I Am Trying To Find A Church Out Here!

GodSaidManSaid, by the blessing of God, reaches hundreds of thousands of people. An untold multitude have surrendered their lives to Christ Jesus on this website. Given the global nature of the web, our hearts are always concerned about where these new born-again babes will worship and be taught. Various information on this website is dedicated to directing these new saints to a house where God’s Word is truly honored. It is our prayer and confidence that God will direct His children.

The tremendous dilemma that confronts so many believers is reflected in the following e-mail from Matthew:

Hello. I love what you guys are doing and how you support your truth with the truth of the scripture. I was recently baptized August 29 of last year and it’s been an internal eternal war within ever since. This is not to say that there haven’t been peaks of the light of the Lord shining through all of the storm clouds. There have been times when He has given me so much joy that it moved me far beyond an expression of tears. I’m trying very hard to find a church out here in Georgia. So far it has been very difficult. I think (not know, because I don’t have a Bible on hand to pull the exact excerpt where Jesus commands us to love Him with all our hearts) that the importance of the church you go to is not nearly as important as the relationship you have with the Lord. However, what I want to accomplish by finding a church is to find the guidance of the Word. So far, I’ve either run into incomplete ministries or incomplete practices. I know that if the church was perfect I wouldn’t fit in, but God wants us to hold strong to what He taught through our Lord Jesus Christ. If this site could become a church I would have no choice but to be a member. This is what I’m looking for. Can Jesus help me? Or is this a test to see how long I’ll search and still be His servant? I know that you probably don’t have the answer for this. I need to pray frequently for finding an awesome church. Can you tell me how long Jesus’ ministry was? I was told that it was two years but found the scripture not to support that. But maybe I can’t see the facts .Anyhow, I love what you Christians are doing and if there is anything I can do to give back to God let me know (because I haven’t been paying a tithe to the church because I haven’t found one to do so). When I’ve given offerings to these churches I felt that I was not giving to God, but to the church. I don’t know if that makes sense but please shoot back an e- mail. Signed, Matthew

Brother Matthew, welcome to the commonwealth of Israel. Jesus said in John 14:1:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

The following verses are for your edification:

I Corinthians 10:13:

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Isaiah 54:17:

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Romans 8:37-39:

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Strive to enter in and you and we will surely succeed.

Brother Matthew, please forgive us for being so tardy in our response. May the face of the Lord shine upon you and your house. We understand your dilemma. These are the very last days, “the love of many waxes cold,” and there is truly a famine for the Word of God. Amos 8:11-14:

11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

There are multitudes of churches across America and around the world. Yet in the midst of all the churchianity, there is a famine for the Word of God. Many churches are bulging at the seams but those who will pay the full price of redemption are very few. The ministers who stand in the pulpits and proclaim the unabridged truth are rare indeed. Most of us who minister would consider ourselves to be one of those rarities. Serious caution should be exercised in this confidence and true diligent search inside and out.

This famine for the Word of God may sound bizarre, but consider this:

1. Most churches have rejected the source of heavenly bread—the majority-text Authorized King James Bible—in exchange for an altered, contradictory message. Ministers stand in the pulpits and discredit the majority-text with so-called “Original Hebrew” and “Original Greek” revisions that they’ve taken from the adulterated minority-text manuscripts and other inferior sources.
2. Today, opinion and denominational doctrine take precedence over the Holy Word of God. Man is busy manhandling God’s Word.

There is a famine for the Word of God.

Brother Matthew, finding a church that stands on the Word of God is very important. Basic doctrines would include:

1. Salvation was purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and is a gift of God’s grace. I John 1:7 and Ephesians 2:8-9.
2. We must repent and turn from our sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. Acts 2:38-39.
3. Water baptism by immersion. Mark 1:5.
4. Seeking the baptism in the Holy Ghost as defined in the book of Acts.
5. Reading of the majority-text Authorized King James Bible.
6. Seeking God’s face daily in His Holy Word and obeying all His commandments.

