What is the Spirit of God, Part 2

Earl Gillespie

What Is The Spirit Of God
Part 2 of 3

–In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spoke he of the Spirit, whom they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39). 

This verse seems to indicate that the Holy Spirit would cause some sort of a spiritual outpouring.  The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit, which God compared it to living water.  Ponder for a moment the phrase, ‘living water’, visualize water that is alive.  God also compares it to his breath.  Can you tell when someone is breathing on you, even with your eyes closed? The Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of Jesus.  Jesus promised to send his Holy Spirit with power to his disciples after his return to the Father in Heaven. 

In most cases in scripture the arrival of the Spirit is followed immediately by someone speaking God’s word or prophesying.  The Spirit of God brings God’s word, and when the Spirit inspires, it feels impossible to keep quiet about the Word.

The Spirit is, truly and literally, God within us.  Sometimes a person can sense the presence of a Being far greater than can be imagined; I’m sure when the Spirit touches us, He holds back a great deal otherwise we’d be completely overwhelmed.  We must conclude that the spirit world has many ways of interacting with the natural elements of this world. 

In conjunction with healing and other miracles, the presence of the Spirit is often described as “warm”, “a tingling sensation”, “electrical” or “breathtaking”.  These sensations do exist (and they’re quite pleasant) but they should not be looked for as “proof” that a person is feeling the Spirit.  Every believer receives the Holy Spirit when becoming a Christian, and always has the Spirit in him or her whether His presence is felt or not.  What the Spirit does give daily is deeper insight — eyes to see and ears to hear — or as Jesus said “I have come that they may have life, and more abundantly”.   If we take away the embellishment of the word ‘abundantly’ we would realize that there are things that Jesus promised and there are things that Jesus did not promise.  It was never a promise of the Holy Spirit to enrich our natural life. The Spirit works on a spiritual level and its promise to give a deeper, more meaningful spiritual life in every sense of the word.

Pragmatism as a philosophical movement began in the United States in the 1870s, and has played a great role in the reinterpretation of the scripture especially as pertaining to the Holy Spirit. Its objective was and is to separate what is real from what exist. Great minds began to investigate the role religion could play in a contemporary society and sought to make a distinction between God’s "existence" and "reality". The term "exists" is used only for those things which adequately exhibit brute physical resistance to our movements. In this way, such things which affect us, like numbers, may be said to be "real", although they do not "exist". According to the pragmatist, God, in such a linguistic usage, might very well be "real", causing believers to act in such and such a way, but might not "exist". This attack on the foundation of faith and God was not met with a uniform protest or action by the defenders of the Christian faith.

This strange philosophical approach has advanced the knowledge of good and evil, allowing mankind to feel as if he has control of the Holy Spirit.   Rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to speak, we speak for the Holy Spirit.  Rather than allowing God to carry out his plan, we pray for God to empower us in our daily life. This new philosophical approach to God has allowed us to sanitize the scripture by removing the blood and gore.  There is no message in the killing sprees and the suffering of the Old Testiment.   We are so pumped up on all of the good things that God is supposed to be doing, that when disaster strikes the first words out of our mouth is, "Why"  Why didn't Peter, Jame and John open up a fish market and get rich  selling fish while Jesus stood on the corner preaching the Kingdom message?    

We cannot prove the existence of the Spirit world through natural means, the Spiritual world must be addressed through faith. It is through faith, our connection and experiences with the Holy Spirit is able to grow. If our faith is weak, then our connection to the Spiritual world is weak. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6 ).   

One of the things the Holy spirit does is give us new power over sin in our lives when we surrender those areas to God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). But another work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin (John 16:9). There are times when we are blind to some of our real sins or have not fully let go of them. Part of the preparation for being baptized with the Holy Spirit or receiving a fresh infilling is to ask the LORD to show us by his Spirit, if there is an area that we are not surrendering to him or if there are hidden sins we do not recognize. Examples are from the letters to the churches in Revelation. Jesus told the church in Ephesus that they did many things well, but had lost their first love for him, (Revelation 2:44) and he told the church in Laodicea that they were lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, and both needed to repent. (Revelation 3:14) 

Some results those among us have experienced from the Holy Spirit is a new sense of God's presence, more experience of the Lord, new power over sin in our lives because the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin (John 16:9). Bible reading coming more alive and our ability or freedom to talk to others about Jesus increases. There are gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit such as the fruits of the Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) Fruit does not grow overnight and Paul talks in 1 Corinthians 13 about the importance of having the fruit of the Spirit when using the gifts of the Spirit.

