Gather

"Christ commanded that His disciples make the people gather in companies of Tens linked together in ranks of hundreds and thousands so that they may be able to provide a daily ministration through love rather than lasciviousness, by faith rather than force."

Why we gather

People can come up with a million reasons to not gather together like the early Church.

The early Church did not just gather to obtain a feeling of fellowship and community but to practice a particular kind of fellowship that comes in a community with a common communion of thanksgiving in righteousness.

At the time when Jesus, who was the Christ, came preaching that the people should repent and seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, people were making excuses about having to do other things first and Jesus called them dead.

John the Baptist, as a voice in the wilderness, had been preaching this same Kingdom for years. He was telling the people to make straight the way of the Lord. Repenting meant thinking and acting a different way. It meant caring for one another with freewill offerings, or what the New Testament calls love and charity, rather than using force like the rulers of the other governments of the world who call themselves Benefactors but exercise authority one over the other. These rulers were the fathers of the earth who forced the offerings of the people and often decided what was good and evil for the people.

The reason we gather is to serve God by serving one another through charity which is also called love. This is what it means to "come in the name of the Lord". It is the voluntary practice of pure Religion rather than the covetous practices of the world which snare the mind and make the body merchandise of the mire.

Christ commanded that His disciples make the people sit down by groups of Tens linked together in ranks of hundreds and thousands so that they would be able to provide a daily ministration through love rather than lasciviousness; by faith rather than force. The righteousness of God flowing through the hearts and minds of a network formed by this pattern of Tens used by the early Church provided for Christians who followed The Way of Christ in a communion of fellowship even as Rome declined.

This was the Gospel of the Kingdom in action through grace. It is this kingdom of God we should all be seeking.

This kingdom is for the living and has always required a network of ministers that strive to conform to the qualifications and criteria of Christ and God.

Why?

Because Christ came to serve through sacrifice.

A Minister is a servant of a Kingdom bound by charitable practices.

We should come together so that others might be saved by our sacrifice because that is why Christ came.

To come in the name of Christ is to come in the character of Christ.

Christ did not come to feel good or hear the music or enjoy a good uplifting sermon.

He did not come to build really nice buildings in which to meet, or cathedrals to impress people.

He certainly did not come so that he would find a group of people he could count on to save him in his time of need.

He did not come to saints but to sinners, calling them to change their thinking.

He came telling us to repent and seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and appointed His disciples to feed His Sheep. His sheep are those who hear His voice and do the will of the Father.

Part of that mission is to provide a daily ministration based on love according to the perfect law of liberty.

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)

Jesus and John preached the kingdom for years but there was a very limited network of people that were actually doing what Christ said. It was not until Pentecost that there was any real surge of repentance.

When the people were Baptized on Pentecost they had to start caring for each other with freewill offerings. They had to organize themselves and set up a daily ministration by charitable means, rather than the system of welfare offered by Herod or Rome with its free bread, so that the needy of their community and society would not be neglected.

Since the ministers of Christ are forbidden to exercise authority one over the other like the administrators of the world who call themselves Benefactors, it is up to the people to organize themselves into congregations of Tens to form that Living Network which is the Church.

Forming CORE groups and linking them together with consistent daily sacrifice in a system of social welfare based on charity is what seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness is really all about.

Where Shall We Eat

Israel was in the same bondage we are in today.

It was a system of Corvee which made them Merchandise.

This was not because of what governments do but what our fathers and our generations chose to do. The parents of those in bondage brought about that bondage generations before they found themselves enslaved.

So what did they do to obtain freedom?

What did Moses Say?

• They did not cry fraud.
• They did not attempt to rescind their bondage.
• They instead began to bind themselves with love and caring for one another in hard times so they survived and thrived during the plagues of Egypt which prepared them for the exodus.

The same is true for the early Christians who, because of their commitment to loving their neighbor, were better equipped to deal with occupation of foreign troops, economic dearths and depression, geological disasters, eventual destruction and forced migration.

We need to gather for the purpose of saving others, not saving ourselves. If we desire the protection of the Holy Spirit we will gather like the early Church seeking the righteousness of God.

saints

Gather

There are lots of way to gather together and they may almost be as numerous as there are people who who will gather.

We all walk in our own ways, in that ways we have learned and accepted. We are to gather in the way of Christ which means the way of love and charity which includes real service and sacrifice, which requires both forgiveness and thanksgiving.

gathering

Does that mean we would only be gathering with saints?

Do we gather only with others who are seeking His Kingdom and adhere to the doctrine of Jesus?

