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I am unsure where this video was recorded.
By Mishel
Record numbers of Christians have been flocking to Lakeland Florida to experience the supernatural. They yell for fire with all the exuberance of a college football game, however nowhere in scripture are we admonished to seek a supernatural experience or demand God’s presence. Certainly the Holy Spirit was not given for our entertainment, nor was He given to fulfill our lust for fleshly thrills. Fire Fire! More Lord! We have become a people so driven to seek after the experiences of God ; to make Him real to bring Him down to us. However, God has called us to live by faith. Remember Jesus said that it is a “a perverse generation seeks after a sign.”
In the book of Revelation at the time of the end, in the last few years of Satan’s dominion, a charismatic religious personality will arise and deceive the whole world by means of miraculous signs and wonders. If signs and wonders are the fruit by which we judge whether a ministry is from God, then we are indeed on very shaky ground, and ripe for deception. So how are we to know? Revelation clearly tells us that the false prophet will be able to call down fire from heaven! However, Elijah, who was a true prophet of God, called down fire from heaven! So how is one to know the real from the counterfeit? The end time is prophesied to be a time of great deception; however Christians seem to feel that they are somehow immune to it. I have to ask myself why any blood-bought Christian would want to indulge themselves in supernatural experiences that have no Biblical precedent but yet parallel occult experiences in every way. Most alarming to me personally, are the unmistakable similarities between this fire they are calling down, and the fires of Kundalini. One can read about some of these manifestations here [http://www.deceptionbytes.com/Todd-Bentleys-Fire-of-Kundalini]
When New Agers, Gnostics, Mystics and Occultists refer to a “Baptism by Fire” they most surely do not mean what the Christians mean when they use that same term. However, there are striking similarities- so again, how are we to know? The esoteric meaning of “Baptism by Fire” is the moment of arousal of the Kundalini power, or simply “the awakening” as the mystics call it.
Kundalini is an Eastern concept of enlightenment in which, through meditation, electrical energy moves up 7 chakras and impacts the pineal gland bringing forth spiritual enlightenment. When the Kundalini awakens it causes certain manifestations. If you compare the manifestations of the rising Kundalini with the manifestations in Lakeland Florida you will find that they are identical in every way. When we openly accept manifestations that have no biblical precedent yet mimic those of the Eastern religions in every way, we have to seriously re-examine our doctrine.
The following quote came from a website that supports a world wide awakening of Kundalini. It shocked me that even the Mystics see it clearly! “So if you call it Kundalini the people in Christian circles will run from it. If you call it the Baptism of the Holy Spirit the same people will run to it.”
Jessie Pen Lewis puts it this way, “The counterfeit of the Presence of God is mainly felt upon the body, and by the physical senses, in conscious “fire,” “thrills,” etc… The person affected by this counterfeit will be moved almost automatically to actions he would not perform of his own will, and with all his faculties in operation. He may not even remember what he has done under the “power” of this “presence” (Jessie-Penn Lewis War On the Saints, p.153)
And again, here is another quote from a decidedly Non-Christian source that verifies the same. “It is evident that the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit) and the Kundalini are one in the same. The Holy Ghost is symbolically represented by a flame. Many of the Christian saints who were not familiar with the Eastern concept of Kundalini suffered from mysterious illnesses in which they claimed to be “burning” with love or with the spirit of God within them. Shared Transformation Issue 11, Here, There and Everywhere
Of course we as Christians know that they are NOT one in the same, however the above quotes certainly drive home the point that Kundalini is the counterfeit for the true Holy Spirit.
The website fusionanomaly.net another mystic website, explains the fire of Kundalini as follows “For we ourselves are now the fuel of this living flame… We must open our arms to `call down and welcome the Fire.’ It is not enough to contemplate this ‘super-substantial’, personal Fire which solicitously preserves what it consumes. We must resolutely give ourselves to it as food.”
Wow so it looks as if we Christians aren’t the only ones calling down fire! When we yell fire! Fire! More lord! – What are we really calling down? What are we welcoming? The connection between fire and the rising Kundalini is strong and undeniable.
The Mystic website Zone of Fire describes several incidents of fires breaking out in the vicinity of those experiencing the awakening of Kundalini power.
