Dear SI Friends,Many of you have know doubt wondered what side of the fence I reside on, and what my doctrinal take is. I have had people pm me several times during my membership on this site and wanted to know what I believed, because they see what I write in the forums and want to know if I am a believer or a troublemaker.Well I am both :-P (just kidding)I was brought up in the United Pentecostal church, I didn't fit in even at that time, still don't. I got baptized in Jesus name (age 12) because everyone else was doing it and I didn't want to be left out. At age 15 while snooping around in some boxes found a New Testement called The Way (living bible). I began to read this and I fell in love with Jesus Christ. I felt that that word was speaking to my spirit, although at the time I didn't know what was happening to me, I didn't even know what the holy Spirit was. I didn't accept the LORD into my heart, I knew in my spirit that the LORD accepted me. So I went on in my relationship with Jesus, spending all my time with Him. I literally went to the garden alone, spend endless hours walking with Jesus thru the woods. I remember one year that thru the winter instead of complaining of the cold I praised and sang to Him and that summer was the best summer it hardly rained, I think He wanted me to be out in the woods talking to Him, we had great times together. I miss those times, when your busy you get caught up.When I reached 20 years of age, the LORD presented to me a 1944 edition of the Gideon bible (kjv) while I was snooping around again. I fell in love with the LORD all over again, that book was in a terrible mess after I was done with it, and prayed the LORD for another of the same edition. I went to the Bible Society and the LORD gave me a 1945 edition of the Gideon bible. By this time it became more of a memerobilia then anything. At age 23 I wasn't go anywhere with my life, it seemed that everything was going down the tubes, I heard some people say that I had come to respect tell me that if you don't speak in tongues your not saved. Well up to that point I believed that I was saved, but with everything shaking around me I thought I should seek tongues. Well, I got into a big mess right off the start, I lost my relationship with Jesus because now I had fear in my heart because I didn't speak in tongues. I look back now and say, "you fool who hath bewitched you". I was so full of fear that I looked at my water baptism as not sincere so I go back to the watering hole looking to be thrown in, and besides the UPC's are telling me of those who come up from the watery grave speaking in tongues, I thought well thats what will happen for me. Instead of stepping into the pool I fell in, I went down wet, and I came up wet, nothing happened, the pastor seemed to be disappointed with me as I didn't come up speaking in tongues. Oh I was a troubled lad, I thought God didn't love me anymore because he woundn't give me this tongues jazz. I even threw the bible up against the wall with my accusations, I was so frustrated. With all the wrong information that I was given the LORD then speaks to my spirit with John 3:16. It was there that I was convinced that God does love me because I am in the world, and He said He so loved it. So I got up from wallowing in my self pity (by the way self pity is a real oppression, I dropped to my knees to pray and this self pity appeared over my head in the form of a black cloud, when I saw it and realized what it was doing to me, I rebuked it and it didn't move away, it vanished *poof*)I started reading faith books like Wigglesworth and I learned that he too struggled with this tongue business, I was relieved to see this great man having this problem before he received the holy Spirit. I then left the UPC and went to several churches those were fun days. I finally asked the LORD to give me a Pastor who stands for the truth of your word. He sent me to an Independent Pentecostal Church whom everyone that I knew told me to stay away, they said that he was a devil chaser. I was curious and went and stayed. I saw little of the devil chasing stuff that everyone was talking about but as a sponge soaked up all that pertained to righteousness, justification, sanctification and holiness. He was a great man, I don't know another person like him in this city.Once my Pastor got my thinking straightened out and learning that I was saved, I sought the holy Spirit and several months later I was filled with the holy Spirit and spoke very little in tongues. (you can tell why)I believe in only two persons in the God head, Father and Son. The holy Spirit is what the Father and the Son is, hence, John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.I do not shun anyone who believes it in another way, as long as we don't see three seperate gods then we are fine.I believe in water baptism by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ or Father Son and Holy Spirit, it's not the method its your faith that matters. My preference is the name of Jesus.I don't believe in once saved always saved, its a day to day salvation Richard Owen Roberts confirms this in his message on SI "Seeking God".However I do believe in predestination. God will love one and hate another, He will have mercy upon whom He chooses. Who am I to say to Him, "what doest thou?". Judas was predestinated by God to betray Jesus, I don't know about you but this puts the fear of God in me. John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? They were all chosen, each one fulfilling their role.I believe in the gifts of the Spirit and the operation thereof, though I have no gifts (I should but I don't)I believe in the deliverence ministry, yet there is no proof of such a ministry in the bible (and thats true) yet there is deliverance and people are ministered to.Works of repentance should follow the one who has given their heart to Jesus, debts owed, reconcilation to those who have been wronged etc.. etc..I believe that our lifestyle should be in moderation only. If your legalistic you need to fall on your face before God and find Jesus again, I've seen what legalistic people can do to those who are not like them, because I was one. Never forgetting that we are saved by grace thru faith and it has nothing to do with us, it is the gift of God.Karl
