"Make Us A King To Judge Us" - Who Is In Control?

"Then Peter and the other apostles answered, and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."

Hello To All:

A number of years ago, I attended a week-end Bible conference. Over the course of several evenings, we listened to lectures and teachings on various portions of The King's Book. Prior to one of those evening presentations, I was visiting with a pastor that I had known for a number of years. He and the assembly that he was pastor of, were affiliated with an international institutional church organization, more commonly referred to as a denomination.

This pastor and I were discussing some of the things that his particular institutional church was doing. He was not happy with a certain direction that was being undertaken. After we had discussed this for a number of minutes, I suggested to him that he go to the district (this institutional church was organized around various districts and national churches), that his assembly was affiliated with,  and speak with them with regards to his concerns.

His response to my suggestion, has stayed with me all of these years, and even today, I can clearly hear him say: "I have to be careful about what I say, because they control my future." I am hoping that you, my beloved brethren, are as shocked by this statement, as I was. In fact, I was so shocked that I did not know what to say, so I said nothing. I have since repented of my failure to help this pastor on his journey. But, is it not true, that we are often confronted by circumstances that provide clear evidence of our divided allegiances. This is evidence that should move us to action; and yet, we are most often inclined to do nothing.

It could be argued, and I have often done so in the various letters posted on this web-site, that one of, and perhaps even the principal reason for the decline of the western church, is directly related to our divided allegiances. The journey towards "Victorious discipleship in Jesus Christ," demands that we keep our eyes exclusively on Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:1-2). Any diversion from that focus, diminishes us, and we become less then victorious.

Our opening text, from Acts 5:29, takes us to a moment in the early development of Christ's Church, when the apostles were confronted with an effort, by the institutional authority of their day, to control their lives. This particular institutional authority had thrown the apostles into prison; then our Lord Jesus Christ intervened and caused them to be released from jail; then the institutional authority rounded them up and sought to compel them to act in a certain way. The response of the apostles was very straightforward: "We ought to obey God rather than men." The allegiances of the apostles was not divided!

When next we gather, we shall take a closer look at this clash between the apostles and the institutional authority of their day; and the relationship of this clash to the desire of ancient Israel to: "Make Us A King To Judge Us."  As we, together, wait upon our Lord Jesus Christ, to bring about that closer look, let us take some time to read and study Acts chapters 3-5. As we do this, let us continually ask ourselves: Who is in control of my life? Who do I obey?

Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus

P.S. I am often reminded that many of you do not have access to a copy of the King's Book. It is my most fervent prayer, that our Lord Jesus Christ would provide you with access to His Word. If you are able to contact me, without endangering yourself (you can do this through the comments section or through my e-mail address), I will make every effort to get you a copy of the King's Book in your native language.