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08-23-2008, 11:00 PM
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Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain!
Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain!
Recently, my daughter and I revisited her love affair with the old film classic The Wizard of Oz. Over the course of my life I have seen portions of the film, but never disciplined myself to watch the entire thing. Fantasy flicks never have been of much interest to me.
However, this time Rebecca asked me to watch the whole thing with her, and I complied. I suppose I gave in because I knew she was leaving, this week, for her freshman year of College and I wanted to spend every moment I could with her, even if that meant watching The Wizard of Oz.
So we sat and watched it, eating our popcorn and drinking our soda pop.
I must admit that I enjoyed it. To be sure, it is corny theatre. The film alternates from black and white to color. The main characters are Dorothy, her dog Toto, a scarecrow, tin man and a cowardly lion.
Each character seems to be missing something in life. Dorothy and Toto miss home, the scarecrow is missing a brain, the tin man a heart and the cowardly lion courage.
In order to find what is missing, the group is directed to “follow the yellow brick road” because it leads to The Wizard of Oz. They are directed to The Wizard because it is believed he is the only one with the power to give them what they lack.
And so, through many dangers, they follow the road. They do as instructed. They trust the instructions given. The group fights imps, a wicked witch and their own personal imperfections to reach The Wizard.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZR64EF3OpA
When at last they reach The Emerald City, and gain audience with The Wizard, they enter a chamber filled with smoke and a dazzling light. The frightening image of The Wizard is seen on a wall and his booming voice rains down at them.
When given a chance to speak, Dorothy makes her plea for help. She informs The Wizard that the group has completed its mission, that the Wicked Witch of the West is dead and that she and her friends expect to be rewarded for their heroic acts.
The Wizard is insulted by this. A great show is made to express his anger. The booming voice booms louder, the smoke becomes thicker, the image more vitriolic.
However, in the middle of all of the chaos, Toto breaks loose from Dorothy and runs to a portion of the room hidden behind a curtain. Jumping on the curtain, he pulls it back to reveal a small man at an elaborate control panel. As the man pushes each button, the image and voice of The Wizard is activated.
When the little man turns and realizes Dorothy and her friends see him for what he really is, he pulls the curtain closed and screams into the microphone “pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”
As I watched this scene I was smitten with the irony of his command. The little man commanded Dorothy and her friends to ignore the reality of the moment in order to buy in to a myth: The myth that he was “The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz.” He commanded them to ignore what they absolutely knew as truth in order to believe a lie. He commanded them to ignore every sensory skill in order to perpetuate a theatrical persona.
There are powerful voices in Christianity who want to hide what is behind the curtain. These voices boom with authority, but lack Pentecostal power. And at the tender age of forty, I now realize that some things cannot be hidden behind a curtain. I simply refuse to suspend everything I see in the Word, feel in my spirit and know intellectually.
Religion, far too often, fails in the areas of truthfulness and transparency. Religion, based upon faulty oral tradition, is useless. It is time for truthfulness. It is time for introspection. It is time for a return to God’s Word.
Everything else is a myth, and I am tired of giving my life to lies. How sad to work, and build, and give to a paradigm only to discover that all of the effort was wasted on a faulty theological premise.
Truth, once revealed, demands close inspection. Do not allow blind allegiance to men and their traditions trump what God reveals to you through His Word and by His Spirit.
Pay close attention to that man behind the curtain.
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08-23-2008, 11:05 PM
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Smiles everyone...Smiles!!
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Sparta, TN
Posts: 2,399
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Re: Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtai
PP,
Great post!!
I think many of us 40 something folks are tired of the ritual of authoritarianistic leadership. I personally refuse to submit to any leader that is as dry as last years birds nest. Give me a man that has prayed and fasted, and walks with God in Word AND in power. But alas, there are very few of that breed of character left, as we stoned most of them already.
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08-23-2008, 11:16 PM
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Supercalifragilisticexpiali...
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Re: Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtai
Very good PP. Now don't go meddlin with this in a practical application... 
__________________
"It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity." Dave Barry 2005
I am a firm believer in the Old Paths
Articles on such subjects as "The New Birth," will be accepted, whether they teach that the new birth takes place before baptism in water and Spirit, or that the new birth consists of baptism of water and Spirit. - THE PENTECOSTAL HERALD Dec. 1945
"It is doubtful if any Trinitarian Pentecostals have ever professed to believe in three gods, and Oneness Pentecostals should not claim that they do." - Daniel Segraves
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08-23-2008, 11:19 PM
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Jesus' Name Pentecostal
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Re: Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtai
Who is the little man behind the curtain who has impressed you and fooled you?
