Dear Pastor Sweet,
Thank you for your email dated February 9, 2018. I appreciate that you have courage and that you took the time to respond to the Petition that I delivered to your door. Most Pastors are completely indifferent and preoccupied these days with the cares and worries of this present world, not to mention the deceitfulness of riches. I would like to assure you that I am not a prankster and that GOD has indeed called me to a very serious endeavor. If you haven't already, I would highly encourage you to read my testimony regarding my calling as a prophet, which you can reference HERE It will hopefully answer many of the questions that you posed in your email, such as; " I am trying to ascertain the reason you would send me this letter."
Through my email reply, I will invest quality time and effort in an attempt to answer all of the questions that you posed in your email, not because I presume that I will be able to persuade or convince you of anything worthwhile through any ability or intellect that I might possess. Rather, my trust and faith is in the power and ability of the Almighty GOD, YHWH, to confirm to you that He has divinely used me to confront and warn you through His Petition of your infraction against His Commandments. I perceive through the Holy Spirit that you are a Pastor who is interested in the pursuit of truth, no matter where it may lead. I believe that deep-down you have a heart that wants to love and obey the Father, as you hear His "still small voice."
I delivered this Petition to your attention and affixed it to the door of your church for the same reason that you initially became a pastor and a preacher. I would imagine and I would hope that you pursued your present calling as a pastor because you believe that GOD, at some point in the past, placed a calling on your life to be a preacher and a pastor. I also have received a similar calling on my life from The Almighty GOD, whose eternal name is YHWH, to be a prophet in these last days. He has called me to stir up and warn His leaders and His people, specifically in the Christian churches, who for the most part have been deceived by Satan primarily through the vehicle of the "doctrines and traditions of men " Woe to me, if I am disobedient to this special and high calling from Almighty GOD. I do not belittle or doubt the sincerity of your calling as a preacher and a pastor. I would also pray that you would extend to me the same courtesy. "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." Ephesians 4:11-14
You are correct when you state that you do not know me. I have never had the opportunity to visit your church services. However, you incorrectly assume that I do not know what you as a minister believe and what your church believes. I have been a born-again Christian for over 45-years and much of that time was spent in Baptist churches. Therefore, I know what Baptist Christians believe. Since you and your church wear these two labels, "Baptist" and "Christian," then I have a good idea that you and the members of your church subscribe to the majority of the same core beliefs as those of other Christian Baptist churches.
You state in your email that I made several accusations against you as the elder of your congregation. The Petition, which can be referenced HERE, makes specific claims or accusations against Christian Pastors in general for violating the Word of GOD through their adherence to church doctrines and the traditions of men. The only specific accusation in the Petition that I am aware of that is personally directed at you is in the heading just under your name and the name of your church which reads as follows:
REGARDING YOUR INFRINGEMENT UPON THE COVENANT OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD, YHWH, AS OUTLINED SPECIFICALLY BY THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CONTAINED WITHIN THE LAW (TORAH)
If this is the accusation to which you make reference then I must confess to you that this is not my accusation, but rather it is the accusation of the One who sent me. I am only an insignificant prophet, called to deliver His Petition to all those to whom He sends me.
You next state in your email the following; "it was surprising given the explicit scripture of I Timothy 5:19 says “never entertain an accusation against an elder that is brought by only one witness.” Is there another witness?"
The Almighty GOD, YHWH, and His Son Yeshua (Jesus Christ), and His Holy Spirit, and His Holy written Word testify against you and me if we are guilty of infringing His Word. That totals four witnesses.
You next state in your email the following; "several items in the letter were inaccurate concerning our congregation. You assumed much in your letter, some of which are not true."
You did not specifically mention which items in the Petition you found to be inaccurate and also you did not specifically state which assumptions were not true. However, I would like to state emphatically that the Petition, which you refer to as a "letter" throughout your email, belongs to the Almighty GOD, YHWH. He is responsible for the content and the message. I am just an insignificant courier whom He has instructed and commissioned to deliver it to all those to whom He sends me. By faith, I believe that most of the claims and content in the Petition pertains to most Christian Pastors and lay-members of the 21st century Christian church. I know that most all of the claims and content certainly pertained to me and I was considered to pretty much be an average Christian church member for my entire Christian life of 44-years.
You state in your email that many of the claims in the Petition are inaccurate and as a result you call into question my reliability as a prophet, referencing Deuteronomy 18:21-22. Let me state for the record that my ministry as a prophet is not foretelling events of the future or foretelling specific events about a person's life, but rather to warn and call YHWH'S people back to a Godly fear, keeping His commandments, obeying His Word, and walking and living righteously in this present world. I would like to reference for you DEUTERONOMY 13:1-5 which is a more accurate test for a true prophet of GOD.
You state in your email that several of the items in the Petition "were inaccurate historically and theologically." However, your statement is ambiguous because you do not cite any specifics along with supporting documentation.
You state in your email that you "find it particularly funny" that I have a picture of Martin Luther on the cover of one of my webpages. Let me state emphatically that Luther is not my hero. I only use his picture because I support the spirit and methodthat he employed to deliver his 95-Thesis to the hierarchy of the established church of his day. I do not support all of the things that he did in his lifetime. In my opinion, he did not "protest" far enough against the Catholic Church. The entire Protestant movement was primarily Catholics protesting against other Catholics. I totally agree that Luther was guilty of celebrating pagan Greco/Roman holidays and he practiced syncretism, just like most of the 21st century Christian church does today.
You state in your email that I am not a member of your congregation, and as a result you and I are not in covenant together. However, if you are in covenant with the Almighty GOD, YHWH, by being grafted in to His special people Israel through faithful trust in His Son Yeshua Messiah, then we are indeed in covenant together. I would highly encourage you to watch a marvelous video regarding our true identity in Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ). The video "Identity Crisis" by Jim Staley can be VIEWED HERE.
In closing Pastor Sweet, the ultimate question is this. Are you and I, as born-again Christians, guilty of ignorantly infringing the Holy Word of GOD by embracing the doctrines and the traditions of our churches and denominations that are contrary to His Word? I confess that I was personally guilty for over 44-years and I have now repented for infringing His Word and for recklessly presuming upon His wonderful grace. Both my wife and I immediately corrected our walk when we were confronted head-on by Him and His truth in October of 2016. If you also discover that you are infringing His Word, what will be your response? I pray that you will have the courage to respond honestly and openly to Him, the One to whom we all will have to deal, by repenting and correcting your walk; and let the chips fall where they may.
Best regards,
Gerald Barnes