21. GOD HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

     The church building that is.  You won't find but a trace of His power in most of them.  Tim 2:3 describes them, they will have a form of godliness but deny its real power.  Their intentions are good but much thinking and doctrine is incorrect.  Satan is sly and crafty and will sneak a little lie in with much good and lead us astray.  The Bible tells us we have to be in the spirit to understand it and many of the mainstream preachers haven't had a baptism of the spirit.  1 COR 2:14 "The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."  My friend I just re connected with experienced the same thing I did, that after his baptism in the spirit, he could understand the Bible a lot better.  Tongues were the proof of his experience.  Many pastors found their God in college and some of them are more business man than servant of God.
     The pastor of the church I raised my kids in was out to build a mega church in a little community that didn't need it.  He squandered hundreds of thousands of dollars in a 250 - 300 member congregation.  He surrounded himself with "yes men" elders, would steer votes in business meetings to get the result he wanted and he or elders would ridicule dissension in meetings. (Are you questioning what God can do?" e.g.)  In spite of my fear of public speaking, I was outraged enough to speak up in one meeting.  I made some cover for myself by saying I thought it was horrible the way another brother had been shot down then went on to point out we'd been promised new staff wouldn't be hired until we had the money but it was being done anyway.
     The pastor coveted an overpriced house with 10 acres on a highway.  We had our 12 hour prayer session and presented a good, last and final offer, our fleece it was called.  The offer was rejected. Then a few months passed, the skyrocketing market appreciated, that was called God's timing and we paid the owner's asking price.  This turned out to be the peak of the market.
     A year later after encountering one hurdle after the next, the neighbors didn't want the traffic, it wasn't built for commercial use, etc, we were making huge mortgage payments and still not able to use the property.  Satan was conveniently blamed for the setbacks instead of an admission that we hadn't been in God's will.  Churches can play it this way.  They can show either good stewardship and be conservative or they can be risky and claim a leap of faith.  If it was God's will, He'll provide the money, but if it wasn't and the money doesn't come, satan can be blamed to avoid responsibility.
    A respected member, a rocket scientist / Sunday school teacher, finally worked his way into the position of senior elder and asked for this pastor's resignation.  My wife and I had left by then in disgust with the pastor.  Had we still been there with accountability and fellowship from our long time church family, we might not have divorced.
     Satan seems to be taking over not only our society but also our churches.  He's kept alive his huge church throughout the millenia in different forms.  I won't name names so as not to offend but it's that big one where the queen of heaven is worshipped and men are given power to forgive sins and intercede between us and God.  Most of their traditions are straight from Semiraimis, Nimrod's wife and mother, founder of the first pagan religion after Nimrod's death.  Many of our christian traditions such as Easter, the wrong date of Jesus's birth, etc. are also from her.
     I haven't come across a pastor yet who believes we can have a demon and the Holy Spirit at the same time.  My mentor, Dr. Bree Keyton, "moves among" all 9 of the greater gifts, has written several college courses and, I know most readers won't be able to believe this but has raised several dead pygmies back to life.
     She doesn't own her gifts, God moves through her and tells her what He wants her to do, it's not of her power but of God.  She shared how He once told her to grow an arm for someone in a third world country.  She says she pointed at it and commanded, "grow!" and out sprouted an arm complete with fingers.  You can't believe that but I saw her healing people and was helping catch women, "slain in the spirit" so I can believe.
     When she says, we are three part beings, flesh, spirit and soul and certainly can have demons, I'll believe her over the pastors who may be preaching for a profession not a true calling and probably haven't had the close encounter with God we call the baptism of the spirit.  She definitely has a deeper level of God connectedness and understanding than anyone else I've met.
     I'm belaboring this point but think it's important.  Countless christians are being held in bondage by various forms of evil that could easily be prayed out but won't be with the denial that you can't have the Holy Spirit and a demon.  I've described my personal experiences as, "It's like my consciousness was there witnessing it, but not in control."  As Dr. Keyton says and I mentioned in the Sad Lady posting, satanic ritual abuse and childhood sexual abuse are the hardest to overcome, letting in tremendous amounts of evil.
