A TALE OF THREE PASTORS!
It's been a while since I've had anything to write that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt came from YHVH GOD. I had a question I asked while fasting and in the "Holy of Holies" and this profound answer came out of nowhere. I knew it came from the Holy Spirit, because it was bathed in wisdom, answered sufficiently this scenario, and I never would have thought it up on my own.
There's a very highly known, hugely popular pastor who blocked me on my social media. I have no idea why, as I'm only a nobody peon, and he is Hollywood Hal. He has a huge ministry. As a matter of fact, just today, he baptized 4,000 in one day in the Pacific Ocean. WOW! Kinda like the Apostles who baptized 3,000 in one day, except, back then the Scripture says, " And day after day the Lord kept adding to them those who were being saved.
Of course, many in the church are celebrating such an accomplishment, calling it a revival. Hollywood Hal doesn't take credit publicly, but we can assume deep down inside, he is patting himself on the back after such a massive outpouring today. Knowing of his humble beginnings, I asked GOD how can someone who was so devoted when he began his work for You have strayed so far from You and gotten so high on the drug "Hollywood?" I loved His answer. It was one word. I'll get to that one word in a bit. This was too powerful to keep to myself. So, I'm going to tell you a story. It's a true story. I'll be taking a poetic license here only to make it relatable.
There once was a congregation. It was a very small congregation, mostly all family members, but a huge family. GOD called to the patriarch of this large family and told him that He had a plan to grow this congregation to numbers greater than the stars in the sky, and that eventually, all of his descendants would dwell with GOD Himself in His own Presence. After that revelation, this family began to suffer many hardships. You see, there was a competing congregation, and their pastor wasn't too keen on this chosen congregation getting a bigger name for itself. That's where the suffering and oppression began. This other congregation was humongous in and of itself. Both these congregations were in the same general area, and they did not get along. The pastor of the humungous congregation devised ways to oppress the congregation GOD began. Eventually, GOD moved His own congregation to a better place to get them away from the evil pastor. In fact, some of that congregation defected, because they saw that GOD's congregation was definitely better. They saw through the evil pastor.
After many, many decades, this congregation decided it would be a good idea to have a Sr. Pastor, as they did not have one. They had only elders. They wanted to be like congregations around them, so they asked GOD for a pastor. He obliged, but it wasn't the model he originally wanted. He gave them the kind of pastor they wanted. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He was head and shoulders above everyone in the congregation. He had a charismatic personality and the people adored him. Everything he did turned to gold, and the people were happy that they had such a successful pastor. Eventually, the pastor decided on his own to change some of the "rules" and do things he thought best. The people were all behind him, in fact, they even put some pressure on him to do so.
This did not go over well with GOD, in fact, He called on a very devoted elder and told him to go in search of a new Sr. Pastor, He promised that He would lead him to the one He had chosen. The elder obeyed and came to a family with many sons. In fact, they were handsome, strong and looked quite capable of carrying out the duties of a Sr. Pastor. However, none of them were the one GOD had chosen. The one GOD had chosen wasn't there at the time, so the father sent one of the sons after him. As soon as the elder saw this boy, GOD said, "That's him! He's a man after my own heart. He'll listen to me." The elder let the boy know that in time, when the reigning Sr. Pastor was removed by GOD, that boy would assume the role and lead this very very large congregation.
As the years passed, everything that could go wrong for the tall, dark, and handsome Sr. Pastor did go wrong. GOD's hand of blessing was no longer on this pastor and he hit a brick wall at every turn. He soon learned that another was chosen, and that did not sit well with him. He was bound and determined to find this other future Sr. Pastor who would take over his prestigious cushy job, and he worked to tarnish this man. He sent many of his congregants after him to torment him, to even try to kill him. Of course, GOD's hand of protection was on him, and eventually, the Sr. Pastor became so desperate over his losses that he sought a psychic to try and find out how he could get the honor of the people and GOD back. He even had a séance and consulted the dead. That did not go over well with GOD, and the next day, with defeat at his doorstep, this Sr. Pastor committed suicide. Sadly, his sons who weren't half bad blokes, also died that day, leaving the Sr. Pastor's seat open.
