Do Man's Programs too often displace God and His plan?

[bbyrd009]

you missed it, One can know God, just as many Know Jesus. far to many only know about God and about Jesus. For one to RX His testimony from God He must know God. It is He who gave it to me.

ha you don't know that, you just say that, same as me. It doesn't mean anything, other than you are convinced.

 

[mjrhealth]

ha you don't know that, you just say that, same as me. It doesn't mean anything, other than you are convinced.

Convinced, when one stands in front of God, how can one not be convinced. You really do not understand what your are missing out on. Jesus gave so much so we could have life upon this earth, but mens religions deny it and its power.

See my Beeker character, just dumfounded as to how bad it really is.

 

[amadeus]

Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit men continue to walk in their own wisdom, guidance and strength. It's a pitiful disaster. Denominations continue to instill fear and prejudice in church goers against the very word of God. They deny that being born of the spirit and being baptized in the Holy Spirit are two distinct separate events. I am forever grateful that Jesus came and saved me and baptized me in His Holy Spirit outside of church walls. Outside of denominational traditions, pressures and doctrinal statements. He had His reasons.

As a consequence churches blindly stumble along without the close guidance they COULD have. Separate Saul and Barnabas to me the Holy Spirit spoke to those praying. How wonderful! Answer to their prayers. Acts 13:2

I don't know what all believe but I can read the simple commands in the Bible. Until professed believers, like those in Acts chapter 19, submit themselves to Jesus and ask Him to step in and baptize them in His Holy Spirit they will continue to fail in their own strength and fleshly wisdom.

Brother Jude mentions those not having the spirit in vs. 19.

Jude 1:18-20 KJVS
How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. [19] These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. [20] But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,

Fighting spiritual battles with carnal weapons is useless.

Amen, my good brother, amen!

 

[amadeus]

A friend of mine said to me today.." I looked around at Church on Sunday and sadly noticed that many of the old ones had died, but no new one are taking their place..Our Church is dying."

Well one thing we do know is..The Church is not dying..because it is His people..His body.

Absolutely it is not dying, but I suspect that too many of those who rode along in the high places were doing just that and when the trials arrived and the high places were reduced those "ride alongers" were by the wayside.

Too much programming and not enough getting into the Word and the Spirit. Of course, even getting into the Spirit has been a problem for many. They simply thought they were in the Spirit, when really they had missed something important. God is especially gentle with us, I believe, when we are new and untried and know little of the Word. But, eventually we do need to move from baby talk to the meat of the matter, the meat of God's Word, that is. Our physical bodies do get tired, but our spiritual "new man" of us never does. When we are feeling too tired to reach out out to God in surrender and for help, is it not our "old man" that we are listening to once again?

Yes, I remember those times of so long ago well. I was always in the middle of the dancing in the Spirit believers. I still want to be, but my old flesh does limit me. My legs work and my back work, but my lungs hinder me. I will dance like David danced with all of my might and in God's Spirit, but when I get out of breath which happens much more quickly these days, I am forced to back up. Still, sometimes, God will take me a little farther and I know that I am dancing beyond my means, because God has provided me with more than I alone had to give.

Our Sunday morning services still run from 2 to 3 hours usually, but there was a time when they lasted several hours and by the time I went home I was physically exhausted but spiritually full. Once in a while I will be moved by the Spirit to go ahead and dance before the Lord anyway, but it is seldom that others will join me unless we have younger visitors present. We are a physical old people in our little assembly and many of them are older than me. I understand why... but does God? Yes, He does, but how much mercy will He give us?

The 60's for me were my time in the world. I attended university and traveled the world in uniform for Uncle Sam. God was seldom foremost in my mind. In 1972 I married my present and only wife. In 1976 when our marriage was crumbling, God drew us in and I began reading the Bible for the first time in my life. He saved our marriage. We both received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and tongue talking became a common language for us. We were never in an assembly that really moved out much from home into the things of the Lord, but we grew in God. There was one long space of backsliding but then in 2002 we were back and have never again had such a serious faltering.

Are we alone? At times it seems so, but then we get together with believers and He encourages us yet one more time and we are moved onto greater heights still...

No, the Church has not changed. Some of the dead wood may be shaking and even falling off, but the dead wood is not this dying frame of flesh and bone in which we live. That frame is dying for everyone. Jesus said,

"And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" John 11:26

I believe it! I am not dying in the things of God!

When the old man of me gets hungry and thirsty for the garbage of this world, starve him.

When the new man gets hungry, let him eat.

When the new man get thirsty, let him drink.

"...Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." John 6:53

If our local pastors and ministers are not giving us to eat of His Flesh and to drink of His Spirit, then go directly to the Master.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matt 5:6

Our "floor" at our services is still an open one and will certainly remain so while our old pastor lives. At 92 he is weakening, but he refuses to quit or retire...although some would like for him to do so. At any of our services anyone can get up and speak, even if it a visitor who doesn't believe. The only thing is... anyone who does speak his/her mind or heart may find himself/herself being questioned by the ministers or other present. This sounds good and it is, but too much of the strength lies in the heart of that physically diminishing old man. I support him strongly, but it is God that keeps him going. He just came back a meeting in Mexico last month and within a few days went to a meeting in Kentucky. [We live in Oklahoma.] Last week he drove to McAlester, OK to minister to believers there. Then on Friday he drove to Kansas City, MO for another meeting. He drives more than most much younger men including me. He only goes on the Lord's business.

