MENTORING

MENTORING

As I understand the meaning of this word, it is nearly the same as making disciples. As we know from scripture, Jesus Christ was the original disciple maker, when He was here on planet earth for a rather short period of 30+ years. He chose 12 ordinary men and "called" them to come and follow Him. In the NLT version we read in (Mark 1:12) "Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people". These 12 men are referred to as disciples, and later are called apostles. And in heaven these same 12 men are referred to as "the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev 21:14). Paul, the man who is often referred to as the "apostle to the Gentiles", also spoke about making disciples in his second letter to one of his disciples, (2 Tim 2:2).

So as I see it, mentoring is simply showing another person certain things that you have learned in your spiritual journey along the Agape Road, as you follow Jesus toward "intimacy with the Father" (John 14:6). The only requirement on your part is that you are a "born again" follower of Jesus, who listens for His voice, and obeys His commands. These commands are listed in the Bible, the "Written Word" of God, and made known to present day disciples by His Holy Spirit who was sent to earth by God the Father and the resurrected Jesus. He was given to everyone who was "adopted" into God's Forever Family the moment we believe in and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This is the result of hearing and putting our faith in the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. (Rom 1:16)!

 

We have prepared a series of teachings, which we called "Marriage Mentoring", which followers this line of reasoning. It consists of 8 topics of things the mentoring couple has learned from their journey with Jesus since receiving Him as Lord of their lives, and simply sharing those things with the couple they are mentoring. It is quite different from official counseling, in that it can be done in a home environment, as opposed to a "counseling room", which can be much less threatening. And in our case we make sure everything we teach is based on scripture, and therefore are not in the class of "Psychology" based, but "Biblical" based. We find there is a lot of teaching circulating around the Body of Christ that is not really rooted in God's Word, but is often based on some experiences, that are questionable at best, and really based on some "New Age" teaching that is often based on definite occult Eastern Religions. It has always amazed me how open many followers of Jesus are to these "false prophets" and teachers, that Jesus and the early apostles like Paul, Peter and John warned us would show up!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                      

AN APOSTOLIC TEAM

AN APOSTOLIC TEAM

Recently we put together an article based on (Phil 1:1) where we see God's perspective of what He must consider a typical local community Church. Here Paul, who was definitely called by God as an apostle, at his conversion experience on the Damascus Road, received his divine appointment. (Acts 9:1-25) As he recorded in his letter to the church in (Eph 3:1-13), God had given to him a revelation of the Church, that had been kept "secret" from mankind until Paul came on the scene. In chapter 4 and verses 11 to 16 we see the "gifts" that Christ gave to His Church, and what these gifts were meant to add to the various different churches that Paul had started. These gifts were certain people who Christ had placed with in them the ability to function in these 5 different "roles" within these churches. But certain ambitious men have chosen them as "titles", and have set themselves up as "Apostle so and so, or Prophet so and so, or Pastor so and so" etc. This scripture has been taken completely out of context, and has become known as "The Five Fold Ministry" completely separate from the local Church setting that Jesus had meant these gifts to function in! This is only one of many examples I have seen where the modern day church has veered off course!

 

Are there any groups of churches who are still operating according to this original plan that was given to Paul? Yes there are, and I believe I have discovered one and am presently exploring them a little more carefully. They have a website called <New Covenant Ministries International>, and you can check it out for yourself. The main way they differ from most denominational churches that I have been familiar with is in their local church structure, and who they are accountable to. Their local structure is governed by 2 or more elders, assisted by 2 or more deacons, who are set in place by an "apostolic team" who form their accountability party. Very much like we see in the book of Acts, where Paul the "Apostle to the Gentiles", where Peter was known as the "Apostle to the Jews", operated in this way. "Gentiles" was the name given to "non-Jews", and from God's perspective this was the way He divided the then known world. So it seems He gave the responsibility of spreading the good news of the "Gospel of the Kingdom" to the then known world through these men. And any brief study of early church history after the book of Acts, up until the fourth century, will prove they did a very remarkable job. That would appear to be the turning point, when the Church was joined with the Roman Empire!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                               06/02/12

PHILIPPIANS ONE ONE

PHILIPPIANS ONE ONE

 

This first verse of Paul's letter to the church at Philippi gives us a picture of a typical local church from God's perspective I believe. In the NLT version it reads "This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God's holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the elders and deacons". We can see clearly four different groups of people listed here by Paul, who was the man to whom God had revealed the mystery of "His Church". (Eph 3:1-13). Since Paul was God's chosen vessel to bring this great revelation to the human race, we can safely assume that this description given here is the correct one! How did we ever get so far removed from God's original plan? A simple brief study of early church history will lead you to the fourth century, when Emperor Constantine joined the "Church" of the day to the mighty Roman Empire that ruled the world at that time!