Needless to say, many of the congregants loyal to the younger chosen one, the runt of his family, talked him into taking on the role as Sr. Pastor for this very encompassing congregation. He did but there wasn't unity at first, Many were unhappy about this new less than stellar pastor, and they wanted one of the former associate pastors to fill in until a descendant of the former, disobedient Sr. Pastor was old enough to run this congregation. Eventually all came to realize that this humble runt of a man, who had finally grown into his distinguished manhood was chosen by GOD. For the most part, this pastor remained very close to GOD. He even brought back the long lost altar so the congregants could gather and worship GOD. What he touched turned to gold, and he was prosperous. He was also fruitful with a quiver full at his parsonage. All was going well for this pastor and his family, until he had a mid-life crisis. As with many men, he stumbled and did something most men at that stage in life do. When the mistress was found to be with child, the devoted pastor, instead of confessing his sin, seeking forgiveness from GOD and his congregants, he attempted to cover up his mess and made a bigger mess doing so.
One of his elders was called out by GOD to confront this pastor and hold up a mirror. When he did, this devoted pastor was disgusted at what he saw, and he went away to seek GOD's forgiveness and favor again. Word got out what he did in his family and many of his children began to see their father in a new light. He was less than perfect in their eyes, now. They were not happy with what he did, and they began to fight amongst themselves. Three eventually died over this family dysfunction, and one died very young. The father took responsibility, taking all the blame for everything that went wrong. He was devastated at the loss, but there was a congregation to lead, and GOD did not displace him because he repented of his sin.
As time moved on, one of his sons, who was conceived with his former mistress, after the previous son died as an infant, was chosen by his father to succeed him as Sr. Pastor. He was trained meticulously in the Word of GOD by his father and many elders. The father wanted leave a legacy of a huge sprawling religious center of worship for this congregation to gather, but GOD had a different plan. He told the father how He wanted a building built and run, but his son would build it, because the father had too many skeletons in his closet. Some the congregation did not know about them, and to this day, many have no idea just how low he sunk during his days on the run, drowning in a sea of despair and doubt. But GOD did.
When it came time for the father to join GOD in heaven, he passed the torch to his chosen son. Of course, one of his sons didn't like that and he declared himself Sr. Pastor and drew others to himself. When the father got wind of the rebellious son, the father called the assembly together and made it official. His chosen son would be Sr. Pastor and the rebellious son was to be caught and "dealt with." Things were going well for the son while he lead the sheep of GOD's congregation. Like his father before him, everything he touched turned to gold. This son built an enormous religious center for the congregants to gather to worship. His grand opening of this magnificent building was spectacular. It was a marvel, plenty big enough for a growing congregation. This religious campus was admired by pastors everywhere. Many came to see it, many came to speak with this Sr. Pastor, and they were amazed at his spiritual wisdom. It was obvious that the GOD of the universe was with this Sr. Pastor.
There was only one problem with this Sr. Pastor, and that was that he was a man, a man with desires and wants, and an ego. Eventually, sex became something more important to him than GOD, and his inflated ego over his religious campus began to draw him away from GOD more and more. He became hugely popular among men near and far. They admired his accomplishments and his prowess with women. He even had an enormous mansion that was awe inspiring that he built for himself and all his women. Because of his ego, his women, his pride, and his foolishness, he neglected to raise his sons properly or appoint a Sr. Pastor to take his place when he was departed. This would eventually cause a terrible division, and the congregation would divide and not be reunited again for thousands of years. It was such a sad story, as the son was as devoted to GOD as the father was in the beginning. The only difference between them was that the father hated what he saw in the mirror, and the son did not have a mirror.
By now, if you don't already know the names of these three pastors, I'll let you in on the secret. Their names were Saul, David, and Solomon. So, getting back to when I asked GOD the answer to my question of how this super popular pastor, who baptized 4,000 people in one day could stray so bad to become Hollywood Hal when he started out so humble and devoted to the Word. In my head, one simple word floated across my mind, and that was "SOLOMON." From there I was told to tell this story.
