Posted by Terry on November 29, 2003 at 22:10:45:
In Reply to: Raul's "prophetic" rebuke to me today posted by PS on November 29, 2003 at 17:23:10:
Raul,
I just finished reading your email and I am very angry. Who do you think you are attacking my pastor like that? I want to answer your charges against Pastor Steven and all of us at Parallel Universe.
First, you state “…you did not ask God about what He though… God was not even included.” You are judging something you know nothing about. We have spent many hours in prayer as a group and as individuals. God is in every part of everything we do. Did you ask anybody who regularly attends about how we pray for and about the church? Do not judge things you have no understanding of.
Then you go on to poorly refer to Ezekiel 34:1-ff taking it out of context and wrongly applying it to my pastor. You say that Pastor Steve is not a child of God. How dare you judge another’s heart and intensions when you can’t rightly judge your own heart!
Let’s use Ezekiel as a standard and see how Pastor Steve measures up when facts are introduced. I will only cite examples from my own life, although there are many other people that can add their testimonies to mine.
34:2-3 “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves … …You eat the fat and clothe yourselves wit the wool… You do not feed the flock.”
Pastor Steve has NEVER taken one penny from the church, not even the salary he is entitled too. How do I know this? First, before I got sick I was the one who kept the books, I did the deposits and I wrote the checks. The bank account always balanced to the penny. Currently I am on the church council. I take the offering, count it, and record it on the proper form. I know how much money is coming in and how much our bills come too. Pastor Steve is not stealing from the sheep.
What is he doing? Everyone knows that he gives tons of money to keep the church going. What they may not know about is the money that he gives to other ministries. I personally know of three, and I do not know all his personal affairs. He chooses not to flaunt his giving for the world to see. What about all the individuals he helps? I will not go into that because that is their story to tell. In my life there has been many times when he has helped me buy medicine, food, or pay the electric, or the rent. I could go on and on but you get the point.
Verse 4 “…the weak you have not strengthened nor have you healed those who were sick…” Pastor Steve is one of the busiest people I know and yet he has always had time for me. When I have stumbled he has picked me up, sometimes with a kind hand of encouragement and sometimes with the harsh hand of truth. Truth is hard to take sometimes, but it is the path of healing and change.
I can’t tell you how many times Pastor Steve has prayed for my healing and God has answered him. The fact that I am still alive is proof. He has helped me through many long and hard nights full of pain. Just recently I was in so much pain all I could do was cry and beg God to take me home. I had already taken all the pain meds I could and they were not helping. It was late and I did not know who to call for help and I did not want to go to the ER. I called Pastor Steve crying hysterically. He was still awake because he had a paper due in a few hours and a midterm exam to take. He put it all aside to help me. The first thing he did was pray for me. Then he talked to me for hours until I was able to relax enough for the meds to kick in. I fell asleep holding the phone talking to him.
He has also prayed for Buddy many times, and God has healed Buddy more than once.
“…you have not brought back what was driven away nor sought what was lost…” Boy is this an easy one to talk about. I could go on and on about how God has used Pastor Steve to bring me closer to him. To keep this long letter short I will only tell one story. A couple of years ago I hated God. I was very hurt by people in church (neither Pastor Steve nor anyone from our church) who decided to be my personal Holy Spirit and judge me. Pastor Steve was there for me even though I wanted nothing to do with God. He just kept praying for me and showing me God’s love. After months of trying to get me to go to lost and found (he was not preaching there yet), Sonic Flood came into town. Pastor Steve knew they were my favorite band while I was attending church. Pastor Steve and Cari took me to the concert even though it is not their type of music. At that concert God touched my heart and began calling me home. I remembered the joy of worship and a longing for God began to bloom in my heart once again. Coincidence or a product of Pastor Steve’s prayers for me and his following of the Holy Spirit?
You also state that “…if you do not feed the sheep that you have the very few you have will be scattered, taken away from you…” God does not scatter the flock the enemy does. As for feeding the sheep, Pastor Steve is one of the best teachers there is.
Tell me, do your words build up the body of Christ or does it tear it down? You claim to be a prophet and yet you accuse your brother in Christ, and we all know who the Accuser of the brethren is. Before you write any more poison, keep Ephesians 4:29 in mind “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification, that it may give grace to those who hear it.”
You do not need to respond to this email. The next email you need to write should be one of apology to Pastor Steve and Parallel Universe.
Terry