be allowed to walk on his own, without a shepherd/crutch relationship. He must be allowed to make mistakes. The growth pattern is destroyed when the shepherd smothers the sheep and makes all decisions for him.

Sheep are not always dumb. Some of God's very young sheep have much more wisdom than some of the shepherds who are trying to shepherd them. To place these completely in subjugation to the limitations of this or any other shepherd would be detrimental to their growth.

Shepherd/sheep relationships teach that you must deny your freedom of will.

Current teachings state that taking up your cross means surrender of your will to your shepherd and denial of your freedom of will and choice. This leaves no room for the sheep to make his own decisions. In actual practice, some allow a certain amount of room but their teachings place the sheep under the shepherd fully.

In this extreme teaching you must lay everything, including finances, at the shepherd's feet as a sign of full and complete surrender. This does not insinuate that all in these circles practice this. It merely means for you to be fully surrendered you must do it. This places a bureaucratic type government in the church. It is delegated dictatorial authority.

In times when God ruled directly through the judges such as Samuel, Deborah, and others, there is no evidence of such complete domination of the individual's will.

Shepherd/sheep concepts taught today often teach that you are joined to a shepherd and not to a church.

The Bible says the Lord added to the Church daily. (Acts 2:47)

The Shepherd/sheep principle often teaches that the shepherds impart to the sheep.

This is true to a measure, but the analogy of sheep breaks down at certain points. The Bible teaches that each sheep can go to the Lord himself.

1 Timothy 2:5 There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

2 Corinthians 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

It is the life of Jesus in you. It is not the life of our under-shepherd in you.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The Holy Spirit imparts truth to you with or without shepherds.

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie.

The anointing can teach you directly. God can and does use men; however, you have the Holy Spirit to guide and teach you in the final analysis. If this were not so, Paul would not have told us to prove all things. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

In this teaching a person could never develop above his shepherd. There would never be the raising up of stronger anointing to lead the people forward. Under this principle a person never could depart from a church or shepherd that was in error.

Let the pendulum swing into balance in this teaching. Honor the man of God. Listen to him. Hang loose, however, and be Spirit-led.

The shepherd/sheep principle never allows you to go directly to God in the fullest sense.

Modern teachings say: "You will always be under some man. You will always have one or more men between you and God depending upon where you stand in line.

I call this garbage. Jesus is my mediator. I give account to Him.

In Luke 9:49-50 the disciples tried to follow this principle.

"And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, 'Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.'"

This man was not under their covering. He was not of their group. He was not under their discipleship training. He had no shepherd. Jesus said, "Let him alone."

The shepherd/sheep relationship teaches that the sheep go through the Shepherd for guidance.

John 16:13: Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

It is wise to seek counsel and prayer from a wise shepherd in making decisions. The final decision must be left to the individual as he seeks to follow the Lord.

If you want good guidance, constantly confess the previously mentioned Scripture. Confess several times a day. "He is guiding me." Expect divine guidance. The Lord will not let you down.

The shepherd principle teaches that the shepherd leads the sheep into the one true fold.

In this principle the shepherd is the way into the body of Christ. The Word of God says in:

1 Corinthians 12:13, "By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body."

The out-of-balance teaching says you cannot be in the fold without a shepherd. This is the rise of more walls which enclose the sheep and prevent them from flowing together with other sheep in love.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." (John 14:6) The principle of man taking you to the fold rather than Jesus is an overplay on the sheep and shepherd analogy of John 10. It is error. It should be reconsidered and permitted to swing into rightful balance.

Shepherd/sheep principles teach that shepherds lead the sheep up the mountain.

This is true. Ministers do lead the body of Christ. They are under-shepherds, but to teach the concept that one must follow this dictator type sheep shepherd relationship up the mountain is error.

There are many fellowships that are moving up the mountain today with a dictator type relationship.

The shepherd/sheep relationship teaches that the shepherd is the door to the fold.

According to these teachers, it is impossible to get into true fellowship and true relationships in the body of Christ without the shepherd/sheep principle.

The Bible says 1 Corinthians 1:9, ".We are called to the fellowship of His son Jesus Christ, our Lord."

