“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Genesis 2:15
I’m on a journey that continues to have new surprises for me. It started with leaving a church I could not seem to fit. Then I took my wife on a nine day spiritual quest, of which I have detailed three days of so far. After the quest, God’s vision began forming in my mind, one step at a time. I know there will be a spiritual retreat, but there could also be a weekly church for those who live in the area.
The question of starting a church and being the Pastor of it is a BIG DECISION. It quite possibly would remain small, but whether small or not, what would be the “guidelines” and “balance” of a church God would hold me personally accountable for?
You see, ever since I have considered this, God has shown me some very interesting stuff, one of which is: And the Lord took “the man”.
God has plainly shown me that he has made “the man” responsible for dressing and keeping “the church”, just like he made Adam responsible for the garden.
Eve was not even created yet, when God gave Adam charge of the garden, and also told him about the tree not to ever eat! There is no record of God ever telling Eve about the tree. It is pretty certain God left that to Adam, and it seems Adam may have added to the instructions, because when the snake confronted Eve, she said they were not to eat of the tree or even touch it!
Evidently Adam had said to Eve, Honey, we cannot eat of that tree. Do not even touch it, or we will surely die! Hhmmm. I find this very interesting. We all know how Adam failed on that day to keep Eve from defiling the garden and leading to exile, like Israel was exiled into Babylon one day. (Revelation?) But today, we men have been told to dress and keep God’s church! I wonder how we have done, compared to Adam? Is there a Babylon coming for us too? (Revelation?)
I must say, as I have pondered what God’s word actually says, the most difficult problem I see, the one causing me to question if I should even do this, is EVE!
Probably the most successful attack Satan has ever leveled against God was that day in the garden, and he by-passed the man, and went straight to EVE. Eve may have disobeyed God, but perhaps more importantly for us today, she disobeyed Adam and also DISHONORED him. This is what scripture plainly reveals. This is what God hath written. This is what “Thus saith God”, not me. And this is what has me shaking in my boots when I consider the proper order of a church, because we live in a day where Satan is playing the best strategy he ever had. He has convinced EVE she should be running the show, and she has just as much right to run it as any man. So it doesn’t matter what the Bible says, or what Adam says. Eve now thinks she can do better.
I would pose one question here: Do you think abortion would be the major industry it is today, if there had never been a women’s Lib movement? We’re talking about the murder of innocent defenseless babies in the womb. This is not something to sweep under the rug. And this is just one ripple effect of EVE’S march to manhood.
If you look deeply enough into this satanic strategy, you can even see where homosexuality fits the game plan. Not only disrupt God’s chain of command, but confuse the genders so know one even knows who is a man or who is a female anymore!
Revelation promises a very dark day of judgement to come. This is the strategy steadily taking us there, and what can we do about it now? The Bible says it will surely come, but do I want the flock of people God has me lead to be a part of it? Or can I start something in which the toothpaste is not already out of the tube?
When I was the one setting in the pew, or in some level of leadership other than Pastor, I never got to these particular issues. There were other things bothering me, the business like administration of things, the constant reach for more money, various things like these. But now…I’m seeing a darkness deeper than I have seen before, and I already know, if I take such a position, Eve’s going to be very mad at me, unless I’m very good at showing “THE BIG PICTURE” of why this is all so important.
Adam should not have told Eve she could not even “touch” the fruit. He went overboard in setting the limits. How do we find that proper balance? Eve plays a very important role in God’s creation, but if she crosses over into Adam’s role, we have chaos, destruction, loss of power, the curse, loss of the garden…the church…Tribulation. Hhmmm. Wow. Satan’s most successful strategy. It was his beginning, and it is also his ending plan. And it is well underway, even to the point of no return, but some of us can still choose to be awake to his ways, and defeat him in our own life. Some of us will not be left behind. Five of the ten virgins were taken. Five walked with God. Five were an Enoch people. Five were Godwalkers. And there were the other five who somehow got off track, and were none of these things. What do you think?
Path Without End 