Hello and welcome to the LAST week of the stand:

Thank you all for reading the STAND that I have been doing over the last year or so some 96 or so post. I hope you have received some value over that time and some encouragement for your faith.

I am busy traveling right now and will upgrade this site when I can and so it will continue with a new theme that will be for people who want to get going and do what they believe GOD has called them to do.

It will be called ACTS : 29  ACCELERATED CHRISTIAN TRAINING for SERVICE

I will explain more when this new site is up and ready.

Thanks again for you support in behalf of my first blog and I will see you on the next one soon.

Thank you for being a blessing to someone today and taking your STAND in this evil day.

and remember doing NOTHING is NOT an option….Larry

Hello and welcome to another week of the STAND.

A good friend of mine named Kirk sent me an article he recently wrote and I thought it went right along with the theme we are on , so I am sharing it this week, enjoy.

Out with the Old Religious System of Church Government

The Church Government that exists today has many similarities to what existed in Jesus’
day and during the start of the early Church in Acts. When talking about the Kingdom of
God in Matthew 6: 19-33, Jesus says that you cannot serve two masters. You cannot
serve both God and Wealth. In essence if you love God you will be serving the Kingdom
of God. In contrast, if you love wealth you are serving the Kingdom of this World. You
can only serve one Kingdom at a time: God’s Kingdom or the Devil’s Kingdom of this
World.

Mark 12: 38-44
38. In His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long
robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places,
39. and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,
40. who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will
receive greater condemnation.”
41. And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting
money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.
42. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
43. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in
more than all the contributors to the treasury;
44. for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all * she owned,
all she had to live on.”

In this teaching of Jesus, he is warning of the religious system of the day. He says that
those in the religious system devour widow’s houses. This religious system becomes a
robber’s den as their treasury is willing to take everything that the widow has so that she
has no money to live on. Just prior to this Jesus had just told them the greatest
commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12: 28-31) What the religious
system did to the widow is a complete opposite of loving your neighbor as yourself.
Mark 11: 11-14
11. Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at
everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
12. On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry.
13. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything
on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14. He said to it, “May no one ever * eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were
listening.

In verse 11 Jesus entered the temple and saw all the buying and selling and how the
temple was being used as a business to make money for the religious leaders.
In verses 12-14 Jesus came by the fig tree and used it as an illustration or parable of the
religious system that he had just seen the previous day in the temple. Like the fig tree,
this religious system produced no fruit. Jesus spoke to that fig tree or religious system,
“May no one ever eat fruit from you again”. That religious system’s objective was to
make the temple a business for them to make money and wealth from.
Mark 11: 15-18
15. Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those
who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers
and the seats of those who were selling doves;
16. and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple.
17. And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED
A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN.”
18. The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for
they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.
Jesus came to the temple to confront it as being a robber’s den. The temple had become a
merchandizing market in which to make money. The temple of the Lord was not a house
of prayer like it is supposed to be. The temple was not serving the Kingdom of God but
was promoting the Kingdom of this World by serving wealth and money. This truth
spoken by Jesus angered and offended the leaders of the religious system. The religious
leaders wanted to destroy Jesus.

Mark 11: 19-21
19. When evening came, they would go out of the city.
20. As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up.
21. Being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has
withered.”
Jesus had used something in the natural as the fig tree to illustrate a spiritual truth of the
Kingdom of God. There is power in the spoken Word of God as God spoke all of
creation into existence. Jesus had identified the religious system of the world and spoke
to it saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again”. Just as the fig tree withered
from its roots up in the natural realm, the religious system will also wither from its roots
up and die in the Kingdom of God or in the spiritual realm.
Mark 11: 22-23.
22. And Jesus *answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.
23. “Truly I say to you, whoever * says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’
and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be
granted him.
Jesus talks about speaking to this mountain. Could this mountain be what he has just been
talking about? The mountain he had just been talking about was the religious system or
the religious mountain. That religious system or religious mountain was merchandising
and making the temple of God a place to make money versus a house of prayer for the
nations. Jesus said to have faith in God, speak with faith to the mountain, believe what
you have said, and it shall be granted unto you. If you speak with faith to this religious
system or religious mountain believing, it will be taken up and cast into the sea.

