gentle, sparrow-like saints, be encouraged in Truth

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood” 1Cor.11:25

Excerpts from an article about “How to Honorably Leave a Church”, by false teacher, predator and wolf Doug Phillips, found via the internet “Wayback Machine”. The article was originally posted on his blog in 2005 and again in 2007.

DP Quote: “Christians are in a state of covenant with the Lord. One way that supreme covenant finds expression is through the “mini” covenant of their relations and duties to Christ’s local church. Because Christians are in covenant with Christ, they are to be in covenant with a local church. They are not “married” to the local church, but they are to be in a state of formal covenant with it. This “mini” covenant (an extension of our covenant with Christ) carries privileges and responsibilities, and is not to be taken lightly.”

Me: This is a re-phrasing of the “Church is the Way to God/ Church is the Savior” deception. This is the same doctrine as stated (by means of similar flowery words) by the catechism of the Roman Catholic Church. And like the RCC, Protestantism (whether the Calvary Chapel flavor, the Willowcreek Association model or the strict Puritan/Reformed Calvinist), teaches lies that, if taken to heart, ie believed, and put into practice, only serve to bring the gentle sparrow-like saint into bondage, confusion, shame, false obligation, pain and spiritual suffering. Oh love of Truth!

DP Quote: “To put it another way, the believer’s covenant with the local church can be transferred to another Christ-honoring local church, but it cannot be “resigned,” abandoned, or simply disregarded without the professing believer becoming a covenant-breaker.”

Me: Lies. Straight from the spirit of bondage. The writer equates covenant with Church as on the same level as covenant with God.

We do not express our covenant with Christ, by demonstrating and making a covenant with an organized religion, institutional Church. 

That teaching makes “Church” out to be Christ. There is only ONE covenant with God that is in and through the blood of Jesus Christ alone. Jesus Christ needs no intermediary. He does not need The Church to step in and be the mediator between Him and the saints.  The saint has every right to leave any religion or Church or cult or group or ideology or doctrine or practice, if that thing is usurping upon the covenant the saint has with Christ. Saints all thru history (the great cloud of witnesses) have left all manner of societal, cultural, political and religious obligations in order to enter in to covenant with Christ. (I am not speaking of marriage here, I am speaking of religions, traditions, organizations, political groups, secret groups, occupations, religious teachers and such.) In other words, we cannot have two masters. Our covenant is not with “Christ, AND–“. We cannot have covenants with two entities at the same time….. one a thing and one a Person. Our loyalty and allegiance, which is part of our covenant, is with Christ. He does not share us, our heart’s loyalty, with a… Thing. We absolutely can resign and abandon what causes us to be prevented from having a clear conscience before Christ / having Truth and Life in Christ….. Our covenant is with ONE Master, Lord Jesus Christ. The Church says “To be disloyal to The Church is to be disloyal to God” and “To go against Church is to go against God.” These claims make (visible/ institutional) Church out to be God, or at least the mediator between you and God.

Your covenant with God is with HIM, in the blood of Christ.

Gentle, sparrow-like saints, be encouraged in the Truth.

Quote source here: on the Wayback Machine.

 

4 Questions to ask before joining a Church

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8

This post is a response to this article by the “The Gospel Coalition”:

Link:  4 Questions to Ask Before Joining a Church

1. Is this a Church where my family will be safe from sexual predators? Is this a Church where my family will be safe from deceptive pastors who will do anything to cover up evil in order to protect and preserve what they have worked so hard all their lives to build?

2. Is this a Church where I am convinced I will not be lied to by the endless false doctrines and traditions of American Churchianity?

3. Is this a Church where my family will experience truth and freedom and love, and not shame, bondage, lies, oppression, condemnation and shunning? (And disenfranchisement if we question anything or speak truth?) Is this a Church where the PASTORS have accountability and do not circle the wagons in “good old boy” fashion to protect their kingdoms (Churches/ministries) and reputations, fame and income, at all costs?

4. Is this a Church where I am allowed to use my gifts and serve Christ and the saints by the leading and power of the Holy Spirit, as led and directed by God, without having my work and service nullified, shamed and disallowed by the Church Clergy hierarchy? Is this a Church where I am allowed to obey Christ above the Church leadership and not submit my service to Christ, my conscience and very soul to the “Clergy”?

Important final note: You and your family must understand that it is Christ who is your Lord, not the Institutional Church, not the “Clergy” (self-appointed pastors) and not the religion and hierarchy of Roman Catholic based Hierarchical Christendom. You must understand that you are accountable to Christ Jesus who leads you by His Spirit. You must understand that you are not under the authority of “local shepherds” you are under the authority of Christ. And understand that YOU, saint, also have authority in Christ not just the “Clergy” which is a man-made construct of the Roman Catholic Church, based in ancient paganism and religious Old Testament Judaism. You have authority; you are a priest of God, yes you. This wonderful truth is brought to you by the Kingdom of God, in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Kingdom of God is within you.

You must understand this hierarchy, with men lording it over you, is not of Christ, that you are all brothers, equals in Christ and free in Him to love God and neighbor and serve according to the leading and power of the Holy Spirit. You must all submit to one another, it is not about the lowly “laity” submitting to the higher ranking “Clergy”. You must understand that men requiring you to be under them in an authoritarian hierarchy of lordship over you, is sinful and not of Christ. Watch out for men who want you to submit to their “shepherding” (control and dominance and suppression) of you.