     The Sad Lady, my companion for the last 3 years until I moved to GA had been horribly molested by 3 different men as a girl of 5 for about a year.  Now, every 2 or 3 weeks, she'll have episodes lasting up to 3 days during which she'll rage, sulk or lock herself away, can't hear reason or be communicated with, then ease out of them and come back to normalcy.  The trigger incident is often imagined.  She appears to be possessed though not as seriously as the girl in the movie, The Exorcist, but along those lines.  She has the gift of tongues and the gift of interpreting them so certainly has the Holy Spirit.
     She is an example as am I of my idea that we horribly broken people may be more likely to find God than others because we're often crying out to Him from places of deep anguish.  I'm breaking down a bit as I write this.  The Sad Lady smothered her daughter I felt in an effort to vicariously relive her childhood or to compensate for her abuse and abandonment issues.  She went through one job after the next often because of some imagined transgression. She was prone to socially aberrant behavior and it got to the point I didn't want her around friends or family because of what she might say.  She wouldn't let me have female friends because of jealousy but it was ok for her to post herself on craigslist personals looking for a better man.  I originally wrote her story to explain her behavior to a pastor and elder in our church when she went for counseling to try to force me to stay in a relationship with her.  I'd told her I wouldn't marry her because of the episodes and being neglected by her due to her codependency with her daughter as well as a handful of smaller issues.  I'd told her I saw her as a broken sister, not a potential partner, but I was in a low place and happy to have any company I could get.  She once reported me for rape because she was losing a fight, (verbally) and later admitted it was to level the playing field.  Then there was the mass email to 20 or 30 men in my church when I told her, her kids were her and her ex's problem that I thought I needed to move to GA.  This was a string of emails asking what a church should do with a man who has sex with a poor woman then dumps her and her kids and 12 or 13 more similar to it.  This behavior certainly wasn't christian, but she couldn't help herself.   From Dr. Keyton and my life experiences, I firmly believe christians can have demons and evil spirits.
     I am puzzled by unbelief about God's power and gifts to his people, one of satan's princes has this name by the way, the spirit of unbelief.  Even with all my experiences, my own sons are leery of the greater gifts and I don't get it.  I point out that one of their best friend"s step dad, my sign maker mountain mentor, had the gift of tongues.  "How do you explain that?"  I'll ask, science can't, but I can't get through.  Many think the power of God is satanic because they've never seen it so it scares them when they come across it.  It isn't seen in most churches today.
     I was very encouraged by my friend's email.  It's good to see that there are other seekers out there who are finding the true God, the one with power who is still alive and well.  I believe he and I will be a couple of the Elijahs God is calling up per Mal: 4- 6 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreaded day of the LORD.  He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents ; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction."  I don't have any gifts at present but a prophet's main job was to teach and I've had positive feedback already about my writing.  My feeling is that once catastrophe starts to happen, many will come to believe.
     I've admitted to that certain weakness that would disqualify me for church leadership, but God is doing a work in me and keeping me pure.  He gave me a personal message by word of knowledge a month or so ago by one of His connected servants at my new church which was to keep seeking Him, a big issue would be resolved and I'd find my purpose.  I thought that was to write this blog but it's almost done, until further leading, which leads me to believe He has something more for me coming up.
     Thanks again for the help with the purity issue God, but come on,  I'll behave.  I'm popular with a local group of 70 - 80 year old women but I'm only 57.  Just let me have a date now and then, maybe an occasional hug with a woman around my age, please God.
    I can't pick women, actually they usually pick me and I'll go along depending on whether or not I like their looks so I have a deal with God.  He picks my next and last wife and I'll know it because she'll come up to me with a question only God and I know.  I think I understand the gift of faith now. I know God has the power to do this.  I'm going to be patient for a while and give God a chance to do it in His timing.  He has the rest of the day and all day tomorrow, then I'm back on the prowl.