Sharnadeen
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Everything posted by Sharnadeen
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Point taken....Well said....
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BacKaran, I've come to realize that maybe this is why I am there....to show my fellow brethrens how to improve. Glad you're loving it where you are .
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LOL Ezra!
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I'm so impressed....Keep working for God.Good to have you on WCF . Very nice to meet you....
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That's amazing! But that is just not the case where I am.
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Other One... your case is very odd..Very rarely have I seen persons who step outside use their cellphones to pray for others in the middle of a church service. I think that it is very disrespectful for the Word of God to be taught or being read but at the same time persons are doing their own thing or teaching others themselves. Our God is not the author of confusion 1 Corinthians 14:33, one God, one order one standard. I understand your point but would not encourage that this be done within that 3 hours of assembling with a church 'family' so they may be edified. I believe there is a time and a place for everything.
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Adding to your point, many persons are afraid to speak out for fear of disappointing their leaders rather than fear of disappointing the Holy Ghost.
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That's it! We ought to turn our phones off or something. I hardly get missed calls during church hours because I've set a standard from day 1, and that is, I do not accept calls when I'm at church...When the emergencies come up then I'll handle accordingly.
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Yown, I'm glad you also realize the absence of the essentials (Hell, the return of Jesus etc.). I am really tired of hearing about prosperity....
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I have observed quite a number of developing trends in our churches that beg the frightening question of who we are worshiping. Common among those trends are the tendency of persons to spend more time on their cell phones than they do in worship and the tendency to 'make an entrance' when entering the sanctuary. I can't help but ask myself - What kind of message are we sending to the world as Christians? I'll begin this discussion with an understanding of the word 'worship'. Worship is derived from the Old English word 'Woerthship' which means to give worth to something. So when we worship God, we give worth to Him. Sadly, it appears that the saints are giving worth to other things in the house of the Lord. Here I will identify two obvious reasons that are rather disturbing to fathom but as it is a reality within the churches I will make mention of them today. The 'cellphone syndrome' We all need to communicate with others over the phone for different reasons. But I find it very disrespectful for the saints to perpetually excuse themselves from the sermon to be on the outside messaging and talking for an extensive period. Not that it is anybody's business to know the nature of these conversations, but when it happens more often than not I'm afraid that we are sending the wrong message to our unsaved visitors. Do we not show reverence to the Lord anymore? I especially observe this trend among our young people of which group I am a part. I fail to believe that our young people use their discretion for they excuse themselves in large numbers at once. It appears that the cellphones get the 'worth' that should have been given to God and therefore it automatically becomes the god that is worshiped. Our God has feelings too. I am more concerned about His feelings than I am with the reputation of the church. For many saints, the time spent in the house of the Lord is the longest and sometimes only time spent with God. If the latter is the case then all the more reason why He deserves our undivided attention. Let's face it, three hours of prayer and worship is the least we can give to God considering all that He does for us on a daily basis. The church needs to be careful not to provoke the Holy Spirit and not to send the wrong message to those who are lost and in need of our guidance. The problem with 'making an entrance' By now many of us would have realized that persons go to church for different reasons; to spectate, to see friends, to wear a nice suit and a few to seek God. There are many other reasons but these are the few I could think of today. Having said that, there are many within the church who perpetually make an entrance under the influence of a 'disruptive spirit' I suppose. This trend may not be very evident in the larger churches, but as my church is small the trend is becoming more noticeable. Saints are not only expected to be present for sermons but are expected to be there on time. It is very distasteful when visitors arrive in the sanctuary before the members do and to make matters worse, our visitors are distracted each time someone walks through the aisle to take a seat. What about respecting the time of the Holy Spirit? I understand that anyone can be late but when the same persons have heads spinning each week, their actions shift from just being late to 'making an entrance'. Leaders are often times included and I don't just mean Pastors, Bishops, Deacons etc. I mean any person within the church body who demonstrates his leadership abilities in even the smallest possible way. Why are persons making an entrance? It is certainly not because of a desire to be noticed by God but rather 'god', who is seated somewhere in the sanctuary. This is one of the reasons why it is increasingly harder to convince an unsaved or even a backslider to return to God. These groups of persons are understandably confused by the double standards that exist within the church. No wonder there is a growing number of non-denominational Christians in our societies today. The church has a voice and we want to be heard, but let us consider addressing some of the ongoing issues among ourselves before we advocate for modesty and decency anywhere else. These are two growing trends that I have observed in church. Have you observed any other?
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I'm cracking up just now...hahaha...."direct it personally to me"...ok will do going forward :).
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I must say, that despite the fact that the Holy Spirit already knows what we are capable of...I can't help but feel hurt as well. All kinds of thoughts come to mind; I wonder about the look on His face etc. We're still human beings, I'm telling you the truth that though He knows what I'll do before I do it...I still am cut deep inside - The power of conviction...