There is a God-given yardstick by which to measure a ministry’s credibility before God and this is the same yardstick by which we must measure ourselves, for this, in fact, is how we are measured. Jesus said in Matthew 5:48:

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

How can we be perfect when God is continually working on us to bring us into final perfection? How can we, who are being perfected, be perfect? We can and must be perfect, and this is found in the following two positions:

1. We have fully repented of all of our sins and we "Abstain from all appearance of evil (I Thessalonians 5:22)."
2. We seek and fully surrender to the inerrant Word of the Living God (II Corinthians 10:4- 5). And it reads:

4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

So then our perfectness is our sinless condition in Christ Jesus and our full surrender to the Word of God. Jesus said in Luke 6:40:

The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

Christ is our master and to be perfect is to walk in His likeness. In John 12:48-50, we find that Jesus was fully surrendered unto the Word of His Father and we are called to walk in this same oneness. Walking in this oneness is found in John 17:22-23:

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

To be made perfect in one is to be found sinless and in oneness with God’s Word. This requires divesting oneself of all opinions and imaginations contrary to the majority-text Bible. II Timothy 3:16-17:

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

II Corinthians 13:11:

Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

We are commanded to be of one mind. Another passage requires us to speak the same things. This is accomplished in our allegiance to one self-interpreting text. At the church where I pastor, we were once accused of brainwashing the congregation. We don’t brainwash anyone, of course, but the Word of God does, and requires it. Romans 12:2:

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I Corinthians 1:10:

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

We are called to put on the mind of Christ. In this sinless, surrendered condition we are presently perfect and ready to move on to an expansion of light, maturity, and perfectness. A ministry which is perfect will be found in this same condition.

Another way to understand levels of perfectness is that we are many times compared to trees of an orchard and are called upon to bear much fruit. For example, an apple begins as a perfect bud in the spring. Then it becomes a perfect blossom. Next it’s a perfect little apple. And finally, it grows into a fully developed perfect apple ready for harvest. Each stage is perfect by God’s design, growing unto full, perfect maturity. It is also this way with the bride of Christ.

Brother Matthew, to answer your question concerning the length of the ministry of Jesus, there are estimates ranging from one to four years. H. Wayne House, in his research book, Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament, lists the evidence put forth by all four arguments. The evidence supporting three years appears to be the most credible and is as follows:

1. In addition to the three Passovers explicitly mentioned in the Gospel of John (2:13; 6:4; 11:55), an additional year should be understood between the Passovers mentioned in 2:13 and 6:4. Not all the feasts are mentioned in John (e.g., Feast of Pentecost). Also, the Synoptic accounts require another year between the Passovers of 2:13 and 6:4; e.g., Mark 6:39 indicates springtime but Mark 2:23 points to a harvest season a year earlier. John 2:13 was in Judea, but Mark 6:39 was in Galilee, too close to be the same Passover.2. John 4:35 says there are but four months to harvest. This should be taken as a seasonal indicator. This places Jesus in Samaria in January/February after the Passover of John 2:13, allowing for the Passover between John 2:13 and 6:4. [End of quote]

Lastly is the subject of tithing. Your tithe should be given to the house of worship you attend and where you are fed. This is similar to the idea that you pay the grocer from whom you buy your groceries and not another across town. If the church you’re attending is not worthy of your giving, then it certainly is not worthy of your presence. However, if you would like to invest in the souls of men with us outside of your tithe (assuming you have found a church), we would gladly receive your gift and invest it for you in the Kingdom of God. We are a tax-deductible, non-profit corporation. GodSaidManSaid has no paid employees and all overhead is donated, so all of your gift would be invested in radio commercials and various other advertising vehicles to build audience only for the purpose of winning souls to Christ and arming the saints to win the lost. God bless you, Brother Matthew. Stand fast.

Sincerely,

Pastor Dave and the GodSaidManSaid Team

P.S., If you would like to be counseled, send us your phone number, time zone in which you live, and when you’d like to be called. We want to make certain you have all the necessary tools of the faith to war a good warfare. I Thessalonians 3:8-10:

8 For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

9 For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;

10 Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?

References:

King James Bible

House, H.W., Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament, Zondervan Publishing House, 1981, p. 107

• Go Further With Christ
• Email To a Friend
• Comments or Questions?