Teaching The Family Without Church

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Hi D____,

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. Your story is so typical of all whom God calls out of Babylon. What you refer to as “a living hell” is what the scripture refers to as “birth pains.” Those “few chosen” who come to God as His elect are “chosen… out of” the “many called.” That is always a painful process which always brings down the wrath of the orthodox Christian world upon us.

This entire experience is exemplified for us in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Just as He has done with us, God showed Joseph the evil ways of His brothers. Just like us Joseph was forced to take the side of His father against his brothers. There is no middle ground when it comes to pleasing God. You are either with Him, or you are against Him. Joseph chose to be faithful to His father. His brothers, who were also his father’s children, were not faithful to their father. They were taking advantage of the position their father had given them, and they were using their father’s flock for their own personal gain. Joseph refused to go along with their selfish schemes and exposed them for the selfish thieves that they were.

Gen 37:2 … Joseph, [ being] seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

Well, you simply can’t expect to be faithful to your father and not incur the wrath of your thieving brothers. But to make life even more difficult among your brothers, your father reveals to all that he has an elect son. There is no doubt who that son is because his clothing are entirely different from his brothers. The colors of Joseph’s clothes are the colors of the very ruling throne of God:

Rev 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

Clothing in scripture represents our way of life, that which covers our naked, sinful bodies of clay.

Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

That is why we are reminded always to ‘watch your garments.’

Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.

Joseph could easily have refused to wear his ‘coat of many colors,’ but he was willing to bear the reproach of his father’s other sons, because he himself respected and was faithful to his father. Because of Joseph’s faithfulness, which he himself tells us was the work of God in his life, God revealed to Joseph what he had in store for both his faithful servant Joseph, and what he had in store for all of his unfaithful servants who were taking advantage of their father’s flocks. The truth of that revelation is what to this day separates Gods “few chosen” from God’s many called. They are all His sons, but they are not all his “chosen sons.”

Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

Christ’s “chosen” are chosen from among His “many called” disciples.

Luk 6:13 And when it was day, he called [ unto him] his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

Christ had multitudes of disciples who came to hear Him speak. He had very few who were chosen out of those multitudes. And of the multitudes he tells us this:

Mat 13:2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
Mat 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

God is giving to you what He is not giving the multitudes of Christians. Expect their reproaches because they are inevitable. It is only after you are faithful to your Father and after you bear the reproaches of your brothers, that God reveals something to you that makes your brothers hate you even more:

Gen 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Gen 37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Gen 37:5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
Gen 37:6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
Gen 37:7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
Gen 37:8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
Gen 37:9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
Gen 37:10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

This is not a story about hanging up your coat and learning to keep your mouth shut about what God is showing you. To the contrary, this story of Joseph and His brothers is the story of the elect and their unfaithful brothers who take advantage of God’s sheep.

I want to ask you to read Ezekiel 2 and 3. Then I want you to read Rev 10 and 11. After you read those chapters in that order I want to hear from you, and I want you to tell me what you got from those chapters of God’s Word. I believe that this will help you to be prepared for what yet lies ahead for all who are willing to wear their special garments and to witness to what God tells us is the difference between His called and His chosen sons. They are all his sons, but they are not all his chosen, ruling sons.

As for where you can begin teaching your children, I can think of no better school than the one you are in. I don’t know your daughter or your grandchildren, but you do. You need to ask God for wisdom and then pick out the appropriate materials from my page and teach your daughter and your grandchildren the Truths that you yourself have been learning. This very story I have given to you would be excellent material for students of any age.

I hope I have answered your question, and I look forward to hearing from you after you read Ezekiel 2-3 and Rev 10-11.

Mike

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