 

These four components listed here are 1/ The apostolic leadership team,

2/ The group of God's holy people, 3/ The elders, 4/ The deacons. There we have it friends, the church that God revealed to Paul, that he used to start churches all over that part of the Roman Empire, that "turned the world upside down", or should we say "right side up"? Let's have a little closer look at these four groups that compose God's Church.

 

1/ The apostolic team---Jesus always sent out His original disciples/apostles 2 by 2, and never alone. Paul never started out on his missionary journeys by himself either, but always with at least one or more companions. In this case it was Timothy, and notice his closing remarks where he mentions the "brothers (plural) who are with me", indicating more than just Timothy. In some of his letters he mentions several others by name.

2/ God's holy people---This would include all those who were "born again" believers who had received Jesus as Lord and Savior, and had been adopted by the Father into His "Forever Family".

3/ Elders---Notice they are always listed as plural, meaning there was always more than one, and they were the leaders of the church.

4/ Deacons---They were also listed as being more than one, and apparently assisted the elders in their task of giving leadership to the Church.

(more to follow in a separate article.)

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                  04/02/12

SOUL TIES

SOUL TIES

 

This expression can be thought of as the complete opposite to one made famous by Anne of Green Gables. Her expression I refer to was "kindred spirits", used to explain her relationship with certain "special friends". One has to do with our soul realm, and the other with the spiritual. Many people confuse these two, since they both deal with the invisible realm, as opposed to the visible, material world we live in! Our spirit and soul are so closely related that only the word of God can separate the two. (Heb 4:12).

 

Our "soul" is composed of our mind, will and emotions, and is that part of us we use to communicate with each other. Our spirit on the other hand is that part of us reserved for communication with Father God. Since the fall of Adam, recorded in Gen 3, the human spirit has been "dead in trespasses and sin" (Eph 2:1), and needs to be "born again", or "made alive" in Christ before we can have a relationship with our Creator. The unregenerate man can communicate with other humans, but not with God.

 

What we mean by "soul ties", are sometimes unhealthy relationships we can enter into with other people that lead to bondage. They are often in the sensual realm, and often involve sexual activity, or at least close emotional relationships. Once formed these ties are most difficult, if not impossible to break. We often hear of two people who formed this type of soul tie when they were young, and then perhaps after 30 or 40 years and each married to different spouses, they meet each other and before they know it are involved in an illegitimate emotional or sexual affair. This is the root cause of many divorces today, even in the church. Like any other sin, the only way to break a soul tie is to confess it as sin, repent of it, and ask Jesus to set you free from it. Better still we should never enter into any close emotional relationship with another human being, unless we know it to be "in the Lord", and with His complete approval.

 

This is a vital lesson for young people to learn before they start to establish relationships with members of the opposite gender, .or even unhealthy ties with members of the same gender! We refer to these as "gender issues", which can, and often do, lead to homosexuality in males, or lesbianism in females. This is a major problem in our modern culture!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                             4/10/11

 

THE MAIN POINT

THE MAIN POINT

 

I like the way Paul begins the eighth chapter of his letter to the Hebrew church in Jerusalem. We know from reading (Rom 10:1-3) that he had such a burden for his Jewish brethren, that although Peter was definitely the "apostle to the Jews", it would seem that they made a deal that if Peter would let him write a letter to the Jews then he in turn would allow Peter to write to the Jews in the churches Paul had established in Galatia, which he did. So, he starts with "Here is the main point", and proceeds to explain to these Jewish believers who had recently left the "Law of Moses" to follow Jesus their Messiah. Paul spent this whole chapter explaining how Jesus was the real "High Priest", who had come to replace the "Old Covenant" that Moses had established, with the "New Covenant" promised by Jeremiah in (Jer 31:31-34). He says in verses 7-9 "If the first covenant had been faultless there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people He said the day is coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them says the Lord". This a very serious scripture, whether you are a Jewish person or a Gentile follower of Jesus! Paul said that "in Christ" we are all one, and that this scripture applies equally to both Jew and Gentile.

