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Often the godhead discussion is
used as a ploy against believers
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If a child does
not grow into the image of his/her parents, something is wrong with
that child!
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The leaders have caused my people to
err, and they are destroyed that follow them!
If the blind shall lead the blind, they both will fall into a ditch!
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If God is not in a church, why are you there?
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Who is responsible for the retardation
among the people of God? The leaders are. But so are the people who
follow them.
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The Word of Truth Ministries
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Retarded and
Developmentally Delayed Saints: | |
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Many ministers are not preaching the whole truth of God's word. Because a minister preaches the oneness of Christ, (and many do that very badly, albeit frequently) or because he may baptize in Jesus name according to Acts 2:38 and believes in receiving the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4, that does not mean that he is preaching the whole truth. This is the great deception of most Jesus name ministers upon God's people: they preach Acts 2:38 and they rattle off something they usually don't understand about the Divinity of Christ, then they go no further. In fact, the godhead discussion is often used as a ploy to make believers think they are actually getting the truth and that the minister is actually versed in the scriptures. But were they preaching the truth and were they versed in scripture, they would move beyond Baptism in Jesus name, Jesus is God, and they would go to helping saints become Christ.(1) A true minister of God MUST declare ALL the council of God if he is to preach the truth of God's word. [Acts 20:20, 27] Short of declaring all the council of God he is little more than sounding brass and tinkling symbols in his preaching, albeit he is worse in his effect! [1Cor. 13] Because there is widespread malfeasance and misfeasance of ministers when it comes to preaching God's truth, many who supposedly are saved and have been saved (or more precisely stated, have been in the church) for years, are still babes in Christ; this includes ministers as well. [Heb. 5:13-14] That state of being babes after many years of being in the church renders them retarded or delayed in development as children.(2) And this is a widespread state of many Apostolic Faith and other church members. This state exists because church leaders are unskillful in the word of truth; they, too, are babes and blind leaders leading blind saints to nowhere. [Heb. 5:12; Mat. 15:14] This state of immaturity after many years of being born again signals that they are, as Paul says, carnal. [1 Cor. 3:1-3] If my child is perfectly formed at birth, but that child does not grow and form into the image of me or his mother, there is certainly arrested development in that child. In short, the child is retarded, ill, under-developed, NOT NORMAL! As this is true in the natural, this is true in the spiritual as well. We are commanded to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; that can only be done by eating the proper saint food. [2Pet. 3:18; 1 Pet. 2:2] Indeed, we understand spiritual things by understanding natural things. The Apostle Paul stated this principle of analysis in Romans 1:19-21. He states that saints can understand and SEE invisible things through our understanding of things that are visible--the natural. This is true for two reasons: One, God has fashioned all things according to a pattern, as He told Moses to be careful that he do all things according to the pattern shown him in the mount. [Heb.8:5] His pattern is lineally delineated: first the natural, then the spiritual. [1Cor.15:46-47] ] Both are God's patterns, and both are made in the same likeness because they are made by one maker, GOD! [John 1:3] Second, God is in ALL His creation and His voice can be heard (for one who has a spiritual ear to hear His voice) in the heavens and all speech and languages throughout HIS creation. [Psa. 19:1-4] Paul was aware of this principle; in Acts 17:28, on Mars Hill, Paul quoted Greek poets and philosophers, declaring God's voice was in their voice. So positive was he about this that Paul wrote Greek philosophy into holy writ--For we are also his offspring. God is throughout His creation--every inch, every fiber, every iota, God is there, and there is no place one can look and not see God, if that person has a eye keen enough to behold the glory of God!. This is true because all things and all peoples were made by Him. Hence, His fingerprints, His voice, indeed, His very DNA is everywhere in His creation and creatures. [John 1:3] Once ministers who claim to be godly accept this truth, they will dispense with the ignorance many tenaciously cling to, as if it were a badge of honor. Instead, it is a badge of dishonor and a defiance of the word of God. [Prov. 4:5-7; Hos. 4:6; 1 