“Several people in the throes of Kundalini awakenings have reported kitchen fires, which they attributed to their own “spacing out” while cooking. One woman undergoing an awakening found her bed on fire when a lit candle fell from the nightstand. Another “barbecued” her house when she left a bag of what she thought were cold fireplace ashes behind her house. The wind fanned sparks and set the back of the house ablaze.
When St. Teresa of Avila’s Kundalini awakened, she became ill and fell into a death-like coma for four days, during which time a fire broke out in the convent. The week my Kundalini arose, Carl and I were startled in the middle of night by explosive sounds. The house next door (fortunately unoccupied at the time) was a flaming inferno. It burned almost to the ground before firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze.
In the fourth month of my Kundalini awakening, I had a particularly vivid dream in which the whole city was burning. My father appeared in the dream and, eyeing me suspiciously, asked if I was responsible for the fire. I told him I hadn’t done anything to cause it. In the dream, the conflagration was a natural disaster called a “fire storm”. The next day, recalling the dream, I thought it had been merely symbolic. I had never heard of a “fire storm” except in war devastation. Two months later, a cataclysmic fire storm (as the media called it) raged through Oakland, where I live, destroying 3000 homes.
Now, interestingly enough, compare this with an experience that Todd Bentley describes. Bentley claims that an angel with feet like pillars of fire visited him while he was in a hotel room in Seattle Washington causing the hotel to catch fire!
“I said lets go and we got back to the hotel and we went to Charlie’s room in the hotel in Seattle and I looked at my watch and it was a quarter to twelve… or a quarter to eleven…. it was a quarter to eleven, opened the door, looked at the clock -quarter to eleven. We didn’t even have to pray the moment the door closed- the moment I said it was a quarter to eleven- instantly – without anybody praying BOOM the holy visitation realm fell on the room and everybody in the room with me was caught up into visions. All you could hear was arrrrrrg ooooooo ahhhhhrrrrr and everyone was shaking- people were having open visions – Charlie was skiing on the mountain of the Lord, I was screaming out Fire – ITS CONSUMING ME FIRE ya know and Chalie’s son was in a vision , my father was in a vision all at the same time – it was rad. So anyway, an hour after the power of the Lord fell – to make a long story short what happened was that angel came into the room that had the feet like pillars of fire again – into the hotel room and in the natural the whole hotel room filled with smoke and everyone in the room smelled it. Twelve hours later those two hotel rooms burnt to the ground above Charlie’s Room. Above Charlie’s room the angel on his way down to visit us – those two hotel rooms caught fire for real and burned down. I said God I am going to get a reputation in fact the next year no one wanted to stay above my room or under my room no one wanted to be near my room.”
What is confusing to me is why Todd Bentley claims that the angel burned the hotel rooms on his way down through the roof to visit him when he clearly says the visitation happened 12 hour prior to the fire. Do you honestly believe that an angel of God caused that kind of destruction? Again where is the Biblical precedent for such a manifestation? My suggestion is that it was a manifestation of Kundalini power. Bentley has already told us that they had an awakening type experience just prior to the incident.
The “visitation” these men experienced sounds identical to those in the throes of Kundalini. Fires seem to break out in the vicinity of the one with the awakening Kundalini. Usually, these combustions occur as natural accidents.
If the following is a coincidence then it is a mighty strong one. According to NASA, “Officials estimate that 2,648 wildfires have scorched nearly 194,000 acres in Florida since January of this year”. http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=1713
So in light of this I would ask that you do some soul searching as to the source of the signs and wonders occurring in Lakeland Florida. Do not judge simply by what you see or how it feels. Then ask yourself if you really want to be immersed in the fire he is calling forth.
Nogoofyzone’s Weblog
Examining and exposing the fruit Of Rick Warren and Seeker Sensitive
This is a portion of an article from Tim Wirth that related to a previous post – For the full article click below. http://nogoofyzone.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/the-new-wave-of-apologetics-by-tim-wirth/
From Tamara Hartzell ‘In The Name Of Purpose”
The universal religion with its spiritual transformation is not coming; it is here. The Angel of light’s kingdom is gathering together “all men of peace” from “every world religion” “as the embodiment of the emerging Kingdom of God on earth.”* In this emerging interfaith kingdom there is:
“One Truth,” yet many theologies;
“One God,” yet many paths;
“One Church,” yet many expressions; and
“One Divine Life,” yet many ‘little Christs.’