What did that look like for the early Church and what would it look like today?

Gathering the saints

Are we saints enough to gather ourselves only with other saints?

Fortunately we are probably not going to find a congregations of saints. If we did there would probably be no place for us there since there are not many who are actually saints.

What we will find is people who are willing to think outside of the box or at least out side of the big box of the world. But they are often not willing to think outside of their own box.

This will make congregating difficult because everyone comes in there own box.

Relationships are hard to establish when you stay in your own box. You may open up a little but there is always going to be an obstacle to real relationships.

Christ came to serve others, to save others, to set the captive free.

This is why we must learn to give of ourselves and forgive others. The whole congregation and congregations of congregations gather to give, assist, and to aid one another according to the perfect law of liberty.

If we only gathered with saints there would be little to forgive but fortunately we will likely gather with some sinners in hope and this will bless us with an opportunity to forgive and confirm that forgiveness in our giving and blessing others.

People followed Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist and Jesus. The altars of clay and stone was a way to create the social bonds of free people. The levites led the Israelites. And the early Church followed Christ and His Way, which was The Way, and advocated a Daily ministration that was dependent on Pure Religion through Fervent charity only. This was the Corban of Christ which was not like the system of Corban of the Pharisees nor of Rome or the systems of FDR and LBJ.
The church lost "the way" when it abandoned the practice of "pure Religion" while claiming to be the Church established by Christ. The people developed an appetite for the "wages of unrighteousness" from "public religion" in the days of Constantine. Those new Christians that often failed to fully repent degenerated the moral character of society with the masses of "instant christians".
That new religion of the emperor introduced a new faith with his apostate church replacing the doctrine of Jesus with the "doctrines of men", the Holy Spirit with emotion, the truth with the speaking of "great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage."
They had a form of godliness but denied the power thereof.

Where is your religion

• Where do you find the Daily ministration of the early Church, the Pure Religion of James and the Corban of Jesus?

• Are you following The Blessed Strategy of Christ like the Early Christians?

• Are you following The Way through Love of one another or the way of the world and the Fathers of the earth?

• Do you seek the benefits of bankrupt nations, or do you forgive and seek the benefits of Christ's appointed Kingdom?

• Do you only gather for the comfort it gives you, or do you gather to benefit others?

• Christ came to serve, not be served. Do you desire to be served, or are you coming in His name and according to His character to serve others?

If we desire His Grace but we only love those who love us, then there is no Grace because it is clear we do not really believe in Him.

If we do not Repent of our Covetous Practices and are not diligently gathering together in Free Assemblies of Love for all to provide for one another in Charity according to the Perfect law of liberty then we have nothing according to Paul. According to Luke 6:32 if we only love those who love us there is no "Grace". Christ also said if you do not Forgive neither will the Father forgive you.

It is not enough to hate the deeds of the workers of iniquity, but we must return to Thy first love and thy first work. To break the yoke, we need to return to the ways of righteousness spoken of in Isaiah 58 which are the ways of Christ and the early Church. And His yoke is light for it is carried by our love of one another.

Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist and Christ all created Networks of charity to care for the true needy of society without force which is how they were able to help set people free. Do you gather with His Church to attend to the Weightier matters as Christ said?

• Are you gathering in a Network of righteousness?

• Do you come to love others or just be loved?

• Are your Congregations' gatherings fruitful enough so that no one has to pray to Benefactors who exercise authority one over the other?

• Does anyone in your Free Assemblies have to apply to the Fathers of the earth, or seek their many benefits?

Early Christians found themselves in conflict with these systems of social welfare because they made the word of God to none effect. Christians had repented of their covetous nature when they received the Baptism of Christ. They heard and became Doers of the word not hearers only.

Remember Proverbs 12:24, "The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the Slothful shall be under Tribute."

We know that liberty under God is not for the covetous who are Biting one another but it is also not for the slothful. If we are not congregating together in free assemblies bound together in a broad network by faith, hope, and charity alone according to the perfect law of liberty then we are not truly seeking the Kingdom of God nor His righteousness.

Lone Sheep

Gather to pray so that no one becomes prey.

Someone on the network got a visit from CPS.

You never know when such visits can turn into nightmares with the state employees enthusiastically abducting your children.

We have seen it for decades.

What the parents try to do when it happens is often too little and too late.

Eric Holder who said that Homeschooling is Not a Fundamental Right.

There are elements of the world when it comes to a spirit that will violently oppose individual freedom to raise your children or even gather and live like early Christians.

