Dear Marvin,




Greetings in peace and love in Christ Jesus!




Your questions are the cry of many who have been hurt by leadership. Before discussing to you what true submission is according to God's framework, let me deal with your hurt. To receive healing now, you must forgive the pastor and others who have hurt you. FORGIVE. Now, pause for a moment and say a prayer of forgiveness. After saying your prayer of forgiveness, read what I have to tell you as a message of love from the Lord.




Forgiveness is giving up your right to punish, retaliate, demand apology, or payment for the damages done to you. It is laying it down before the Lord and saying, "Bless them Lord with knowledge and wisdom, with eyes to see your glory, with strength to obey your will, with humility to make you known and disciple others."




Submission is done out of a free will fulfilling the task you've been asked or commanded to do by leadership. When you have done the task against your will, due to coercion, intimidation, or threat by a leader or person, your response is simply physical obedience not necessarily submission of your WILL to do and to be. In this environment, you get hurt emotionally or even physically. So you must guard your heart and mind from resentment and bitterness. This is where forgiveness comes in. With a pure and loving heart in Christ, obey your leader even when he/she is wrong or with a bad attitude. Then after while, the Lord will set you free from that situation because you have passed thru that training or chastisement so ordained by God whose will is to sanctify and build your character in Him. Praise God that he did not yet assign you to a place where leadership is ruthless and wicked like Jezebel, Haman and others. The bible is full of stories on this. Read and meditate on the Old Testament when men of God had to maintain their godliness under wicked rulers and kings. Read Jeremiah, Daniel, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 & 2Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Esther, etc. When men chose to defy their kings, their hearts were pure, blameless, and intimate with God whose Manifest Presence is with them. They were unscathed by the lions or by the fiery furnace and no bitterness in their hearts.




But if you are not ordained by the Lord to defy the wicked ruler, you may suffer punishment and become bitter. Look at Joab in 2 Samuel 24. Joab knew that King David's order to count the fighting men in Israel is sin. But Joab obeyed David. In this account, God did NOT punish Joab. David was responsible so God punished him with a plague where seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. (v.15).




My advice: Go back to your church. Ask for forgiveness from the pastor and commit your obedience to him in the Lord. If your pastor is leading in sin, leave this to the Lord who ordained somebody to rebuke him. Learn not to be resentful or bitter when told to do the things you don't like to do. Obey your leaders. Then the Lord will be pleased with you.




God bless.




Leo

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Replying to:

I have a question,1)if i have to blindly submit then whats the point of my relationship with Jesus,2) Can a pastor ask you to do something which you cannot do and demand you do it.3)I was asked to intepret sermons in a language I can speak 25% saying I am annointed to do it , when I said I'm soory i was threatened by pastor telling me" joyfully submit or let me know by tonite whether you want to be discipled by me or not I was cruelly treated . I continued to fellowship there though I was taken off from leadership for my action . eventually I had to leave the church. Please answer......Marvin

Be encouraged. I truly can say "been there done that". What became somewhat fearful for me is my ability to hear my Lord's voice clearly. This is the devils tactic, not any man. However, as you are forced to tune in you'll see exactly what's going on. Then you can truly have mercy because the Lord has been so merciful to us. Always be sure to look inward and be willing for the Lord to examine your own heart and motives. You are not alone. The Lord is faithful to heal.

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Replying to:

I have a question,1)if i have to blindly submit then whats the point of my relationship with Jesus,2) Can a pastor ask you to do something which you cannot do and demand you do it.3)I was asked to intepret sermons in a language I can speak 25% saying I am annointed to do it , when I said I'm soory i was threatened by pastor telling me" joyfully submit or let me know by tonite whether you want to be discipled by me or not I was cruelly treated . I continued to fellowship there though I was taken off from leadership for my action . eventually I had to leave the church. Please answer......Marvin