You must understand that it is being IN Christ that makes you part of the flock, not attendance at an institutional, man created, 501c3 Church business franchise. You must understand that Jesus Christ Himself is the real Shepherd and you all are the church (ekklesia, the called out assembly) and wherever you are, with other saints, there is the church, there is the people and flock of Jesus Christ. You may meet in a dirt floor shack, a coffee shop, an empty lot, at a kitchen table, on the street corner or in a prison cell. Christ is with you and in you (Christ in you hope of glory) and there you have the church, wherever YOU are, dear saint of God. Do not let the hireling “shepherds” lord it over you, shame you or stop you from being who you are in Christ.

Do not let them lie to you and deceive you. Do not let them shame you. Do not let them turn your joy of your first love (Jesus Christ) into a lifetime of oppressive bondage to serve them and maintain the existence of their man created, business marketing managed, flesh powered organizations. Do not let them turn your first love joy and Christ Life into a lifetime of serving, slaving for and financing a “Thing” to keep it going. (The man created Church System is a “Thing”, an “it”.)

Therefore friends, do not join a “Church”, join Jesus Christ and stay joined to Him. Listen not to Churchmen who are NOT focused on Jesus Christ, they are completely focused on The Institutional Church, especially THEIR CHURCH and making it “successful”. Jesus Christ is your Shepherd and you are in His flock. He will lead, guide and teach you. HE will care for you. Listen to Jesus Christ and continue in His word. You will know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free. Peace in Christ, my beloved brothers and sisters.

Jesus at my door

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Rev.3:20

Christ came to visit me. There He was! He stood at the door and knocked. I heard His voice
and opened the door and He came him in. I gave Him a warm hug. I was so glad to see Him.

We sat at my table and had coffee and talked. We laughed and I learned a lot listening to Him teach me deep things. We shared food together and talked more. We cried together,  yet we shared joy, encouragement and hope. I learned profound truth from just watching Him live His life. We had sweet communion together and shared friendship and the purest love.

more encouragement to women who witness for Jesus

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples” Matt.28:18-19

In response to this blog post article:
http://spiritualsoundingboard.com/2014/03/17/learn-to-discern-can-women-read-scripture-aloud-to-men/#comments

Any professing Christian “leader” who tells any disciple of Jesus, that they “should not” or “must not” be obedient to Christ, evangelize, speak of Jesus, preach the gospel, proclaim the Truth, or make disciples of Jesus, (which is part of loving your neighbor as He commanded) is a false teacher and is not speaking for Jesus Christ but is very much working against Christ. Woe.

To make evangelism and proclaiming the gospel about being obsessed with sex (that is, male roles, female roles) authoritarianism, power, control and domination over women, is to create a cult.

Jesus Christ Himself is the power and the authority. His Spirit indwells the female saints as well as the male saints. HE has given His authority also to the daughters of God (the sisters in Christ) to witness and speak of Him, or read scripture, to any person, as HE leads and empowers them by the Spirit.

that cult leader is not your mediator

“…there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” 1Tim.2:5

There is ONE mediator between God and man, and it is not the pastor or that authoritarian, domineering, loudmouthed, oppressive, hateful, lying, hypocrite self-appointed Christian cult leader who tries to lord it over you.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk!

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Acts 3:6

Silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk free from what hurts, deceives, confuses, cripples, binds and hinders you: that 501c3 Government controlled State Church. You are now free to follow Jesus Christ!

You are now free in Christ! You are released from bondage and lies! Be healed in the name of Jesus Christ!

You are now the temple of the Lord!

You are healed: rise up and walk on out of that Babylon Church!

Walking leaping and praising God! Jumping with joy!

(Please see video in comments.)

Jesus will teach you

The Holy Spirit… will teach you all things. John 14:26

Your former pastor got his sermons from Pastors.com, Pastorshelper.com, Pastorsermons.com, Willowcreek.org and CUFI.org. But you are now getting yours from the Spirit of Jesus.

 

your identity

“your life is now hidden with Christ in God” Col.3:3

The corrupt Church System loyalists’ identity is found in being “Evangelical” or “Reformed-Calvinist” or “Pentecostal” or “Lutheran” or what have you. Thus they do not want to be separated from those things. Their Church identity is their life.

Our identity is found in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thus we do not want to be separated from Him. He is our life.

He loves His own

“..having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” John 13:1

The corrupt Church System loves its own.
Jesus Christ loves His own.
That’s just not the same thing.

my name

“To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.” Rev.2:17

The name I was born with— my earthly father’s name, meant “big man”.  But Jesus has made me a small sheep in His flock. I am glad to be whatever small, obscure servant He wants me to be in His kingdom.

The name I was raised with— my stepfather’s name (after the death of my earthly father ), meant “rich man” (literally, “of the rich”). But Jesus made me see I was poor in spirit without Him. I am now overflowing with His riches.

The name I have now, my beautiful married name, my husband’s name which I love very much and love identifying with, means, “heathen”. Heathen means “pagan”.  Isn’t this wonderful? I love this! : )

Because Jesus has taken my entire life, and now I live in Him, and He in me. My Savior gave Himself as a sacrifice for me, to redeem my life. He gave me a new name: His name. I and my Father are one. He has given me His seed, He has given me His name, He has given me His life blood. He has made me to be born from Him, from His Spirit. He has brought me into His family. HE is now my true identity. His name is Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God. How I love His name, how beautiful is He, and He shares His name and His life with me.

And He has prepared for me, a name written for me, which no one knows but HIM.

“To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.” Rev.2:17