Also, submission in Christ’s body is a two-way street. When it is always one way, top down, is when danger and folly are near. Peter wrote, “Likewise, you younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5 KJ2000). The trouble in many church setting is, “In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.” Blind people need blind guides and blind guides need blind followers. But even here God can accomplished His purposes with Divinely appointed ditches for then to fall into. After following many a blind church leader into many nasty effluent filled ditches (that is what ditches are for in the third world setting of the Bible), I finally got my eyes off of mere men and sought out THE Teacher to lead me and as long as I followed Him and not self-willed men, I have been able to avoid all the ditches.

http://www.awildernessvoice.com/Escape.html

May He bless you as you seek Him alone as your All in all.

Michael

I finally got the same message as you from the Lord after much church abuse. I was sitting there one Sunday and I heard Him say, “Why do you keep seeking the Living among the dead?” Wow! What a show stopper. “God! Is that how you see all this?” Another time I was crying out to God, “God, I don’t fit! I just don’t fit!” and He responded, “You are not supposed to fit!” Then after telling a sister at a home gathering about all the abuse I had experience from pastors over the years she said, “Well if you keep going into a yard and trying to walk up on the porch and a big dog comes out from under it and bites you on your leg… maybe you should learn not to go into that yard!” I said, “Sister, you don’t know what you just said!” That’s it. I am through with that whole system.” Then she tried to retract what she said as not what she meant. :-p

The worst part of it all was that I, like you, kept trying to change to meet their approval. Like Jesus of the false spiritual leaders of the Jews said, “You circle land and sea, trying to make one convert and when you are through with them, they have become twice the child of hell as you are.” Through coercion, guilt, shame, etc. they attacked who Christ is in us as UNACCEPTABLE! You, like me, have that “bummer birthmark” (that FarSide cartoon deer with a big red bulls-eye on his chest).

I am so glad that we both finally saw that it was Jesus and Him alone that we are to look to and appeal to in all matters in our lives. It took me years to learn that there is no such thing as “delegated authority” in the Kingdom of God. Jesus never left us alone and delegated His authority to church leaders in His place. His authority abides in His Spirit who is with us unto the end of the world. We are HIS ecclesia, and as members of His body, e respond to Him alone as our Head. As we abide in Him, we are safe from the wicked one and his assigns and it is there the Jesus produces His fruit in and through us.

Keep seeking, asking and knocking in Him and you will keep receiving and finding spiritual truth and His doors will open to you. Only Laodicea has a closed door to our Lord and He wont be put off much longer.