T.H.Another great letter on your part. So few have counted the cost of being a disciple, but that is the way.When I say to people that you have to "throw away your pride", that is what I mean.Quote:"HE takes you to a VERY LOW PLACE (we call it the Low Room)
And it's SCAREY down there, knowing you have lost the "power" to control
ANY aspect of your life. (especially if you were a control freak to begin with)
There you are, helpless to yourself so MUST RELY TOTALLY ON HIM FOR
EVERYTHING. And there is where you FIND HIM...HE WAS WAITING FOR
YOU THERE SINCE BEFORE YOU WERE BORN. It is also where you finally
get to HEAR HIS VOICE. What a price,,,,,but what a PRIZE !"Pride is the reliance on one's own strength and will to control the world around us. Humility is surrendering to HIS WILL. So many in the churches are stuck there, too scared to take that step into HIS arms. So many leaders fight to keep the sheep stuck there, instead of encouraging them to take that step. Hence the almost neurotic pursuit of security, and the building of strongholds to "KEEP PEOPLE IN". In other words, Many churches have become that yoke that we must learn to let go of. Unfortunately, it is the pastors and leaders of these churches that are most "Bound" to that Yoke.RE: Your questions on "Crescendo".Yes!. He will give you that final test. For me, this occurred a little more than a month ago. As a confirmation, he gave me the following verses.Romans 8:18-39,AND Philippians 3: 7-117 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.God Bless.PS. When was the last time any of you heard a pastor of a church preaching the message of entering the "Low Room"? Most, Not all, would rather keep you in their High Tower/ Stronghold Built with Human hands and minds.