My
grandfather, on my mother’s side, came over from the Europe, not sure either
Netherlands or Germany, when he was 14, again not sure exactly. He came over by himself. I have never heard any details of how he came
to settle in Hamilton, Michigan. I
assume that there were other immigrants from the same area in Europe that drew him
to the area. He never went back and he died when I was a young child, so I have
no memory of him. He had 12 children
that he raised on a large farm (by the standards in the early 1900’s). In all
the conversations with my mom, aunts and uncles, I never heard much said about
my grandfather and never heard anything about my great grandfather. The family farm was passed on to my uncles
and part of the farm is currently owned by one of my cousins. All my aunts and uncles have passed on and I
am not aware of any of my generation farming any of the farm. The farm that my grandfather raised 12
children on, is for all intents is gone.
The land is obviously there; but the business is gone. I think a portion
is farmed by children of one of my first cousins.
I
assume many of you have similar stories to tell. Times change and life changes. We are all soon forgotten. Very few family businesses survive multiple
generations.
Now
let’s imagine that you establish a manufacturing business and want to design a
plan to maintain it and pass it on for hundreds of years; but you have only one
son. So you decide to adopt 12 sons to
help your only son. You then encourage
and equip those 12 sons to adopt more kids to continue the business and you lay
out a plan. You develop a long term business
plan. Give it to your only son and he
mentors the adopted sons. You tell your
son that you not only want the business to continue but grow and expand, to go
from a small local business to statewide, to national and global. You establish a multi-billion-dollar account
from which your descendants can withdraw, a virtual endless source of
revenue. You tell them that you want
these descendants to do the same as your only son did, and even greater.
BUT,
BY THE WAY,
only
the original 12 adopted sons will have the same tools that your own son
had. They had manufacturing robots,
computer controlled machines and the most up to date equipment. After the original 12 were dead, the other
kids could not use these machines. They
would have to figure other ways of manufacturing without the use of electricity. They were directed to grow the business but
could not have the same tools.
Sounds
ridiculous! No one would do that!
BUT,
that is what is taught in most churches in America today. We, the adopted children of the Father, are
given the great commission to carry the gospel to the uttermost parts of the
earth:
"All authority has been given
to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age."
‘Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. He who
believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be
condemned. And these signs will follow
those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with
new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it
will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will
recover."
We are told to do the same works
as the only begotten Son:
"Most assuredly, I say
to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will
do, because I go to My Father”
In spite of this, we are
told by the majority of today’s preachers and teachers, that the church today
does not have the same power and authority as the original 12 apostles, to lay
hands on the sick and cast out demons. Many will not explicitly say it in words
but by observing their behavior, it is obvious that it is not believed by the
lack of teaching and/or by their attitude and behavior. All of this, in spite of the fact that God
confirmed the preaching and teaching of Stephen and Barnabas, not of the 12, with
signs and wonders. In spite of the fact
that the 70 that Jesus sent out in Luke 10 and they returned:
And the seventy
returned again
with joy, saying
, Lord,
even
the devils
are subject
unto us through
thy name.
And
he (Jesus) said
unto them,
I beheld
Satan
as lightning
fall from heaven.
Behold
, I give
unto you power
to tread
on serpents
and scorpions,
and over all
the power
of the enemy:
and nothing
shall
by any means
hurt you.
Paul
warned Timothy that in the last days men would have, “a form
of godliness,
but denying
the power
thereof”. Denial does not necessarily mean
verbal denying. It can mean a state of
denial, in the sense that someone will not acknowledge something as true, such
as a character flaw or sin. Just because
someone will not acknowledge verbally, does not negate the issue. The fact that the church in America does not follow
Christ’s directives in respect to it’s delegated authority and power, is
evidence of it’s denial. If I refuse to use
the electric lights in my house and choose to use candles and oil lamps, I am effectively
denying the power of electricity to light my home. That is what is happening today in America’s
churches. We “pray for the sick” but we
don’t “PRAY FOR THE SICK” like Jesus and the early church did, like in Acts and
in the manner instructed in James 5.
In closing, a quote from Groucho Marx, “Who are you going to
believe”?