Cor.1:30] As surely as a child is retarded when he does not develop after birth, one who is born again into the Kingdom of God but does not grow is also retarded. And be assured, Christ is not coming back after a retarded church; he is coming back for a glorious church without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing, but it should be holy and without blemish; he is coming back for a church that is in His likeness--people of God who have sanctified themselves WHOLLY and HOLY unto him; people who have gone on from babes in Christ unto perfection. [Mat. 5:48; Eph. 5:27; Phil. 3:12-15;Heb. 6:1-3] Because Christ is coming back for this perfect church, peopled by perfect saints, not retarded or arrested in their development saints, he has given us the wherewithal to be perfect; he has given some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, and some teachers; for the PERFECTION of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ, till we all come to 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 fullness of Christ.... [Eph. 4:11-16] The purpose of the new birth is so one can be born out of this natural world and be born into the Kingdom of God so that he/she can grow into the likeness of Christ. No child is a mature and full person until that child has grown, been taught proper social and familial behavior to be introduced into polite society. Without the new birth, one cannot see the Kingdom of God or cannot understand and appreciate what I am talking about when I say the Kingdom of God. [John 3:5-7] Jesus did not start preaching or administering the things of God until he was at a proper age. We are born again to become perfect saints of God. That is a process that must be taught in order to be lived! So if you have not been taught perfection as a command of God and how to live the perfect life of Christ, you cannot and never will live it. Furthermore, it will never cross your mind that you are obligated to go on unto perfection. Consider the disciples of John the Baptist, in Acts 19: Paul came across these men and asked if they had received the Spirit since they believed. They answered, "We have not so much as heard if there be any Holy Ghost." When Paul examined their belief and their baptism, he saw flaws; so he taught them the way of truth more perfectly, he baptized them correctly, and then they received the Holy Spirit--a life they had not been taught and had not experienced; yet they were believers! These disciples could not live the life they had not so much as heard of or had never been taught. Furthermore, they had no consciousness of their precarious and flawed position. That is the way of many who think they are getting the truth of God's word from ministers who are themselves only babes in Christ, and carnal in their behavior. Saints cannot achieve this state, which they are commanded to achieve in Mat. 5:48, and hence live that life until the ministries of Ephesians 4:11 are at work in the church, and when they are in operation, perfection is taught, it is demonstrated, and achieved by saints. Let no man deceive you, these ministries are not found in ONE man--NO, not your pastor! All of these ministries must be allowed and encouraged to function in God's church. But as long as the church is the pastor's church, God will have no part there, and NEITHER should a saint of the Living God. The story is told of a young Black soldier who was away from home--somewhere down South. He was accustomed to going to church on Sundays. A particular Sunday, he went to a local church in the South, and they politely met him at the door and announced that they did not permit Black people to worship with them in their assembly. He was saddened and went home, praying and telling God of his great disappointment. And that night in a dream, God asked why he was crying. He responded that he wasn't allowed in the church. God said to him, "Since they built that church, they haven't allowed me in either." Most of these churches have little to do with God or His word but all to do with man because they are not God's churches. If a church is governed by the pastor's rules of order and not by the word of God, God is not there. If you are pointed to a man and not to God as the ultimate authority in a church, God is not there. If the word of God is not elevated and preached wholly and spiritually, God is not there. If the leadership of that church is in sin and tilt toward the things of this world--your money--God is not there. And if God is not there, WHY ARE YOU THERE? As long as Jesus Name ministers ONLY preach Acts 2:38; 2:4, and the godhead, saints will be born (that's what Acts 2:38 and Acts 2:4 will do for them--get them into the Kingdom of God so they can grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ--grow to perfection) and they will die a retarded death. This condition is seen all over Apostolic Churches, or better still, churches that were once Apostolic. There are many churches with church-goers who have "been in church" for 10-60 years, and they do not look like Christ, sound like Christ, behave like Christ, think like Christ. How is this possible? Have they no understanding that their behavior and growth