Trying to Find Church to Attend (cont.)
Pastor asking me not to attend his church
I was looking for a church group to attend. I called and spoke with pastor at a non-denominational church called "Potter's House." (Clovis, NM, USA) I told the pastor I was considering coming to visit at his church and I was looking for a church to attend. Pastor said he would come to my house and talk with me about his church.
I can't recall what pastor said when he came to see me. I just spoke freely by the Holy Spirit.
I was planning to visit his church the next Sunday. I bought an appropriate dress to wear. And I was very excited over getting to go to a church group.
On Friday of that week, I received a phone call from the pastor. He said: "You know that thing about your coming to our church. I've decided that I don't want you to come to our church."
I was shocked!
(There was no plan to speak at his church. I was just going to listen as other people in congregation listen.)
A few days after this, my doorbell rang. It was a group of people from "Potter's House". They had literature and had obviously been touring my neighborhood inviting people to come to their church.
They handed me their literature and invited me to come to their church.
I told them their pastor asked me not to come to their church.
They were bewildered. Without another word, they left my house.
When I was on radio, I received a strange letter from a pastor in Colorado. (One of my radio stations at that time was in Denver.)
In his letter, pastor said: "Don't ever try to come to our church."
I'd never even heard of him or his church ...
Another pastor told me he was not going to stand in the church door and keep me out but he didn't want me to come to his church.
Certainly I didn't try to force my way in. I've never done such a thing.
I was on radio warning the church in the area where he was located.
Trying to attend Baptist church
In trying to find a church I could attend, I visited a Baptist church on a Sunday morning and again that night.
That morning some things happened which I knew were wrong. Again that evening things were wrong. I began feeling worse and worse as I visited that church.
After the Sunday night service, I told pastor I felt I needed to speak with him and asked if I could make appointment.
He said he had time to speak to me that night if I wanted to do so. I did want to. So we went into his office.
I told him I had been in the morning service, and of course I was there in the evening service.
In the morning service, they turned the service over to the youth group who had just returned from a Baptist retreat.
A young man (high school age) spoke to the congregation. He said he had a film to show us of their retreat. He began the film.
In the film, girls were running about with hair curlers in hair. Boys were slapping each other and the various girls on rear end with towels. Boys were doing boy things. No scripture was ever quoted. Nothing of Bible was mentioned. Nothing of God was mentioned. The film was just teenagers acting like teenagers.
My dad's 1/2 brother's wife was a member of that church group and was at those services and sat by me. She said to me as they played that film, "I could do without this."
I told the pastor that when we gather as the church Paul said everything should be done to edification. (I Cor. 14)
Pastor said: "Well ... I liked seeing it."
Also at that service pastor quoted the following scripture:
Mt. 17 ... this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
But the way pastor presented this scripture was by saying,"This kind goest not out but by prayer."
As I sat there and heard him say this, I quietly said, "and fasting." (nobody could hear me say this except for Aline who sat next to me.)
The pastor kept speaking ... and amazingly again he quoted this same scripture but he said again, "This kind goest not out but by prayer." (as I quietly added "and fasting" Aline joined me in quietly saying, "and fasting.")
Pastor kept speaking and once again he quoted this scripture as follows: "This kind goest not out but by prayer." (Aline and I both together quietly said: "and fasting".)
I pointed this out to that pastor. He became very angry and replied: "I've been doing this 23 years and I know exactly what I am doing." (What he was doing was taking away from the word of God.)
I said: "I think I've said all to you that I need to say." I got up and left, never to return again to that group.
Had this pastor responded in shame over omitting scripture it would have made a very big difference.
When things are wrong in the church service, we cannot stay there. If we try to stay in such a place, we will fall asleep.
If it is not truth, we must leave that group. It is like sitting in a room with poison gas coming toward us. Eventually it will kill us and we will be as spiritually dead as the other people in the group who have already been killed spiritually by the wrong teaching coming from the pastor.
It is like leaven working its way through the whole lump.
Trying to attend Church of Christ group
One Sunday morning, I decided to visit a Church of Christ group. I was looking for a church to attend.
It was Sunday school class of about 8 or 9 adults and pastor was teaching.
He was in Heb. 11 and quoted the following scripture:
7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
After reading this scripture, pastor asked: "Did Noah really condemn the world?"
I replied, "Yes ... because Noah obeyed God and because of this obedience the world was condemned because they did not believe God and they did not obey God.
There was dead silence from pastor and the 8 or 9 people in the room.
No one wanted to speak to me after that.
I didn't return to that group.
Trying to attend an Assembly of God group
At one point in hunting a church group to attend I decided to go to a small Assembly of God group. But before going I called the pastor and met with him. I can't recall anything either of us said.
On that Sunday morning after meeting with the pastor, I did attend his group.
Pastor was so terrified of me that I could tell he was afraid to speak. He just read from a prepared sheet of paper and quoted scripture. I felt pastor was trying to play it safe. But in doing such, you leave faith in God and quench the Spirit of God.
On the wall of the assembly room, there was hanging a picture of a long haired man. It is that picture that many use and call "Jesus". It is not a picture of Jesus. There are no photos of Jesus. There were no cameras at that time. It is just a human pretending to be Jesus.
I did call this pastor and told him it would be good to take down this photo for it is a form of "graven image" and it is also false since there were no cameras in Jesus' day. I don't recall pastor responding.
Deut. 7 ... 5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. 6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
Deut. 7 ... 25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. 26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
Deut. 12 ... 3And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. 4Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.
II Kings 17 ... 38And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods. 39 But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. 40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. 41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
II Chron. 34 ... 7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.
Psa. 78 ... 58 For they provoked Him (God) to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images.
Psa. 97 ... 7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship HIM, all ye gods.
Isa. 30 ... 22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
Isa. 42 ... 8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Jere. 8 ... Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
Jere. 50 ... 38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
Jere. 51 ... 52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
Hosea 11 ... 2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
Micah 1 ... 7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.
Micah 5 ... 13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. 14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. 15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.
It is not a good idea to hang graven images on your wall or keep graven images statues on your porch. (or in your heart)
Jesus said ... Jn. 4 ... 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Trying to attend another Assembly of God church group
It was a Wednesday night and I decided to visit another Assembly of God church group. That night there were 150-200 people in congregation and pastor was speaking to the group.
Pastor started speaking about Jimmy Swaggart and the scandal where Swaggart was found with a prostitute.
Pastor said: "We should pray for brother Swaggart."
In a very soft voice, I said: "He (Swaggart) should be put out of the church."
The woman sitting in front of me apparently heard what I said though it was very soft. She turned and glared at me.
What the apostle Paul said to do when a "brother" is a fornicator ...
I Cor. 5 ...1It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. 2And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Paul didn't say to pray for such a "brother" ... nor did Paul say for us to counsel such.
Paul said: put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
A few weeks after Swaggart cried on TV and said he had sinned and asked for forgiveness, he was caught with another prostitute.
This time when the policeman stopped him with the prostitute in the car, Swaggart said: "It's flat out none of your business." (Report from Wikipedia Internet Encyclopedia)
I didn't return to that Assembly of God church again.
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