Re: The Living Word Fellowship, The Walk, John Robert Stevens
Date: July 09, 2018 01:37AM
With all the current sermons on obedience in TLWF, the first thing I want to do is apologize to those who personally knew me, for pointing to obedience to humans, instead of obedience to God. I know I did not do it with malice, believing God and my leaders were one and the same, but nevertheless the devastating results were the same. I also know that much of the fruit in my life during that time was not of the Holy Spirit. I’m especially sorry to those younger who watched my partying as an elder and then found themselves in bondages that they have been unable to break free from. It’s so sad that they now think any attempt to walk with God is just a joke. I know better now, and certainly have a level of freedom I never experienced in TLWF – but I will always be sorry.
As Jesus suggested, it’s always important to look at the fruit to determine if it is a good or bad tree. Deuteronomy 28 says, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:…” Jesus later said in John 14,“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Obviously, obedience is critical to the process. It’s the bait-and switch technique of TLWF that caused me such grief. I know I was far too open to hear “You need a special apostle to tell you what God really means” and then you wake up one day discarded in the ditch. It’s certainly not a new problem, going back to the Garden – will you do exactly what God commands or will you listen to the deception of another who claims they have more insight than God?
For starters, “new revelation” simply does not work – thus the need to take a serious look at the fruit. Since followers were not taught the commands of Jesus, but instead the teaching of men, there is no reference point for comparison – it’s all just one non-functioning belief system compared to another. The dark side that has led to this website is the wounding that takes place so that followers want nothing to do with God or His Body after following this other teaching. The resulting mistrust is such a bondage and did not come from God. The wounded end up running from the very Source that is the only place to find true healing.
I’ve learned in the school of hard knocks that you have to obey the right teaching to get the right result. To tell people that if they just obey - even if it is wrong - God will still bless them, is a simply a lie used to control people. The truth actually matters and it is not tied to a date or spiritual breakthrough. It’s been interesting to me to watch the flack you get when you suggest we read the words the Jesus and put them into practice. Since most of us call ourselves Christians, it would seem like a no-brainer. However, the talons come out when you start to take away power from those who only want to use Jesus for personal gain. It’s no different now than it was with the Pharisees in the early church. Actually, it takes more humility to say listen to Jesus instead of me. Even Jesus said that his words were not his own, but his Father’s.