Jesus says: Follow thou ME

Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet

John 21:21-22   Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?

Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me.

We are all members of the body of Christ but we do not do exactly the same things. Therefore we, as individuals, hear from the Spirit of God and follow God by HIS Spirit rather than trying to copy one another, except we do try to do the scriptures.

Paul explains it as follows:

I Corinthians 12:4-18    Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as HE will.

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

For the body is not one member, but many.

If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased HIM.

Therefore we follow God by HIS Spirit, doing that which God shows us to do as we live on this present earth.  Serving God in the place God puts us to serve.  Not copying one another but following God.

*****

Paul was enroute to Damascus to find and imprison those person who called themselves followers of Jesus,  when God did something to Paul.

Acts 9:3-6    And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ME?

And he said, Who art thou, Lord?

And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?

And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

(Not all do what Paul did. It would be foolish to think such. God caused Paul to have an experience which would equip him to do what God wanted him to do on this earth.)

*****

I was born again in 1975.

Shortly thereafter, in the night while I was sleeping, I was transported into heaven.  I was with God, and with Christ, and with the Holy Spirit.  At that time I was "merged" into the body of Jesus, made one with the Word of God, God and the Holy Spirit witnessing. 

(I saw no physical images. This was an experience in the spirit.)

A few nights later, the exact same thing happened again.

After this, I was really set on fire. I cared about nothing but Bible and the church.

My life was set by God in the will of God for me on this earth.

Being taken into heaven equipped me by God for the work God called me to do on this earth.

*****

Some of the members of the body of Christ are set by God in the church to care for the church.

Ephesians 4:7-16    But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.  Wherefore HE saith, When HE ascended up on high, HE led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.)

And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

From Whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

But God equips each of us for the way we are to serve HIM, to which HE, God, assigns us.

We cannot do the work of another member of the body of Christ but we each must do the work which is chosen for us by God.

We are the body of Christ, and like the human body, some are eyes, some are hands, some are feet.

We serve God in the church where HE puts us, doing that which God equips us for in the church.

Therefore, we follow HIM.

*****