The universal religion with its spiritual transformation is not coming; it is here. The Angel of light’s kingdom is gathering together “all men of peace” from “every world religion” “as the embodiment of the emerging Kingdom of God on earth.”* In this emerging interfaith kingdom there is:
“One Truth,” yet many theologies;
“One God,” yet many paths;
“One Church,” yet many expressions; and
“One Divine Life,” yet many ‘little Christs.’
Despite its deceived claims that its message hasn’t changed, today’s Christianity is embracing the teachings of the counterfeit kingdom. As a result, it is being steadily transitioned away from Jesus Christ, the Rock of Offence, to the universal “Christ” who broadly accepts people within all religions/faiths. Its purposeful pursuit of unity with the world truly is uniting today’s Christianity with the world.
“The religion of the future will be a general converging of religions in a universal Christ that will satisfy all … In the end, it is hoped that the Christian will become a better Christian and each Hindu a better Hindu.” —Jesuit theologian Father Jacques Dupuis, at the 2003 interfaith congress “The Future of God”*
“The Christ has no religious barriers in His consciousness. It matters not to Him of what faith a man may call himself.” —Alice Bailey & Djwhal Khul*
“I happen to know people who are followers of Christ in other religions.” —Rick Warren*
“He [‘the Christ’] inaugurated the new era and … the new world religion began to take form. The word ‘religion’ concerns relationship …” —Alice Bailey & Djwhal Khul*
“I have known many people who believe in the Messiah of Jesus, regardless of what religion they are, because they believe in him. It’s about a relationship, not a religion.” —Rick Warren*
“The day is dawning when all religions win [sic] be regarded as emanating from one great spiritual source; all will be seen as unitedly providing the one root out of which the universal world religion will inevitably emerge. Then there will be neither Christian nor heathen, neither Jew nor Gentile, but simply one great body of believers, gathered out of all the current religions.” —Alice Bailey & Djwhal Khul*
“I thought, you know where people are moving in they probably need new houses of worships, temples, and synagogues, and churches, and stuff like that.” —Rick Warren*
“The church is bigger than any organization in the world. Then you add in Muslims, you add in Hindus, you add in all the different religions, and you use those houses of worship as distribution centers, not just for spiritual care but health care.” —Rick Warren*
“I could take you today to a million villages … they got a church. Or they got a synagogue. They got something. They got a house of worship. The church is the biggest organization in the world…. And I came up with a thing called the P.E.A.C.E. Plan. When Jesus sent the disciples out, he said, ‘When you go into a village, you find the man of peace.’ Now this person doesn’t have to be a Christian…. You find the person of peace, and then you begin to do the P.E.A.C.E. Plan … Now why am I telling this to you? Because we’re going public with it this next year in 2006…. And I believe it will change the world.” —Rick Warren*
Yes, change is the order of the day.
Truth becomes the sacrifice:
So remember to keep in Gods word daily.
Examine your faith and walk daily.
And beware of the new wave of apologetics
Truth becomes the sacrifice:
So remember to keep in Gods word daily.
Examine your faith and walk daily.
And beware of the new wave of apologetics
Todd Bentley or Jesus Christ?
by Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
May 20, 2008
To the Reader: Below is a word-for-word transcript of Todd Bentley’s YouTube video-taped message titled, “Jesus Christ Himself wants to visit you.” As of this writing, the 5 minute-23 second video may be reviewed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdwBrB8cCOk .
Patricia King, self-proclaimed prophetess and founder of Extreme Prophetic, provides a short introduction to the video, and backs Todd Bentley’s claims to have seen Jesus Christ. Patricia King, herself, is no stranger to conflict and controversy ( http://www.extremeprophetic.com/conflict_home.htm ).
The following word-for-word transcript begins at 2:41 into the video, where Todd Bentley states:
Just recently, I was in Redding, California, and I had a face-to-face encounter with Jesus. It was real. And I was sitting in this green room in a chair. I was in a chair just like this, and I could feel the presence of the Lord all-around me.
