This is going to be a very interesting and difficult article. Today I got an answer to a question I been asking God about for years. And brought a lot of clarity to where I am. That truth in itself will cause others to be offended I am sure.
This whole subject is very controversial. Much of this controversy has to do with the imbalances on both sides of the fence. And so, the balance may cause offenses to those who operate in the extremes.
Well today Randy spoke on the Porter ministry. The Keepers of the gates.
Randy falls on one extreme. He insists on being legalistic even though he himself said that folks don’t need to be legalistic about it. He spoke against himself a few times. He said every person has 6 porters in their life. 4 at the causeway, and 2 at the parbar. Then he went on to say, like I said, that these numbers may not be a legal certainty. But then after said that such persons always exist. The positions always exist but are not always filled with a human person. He mentioned the 2 most important ones: the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. These 2 will never be removed.
But there are occasions where a person may not have a person to fill such. What if they are imprisoned in a foreign country their whole life for preaching the gospel?
I am not going to pursue that line, as its a minor situation, but true that Randy’s stance is too legalistic.
But there is another situation where it is also not true:
Gal 4:
1: Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differs nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2: But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
If a person seeks God and his maturity in Christ, he can achieve a place where there are no tutors and govenors. This absolutely fits with the error of Randy, why else has he been reluctant to ever send out sons on their own ministry.
Remember Martin Luther? I watched the movie they made about a year ago or so. Martin Luther had people speak into his life until he came to the place where others could not, at least not directly. Because he had matured in Christ to a place where the church had not achieved. But it would be foolish for anyone, including Luther, to think he was the only one who had learned about salvation by grace, even tho he nor us may not have known of them.
God has called me to speak about Randy, this is evidenced by the success of my website and blog which gets alot of hits. But is also evidenced to me, by all the dreams and other spirituals God has given to me about Randy. I even had a dream about Randy before I ever met him!
This brings me to the time right before I left Marshall. Let me copy and paste the incident from my website:
During this time, the church had a REALLY big change. Randy had found some older men of God, and he was submitting to them and his personal ministry to them. Since the church was nondenominational, he believed he needed personal accountability. This was for him, not the church, they were not over the church in any way. This is what happened, it was 1 older man in particular and 2 others that ministered with him. They did minister to the church, but were not involved in the church governments. The 3 men came to minister to the congregation. They were to give a word from God to each person at a service.
This is the word that was given to me from one of those men:
God sees you and your situation. He is happy with you. And He says that you are NOT squandering YOUR inheritance. And He says that He will keep your relationships.
I have wondered since that time what was meant by the keeping of my relationships. For a long time, I thought it meant God would preserve the friendships and relationships most important to me. But obviously this was not the proper interpretation, as a couple of years ago, severe changes began.
My 2 best friends and my pastor encouraged me and my wife to divorce. Eventually this decision by them removed them from my life. They eventually removed themselves from me over this issue. And one of my best friends is also ordained, as well as my pastor.
When all 3 of these relationships ended I began to debate the interpretation of that word from God, but today God revealed what that word meant. God was referring to the position of the porter. God would keep the gate. The place where these realtionships were.
Even as a youth, God super naturally protected me from alot of grievous sins that would have led me into demonic activity.
As Randy spoke today I saw that its people who often hold the position of keeper of the gate. But it is not always true. I struggled with the absence of bishops in my life when I left Marshall but God showed me He wanted me to mature where the Bishoping of Jesus would be sufficient where I could mature my own walk and not have to rely upon other men to have my walk holy.
And those men I respected, then chose contrary to the Word of God by endorsing divorce and removing themselves from my life.
In the last 8 years, or since I left Marshall every time I sought to place a man in a place of a keeper, God has removed it. But God told me before I left He would keep the relationships, now defined as keep the gates! This makes sense as God spoke to my heart less than 2 weeks later that He had removed the elders of CiM from over me.
But others have said otherwise. Some of this discussion took place on the other forum, right before I left about a year ago. Folks think I am rejecting church, but church has rejected me. I have been asked to leave churches, and not because of any behavior or action by me, but what I believe. I was also rejected because a gift I claimed to have was believed to be of satan at another ministry. I then had a pastor refuse to contact or help me, because he wanted me to get a divorce, from a 3rd ministry. I have done alot to try and find men to take the places of porters, but I have come to a place where God has removed them.
I am indeed open to participate and be involved in another ministry, but am not going to sin or miss God to do so. God knows where I am and will lead me. He is my Head and Bishop.
Randy as you can see takes the Porter ministry too far. If someone won’t listen to him, he immediately cuts them off and leaves them to rot, thinking he has to obey scriptures about not fellowshipping with sinners.
The opposite is also true where men of God are using seeker friendly devices and plans to try and reach those offended. And this I also discussed a year ago on the other forum. Because time is short. The balance is minister to those who are offended, do not cut them off, but also do not endorse or permit their sin with silence and be politically civil as Randy spoke about today.
I been accused of shoving scriptures down folks throats. So the offense is about His word, which some don’t want to hear. Does not scripture say that the offense is Christ and His word? Why else would folks make a fuss over a personality to such an extreme?
We need to keep Jesus as our Bishop, and keep the Word of God and the Holy Spirit at the gates of our lives. God will always use people to minister to us, even when we are not under tutors and governors. Why I heard from God when Randy spoke today. Please understand that does not legitimize Randy’s eldership, because scripture says we can even learn from babes!
But I admit, I do not have the balance nor the manner to correct those who oppose themselves. Scripture says it must be done in a meek manner. Meek, defined as power under restraint.
Am I guilty of not having enough restraint with those offended? Perhaps, I cannot judge, as this is indeed where I lack, and why I am unfit as an elder, because my own house is not ruled correctly. But in my own house, most of the time I try to bring correction, it is rejected with anger.
I strive to be non confronatational as much as possible. But I am bold in writing because I am not physically silenced when I can speak God’s word. Should it be restrained? That’s for you the readers to decide personally. But I believe time is short, and the duty of the watchman is to sound the alarm. If he does not, then any harm done is laid on him.
I must answer God if I am silent when I should have spoken. The reverse I am sure is also true, if too much spoken can be wrong.
If the church is silent, we know that doma gifts tend to swing the opposite direction. True balance is actually inbetween. But to get there, you gotta swing the other way.
I often debated with myself, when does God ordain a method which is not perfect? When I sinned to get in the Navy. Did I have to go the most balanced and most measured middle ground to leave? If I had done that. It would have taken me 3 years to obey God. Therefore I did the most expedient and then made myself willing to suffer the consequences of my sin for even going there.
They could have thrown me in prison, killed me as a traitor, or many other punishments. But because I kept my heart to do what God wanted, God removed the penalties.
David sinned with another man’s wife. Yet God chose their son to be the next king. Did God endorse the sin by that? When sin abounds grace abounds.
Thus my voice is a voice of grace, because of the sin found in the church. My voice is not the perfect method. But is a tool, in God’s hand to help bring folks where they need to be.
This is why when all is perfect there will be no church, there will be no 5 fold ministry doma gifts. I long for that day, but the day has not come.
Posted by Doma
Posted by Doma
Posted by Doma