Above all, the relationship between the believer and the Spirit is just that — a relationship, a community of two, in which the Spirit feels like the embrace of a friend, brother, or soul-mate. One then becomes aware that the Holy Spirit has the same community-of-two relationship with every believer on the planet, which defines the family of God, the community of faith, the true Church. And in that sense, the Spirit feels like home.

In any attempt to understand the Spirit of God, it is just as important to understand what is not the Spirit of God. There is the Spirt of God and there is the spirit of the devil. There is the Holy Spirit and there is the evil (unholy) spirit. John cautions us not to believe every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1) 

Satan is real and not a guy in a red suit with horns. Peter warns us "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith."(1 Peter 5:8-9) Jesus was tempted in every way as we are yet without sin. The devil came to Jesus quoting scriptures and promoting a Gospel of prosperity (Matthew 4:8-9)."Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:18 & 4:15).. We are told about the armor God has for us to put on daily in Ephesians 6: 10-18. 

Matthew 4:1  Then was Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Mt 4:1

Led of of the Spirit; by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.--To be tempted of the devil. There is a certain mystery enveloping the subject Of the Savior's temptation, which all the efforts of commentators and theologians have not been able to remove. Attempts have been made to give the whole passage a metaphorical interpretation; but such an interpertation can hardly be given, without shaping the Word of God, to a passage like this, occurring in regular course, as a part of a plain, simple, historical narrative. The sacred writer undoubtedly meant for it to be understood as it was spoken, and must have been understood at the time, as asserting literally that Jesus was assailed by an evil spirit, not human, but yet having a distinct personal existence.

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Part #3

The Two Spirits

What is the Spirit of God, Part 1

Earl Gillespie

What Is The Spirit Of God

Part 1 of 3

–And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2)

The old Baptist church at the edge of the clearing was where most members of the community assemble on Sunday to hear the Word of the Lord.  Located across the road from the graveyard gave it the eerie feeling that the spirit world was active in and around the church.  First, there was Sunday School, where the stories of the ancient prophets and their message was told and retold.  Next on the agenda was Prayer and Worship Service, the name was later changed to Praise Service,  then we were ready to receive the Word.   Everyone would sit attentively, even the younger children were trying not to go to sleep as the preacher droned on and on.  Everyone was waiting for that glorious moment when the preacher would begin to ‘tone up  and moan’. 

There were certain ladies in the congregation that knew when to shout back at the preacher, urging him on.  The  ‘amen corner’ was where the Holy Spirit seems to reside and the pastor was often said to be preaching to the ‘amen corner’.   When the desired emotional response was not forthcoming, the pastor was often accused of , ‘going in the graveyard and digging someone up’.  The phrase, “I got a mother gone on”, would bring the church to tears.  When a certain level of emotional tension was reached, some of the ladies would scream, arms flaying and jumping around in their seats,  only to be restrained by the ushers.  Some of the men would begin to cry and make strange noise. One Sunday on the way home from church I asked my mother what was going on, she said, “that was the way people acted when the spirit of God hit them”.

That conversation left me with a desire to experience the Spirit of God.  That desire was like saying I believe in ghost, wanting to see one so I would know, but afraid of how I would react when I came face to face with a ghost.  Needing to know what to expect when the Spirit of God hit you,  I asked my aunt who was the most experience person I knew when it came to being ‘hit’ by the Spirit.   Her answer was, “when the Spirit hits you, you will know it”.  That did not satisfy my quest for the knowledge of the Spirit of God.  Because of my inquisitive nature concerning the Spirit of God, my mother tried to satisfy my quest for knowledge by telling me that I would understand it when I was old enough to get religion.

 At the age of eight I convince my mother that I was old enough to  get religion. During the Fall revival that year, I made my way to the front bench in the church that was known as the Mourners Bench.  Friends and family would sing and pray for you, and the pastor explained the process of getting religion.  He said, If you believed, the Spirit would hit you, and you were supposed to get up and give the preacher your hand.