This religious system is a man made religious government that serves the Kingdom of
this World. This religious system loves and serves wealth and money. This religious
system is a very controlling system. It uses thought patterns or intentional ways of
thinking and doing things to indoctrinate their members and followers. Those who are in
control of these religious systems of belief have many times self-exalted themselves into
leadership and control. The religious system does not steward God’s Word, God’s
people, or God’s resources but instead it controls the use of the Word, it controls the use
of people, and it controls the use of resources.

Today, this old religious system of serving money over God is on its way out. It is a time
of out with the old religious system of Church Government and in with a New Church
Government. This new Church Government will serve and love God in the Kingdom of
God. This government will become stewards of God’s Word, God’s people and God’s
resources in the administration of the Father’s love in the Kingdom of God

Please be a blessing to someone this week and thank you for taking your STAND in this evil day.

and remember doing NOTHING is not an option……Larry

Hello and welcome to another week of the STAND.

So sorry for the lack of post recently, I have been busy with guest here in Thailand and soon they will all be gone. So hope to be back to a more regular schedule soon, thanks for your understanding and will start posting again soon. Until then be a blessing to someone this week and thanks for taking your STAND in this evil day. Larry

Hello and welcome to another week of the STAND. PLEASE CLICK ON    WHAT WOULD JESUS DO

To see this video , because it is exactly what I am talking about.

This is NOT WHAT JESUS EVER DID OR SAID and yet it seems very popular around the world, this is the depths to which the false prosperity gospel has sunken and the sad thing is it will ruin countless lives.

If this is all that I would have seen in church I would have never gotten saved at all, thank GOD he found me on the beach and I found out who HE really is before I ever saw any foolishness like this, please pray that this world wide deception stops before it destroys more good people.   Larry

Hello and welcome to another week of the STAND.

This week we will continue with POWER vr PROGRAMS.

I am paraphrasing these verses, Matthew 4:24… The report of Him spread throughout all of Syria, and they brought all who were sick with various diseases and torments, THOSE UNDER THE POWER OF DEMONS, epileptics and paralyzed people and HE HEALED THEM.

Notice that the report of Him spread…He did not have to spread the report of himself. This was the power of GOD in action.

vrs 25…And GREAT CROWDS joined HIM coming from all over the place.

Isn’t it interesting that with the POWER OF GOD IN ACTION the report of Him goes all over the place and the next thing you know great crowds join HIM coming from everywhere.

Now today how much of the power of GOD do we see in action, NOT MUCH.

So since their is not much power of GOD in action, man in his great wisdom (not) has tried to gather the crowds in other ways, called…PROGRAMS… GOD WANTS TO MAKE YOU A MILLIONAIRE… LITTLE DISNEY LANDS IN THE BUILDING FOR THE KIDS, THE BUILDING PROGRAM, AND ON AND ON IT GOES.

They have to send out the reports of the great programs to make themselves known and gather more people to support the programs.

One of the other programs that has become very popular today is THE MOTIVATIONAL PROGRAM this one has replaced preaching and teaching of the WORD for a few inspirational stories that make people laugh, cry, and go home feeling so good about their status quo and otherwise miserable lives. This one is being done in some of the biggest mega churches in America, but to no avail.

People need more than pretty stories by pretty preachers, they need the real deal, they need the POWER OF GOD TO BE ABLE TO WALK IN THE LOVE OF GOD, THE DELIVERANCE OF GOD, AND THE MERCY OF GOD.

Jesus did not have to send out reports of the great things that were happening, but today I feel like its the great competition for preachers to get out how great they are doing and how many people got saved and look at me.

What did Jesus do? He operated in the power of GOD…AND…THE REPORT WENT OUT

IF WE OPERATE IN THE POWER OF GOD…THE REPORT WILL GO OUT.

The people came from everywhere and joined Him. Today preachers are begging people to join them, their church, so they have big programs so that more people will join them.

WHAT DID JESUS DO? HE OPERATED IN THE POWER OF GOD…AND THE PEOPLE CAME FROM EVERYWHERE AND JOINED HIM.