1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Our basis of fellowship is not that of the sheep and under-shepherd. It is our relationship with Jesus Christ. As we fellowship the Lord, we fellowship others, that are in the fold. Jesus is the foundation of fellowship, not shepherds of this life.

Jesus alone is the door to the sheepfold. Under-shepherds can never take the role of Jesus Christ. They merely point to Jesus. The analogy breaks here again. The sheep must never become the shepherd, himself.

Since under-shepherds are also sheep, they can never be the door. Jesus alone is the door. Do not push analogies out of shape.

Psalm 23 and John 10 teach that the Lord alone is your shepherd. You must not reject God's under-shepherds on this basis. Instead, you must be careful and be much in prayer before you relate to man as you would to Jesus Christ, and permit him to be your guide and lord, instead of Jesus Himself. I am asking for love and tenderness at this point. Slip away and be with Jesus for a while, and let Him soothe your spirit and bring you into His balance.

The shepherd principle teaches that sheep are designed for shepherds.

Is this that for which you were designed? Walk softly here. Were you designed for an under-shepherd or were you designed for Jesus Christ?

An under-shepherd counsels, loves, and helps you. He must never point you to himself. He can only say, "Follow Jesus. Let Him be your final authority."

The shepherd/sheep principle teaches that you can only go where your shepherd tells you to go.

Is this what you want, or do you want to follow Jesus? Many would never have the Holy Spirit baptism today had they followed their shepherds in the denominational churches. Many would never move on to new truths, if they happened to be under a shepherd who refused to move on.

Do you want to be in a relationship with a shepherd who puts you under his guidance when there is a possibility of his being in error?

The shepherd could advise occasionally where there is a need. He could tell you to be careful, but to forbid your going anywhere without his consent is bondage. Forbidding sheep to feed in other pastures has been the practice of powerless churches for centuries.

The shepherd/sheep principle teaches that you must always submit to the office even if the man is in error.

This is given on the basis of respecting the anointed of the Lord. 2 Samuel 1:13-15 deals with David and his respect for Saul, even though Saul was out of God's will. David had the Amalekite killed who came to him with the report that he had finished killing Saul.

This is true. David did respect the anointing and the office, but never did he submit to being killed by Saul. He had an army about him to defend himself from Saul. He defied Saul. He mocked him at one point by cutting off his coat tail and stealing his sword.

In 1 Kings 13, the younger prophet submitted to the older prophet and was killed by God for yielding to the older prophet who was in error.

Mordecai refused to honor the office of Haman in Esther 3:2: "And all the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence."

Mordecai had convictions. He would only bow to the Lord. God honored his conviction and his stand. Later, God promoted Mordecai to Haman's office.

Your success in God's kingdom is not based on submitting and fellowshipping one another at the expense of your fellowship with the Lord. Your first rule of submission and fellowship is not with the office or the man; it is with the Lord Himself.

Esther defied the office of her husband, the king. She did it wisely. She called her husband, the king, to dinner along with Haman, and exposed the king's goof and Haman's evil intentions. God blessed her for it. She did not sit idly by and submit and act dumb. She took a stand, and God blessed her. Read the book of Esther, especially chapter 7.

No, you must not respect the office at the expense of truth and victory. Take your stand even though you stand alone. Do it in holiness.

The sheep and shepherd principle teaches that discipleship is based on telling others what to do.

This is based on the fact that Jesus chose the twelve, and then told them things to do such as prepare the Passover. This is true. Jesus is still in the business of telling you what to do. Jesus alone is the Lord.

This principle teaches that man becomes your pope; and as he moves in his office, he is perfect. If perchance he does make a mistake, you must submit for the sake of obedience.

My suggestion is that you prayerfully seek the Lord and His Word for a balance at this point. Paul did not carry this principle too far.

1 Corinthians 16:12 As touching our brother Apollos, I greatly desired him to come unto you with the brethren: but his will was not at all to come at this time; but he will come when he shall have convenient time.

Here you see that the individual sheep had some say in his life.

Jesus was perfect. He moved one hundred percent in the will of the Father. He spoke what the Father commanded. (John 5:19)

No man is perfect. No man should assume the role of fully shepherding sheep. Jesus alone can be our Lord and Shepherd.

