Welcome to OO: Rant/Rave » From the Tomax site

Tue, 28 February 2006 15:49

Anonymous Please

Interesting.

This is a recent entry from someone named ‘Ned’ over at the tomax web site, www.tomax7.com/thoughts/faith_assembly.htm

I’m sure a few of you already know of this web site. It’s run by a very sincere brother in the Lord that uses part of his website to try to contact ex-Faith Assembly folks.

Here’s is a testimony from one of his guests on his website.

Feb 2006 - Greetings, I have a somewhat different perspective and would like to ask for feedback to help me settle some nagging questions. I was in the walk for 15 years and taught on Sundays for 7 years in my satellite church in Illinois. I have been out for 15 years now and find myself intrigued and identifying with what I read here. I also have run the gamut of emotions ranging from self pity to anger about what happened.

I believe I see a simple answer that describes what happened at FA and at the satellite churches. Though not completely. Satisfying this answer allows me to cope well with our/my failures. This is simple in concept but extremely crucifying to self for us even to consider. My idea respects that most of the teachings were very good, that Christianity is defined by only the Scriptures, and that most of our hearts were good and acceptable before God... after all how much more sincere can you be if you are willing to go to and through death's door? Premise to consider -> << That we had little or no anointing but we did not notice. >>

In other words - it did not work from God's side not from our side. Did we have an anointing or not? What if what "anointing" we did see in our churches actually came from sincere people trying their best ... and not from God? Signs and wonders should happen once in a while - maybe fairly often in an anointed church. All we ever saw were things that might have come from sincere, well meaning men or women. Tongues could possibly come from the human mind as could the prophecies. Pastoral compassion and care could originate in the caring heart of nice men. Teaching could come from the sincere intellect of honest men who simply take the Scriptures at face value.

Can we consider that maybe Bro. Freeman was not "anointed"? With respect to Brother Freeman...note: I speak next of major doctrines, not tacky small things termed "legalistic." Most of his teachings were commonly available in reference books and in seminaries such as the Baptist seminary that trained Dr. Freeman. What he brought out that was not available elsewhere was clearly stated (which is why we all believed it) in the Scriptures available to the human intellect of a smart, learned, sincere, honest man.

Freeman was smart, sincere, honest with the Scriptures, and above all courageous enough to just say what the Scriptures actually say. We all elevated him as anointed and the center of God's end time move.....but as we begin to see him now as only a normal minister ... can we consider that maybe it was not "the anointing" but rather his personal honestly and courage that set him apart? Can we consider the possibility that he and we were not anointed?

We were thousands of believers walking the walk for 10 to 20 years and there were never any signs and wonders. Signs and wonders are part of the anointed church. Anyone think the churches at Corinth, in Galatia, or at Ephesus went years and years without seeing any signs and wonders? Not as a frivolous sideshow but there should be the ICor12 gifts of miracles and also the "signs of an Apostle”.... and by the way where is an Apostle after 2 or 3 decades? We believed the healing and faith promises (both very valid in my opinion) to and sometimes through death's door but we let the signs, wonders, and Apostle Verses go unfulfilled and we did not notice.

It is a very disturbing pattern that everything that might possibly come from the intellectual efforts of sincere men we did see happen ...BUT everything that would absolutely require a supernatural action by God was missing.

Long after Brother Freeman's death I spoke to a very sincere brother who had witnessed with his own eyes all of Brother Freeman's ministry at Faith Assembly nearly from the very beginning. At the time we were both still totally committed to the message. My question to him was...."Have you ever seen a clearly supernatural event?" His answer was "No." I was aware that in my satellite church we never saw the clearly supernatural but I always assumed that things occurred at Faith Assembly. I submit that this premise of "little or no anointing" perfectly explains what happened. Maybe it is the only idea that fits our experience.
-Ned

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