Hi there, me again 😎

Spring has almost fully set in as the deadness passes away and new life is breathed into the world. Glory to God that Christ is mending the broken-hearted and making all things new. ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🔥 He will make all things right and will implement justice from sea to sea. And He will give us rest from all our enemies, and He will take away death and pain once and for all.

The Lord has called me to the ministry of restoration, and because of His work in me, it is a desire of mine to see His people made ready at His return, which is within reach. In the first of these two posts on unified worship, I reviewed the corporate identity of the church, the fundamental Scriptural pattern of healthy functioning for the church, as well as the calling to walk faithfully with the Lord. In this post, I’ll discuss the final three foundations for unified worship that, personally, I can think of: Humility, faithful shepherds, and a willingness of the people of God to follow Jesus Christ wherever He leads. If you can think of more, let me know in the comments – and hey, let’s see what we can build together. 😎 This isn’t a one or two or three man show, you know! You have a responsibility before God to live as a responsible steward!

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Guiding Passages:

“…for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ Therefore her plagues will come in one day – death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her” (Rev. 18:7-8).

“But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be put down, and he who humbles himself will be lifted up” Matt. 23:12).

“Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me’” (See Luke 9:57-62).

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Foundation 4: Humility

“Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill brought low” (Is. 40:4).

What does that mean?

John’s ministry initiated the fulfillment of these words in Luke 3, and the subsequent work of Jesus the Messiah demonstrated their effect. During His ministry in the flesh, Jesus often interacted with two different kinds of people:

1. The Humble (The Valleys): Those who, amidst the brokenness of their own sin, the sins of others, and/or their afflictions and sufferings, came to or met Christ in faith, hope, or love; and,
2. The Proud (The Mountains): Those who put their confidence in themselves, and made flesh their strength, and put down others (see Jer. 17:5-8).

Concerning the humble, He said things like:

• “Do you see this woman? … her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much” (see Luke 7:40-50);
• “…this man went down to his house justified rather than the other…” (see Luke 9-14);
• “Has no one condemned you? … Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (see John 8:1-11);
• “What do you want Me to do for you? … Go your way; your faith has made you well” (see Mark 10:46-52);
• “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace” (see Luke 8:41-48).

Concerning the proud – or those who intermittently grew proud – He said things like:

• “Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (see Matt. 16:21-23);
• “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” (see John 3:1-12);
• “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (see Matt. 8:19-20);
• “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades … it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you” (Matt. 11:20-24);
• “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! … Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (see Matt. 23:13-33).

As the humble trusted in Jesus and hoped in Him, they received from Him forgiveness, justification, reconciliation, acceptance, healing, a new identity, and even the gift of His kingdom and the authority to exercise His dominion on the earth (see Luke 22:28-30). And in as much as the prideful trusted in themselves, they received stern rebuke from Him and the assurance of judgment if they do not repent. And so the calling to repent continues to be extended today.

The people of God ought to put off pride and arrogance entirely. Pride says, “I am more important than you,” and arrogance says, “I am better than you.” We are commanded to consider others better and more important than ourselves, looking out for the interests of others (Phil. 2:3-4).

The people of God ought to put their confidence not in their own understanding, and not in their own wisdom; but rather in God, who gives us all understanding through His Spirit (1 John 2:20, 2:27, 1 Cor. 2:13-16) and who leads us with His wisdom (James 1:5-6). “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Prov. 26:12). As the Lord has said:

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,

Let not the mighty man glory in his might,

Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

But let him who glories glory in this,

That he understands and knows Me,

That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24

The people of God ought to understand their place within the bigger picture of the Kingdom of God. An arm and a torso are not enough to keep a body moving in a healthy capacity. The hand and torso must realize that they are not the entirety of the body and instead need the other arm, the legs, the feet, and the head. The weak knees and feet must realize that they have a part to play, and that the other members suffer until they do their part. Those who think they can run the show themselves must humble themselves, and those who think they serve no valuable purpose must realize that their role is needed.

Finally, leaders of all capacity must decide whether they are going to follow Nebuchadnezzar or Christ. Nebuchadnezzar, like Satan, said in his heart,

“I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north;

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

I will be like the Most High.”

Isaiah 14:13-14

Nebuchadnezzar looked at the kingdom entrusted to him and notoriously boasted, “Is this not great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power for the honor of my majesty?” (see Daniel 4:28-32). And while the word was still in his mouth, judgment came to him from heaven.

Conversely, Christ first descended, having emptied Himself of His privileges which He had with the Father in eternity past; and having taken on the form of a bondservant, He submitted to the Father in all things, even to the point of the most painful death on a cross. And He was buried in the grave, having descended into the lower parts of the earth, and having made propitiation for our sins on the cross, in accordance of all that was written in the Law and the Prophets. And therefore, because He descended in perfect submission to the will of the Father, God exalted Him, having raised Him from the grave, “because it was not possible that He be held by it,” and having seated Him in Heaven with all authority and dominion given to Him by God.

So if we are going to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, then we ought to first descend, taking the form of a servant rather than a brutish, domineering gentile ruler, considering others better and more important than ourselves, knowing that we must give an account of all that is entrusted to us. And we know that if God raised up Christ from the dead, then He will assuredly do the same for us. The path to receiving a song of ascents is by first descending and following the Lord wherever He leads, and waiting for Him to say to you, “Friend, come up here 😎” (see Luke 14:7-11).