Paul claimed to be a helper and not a dictator: "Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand." (2 Corinthians 1:24) Today you need a helper in a shepherd, but not a dictator.

Apostles do have authority. In dealing with a problem the Corinthian church faced, Paul wrote:

2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

Had there been a shepherd/sheep relationship as is being taught today, Paul would never have entered the picture. The shepherd over the man would have handled the problem right there on the spot.

The Spirit of God does move at times through men, and they make decisions, but it is an occasional situation. It is never the norm. It is to correct an error or to bring guidance in certain situations.

Never forget that Paul did have and use God given authority.

There is no evidence of these extremes in the New Testament.

The shepherd/sheep principle puts one man over a few people. (This is good in counsel and love type ministry.) This extreme in submission demands complete surrender of your will to the shepherd and makes the body of Christ a machine manipulated by imperfect man.

Under this principle one man speaks, and the whole body moves. That is dictatorship. Paul would not have needed to write to the churches had these principles been in operation. He would merely have written to the head shepherd and told him to get this situation straightened out. But you don't find this type of authority in the New Testament. You find Paul writing to all so all could flow with the Spirit.

Today the analogy of sheep and shepherd is being carried too far.

Let it come back into balance. You are a bride. You are a son. You are a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. You are one with the Lord. You are a king, and you are a priest.

If you carry any of these analogies to any conclusion you would destroy the sheep and shepherd analogy.

You could soar out on Sonship teaching, make yourself a little Christ, and destroy all of the good of the principle of sheep and shepherd.

You could soar out on your position as a bride and mess up the sheep/shepherd relationship. You can move out on the sheep and shepherd relationship and destroy all Sonship teaching.

Now wake up. Stop pushing out so far on analogies. Get back into the Word and live, rightly dividing the Word of truth.

Carrying analogies too far is dangerous.

Often the Lord speaks to me in pictures. Many times I ask the Lord to explain what He means by a certain symbol. He then answers it with another symbol which throws more light on with another symbol which throws more light on what He is saying to me. Had I carried the original symbol forward without further light, I would have been completely out of His will in any given circumstance.

Take the baker's dream.

"In my dream, I had three white baskets on my head: And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharoah; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharoah lift up thy head from thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh off thee." (Genesis 40:16-19)

Here is a typical analogy from the Lord. For the natural mind to interpret this analogy, one would probably have never understood the birds plucking the food from the baker's basket to have been the birds eating the baker's flesh after he had been hanged.

Natural man would probably have said, "You will be reinstated to your position with the king, but much of your influence will be lost."

This same principle is true of the shepherd and sheep analogy. To say that a Christian is only a sheep is completely wrong. He is only a sheep for certain understandings of his fellowship with the Lord.

To treat him like a dumb sheep is wrong. He is also an eagle and these two are different. (Isaiah 40:31)

Let there be a balance in your understandings. Let the sheep principle say what God would have it say, and then let it alone. Let the eagle principle say what it will say; then let it fall to its place.

Hang loose. Let each truth have its place, but do not allow any one truth to destroy the other.

Anyone who keeps riding a hobby horse such as the shepherd and sheep principle is teaching false doctrine. It is a subtle spirit entering in to destroy the body of Christ.

God gave me a vision of a conscientious brother unknown to me, who was operating a large crane with a huge weight. He was trying to move this weight into a building. He didn't know how to operate the crane very well, and he would bang the weight into machines and destroy them. He would force this huge weight into many unfinished buildings and do much damage getting this thing into them.

God showed me that the buildings were new churches being established by God all over the world. The crane operator portrayed charismatic teachers who love Jesus, but who were possessed with a drive that was not of Him. Satan was using them, but they were not aware of it. The equipment that he destroyed in his unwise operation of the crane represented ministries that were being perverted and damaged by these false teachings.

God is doing a work.

Listen to what God is saying in the shepherd and sheep principle. Take the spirit of the principle, but do not go to the extremes of the teaching.

We are to have good under-shepherds. They are to guide the flock. They are to do it in love and by example. (1 Peter 5:3) They are not lords over the flock.

