Thanks Larry. Now I too remember the joke about the little boy. That's probably what G was mimicking. I remember a guy who did some gardening maintenance for JRS saying sometimes JRS was chatty with him and sometimes JRS acted annoyed that he was there. Such are the moods of the Sons of God. I'm glad he was kind to you though.

FCSLC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The class system; the caste system; social
> stratification:
>
> --------------
>
> People created it. People maintain it. Jerks
> apply it. Thank God the Spirit does not endorse
> it at all, otherwise underlings wouldn’t have
> much of a comfort zone in this world.

______________________________________________________________

My recollection is much of what JRS taught about the Kingdom was that it would be a virtual caste system not a democracy at all. Now I realize that was John's interpretation, not necessarily the way God will manifest it.

Thanks lily rose, especially for pointing out that there could be a difference between JRS’ interpretation and what God actually has in mind.

Now here is my rant:

JRS can go ahead and pledge allegiance to his loser concept of a non-democratic, virtual caste system type of Kingdom/Heaven. JRS’ concept is no different than Joseph Smith’s top down concepts. It’s always the same, leaders always preaching a top down stratification because they’re infected with a non-transcendent, unimaginative mind that can’t evolve past earthly notions of a centralized world chain of command, appointed positions and pecking orders for all.

I must be a dreamer because for me heaven by definition has to be a place that surpasses everything that has been known or done so far. I want to be surprised and even more, impressed by the levels of individual independence prepared for each as they unfold in the never ending greatness and intelligence of God. Why can’t we ride forever the highest heavens with God, exploring the infinities as best friends? Heaven is going to be fun, free and dripping with equality, independence, justice and liberty-----that is my expectation/interpretation.

I don’t like JRS’ concept of the kingdom; there doesn’t seem to be much difference between it and hell.

FCSLC,

I don't believe in John's interpretation of the 1000 year reign of the Kingdom on earth either. I think many of his ideas about it came from the Latter Rain teaching and John's belief that he had his own secret knowledge and revelations (all the makings of a cult). All of it warped my thinking, in particular that we had to meet and live up to the standards of the LW leaders. Didn't JRS learn from Moses that the nature of man cannot live up to the standards of the LAW? Man couldn't keep the LAW in the OT so how in the world were we expected to keep it in our own strength in the LW. The LW taught that we should live on a level of obedience and righteousness above normal Christians because that was thought to be the behavior for the citizens of the Kingdom (my way or the highway mentality of the Hargraves). Jesus never taught 2 different standards for Christians and I see no evidence we were/are in the Kingdom. The life style of the new creation that JRS taught, the standard Jesus erects in His Sermon on the Mount are so high, the morality so difficult (without any instruction regarding how to live up to the standards i.e. in the Sermon on the Mount) that some (I think they call themselves dispensationalist ) believe it won't happen (we will never measure up) until the Kingdom comes. Yes, JRS taught as do other Latter Rainer's that a separate "Filling" by a coming "Presence" would change and transform us into a righteous new creation but I tend to think that is probably not how it presently works. The other option is that during our time on this planet we are subject to Grace and the Fruit of the Spirit (love), not the Law or Works (killing yourself in service to the leaders). That's pretty much to date how I have sorted it out to break free of that LW baggage that you haven't changed enough or you will never change or that you weren't spiritual enough. That's the kind of trip cults lay on members.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2016 08:32AM by lily rose.

changedagain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A couple years ago I did some work inside the L.A.
> home of Katy Perry.


__________________________________________________

Name dropper. (teasing)

In the 70's the mother of one of the Walk members ran a catering business and needed a group of girls to dress up as "English maid" servants at an event at the Roxy (kind of a night club in LA). The English maid costumes were a little risqué but we were children of the sexual revolution so it didn't matter. June Lockhart (Lassie) was in attendance as was the British actress Jacqueline Bissett (she was very nice and complimented me on my outfit and she had a conversation with me that lasted at least 3 minutes). I was reminded of this event while watching a PBS series on British Black jazz musicians in which Jacqueline Bisset makes a guest appearance. I remember Walk MSOG Don Lazner's wife Victory was in attendance (I think they divorced.) Hands down that's my best Walk memory ever!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2016 10:30AM by lily rose.

lily rose Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> changedagain Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > A couple years ago I did some work inside the
> L.A.
> > home of Katy Perry.