 It was common knowledge to most that after a week of praying and preaching, no one was supposed to be left on the mourners bench.   Those that were left were considered to be less than heathens.  The  night before the close of the revival I grew weary of waiting, the question was simple, “Do you believe in God”, yes, I believe, so I walked up to the preacher and gave him my hand.  I realized too late that I had allowed myself to be drawn into a situation where I no longer could ask what is the Spirit of God, because if I had good religion, I knew what the Spirit of God was and I knew what it felt like.

Years later, I attended what was called a Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost filled revival.  The preacher would, ‘tone and moan’ and the congregation would leap to their feet and dance. Those were the days when the Holy Spirit became the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost was a strange phenomenal, it made you jump up and down, fall out on the floor, roll, kick and foam at the mouth, it even made you talk funny.  There were no ushers to restrain you, and you were supposed to dance and shout for joy.  These physical expressions were a clear indicator that you was filled with the Holy Ghost.  Those that were standing on the sideline believing and praying were often left wondering why their reaction to the Holy Spirit wasn’t as physical and profound as the next person.

“What does the Holy Ghost feel like?” It seems somewhat strange that the scripture never mentions this. The Holy Scripture speaks a good deal about what the Spirit inspires people to do, such as prophesying or preaching, but the spotlight always falls on the Spirit-inspired action and not of the Spirit Himself. Thus, when the preacher said, it makes you want to dance, the Church said, “Amen”, and praise dancing became in vogue.

Ask any Holy Ghost inspired preacher or teacher and you will be told that the Holy Ghost feels like, “… fire shut up in my bones...”, quoting from Jeremiah 20:9. That seems to be quite a bit of embellishment because the prophet was not speaking of the Holy Spirit. He was speaking of his reluctance to deliver the word of God because of the hardship he had to endure. Embellishment or scriptures out of context has become a common occurrence when interpreting the scripture. 

Growing up in the 50’s my grandfather would tell stories of seeing ghosts. If he said he saw a ghost, we believed him, but today we look back with a wink and wonder, if it was just his imagination. Not to say that ghost or spirits don’t exist, but when the description was left to a fertile imagination, sometimes the storyteller got very creative. I can’t help but wonder if the same holds true for the Spirit of God. 

There are many passages in the Bible that include the words “… and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him/her/them…”. However, this quotation is never followed by anything like “… and the people said, ‘whoa, what was THAT?’” When the spirit speaks we are supposed to recognize the message as coming from God. So there must be a special feeling about the Holy Spirit that feels like the truth. This statement is true, but it is not definitive, because if the consciousness is seared then a lie will seem like the truth. There are many that claim to be a Holy Ghost filled person that are guilty of flat out lying and there are those who profess to be filled with the Holy Ghost, believe those lies. 

As I grew older I began to wonder why or if there were many different Holy Spirits. Each denomination had its own guidelines as pertaining to the operation of the Holy Spirit, yet this could not be if we are all working toward the same goal. Jesus said, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come, (John 16:13). 

Let's take a look at the definition of spirit as provided by Wikipedia Encyclopedia. The English word spirit (from Latin Spiritus "breath") has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body. The word spirit is often used metaphysically to refer to the consciousness or personality. The notions of a person's spirit and soul often also overlap, as both contrast with the body and both are understood as surviving the bodily death in religion and occultism, and "spirit" can also have the sense of "ghost", i.e. a manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person.

The term may also refer to any incorporeal or immaterial being, such as demons or deities. In Christianity "the Spirit" (with a capital "S") specifically denotes the Holy Spirit.  So the question remains, and I think the question is answerable within the scripture and from seasoned believers. Spirit is described in various parts of scripture as fire, power, faith, peace, joy, fullness, or holiness (the seal of God’s promise in and on us). All these things come from God and when the Spirit makes His presence known we usually feel at least some of these things in some way or another. Even the least of us can relate to the feeling of joy, peace and fullness, the feeling of fire and power speak for themselves.

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The Spirit of God

Part 2

A Discussion of Bibical Proportation

Earl Gillespie

A Discussion of Biblical Proportions
Conclusion

And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (2 Peter 2:2 ).

Recently an all out attack on the Kings James Bible was launched by a series of internet articles that made exaggerated claims concerning the sexuality of King James.   Because King James was king of the British Empire, and the head of the church of England when the King James Bible was translated  he is purported to have done the work himself, which would have been an impossible task.  After taking control of the Church of England for immoral purposes, he was asked to authorize the English translation of the Bible for the unification of the Church of England and the English speaking populace.   The life of a King,  whether degenerate or not should not be used to detract from the true Word of God.  Any changes in the translation and the structure of the Bible can be quickly ascertained, such as the difference between the Catholic and the Protestant Bibles.  There are also the ancient scrolls that are often used for verification and validation.

