I Am The Enemy Of?
“In that day the LORD of hosts will be for a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the Remnant of His people, for a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.” Isaiah 28:5-6
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Matthew 7:15-18
TV Evangelist and pastor Benny Hinn stated: ‘You cannot win attacking the servants of the Lord, no matter who they are or what they've done ...if the anointing ever comes upon a man, don't touch that man, even if he turns away from God, and serves the devil, Don't touch him. You are in deep, serious danger.’
True shepherds of the flock of God serve as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to them, but being examples to the flock. Unfortunately as seen by the many religious scandals in America, true shepherds are very hard to find. Jesus clearly told us to beware of false prophets, who come to us in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves? It is to be noted that false prophets and false teachers will not appear to be false. The Word of God in 2 Corinthians 11:13 tells us that these leaders will appear to be righteous men who appear to radiate the light of Jesus. They will be so camouflaged that many will follow them. But that should not be? Jesus said that His sheep would know His voice and another they will not follow. We need to listen to the voice of Jesus daily as He speaks to us through the voice of His Holy Spirit. Then when the false prophet comes along stealing, killing and destroying, we will not be led astray because we will know that the voice is another voice and not the voice of the great shepherd, Jesus.
False prophets will teach false doctrine such as they are the anointed ones and are not to be touched by any one but God! One of the most common errors found in Christianity today is that particular persons, usually pastors or evangelists, are somehow more "anointed" than the average Christian. This teaching often coincides with a veiled threat in the form of "touch not mine [the Lord's] anointed," (I Ch. 16:22, Ps. 105:15). While Jesus told us "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren (Matthew 23:8)
Many prominent pastors and evangelists today make the claim that because "souls" are being saved and "healings" take place in their meetings, that this somehow validates their ministry. While these things may be well and good, they are no indication of "divine" sanction. A.A. Allen was a drunkard, Jimmy Swaggart a whoremonger, Jim Bakker a thief, Larry Lea a prevaricator, and Robert Tilton a charlatan - yet ALL of these saw thousands saved and miracles take place in their meetings. Because one is blessed with "prosperity" and has a "following" of thousands, doesn't mean a darn thing when it comes to integrity and godly sanction, for "he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust," (Matt. 5:45).
The idea that any person especially a religious leader be it a Bishop or a pastor has arrived or his unique anointing and gifts make him special about the rest of the body of Christ is nothing but hogwash. Jesus clearly told all that it was possible for them to practice lawlessness and be cast out of heaven. God’s word is unchanging:
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Matthew 7:21-23
"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. Matthew 18:15-19
The terms “bind” and “loose” were Jewish idioms indicating that what is announced on earth has already been determined in heaven. To “bind” meant to forbid, refuse, or prohibit. To “loose” meant to permit or allow. Here Jesus is speaking of church discipline. Members who repent are to be restored or “loosed” and members who do not repent are to be removed or “bound”. The decisions we make, the correction we give and the forgiveness we offer must be in harmony with God’s revealed truth in order to be binding. i.e. John 16:13
Apostle Paul in his writings about the church in Corinth talked about everything, good and bad including love and immorality and was very explicit about people’s different behavior and actions. He said, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (1 Corinthians 10:11). Some religious leaders would have us believe that when we become Christians, we must turn our minds and intellect off. as well as our reasoning and other mental faculties, and that we are not to “Judge.” Nothing is so farther from the truth as the concept of Judging in the Christian Church today. King Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel wrote the book of Proverbs, whose purpose was stated as, “To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity.” (Proverbs 1:2-3). He also wrote:
”Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.” (Proverbs 2:9)
“It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.“ (Proverbs 18:5)
A divine sentence is on the lips of the king; His mouth must not transgress in judgment. (Proverbs 16:10)
Making right judgments and ensuring equity, fairness and justice is something that God requires of all Kings and Ministers, especially of those in Christian Leadership. One of the character traits that make a man a great leader is the ability to make righteous, true, fair and equitable judgments to all without partiality or respecting the outward appearance of a person. Rick Joyner of the Morning Star wrote about the Coming Davidic Ministry, the following:
There are basically two kinds of leaders-those who sacrifice the people for their own interests and those who sacrifice their own interests for the people. Those who have received their authority from the people rather than from the Lord will be subject to increasingly perverted views of spiritual authority, especially in relation to their own.
Once (King) Saul began to use his position for his own interests, rather than for the interests of the Lord and His people, he was subject to an increasing fall into delusion. He changed from being a servant of the people, to believing that they were his servants, to ultimately believing that they existed for him. This same mentality has woven itself into the fabric of much of the leadership of the modern church, and it has the same root. We often start out with a sincere vision of serving the body of Christ, and then gradually turn until we begin to think that the body of Christ exists to support our vision or ministry.
