“But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 NASB1995)
Caution!! There are a lot of people in our world and in the
USA today who appear to be diligently laboring among us, and who have charge
over us, either in our nations, states, and cities, or in the gatherings of
what are at least called “churches,” many of which are not the biblical body of
Christ, but are businesses being marketed to the people of the world so as to
grow their numbers. And a large number of these diligent laborers who have
charge over us are those who are human cockroaches, figuratively speaking.
For they are the morally unclean, malicious, deceivers,
manipulators, opportunists, liars, fakers, not trustworthy, egocentric, who
fake who they really are, some or many of whom fake their Christianity in order
to get large followings of Christians to support them and to listen to them and
to regurgitate their lies and their deceptions, to deceive even more people.
These are people who are opposite of what is good whose goal is to lie and to
deceive in order to capture as many as possible in their webs of deceit.
So, when we read passages of Scripture like this in 1
Thessalonians 5 about the need for us to appreciate those who diligently labor
among us, and who have charge over us in the Lord, and who give us instruction,
that we should esteem them very highly, please be discerning! Please test the
spirits to see which ones really are of God. And we test them against the
Scriptures, taught in their appropriate context. So make certain that these
people really are of God and that what they are teaching is biblically sound in
doctrine.
And then if we find that what they are teaching are lies,
and that the lies are spreading rapidly to many people, and that the multitudes
appear to be accepting the lies, while rejecting the truth, then we need to be
those who are refuting the enemy’s lies, and who are speaking the truth of the
gospel to the people. But first, if those in authority over us are people we
know personally, with whom we have a relationship, we should pray and ask God
for wisdom, and we should biblically, in love, approach them first.
But we should never yield to accepting lies and to doing
what is against the Scriptures just to be in submission to those in authority
over us. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, as well as Jesus Christ and
his New Testament apostles, give us plenty of examples in how to submit to
those in authority over us while not yielding to anything contrary to the will
of God for our lives. God’s word always must be obeyed, and there are always
biblical exceptions to obedience to human authority we must adhere to.
Now the Scriptures do teach that we must be in submission to
our governing authorities in our nations, with biblical exceptions. But we do
not have to be part of and we do not have to submit to anything called “church”
or “the gospel” or anyone with the title of pastor or elder if they are not
biblically qualified to be pastors and elders and if what they are teaching are
lies and not the truth. There are many instructions for us to be those who test
the spirits and who do not put up with false teachers and false teachings.
And going right along with that, please know that just
because an institution is called “the church,” it does not make it the church.
For the biblical church is the body of Christ, comprised of all who are of
biblical God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord. The
church is not a building, not a church denomination, and not an institution of
man incorporated (unified, combined, merged) with the ungodly, i.e. under the
state, which is then being marketed to the world. For God forbids and
repudiates all of that.
[Matthew 21:12-13;
John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation
2-3; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]
So, be discerning
people who test the spirits to see which ones are truly of God, but test them
against the Scriptures taught in the appropriate context. And follow the
teachings of Jesus and of his New Testament apostles, and not charlatans and
wolves in sheep’s clothing who are out to deceive you. And encourage one
another with the teachings of the Scriptures so that none will be led astray by
people in their deceitful scheming (the cockroaches).
For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny
self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if
we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity.
But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience
to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with
God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew
7:21-23).
Living Water
An Original Work / November 21, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Based off Various Scriptures
My people have
forsaken Me,
Their Savior, who
died on a tree;
Made idols, and they
worshipped them;
So empty, they will
ne’er fulfill.
Lord, You are the
hope of Your chosen ones.
Those who turn away from
You will be shamed;
The Spring of Living
Water left behind.
Living Water
satisfies.
The thirsty, let
them come and drink;
Believe in Jesus as
their King;
The gift of Jesus
given them,
So they will never
thirst again.
Indeed, the Living
Water flows within.
It springs up like a
fountain cleansing sin.
Eternal life in
heaven promised them.
Living Water
glorifies.
Oh people, won’t you
come to Him?
Obey Him and repent
of sin.
Let Jesus come and
live within.
Surrender all your
life to Him.
My people, won’t you
turn your hearts to Me?
Forsake your idols
and then you’ll be free.
Won’t you come now
to Me on bended knee?
Living Water
sanctifies.
Seek After What is Good
An Original Work / June 5, 2025
Christ’s Free
Servant, Sue J Love
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