 It should not be the translation of the Bible that holds the greatest fear among believers, it is the interpretation of the Bible that is most deadly.  From the beginning of Christianity men of an unholy nature has been interpreting the scripture.   They have been setting themselves up as leaders and claiming a divine mission from God.  Remember the letters to the seven churches, Jesus spoke out against this sickness that invaded the church.  The religious right has proven it gullibility, Jesus phrased it as the blind leading the blind.  Promise a man a fish and with money in hand, he will stand and wait for you to deliver.  Promise God will give him a fish, he will give you his money and go home and wait for God to deliver the fish.  Financial empires have been built on the selling of the Christ.

Let us come together and reason, do we believe in God?  Maybe the question should be rephrased, “what God do we believe in”?  There is the God of Moses who left his children to wander in the wilderness forty years because they were rude and disobedient .  There is the God of John the Baptist who left the forerunner of his son to languish in jail until his head was chopped off by a grumpy old King.  Then there was the God who let his Son to be hanged on a tree for a crime he didn’t commit.  There is that God, whose vial of wrath is overflowing.  Both Simon Peter and Paul expressed a profound desire  to die to be with the Son of God who said I am going away to prepare a place for you.  

There is a new God in charge today, one that have changed all of the rules.  This new God has  "flip the script' and it's about now and not the hereafter.  The rules only apply  when it comes to getting stuff.  The rowdiness of the world has invaded the church place and the sacredness of the temple worship has been discarded or desecrated.   Money and power have become the new gods of salvation.  To be able to use the word salvation, I must post the question, do we  still believe in salvation of the soul,  or is it glory, wealth and power that drives us  to church each Sunday.  Is our desire to get our ‘praise on’ greater than our desire to be like Jesus?  Imagine Jesus, that person that we say we want to be like, telling his disciples, lets go to the temple and get our praise on "Yall"?

Mankind has reached a level of indifference and intolerance to the truth that could have only been achieved through indoctrination.  From our leaders in high places to the lowly minions whose life is a constant struggle, the truth has become elusive.  Many have bought into the lie because it is the acceptable thing to do.  Without an honest dialog, there can be no truth.   

The story of Emperor's New Clothes is a Danish fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen and first published in 1837.  It parallel the letter Jesus sent to the Loadiceans Church, the church that is representative of the present church age.  If we cast aside the messages to the seven churches as being irreverent to the churches of today, we miss out on the greatest messages delivered to the churches by Jesus Christ. 

 Many years ago, there lived an emperor who cared only about his clothes and about showing them off. One day he heard from two swindlers that they could make the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they said, also had the special capability that it was invisible to anyone who was either stupid or not fit for his position. Being a bit nervous about whether he himself would be able to see the cloth, the emperor first sent two of his trusted men to see it. Of course, neither would admit that they could not see the cloth and so praised it. All the townspeople had also heard of the cloth and were interested to learn how stupid their neighbors were. 

The emperor then allowed himself to be dressed in the clothes for a procession through town, never admitting that he was too unfit and stupid to see what he was wearing. For he was afraid that the other people would think that he was stupid. Of course, all the townspeople wildly praised the magnificent clothes of the emperor, afraid to admit that they could not see them, until a small child said: "But he has nothing on"!

 Now let’s consider a letter Jesus wrote to a church.  “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would that you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; and white clothing, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness does not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will eat with him, and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches”, (Revelation 3:14-22).  

For the church to regain the status as set forth by Jesus, followers of Christ need to be more concerned about those who have established their power bases and is leading the masses astray.  There are those who attack and destroy the Christian values and extort the follower of Christ under false pretense, with the blessings of the faithful few.  There are those who will use the scripture out of the context in which it was spoken, to protect and defend the immoral ways of those who claim to be messengers of God.  1 Chronicles 16:21-22  He allowed no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, Saying, Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm.  This is not a carte blanche invitation to the ungodly to hide behind the veil of sanctification as did the the priest of old.  Maybe a study of  Mark 15:38 will shed some light on the subject. "And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom."