I think if Jesus was to be born on earth today, it would all play out exactly the same as then…

He would be born in an obscure place, he would grow up and confront the religious people of the day with the truth, He would operate in the power of God AND THE CROWDS WOULD FOLLOW HIM, and in the end the RELIGIOUS PEOPLE OF THE DAY INCLUDING MANY FROM THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

WOULD HAVE HIM CRUCIFIED, AND IT WOULD PROBABLY NOT EVEN TAKE THREE AND A HALF YEARS FOR THEM TO DO IT.

Next week we will see some of WHAT DID JESUS SAY?

Thanks for being a blessing to someone this week and for taking your STAND in this evil day.

AND REMEMBER DOING…NOTHING…IS NOT AN OPTION.    Larry

Hello and welcome to another week of the STAND.

Sorry about being late, we were gone for a few days so I’m sending out an article I received that I thought was worth sharing, then I will try to get caught up on the regular post tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy.

Is the Bible the Inspired Word of God?
By Jason Carlson and Ron Carlson 5/25/11

During a question and answer session at a recent speaking engagement, a university student asked me, “Why do you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God?” Now this is a very interesting question; and probably one of the most important questions any Christian could ask himself. What is so special, so unique about the Bible that Christians believe it is literally the inspired word of God?

In answering this student’s question, I encouraged him to
consider the following facts about the Bible:

First, the Bible is not just one single book. This is a more common misconception than many people realize, especially with people who do not come from a Judeo-Christian background. Rather than being a single book, the Bible is actually a collection of 66 books, which is called the canon of scriptures. These 66 books contain a variety of genres: history, poetry, prophecy, wisdom literature, letters, and apocalyptic just to name a few.

Second, these 66 books were written by 40 different authors. These authors came from a variety of backgrounds: shepherds, fishermen, doctors, kings, prophets, and others. And most of these authors never knew one another personally.

Third, these 66 books were written over a period of 1500 years. Yet again, this is another reminder that many of these authors never knew or collaborated with one another in writing these books.

Fourth, the 66 books of the
Bible were written in 3 different languages. In the Bible we have books that were written in the ancient languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic; a reflection of the historical and cultural circumstances in which each of these books were written.

And finally, these 66 books were written on 3 different continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe . Once again, this is a testament to the varied historical and cultural circumstances of God’s people.

Think about the above realities: 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents. What’s more, this collection of books shares a common storyline – the creation, fall, and redemption of God’s people; a common theme – God’s universal love for all of humanity; and a common message – salvation is available to all who repent of their sins and commit to following God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength. In addition to sharing these
commonalities, these 66 books contain no historical errors or contradictions. God’s word truly is an amazing collection of writings!

After I had shared the above facts with this student, I offered him the following challenge: I said to him, “If you do not believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, if you do not believe that the Bible is of a supernatural origin, then I challenge you to a test.” I said to the student, “I challenge you to go to any library in the world, you can choose any library you like, and find 66 books which match the characteristics of the 66 books in the Bible. You must choose 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, written on 3 different continents. However, they must share a common storyline, a common theme, and a common message, with no historical errors or contradictions.” I went on to say, “If you can produce such a collection of books, I will admit that the Bible
is not the inspired word of God.” The student’s reply was almost instantaneous, he emphatically stated, “But that’s impossible!”
It truly is impossible, for any collection of human writings. However, the Bible passes this test. The Bible contains 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents, with no historical errors or contradictions. The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, bears the mark of Divine inspiration.

The next time you encounter someone who asks you why you believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, try sharing this challenge with them. Better yet, don’t wait until you’re asked, just go ahead and share this challenge with a friend today… You don’t even have to mention the Bible up front, just ask them if they think it would be realistic to assemble such a collection of
books.

Thanks hope you enjoyed…Larry

Hello and welcome to another week of the STAND.

Happy new year and all of that, I think this will be a year of some very important things happening in a lot of peoples lives, a year of great decisions.

I felt led to open up this year with WHAT DID JESUS DO?

As we look at what the Christian movement has turned into I think we need to look back to see if Jesus ever did those things or ever said the things that are being said and done today, or did He ever get involved in what Christians are involved in today.

Christianity today has for the most part turned into just another religion, telling people what to do and how to live and the world is not very attracted to it at all, and yet the world was very attracted to Jesus, so He must have been very different than what we see being portrayed today.