You know, we worship and we pray. We can feel the presence of the Lord; we can feel the peace of God. And as I was sitting in the chair, I, I literally saw heaven open. My eyes were open and I saw heaven open, and I saw the Lord step out of heaven–literally step out of heaven. And from the Lord, Himself, He appeared to me, and, and it was as if He came to me into this realm. He appeared to me.
I, I remember His face. He had the brownest eyes that I’d ever seen; kinda reminded me of the movie, Bambi. Had these big brown eyes. He had long, brownish-black, curly locks that went down past His shoulders. And I remember His beard. I remember he was wearing and Ephod [see Reference.com], and I was surprised. It wasn’t like the glory, it was just a, a plain Ephod. And it was just humble. And He came in the form of, as I would imaging Jesus with the disciples on the Earth, as the Son of man; wasn’t the King of glory; wasn’t in His resurrection glory. It was, He came to me in the form of a humble servant–the Son of man. I mean, he had sandals on His feet; a real plain Ephod. But it was His eyes. And I saw the Lord. It was His eyes.
And from the Lord I saw literally ten rainbows come from the Lord. It was almost like a, a, a TV; like a projection television from the Lord came heaven. And I saw hills and I saw lions and I saw rivers of oil and I saw all kinds of butterflies and giant bumblebees. But, but it was the rainbows. And the brightest color that came from the Lord was pink, which is love and emotions. But ten rainbows. It was blinding. And I could see all of heaven and its glory. It was like Psalms 23. It was the paradise of God. But the Lord appeared to me in this realm.
And I remember His eyes, and I looked into His eyes and I thought, Aren’t your eyes supposed to be like fire? He said, “These are my eyes as I was as a man on the Earth. If you were to see me in heaven, I have eyes like fire.” And I, I looked into Him face-to-face, and He looked me in the eyes. He actually put a hand on my shoulders and He said these words: “Peace I give you, not as the world gives.” And I felt this impartation of the literal supernatural peace of God come over me.
Jesus is wonderful. Jesus is beautiful. There’s no one like Him. He is the King of glory. He is the Lord, strong and mighty. And we love Him and we worship Him, and we thank Him for His goodness.
But may you have a visitation of the Lord. This is your year for Jesus to visit you, if He’s never visited you before.
[End of video]
Is Todd Bentley telling the truth? Was Todd Bentley’s “face-to-face encounter” with the real Jesus of the Bible or with a counterfeit? Here is what Jesus Christ and the Bible have to say:
Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him (Matthew 24:23).
So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them (Matthew 24:26).
So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19).
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. “They will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them. “For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day (Luke 17:20-24).
Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also (John 14:1-3).
And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven (Acts 1:9-11).
But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully (2 Corinthians 11:3-4).
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago–whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows–such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man–whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows–was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak (2 Corinthians 12:1-4).
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen (Revelation 1:7).
So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you (Revelation 3:3).
Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame (Revelation 16:15).
Todd Bentley claims to have seen Jesus Christ, but it was not the Jesus of the Bible.
Sunday, I noticed in our church bulletin that there was to be a movie presented that Tuesday night. It was called Prince of Slaves. Never hearing about this movie before I went on-line but couldn’t find any information about it. I did not attend.
Wednesday I received a gang email to our church that read like this.
Thanks to all of you who came to “Movie Night”
For those of you who weren’t able to come, I just HAVE to share a couple of things I learned from Nil***ur, (rhymes with Jennifer), a Muslim lady who works with *******, and the movie, Prince of Slaves! Nil***ur was very friendly, outgoing, and informative.
First, Nil***ur did not wear any head-covering
because she said the Koran says to dress modestly so
as not to be a distraction to men, especially when
they’re supposed to be praying and worshipping. She
said the Taliban and the Wahabi sect in Saudi Arabia
are extremists in their treatment of women–they are
not true representatives of Islam. Saudi Arabia is
not a Democracy, and the Royal Family maintains
power by cooperating with the extremists. (Almost all the
terrorists involved in 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia,
none from Iraq, and were trained in Afganistan,
which she said has been badly affected by invasions of the
Russians, etc.)
