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Ode To The Truthseekers

To His Elect of Matthew 24:31,

Praise King Jesus. What is a Truthseeker? Is every Christian a
Truthseeker? Let me first say before I begin this that being a Truthseeker
has more to do with attitude than whether or not you believe a particular
doctrine.

I do believe that what I teach is the Truth. Then again, every preacher
walking in shoe leather believes that what they teach is the Truth. Since
the afore mentioned preachers teach different doctrines, even within our
Apostolic ranks, confusion clouds the minds of many Saints. Having the
attitude of a Truthseeker is the only way for Saints to find the absolute
Truth on many issues.

Truth by its very definition is absolute. When something taught is 'the'
Truth, then all other doctrines which contradict 'the' Truth, are lies and
false doctrine. We as Apostolics all have the same Bible, teach the same
concerning God and Salvation, and yet are different on almost every other
aspect of the Apostolic Doctrine.

This is because there are many false doctrines among us. False doctrine
since its very beginning has been deception, and has caused the one
believing it to err. Satan was the first false teacher and the first false
doctrine added only one word to the Word of God. The result of adding 'one
word' to the Word of God was death. As the Serpent said to the woman,
'...thou shalt NOT surely die.'

The only way to identify these deceptions, avoid them, and to enlighten and
warn others, is to have the attitude of a Truthseeker.

My concept of 'the Truthseeker' is best displayed in Acts 17:10-11.

Observe the Berean Jews...

Acts 17

10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto
Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received
the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily,
whether those things were so.

12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were
Greeks, and of men, not a few.

Now I would call these Berean Jews, Truthseekers. Remember that being a
Truthseeker has more to do with attitude than whether or not you believe a
particular doctrine.

These Berean Jews did not believe that Jesus was the Christ. These Jews
were not Christians. Why would I then refer to people as 'Truthseekers,'
who did not even believe the Truth?

It is true that the Berean Jews were not Christians, but their attitude
makes me refer to them as Truthseekers. What was their attitude?

#1. They took the message into consideration, even though it was different
from what they had been taught by either parents or by the religious
leadership that they were currently under.

"...they received the word with all readiness of mind..."

#2. They knew that the Scriptures were right, so they consistently searched
the Scriptures to measure what the Bible said against the message that was
'new' to their ears.

"...and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

Furthermore Jesus told the Jews...

John 5:39 - Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me.

Thus the Berean Jews were searching the Scriptures to see if they verified
and supported Paul's argument that Jesus was the Christ. Jesus says that
the Scriptures testify of Him. Therefore when the Berean Jews, these
Truthseekers, searched the Scriptures, they saw that Paul's message was
confirmed and established by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

#3. "Therefore many of them believed..."

When Truthseekers finish their searching daily of the Scriptures to see
whether or not a message is 'the' Truth, they will gladly receive the
message as 'the' Truth once confirmation is established by the Word of God
and the doctrine being considered is proven. A Truthseeker will 'believe.'

As I stated before, being a Truthseeker has more to do with attitude than
believing a particular doctrine. What we observe in the Berean Jews, is
that though they were unbelievers, their attitude towards the 'different'
message led them to the Truth.

The Bereans receiving the message of Paul with 'all readiness of mind,'
means that they were ready to believe it if the Bible confirmed that it was
'the' Truth. When the Bible confirmed, they believed.

All Christians are not Truthseekers. Some Christians do not even care to
search the Scriptures to see what the Truth is beyond the Godhead and
Salvation. Paul told us in Hebrews 6 to leave the basics of the doctrine
and to go on into perfection. If we take heed to that, we do well.

There are Truthseekers of all different theological persuasions. Within the
Apostolic ranks, there are Truthseekers on many doctrinal perspectives on
all sides. They are open minded and are willing to step out into more light
as it is revealed. They do not personally attack messengers, but they deal
with the message apart from the messenger.

The Jews at Thessalonica attacked the messenger. These persecuted Paul.

Acts 17

5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain
lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city
on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out
to the people.

The Berean Jews, though unbelievers when they heard the message just like
the Jews at Thessalonica, were called 'more noble' than the Jews at
Thessalonica. They were more 'noble' because they were able to separate the
message from the messenger, and deal with the message by comparing it
against the Bible, to see if the message was the Truth.

Being a Truthseeker is an attitude. It is the attitude of the Berean Jews.
This attitude is more noble than the 'messenger attacking' attitude of the
Thessalonican Jews.