Recently a school diligently adopted the principles of sheep and shepherd in a select group of interested students. They worked at it for three years. When the leader left, the program fell apart in three weeks. Their conclusions were: it made large bodies with no ability to walk; they were unable to make sound decisions on their own; it drew attention to the group, rather than to Jesus; it was not evangelistic.

A dictatorship will work as long as you have a strong dictator. God's program is not set up like this. The Lord could have set up a dictatorship over you if He had so desired, but He wants service out of love.

Current discipleship programs teach that you are actually submitting to Jesus through man.

The shepherd principle is set up on a pyramid principle. Each man submits to the man above him. Theoretically each man carries on the truth of the first man. In actual experience, due to the imperfection of man, each man picks up the imperfection of a man above him plus his own and passes it down to the person under him.

The end result is the farther you get from the top man to greater becomes the error. The top man keeps saying, "I am being misunderstood."

No, he is not being misunderstood. Those under him are doing exactly what he said to do. They are submitting to the man above instead of the Word of God.

It is like cutting a board from the previous cut rather than using the same pattern to cut a new piece. Each cut becomes more imperfect. By the time you have cut several pieces, without using the same pattern, your cut is far off from its original measurement.

Your only pattern must be Jesus. If you use man with his imperfection to be your pattern guide or absolute shepherd, then you get in trouble.

This dictatorship type program appeals to some people.

Some people want all of their answers and problems solved. They desire someone else to make their decisions for them. This is a "cop-out." This is refusing to face reality. One must face the fact that God leads by faith. One must be free to make decisions. One must be free to make mistakes. Mistakes hurt, but they teach very important lessons. They are important in growing up.

This dictatorship type operation also builds ego in power-hungry people.

Moses dealt with the people in matters in which they desired help.

Exodus 18:16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.

Moses interpreted the Word of the Lord to the people. They came to him for help.

There is a place in shepherding the people. There are times when a man almost becomes the Word of the Lord to those under him. Certainly this could only be exercised with extreme caution and in a very limited way. Very few shepherds move in the anointing as Moses did.

You can go through the Scripture and find places where men became the voice of God. They spoke, and it was the Lord. However, to accept the position of absolute surrender to the shepherd is not the basic concept of the Bible.

Moses helped the people when they needed an answer. He did not make every basic decision for them. If he had made every decision, there would never have arisen an opportunity for them to rebel as they so often did against the leadership of Moses.

Later, Moses put elders over the people.

Exodus 18:25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

If these men had been absolute rulers over the people, they would never have spent forty years in the wilderness. God spoke to Moses and told them to cross over at Kadesh-Barnea. (Numbers 14) The people rebelled and refused to go. They believed the report of the ten fearful spies rather than the report of Joshua and Caleb.

Sheep/shepherd principle and finances vary within the various teachings. Today's shepherd/sheep principle teaches that the sheep can be a member of a church and still be shepherded by someone else. This means that the shepherd is taking money from that local church. It means that the shepherd principle does not honor any shepherd other than that of their own making.

The basic teaching, which may or may not be practiced by some, teaches that you tithe to the one over you. This is a pyramid structure. The more people you get working under you, the more money you get coming to you. Some groups put a limit on how much the individual shepherd can receive. The excess flows into a general fund. However, in most cases there is no way of checking on this since the tithe is paid directly to the shepherd.

At any rate, this does away with God directing the man to certain operations. The tithe belongs to the Lord's work. God directs the giving of the tithe.

If you are in a local church, you may or may not give your entire tithe to that work. It depends upon how God directs you. In cases of a small work, it is evident that God is going to lead you to support the pastor and his needs within that local church.

The local work does not always see or agree with God's entire program. The individual must be free to share his money as God directs. It must not be given arbitrarily to the shepherd over you.

Under the direction of the Spirit, Paul tells the Christians to lay by them in store on the basis of their prosperity a certain amount for the poor at Jerusalem. It was each individual giving as God prospered him. It was not giving to the shepherd and then letting the shepherd tithe or give love offerings out of a general fund. (1 Corinthians 16:1-3)

Pyramid tithing was not practiced in the New Testament. Study the life of Paul and his financial attitudes. In some places he worked for his own support. In other places the churches shared with him in his financial needs. Never was the pyramid type tithing practiced.

