COGIC - Church of God In Christ
Information
This group is for Bishops and members of the Church of God In Christ International (Bishop Charles Blake, Presiding Bishop). If you plan to attend any COGIC national events this year, please let us know.
Members: 874
Latest Activity: Oct 16, 2023
Discussion Forum
Comment Wall
Comment
-
Comment by Bishop James 'I Feel God' Brown on May 28, 2009 at 12:50am
-
New Blog Post: Money & Internet Ministry, what is ethical & right
Hear the blog post EVERYBODY is talking about
"Money & Internet Ministry, what is ethical & right"
-->> CLICK HERE http://ow.ly/9y7n CLICK HERE --
Bishop James 'I Feel God' Brown
The Internet's Favorite Pastor
Visit My Blog www.ifeelgod.org
www.1000churches.org - Kingdom Ministry
www.poorpreacher.com - Internet Guides
www.fromchurch.com - Ministry Tech
Stay In Contact with
me
twitter: http://twitter.com/ifeelgod
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Worth-TX/Bishop-James-I-Feel-God...
myspace: http://myspace.com/ifeelgod
pastor, stewardship, money, problems, leadership, internet ministry, christian
-
Comment by Donna Corbitt on May 27, 2009 at 10:51pm
-
This is another wonderful word of God! Great wisdom, I really enjoy your written sermons Elder Mark
-
Comment by Mark H. Stevens, Th.D on May 27, 2009 at 9:21pm
-
1. More emphasis must be placed on soulwinning and outreach
initiatives, evangelism has to be outside the 4 walls of the church,
our understanding of an "evangelist" in many of our churches is
someone that get the saints excited and raise a big offering for the
church and himself. An Evangelist is a SOULWINNER plain and simple.
The Pastor has to disciple the new converts after they are won to
Jesus! The primary purpose of the Holy Ghost is to HELP us in
ministry (Acts 1:8). Ministry isn't just at a PULPIT! It is in
hospitals, Prisons, Nursing homes, and the street. The problem is
when you minister away from the pulpit no one can see you, too
many "preachers" like the spotlight rather than being a light!
2. The Office of Deacon MUST be restored to it's rightful place, we
could take a lesson from the Baptist church on this issue. We would
have more men and stronger men if they were groomed and trained to be
DEACONS! Deacons are not just old men holding the collection plate! I
was a Deacon at the age of 22, I tought Bible Study, Sunday School,
and led the street witnessing team! I did more ministry as a Deacon
than some Elders!
3. EDUCATION is NOT the enemy! We MUST make the requirements for
ordination TOUGHER! We have far too many preachers that are not well
versed in the scriptures, we know who sits on the general board, we
know who the state mother is, and the Clark Sisters latest CD...but
tell some of these ministers to stand toe to toe with an Apostolic
and defend the COGIC stance on the Trinity and Baptism!
Apologetically TOO MANY of our preachers are lacking! And don't tell
me "all I need is the anointing!" A sound Bible education ENHANCES
the anointing, if you can't read well, how can you understand the
Word and preach to others? With all thy getting get an
understanding...isn't that what the BIBLE say's?
4. Women need to be ordained with a stipulation, no woman can rise to
the office of Bishop. Women CAN and are called to PREACH! Nuff said!
Many of our COGIC churches were STARTED by women but woman are not
GOOD enough to sit in OUR pulpits? God forbid!
5. Youth Ministries MUST expand and think outside the box, if we lose
our youth the church will dry up and die! When I was 14 years old my
Baptist church had a "Youth Deacon Board" (I was one), The Older
Deacons mentored us, we delivered food to the sick and shut in,
washed seniors cars and cut thier grass....we need to better train
our boys to be men. True religion is to visit the widow AND the
FATHERLESS!
6. Foriegn Missions has to be MORE of a priority in the COGIC and in
Black churches in general, who better than black people to evangelize
3rd world countries? Our problem is we preach prosperity more than
the Gospel, prosperity doesn't work on the Mission Field. We MUST
fulfill the Great Commission, it was a command NOT an option!