 

The fact that God has replaced the OT "Law of Moses" with a completely "New Covenant" is vital for us all to understand. Even as followers of Christ, most of us have established "traditions" based on the teachings of the denomination we belong to. They may vary on certain points, depending on the church you attend, but they are still traditions. In (Mark 7:8, 13) we read about Jesus rebuking the Jewish leaders about allowing their traditions to over rule the Word of God. And I believe there is a danger in our churches of allowing this very same thing happening! Many church traditions are based completely or partly, on man made doctrines, and not really on the scriptures taken in context. They are often based on a single verse taken out of its proper context, and hence becomes error. Let us search the scriptures carefully like the Bereans did in (Acts 17:11)!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer.                                                                                                       

THREE SIMPLE STEPS

THREE SIMPLE STEPS FROM SINNER TO SAINT

 

We have all read much along the lines of how to become a follower of Jesus, but this simple 3 step formula came to me the other day.

 

1/ Admit to God and to yourself that you are a sinner.---According to God's word we all were born into this "fallen world" as sinners, so why try to ignore this fact? (Rom 3:10-12) It seems many people hate to admit that they are sinners, they have a concept that to be classed as a sinner, you have to be some wicked person who has done some horrible things like robbing a bank or killing someone. The truth is we were born a sinner, and because we are sinners we just naturally commit sins. It may be something as simple as telling a little Lie, or being proud, or envying a friend. Why try to hide it, or pretend it didn't happen? Just admit it!

 

2/ Confess your sin to God and ask Him for forgiveness.--- He is compassionate and full of mercy, and is quick to offer forgiveness for any confessed sin. (1 John 1:9). The DNA of God as based on His declaration of Himself as recorded by Moses in (Ex 34:5-7) includes 1/ compassion, 2/ grace, 3/ slow to anger, 4/ mercy, 5/ truth, 6/ faithful, 7/ forgiving. Who in their right mind would refuse to want to have a relationship with a God like that?

 

3/ Accept His offer---Although we are sinners and enemies of God, He loves us so much that He made a way for us to come to Him. It involved Him allowing His very own Son Jesus Christ to become one of us humans by the miracle of the "incarnation", where his Holy Spirit came upon a Jewish virgin maiden named Mary, and she bore Jesus, who was completely "sinless", and paid the price of our sins by His death on the cross. The wages of sin is death, (Rom 6:23), so someone had to die to satisfy the requirements of a just and Holy God. This required the death of a human being  without sin, and Jesus was the only one who qualified. Whenever anyone confesses their sin and receives Jesus Christ by faith as their Savior, they are "born again" and Father God "adopts" them into His Forever Family. Then they become a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17) and are referred to as a "saint"! Paul often wrote his letters to "the saints at" whatever city church he was writing to. It is just that simple according to the "good news" of the "Gospel of the Kingdom"!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                     24/01/12

 

A CORNERSTONE

A CORNERSTONE

 

A common practice in past centuries when constructing a public building like a city hall or library was to have a special stone carved from a permanent type of stone like marble or granite, to build in at the most prominent corner of the building. It was meant to be seen by all who visited that building. There was always a special celebration for the "cornerstone laying ceremony", involving city and political officials. There was always a special metal box containing items of interest of the day that they wanted preserved as a memorial that was built in the wall behind the cornerstone. In Paul's second letter to Timothy in (2 Tim 2:19) we read in the NLT "But God's truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription 'the Lord knows those who are His', and 'All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil'". As you know a cornerstone has two sides exposed so it can be seen from both directions as long as the building stands! I consider that this simple statement by Paul should be given close attention by all followers of Jesus in our 21^st century. We know that "God's Truth" is a person, His only begotten Son Jesus, made clear by the apostle John in

(John 14:6), a scripture that we should all be aware of.

 

The critical question for us as followers of Jesus is simply 'how well are we showing forth to the world these two qualities that Paul mentions here? This is probably more important for men to consider, because they are often more exposed to the world in their daily activities than their wives. But these two things mentioned by Paul are equally critical for all to consider. So we must search our hearts continually, to make sure that every little closet or drawer that we all seem to have, where we place little odds and ends that we keep because we might find a use for them in the future, is not concealing articles that are not "pleasing to the Father"! I trust I am not the only guy who has these places, that he doesn't want his wife to clean up, because then he can never find things when he needs them! Right? Well it just might be that some things stored there that you are guarding from your wife's tendency to want to keep everything "in order", just might be items the Father is not pleased with either! We were all given the gift of the Holy Spirit when we received Jesus as Savior, He will help us in these areas if we ask Him to!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                            23/01/12