I am a new Christian, and I attend a very large church. When I go to church, I feel invigorated, cleansed, refreshed, renewed, alive, in awe and filled with gratitude. Some sundays the sermon might fall flat, and I’m trying hard to understand my new faith, my church and how to bring what I’m learning into my life.
It’s all very confusing for me in so many ways... I have a very busy life with children and a full time job. I’m still trying to understand what it means to make god your first priority in your life.
My husband tells me that one of the greeters told us early on that, “it’s a nice place, but just don’t drink the kool-aid”. This was said in jest partially, but obviously this person meant something by it.
I attended a Wednesday service and it was dramatically different from the typical Sunday stuff. I was very early on in my bible readings so a lot of the in-depth references went straight over my head.
Then the head pastor started talking about demons and levitations and how the supernatural world he has been pastoring in has been a “wild trip”.
I was shocked... all the overwhelming positive feelings I had been having went down considerably... I went to different members of the church to seek understanding and I felt a little better but I still feel a little confused about it. Especially after my husband had a lengthy conversation with a former 25 year church member.
He asked her if she had ever seen a levitation and she laughed and said no.
My church teaches about speaking in tongues and I still have not gotten any further clarification about this.
They teach to fake jibberish and they call it speaking in tongues. They talk about it as being a gift that all people who are baptized should receive - but the bible doesn’t teach this at all! In fact there’s a whole chapter dedicated to how it’s a gift that some few people may receive and there should be a person present who can translate what is being said.
My church is teaching that tongues is a language only god can understand and therefore praying in “tongues” (jibberish) will bring you closer to god.
This woman that spoke to my husband said that the church is like a cult...
Should I be careful? Should I keep attending? Should I attend a different church? I don’t quite know what I’m looking for I just know that I want Gods truth, help understanding it, and a level headed approach on how to balance this world that I live in with the spiritual one.
I go to a Pentecostal church and I disagree with the bit in bold.
As for demons and levitation, there is certainly a demonic world around us.
But rather the teaching should be on God not the demonic.
I’ve been going to my church 18 years, there is never any open teaching about
deliverance, though I know that there has been times when a person has needed
deliverance. It’s left to people pastors, elders etc who are mature enough and able
to deal with this with a certain level of maturity. It involves much prayer and wisdom.
It’s not something generally discussed and definately not bragged about.
I’ve never heard of levitation, maybe your pastor has been watching too much of the horror channel.
Speaking in tongues is often regarded as a sign of the baptism of the holy
Spirit, but it’s not the only sign. The Holy Spirit is also not a trained dog
where we say come walkies etc and He obeys. The Holy Spirit is a person,
He is God. It is up to Him not us, how to or in what way He fills a person.
What I would say is that when you do feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. You will
recognise Him and know for certain. There will be no doubt.
The warm uplifted feeling you get in church, possibly could just be due to the
uplifting atmosphere. Or it could be the Holy Spirit speaking you. Or both.
For me when it’s the Holy Spirit, rather than being uplifted I tend to get weepy as He
touches my heart, convicts, assures, then lifts me up. If it’s just a nice atmosphere
etc I just feel happy/glad to beat church - but that’s not a bad thing.
I get those flat moments too. Sometimes because I’m expecting and want to hear God and
His word, and the sermon isn’t really for me, it’s probably for someone else instead.
For example we have guest services maybe once every 2 months, or during Easter they are
every Sunday in April. It’s where they preach the gospel. It’s nice to be reminded but they
leave me a bit flat as I’m past that point in my christian Walk. Other times sermons can be
too simple and not meaty enough for me, but that’s because they are aimed at new
Christians.
The thing to remember is that not every sermon will be at your level or will speak to
you, but it will speak to others. Maybe in those times you could pray for the people sat
around you.
The other thing to remember is going to church isn’t like going to be entertained.
It’s about fellowship, hearing the word, worshipping together, seeking God.
We don’t go to church to feel good. We go to draw near to God.
I find it helps to take notes, I got more out of it that way, plus often if the sermon does
not speak to me, the actual bible verses read out will, but in another way.
I’ve often been in church the sermons has been about one subject, but I’m the middle of
the reading a verse has left out at me on another matter I have been dealing with. So the
word has spoken to me even if the sermon didn’t.
I can’t answer whether the church is right for you or not, you will have to decide that.
But you will find the above about is relevant which ever church you go to.