7. Feeding the hungry is also a part of outreach, remember when the Apostles apointed Deacons? The purpose was centered around feeding poor widows, as the feeding ministry flourished the numbers of the church GREW! Acts of kindness draw people to Jesus, because JESUS primary mission was to the POOR and REJECTED!
Chaplain Mark H. Stevens, M.Min
-
-
Something For Sunday - Invitation To Free Video Bible Study On Prayer - May 23, 2009
This Sunday's free gift from Bishop James I Feel God Brown is a video bible study using the first few chapters of his new ebook on Christian Prayer. Visit http://ifeelgod.org/prayerbook to watch the video bible study http://ifeelgod.org/prayerbook
Bishop James 'I Feel God' Brown
The Internet's Favorite Pastor
Visit My Blog www.ifeelgod.org
www.1000churches.org - Kingdom Ministry
www.poorpreacher.com - Internet Guides
www.fromchurch.com - Ministry Tech
Stay In Contact with
me
twitter: http://twitter.com/ifeelgod
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Worth-TX/Bishop-James-I-Feel-God...
myspace: http://myspace.com/ifeelgod
prayer, christian, bishop, james, i, feel, god, brown, something, for, sunday, bible, study, free
-
-
Over the years I have heard many Protestants criticize the Papal system and all of its pomp and arrogance. But if you spend any amount of time around some of our Bishops and Overseers in the various Protestant denominations you would think you were in the presence of a Pope. Some of our preachers are so pompous and aloof you would think you were in the Vatican. Many preachers today have become celebrities and idols. So often I hear Christians speak of their pastors and bishops with adoration that should be reserved for Jesus Christ. I believe we should respect and support our pastors and clergyman, but they are men! Men are fallible and are prone to make mistakes. We must remember that God uses fallible men to preach an infallible Word! We condemn the Roman Catholics because of their term “Papal infallibility”, yet we will get fighting mad if someone criticizes our favorite celebrity preacher! A good example of this is Kenneth Copeland, many noted and respected Bible scholars and teachers have exposed much of Copeland’s teachings as heretical, yet many Christian blindly and loyally continue to act like he is an “anointed” teacher. It is never popular to criticize or expose false teachers and prophets that are “celebrities”, why? Because we are just as bad as the Catholics, when it comes to how we treat our clergy. I am an ordained Elder in the Church of God in Christ. I love my church, but it is not perfect either. I listen to many of the members of my denomination and it is a sad commentary to hear people that have been saved for years, yet their knowledge of Bible doctrine is very minimal. Many will say “Well I believe what my pastor teaches” or “That may be in the Bible but my church teaches it this way”; The Bible IS ALWAYS the last word! I am appalled at the number of clergy that struggle with basic Bible doctrines that the average Christian should be well acquainted with.
According to 1 Corinthians 3:1 all Christians can be divided into the two groups, spiritual and carnal. A spiritual Christian allows the Holy Spirit to guide and govern him to do the perfect will of the Father. A carnal Christian has been born again but has not overcome the sinful nature of his flesh. Instead of being governed by the Spirit he is ruled by feelings, emotions, desires, greed, good or bad intentions, intellectual interpretation etc. etc. Our churches are filled with carnal believers that don’t depend on the Word for their daily guidance. By rejecting the Word they also reject the Holy Spirit that speaks the Word to our spirit and mind.
The Catholic Church doesn’t encourage it’s congregates to study for themselves because the priest is the source of revelatory knowledge, but the Bible (John 14:26 and John 15:26) and the Holy Spirit are all the help we need. Yes we need teachers (Spirit-filled teachers) to help us, but we are still responsible to study to show ourselves approved unto God.
Pastors and teachers have to take the church from MILK to MEAT, I would be horrified to see an adult wearing a diaper in church, but spiritually many saints are wearing diapers in the house of God. The reason we treat our pastors like gods is that we are babies and we are letting them carry us like babies! They should be taking us from milk to MEAT! We have to grow up so we can assist in the ministry and stop being a burden to the church. So many pastors quit because of burnout, but most of the time it is their fault! Imagine a woman trying to care for 20 to 30 babies at one time; she would eventually crack under pressure! We have to GROW UP SPIRITUALLY! We have to pray and study 7 days a week, not just on Sunday in the presence of your pastor. Martin Luther was a great man but we need MORE men and women like him today! Men and women committed to the truth of scripture over tradition, hype, and fluff! I leave this scary verse with you to meditate on.