The purpose of the Church is not to create a power base nor to amass a group of people who are dancing and prancing, but to provide a vehicle to bring to  Jesus a group of people prepared to judge and rule with him on his return.  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (1 Corinthians 6:2)

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What Is The Holy Spirit?

I

A Discussion of Biblical Proportions

Earl Gillespie

A Discussion of Biblical Proportions

–

In a political correct society, when engaging in a discussion the purpose should be for the  enlightenment of one’s self.  The process of transferring thoughts or ideas is loosing ground to, “We all have the right to believe as we want to.”  When two parties are engaged in a discussion for the purpose of proving their own ideology or advancing their own agenda, an argument usually ensues.  Knowledge can only be transferred when one or both parties are seeking to gain a deeper understanding of a stated subject.   In today’s society the question of what can be gained from entering a discussion should  be answered first,  if you are not prepared to have your faith shaken, it is best to refrain from many non-indoctrinated discussions.

In this day of changing values it has become necessary to mount a decisive battle to undermine the Christian opposition.  The church seems to have shrunk away from its responsibilities by failing to put on the whole armor of God.  Choosing not to be labelled a hater it has become passive and accordance with Jesus it is neither hot nor cold.  The Bible has always been the weapon of choice of the religious hierarchy, it is at the forefront of the battles for control and also the changes that has been viewed as immoral.   The greatest blow to Christianity would be the destruction of the Bible, the foundation upon which Christianity is founded.   It would seem that any attempt to discredit or destroy the Word of God would be met with a swift and decisive battle by the church of God.

Christianity has been made ashamed of its bloody past and the message of salvation has been dumb-downed.  The Old Testiment slaughters, the crusades even the killing of the Jews is a part of Christian history that is being purged.  The God who once said, “I am a jealous God” and went on killing sprees has been recreated as a  God of love standing on the street corner of life passing out blessing.. 

Often, ministers who have no academic background, will base their expertise of Bible interpretation upon the old adage, “What God calls he qualify,” as they stumble over passages of scripture distorting the meaning in the process.   This concept has led to the proliferation of the word of God, thus providing the fuel for discontent within the ranks of the would be believers. Seeds of doubt are sown and the indoctrinated few shouts “Amen.”

Often Christian finds themselves concern about the different translations of the Bible.  Translations will always be relevant to the different languages of the world.   It would be unthinkable that you must learn to read Latin in order to study the Word of God.   The problem arises in the household of faith because there are too many interpretations of the Bible.  When it comes to consistency there is little or none within the many different churches.  There  also is that  ethnic divide that drives a more literal and diverse interpretation of the scripture and it has provided the fuel for a house divided against itself.  It is easy to overlook the Schism and state that my way is right and all others are wrong, thus rendering any debate undebatable and the message unbelievable. 

If the discussion is to prove which translation of the Bible is more reliable, unless experts in the ancient languages are fielding the discussion, the outcome of the discussion is of no concrete value.   Yet, these discussions which have no concrete value can be and often is detrimental to the faith when there is no one to turn to for enlightenment.  

There are historical facts and there are internet facts.  Historical facts must remain true to their own credentials, whereas internet facts are subject to who is providing the citation.  The internet is a viable source for research projects, but if you accept everything that you read on the internet you will be shamefully misled. 

Growing up in a Bible based environment, we were taught that King James was the defender of the faith and that the King James version of the Bible was the true Bible and some even went further to state that all others were false.  Since the early 1600’s the King James Bible has been hailed as the vanguard of all Bibles and its sales has skyrocketed. 

In the early 60 a concerted attack was launched to destroy mankind’s belief of God.  Through a drug induced stupor many gains the courage to publicly denounce God as being dead.  The destruction of God was not forthcoming as planned, it merely allowed for the reinvention of God.  The God of today is more involved than the God of old.  God is performing more miracles than ever before and that ethnic divide is changing the order of worship service.  The fear of God, which once was a part of worship services is slowly fading. 

Now if we were to argue as to which Bible was the true Bible the argument would be without merit because the first question that must be answered is, “do we believe in God.”   If the answer was “yes”,  then the question of the Bible would go away.  Now, if we are guilty of  trying to prove the existence of God, then we must prove which Bible is proper and correct and from the layman perspective this is an impossible task.