__________________
Sam also known as Jim Ellis
Apostolic in doctrine
Pentecostal in experience
Charismatic in practice
Non-denominational in affiliation
Inter-denominational in fellowship
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08-23-2008, 11:24 PM
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Administrator
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Re: Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtai
Good post.
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
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08-23-2008, 11:35 PM
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Administrator
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Re: Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtai
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pastor Poster
Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain!
There are powerful voices in Christianity who want to hide what is behind the curtain. These voices boom with authority, but lack Pentecostal power. And at the tender age of forty, I now realize that some things cannot be hidden behind a curtain. I simply refuse to suspend everything I see in the Word, feel in my spirit and know intellectually.
Religion, far too often, fails in the areas of truthfulness and transparency. Religion, based upon faulty oral tradition, is useless. It is time for truthfulness. It is time for introspection. It is time for a return to God’s Word.
Everything else is a myth, and I am tired of giving my life to lies. How sad to work, and build, and give to a paradigm only to discover that all of the effort was wasted on a faulty theological premise.
Truth, once revealed, demands close inspection. Do not allow blind allegiance to men and their traditions trump what God reveals to you through His Word and by His Spirit.[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]
Pay close attention to that man behind the curtain. |
PeePee,
Can you elaborate on the parts of your post I have bolded above? Specifically what do you mean by;
-"I refuse to suspend everything I see in the word, feel in my spirit, and know intellectually."
-Faulty oral tradiditions
-A Faulty theological premise
__________________
"I think some people love spiritual bondage just the way some people love physical bondage. It makes them feel secure. In the end though it is not healthy for the one who is lost over it or the one who is lives under the oppression even if by their own choice"
Titus2woman on AFF
"We did not wear uniforms. The lady workers dressed in the current fashions of the day, ...silks...satins...jewels or whatever they happened to possess. They were very smartly turned out, so that they made an impressive appearance on the streets where a large part of our work was conducted in the early years.
"It was not until long after, when former Holiness preachers had become part of us, that strict plainness of dress began to be taught.
"Although Entire Sanctification was preached at the beginning of the Movement, it was from a Wesleyan viewpoint, and had in it very little of the later Holiness Movement characteristics. Nothing was ever said about apparel, for everyone was so taken up with the Lord that mode of dress seemingly never occurred to any of us."
Quote from Ethel Goss (widow of 1st UPC Gen Supt. Howard Goss) book "The Winds of God"
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08-23-2008, 11:41 PM
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Registered Member
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 10,749
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Re: Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtai
Praying for perfect peace for you, PP.
__________________
His banner over me is LOVE....  My soul followeth hard after thee....Love one another with a pure heart fervently. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
To be a servant of God, it will cost us our total commitment to God, and God alone. His burden must be our burden... Sis Alvear
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08-24-2008, 12:09 AM
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Registered Member
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 10,749
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Re: Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtai
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam
Who is the little man behind the curtain who has impressed you and fooled you?
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Jude 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
(I know this is out of context, but it fits the bill..)
__________________
His banner over me is LOVE.... My soul followeth hard after thee....Love one another with a pure heart fervently. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
To be a servant of God, it will cost us our total commitment to God, and God alone. His burden must be our burden... Sis Alvear
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08-24-2008, 06:37 AM
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Honorary Admin
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Sandusky, Ohio
Posts: 6,287
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Re: Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtai
Quote:
Originally Posted by stmatthew
PP,
Great post!!
I think many of us 40 something folks are tired of the ritual of authoritarianistic leadership. I personally refuse to submit to any leader that is as dry as last years birds nest. Give me a man that has prayed and fasted, and walks with God in Word AND in power. But alas, there are very few of that breed of character left, as we stoned most of them already.
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Matt, I couldn't agree with you more here!! AMEN!!!
I heard it said once, and believe it, "Never trust a man who doesn't walk with a "limp." 
__________________
"Those who go after the "Sauls" among us often slay the Davids among us." Gene Edwards
Executive Servant http://www.newlife-church.org
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08-24-2008, 07:04 AM
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Beautiful are the feet......
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Right...behind...you!
Posts: 6,600
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Re: Pay no Attention to That Man Behind the Curtai
Excellent Post, PP! 
You lead off with a home run!
What's interesting is that once someone is enlightened about the man behind the curtain, others will accuse them of lying. They have spent their entire life believing, and they refuse to believe it's just a myth!
__________________
Words: For when an emoticon just isn't enough.
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