FIVE SMOOTH STONES - The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherds Bag

FIVE SMOOTH STONES — The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherd’s Bag

It’s incumbent upon those leaders who truly hunger for Jesus in their lives and ministries to allow Him preeminence, first in their lives by restoring Him as their first love. But then also, to discern false systems of leadership which have crept in and replaced those forms which Jesus left through His disciples which He truly can bless. When we have returned to that system which Jesus gave us, allowing the Holy Spirit to have preeminence, we will again have a Church in which the gates of hell can never prevail, but we rather will have preeminence over all the forces of darkness, and the people of God will truly know their Shepherd the Lord Jesus Christ. ENDNOTES: 54 The doctrine of Balaam may be summed up as, going after the gold the girls and the glory. This could also be equated to greed, sexual immorality and taking glory, which is not due you, which is injustice. These three things can destroy a Church or a mini- stry once they are allowed. These also happen to be the three things our founders warned us could destroy our nation. 55 The Bible implies that John was possibly later granted the seat at Jesus’ right hand. This is the seat reserved for authority, usually granted to the first-born son. When Jesus, the first- born son of Mary, was on the cross, He looked down at Mary and John, and performed His last duty as her first-born son by placing John into that position (John 19:25-27). Clearly by being in that place at the foot of the cross John was granted both the duty and responsibilities, as well as the privileges and authority of the first-born. It is logical that He also will be granted the seat at the right hand of Jesus which would indicate this position. There is a metaphor in this for leaders, in that if we will place ourselves humbly at the foot of the cross and serve the Church with all our heart, the authority of the first born is available to us through Jesus, who exalts the humble and resists the proud (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:6). Matthew 23:12 “ And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted .”

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