A true study of Christianity must include the Roman Empire  in 313 AD under the leadership of Constantine ended the persecution of the Christians.  The Government of Rome and the church began to walk hand in hand.   In 321 the church was granted the right to hold property, Constantine donates the palace of the Laterani to Pope Miltiades. The Lateran Basilica (Basilica of Our Savior) becomes the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Rome or the Catholic Church.  In February 380: Emperor Theodosius I issues an edict, De Fide Catolica, in Thessalonica, published in Constantinople, declaring Catholic Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire.  The Council of Rome under Pope Damasus I  in 382 sets the Canon of the Bible, listing the accepted books of the Old Testament and the New Testament. No others are to be considered  as scripture.

In time, several Churches split off from the Catholic Church because of differing opinions of theology. This caused breaks in the Church called schisms. Most schisms happened because people had different beliefs about what is true.  

In 451, a church division happened when all the church leaders meeting at the Church Council in the city of Chalcedon excommunicated (cut off) three leaders, because they held to monophysitism and would not accept the view that Jesus had two natures (fully divine and fully human). These three were the bishops of Egypt, Syria, and Armenia. Of course, these three bishops did not accept being excommunicated either, so the churches under them are still known today as Oriental Orthodox Churches.

In 1054, the Church split in two, in the East-West Schism. The church in Western Europe, which followed the Pope became known as the Roman Catholic Church, and the churches in the rest of the world which did not think that the Pope should lead all Christians became known as the Orthodox Church "Orthodox" means "correct belief", as they believe that they have kept the teachings of the early church and the Roman Catholics have not.

The next split was the Protestant Reformation. Protestants resisted the central authority of the Church in Rome and rejected many practices, beliefs and disciplines. The Reformation started in Germany, where Martin Luther sent his demands for change to the Church. Because of politics in Europe, many nations supported Luther. The Lutheran Church was started. Later the Calvinist or Presbyterian Church started.In England, King Henry VIII started the Anglican church. He wanted to divorce his first wife, but the Pope would not grant him permission. At first, The Church of King Henry VIII later called the Church of England, was very similar to the Catholic Church. The major difference was that the king was the head of the church, instead of the Pope. Later, under his son, Edward VI, the Anglican Church became more reformed or Protestant. Anglicans, and several other Protestant denominations, still believe they are reformed Catholics. Puritanism arose among Anglicans who thought the reforms didn't go far enough.

After the Reformation, many other Churches began because of disagreements over beliefs and practices of earlier Protestant doctrine. According to the 2010 U.S. Religious Congregations and Membership Study this accounts for most of the Protestant denominations in the United States. There are about 314,000 of these. Two examples of these Protestant (or Reformed) churches are Methodist and Baptist.

In todays society splits or schisms have become commonplace, giving vent to the term, the proliferation of the churches.  With the advent of the Pentecostal movement storefront churches became a reality.  It is not uncommon for churches exist across the street from each other.  Many of these new churches are formed claiming to have the seal of God and all others are false. 

From this limited dissertation, we can conclude that all of the different churches that exist today is the result of a split with another church.  To put it in the proper context, churches split because of confusion within the ranks of the leaders or an excessive increase in those that desire to be leaders.  The intoxicating desire to lead or be a superstar, the desire to be noticed many times is the driving force behind  accepting a call from God.  Many of the schisms in the early churches were because of power grabs within the pious elite.

The un-indoctrinated soul who refuse to scream "Amen" wonders how all of this is going to play out in the Kingdom of God.  

To be continued

The Conflicting Nature of Christianity, Part #6

Earl Gillespie

The Conflicting Nature of Christianity

Part #6

The True Message of Christ

"When the messenger does not have a firm belief in the message or lack understanding of the message, often the messenger will change the message to make his views of the message seems more believable."  

Jesus made many declarations of the message that he was bringing to the world and the purpose  of His message is illustrated in John 14:1-3, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  From that point forward any message deemed to be from God must coincide with the fourteenth chapter of John.  There is no conflict or confusion in the message set forth by Christ. Christianity, in its attempt to be politically correct, to appeal to the masses has allowed its message to become hijacked and is used as the basis of many get-rich-quick schemes. 