Second, she said “jihad” means the personal struggle
to follow God. Killing is only allowed in the Muslim
faith during a war. “Islam means PEACE and Muslim
means “SUBMITTED TO GOD”! Obviously, some of them
do not follow that, but sometimes I don’t think we
Christians follow our Savior perfectly either! (My
thought, not Nillofour’s!) Also, the Koran is a lot like our Bible, according
to Nillofour’s Christian friends. She urged us to get
an English version of the Koran from the library and
read it to see for ourselves.
Lastly, when asked why the vast majority of moderate
Muslims do not speak out more to condemn terrorism,
she said that usually doesn’t make it to the front
pages or the evening news.
Thanks for reading if you’re still with me. I was
just SO excited to see this historically accurate
documentary and to meet such a lovely lady who also
happened to be a Muslim!
**********
I had to read these paragraphs a couple of times.
Second, she said “jihad” means the personal struggle
to follow God. Killing is only allowed in the Muslim
faith during a war. “Islam means PEACE and Muslim
means “SUBMITTED TO GOD”!
Also, the Koran is a lot like our Bible, according
to Nil***ur’s Christian friends. She urged us to get
an English version of the Koran from the library and
read it to see for ourselves.
Was i dreaming?…..Were these statements going uncontested in my evangelical church?
Okay..so i found an English version of the Koran on-line. Here are some quotations I found.
2:190-193 Fight in the cause of God, those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loveth not transgressors. And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out: For tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; But fight them not at the sacred Mosque unless they first fight you there; But if they fight you, Slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith. But if they cease, God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God; but if they cease, Let there be no hostility except to those who practise oppression.”
5:72-73: They do blaspheme who say: “God is Christ the son of Mary.” But said Christ: “O Children of Israel! worship God, my Lord and your Lord.” Whoever joins other gods with God, – God will forbid him the garden, and the Fire will be his abode. There will for the wrongdoers be no one to help. They do blaspheme who say: God is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except One God. If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them.
8:12-15 Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): “I am with you: give firmness to the Believers: I will instil terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them.” This because they contended against God and His Apostle: If any contend against God and His Apostle, God is strict in punishment. Thus (will it be said): “Taste ye then of the (punishment): for those who resist God, is the penalty of the Fire.” O ye who believe! when ye meet the Unbelievers in hostile array, never turn your backs to them.
First off, these Koran verses do not sound very peaceful to me…what do you think?
Then it states that those who say that Jesus is Christ, the Son of Mary… is a blasphemer. And then the trinity is denied.
It goes on to say:
5:75 The Messiah, son of Mary is but an apostle:
The Koran is not at all like the Bible. Christianity is based on Jesus Christ going to the Cross for our Salvation, and that He is the Son of God, not merely an apostle……!
Then I took a look at the people who produced the movie. Unity Productions Foundation. Anything with the name unity is suspect to me anymore. Their main cause is to “serve the cause of peace of understanding. Comprehending Islam values is of central importance to cause of peace of understanding.”
I found one of many organizations that support their work is the Kingdom Foundation which is a close alliance of “A Common Word.” A Common Word is an outlandish agreement that Muslims and Christians are on similar ground because we worship the same God. This is ridiculous.
So I am saddened because no one that I know of questioned this email. Did anyone in our congregation bother to investigate this claim put forth in our church? How is it that a Muslim comes into our church and reaches out to us but no one tell this woman the truth? I am sure she is a wonderful and lovely person, but that does not save her soul. Do I have some distorted view of what a church is?
This was the response I received when I asked if this woman was presented the Gospel in our church.
She didn’t really
talk about her personal faith; our discussions were
more about cultural things.
I think we do need to develop relationships in order
to lead people to a relationship with the Lord.
Yes, I agree that we have to reach out to the lost, but develop a relationship with them? I thought we were not be yoked with unbelievers and that we were to be separate.
Without knowing the scriptures and at least a working knowledge of other religions then we as the church are doomed. Will we follow any suggestion unquestioned? What if there were any baby Christians at “movie night”? What if there were some attending who are confused about their faith?
http://www.upf.tv/upf06/Films/PrinceAmongSlaves/tabid/77/Default.aspx
I am probably over-reacting. Am I intolerant? I certainly hope so. I pray so.