Isaiah 2:6 (NIV) You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans.
-
-
I had a conversation with a group of Pastors about “What’s wrong with the Church?” As these men bantered back and forth with different theories, I held my peace. Finally I remembered the quote in this chapter by John Stott, “As a body without breath is a corpse, so the church without the Spirit is dead.” As I shared this quote the conversation ended with a soft “amen”. When we realize the problems of the church all stemmed from our lack of realizing we must allow the Spirit of God to fill and control the church. The other reality is that the church is not a BUILDING! WE ARE THE CHURCH! We are the tabernacles of the Old Testament the same way God’s glory filled the tabernacle is the same way God fills us. God sent His Son the Lamb of God to be the greatest sacrifice the world would ever know. He became the Passover Lamb for the world. Why? So the world could experience His glory. God wants us (the Church) to be filled with His Glory. Many of our churches are “Ichabod”, meaning the Glory is gone. We trust our programs, our intellect, our degrees, and our wealth more than we trust the power of God.
We are to be “Walking Holy of Holies”. There can be no revival without the presence of God. He must fill and overflow our services. We have to allow Him to have free reign over our programs and services. Worship is a key to experiencing His presence in the sanctuary. God created us for worship! He inhabits the praises of His people, this means when we worship Him, He “pulls up a chair” in our midst. This was the problem with the Church prior to the Reformation; they legislated God out with liturgy and formulas. In many of our churches today we are so traditional and rigid the Holy Spirit is not even welcome. It almost seems like we need a new reformation.
-
Comment by Prophetess Christine Y Thompson on May 21, 2009 at 5:15pm
-
MY THORNS AND YOUR ROSE
Page Title: My Thorns and Your Rose | One Woman’s Emotional Journey into Prophecy and God’s Love
Page Description: My Thorns and Your Rose is the new book by Christine Thompson, a woman brought through a life of pain, abuse, and struggle into deliverance and redemption by the power of God—and the power of prophecy. Her story details not only her journey to a new physical location and a life lived anew, but the spiritual highs and lows that she has experienced while coming to terms with her gift from God.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
My Thorns and Your Rose
“Searching in the Dark”
As a young woman, I left the church to follow the ways of the world, believing I would find fulfillment. I sought love, acceptance, and comfort outside of the light of Jesus. I tried to find myself, but only succeeded in losing piece after piece of myself to abusive men and false friends. After the death of my firstborn child, my life spiraled out of control. I looked to relationships with men to make me complete. I had more babies to try and make up for what I had lost. But outside of the light and love of God’s gifts, I only found more abuse—more emptiness—more pain.
“A Call to Prophecy”
There came a turning point in my life. The Lord appeared to me in a dream; the first of many prophecies that would change my life and the lives of those He brought to me. God showed me the errors of the life I was leading, and made me to understand that I would never find happiness or fulfillment outside of His glory. In my dream, He showed me a church where I would find favor and success. Most importantly, He gave me a gift: the gift of visions, of prophecies. Through me, He would appear to His children and show them where they stumbled on their path to Him.
God called me in a vivid prophecy to “Be as Joseph”. Joseph, an Old Testament prophet, was given the power of prophecy to show his people the error of their ways. In the beginning, this gift brought him great praise and he became proud. He bragged to all who would listen that he was chosen by God to deliver His word, and that he was to be a judge among men. Soon, however, the full seed of the gift of prophecy came to bear fruit—and the glory of being “the chosen one” quickly faded away.
The Lord’s call to “Be as Joseph” led me down a similar path, though I did not understand fully where it would take me. Like Joseph, I reveled in the glory of being chosen by God to deliver His word. Like Joseph, I became proud. And like Joseph, I soon realized that my gift would become my life’s greatest burden.