It is not my intend to sound as if I am trying to purport a new message, rather I am trying to question why the message of Christ has been changed.  Ministers of different denominations preaching different messages.  How can this be true?  Is the Kingdon divided against itself?    If the messengers of the Kingdom is divided, either the messenger(s) is false or the kingdom is false.  (Not the true Kingdom.)  To validate  their position in the Kingdom of the Father, many will began with, "I got the Word of God in my Mouth", or "God told me."  . Once an admission of this type is made, no sane, indoctrinated, hijacked christian would dare speak out against the words that flowed from his mouth.  

This is an example of how the message is changing.  `Pope Francis says atheists who do good works can go to heaven. Billy Graham proclaims that you do not even have to know the name of Jesus to be part of the body of Christ. Joel Osteen says he does not know if unbelievers will be lost or saved because he cannot judge. One says he  doesn't want to go to Heaven broke, another says God want you to build up treasures here on earth. These professing Christians are not alone in their views. How sad is that?

I copied this from the internet, the author is unknown to me.  I will be happy to give credit where credit is due.  I think it is a timely piece and worth posting here.

A pastor was traveling last week, he saw an old man, and gave him a lift. While they were gone, the old man said; my son, do you know what happened in Heaven last night?  The pastor was terrified and hurriedly parked his car and asked; Sir, was you sleeping? How did you get the information about Heaven?  The Old man said; last night in Heaven, God became very angry with the man he had created and asked the Angels to blow their trumpets. The angel picked up their trumpet and as they were about to blow, Jesus fell  down on his knees and began to plead with tears. The blood that came out of His hands and body were very fresh. He told God that His death shouldn't be in vain.

God couldn't stand the pains of the saint and the wickedness of the evil ones. So He said; "I AM GIVING THEM THEIR LAST CHANCE." Jesus then turned to the angels and told them to move down in their numerous numbers to tell the world that: "THE END IS NEAR, JESUS IS COMING VERY SOON". The pastor (sweating and crying) asked; sir, how did you know this?

The OLD MAN replied; I am one of the Angels sent to the World. Please use every medium of communication to send this message. No time to waste, Please! And the old man disappeared.

Parts of the story might have a little hard to follow, but the real message of Christ came through clear.

Revelation 3:14-22  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

The Conflicting Nature of Christianity, Part #5

Earl Gillespie

  The Conflicting Nature of Christianity

Part #5

Capitalizing On the Power of Prayer

 I am not questioning prayer, nor am I questioning the power of prayer, it is the use of prayer as a salable commodity in today's society that leaves me, as well as many other awash in a sea of confusion.  It is worthy and commendable to use the Holy Scripture as the bases of motivational messages, but to hijack the scriptures in the name of power and greed is evil in its most vile form.  There is a constant barrage of 'prayer calls', but the hidden truth is too many of these 'prayer calls' are self-serving and they are really not effective.  For me to make such a statement is said to border on heathendom, but Christianity as a religion or a way of life should be forced to consider the reality of the hijacked , conflicting and confused front that it has begun to present.  

How often have we heard the prayer for world peace?   Did the Bible say prayer would bring about world peace?  2 Chronicles 7:14  If my people, (In the Old Testament who was referred to as 'My People', it definitely was not the non existent church.) which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (What land?, definitely not the world.)  This was God promise to the Jews to restore their homeland if they would humble themselves and pray.  That promise was not fulfilled then and it is not being fulfilled now.  It will only be fulfilled after God has poured out his wrath upon this world.  For what purpose do we shape, and twist the Word of God?  To create confusion and conflicts?  Effective prayer must not end with 'plant a seed and God will bless you'. Is there no shame when it comes to 'hustling in the name of God.'   There are lots of unfilled promised being made in the name of prayer, and many of the unfulfilled promises are because of a lack of understanding of God's word.  What did Jesus say about world peace?Luke 12:51  Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

Several months ago we published a six part study in prayer to minimize redundancy within my blog, I am providing prefaces and links to the six part study. 

A Study in Prayer, Part #1 of 6

Prayer, What Is It?

