The moving of God (was: tithing part 2)

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Disclaimer:  This post has a lot of strong accusations in it towards
             the ministry in general and the state of the church in how
             it's gone from a fire-breathing all powerful body of believers
             to a lukewarm respository of self-righteous, self-seeking,
             unserving ministers.  In no way am I implying that anybody
             on the list fits the bill described below.  There are also 
             words to the effect that describe the luxuries that the ministry
             enjoys much these days.  Which, by itself, it isn't wrong.
             Although it's highly questionable when the ministers have a
             luxury *gain* through the giving of tithes and offereings 
             when the church can't afford to buy instructional materials
             for everyone to benefit.  This post also talks of the current
             deadness of the saints and ministers.  I've often wondered why
             the early church saw wonderful signs, wonders, and miracles and
             yet the modern church is *void* of it.  In no way am I implying
             that any of the members of H-F are in a church such as this.
             Just a *general* comment about churches in general.  

At 02:41 PM 2/22/98 EST, Bro Chris Sterrett wrote:
>>What the Apostolic Movement needs is several Godly people that are
>>willing to pay the price to earn the proper academic creditials to 
>>write textbooks.
>>
>>It takes much work and money to earn a PHD or a ThD.  This is one of my
>>personal soapboxes, the Apostolic Movement needs Scholars.

>When did Man's wisdom become more important than the annointed wisdom
>given by inspiration from God?  The Best minds cannot compete with
>Blessed minds no matter how many PHD's ThD's, or ABC's  are after 
>their name.

[good scripture snipped]

Just talked about this in Sunday school this morning.  My pastor and his
wife, Bro Barry Cramer and Sis Kay Cramer came into church for the first
time about 30 years ago when it the church was changing from *unlearned*
men with the power of God to a Bible School based crank-out-them-preachers
kinda assembly line process with no power.

They saw the old guard as the preachers, pastors, and evangelists were
just down home real people that you could talk to on the street.  They'd
dig ditches with you when you need a new well.  They'd help you with your
car when it needs brakes.  They'd serve the saints openly.  They'd be true
servants of people.  The power of God followed them around all of the time
because they lift up Jesus all of the time.

Since then, the mechanism that's in place now is a Bible college where all
of these *called* preachers are no longer servants of saints.  But those
puffed up with knowledge without power.  They want to be seen as the preacher
in a several hundred dollar suit.  They want to be seen as a minister walking
the self-righteous ministerial walk with a bible carried a certain way that
wreaks with self-holiness.  They want to be seen driving their big Lincoln
Town Cars.  They want all of the frills and glory of being a preacher which
ultimately becomes their reward for now.  They won't get a reward then, when
God asks them why they didn't minister to someone when they were in need or
hurting.  Or why they quenched the Spirit when God wanted to do a mighty 
work on a particular night.  They don't allow the free flowing Spirit of God
to move through the service in it's spontenaity like God does so well.  They
have to have ALL things under their control when God is the one that needs 
to have those reigns.

They wonder why apostolic churches have 2-5% of their membership on-fire 
and saved at any one time.  Even though everybody's has repented, been
baptized in Jesus name and filled with the Holy Ghost with the initial 
evidence of speaking in another tongue as the Spirit of God gives the 
utterance.

The services are dead.  The ministers are dead.  The pastors don't *know*
God and don't have an intimate relationship with God as they do with their
spouses.  There's no fearing the ministry beause of the different scandals
they've been openly caught -OR- the lack of faith the minister has as he
preaches on faith and how God will provide for everything the saint has 
need for while he drives away from church in a Cadillac in need of nothing
when the saints go poor and give their money to the church out of obedience.  
The ministers tell the saints to *pray about it* and God will move and the
situations are corrected.  People want to become ministers because it's a
status thing and not because they want to get dirty with peoples problems.

>I wonder how many at Azusa street were Biblical Scholars, or carrying
>around degrees in those days......I wonder how long Paul went to Bible
>school.....

That's because the book *learned* ministers aren't led by the Holy Ghost.
Their services are like a rigid bridge that doesn't bend when the wind
blows on it.  God couldn't move in those services because he's not scheduled
to move.  Yet, there are those that have services that is flexible to the
breeze of the Holy Ghost.  Like an expansion bridge with cables and concrete
in how it flexes and gives with the wind.  So must the churches of today 
need to be.

Paul was educated the same amount of time that the other apostles were
educated by the Lord.  Threee (maybe 3.5) years.  

Bro Tyler
--
 ______ ___   __ _____ __    __   __  __ tnally@iquest.net tnally@mcp.com
|_    _|   \ |  |  _  |  |  |  |  \ \/ / tgnally@prairienet.org
  |  | |  |\\|  |  _  |  |__|  |__ |  |  T. Nally - "A M.I.M.E. is a
  |__| |__| \___|_| |_|_____|_____||__|  a terrible thing to waste."