Yeah, sorry about that. Every now and then that trait surfaces.

p.s. Shout out to my close friend Ryan Gosling!

(I won't bother to mention that back in the daze I worked for Robert Vaughan [Man from U.N.C.L.E.], Steve Garvey, Priscilla Presley, and Edward James Almos.)

--Please disregard.

HEADLINE NEWS: Overdone

"Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done"
July 17, 2016

[www.churchofthelivingword.com]

"If we believe Jesus Christ is returning . . . and that He intends for us to rule and reign with him (the ultimate carrot on a stick), then we need to prepare for it (duh)."

". . . we can go through our whole lives without doing much about it." (TLW slackers club)

". . . there has to be a disciplining of our spirits." (Here comes the hammer.)

"It's very easy to disapprove of what God does, how He does it, and how He uses us in that process." (That would be TLW leadership, not God.)

"Our ability to do Gods' will . . . means we must be trained to submit to Christ's Lordship." (Hammer #2+)

Jesus’ teachings on the kingdom are just the opposite of human common sense. “Call no man leader, teacher, or father. You have one and it’s the Christ and you are all brothers.” Humans naturally want to gain advantage over one another. Jesus said that he didn’t come to be served, but to serve – something you hear from very few church leaders, including TLWF. They all have special plans for your submission to them, not how they are going to serve you. “If you want to be great in the kingdom, be the servant of all.” Jesus’ teachings, including those in the Sermon on the Mount, were addressed to common people and contained simple instructions for those who actually wanted to take steps in the direction of God, and not just be religious so they could look down on others from the new higher level they just broke into by screaming at God. You may have a rough time ruling and reigning with Christ when you find out he actually loves to serve – it may get quite uncomfortable for the selfish!

The problem with groups like TLWF, is that they teach that what Jesus taught is incomplete without them, and then they spin his words to say the exact opposite of what Jesus intended. Jesus didn’t say that his teaching would only work after it was twisted by a Door Opener or Lamp of Israel. The kingdom is a hierarchy – only you are on the bottom, not the top. You are falsely led to believe that you can’t read and obey Jesus’ words on your own without them. How can you be a good thief or robber if people figure out they don’t need you? “Nobody comes to the Father except through me”. “You have one teacher and it is the Christ” – what if that is really true in spite of what your teacher (who you were not supposed to let take the place of God) says?

Of course there is going to be problems when you do the opposite of what Jesus taught – that’s actually a blessing in disguise. The reason Jesus’ teaching doesn’t appear to work is that we don’t actually put it into practice – the lesson of building on the rock instead of the sand. It’s not something you have to study, it’s something you have to obey. You don’t even have to do it perfectly to get great results – just start moving in that direction.

Maybe you can’t love or forgive someone perfectly who has violated you the way Jesus has done for you, but you can take a small step in that direction. When we take a step of faith in obedience towards Him, something of His Spirit begins to empower us to do what we could never do in our own ability. There’s a reason that when Jesus sent out his disciples, he told them to teach what he had commanded them – not some new revelation they came up with on their own. Jesus’ teaching was not even his own, but the Father’s. “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Maybe he actually meant that!

The doctrine of salvation is not an excuse to disobey what Jesus taught. The Sermon on the Mount is not an ideal that can be accomplished by human will, it’s a picture of what the new nature looks like. We, of all people, are the most surprised when we genuinely start loving people we never cared for in the past. Jesus’ words were given to us to apply while we are on this earth. Hopefully, we will not have enemies to practice on in the next life.