Lets establish a definition of prayer using, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, online. Prayer is an invocation or an act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication. Prayer can be a form of religious practice, may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn,incantation, formal creed, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. There are different forms of prayer such as petitionary prayer, prayers of supplication, thanksgiving, and worship/praise. Prayer may be directed towards a deity, spirit, deceased person, or a lofty idea, for the purpose of worshipping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing sins or to express one's thoughts and emotions. Thus, people pray for many reasons such as personal benefits or for the sake of others. Most major religions involve prayer in one way or another. Some ritualizes the act of prayer, requiring a strict sequence of actions or placing a restriction on who is permitted to pray, while others teach that prayer may be practiced spontaneously by anyone at any time. http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-1-of-6.html

A Study in Prayer, Part #2 of 6

Praying In The Spirit

Growing up in the church I am familiar with the preacher toning up and shouting, this was said to be the spirit of God. Prayers were issued in the same vernacular and if the person could pray, usually an emotional outburst followed. This was an expression of the spirit also. When asked what does the spirit feel like, the answer was, “when the spirit hit you, you will know it”. Cute cliché and an in your face approach, demanding that God do things because you know he can. When prayer requests would seem to go unfilled, there was always someone to remind you that, “He might not come when you want him, but he is always on time.” Now I know that there will be those who chastise me for saying this, but many suffering souls have been stranded on the roadway of despair, waiting for God to come and deliver them and God show up but he did not deliver them. When you are in need and you are taught all you have to do is ask, Jesus message to the churches in the Book of Revelation about enduring hardship is the furthers thing from your mind.  http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-2-of-6.html

A Study in Prayer, Part #3 of 6

A Model Prayer

Let’s take a closer or deeper look at how the ancients prayed. Nehemiah was compelled to rebuild the walls of the Holy city, before going before the King to ask his permission, he prayed. Nehemiah 1:11, “O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man, For I was the king's cupbearer.” Nehemiah is praying for mercy and not material things. Another interesting aspect of prayer is how it can change God’s mind. In this example, the prayer was not for God to change his mind, but a prayer for God to remember him. Isaiah 38:1-5, “ In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death, and Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shall die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and prayed unto the LORD, And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight, and Hezekiah wept sore.” Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.” His tears moved God. Luke 1:50, “And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.” Fear of God is a prerequisite for effective prayer. Fear of God would also prevent us from lying on God, or lying to God. The fear of God will also prevent us from trying to share in God's glory.  http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-3-of-6.html

A Study in Prayer, Part #4 of 6

Lord Teach Me To Pray.

Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Now reflect on the above illustrations and ask yourself what are we praying for? Do our prayers reflect the desires of the flesh more than the desires of the spirit? Have we misused the power of prayer in such a manner that it trivialize and render the God of our salvation impotent in the eyes of the world? With all of the righteous prayers going forth the world should be on the brinks of Heaven here on earth. Christianity should be flourishing and the devil ought to be reeling from a knockout blow from the blood of Jesus applied. This is not true Christianity is being suppressed in our schools and in our nation. The religious order is being redefined to allow equal time for the opposing force. The government is beginning to exert more force on the church, and that old Satan has found a new use for the words "Policial Correctness." It is definitely a time for prayer, but the question is what are we praying for?  http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-4-of-6.html

A Study in Prayer, Part #5 of 6

How Prayer Is Used

Prayer is often used for the enhancement of one’s standing in the church and community. Prayer Warriors represent a class of people that have a close relationship with God. The use of flowery words and much speaking that bring on a state of euphoria that is often mistaken for the Spirit of God. Matthew 6:5-8 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. Based upon these words of Jesus there is no need to go to God with a shopping list begging for fulfillment.  http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-5-of-6.html

A Study in Prayer, Part #6 of 6

Repentance, My Testimoney

One of the most profound life's moments was sitting in my Doctor office as he vocalize these harsh words, “You got cancer.” Upon hearing this statement my whole life outlook changed and went spinning out of control. It was a death sentence of a type and you are acutely aware that the majority of those who hear these words will eventually die from the disease. Survival becomes that as of a man drowning and the people on the bank are shouting swim. Only when a young man stepped into the water and began walking towards the drowning man did he realize the depth of his situation. I make this assessment based upon my personal experience, and there are few pastors, ministers or churches folks prepared to minister to this condition. A steady diet of prayer will take your mind off the situation for a while, but late at night when you are alone, sometime talking to God can leave a person feeling as if God does not hear their prayers, especially if someone they know who are suffering from the same illness has just passed on. This is a situation or a condition that many will not admit to because there is more earthly glory in speaking of what God has done rather than testifying of what God has not done. The indoctrination of Christianity does not allow for one to speak in the negative about what God is or is not doing.  http://mysearchfortherealgod.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-study-in-prayer-part-6-of-6.html

Next 

Part #6

The True Message of Christ