are under-par, not age appropriate behavior? Have they no strength of Christ? A child grows and gets stronger; most of the church-goers have not grown; they have only aged, and these are two different things. A child is born into the world, he/she develops and grows to maturity; he/she grows into his/her parents and their image. As a rule, a father's son will look like and behave like his father, if he is a father and that is his son. A tree is known by the fruit it bears. But who is responsible for the retardation of God's people? Who is responsible for the killing of God's people? The leaders. God says so: "The leaders have caused the people to err, and they are destroyed that follow them." [Isa 9:16] The leaders are causing this retardation, but the people will not be saved because the leaders led them astray. The prophet said that those who are misled and caused to err WILL be destroyed as well as those who lead them wrong. Jesus said it this way: "If the blind lead the blind, they BOTH fall into a ditch." [Mat. 15:14] God has allowed no excuses for the leaders or for those who are misled. Notice the example of this tragedy found in 2 Samuel 3. Abner had killed Asahel, brother of Joab, in a fair fight--they both were soldiers. [2 Sam. 2:18] He understand the blood for blood code of ethics that reined among the Children of Israel at that time. One day he went to King David to unite the divided kingdom of Israel, and David sent him away in peace before Joab returned. One of David's men informed Joab that Abner had come into the king and communed, and David had sent him away in peace. Joab used trickery and wooed Abner back by use of King David's name. And as they walked and talked, Joab put his arm around Abner as if he was a friend, they were talking about the king's business, and it was irrelevant that Abner had killed Asahel. But while they walked, supposedly to deal with the king's business, Joab plunged his sword into Abner and killed him. The matter troubled David greatly; Abner could have united a divided kingdom, but Joab would not allow the business of the kingdom to supersede his personal vengeance. David lamented Abner and chided Joab as a hard man, too hard for him. David made it clear that the killing of Abner was not his desire. He said concerning Abner, A great man dies today; Abner, died as a fool dies? Thy hands were not tied. Abner died as a fool dies; so died Abner. David said he died as a fool dies because he knew the blood for blood code that existed, and he should have protected himself against Joab, but he didn't and his hands to defend himself were not tied; he could have and should have defended himself. He too was a great warrior. [2 Sam.3] Each person is responsible for his own salvation and must work it out with fear and trembling. Paul said, "Quit you like men!" On Guard! The error of most Apostolic Faith people today is to be led by blind leaders when there is sight available! Martin Luther found the Bible (Book of the Lord) chained within the church study. He had only seen portions of the scripture, as the Roman Catholic Church leadership allowed only portions. Upon finding the whole Bible, much like Hilkiah found the book of God, he went back until he had hand-copied the whole book. He wanted truth and was unwilling to allow just anything that came out of the minister's mouth to feign itself as truth; he proved all things. There is a cost to truth for those who are serious about it. [John 8:32; 1 Thes. 5: 21] When having an entire book of God's word, he studied it and what was being taught, and he realized the errors, mistakes, and the LIES! Thereafter he challenged the established Catholic Church on their mistakes and lies, without fear, he pinned his 95 Theses on the wall concerning the practices and teachings of the church at Roman based on his understanding of the word of God. They could not meet his challenge. What are you doing about the truth of God's word in your church? Do you think that since your church is baptizing in Jesus Name and talking the Divinity of Christ that minister is preaching the whole, saint-perfecting truth? Think again! A minister MUST declare ALL THE COUNCIL of God to preach the truth of God's word! This is an awesome task; that is why he must give himself to study of the word of God and to prayer to feed the people of God. [Acts 6:2-4] Many preachers do no more than serve tables, but the apostles said that it is not reasonable for a true minister of God to serve table--raising money; the true minister of God should give himself to the study of God's word and prayer. Look how far the church has gone from the word. Preachers have become little more than tithe collectors and businessmen who wait money tables. The Bible says that's unreasonable. Many of you reading this message are malnourished and have not had a good, holy, and inspired word of God so long that when a minister gets up and becomes emotional, you think he is preaching God's word and is anointed. He is simply emotional, and if you think that his emotions are inspiration, think again and study God's word more. God told his ministers to feed the lambs and the sheep. Yet many ministers are only babes themselves and