“A Lonely Road”
I journeyed across four states to find the church of deliverance and victory God promised me in my dream. When I arrived I was indeed blessed with the favor of the bishop and church leaders, and I was able to be ordained within a year. My physical journey to be where Jesus wanted me was finished, but my spiritual journey was only beginning. I expected to find unconditional love within the walls of the house of the Lord, but instead found myself a black sheep among the flock. Once again, I was to learn the hard way that the only place to find what I was looking for was through Him.
“A Gift and a Burden”
Sharing the gifts the Lord Jesus has blessed me with has been anything but easy. Prophecies are not always messages of reassurance and support from God, giving His children affirmation that they are well in His sight. What God shows me is where they are going astray, and the dark areas in their lives. He shows me the consequences of their worldly lives, and expects me to share what I see. He works through me to renew the spirituality of others, though it is not always easy to face the cost of looking away from Him.
I have lost friends and family who question why I would tell them what I see for them in my prophecies. I have faced embarrassment, resentment, and persecution from those I believed would be my supporters. Truly, my gift—my rose—from God has had many thorns. But presenting roses to others is the charge the Lord Jesus has brought to me, and in carrying out my destiny as a prophet I have found fulfillment beyond imagining. By obeying His word, living His truth, and walking in His footsteps I am whole as I never expected to be. My life has been amazing—by the grace of God.
Read the entire story of Christine Thompson’s inspiring and emotional journey in her new book,
My Thorns and Your Rose
available now through Open Waters Ministries
prophet_christine@yahoo.com
Visit online at
www.myspace.com/likechrist7
www.youtube.com/prophetchristine
-
-
Wow what a wonderful and rich word of God! Awesome
-
Comment by Alex on May 21, 2009 at 3:58pm
-
It's great to be in COGIC!
-
-
2 Peter 2:1,”… but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”
What do you think it means to deny the Lord? Many would say that any person or group that doesn’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God would be denying the Lord and that would be true enough. False religions like Islam and Hinduism would fall into this category. Most orthodox Christians would include the pseudo Christian cults like Jehovah’s Witness’, Mormons, and others of that ilk. And they would be correct but are these false teachers Peter is referring to here?
If you look closely you will see that Peter says these false teachers will be “among you”. Since he was writing to a group of born again, Spirit filled believers, we must conclude that he is not talking about the obvious false religions or even pseudo Christian cults. The false teachers he is speaking of will be found within the Body of Christ.
Now how do you suppose that false teachers will get away with denying the Lord among a group of believers?
The word denying as it is used here is the Greek word arneomai {ar-neh'-om-ahee}. It is the same word used in Titus 1:16, “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him….” Used in these contexts, the word means to contradict.
So a teacher that contradicts the Lord is in fact denying Him. He may say that Jesus is Lord. He may speak right sounding words claiming to be born again and he may have the biggest Bible you’ve ever seen but if his works or teaching contradicts the words of Jesus he is denying Him.
For example, when Benny Hinn claimed in 1999 that Jesus would physically appear at one of his upcoming crusades, he was contradicting the specific words of the Lord Jesus.
Math 24:23 -26
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
By making the claim that Jesus would physically appear at one of his crusades Hinn contradicted (denied) the words of the Lord and proved himself to be a false prophet and false teacher according to 2 Peter 2:1.
The so called principle of seed faith giving was first popularized by Oral Roberts almost 50 years ago. It proved to be so profitable to him that he essentially based his entire ministry on it. As with any other profitable venture others soon followed. Today it is used by virtually every “Faith” preacher, the majority of Christian television networks, and almost all TV preachers in general. It has even found its way into many mainstream and denominational churches.
How does seed faith giving work. It is loosely based (very loosely as we will see) on the parable of the sower found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. Using the illustration of sowing seed, people are instructed that if they will give money to the church, the ministry, the TV network, the man of God, etc, God will multiply it back to them 30, 60, or 100 times more than they gave. In fact now days, about all you ever hear about is the 100 fold return. The 30 and 60 fold returns have pretty much been dropped altogether.
That’s a pretty good deal wouldn’t you say? Give God $1 and get back $100. Give God $100 and get back $10,000. Give God $10,000 and get back a cool million. And not only that, but you can also sow money and get back other things. Things like salvation for relatives, healing for incurable diseases, and deliverance from various demonic influences! That’s right; all you have to do is send your seed (meaning money) to the man of God!
