Copyright 2009 Theresa Harvard Johnson

One of the top strategies of the wicked heart and flesh… against the body of Christ in this season is that of “emotionalism.” It is a mental state that fights against the Spirit of the Lord fiercely. It is a place of being or existing in which a believer cultivates, nurtures and follows “their feelings” instead of cultivating, nurturing and following “the Word of God” and practicing self-control in their lives.
 

Emotional believers are not only those who whine, cry, pitch fits and are always upset because someone has hurt their feelings or disrespected them; but it also refers to those who jump into anything and everything out of excitement or zeal without preparation in prayer or the wisdom of patience. It is for those who see God as a one-hit wonder in the blessing department and can’t see that we live blessed daily.

Copyright 2009 Theresa Harvard Johnson Web site design is not simple. I'm not a professional, in the sense of a guru or anything, but I am also not an amateur. I've worked with clients with deep pocket books and those working on a budget. I've learned that purchasing web design services is much like buying…

Copyright 2011 Theresa Harvard Johnson
(Part II is located here.)

Note To The Reader: This message is a hard one for leadership to receive, and not really an easy one to write. Truly, Holy Spirit had to guide my pen. It will make some people angry – and become an offense to them. It is, however, written in love and with an earnest desire to continue to see the Body healed.

So often as leaders we talk about what is wrong with sheep and what the sheep need – forgetting that we are all SHEEP and all in need of a savior … daily. There is also a discussion that we must have that is MUCH LIKE what the Lord brings before leadership in passages like Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 6, 7 & 8. That discussion surrounds leading God’s people with a right heart and a right spirit.

It’s rare that Holy Spirit has me write about things that I haven’t personally participated in or experienced. I often like to point that out OTHERWISE teachings can become self righteous for some — as we are all in different places of spiritual maturity. In this hour, the Lord has been speaking to me immensely about the NEED TO RESPECT the privacy of others ESPECIALLY when we are in positions in which we may lead or mentor them. This place of privacy is not about “KEEPING SECRETS” but it is about loving one another as Father sees it; respecting where people are in their walk with the Lord and HONORING them as our sisters and brothers in Christ. Whether a person is a leader or not, EVERYONE should be respected and honored through the character of Christ. In this series of articles, we are talking about the devastating affects of breaking the confidence of sheep through gossip.

This particular article is PART I, and it sets the foundation for this teaching. It is important to note that we are talking about “GOSSIP” in this post. We are NOT talking about necessary “accountability” in the midst of meeting the needs of God’s people. For example, it is not gossip to share something spoken in the midst of a counseling session, deliverance service or other situation that could potentially cause HARM to those involved in that situation or prove destructive or disruptive in any way. It is NOT GOSSIP to disclose certain information to your elder board, leadership or others that could potentially IMPACT the church in an ungodly way or leave you in a vulnerable position. In part II, we will walk through this CLEARLY to distinguish what Father wants to convey here. Father, have your way.