Church Sedation
The other morning I was thinking . . how many times do we hear from fellow believers or out of our own mouths wasn’t that a great teaching or a good sermon? But was it truth? It may have been entertaining and made us feel good, but was it truth? They may have read a passage from the Bible, but their opinions, philosophies, interpretations of the scripture, but was it truth? We are instructed to test all things preached, taught, or spoken of but now many of us honestly do that? If we do test what are actually testing it by; our intuition, gut, or someone else’s teaching? True testing is done by the Word so that means we have to be consistently in the Word and put it above all others. The Bible is our foundation and not man’s words because it is the source of pure unadulterated truth.
1 Corinthians 14:29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world
Before I spent one-on-one time with God, just His Word and me, I relied on my own discernment, not a good idea. But when I started to spend that time, layer by layer He started to unveil the real truth. I was amazed by all the lies I believed that I learned in a religious institution or setting. How could I have been so mislead? There are lots of reasons, but one stood out – the power of feeling good.
Sedating my guilt, putting my time in with God for the week, looking good to those around me, feeling like a good person, people accepting and liking me were a lot of the reasons why I went to church – when I am brutally honest with myself. Who doesn’t like to feel good about themselves? But all those are the wrong reasons first because no one is good, so why was I trying to prove I was and second focusing on these blinded me to the truth. My motives got in the way of taking time to be in God’s word and testing what I heard. Ultimately I was focusing on me instead of getting to know my God. Many things are good, until they are used or done for the wrong reasons. Then what was intended for good can become damaging.
Luke 18:19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God
The other day, I read an article on the power of praise. Praise of others and others making us feel good are very powerful and they can blind us if we aren’t careful. That’s why love can be so blinding. Nothing and no one is perfect but God and His Word, He is the source of truth and of our beliefs. I think it is good practice to carefully examine our motives now and then so we stay clear headed to be discerning as we are called to be. Now, I often ask, why am I really doing this?
Proverbs 14:15 The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps
John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Living Light 
May 7, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Good post, Rachel, but is it truth? 🙂 I couldn’t resist that one. But seriously, you have great points…truthful points here. We definitely need to test all things in light of what the Bible says!
October 14, 2012 at 7:06 pm
Wonderful Rachel! and so true, this could have saved me many, many years of pain, I was one of those simple who believed everything, please check out my blog entry James scrambled and the video attached I think you will like it
June 17, 2018 at 8:17 am
Rachel, I bumped into your videos while listening to an old recording of a guy named Bill Britton. I wanted to share with you this paper that a friend wrote several years ago as I think it may be helpful to you. The context for this document is that we are on a journey that is typed and shadowed in the Scriptures, specifically the people of Israel. Many Christians are familiar with the type of Egypt being the state of “lost”, crossing the Red Sea as the initial salvation understanding of Christ’s death and forgiveness of sins. For most, that’s where the symbols end for them. Almost the entire Church is “wandering in the wilderness” under the law. There are a few who have “crossed the Jordan” and begun to enter into a rest from the work of their own hands, receiving His righteousness in place of their filthy rags, and are wondering how to fulfill the command to take the land. That’s where this document fills you in. From what I’ve heard from your videos, you have “crossed the Jordan” by resting in the power of His death and resurrection. There’s a lot more to the symbolic journey. There are kings in the land, there is idolatry and adultery, then a solution emerges…exile and even another river to cross, the Euphrates. Much of that is outlined in this document.
Anyway, I couldn’t find your email address so am posting the link way back on your timeline so it won’t be a distraction to your other readers. Please feel free to delete this comment after downloading the doc.
Frank
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MaMdcKzdJo_ruKlDckH7OpHdJd7o1b84
January 15, 2019 at 2:15 pm
Yes, “LIVE that First and Great Commandment and you will KNOW!” And “you will need none to teach you for God Himself will be your teacher!” And to LIVE it does not mean to merely nod one’s head over it in an inactive affirmation or casual acceptance of the idea. To fulfill it requires that every cell and fibre and atom of one’s being be imbued with it. Only then does it become a part of one’s own experience, hence his KNOWLEDGE.