What I am about to type is some of my personal opinions and if you get offended , This shows me that my opinions have crossed the line into facts...
I Just got off the phone with someone very close to me , Someone I respect and Love...
Someone I know is a warrior for Christ...
They have been going through some health issues lately and we are all in agreement for healing.
But they told me something tonight that really angered me , which led to this writing...
They told me members of the church they attend have said they must be living in sin because they are still sick....REALLY?
Living in sin huh?
Creflo Dollar just got through preaching a sermon about not being offended because offense will lead you out of the circle of love...I agree with this...
But I also feel that being offended can sometimes drive you to the point where you do some soul cleansing...Get that closet full of emotions cleaned out..
So , I have been offended one too many times and this is the direct result of it.
This person I love is NOT living in sin and it sickens me that a group of people would even tell them that.
This is along the lines of my aunts church telling my VISITING mother that if she didnt speak in tongues she would go to hell...
Or the time I gave my testimony at a spanish speaking church...
I had a translator who spoke with me..After I was done , My spanish friend who was in the audience asked me if I understood what was said ...No , I replied...
The dude said.. that because my mother and I were strong adventist , God spared my life....
well......WE ARE NOT ADVENTIST.
Or when I requested to share my testimony on a certain high profile preachers talk show...I was denied but they asked me to become a paid partner....
Or when my local church wouldnt contribute money to help me print up copies of my testimony to give to Gang members cause it wasnt in the budget...Yet a few weeks later , They have brand new basketball goals.
Or Guidepost magazine rejecting my testimony because it was "Too harsh" for their publication.
Yes...The church has offended me in the past...and obviously , The present.
Here recently , I forgave all of my issues with the church and decided to return...3 times I tried to go back...The first time, I had a gall stone attack and went to the E.R. , 2nd time we didnt have the gas money , and on my third try , I found out a few days before that sunday, that the pastor of the church I was trying to go to , had took millions from his previous church...
This inspired the song VIOLENT FAITH.
But here is the genius of God..He knew that would infuriate me to the point , I would preach myself and step into the destiny I had been running from for so many years.
I told my wife , "If I cant trust anyone , I'll do it myself" and for the last few months , This is exactly what I have been doing...
I am not on a church bashing mission...Please do not take this the wrong way , Read this with maturity and read my words carefully.
NOT ALL CHURCHES - PASTORS - MEMBERS ARE CORRUPT.
That would be a sterotype...and I know all of the blacks who steal , the 8 mexicans in one car and the whites who are tongue kissing their dogs and calling blacks and mexicans pal ,know about sterotypes.
If you know your word , It says to try the spirits , So if your pastor is preaching honestly and with logic from the bible and your happy at your church , By all means , Praise God and stay where you feel led to stay.
If your genuinely happy serving the Lord in your church , Stay where your at...My purpose with this post is not to sway people from going to church...My purpose is to show people who seem to be confused that I don't attend church...why I dont attend church ...and for those who dont attend church , I want to show you that you can still have a realtionship with Christ where your at, until if and when he leads you to a trustworthy church.
I have church in my living room nightly..
I watch preaching nightly and have been reading daily...So I roughly get over ten hours a week of televised word , not to mention the studying I do on my own...
I have a continual debate with a friend of mine who just cant grasp why I dont go to a physical church.
If you look at the hours I put in , I already have more church at home in one week than most do in a month outside of their home.
and when and if the Lord directs me to a church , I will gladly go...
Or when he blesses me with the finances , I'll build my own.
For the time being though , I am learning everyday from the comfort of my own home.
I honestly feel , The word you get is more important than where you get it.
Would the Lord rather you participate in some fashion or none at all?
I feel the church as a whole needs a make over....
WHY do so many people refuse or hate to go to church?
There are many reasons...From fakeness , to being burnt in the past , to what they have seen or heard in the media , to false prophets who have stolen money from believers , to simply not believeing in God , to feeling unworthy , rejected , Scandals of molestation , and sometimes the demons within a person are so great , The very idea of stepping into a church makes their skin crawl....
However you look at it ,ALOT of People miss out on a relationship with Christ due to the church.
Why is a majority of the church so unhappy?
I have a few opinions...
Number one and most importantly to me is , Once people accept Christ , they start living for man.
Make sense?
Once people accept Christ , they start living for man.
The main commandments , the MAIN things...Have no other Gods before GOD and LOVE Your neighbor as yourself...The main thing is LOVE..LOVE...LOVE..Hey ! QUE? , you know what the main thing is? LOVE!