Stephen Yulish Testimony
I was a Professor at the age of 28. I had the world by the tail, at least that I thought that I did. I published a book and numerous academic papers. I gave papers at National Conferences. I shared the stage with Stephen Jay Gould. I wrote a novel, “The Other World” which was a modern day fable of the demon goddess, Lilith. It bounced around New York for years. I even did a reading of it in a loft in Greenwich Village. I knew that Stephen Speilberg’s mother had been a member of Beth Joseph Congregation in Phoenix. I tracked her down to the Milky Way Deli in LA. I sent her a letter to please tell her son about my book-it would make a good screenplay for him. She refused. I sent it to Speilberg, anyway. To Amblin Entertainment c/o Paramount Pictures. They sent it back unopened.
This book was the most New Age, demonic book that you could imagine. I glorified evil and Satan. I blurred the distinctions between good and evil, reality and dream and even male and female. I quoted from the lost gospels found at Nag Hammadi. I even gave to my future wife Paula to read when we first met in 1987. This sweet Christian lady read a chapter and gave it back to me appalled!
Here I found myself working for a Christian telemarketing firm selling precious metals to Christian listeners of a radio program. Me, a Professor, a leader in the Phoenix Jewish community working for Christians. My life had been turned upside down by the trauma of loss of job in Jewish community, divorce, my children had moved to Charleston, SC, my father had died and my health had begun to falter. I went into Barrows Neurological Center in Phoenix and they found extensive brain lesions with an MRI and other tests (diagnosis-Multiple Sclerosis… prognosis—wheelchair?). All of this, and I was now working for Christians to boot.
The staff (Paula) prayed for me, my clients prayed for me. How nice. When my coworkers tried to preach to me I slammed them. After all, I had not only been a Director of the Jewish National Fund, but I was also a part of the Community Relations Council in the Jewish community which investigated missionaries. I had lectured at the University of Arizona on anti semitism and the Holocaust. Who did these people think that they were?
I acted like Shaul to them. I flogged them with my tongue, a frequent Jewish tactic. We fight with our tongues , not our fists. One fellow said that he was so frustrated with me that he felt like throwing me over the balcony. I replied, “Oh that’s Christian!” They waved the Bible in my face. “read Isaiah 53″ read Psalm 22”. I replied, “Read this!”, shaking my fist!
One day I went to Philip’s house for dinner while my new girlfriend, a Jewish New Ager, was at work. After dinner, we all stood in a circle holding hands. He had fed me dinner so I decided to humor him (actually his love was tugging at my heart). We prayed—at least they prayed. I closed my eyes and saw an image darting across the plane of my vision. I blinked. It came back. When we were finished, Philip asked me what I had seen. I said, “Nothing”. How did he know ? He must have opened his eyes and seen me grimacing. He said again, “What did you see, Jewboy?” Finally I answered that it was stupid, “forget it”.
Well Philip kept insisting. Finally I told them. I saw a man in a suit of armor waving his sword at a being in a monk’s robe with no face. Philip’s mouth fell open. He ran and got his Bible and showed me Ephesians 6:12f. I did not know what he was talking about. I did not know the Bible. Things like that began to happen as the Holy Spirit was showing me the word visually.
Not too much later, I was sitting at my desk at the office. We all had cubicles. I was trying to close a large deal when an image appeared in front of me. I looked around to see if anyone else saw it. Nobody! It was Jesus on the cross. His head was down. It was night, or the sky was dark, and there was lightning all over the sky. Quite a sight for a nice Jewish, New Age, College Professor, Pharisee-type person. I was dumfounded. I told no one.
The next day, I saw another vision. This time Jesus was on the cross, but it was daylight. He lifted up His head and light poured out of His eyes. He broke the fetters and got off of the Cross. He then proceeded to walk all over the earth with the light still pouring from His eyes. Remember that I did know the Bible at that time especially the New Testament, i.e. Jesus is the light of the world!
I had told Philip that I would not believe unless I saw the burning bush for myself. Scripture says that Jews seek signs. Well God was showing me! That night I had a dream that I had to die (be crucified) for all my friends to live. I anticipated the flogging on my back and the nails though my hands. It was a powerful experience which cannot truly be put into words. I knew instantly what Jesus had done for me. I awoke looking at my hands (Galatians 6:17).
