Post by setfree on Sept 3, 2006 22:41:16 GMT
I have just left Everynation in Australasia and praise God for that! I want to encourage people that at the end of your days on earth you will be facing God and YOU ALONE...not you and your discipler or you and your church friends/leaders etc. As Christians we must have our own individual faith with God regardless of what church we belong to.
My experience with Morning Star/EN is that most people join excited to be "going hard" for God they join every event and group and then get "sucked" into a discipler relationship. The initial set off is great and you have a love struck relationship with Christ for a while and then you start to slip into "structure"...to become a "strong" Christian you need to go to VLI, you need to start bringing people to church, start your own discipleship groups...regardless of what you feel God is speaking to you. There is no time for you to hear the SWEET SOFT voice of God because you are being shouted down by the "intensity of what is Morning Star.
1. Learn to hear the voice of God yourself! God will hold you accountable to this, not what your discipler or "strong" Christian mates tell you to do.
2. Understand that people have different types of faith, loud and soft ones. But I personally believe that it is in the quiet times that God speaks to us.
3. "FAVOUR" - I believe that this is a dangerous ground that MS has founded themselves on. The poorest people in the world are the ones that have the strongest faith! Just because one has money and good health does not mean that God is on your side. Do not forget those people out there in the world that are sick and do not recover after countless prayer attempts.
I have come out of this church as someone who thought that I was a mature and "on to it Christian", I had done all the bible courses etc, brought people to church, discipled others - all for recognition - but i thought that I was a mature Christian - i was the most IMMATURE one out! God spoke to me in His quiet voice - when I got sick and didn't get better, no matter ho hard the prayers, was I cursed etc...I still was sick - couldn't make it to church...slowly I was cut out of the elite circle because a sick/unhealthy/unload person is not the correct stereotype.
Jess's soft voice spoke to me through all my questioning, he was the one that was there for me holding me in His arms when I was lost, when no one called and no-one cared. Praise God for a faith outside of the church.
I hope that I am now no longer a judge-mental loud Christian, I want to be a follower of Christ - let him be my director, not a flawless person. I hope to listen to the soft and gentle voice of the Lord. I hope to gently respond to people like Jesus would in a kind soft voice, not loud and brash and proud (like elephants thundering onto campuses) I hope to really make true friendships with people and love them for who they are and not what they may become and love them for where they are at in their walk with Christ. I hope to understand that OUR WALK WITH CHRIST IS A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT and recognize this when loving other people and respecting their "walk". May i never think myself above others and be elitist.
CHECK: When going to a church I now look around - are there sick people? Healthy people? Old people? People of all walks of life? People in normal clothes not designer clothes, people that Jesus would have been with - normal down to earth people - people, who Jesus would use...THOSE WHO HAVE LOST EVERYTHING, UNDERSTAND THEY HAVE NOTHING WITHOUT CHRIST AND LOVE OTHER PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY ARE NOT WHAT POSITION THEY HOLD.
Thank you Lord for destroying my damaging pride and attitude and for becoming a softer person, one that can raise my daughter in hearing the soft sweet voice of Christ.
My experience with Morning Star/EN is that most people join excited to be "going hard" for God they join every event and group and then get "sucked" into a discipler relationship. The initial set off is great and you have a love struck relationship with Christ for a while and then you start to slip into "structure"...to become a "strong" Christian you need to go to VLI, you need to start bringing people to church, start your own discipleship groups...regardless of what you feel God is speaking to you. There is no time for you to hear the SWEET SOFT voice of God because you are being shouted down by the "intensity of what is Morning Star.
1. Learn to hear the voice of God yourself! God will hold you accountable to this, not what your discipler or "strong" Christian mates tell you to do.
2. Understand that people have different types of faith, loud and soft ones. But I personally believe that it is in the quiet times that God speaks to us.
3. "FAVOUR" - I believe that this is a dangerous ground that MS has founded themselves on. The poorest people in the world are the ones that have the strongest faith! Just because one has money and good health does not mean that God is on your side. Do not forget those people out there in the world that are sick and do not recover after countless prayer attempts.
I have come out of this church as someone who thought that I was a mature and "on to it Christian", I had done all the bible courses etc, brought people to church, discipled others - all for recognition - but i thought that I was a mature Christian - i was the most IMMATURE one out! God spoke to me in His quiet voice - when I got sick and didn't get better, no matter ho hard the prayers, was I cursed etc...I still was sick - couldn't make it to church...slowly I was cut out of the elite circle because a sick/unhealthy/unload person is not the correct stereotype.
Jess's soft voice spoke to me through all my questioning, he was the one that was there for me holding me in His arms when I was lost, when no one called and no-one cared. Praise God for a faith outside of the church.
I hope that I am now no longer a judge-mental loud Christian, I want to be a follower of Christ - let him be my director, not a flawless person. I hope to listen to the soft and gentle voice of the Lord. I hope to gently respond to people like Jesus would in a kind soft voice, not loud and brash and proud (like elephants thundering onto campuses) I hope to really make true friendships with people and love them for who they are and not what they may become and love them for where they are at in their walk with Christ. I hope to understand that OUR WALK WITH CHRIST IS A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT and recognize this when loving other people and respecting their "walk". May i never think myself above others and be elitist.
CHECK: When going to a church I now look around - are there sick people? Healthy people? Old people? People of all walks of life? People in normal clothes not designer clothes, people that Jesus would have been with - normal down to earth people - people, who Jesus would use...THOSE WHO HAVE LOST EVERYTHING, UNDERSTAND THEY HAVE NOTHING WITHOUT CHRIST AND LOVE OTHER PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY ARE NOT WHAT POSITION THEY HOLD.
Thank you Lord for destroying my damaging pride and attitude and for becoming a softer person, one that can raise my daughter in hearing the soft sweet voice of Christ.