need to be taught; still more ministers have never been called of God, and need to be saved; then there are those who were once-called of God, but have gone so far away from God's word, they need to be renewed back to God; these types of ministers can feed no one. But for many, theirs is not to feed but to be fed of the substance of the poor saints until they are increased beyond measure. Look at the number of large ministers in God's house; they take the fatted calf unto themselves. But they have not taken meat of the Lord's house, only the money of poor saints. They think they are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing--they have many expensive cars, they live in gated communities, and they have the people of God's money fraudulently in their bank accounts--yet they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. And since they are blind, these words seem foreign and this ministry extreme. But whether this ministry seems extreme or not, God counsels you to buy His gold tried in the fire, He counsels you to put on the whole armor of God, taking on white raiment to cloth your nakedness that you are unaware is showing, He counsels you to allow these words from Him to anoint your eyes as a good eye salve and balm that you may see and move from where you are to where God wants you to be--that you may grow to perfection and away from foolishness. [Rev. 3:17-18] The things of this world will perish with the using, and you will perish with them. Buy of God those things that perish not! Brothers and sisters, it takes more than Acts 2:38 and the Godhead to feed God's people! I have seen weak ministers who think they know the Godhead offer that meal, flawed though it is, too often to God's people. And the people who drink this milk assume it to be meat. (3) God demands that his children, born unto Him, grow into Him, into His express image. It will take all the council of God (meat) for that to happen. When Paul was leaving the church at Ephesus, [Acts 20] he stated that he had lived a Godly life; he had not been a charlatan, but a holy and true minister of God; and he had declared unto them ALL the council of God and held back nothing that was profitable to them. That is what Jesus meant when he said feed my lambs and my sheep; that is what Peter meant when he said feed the flock of God. [John 21:15-16;1 Pet. 5:2] Much of what is given to church people as gospel and the word of God does not deserve the name and certainly is not proper food for God's people. But because saints have been fed weakness from ministers unskillful in the word of righteousness, they are being weakened and harmed. More than harmed, they are being killed, and they don't know it! They come to birth, but they are killed once they are born through malnutrition and retardation. But your hands, like Abner's, are not tied, so why should you die as a fool dies? Who is responsible for this retardation and death of God's people? The leaders are! But so are the the saints who follow them. [Isa. 9:16; Mat. 15:14] Why do you think God has brought you to this message of truth today? So you can read it and go back to the beggarly elements of the world or your pastor's church? Think again! You are responsible for your salvation. []
________________ 2.) To be developmentally delayed or retarded is to be imperfect and with spots and blemishes. We have been given all that is necessary to grow into him (perfection) We have been given the command and the wherewithal: Mat. 5:48; Heb. 6:1-3; Eph. 4:11-15. I often cite the Apostolic Faith denomination because I was saved in that church after many years as a Baptist, and I know that far too many Apostolic Faith members are unreasonably arrogant and smug about the spiritual light they have or once had and find it difficult to see themselves in the sin many of them are often in, as they look outward toward others, thinking themselves alright. 3.) "He that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness. He is a babe. But solid meat belongs to those who are of full age, who my reason of use have their senses exercised to discern...." Many ministers are babes, having not studied the word well enough to leaders others into being any more than they are--spiritual babes. In natural life, how long can one remain a babe and not be considered retarded or developmentally delayed? The natural things often enable us to understand the spiritual [Roma. 1:19-21] That is why Jesus spoke in parables; so we could see how to understand spiritual realities. Note this: if Christ is coming back for a church without spot, wrinkle, blemish, or any such thing, retardation is certainly one of those things. Yet I have seen members having been in the church for years and have not grown in Christ, as we are commanded to do. Yet they have rationalized that lack of growth through such argument as, "We grow at different levels and rates." Whereas that is true, there is a standard quotient by which one is measured concerning normality and retardation and retardation can clearly be identified. That is also true spiritually. But we often use this flawed rationality to cripple ourselves. Christ is not returning for a cripple church! |
The Truth of God