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Foundation 5: Faithful Shepherds

There was once a shepherd who purchased a very valuable flock at a very great cost. When dusk came, he found and paid many men to be his undershepherds, to care for his flock while he went to prepare a new home for the sheep. As he was leaving, he sent other men to the undershepherds to write out very clear instructions for how to care for the sheep in the shepherd’s absence.

As night passed, many of the undershepherds grew sleepy and lazy. They disagreed on the instructions written and decided to write new sets of instructions for themselves. Many of the undershepherds refused to get along with one another and began to partition up the flock and build very great walls between the flock.

While the undershepherds fought with one another, wolves rose up and entered in to feed off the flock. Since the undershepherds had not heeded the full set of instructions, they grew confused and thought that perhaps the sheep were intended to be food. And so many of the undershepherds joined the wolves in feeding off the flock. But a few of the undershepherds had remained faithful, and strengthened the sheep, and healed them, and fed them, and brought back those who were sick, and protected them from the wolves and from the worthless undershepherds.

What do you think the shepherd will do to those wicked undershepherds at his return? Will he not cut them into pieces and make their portion with the wolves? But He will set those faithful shepherds over many cities, because they remained faithful to Him amidst many perverted and wicked generations.

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Foundation 6: A Willingness to Follow the Lord

Because the deeds and doctrines of so many wolves and wicked shepherds have become so normalized, the people of God are admittedly faced with a very confusing situation. It should be true that in ‘joining the local church’ (which, what is often meant by that phrase is actually contracting with the local 501(c)(3) organization to deliver reliable capital inflow) and in following along with today’s religious status quo, that one follows the Lord. That is the grand assumption leading many directly into judgment – that today’s religious system accurately depicts the way of life that Jesus Christ wants from His people.

Problematically, in following that status quo, the fruit of your life will look like this:

• Normalized schism:
  • So many say, “I am of these people, but not of those people” as if that were a badge of honor – two thousand years after Paul warned against it. Division is encouraged and praised in today’s religious system. Woe to those who call good evil, and evil good (Is. 5:20)!
• Adding to grace through works:
  • “Sign this contract to join our church.” Respectfully, a contract of men does not have the authority to make people members of the church. It is only the blood of Christ which has justified us and which has already made those who are in Him through faith members of His one body through His Spirit.
• Almost entirely fruitless personal ministry:
  • If you are in Christ, you are made a priest or priestess and therefore called to serve God and others – to engage in ministry. Fruitful, Spirit-empowered ministry encourages you to understand how God has uniquely gifted you in His grace by His Spirit to edify and build up others. You have a voice, you have a gift, you have the ability by God’s Spirit to deliver very valuable effects in another’s life. And you will give an account of how you stewarded these things!
• Harlotry and prostitution with the kings of this earth:
  • The Lord has called us to be loyal to Him and submitted to all authority on earth. But many, in their lust for earthly comfort and power, have hopped into bed with whichever political candidate can get them what they want quickest, even to the point of burning incense to Nebuchadnezzar or worse. And in so doing, they have forsaken faithful witness of the One who calls for truth and mercy in all things.
• Normalized injustice and rampant hypocrisy:
  • It would be ideal if the actions of many leaders would one day catch up with their right words (Matt. 23:1-3). The gathering of the saints ought to be the beacon of truth and mercy in the world (Matt. 5:14-16). But as for you, dear reader, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, which is hypocrisy” (Matt. 16:6, Mark 8:15).

When the first apostles were brought before the chief priests and commanded to stop teaching and preaching in the name of the Lord Jesus, they responded, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). How can you follow the one who wants His people made perfectly one while continuing in normalized division (Matt. 12:25)? Why do you think that it’s acceptable to look down upon and reject anyone who, in appearance, struggles more than you do (1 Cor. 12:23)? How can you expect judgment day to go if you buried God’s investment in your life (Matt. 25:26-30)?

The Lord does not approve of hypocrisy which claims His name!

Will you follow the Lord wherever He leads?

He will lead His people “into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her” (Hos. 2:14). And hidden by Him, they will no longer kindle a fire on His altar in vain (Malachi 1:10). He will purge injustice and hypocrisy from His priests (which is to say, all of us – because we are a kingdom of priests not after the order of Levi but after the King of Righteousness and King of Peace; Malachi 3:3; see Hebrews 7:1-8:2), and they will offer to Him an offering of righteousness through faith. And great shall be the peace and fruitfulness of His people during His reign (Psalm 72). But the insolent and the perverted and the self-seeking will be once and for all finally cut off from among them.

Woe to “that great city,” on whom the judgment of the ages has come (Rev. 17:18)!

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I can’t wait to hear – which ministry has the Lord entrusted to you? I’d bet the Kingdom of God will be a lot better off for it (Is. 58:12):

“Those from among you shall build the old waste places;

You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,

The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.”

Isaiah 58:12

The King is coming back soon, so let’s be found fruitful together, with one voice, at His return! 🔥🗡️😎 🆘