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Eileen, it is truly stated in the article you've posted above that one can distinguish between conscience and the voice of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit's words MUST be in line with the Word of God. Overtime this ability to identify the voice of the Holy Spirit grows to maturity to a point where its as if the Word itself is imprinted on our hearts and therefore each time that He speaks, our Spirit man detects Him right away :). Sharnadeen...
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Brick, I must say that you're right. After-all He already knows our strengths and weaknesses but regardless of how fickle we can be, He loves us just the way we are.
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Agreed Marilyn...We need discernment...That's why Paul the Apostle has placed so much emphasis on us leaving the carnal man behind and start living in the spirit. For if we do, it would be easier to discern these false (robotic) spirits.... Do you remember when the Lord passed by Elijah on the mountain after spending the night in the cave?...the bible says And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind split the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, an earthquake came, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire came, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire, a still, small voice 1 Kings 19:11. Right away we learn that not all the times when persons are on fire in the spirit; speaking in tongues and moving as though under the anointing that their spirits are true. Sometimes it is the person who speaks calmly and quietly who is often times underestimated, that has a true spirit. Hence the reason why it is so important that we get to know the true spirit of God through the person of the Holy Spirit. Sharnadeen...
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Yup yup ....Conviction - it is so real!
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Excellent response Marilyn. Mabel - we all can relate to the weakness of the flesh but Thank God we have a humble and patient Teacher to show us the Way...
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Yes a relationship with the Holy Spirit is a personal one and overtime His method of communication becomes clearer for each person. As a Christian, it is indeed He who has kept you from the many pitfalls and me too. He is the Godhead who is always available to us for sure. I believe that you will get closer to Him and there are persons here on the forum who can help us with strengthening this relationship :).
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Me too Eileen.... I can relate to that same feeling in my spirit.
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Wow...Agreed...never saw it that way. Therefore it is the conviction of the flesh that brings about that feeling of 'disappointment'. Thanks.
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Very interesting....'to see how untrustworthy we are'...so true
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Wow! The Holy Spirit is to be acknowledged as a person at all times. Why? Because He is. I didn't understand what it meant for the the Holy Spirit to be the access point to Jesus until the closer I think I am to Jesus, the more the Holy Spirit shows me that there is a process to get to the King. Firstly, it is important that we get to know who the person of the Holy Spirit is. In my experience, He is the 'information center' who is willing to reveal all that one needs to know 'if' we are obedient to His instructions. I say this because the Holy Spirit speaks to us everyday; He answers questions, comforts us and guides us in all things but our obedience to His voice is what really determines whether He can trust us to share even more truths with us. He speaks to us in our dreams While I understood that the Holy Spirit will teach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus has spoken John 14:26, it was only two months ago that I learn that He is the One who has given all of us our dreams. There are different kinds of dreams; some are for warning, some are prophetic and some are for making intercessions etc. But for us to identify the kind of dreams we have it will take more than our physical understanding to interpret such. I wasn't able to distinguish my dreams until after a few months of spending time with the Holy Spirit. He knows every person from our past and those who are in our lives presently The Holy Spirit uses people who we are familiar with to bring across His message in our dreams. Though I always understood that He does that, I never appreciated its importance until the Lord showed me in my dream someone I knew from High School but only keep in touch through social media. But as there is no partiality with God Romans 2:11, He revealed that this person was very troubled and in that case I was to make an intercession. Not surprisingly, when I reached out to the young lady on Facebook, she confessed the exact, and I repeat THE EXACT issue that the Holy Spirit had shown me in my dream. Isn't our God amazing!? It was in that moment of confession that I recognized that our dreams are probably the most common medium through which the Holy Spirit speaks. Continual Fellowship strengthens the Holy Spirit's trust in us We will rarely find ourselves sharing very sensitive information with strangers. It is the same with the Holy Spirit. He will put us through all kinds of tests to see how trustworthy we are and two ways to show our trustworthiness is by being obedient and engaging in prayer and worship. I cannot help but emphasize the word obedience, after-all the bible states that Obedience is better than sacrifice, a listening ear than the fat of rams, 1 Samuel 15:22. So I found that the more I worship, the further the Holy Spirit takes me into the spiritual realm. I am truly humbled to know this much more to experience it. All honor and praise to the Holy Spirit. Continual Repentance It is so important that we repent of our sins daily as we serve a holy God. As for me I sin everyday - not only by my deeds but by my very thoughts. Getting to know the Holy Spirit speaks to understanding His standards and meeting His expectations according to the Word of God. I struggle at times to be consistent in worship and reading the word but thanks be to God He understands that the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak Matthew 26:41. Therefore the Holy Spirit being fully aware of our weaknesses just wants us to seek cleansing so He may continue to work through us as He so desires. I can do nothing without the Holy Spirit. I literally ache in the spirit if I ever feel like I've disappointed Him. How can you tell that you have disappointed the Holy Spirit? Let me hear from you...
