God Opened My Eyes

[Esphes45]

I really didn't know where to put this but here seemed like a good place.

I was apart of an Apostolic church for 25 years. Though that time I was faithful and followed all I was taught, desiring the sincere milk of the Word and growing in the faith.

After 25 years, I left. God opened my eyes.

I never really READ the bible. I was just confirming what was being said by my pastor and agreeing with it. In my 20th year God put me in a position where I was pretty much forced to READ the bible and when I started reading it, I started to realize that a lot of what I was told was just some man's opinion that you had to respect as a man of God to believe. I started doing my own biblical due diligence and I noticed that the church I was apart of wasn't the church in the bible. Sure we believed in the baptism and the Holy Ghost but that was it. It was more of a cult then anything else. The church I was in was using the apostolic doctrine to control people and that is NOT how it is in the bible. We say we believed in the Holy Ghost but we refused to let it work. That wasn't the only thing. There were a lot of things I realized after READING the bible that I was being essentially lied to about. Tithes Paying and Faith Healing being a couple of them. I'm not here to debate anyone, I'm just here to tell my testimony how God opened my eyes.

If you believe Jesus came here to be an example for us until his return then the Apostolic churches I know of are cults. Jesus let the Word do the job.

It's sad because the people in these churches mean right. They want to see Jesus in peace. But these "pastors" are so caught up with pride and have control issues that it is destroying people souls.

I couldn't waste my time anymore. God is too good.

I'm going to end here but if anyone has any questions for me feel free to ask. I still love Good and pray that one day we will all be on one accord, in one place.

Until then.... Keep me prayer.

[LOVE JESUS]

Are you going to any kind of church?

[Esphes45]

No.

I'm waiting on God to direct my path.

I'm going to tell you due to my experience in my old church I'm very careful about going to any church again. I visited a church awhile back and because I what I know is right I'm picking over everything with a fine tooth comb. I'm not going to make excuses for a church just so I feel comfortable there. I'm not trying to waste my time.

[brotherjason]

Originally Posted by Esphes45

No.

I'm waiting on God to direct my path.

I'm going to tell you due to my experience in my old church I'm very careful about going to any church again. I visited a church awhile back and because I what I know is right I'm picking over everything with a fine tooth comb. I'm not going to make excuses for a church just so I feel comfortable there. I'm not trying to waste my time.

Please be careful. I know personally of whole families that were hurt by a church (and it was by very definition a cult!). Instead of being handled easy with "kid gloves" so to speak, they ended up under another authoritarian preacher.
They're now out of church, as worldly as worldly can get and sadly, unless God intervenes, they're probably on their way to hell.

There's a reason we are told to assemble the more as you see the day approaching(Hebrews 10:25). We as the body need one another more than most of us are willing to admit. I hope your search ends in a truth telling church somewhere soon.

[LOVE JESUS]

Originally Posted by Esphes45

No.

I'm waiting on God to direct my path.

I'm going to tell you due to my experience in my old church I'm very careful about going to any church again. I visited a church awhile back and because I what I know is right I'm picking over everything with a fine tooth comb. I'm not going to make excuses for a church just so I feel comfortable there. I'm not trying to waste my time.

I hope and pray you find a good church. I don't know if you have family - married, kids or just single, BUT if you have family, please remember you are setting an example for them. I don't know how long you have been searching for a church, but I ask you to please continue looking. There isn't a perfect church or pastor. You might need to put up the fine tooth comb and maybe even look in LARGE churches where it doesn't seem like it would be as much control over the people. I don't mean to sound like a know it all or criticizing you. The enemy would like to see you miss out on all the benefits of a good pastor and church. God gives us all an opportunity to witness and we really can't effectively witness to someone if we aren't going to church. How can we tell them to go when we can't find a good church? Do you have a calling on your life to be a preacher or start a church? Just asking..
I once had a pastor who was dominaring. I can understand your feelings. We ended up leaving his church (and he was family). He tried to turn some of the church people against us. He ended up loosing his mind and church. But we forgave him and would even take him food. It is a long story but he is dead now. Church is still struggling with just a handful of people. Sad because it was a good church at one time.
Will be praying for you brother. Thank you for sharing.