So lets just pick up the story in Mathew chapter 4 after Jesus came out of the wilderness to start his public ministry. In verse 17 and I am paraphrasing…Jesus began to preach REPENT…FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND.

By the way He did not fly into town IN HIS PRIVATE JET…PREACHING IF YOU WILL GIVE ME YOUR MONEY YOU CAN HAVE A JET TO.

Oh but brother the times are different now, their were no jets then…no there where no jets then but their were very fancy chariots pulled by very nice horses so don’t you think if he wanted to set the example that we are to have the BEST OF EVERYTHING, THAT HE WOULD HAVE HAD THE BEST OF EVERYTHING.

OF COURSE HE WOULD HAVE…BUT HE DID NOT LIVE THAT WAY OR SET THAT EXAMPLE.

BUT MANY IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH SET THAT KIND OF EXAMPLE TODAY AND TEACH IT ALSO.

DID JESUS DO THAT AND SAY THAT….NO.

SO WHAT DOES THAT MAKE THE ONES WHO SAY AND TEACH WHAT JESUS DID NOT?

I WILL LET YOU COME TO YOUR OWN CONCLUSION.

And when is the last time you heard someone say REPENT?

Then Jesus in vrs 19-22 started picking His disciples THAT GOD HAD SHOWN HIM IN PRAYER, because He said he did nothing except what He had seen the Father doing, or say anything except what He had heard the Father saying.

So how much of what is being done and said today IN THE NAME OF GOD…DID HE ACTUALLY DO OR SAY?

Then in vrs 23 it says, He went all about Galilee teaching and preaching the GOOD NEWS…OF THE KINGDOM AND…HEALING …EVERY DISEASE…AND EVERY WEAKNESS…AND INFIRMITY AMONG THE PEOPLE.

Well this would be a very strange sight to see anywhere today in the modern buildings they call church, we hear very little GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM (mostly feel good stories of the world) and the sick come in and the sick go out (no power, just a form of Godliness).

Next week…substituting POWER FOR PROGRAMS.

Thank you for being a blessing to someone this week and for taking your STAND in  this evil day.

and remember doing NOTHING is NOT an OPTION.    Larry

Hello and welcome to another week of the stand.

We are in Thailand now and getting use to life here once again and hope to get back on track with the blog and on more on time.

The next subject I feel to cover is about WHAT DID JESUS DO AND HOW DID HE DO IT, I am coming to the realization the older I get that the Christianity I was born again into has become something I don’t even recognize anymore or much less WANT TO BE A PART OF.

This is why I DO NOT CONSIDER MYSELF A CHRISTIAN ANYMORE. This is shocking statement to some, but when you consider that the word Christian was never a word that Jesus said to be identified by and that it came from the Romans making fun of the believers/followers of the way, and that many false religions, cults, and just plain nonsense  beliefs call themselves Christians and many of the ones that the name did mean something to have fallen away into many false doctrines and ways of life that I do not want to be identified with.

So what am I, well I am just a BELIEVER…IN JESUS, AND AS A BELIEVER IT DEMANDS SOME ACTION ON MY PART TO FOLLOW JESUS…NOT MANS INTERPRETATION OF JESUS.

What I really want to find out is NOT WHAT WOULD JESUS DO, BUT WHAT…DID HE DO, IF WE GO TO THE BOOK AND SEE WHAT HE DID…THEN WE WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HE WOULD DO, BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN WHAT HE DID DO.

So much of what I see being done today by (Christians) I never saw Jesus ever do, OR SAY. And I think we have missed the mark by a million miles and I want to move on to being and doing…LIKE JESUS.

So for the next while we will go through the gospels and see just what it says and what JESUS said, and DID, then we will look at it in the light of what is going on today and you can judge for yourself whats JESUS and whats not, because I do not want to waste anymore time on what is NOT KINGDOM OF GOD. PERIOD.

So next week we will start out in Matthew and see exactly what Jesus DID, and it could be very enlightening. Some of the stuff I see and hear from (Christians) has me pretty worked up and passionate about bringing change to what is real and what is not and I know this will bring some separation no doubt from some people, my intention is only to bring truth and light so we can all be free in Him, free from religion, and false teaching that is destroying good people.

