Traditions of men- Set schedules and Patterned practices

by Brett Jacobsen

This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)

It is a sad fact that the traditions of men, even the ones we’ve contemporised, make the Word of God at least partially ineffectual in our midst.

We have been called by Christ to a life of fervent Spirit-led living, that is all the saints, not just the elite. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom 8:14).

Something that continually tries to rob the saints of their rightful inheritance is the set schedules and patterned practices of religious Christianity.

Of course it is ok to lay some things in our life which give a degree of order and it can be spiritually beneficial to commit to certain regular activities which continue to focus us towards Christ. Also, it’s imperative to have consistency in relationships both with the Lord and with each other. However, we should not overstep our part in Christian life by leaning on human devices to uphold our walk with the Lord.

There are so many stagnant systems and religious routines which take the place of a relationship with the Spirit of life.

The modern church crams together a number of key everyday spiritual elements into one organised event which they call church. Some of these are:

- The Word/teaching
- Prayer and worship
- Breaking bread/communion
- Fellowship
- Financial offerings
- Evangelism
- Discipleship
- Operation of Spiritual gifts

Certainly all of these elements are biblically wholesome, but in scripture we do not find such an event, or organisation, which brings them into one set service.

We have mass produced spiritual infants due to our set schedules and patterned practices. People don’t have to be led by the Lord in their spirituality because we have tailor made spiritual packages which cater to the busy lifestyles of modern Christians. This retards the majority and yet continues to promise spiritual growth… but only the strong push through.

We are all responsible to apply biblical elements of spirituality to our everyday lives as the person of the Holy Spirit leads us. We show our great distrust in God and our consequent trust in man and the flesh by resting on institutional church.

Rather than going to church to pray and worship God we should pray and worship Him all day everywhere, especially at home. We ought to study the Bible, meditate on the Word and receive good teaching daily rather than at cathedral on Sunday or any other day. In fact, all the elements are better applied if we don’t dive into dualism and practice a separate spirituality from our common life.

Most Christians know that at such and such a time they will go to the holy building and practice spirituality for a certain amount of time. Not only that, in most cases they can generally anticipate what is going to happen in that so-called sacred service.

The majority of saints have lost the need to be led by the Lord into spiritual life, for their spiritual life is pre-planned and packaged.

We ought to hear God everyday about where, what, and how we will study the Word, pray and worship, break bread, fellowship, give, evangelise, disciple one another and flow in the spiritual gifts.

Thank the Lord that He is drawing many people out from the ways and systems of the flesh in order to have a mature, Spirit-led army of believers who bear Spiritual fruit rather than natural works.

For more reading on New Testament leadership and community as well as other reformational insights, see the author’s book Heaven’s Underground Blueprint here- http://www.christisall.org/hub-book for a copy or a free PDF version.

Chapter seven of Heaven’s Underground Blueprint is a teaching on biblical community instead of man’s traditions and human constructs. You can read the chapter called Heaven’s Underground Community Blueprint here:

Part 1- http://www.christisall.org/2006/10/27/heavens-underground-community-blueprint-pt-1-of-5-by-brett-jacobsen/

Part 2- http://www.christisall.org/2006/10/31/heavens-underground-community-blueprint-pt-2-of-5-by-brett-jacobsen/

Part 3- http://www.christisall.org/2006/11/07/heavens-underground-community-blueprint-pt-3-of-5-by-brett-jacobsen/

Part 4- http://www.christisall.org/2006/11/10/heavens-underground-community-blueprint-pt-4-of-5-by-brett-jacobsen/

Part 5- http://www.christisall.org/2006/11/20/heavens-underground-community-blueprint-pt-5-of-5-by-brett-jacobsen/

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 5:44 pm and is filed under Brett Jacobsen's teachings, Church Structure, Living Christianity, Reformation/ Revival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.