[coksiw]

Even though there are few things that are questionable in Apostolic Church, I'm afraid you are jumping to conclusions too quickly, with too little.

If you tell me that for a good amount of time, probably years, you have read the Bible entirely few times, and you studied the correct principles of Biblical interpretations, and you learned to do it correctly. Then, I would say you got something.

Then, you would have come to the conclusion that of all the denominational churches out there, the Apostolic Pentecostal is the closest thing you are going to find.


If you think preparation and study, and probably for years, in addition to having the right attitude of seeking God, is not necessary, look at this warnings from the Scriptures:

[2Pe 3:15-16 NKJV] 15 ... as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable [people] twist to their own destruction, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures.

[1Ti 1:6-7 NKJV] 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

Also, the apostles were trained by Jesus for three years before being sent. They were regular people, fishermen, tax collectors, etc... but Jesus didn't leave them uneducated regarding the Scriptures, e.g. look at Peter's sermons, look at Matthew's Gospel (yeah, the tax collector).

Esphes45, I encourage you slow down. Yes, you are right that there are some things that are questionable. But take your time, give room to the possibility that you are wrong in many other of your conclusions. You are just starting the journey of searching the Scriptures daily [to find out] whether these things were so (Act 17:11-12).

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by coksiw

Even though there are few things that are questionable in Apostolic Church, I'm afraid you are jumping to conclusions too quickly, with too little.

If you tell me that for a good amount of time, probably years, you have read the Bible entirely few times, and you studied the correct principles of Biblical interpretations, and you learned to do it correctly. Then, I would say you got something.

Then, you would have come to the conclusion that of all the denominational churches out there, the Apostolic Pentecostal is the closest thing you are going to find.


If you think preparation and study, and probably for years, in addition to having the right attitude of seeking God, is not necessary, look at this warnings from the Scriptures:

[2Pe 3:15-16 NKJV] 15 ... as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable [people] twist to their own destruction, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures.

[1Ti 1:6-7 NKJV] 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

Also, the apostles were trained by Jesus for three years before being sent. They were regular people, fishermen, tax collectors, etc... but Jesus didn't leave them uneducated regarding the Scriptures, e.g. look at Peter's sermons, look at Matthew's Gospel (yeah, the tax collector).

Esphes45, I encourage you slow down. Yes, you are right that there are some things that are questionable. But take your time, give room to the possibility that you are wrong in many other of your conclusions. You are just starting the journey of searching the Scriptures daily [to find out] whether these things were so (Act 17:11-12).

I have heard several Apostolic preachers whose preaching proved to me they knew nothing about hermeneutics.

[coksiw]

Originally Posted by Originalist

I have heard several Apostolic preachers whose preaching proved to me they knew nothing about hermeneutics.

And I 100% agree, and it is unfortunate. I surprises me how weak Hermeneutics is in the Licenses. There is only one class about it , and it is very brief and shallow.

[Esphes45]

Wow. This is exactly what I'm talking about. You don't even know me and you are jumping to conclusions.

The bible says "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.."

If anyone studies the bible they should come to a very basic conclusion. God didn't mean for the road to heaven to be difficult or confusing for those who diligently seek him.

See here is water...

I'm not training to be an apostle, I just want to see God in peace.

I agree Apostolic Pentecostal might be the closest thing but it makes things way too complex. This is because of these control hungary, pride filled pastors.


Thanks for the encouragement!

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by Esphes45

Wow. This is exactly what I'm talking about. You don't even know me and you are jumping to conclusions.

The bible says "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.."

If anyone studies the bible they should come to a very basic conclusion. God didn't mean for the road to heaven to be difficult or confusing for those who diligently seek him.

See here is water...

I'm not training to be an apostle, I just want to see God in peace.

I agree Apostolic Pentecostal might be the closest thing but it makes things way too complex. This is because of these control hungary, pride filled pastors.


Thanks for the encouragement!

I have to agree. I was an AG minister for 7 years and a UPCI minister from 1993-2016. While the worst cases of spiritual abuse I observed were in the AG, the UPCI seems to have a more frequent, ongoing problem with abuse in the majority of its churches. Pastors put pressure on themselves that God never intended and it all rolls downhill.