We will take our stand for the truth in this day and not ever compromise the WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.

Thank you for being a blessing to someone today and taking your STAND in this evil day.

And remember doing NOTHING is not an option….Larry

Hello and welcome to another week of the STAND.

I have been packing for Thailand and we leave soon, sorry for the delay in this post.

I am finishing up this subject this week and then we will move on to some other things in the weeks to come.

What got me started on all of this was the cry by some to TAKE AMERICA …BACK…FOR GOD.

Assuming that somehow America was once with GOD. As I did my research and found out some very disturbing things about this country it became very apparent that America was never ever even close to a KINGDOM OF GOD KIND OF COUNTRY, at best maybe dressed up in some religious garb.

So I looked for when were these GOD GLORIFYING YEARS? was it after America was founded and the false doctrine of manifest destiny ( the mistaken belief that GOD has destined white Christians to kill the natives of America and steal their land, or maybe it was when these whites murdered the Indians by the millions, and broke just about every deal they made with them and then forced the survivors onto isolated reservations.

Or was it the golden age when the white Christians loaded 5-6 million Africans onto ships and brought them to their new land, enslaving the 3 million or so who actually survived the brutal trip (watch the movie AMAZING GRACE). Or was it during the 2 century’s when the Americans acquired amazing wealth by the blood, sweat,and tears of their slaves? Was this the time when we were ONE NATION UNDER GOD that so many evangelicals want to take us back to?

It is also interesting to note that few Christian native Americans, African Americans, and other non-whites join in the chorus that we need to take America back for GOD.

ITS OBVIOUS THAT AMERICA NEVER REALLY WAS WITH  GOD.

In closing I want to listen to Fredrick Douglas a nineteenth -century slave WHO TAUGHT HIMSELF HOW TO

READ AND WRITE, as he expresses his view on how ……..CHRISTIAN AMERICA WAS.…BETWEEN THE

CHRISTIANITY OF THIS LAND, AND THE CHRISTIANITY OF…CHRIST, I RECOGNIZE THE

WIDEST POSSIBLE DIFFERENCE-–SO WIDE, THAT TO RECEIVE THE ONE AS GOOD, PURE, AND

HOLY, IS OF NECESSITY TO REJECT THE OTHER AS BAD, CORRUPT, AND WICKED…I LOVE THE

PURE,PEACEABLE, AND IMPARTIAL CHRISTIANITY OF CHRIST; I THEREFOR HATE THE

CORRUPT, SLAVE-HOLDING, WOMEN WHIPPING, CRADLE-PLUNDERING, PARTIAL AND

HYPOCRITICAL CHRISTIANITY OF THIS LAND. INDEED, I CAN SEE NO REASON, BUT THE

MOST DECEITFUL ONE, FOR CALLING THE RELIGION OF THIS LAND CHRISTIANITY.

WOW THAT IS AMAZING AND EXACTLY THE WAY I FEEL AND SEE IT TODAY.

The best way to defeat the kingdom of GOD is to EMPOWER THE CHURCH to rule the kingdom of this world—for then it becomes the kingdom of this world! the best way for people to lay down the cross…IS TO PICK UP THE SWORD!

To the extent that we pick up the sword …we put down the cross.When our goal is to run a better (or Christian) , version of the kingdom of the world, we compromise our calling to be faithful to the kingdom of GOD.

THE QUESTION THAT MUST DEFINE THE INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE LIFE OF KINGDOM OF GOD CITIZENS IS…HOW DO WE TAKE UP THE CROSS FOR THE WORLD?

HOW DO WE BEST COMMUNICATE TO OTHERS THEIR UNSURPASSABLE WORTH BEFORE GOD?

HOW DO WE SERVE AND WASH THE FEET OF THE OPPRESSED AND DESPISED?

If you want to go farther in this subject I would recommend reading THE MYTH OF A CHRISTIAN NATION

BY GREGORY BOYD.

Now I also want you to know that I realize all the good that has come forth from this country and being a more free country than most GOD was able to do many good things to many other nations and I understand this for sure, BUT that is not what this was about. Thank you for reading this blog and being open to the truth that will set us all…FREE.