Roy Aldrich, a retired school teacher, died prematurely at the age 65, as a direct result of the stress and betrayal by his friend and pastor, Karl Strader, and the deeds and actions of his son, Daniel Strader. Roy wrote the following:
Dan Strader was convicted of stealing our life savings of $ 100,000.00 by using lies and deceit and since your question about the effect on our lives is probably the must important factor to you and the Parole Commission, let me simply repeat the words of Jerry Hill, state attorney of Polk County: "The crimes of Dan Strader have done more damage to more elderly people than any homicide that I have prosecuted "
Dan's thefts have forced us to sell our house and most of our personal possessions and move into a trailer. He has shown absolutely no remorse and Judge Robert Doyel who presided over this case stated: "The first step toward rehabilitation is admission of wrong doing, and therefore I feel that Dan Strader will never be rehabilitated."
What Mr. Strader did was calculated and carefully planned with a willful disregard for the lives of others to such an unbelievable degree of extremity that my wife and I still cannot understand why anyone would try to destroy us in this fashion, especially since we had given faithful service to the Carpenter's Church in Lakeland pastored by Karl Strader, Dan's Father.
The leadership of the Assembly of God denomination both in Lakeland and Missouri would not accept the testimony of Roy Aldrich that he was robbed and raped by money changers and wolves in sheep's clothing in the house of God. But the State of Florida who cared about justice, righteousness and truth accepted the words and testimony of Roy Aldrich about the Strader's. The State prosecutors proved their case and convinced the jurors that Dan Strader devised an elaborate scheme to attract cash in the real-estate and mortgage investments. He was selling the securities without a license and that the securities were unregistered. This was done in an organized method amounting to Racketeer-Influence and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act. As a result Daniel Strader, 37, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in August 1995. He was convicted of 238 felony counts for bilking 57 mostly elderly investors, some members of the church, out of $2.3 million by selling investments in properties that didn't exist or already had liens against them.
Roy Aldrich also wrote the following letter, which in his usual style Roy distributed to others
CHARGES AGAINST PASTOR STRADER
We have been told that no formal charges have been filed against our pastor, so I would like to suggest that he is guilty of many things, perhaps too numerous to mention, which include the following:
1. He should be charged with building the Carpenter’s Home Church into one of the finest churches in the world
2. He should be charged with loving all people, even his critics.
3. He should be charged with being an aggressive soul winner.
4. He should be charged with praying for the healing of bodies and spirits.
5. He should be charged with a vision for missionary efforts all around the world.
6. He should be charged with memorizing Scripture and becoming a master preacher.
7. He should be charged With spreading the Gospel around the world by radio and television.
8. He should be charged with being a strong family man.
9. He should be charged with defending his wife.
10. He should be charged with deliverance’s made through Spiritual Warfare Ministries.
11. He should be charged with supporting our Easter and Christmas programs.
12 He should be charged with teaching the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
13. He should be charged with praying in the Spirit everyday.
14. He should be charged with creating a good working atmosphere for the staff.
15. He should be charged with getting the finest guest speakers for Our church.
16. He should be charged with opposing the works of the devil.
17. He should be charged with asking forgiveness for his mistakes.
The above list of charges implies that Pastor Strader is guilty and should spent the next ten years or so at hard labor working as the God’s placed leader of the Carpenter’s Home Church.
Sincerely in Christ,
Roy Aldrich
Later, Roy was to write one of his best letters which I consider a classic to Karl Strader in January, 1995 in regard to his Sunday sermons on ‘Enemies’ which included the following remarks:
I would like to join the ranks of those who Karl Straders counts as his “enemies.” by the following statements:
1) I am the enemy of lying and deception which hurts and robs people.
2) I am the enemy of those who practice cruelty in the administration of any corporation, especially churches.
3) I am the enemy of any minister who allows the use of his pulpit for personal vendettas.
4) I am the enemy of any minister who uses his pulpit for soliciting public and personal sympathy over controversial matters involving his family.
5) I am the enemy of every minister in the world whose sense of right and wrong is based on nepotism and favoritism.
6) I am the enemy of the policy of Karl Strader who raised $52,000.00 for Dan’s defense fund and $58,000.00 for repairing a roof and not one dime for his son’s elderly and devastated victims.
7) I am the enemy of the disrespect represented in the Strader attitude towards the State Attorney and Judge Robert Doyel, a true servant of God.
8) I am the enemy of the policies of secret salaries which conceal huge benefits flowing from trusting church members to their leaders- salaries which provide sumptuous life styles, while at the same time, these same leaders are firing and traumatizing the “little people” under their care like Cindy Deaton, Patricia Aldrich, Jack and Betty Collins.
9) I am the enemy of huge personal gain to Karl Strader and Joe Perez derived from their secret management fees from the CHC Life Center Retirement Estates.
