“What governs men is the fear of truth.”

Thu, 7 Sep 2006 19:51:51 -0500

“What governs men is the fear of truth.” Henri Amiel There is an elemental injustice occurring in the body of Christ. People are being misled by leadership that lacks proper training and preparation. Over history, it was common for preachers to be the most educated persons of leadership. From the days of Moses to the Azusa Street revival, leadership in the pulpit was trained to teach and preach the word of God. Today, we are faced with those who are educated but, are not allowing the training to come forth to built a strong, biblically rooted foundation. I found myself, a few months ago, in a meeting where the leadership chastised their membership for not teaching the basic principles of their doctrine. It was a comment that went beyond my immediate attention because I knew in my heart that they were not talking about me. But, as time went by, I began to reflect on this comment and I realized that the leader was not chastising them for not teaching the Bible, but for not teaching their doctrine. I found this to be interesting because it seemed that the leader was more interested in his doctrine than in the Word of God. There is only one doctrine we should abide by. That would be the Word of God. It is dangerous to be in a posture where our doctrine is more important than the Word in which we base it on. Then I surmised one simple truth: we have allowed people to be elevated into position without evaluating the fruit that they produce. There is an unfortunate reality about this as well; that, Christians have been dealing with this same problem since the days of the Apostle Paul. Henri Amiel once said that “In order to see Christianity, one must forget almost all the Christian.” Meaning, in order to fully see and comprehend the Word of God, we must look beyond the person bringing the Word of God to us. We must go beyond the momentary emotional satisfaction and look for the intellectual fulfillment. We can no longer go to church to feel good but to be edified by the Word we hear. It is true that Praise and Worship is beautiful, powerful and wonderful, it should not be the only reason why we go to church. Praise and Worship sets the atmosphere for the truth of the Gospel to come forth. Jesus, as He spoke to the Samaritan woman, told her that a time will come when we will worship God in Spirit and in Truth. This means that when you enter the sanctuary and you enter into a posture of worship, the truth of God (revelation) will be revealed to you. This revelation is not only to present to you your inner faults and successes, but it will search your heart to pull out the true essence of your destiny and presented to you the steps to reach that goal. But we too often stop the revelation by staying so deep into worship (for the emotional elevation) that we miss the revelation surrounding us. I look at it like someone in a burning house with headphones on. They see the smoke, they smell the fire, but because they are so absorbed in the music, they ignore the dangers around them. You see, the Word of God is often misused by those who seek to squander away the potential wealth and riches that are found in the church today, by selling the Word of God instead of presenting the Gospel to those who need it. While there are financial attachments to spreading the Gospel, one must be deep in meditation and prayer before any word comes forth. Too often we find ourselves shortchanged by those who only see the potential wealth and recognition that comes with ministry but ignore the pitfalls and extensive level of servitude that is required. John MacArthur once said, “Failure to appropriate the truth of the gospel produces stagnation in spiritual advancement and the inability to understand or assimilate additional teaching.” The Bible tells us in Hebrews that 11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! (Hebrews 5:11-12) When one becomes greater than the Word they teach, it causes them to become disobedient to the Word they teach. “It is only when men begin to worship that they begin to grow.” – Calvin Coolidge

Reflections

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:03:50 -0500

Driving down the tree covered lane I shade my eyes from the interruption Of sun beams through leaves as I Wonder if I could grasp its warmth; I opened the sunroof to the salute of Oaks holding hands over the road Covered with multi-colored leafs Painting a picture of crayola dreams; I look through my rear view mirror as I increase my pace to see the dance of Colors flying high as though they believe The wind will carry them back home; I wonder if I drive fast enough could I Throw them high enough for the oaks To reach down and grab them just so They could have another try at strength; Maybe so but that will change the fate Of life and the purpose of their fall onto A road traveled my so many before me And so many yet to appear in my sight; That one day someone may pull over and Get out to search for that one rustic colored Leaf to carry with them through the day on A journey so few leaves are willing to travel; Could today be the day that another leaf Will fall unwillingly or shall he let go of Safety’s embrace to fall into the hands of destiny awaiting them on the road we call life? Tell me…which leaf are you today?

Welcome to our Blog!

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 13:58:03 -0500

Peace and Blessings! I want to welcome you to a new addition to our website. This is the area where our pastor, Prophet Derrick Truesdale, will provide meditations, words of encouragement and prophetic insight on the events of the day. Come through often to experience his poetry as well! Once again, we welcome you to Redeeming Oil's Blog!

From the Prophet's Heart

“What governs men is the fear of truth.”

Reflections

Welcome to our Blog!