Is this really what the parable of the sower is all about? What do you think? Let’s examine this important parable.
Luke 8:4-8 NASB
When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great." As He said these things, He would call out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Jesus explains the parable
Luke 8:11 NASB
Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.
Now right here anybody with even a minimal level of reading comprehension should be able to see that this parable has nothing to do with money. The seed is the word of God. Even a brand new baby Christian should be able to look at this and say “I don’t think these fellows are teaching this correctly”
Let’s continue with Jesus’ explanation
Luke 8:12-15 NASB
Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
This parable is about what happens when the word of God is sown or revealed in the heart of a person. It may be the most important parable Jesus taught. Why do I say that? Because Jesus said this:
Mark 4:13
And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
Jesus is saying that if you don’t understand this parable you won’t understand any of the parables he taught. This is a foundational teaching!
By misapplying the parable of the sower, these false teachers do great damage to God’s people. First, by falsely claiming that God works like some kind of cosmic slot machine, but the real damage is in the fact that believers are robbed of the true meaning of this teaching.
The parable of the sower is at work every time God’s Word is revealed to you. In fact it is at work right now in many of you who are reading this.
I know that many of you will read this and say “I don’t believe that. I don’t believe that my favorite preacher would preach a false message” You’ll reject what I’m saying. You’ll actually be rejecting the words of Jesus.
The devil has come already to steal this word from you.
Some of you will hear what I say and receive it gladly. “Glory to God” you’ll say, “preach it brother…. Hallelujah” But you won’t take the time to really meditate on this word. You won’t really apply it.
And then a testing will come, a test to see if you really believe, trust in, rely on, and adhere to what you claim to believe. Testing is because of the word sown in your heart. You’ll be challenged. God Himself will allow that challenge, that test.
Will you pass the test? Or will you revert back to your traditional thinking?
And of course some of you will hear and believe but you won’t give this word the proper place in your life. You’ll think about it for a while. You’ll decide that it’s right but then you’ll get on with your life. You’ll get busy with your job, your family, your daily responsibilities and it will recede further and further into the recesses of your heart until it has no real value to you.
And the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches will have choked the truth out of your heart.
But I know too, that some of you will hear this word and receive it. You’ll meditate on it. You’ll give it the proper priority in your life. When challenged you’ll stand and agree with it rather than contradict! And you will have proven yourself to be good soil. You’ll produce fruit, becoming more and more Christ like in your life. You’ll become a disciple indeed.
John 8:31-32
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
A little leaven leavens the whole lump
Paul said that evil men will wax worse and worse and so it is with false teaching. The false ideology behind the seed faith message has infected the church to such a degree that many never even question the idea that if you “have a need” you must “plant a seed”.
But is that assumption theologically sound? Should we really plant a seed when we have a need?
During a recent telethon (beg-a-thon) Paul Crouch, founder of Trinity Broadcast Network explained that even God sowed a seed when He had a need.
That’s right God had a need. He’d lost His first family in Adam, Crouch explained, “..so God sowed His best seed, Jesus. Not only that, but God sowed in expectation. Just like we are taught to sow expecting a miracle, God sowed expecting a 100 fold return. He gave His son Jesus and got back many more sons and daughters. Proof positive that seed faith giving works!”
THIS IS A LIE!!!
Does the Bible really teach that God had a need? Did God ever lose anything or anyone? Would you like God’s response to Mr. Crouch’s exhortation? Well look right here.
Psalm 50:9-12 NKJV
I will not take a bull from your house, Nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
Or how about this verse Mr. Crouch,
Math 3:9
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
God is God. He is not a man having needs. He didn’t lose anything. All is His. If He were hungry He wouldn’t tell us. Isn’t that incredible!
It is the height of arrogance (or perhaps apostasy) to claim that God is anything like us. He is in no way dependent on us. We are dependent on Him. And herein lies the real heresy of the seed faith message. It turns the doctrine of grace into a doctrine of works and thereby denies the finished work of the cross.
© 2024 Created by Raliegh Jones Jr..
Powered by
You need to be a member of COGIC - Church of God In Christ to add comments!