10) I am the enemy of the thinking that some claimed “anointing” or supposed special privilege with God gives anyone the right to turn a Christian church into their own personal “cash-cow.”
11) I am the enemy of the thinking expressed in the attached sermon outline which implies that the welfare of CHC is determined by any one man or family. We are supposed to worship Christ, and not the Straders.
12) I am the enemy of any minister who uses his oratorical ability to rally church audiences into cheerleading and other emotional excess as a device to shore up a crumbling personal empire.
13) I am an enemy of any organization that suggests opposing the leader’s lifestyle and words is opposing God.
False prophets will teach false doctrine such as they are the anointed ones and are not to be touched by any one but God! One of the most common errors found in Christianity today is that particular persons, usually pastors or evangelists, are somehow more "anointed" than the average Christian. This teaching often coincides with a veiled threat in the form of "touch not mine [the Lord's] anointed," (I Ch. 16:22, Ps. 105:15). While Jesus told us "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren (Matthew 23:8)
Many prominent pastors and evangelists today make the claim that because "souls" are being saved and "healings" take place in their meetings, that this somehow validates their ministry. While these things may be well and good, they are no indication of "divine" sanction. A.A. Allen was a drunkard, Jimmy Swaggart a whoremonger, Jim Bakker a thief, Larry Lea a prevaricator, and Robert Tilton a charlatan - yet ALL of these saw thousands saved and miracles take place in their meetings. Because one is blessed with "prosperity" and has a "following" of thousands, doesn't mean a darn thing when it comes to integrity and godly sanction, for "he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust," (Matt. 5:45).
The idea that any person especially a religious leader be it a Bishop or a pastor has arrived or his unique anointing and gifts make him special about the rest of the body of Christ is nothing but hogwash. Jesus clearly told all that it was possible for them to practice lawlessness and be cast out of heaven. God’s word is unchanging:
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Matthew 7:21-23
"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' "And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. Matthew 18:15-19
The terms “bind” and “loose” were Jewish idioms indicating that what is announced on earth has already been determined in heaven. To “bind” meant to forbid, refuse, or prohibit. To “loose” meant to permit or allow. Here Jesus is speaking of church discipline. Members who repent are to be restored or “loosed” and members who do not repent are to be removed or “bound”. The decisions we make, the correction we give and the forgiveness we offer must be in harmony with God’s revealed truth in order to be binding. i.e. John 16:13
Apostle Paul in his writings about the church in Corinth talked about everything, good and bad including love and immorality and was very explicit about people’s different behavior and actions. He said, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (1 Corinthians 10:11). Some religious leaders would have us believe that when we become Christians, we must turn our minds and intellect off. as well as our reasoning and other mental faculties, and that we are not to “Judge.” Nothing is so farther from the truth as the concept of Judging in the Christian Church today. King Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel wrote the book of Proverbs, whose purpose was stated as, “To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, and equity.” (Proverbs 1:2-3). He also wrote:
”Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.” (Proverbs 2:9)
“It is not good to show partiality to the wicked, or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.“ (Proverbs 18:5)
A divine sentence is on the lips of the king; His mouth must not transgress in judgment. (Proverbs 16:10)
Making right judgments and ensuring equity, fairness and justice is something that God requires of all Kings and Ministers, especially of those in Christian Leadership. One of the character traits that make a man a great leader is the ability to make righteous, true, fair and equitable judgments to all without partiality or respecting the outward appearance of a person. Rick Joyner of the Morning Star wrote about the Coming Davidic Ministry, the following:
There are basically two kinds of leaders-those who sacrifice the people for their own interests and those who sacrifice their own interests for the people. Those who have received their authority from the people rather than from the Lord will be subject to increasingly perverted views of spiritual authority, especially in relation to their own.
Once (King) Saul began to use his position for his own interests, rather than for the interests of the Lord and His people, he was subject to an increasing fall into delusion. He changed from being a servant of the people, to believing that they were his servants, to ultimately believing that they existed for him. This same mentality has woven itself into the fabric of much of the leadership of the modern church, and it has the same root. We often start out with a sincere vision of serving the body of Christ, and then gradually turn until we begin to think that the body of Christ exists to support our vision or ministry.
Roy Aldrich, a retired school teacher, died prematurely at the age 65, as a direct result of the stress and betrayal by his friend and pastor, Karl Strader, and the deeds and actions of his son, Daniel Strader. Roy wrote the following:
Dan Strader was convicted of stealing our life savings of $ 100,000.00 by using lies and deceit and since your question about the effect on our lives is probably the must important factor to you and the Parole Commission, let me simply repeat the words of Jerry Hill, state attorney of Polk County: "The crimes of Dan Strader have done more damage to more elderly people than any homicide that I have prosecuted "
Dan's thefts have forced us to sell our house and most of our personal possessions and move into a trailer. He has shown absolutely no remorse and Judge Robert Doyel who presided over this case stated: "The first step toward rehabilitation is admission of wrong doing, and therefore I feel that Dan Strader will never be rehabilitated."
