Anna Maria,Thank you for posting your "Judgment Day of the Shepherds" experience.I was just telling my neighbor of an old problem I had years ago with a certain highly respected local pastor and I was trying to explain just this idea. Most people do not realize what is missing in the lives of these pastors and teachers because they seem to know how to "preach" and "teach" but so many of them have, as you pointed out, never died to self in order to receive the truth from the Holy Spirit to feed their flock with and are instead drawing from the "well of self". God told us plainly what is needed for our success but many hear only what they want to hear and as that song says, disregard the rest.This will sound like I am boasting but Paul said it was alright to boast about the cross and I did indeed die to myself one day when I gave God what He was asking me for at 18 years of age, (now almost 53) that was the same as "what things were gain to me I counted as loss" and gave up for the sake of following Him and learning from Him the truth. God also saying let him that glories do so in this that he understands and knows Me... As a result of doing this I began to be teachable directly from God's Holy Spirit just as Jesus promised would happen. The truths I learned are hidden and must be spiritually discerned and are not knowable humanly or "sense-wise," "sensually" or through "much study" alone.The truth is so different from many popular sermons often preached and many times these kinds of pastors have been against me over the years, because the light of His truth is burning in me and as a city on a hill cannot be hid, I have shined my light before men but it has made me unpopular among many of these kinds of pastors. I will be very glad in the judgment when He shows that He has loved me though these pastors condemned me and thought there was something odd or wrong with me when all it was is that I have learned things directly from God's Spirit that was often not in harmony with the popular "traditional" teachings that they so love. It's not something I can sum up in a few words for it is more of an overall spiritual attitude that permeates ones whole being when the Holy Spirit is in you and teaching you it makes some of these who think they know Bible truth but do not, feel very uncomfortable around you. So they think there must be something wrong with you... I have been content to know that the great day of revealing would one day surely come showing who is really on God's side and who has been only following their own agenda and now at last that time is coming.I therefore very much appreciate you and your post. Thank you again.Just to give an example of what I mean, the following is an excerpt I once received in an e mail response to something that I shared with a pastor by e mail that I think adequately illustrates the kind of treatment I am referring to:____________________________________Sir, one other thing..... I have been in the Lord's ministry for 53 years. I am not a beginner or a "novice." I began studying God's Word intensely right after I surrendered my life to preach the gospel, and I have never quit studying the Word. I learned long ago how to "rightly divide the Word of truth." It is obvious from your writings that you haven't even learned the first principles of that yet. Your email to me and the follow up emails on Five Doves were nothing but a mixed up conglomeration of Scriptures taken out of context, some of them contradicting other Scriptures in God's Word, with no regard to whom the Scriptures were speaking nor to the time element involved, nor even to the subject that various Scriptures were addressing, all of which totally failed to prove your theory. Sir, I would suggest that the next time you want to "straighten out" those terrible "saved people" who are so "dumb" that they really believe God's Word, that you pick out some young, ignorant, greenhorn, who knows absolutely nothing about the Scriptures and dazzle him with your "superior" brilliance. You know, find some ignorant young greenhorn like yourself.
By the way, the best thing you could do for the Lord and His people is to take the manuscript of your so-called "book" and throw it in the trash. Then get down on your sorry belly before God, confess your wickedness, and beg His forgiveness for making Him out to be a liar and His Word out to be a lie. The Lord rebuke you!
Sir, don't bother replying to this email or sending me anymore of the wicked theories of your "Once saved maybe saved "god." I worship the true God of Heaven who saves eternally. If you send me any more of your silly confusion and unbelief, I will throw it in the trash unanswered. Is that clear?
___________________________________________Notice this pastor says above that he surrendered his life to preach the gospel but he did not say that he surrendered his life to the Lord . There is the difference. Just because they preach does not mean that what they preach is what the Holy Spirit wants them to preach. He also says, as proof that I am wrong in a point I made, that I quote scriptures that "contradict other scriptures":________________________Scriptures taken out of context, some of them contradicting other Scriptures in God's Word___________________________How is that possible? I merely quoted what is written in God's word. I wrote or authored nothing of my own making. If there is a contradiction it is between this pastor's belief about the scriptures and the actual truth of the scriptures, not the scripture with other scripture and I make no apologies for exposing this using the truth of the scriptures. God will have the final say so and I long for it.