The World has taken the same course as Rome and Herod did in creating a Socialist state.

John the Baptist was not just dunking people in water and calling it Baptism. He preached that people needed to be caring for one another in faith, hope, and charity.

This is what the early Christians learned to do. When persecution came they were able to survive and thrive.

As a shepherd on the high desert knows, lone sheep do not last long. They are easy prey for the predators of the desert. We can see some insight into the nature of the kingdom and kingdom seekers in the parable of the Goats and Sheep.

We are told to gather together and above all things have fervent charity. We gather for the same reason Christ came - not to save ourselves but to save others.

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

The Supreme Judge

A few days later after we heard that Eric Holder was resigning we also heard he was going to be a candidate for the Supreme Court of the United States. If he obtains that position as one of the Supreme Court judges he will have the power to decide good and evil for the People of the United States.

Over two decades ago we began publishing the book The Covenants of the gods. It tells us about the contractual nature of government.

In the ten commandments we are told to make no covenants or contracts with the inhabitants where we go.

We are also told not to covet our neighbor's goods or any thing that is our neighbor's.

We know that the ten commandments hinge upon two laws - love God and love thy neighbor as thyself.

Christ did not do away with that law of love but confirmed it with His blood.

The problems of the world today all stem from our neglect of that law of love and liberty.

In a Facebook conversation, "Michael B." somehow thinks we suggest that people should not pay taxes that they owe and he talks about Jesus giving us "permission" to pay taxes when He said, "give to Caesar what is Caesar's".

You not only have permission to pay taxes but most people have an obligation to pay taxes to make their yes, yes.

We are talking about coveting benefits from men who force the contributions of the people.

Certainly we are to pay our tale of bricks but seek our benefits through charity and love for one another,

That is the mark of God, to live by faith in the ways of God rather than the ways of Cain, Nimrod, and the Mark of the Beast.

Do not eat at the table of kings, presidents, or prime ministers who "exercise authority one over the other" if you can avoid it.

"When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what [is] before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat." (Proverbs 23:1)

The very beginning of the thread on Facebook was about prohibition of sharing food in schools and a student who was suspended because they did. The whole message of the Bible is about sharing life by your love for one another which is the way of God of heaven. The way of Nimrod is to turn your neighbor into a human resource so you can have benefits for "free". Christ came to set men free and we should gather for that reason as well.

The modern Churches and the modern Christians who attend them are not doing what the early Church was doing but they are doing what the pagans did and what the Pharisees and Herodians did.

The Right to Choose

The conversation continued about Pelosi and Boehner and their bills to fund abortion, support ISIS and Obamacare. The common complaint was that we have no choice and must support them. That may be true but our comments have been about why you have no choice anymore.

Jesus and Paul talk about it all the time. But the Modern Christian does not have ears to hear. What has happened is false preachers have crept in and said it was okay to desire and covet benefits of men who exercise authority over your neighbor. Now since you and the generation before you looked to these benefactors you must fund abortion...

You must serve Pelosi and Boehner because you have sworn to obey them against the words of Christ. The headlines today is Pelosi Says Boehner Should Start War Debate in Congress. They will be able to take your sons and daughters because the Modern Christian, like in the days of Samuel, has "rejected" God.

Jesus and James say:

• To not take oaths.
• To only pray to the Father in heaven, not the "fathers upon the earth".
• To not covet what is your neighbors'.
• To give to God what is God's.

But modern Christians swear to, and pray to, the "fathers upon the earth". Coveting their neighbor's goods through the authority of those "fathers upon the earth" - those Benefactors who exercise authority - giving them authority like the Israelites did when they "rejected" God that he should not rule over them and elected Saul as their king/central authority.

History repeated when the Pharisees rejected God that Jesus should not be their King but Caesar. And again when people deny that Jesus preached a Way separate from the Benefactors who exercise authority one over the other and choose rather to bow down to serve Pelosi and Boehner. They then have no choice any more, because they say Lord, Lord but do not do what Christ said.

Whenever the fathers of the earth say give to us so we may kill the unborn you must now bow down and serve them. When they say give us your sons and daughters to make war and serve us you have no choice any more.

You have given to Caesar what you should have given to God - your endowed right to choose. Now Caesar can take and take and take and when you cry out God has said He will not hear you. For you have chosen a different Father.

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Footnotes

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Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Matthew 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.

Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Matthew 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

Matthew 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

Mark 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.

Luke 6:44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

Luke 11:23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

Luke 15:13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

John 11:52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

John 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Acts 17:5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.