What Mr. Strader did was calculated and carefully planned with a willful disregard for the lives of others to such an unbelievable degree of extremity that my wife and I still cannot understand why anyone would try to destroy us in this fashion, especially since we had given faithful service to the Carpenter's Church in Lakeland pastored by Karl Strader, Dan's Father.
The leadership of the Assembly of God denomination both in Lakeland and Missouri would not accept the testimony of Roy Aldrich that he was robbed and raped by money changers and wolves in sheep's clothing in the house of God. But the State of Florida who cared about justice, righteousness and truth accepted the words and testimony of Roy Aldrich about the Strader's. The State prosecutors proved their case and convinced the jurors that Dan Strader devised an elaborate scheme to attract cash in the real-estate and mortgage investments. He was selling the securities without a license and that the securities were unregistered. This was done in an organized method amounting to Racketeer-Influence and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act. As a result Daniel Strader, 37, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in August 1995. He was convicted of 238 felony counts for bilking 57 mostly elderly investors, some members of the church, out of $2.3 million by selling investments in properties that didn't exist or already had liens against them.
Roy Aldrich also wrote the following letter, which in his usual style Roy distributed to others
CHARGES AGAINST PASTOR STRADER
We have been told that no formal charges have been filed against our pastor, so I would like to suggest that he is guilty of many things, perhaps too numerous to mention, which include the following:
1. He should be charged with building the Carpenter’s Home Church into one of the finest churches in the world
2. He should be charged with loving all people, even his critics.
3. He should be charged with being an aggressive soul winner.
4. He should be charged with praying for the healing of bodies and spirits.
5. He should be charged with a vision for missionary efforts all around the world.
6. He should be charged with memorizing Scripture and becoming a master preacher.
7. He should be charged With spreading the Gospel around the world by radio and television.
8. He should be charged with being a strong family man.
9. He should be charged with defending his wife.
10. He should be charged with deliverance’s made through Spiritual Warfare Ministries.
11. He should be charged with supporting our Easter and Christmas programs.
12 He should be charged with teaching the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
13. He should be charged with praying in the Spirit everyday.
14. He should be charged with creating a good working atmosphere for the staff.
15. He should be charged with getting the finest guest speakers for Our church.
16. He should be charged with opposing the works of the devil.
17. He should be charged with asking forgiveness for his mistakes.
The above list of charges implies that Pastor Strader is guilty and should spent the next ten years or so at hard labor working as the God’s placed leader of the Carpenter’s Home Church.
Sincerely in Christ,
Roy Aldrich
Later, Roy was to write one of his best letters which I consider a classic to Karl Strader in January, 1995 in regard to his Sunday sermons on ‘Enemies’ which included the following remarks:
I would like to join the ranks of those who Karl Straders counts as his “enemies.” by the following statements:
1) I am the enemy of lying and deception which hurts and robs people.
2) I am the enemy of those who practice cruelty in the administration of any corporation, especially churches.
3) I am the enemy of any minister who allows the use of his pulpit for personal vendettas.
4) I am the enemy of any minister who uses his pulpit for soliciting public and personal sympathy over controversial matters involving his family.
5) I am the enemy of every minister in the world whose sense of right and wrong is based on nepotism and favoritism.
6) I am the enemy of the policy of Karl Strader who raised $52,000.00 for Dan’s defense fund and $58,000.00 for repairing a roof and not one dime for his son’s elderly and devastated victims.
7) I am the enemy of the disrespect represented in the Strader attitude towards the State Attorney and Judge Robert Doyel, a true servant of God.
8) I am the enemy of the policies of secret salaries which conceal huge benefits flowing from trusting church members to their leaders- salaries which provide sumptuous life styles, while at the same time, these same leaders are firing and traumatizing the “little people” under their care like Cindy Deaton, Patricia Aldrich, Jack and Betty Collins.
9) I am the enemy of huge personal gain to Karl Strader and Joe Perez derived from their secret management fees from the CHC Life Center Retirement Estates.
10) I am the enemy of the thinking that some claimed “anointing” or supposed special privilege with God gives anyone the right to turn a Christian church into their own personal “cash-cow.”
11) I am the enemy of the thinking expressed in the attached sermon outline which implies that the welfare of CHC is determined by any one man or family. We are supposed to worship Christ, and not the Straders.
12) I am the enemy of any minister who uses his oratorical ability to rally church audiences into cheerleading and other emotional excess as a device to shore up a crumbling personal empire.
13) I am an enemy of any organization that suggests opposing the leader’s lifestyle and words is opposing God.
NOT
INNOCENT http://www.scribd.com/doc/
Walter Kambulow http://walthope.wordpress.com
Free Christian Ebooks http://walthope.tripod.com
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