After
leaving the Catholic church I went with friends to a couple of Baptist
churches periodically. Although people were friendly at these churches
and the music was lively, these churches seemed "dead" to me.
One
day in the early 1980's I went to the store and saw a large tent in the parking lot. In
the tent a man was preaching from the Bible. I went in and listened for a
while and found what he said to be interesting. He spoke of the
difference between those who believe in Jesus mentally and those who
believe from the heart. My understanding was this man was an
evangelist and was holding meetings for only a few days.
Several
months later I began an internship at a counseling center for
teenagers. Some of my co-workers there spoke of the new non-denominational church they were
going to and I recognized that the man they referred to as the pastor
was the evangelist I had heard at the tent meeting, Richard Hogue.
I
was told that he and his wife had wanted to settle down in one place to
raise their family so he stopped doing evangelist work and "became" a
pastor and started this new church called Metrochurch.
(At
the time I didn't know Ephesians 4 in which we're told that Jesus gives
ministry assignments. A person doesn't decide to start or stop being
an apostle, or prophet, or evangelist, or pastor or teacher. )
Ephesians 4:11-12 And HE (Jesus) gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.
I began attending Metrochurch in Edmond, Oklahoma.
***
At Metrochurch there
was a singles group that met one evening each week. Although I worked
evenings, when possible, I went to the singles group meeting during my
dinner break. When I first began going to this group, they met in a small room with less
than 10 people. To me the people in the group seemed
to care about things of God.
After
not being able to go to the singles group for several weeks, when I
returned I was surprised to find that they were now meeting in the main
auditorium and there were well over 100 people there.
There was a new leader, a new pastor at the church,
and there was lots of singing and clapping of hands. The meetings were now more of a
social gathering than they had been before and there were many people that I had never seen when the
group was small. In fact, I seldom saw anyone I had met when the group
was small.
In
this large gathering, I met a woman, Cindy, who had a room to rent in her
house. I was looking for a place to live while I finished my studies
and I decided to rent this room in Cindy's house.
Cindy
had been married and divorced twice and had a daughter about 6 years
old.
At first she seemed content to remain single and raise her
daughter, but several months later it became clear that she was looking
for another husband.
I
shared scripture with her which tell us that if a divorced woman
re-marries she commits adultery and the man who marries a divorced woman
commits adultery.
Scriptures such as:
Romans 7:2-3 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Matthew 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
* The divorced woman who remarries commits adultery, but her husband who divorced her will be the cause of her adultery.
* The man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
***
What a shock when Cindy said, "I don't care what the Bible says. I know what I believe."
***
Shortly
after this conversation, I graduated and moved to a town about 30 miles
away. Although I continued to attend the Sunday morning church
service, I no longer went to the singles group evening meetings.
However, I sat with those in the singles group during the Sunday morning
church service, visiting with them before and after the service.
I
heard that Cindy was engaged to Terry, one of the men I knew from the
singles group.
I
went to Terry and shared with him scriptures about the adultery
committed when a man marries a divorced woman.
Matthew 19:9 Jesus says: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Terry said he would
consider these things, but he did not stop the engagement.
***
Then
I learned that the woman who was to be the maid of honor at this
wedding was Lisa. I knew Lisa from the singles group as well.
I went
to her and shared scriptures warning of the adultery that would be
committed if Cindy married again.
Lisa said that she knew this but that
Cindy and Terry would get married even if she wasn't maid of honor, so
she was going to going ahead and be "maid of honor."
***
One Sunday morning, not long after I had talked with Terry and Lisa, I arrived at the church auditorium a little early and sat
in the area where those in the singles group sat.
Strangely, no one
from the singles group came and sat in the area.
As the service was
about to begin, I turned around and saw those from the singles group
sitting back several rows.
I didn't think much about this. I just thought
they must have decided to start sitting in a new area of the
auditorium.
***
The next week I sat in the "new" area, but those in the singles group sat in the "old" area.
***
The
following week I got to the church building shortly before the service
started.
Those in the singles group were seated and I went and sat with
them.
Without saying a word, they got up and moved to another area of
the auditorium.
It was obvious that the people in the singles group wanted nothing to do with me, but I had no idea why.
I cried out to God asking if I had done something wrong.
***
A
couple weeks later, Sherri, a woman I had met when the singles group was very
small but I didn't know her very well, came to me after a Sunday morning church
service. She said she had a message from God for me.
The message was
that God knew how those in the singles group were treating me, that I
needed to know it was because I had spoken to the various people
involved in Cindy and Terry's wedding warning them of the adultery that would
be committed by this marriage, and that this is what HE (God) had
wanted me to do.
Receiving this message was such a help to me, and I was so grateful to God for sending it to me.
***
Terry and Cindy's wedding was held at Metrochurch with one of the pastors from the church group officiating. Lisa was maid of honor.
*****
Jesus prays to God concerning the elect of God:
John 17:14-18 Jesus says to God:
15 I pray not that THOU shouldest take them out of the world, but that THOU shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through THY truth: THY word is truth.
18 As THOU hast sent ME into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
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