Hey All, and a welcome Hi to Caller
Yup, my church was like that. In honesty, I was caught by it. You feel as if God has given you some divine favour, makes you feel special. If you ever feel downhearted you just speak gibberish then you can calmly comfort yourself by saying "Phew, thankfully the Spirit is still with me!" The church I belonged to followed the big US churches, such as Morning Star Ministries, and they were caught by this thing called the Toronto Blessing, people falling down, laughing, "being slain in the spirit"! Some even barked like dogs, scary stuff! We gathered those barking like dogs, baaed like sheeps, whatever animal you could think of, were deceived and had taken the blessing too far, obviously not realising we too were deceived.
I didn't like being touched on the head, I wouldn't budge, the pastor would then give a little harder push. I would then just fall down for a second and jump right up. You know, I had to fit in with the crew so I did as they did. I never felt a need to fall down, I didn't feel changed, or a fainting as such. However, I didn't mind the gibberish tongues part as I honestly thought it was a divine thing.
But I was never one to talk a lot of gibberish, I started getting into it again not so long ago, about a month ago (obviously before this revelation), but soon afterwards, give or take a few days, Yahweh quickly showed me the Truth of the matter, sorted me out as best a loving Father could, gently instructed me. I have now repented, in doing so washing my feet as it says in John 13:10
"He who is already bathed needs only to wash his feet to make him completely clean." I need His ongoing forgiveness to grow in my relationship with our Father.
I like what kp writes for mitzvah 435 in chapter 11,
Holy Things, in TOM:
kp wrote:The kohein shall wash his hands and feet at the time of service. "You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to Yahweh, they shall wash with water, lest they die. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them--to him and his descendants throughout their generations." (Exodus 30:18-21) The whole tabernacle layout is designed to teach us how to approach God. We’ve already discussed the furnishings found within the tent of meeting: the table of showbread, the lampstand, and the altar of incense within the Holy Place, and then, behind the veil in the Holy of Holies, the ark of the covenant with its integral mercy seat--redemption’s ground zero. But outside the tabernacle there were two items one had to pass before he even reached the front door. First was the altar upon which the sacrifices were slain and roasted. Then, standing between the altar and the tabernacle was the bronze laver described here.
It’s one thing for the proper sacrifice to be made to atone for your sin--the function of the altar. It’s quite another to be "clean" enough to stand before Yahweh. The altar denotes the sacrifice made; the laver symbolizes the sacrifice accepted. Note that the priest’s whole body wasn’t to be cleansed at the laver, but only his hands and feet, indicative of his work and his walk before God. We are reminded of the foot-washing scene between Yahshua and Peter in the upper room. Peter was questioning the appropriateness of the Lord of Creation stooping to wash his dirty feet, but Yahshua told him, "He who is already bathed needs only to wash his feet to make him completely clean." (John 13:10) So it is with the laver: the sacrifice has been made at the altar, making us clean. All that’s left to do is admit that our feet are still dirty from walking through this world, and that they need to be bathed in Christ’s ongoing forgiveness. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)
I have now sent an email to my mate as I want to spread the news. He's still a part of my previous church and he agrees with my thoughts on the subject too, they've obviously grown in the last 5 years since I attended. But he asked me a question that I don't seem to be able to answer, he questioned the meaning of speaking
"with the tongues of men and of messengers" as it says in 1 Corinthians 13:1
"If I speak in tongues of men and of messengers, but do not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging symbol." Now, from my understanding either Paul is saying that even if he was able to speak the languages of angelic beings but had not love it is nothing. Just using it for comparison purposes, not that he can actually speak heavenly languages. Or he's trying to say is that to speak the tongues of messengers is to speak the things of Elohim, like what we're doing here on this forum, whereas the tongues of men is just speaking your everyday common language, talking about random things, such as business, family, etc. but if not done in love then it is nothing. Or the tongues of messengers is the gift of tongues (not being understood by the speaker but by the hearer in their native language) in that it is directed towards Elohim, being praise in other words.
Anyway, this forum continues to be a blessing.
PS: Don't you guy just love the way our Father, Yahweh, guides us? He lovingly corrects us, no shame or guilt attached. I guess the Set-Apart Spirit didn't like me being influenced by my carnal nature, He's helping me put to death the misdeeds of the body.
Random question, but not meaning to change the topic:
John 16:13a
"But when He comes, the Spirit of the Truth, He shall guide you into all truth." I notice some people refer to the Spirit as a 'she', but here the word 'he' is used. I know the Spirit has feminine characteristics but which is more correct, he or she? I've linked this question to a new thread, click
here, or you can find it in the "Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost?" section under the title "Ruach Qodesh, the Set-Apart Spirit, a He or She?"
Edited by user Sunday, January 13, 2008 12:48:29 AM(UTC)
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