Dear Despisenone
[b:ba36c7a42f]First[/b:ba36c7a42f] of all I pray that you realize you are not despised by the Lord.
Please read this [u:ba36c7a42f]“The New Testament Gamble” [/u:ba36c7a42f]
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[b:ba36c7a42f]Second[/b:ba36c7a42f] I pray that you would be strengthened and restored, that the amount of HURT that you have endured or experienced would become a source of strength in your faith. I pray that your ability to extend forgiveness would melt away fear, blame, denial, anger or shame in the people that have sinned against you. Now that does not mean that I we just go around extending forgiveness to anybody. No, don’t go there, watch-out and proceed with caution or you will turn you into another welcome mat and you too will be stepped on once again. To extend forgiveness to people (at Radiant Life or any other church leadership) with-out communicating to them how they have hurt us and how it affected us would be a waist of time. You see and how we forgive a person who has offended us gives both parties a fantastic opportunity to reconcile the relationship.
[b:ba36c7a42f]Thirdly[/b:ba36c7a42f] I pray that you would have a rekindled love for your first love...Jesus Christ!
I too found myself in the same situation at Radiant Life. I found myself in that same room of fired up people excited to worship God, a room filled with determination, fervor, commitment, willpower and good intentions. The attitude of lets get things going for God was so infectious! I became zealous passionate and eager to get involved to be on the “A” team. But that started to wear out over a long period of time. I realized the charades’ people were pushing in discipleship and in ministries were the means to measure you by “what are you doing for the church [i:ba36c7a42f]aka[/i:ba36c7a42f] (God)?” And I admit, I became part of that effort of trying to make the grade, to gain approval from the guy I was meeting with for discipleship. You know the good intentions trying to keep up appearances and missing the true relationship with Jesus of trusting him. One of the things that I experienced was the teachings that we had to sacrifice more! In Discipleship we were taught that the sacrifice that I just made yesterday was simply history and today is what counts. I was taught to put my faith more in what I could sacrifice rather than trusting God.
I remember one night at the [b:ba36c7a42f]GAP[/b:ba36c7a42f] the group was asked to consider the things that we value greater than our relationship with God. So as we were praying people started getting up and taking things up to the prayer porch and laying it down on the steps. One guy set his acoustic guitar in the front and so I started felling that maybe I was putting my efforts into my talents and music skills before God so I walked out to my car and grabbed one of my hand drums and set it up on the prayer porch. Others were pulling out their money, ATM cards, watches, CD’s, an Aloha shirt, and some guys took off their wedding rings and set it up in the pile of sacrifice. We all left the GAP that night thinking wow we have stepped into another level with God. It was about two weeks later I remember walking into the church seeing the rather large pile of stuff up there on the stage along with my drum and thinking “well there you go…there is my sacrifice”. But as I sit here today reflecting on what happed that night at the GAP. I understand that it was an outward expression of what should have been my very heart cry. Reflecting back I can see that the environment in the church helped create this place of putting on the dog and pony show of doing the out ward expression of keeping up appearances to get the approval or nod from the pastor and peers. You see so many of us bought into the notion that pleasing God has to be our primary motivation yet we strive harder and harder to develop a relationship with a God who never seams to be pleased enough. In this group I strive to work on my sins to some how get my sin under control to get that pile of sin reduced some how so that I can some day be closer to God. This environment puts the emphasis on the efficacy of my efforts and that becomes my identity, of who I am. Thus putting me back to the point of my life where I am in need of a savior.
You see I have learned that we can not please God with out trusting Him.
[i:ba36c7a42f]It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.[/i:ba36c7a42f] Hebrews 11:6
I realized that by trusting in God I learn to allow him to mature me into what is already true about me, that I now have His DNA and not the DNA of some pastor or elder. In the old environment I never learn to trust God because the efficiency was what I was doing for the church or God. I was not encouraged to trust God with all my hurts habits and hang-ups. To trust him because….he is God…and I am not. I was being taught that more sacrifice would please God. Reflecting back the surrounding church environment was breeding this behavior, a works based performance driven devotion and existence.
Radiant Life Church has the reputation of being alive with flamboyant style of worship and a peculiar devotion yet many are dead. There are many who’s deeds and works are greater now than they were in the beginning but they have left their first love, Jesus Christ. Still there are some who are neither hot nor cold but lukewarm. Some people tolerate that woman Jezebel and they are teaching her ways to others. Women are controlling their husbands through manipulation and others are devoted to the leaders more over their own husbands. Some are practicing the teachings of the Nicolaitans and leading others into this dogma of controlling the people of God and manipulating their circumstances. Still there are some who have not soiled their garments in the place where Satan dwells the faithful ones who are enduring hardship even to the point of death.
KEEP PRAYING FOR RECONCILIATION