God may lead in the practice of the pyramid principle in individual groups, this could be possible. God is free to do new things; however, for these groups to be legalistic and insist that all within the group tithe to the shepherd and the shepherd tithe to the one above him is something that is not seen in Scripture. It is something that is not seen in the Lord that I walk with daily.

My Lord directs me to do different things at different times. He may lead me to tithe all to a local work; he may lead me to split the tithe to another area. You must be free to flow in the Spirit of God. No local work will suffer if that pastor is feeding the flock. God will lead plenty of money into the local work. You must remember that all of the different things that God is doing need support, also. Tithes and offerings both belong to God and must be distributed by the Holy Spirit.

Please note: The comments made in this book are based on direct statements of men who teach these extremes. They are not based on hearsay.

Some of these men really love God. This does not mean they are right.

I ask you to hang loose. Get alone in prayer and complete surrender of your will to the Lord. Ask Him to guide you. Be honest. Do not drive to prove yourself right. Just relax, and let the Lord set things in order in your life.

Table of Contents

The Pendulum Swings

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of the Teaching on Submission

Submission to Jesus Christ

Submission to Earthly Rulers

Submission to Church Authority

Submission to Other Believers

Submission of Wives to Husbands

Must A Wife Submit To Her Husband In Perverted Sexual Activity?

Chapter 2, The Pendulum Swings To the Other Side of the Teaching on Elders

A Look at the Elder System

Move with God

The Apostles Set the Elders in the Church

Chapter 3, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of the Teaching on Covering for Ministers

Chapter 4, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of a Woman's Place in the Church Today

Chapter 5, The Pendulum Swings Back into Line on Attitudes toward Women's Dress

Chapter 6, The Pendulum Swings Back into Place on How to Receive the Holy Spirit

Chapter 7, The Pendulum Swings Back into Line on Attitudes toward Demon Possession

Chapter 8, The Pendulum Swings Back into Balance on the Issues about the Teachings on Falling from Grace

Chapter 9, The Pendulum Swings Back into Perspective on the Human Activity Involved in a Spirit-Led Life

Chapter 10, The Pendulum Swings Back into Balance Concerning Education

Chapter 11, The Pendulum Swings Back In the Area of Positive Faith

Chapter 12, The Pendulum Swings Back into Line Regarding Laymen and Their Positions in the Business World

Chapter 13, The Pendulum Swings Back into Balance for Laymen and Their Attitude toward Ministers

Chapter 14, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of the Discipleship/Shepherd Principle

Table of Contents

The Pendulum Swings

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of the Teaching on Submission

Submission to Jesus Christ

Submission to Earthly Rulers

Submission to Church Authority

Submission to Other Believers

Submission of Wives to Husbands

Must A Wife Submit To Her Husband In Perverted Sexual Activity?

Chapter 2, The Pendulum Swings To the Other Side of the Teaching on Elders

A Look at the Elder System

Move with God

The Apostles Set the Elders in the Church

Chapter 3, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of the Teaching on Covering for Ministers

Chapter 4, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of a Woman's Place in the Church Today

Chapter 5, The Pendulum Swings Back into Line on Attitudes toward Women's Dress

Chapter 6, The Pendulum Swings Back into Place on How to Receive the Holy Spirit

Chapter 7, The Pendulum Swings Back into Line on Attitudes toward Demon Possession

Chapter 8, The Pendulum Swings Back into Balance on the Issues about the Teachings on Falling from Grace

Chapter 9, The Pendulum Swings Back into Perspective on the Human Activity Involved in a Spirit-Led Life

Chapter 10, The Pendulum Swings Back into Balance Concerning Education

Chapter 11, The Pendulum Swings Back In the Area of Positive Faith

Chapter 12, The Pendulum Swings Back into Line Regarding Laymen and Their Positions in the Business World

Chapter 13, The Pendulum Swings Back into Balance for Laymen and Their Attitude toward Ministers

Chapter 14, The Pendulum Swings to the Other Side of the Discipleship/Shepherd Principle