Now, my wife and I stand firmly behind him, but when he is gone, we will be looking to the Lord for directions. The programmers are here ready to take it, but they have to wait until that old man of God is gone. He received the baptism of the Holy Ghost in 1936 and has been going strong on the Lord's side ever since. How can I at a mere 73 years of age complain that I am too old to continue?

Give God the glory!

Our pastor will only step in when the person who has taken the floor has taken a direction which he really believes is way out of line with God. This seldom happens. Then he will not rebuke the person, but rather ask him some questions according to scripture and allow the person to answer them and then continue if he can. Not too much of even that happening any more because most of the ones who know enough to answer his questions usually already agree with him. The visitors don't realize how much freedom we have...or they have to speak their hearts. So they mostly remain quiet. Who is leading our hearts? Who is leading our worship services?

The control belongs in God's hands for He alone is always able, but the programs of men have in many places tied God's hands. God's hands work through all of His people, not just the ones with titles and sitting on an elevated platform.

All of the answers should be God's answers and He is always willing to share them when they are needed and when someone asks of Him. Lots of God's people walk with God, like Elijah did, thinking they are all alone... when the "seven thousand" who are also serving God really do remain.

For now I have a physical place away from my physical home where God is allowed to meet with His people and His people are allowed to surrender to His Spirit without being rebuked. I know of a few other such places not so close geographically but they really are too few. Perhaps it is that God will use His people wherever they are or wherever He leads them without physically assembling always with others who also are open to His Spirit. But being together in His name can be so good...

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matt 18:20

 

[Helen]

Our "floor" at our services is still an open one and will certainly remain so while our old pastor lives. At 92 he is weakening, but he refuses to quit or retire...although some would like for him to do so. At any of our services anyone can get up and speak, even if it a visitor who doesn't believe. The only thing is... anyone who does speak his/her mind or heart may find himself/herself being questioned by the ministers or other present. This sounds good and it is, but too much of the strength lies in the heart of that physically diminishing old man. I support him strongly, but it is God that keeps him going. He just came back a meeting in Mexico last month and within a few days went to a meeting in Kentucky. [We live in Oklahoma.] Last week he drove to McAlester, OK to minister to believers there. Then on Friday he drove to Kansas City, MO for another meeting. He drives more than most much younger men including me. He only goes on the Lord's business.

I am so happy to hear this ...its so good to know that there are still some oasis's
around with the amount of freedom you have mentioned here. Yay!!
This gives me joy...I just wish we could find something like that here in Calgary.
We have looked, and have asked people...but no one has heard of such meeting here.
Bless you both....H

 

[bbyrd009]

At any of our services anyone can get up and speak, even if it a visitor who doesn't believe.

sounds Mennonite, i go to a great Mennonite church in Colo
great post

 

[bbyrd009]

We have looked, and have asked people...but no one has heard of such meeting here.

congrats, you're hired

 

[amadeus]

sounds Mennonite, i go to a great Mennonite church in Colo
great post

I certainly do believe that God has a people today. Too many people want to say, my people are the ones. I wish I could say that there were none among those I with whom I attend services that said that, but... I can speak for myself on that and for some others I know.

The good thing it that so far, I am not put down or rebuked because I do not agree with everything that everyone else says in my own assemble. I was told to sit down in another Oklahoma assembly because the pastor there did not like what He was hearing from me. Of the ones I know he would an exception in that regard.

If God is really in it, is He not well able to lead where He wants to lead. The problem always is that someone else, [other than God] will want to help God out and will actually get in His way. There always some who want to lead and when given the opportunity will simply take it... effectively leaving God behind.

There is a group locally with a Mennonite or Amish appearance to them about which I know almost nothing. We see the women particularly sometimes in the stores. They are quite distinctive and our pastor knows quite a bit about them. Several years ago several of them visited our assembly, but that was a while before we began to attend there ourselves. They are neither Mennonites nor Amish, but they do have a very distinctive clothes. The women never wear anything but long dresses with long sleeves which have certain uniformity in color and style. They always have some type of covering on their heads.

In our assembly the regular women usually all wear long dresses but they have no uniform patterns or colors.

My wife has not owned or worn a pair of pants in a great many years. But, while that started to please me, it eventually became her own her conviction from God. She would never look down at anyone who did not meet the standard that she holds for herself. She remember where she came from. She would help anyone who needed or sought help. She was doing that when I met her even though at the time she attended church no where and the words that often came out of her mouth were worse than my own ever was. [My only period of regular use of profanity was during the time I spent in Viet Nam and the Dominican Rep in the military.] God has changed the bad things and improved on her desire to help people. Sometimes she is so helpful that it hurts us, but there are certainly worse things she could be doing.

Once a lady who had been out of church for years wanted to return and in talking to my pastor [this was before I knew him] him if she had to wear those long old granny dresses. He answered that that was not his decision to make. She should consult with God and get her answer from Him.

Many of our lady visitors wear pants and no one, including our pastor, would say anything to them about it unless the amount of flesh exposed was just too much. We cannot and should not decide for others everything that they should or should not do. For me this includes ministers of God, but not everyone agrees with me on that point. Unfortunately, we are people too and sometimes we have to open our mouths when it would be better to keep them closed.

 

[bbyrd009]

They are neither Mennonites nor Amish

ha i love Anarchists, i usually find them on Craigslist when in a new town looking for real food, meet them at Farmer's Markets and etc. I don't pay sales tax if i can possibly avoid it, and hardly ever go into a grocery store, unless maybe for lighter fluid or something lol. Can't get raw milk anywhere else hardly