Someone gets born again , Accepts Christ and goes to church.
Now all of a sudden , they got 50 different people telling them what they cant do any longer because they now serve the Lord...
You cant dress like that ! You cant listen to That ! You cant go here! You cant talk like that !
You Cant sing like that! You cant worship like that! and countless other things you CANT do...
SO they get overwhelmed...and when they backslide , The enemy slides in..
When you accept the Lord , The things that arent healthy for you will work themselves out...
Your desire for what is out of the will of GOD will fade naturally...
GOD will handle you properly once you accept him , You will eventually live to your full potential.
When you accept him and learn to follow your spirit , You will be worked out.
NONE of us like to be told what to do and when you suddenly have people telling you what to do , the spirit of rebellion that is already embedded in us becomes amplified and the enemy moves in , hardens your heart and your gone...Let God handle people , All you need to do is PRAY for them and tell them something ONLY when the Lord directs you to speak...Anything other than that comes from your own pride or anger that their doing something you dont do any longer and still have a desire to do.
So what happens to alot of new Christians?
That person becomes what the pastor and the church want them to become and now you gotta buncha Robots who tell you how to live ...
Then that person becomes depressed and grows bitter and loses sight of what is important..LOVE and CHRIST.
Each of us on the face of this earth has a calling , a mission , a purpose , Your not just here to take up space...Alot of christians supress their true calling in life cause they are living for what the church wants and not what God wants...They live their life for the eyes of the church and not Christ...which like I said , leads to secret bitterness and having to hide what they still do in private and demonize themselves and when the truth surfaces...all hell breaks lose.
This is why the way I speak and write trips so many out , But GOD made me outspoken , it's embedded in me...If I live and speak the way certain people would like me to live and speak then you would be putting a harness on who I really am which would make me resent you...Trust me , God has taken ALOT of layers off of me in the last two years...I'll speak on that later.
Alot of people once they get in, leave it there once they get out in the parking lot.
No further reading or studying or conversating with God accept for the hour every sunday or two and we all know the people who only go during holidays....
I recently saw a documentary that suggested with church members is where Satan does some of his best work and if you look around...That appears to be true.
Some go for the Fashion show , To be seen , to show off that suit or dress.
Some go to pick up dates..
People go to church for many reasons and sadly not enough of those reasons are for a genuine love of God.
Alot of people do not go to church because of fear of rejection , They fear once their past is known the church will look down on them and alot of times , they will...
There are alot of people in church right now showing up with a mask on...like a Holy luchador.
Then they get in the parking lot , Light a square , go home and watch football , get drunk and eat hot wings....Why did you even go?
(Then they curse ROMO for choking and wish harm upon him :) Which leads them to greater sin...)
This is why I say It needs a make over , I somewhat understand How Jesus felt when he went in and started turning over tables...He was frustrated at what a place of worship had become.
This is why I am preaching a personal relationship with Christ so heavily....
If your not going to church for whatever reason, I am not here to judge you on that , I do not want you to miss out on becoming who you were born to be and having a deeper understanding of GOD because you have issues with the church...
DO NOT LET RELIGION KEEP YOU FROM BEING SPIRITUAL!
DO NOT LET RELIGION KEEP YOU FROM BEING SPIRITUAL!
DO NOT LET RELIGION KEEP YOU FROM BEING SPIRITUAL!
Come to the Lord as you are ...
Dont worry about your appearance , your past , that freakiness you did in college , that money you took from big mama , all them lies you told , those times you cheated , and whatever else the enemy throws at you to keep you from being your best...
Come as you are...Start by talking to Jesus....
The rest will work out.
I dont care if you cant see him...
I will again use this...YOU CANT SEE WIND BUT YOU CAN FEEL IT.
You cant see Aroma but you can smell it...
You have belief in what you cant see every day , The reason you believe is because one or more of your senses are touched...
The spirit of the Lord will touch your senses in the same way , If you allow it.
God is a gentlemen , He wont force himself on anyone...
If you dont want to go to church , God will bring church to you...Just invite him over.
Dont let CHURCH keep you from knowing GOD...
If you sincerely seek , You will sincerely get results....
You dont have to wait till sunday...
Whether your in church or not , The spirit is available 24/7...
Peace and Blessings
Scott Johnson
2:12 am
10/02/09
No comments:
Post a Comment