Truthseekers deal with the doctrine, because it is the doctrines which are
wrestling against each other over the souls of men. Truth and false
doctrine, wrestling against each other, with the minds of the masses hanging
in the balance.

I strive to be a Truthseeker myself. The fact that I have changed doctrinal
stances in the past is evidence that I am a Truthseeker. When I was a
pre-trib dispensationalist, I was a Truthseeker. My Berean attitude led me
right out of that doctrine and into post-trib replacement theology Truth.

There are a couple of other doctrinal changes that I have made in my
Ministry but no need to bore you with the details! That was just one
example.

That goes to show you that I don't think that I am always right, and my
ministerial history bears record that sometimes I have been wrong and
corrected my errors with a doctrinal change.

This walk in Jesus is not about 'me' being right, it is about 'right being
right.' Right is always right, but I am not always right. I am constantly
trying to figure out what the 'right' is, so that I can seek to agree with
that. Then I am become a minister of the Truth of God.

Truthseekers, be encouraged. You who dare to have inspiration to question.
You who dare to have inspiration to search the Scriptures. You who dare to
have inspiration to prove everything you believe doctrinally by the
Scriptures. You who dare to be as the Berean Jew.

Here is my ode to you, my dedication to your 'bold and yet humble'
attitude...

Here is my ode to the 'Journey...'

May Jesus be Glorified,

Minister Johnson

Simply a Truthseeking Berean

http://www.johnson.jesus-messiah.com
_________________________________________________________________

"Mr. Seeker"

Enter the Wilderness of conjecture and interpretation
Baseless opinions dictate the fate of the walking dead
No inspiration as they wander
Lost in a mindless daze
Chaotic situation
Tell me…
What can resurrect their consciousness???
Running in circles, facing the darkness, with my back turned to the light
Alone in the shadows, valley of dry bones, but I must focus the fight
World of confusion and carnal delusions
Answer one question for me now
“Son of Man, can these live?”
Who fell to death through ignorance

Again I stand, hand in hand, with Mr. Seeker…

Keep on searching till I find
Keep on striving till I die
Keep on asking till I know the ‘why’
Keep on praying till I slay the lie

With the Truth out there, ‘Is the Truth out there?’

Embark on the voyage past gods and goddesses
Vain religions
Making mythology the object of worship
Doctors in classrooms, teaching children evolution
Science fiction becomes educated theory passed off as fact
“Was I a monkey?” “A cosmic accident?”
“Or created from the dust of earth?”
“A loser?” “A winner?” “A saint or a sinner?”
Unable to find my worth
Star gazing in the night sky
“Are we on our own in a universe so vast?”
Learning my lessons by pondering these questions
Hoping an answer is imminent

Again I stand, hand in hand, with Mr. Seeker…

Keep on searching till I find
Keep on striving till I die
Keep on asking till I know the ‘why’
Keep on praying till I slay the lie

With the Truth out there, ‘Is the Truth out there?’

Engage in relationships
Acquaintances
Friends
Then Lovers
Social solutions to man’s inherit loneliness
Romantic rendezvous
Down the wrong avenues
Cause we’re yearning for commonality and reciprocity
Disappointment
Weathered by rejection
When you split to separate ways
Continue the journey
Haunted by solitude
Looking for love in another place
Time to begin
The search within
Realize that peace
Inside us all
Calm the soul
Take back control
Encouraged to face the future

Again I stand, hand in hand, with Mr. Seeker…

Keep on searching till I find
Keep on striving till I die
Keep on asking till I know the ‘why’
Keep on praying till I slay the lie

With the Truth out there, ‘Is the Truth out there?’

Embrace the destiny
Which fate creates with no discretion
Or is the outcome dependent upon daily decisions?
Maybe it’s both
Already determined and being determined
Simultaneously occurring on a cosmic scale
When fear is faded, life’s not complicated
Only what you make it to be
Leave the past behind, it only confines
Bound to death in your own prison
Its freedom time
Possessing the key to your own chains
Releasing mentally
And Spiritually
Ascending to the next experience
“Higher”
Above all the contradictions
Achieving understanding
In all thy paths

Again I stand, hand in hand, with Mr. Seeker…

Keep on searching till I find
Keep on striving till I die
Keep on asking till I know the ‘why’
Keep on praying till I slay the lie

With the Truth out there, ‘Is the Truth out there?’

The Truth is out there…

Somewhere…

The Saga Continues…

Expression By:

Charles A. Johnson III
5/14/03