A Call to Love One Another
- Roger Wilson
- Mar 12, 2007
This letter was prepared shortly after the current elders assumed their responsibility.
A letter from the elders to the body of believers who meet at the Tabernacle and those associated with them.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Dear brothers and sisters,
We've been told that we have not adequately conveyed our vision to this body.
Part of the reason is that the operational and organizational parts of the vision are only being revealed to us step by step. As we are obedient in taking one step, the next becomes apparent.
In part that revelation is coming as God gives direction to members of the body to step into operational roles. For example, we now have the beginning of a functional worship team because a group of men were obedient to what God spoke to them.
We are determined that we will not manipulate members of this body, by laying guilt trips on them, into fulfilling needed functions-when God has not given them a sense of direction to that function.
Just as Moses led the children of Israel through the wilderness by watching the Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire, and moving only when they moved-even so we are seeking to know when and where God is moving, and earnestly seeking to follow him in that movement.
The other part of the reason the vision has not been clear is that the part we do understand and have sought to communicate has little to do with "church as usual". In our minds the most important part of the vision is: What is the objective? We recently tried to communicate the objective we've been shown by setting a theme for the next several months. That theme is: Learning to Love. Or we could express it with a question: What does it mean to love God and one another?
This morning in my quiet time I asked the Lord for a word that would express His heart and plans for this body. Here is what he gave me:
Thursday, February 24, 2005, 10:21 AM
My children, I have called this body to become a beacon light to the rest of My body worldwide. Just as in the past, you are pioneers in the new thing I would bring about among my people. In the beginning of this fellowship, it was a laboratory from which messengers and messages went forth throughout the church to correct, instruct, and bring balance to the work of My Spirit in the charismatic movement.
I now call you to become a model of the new work I am doing in the church. I am calling you to walk in love and unity unlike anything seen before in any local fellowship. The expression of that love will manifest itself in purity and holiness.
No longer will I overlook backbiting and strife. Gossip shall no longer be found among you. Deception, manipulation, and human control must cease. You must learn that criticism can only be expressed in love to the one who needs your supportive perspective. If it is expressed to others it becomes gossip and slander.
As you permit the work of My Spirit to cleanse and purify your attitudes, thus establishing you in righteousness, you will walk in such peace and joy that it will cause those around you to seek in amazement the source of your peace and joy. You will also see my power manifest through your daily life in ways that will bring healing and provision for all I send to you. In all this you will see the kingdom of the heavens take life among you.
I am creating a hunger for this kind of life among many of my people throughout the world. As it becomes manifest among you, I will bring them from the four corners of the earth to walk with you while you all prepare for the harvest about to be released. Doubt not, you are about to see a multitude come to an acknowledgment of My Lordship in their lives and affairs.
This word is not only for the "leaders" among you, it is for every man, woman, and child who will willingly give up their identity, desires, agendas, and preoccupations, so that My life may become theirs.
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For the last several months we have all, especially the Elders and other leaders, been in an intensive laboratory for "Learning to Love 101".
We have been judged, criticized, and even slandered. Yet our Father's instruction has been not to judge in return, not to try to explain or defend ourselves, rather to forgive and go on.
God has blessed us with many men and women who are strong in the faith. Some have been pastors and leaders in other places and thus have valuable experience and insight. We get papers, proposals, books and DVDs to read and review from these brothers and sisters that have much of value. One of the elders told me he had spent eight hours over the weekend doing homework by reviewing this material he had stacked up. This is not a complaint, only an explanation of why we do not always respond as quickly as you might expect.
Another of the elders confessed to us that he looked at all he needed to do and in frustration complained: "Why do these people think they have to express their opinion on everything when we are the ones who have the responsibility?" Suddenly the Lord reminded him that-at His prompting-we had invited this input. He immediately realized that he was not functioning in love and humility.
One of the directives the elders believe they have received is this: "Stay the course. Do not give in to the agendas and traditions of men."
When these suggestions and proposals come in, it then becomes our responsibility to hear what God is saying. Is this input a word from God? Or does it express an agenda which could sidetrack us? Or maybe it's a word that is mixed in with an agenda.
I'm convinced that God has permitted some of us to "mess up" in the conduct of our services just to test our commitment to obey his command to love one another. Is it more important to do everything right? Or to love a brother or sister in such a way that we come alongside them to encourage them when they make a mistake? Is it more important to express our doctrine in just the right way? Or to obey the command to love? Do we have the right to murmur and complain when things don't go exactly as we like? Phil. 2:14 Reads: Do all things without grumbling or disputing.
You are gossiping if you come to me to criticize another brother or sister for what they have done you see as wrong, before you go to them. This is not love. Matthew 18:15-17 tells us that in love you do not expose them to others, before you go directly to them to see if you can bring correction and reconciliation. Initially criticism should only be expressed to the one being criticized.
In view of the love that Jesus gave us when he left heaven to live the same kind of life we lead, and die a criminal's death, how can we do anything less than commit ourselves to this process of learning to love? The class is not over. Let's study to show ourselves approved unto God.
For the Elders, Roger Wilson
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Please prayerfully consider the following Scripture from the Message version.
Romans 14 -- The Message
1 Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with-even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.
2 For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume all Christians should be vegetarians and eat accordingly. 3 But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. 4 Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
5 Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.
6 What's important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God's sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you're a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. 7 None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. 8 It's God we are answerable to-all the way from life to death and everything in between-not each other. 9 That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.
10 So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I'd say it leaves you looking pretty silly-or worse. Eventually, we're all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit. 11 Read it for yourself in Scripture:
"As I live and breathe," God says,
"every knee will bow before me;
Every tongue will tell the honest truth
that I and only I am God."
12 So tend to your knitting. You've got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.
13 Forget about deciding what's right for each other. Here's what you need to be concerned about: that you don't get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is. 14 I'm convinced-Jesus convinced me!-that everything as it is in itself is holy. We, of course, by the way we treat it or talk about it, can contaminate it.
15 If you confuse others by making a big issue over what they eat or don't eat, you're no longer a companion with them in love, are you? These, remember, are persons for whom Christ died. Would you risk sending them to hell over an item in their diet? 16 Don't you dare let a piece of God-blessed food become an occasion of soul-poisoning!
17 God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. 18 Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.
19 So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other. Help others with encouraging words; 20 don't drag them down by finding fault. You're certainly not going to permit an argument over what is served or not served at supper to wreck God's work among you, are you? I said it before and I'll say it again: All food is good, but it can turn bad if you use it badly, if you use it to trip others up and send them sprawling. 21 When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. Don't eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love.
22 Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. 23 But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe-some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them-then you know that you're out of line. If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong.