Thanks for being a blessing to many this week, and taking your…STAND IN THIS EVIL DAY.

and remember DOING NOTHING IS…NOT…AN OPTION…Larry

Hello and welcome to another week of the STAND.

Sorry for being late this week I was traveling. So I am passing along a good article I read.

"TO HIS HOLY HIGHNESS the WORSHIPFUL BISHOP
REV. Dr. APOSTLE GRAND POOBAH"
-extracts by J. Lee Grady.

Jesus just wasn’t into titles. We shouldn’t be either.

I am often asked if I have a title, and my answer doesn’t satisfy
some people. I travel a lot, so I don’t consider myself a pastor. All
kinds of labels have been pinned on me: Reverend, prophet,
apostle … even bishop. Once I was introduced to a church as “Dr.
Grady” and I almost crawled under my seat. I only have a college
degree. There are no letters after my name.

I tell people: “You can call me Lee. Or if you want to sound formal,
you can say, ‘Brother Grady.’”

Today it seems we’ve developed a title fetish. For a while everyone
in charismatic circles was becoming a bishop (and some were
installed into this office with rings, robes and funny-looking hats).
Then the same guys with the pointy hats started calling
themselves apostles. Then the prophets got jealous and started
calling themselves apostles too! I knew one lady who, not to be
outdone, required people to call her “Exalted Prophetess.”

Now the latest fad is requiring church folks to address certain
people as apostles. (As in, “When Apostle Holy Moly arrives,
please only address him as, ‘Apostle,’ and then make sure he is
seated in a private room while his two adjutants, wearing dark
glasses, guard his door.”) They’ve even invented an elaborate
theology to go along with this ridiculous rule. It suggests that you
can’t receive the true anointing from a man of God if you don’t
honor him with the right title.

Sounds so very ooo-ooh spiritual to the naive. But it’s garbage.

Jesus didn’t play this religious game, especially when he was
around the Grand Poobahs of His day—the long-robed scribes and
Pharisees. After accusing them of loving the best seats in the
synagogues, He pointed out that they loved to be called “Rabbi” by
men (see Matt. 23:7).

Then He warned them: “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is
your Teacher, and you are all brothers. … the greatest among you
shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled;
and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (v. 8-12, NASB).

People have quibbled over these words for centuries, insisting that
ecclesiastical titles are not the problem; pride is what Jesus was
rebuking. I would agree that Jesus was going to the root sin. But
He was also asking these title-crazy guys if they’d be willing to 
ditch their labels and act like normal people.

When I was in China several years ago, I met some amazing
leaders who had planted thousands of congregations. They had
also spent a lot of time in jail for their faith, and they’d been beaten 
with iron rods for preaching the gospel. They were the bravest
apostles I’ve ever met. But when I asked them if they used
“apostle” as a title, one guy said: “We believe in those roles in the
church. But we prefer to call each other ‘brother’ or ‘sister.’”

That settled it for me. A few years later I met Iftakhar, a Pakistani
apostle who has oversight of 900 churches. He also has two scars
on his arm from gunshots fired by Muslim extremists who have put
a price on his head. When I asked him how I should address him,
he smiled and said, “Iftakhar.”

If these two giants of the faith—and true apostles—don’t require to 
be addressed with titles, then Your Worshipful Grand Master Rev. 
Dr. Bishop Jones (who claims oversight of maybe four churches) 
shouldn’t wear his ministry role around his neck like a tacky neon 
name badge.

If people can’t see the anointing on your life through your character, 
then don’t cheapen the gospel by wearing a title you don’t deserve...

Jesus is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Son of David, the
Prince of Peace and the Apostle of our Confession. Yet when He
came into this world He laid aside His heavenly glory and took on
the lowly name of Jesus. He wore no fancy robes. He demanded 
no titles. He did not come to be ministered to, but to minister. If
we want to serve Him honorably, we must forsake our need for
fame and cast our crowns at His feet.

Larry here again, this kind of stuff is to the point of ridiculous for
sure, and the true people of GOD will be the humblest people also with
no need for titles and respect of men, in fact the true 5 fold people of GOD
you probably will never know or hear their names..BUT GOD KNOWS THEM...

Until next time....Larry