The next day I said the sinners prayer and accepted Jesus into my life. My sister said that they had got me. Praise God. That was on October 3, 1988. Paula and I married on March 30, 1990. I had to leave the company in April of 1991. My health had been to hamper me. but do not pity me. God all along had a plan for my life. Do I miss my former accolades and achievements? No! As Paul said I count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8).
I feel stronger and healthier than ever. I spend every day serving the Lord because He was there for me. He never failed me nor forsook me. He is my rock and my comforter and supplies me with all my needs. When I am weak physically as Paul said, then I am strong spiritually. His grace is sufficient for me.
And I am still not in the “Chair”! Praise His Holy Name forever and ever!
Stephen M. Yulish, born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1947, received his BA from Case Western Reserve University in 1969, his MA in 1972, and his PhD in 1975 from the University of Illinois. His first book, The Search for a Civic Religion, was published in 1980. He was an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson and then became a Jewish Community Professional in Phoenix. Currently disabled with Multiple Sclerosis, the author is co-leader of Chayim Chadashim Messianic Fellowship and is on the Board of Reference for Jewish Voice Prophetic Magazine. He lives in Flagstaff, AZ, with his wife Paula and daughter Andrea.
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This is from the site The Exchanged Life and I have been enjoying the sermons. This article is relevant to some current discussion about Rick Warren and and his relationship to Ken Blanchard. Comments from Barbara Marx Hubbard, New-Ager/politician are frightening. Christians who will not evolve in this new spirituality are likened to cancer cells, which will need to be eliminated.
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Understanding Church Vision (Part 4 of 4)
One World Religion
Over 300 evangelical Christians signed a response from ‘the Christian community’ and sent it to the Muslim Community agreeing to a partnership in religion. In October 2007 the Muslim community launched a website called www.acommonword.com. A letter was sent to the Christian community asking for an agreement among the religions on common grounds that we could agree on. In the letter, the Muslim writers offer a hand of partnership to Christians as long as we agree on the basic principles that unite us. While the open letter to Christians focuses on each person’s requirement to love God and love one’s neighbor, they also make it clear that loving God requires us to adhere to the following ‘Testimony of Faith’:
The central creed of Islam consists of the two testimonies of faith or Shahadahsi, which state that: There is no god but God [Allah], Muhammad is the messenger of God. These Two Testimonies are the sine qua non of Islam. He or she who testifies to them is a Muslim; he or she who denies them is not a Muslim.
The letter also states the following about Jesus Christ:
Muslims recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah, not in the same way Christians do (but Christians themselves anyway have never all agreed with each other on Jesus Christ’s nature), but in the following way: …. the Messiah Jesus son of Mary is a Messenger of God and His Word which he cast unto Mary and a Spirit from Him…. (Al-Nisa’, 4:171). We therefore invite Christians to consider Muslims not against and thus with them, in accordance with Jesus Christ’s words here.
Since the Muslim letter only quoted part of Al-Nisa’ 4:171, I decided to look up this reference in the Quran to see the remainder of the verse. Here is the entire passage in context:
People of the Book, do not exceed the limits of devotion in your religion or say anything about God which is not the Truth. Jesus, son of Mary, is only a Messenger of God, His Word, and a spirit from Him whom He conveyed to Mary. So have faith in God and His Messengers. Do not say that there are three gods. It is better for you to stop believing in the Trinity. There is only One God. He is too glorious to give birth to a son. To God belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. God alone is a Sufficient Guardian for all. (Al-Nisa’ 4:171)
Muhammad called Christians the ‘People of the Book’ because they believed in the scriptures. The call for unity requires us to directly reject the following scripture in 1 John 5:9-13
9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
If you do not believe in Jesus Christ as He has been revealed in the scriptures, you do not, and cannot have eternal life for Jesus plainly warned that “if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). Therefore, the Quran and the Bible are in direct conflict with each other and this foundational issue is irreconcilable. So in reality, the Muslim partnership extended to Christians has the following requirements in order to have common ground: accept the premise that “There is no god but God [which means Allah], Muhammad is the messenger of God”, do not be devoted solely to Christianity, and agree that Jesus is “only a messenger of God” but is not divine nor is God’s Son. According to Islam, Jesus was a messenger, but Muhammad is ‘the messenger’. Every Muslim will tell you that you must confess that ‘there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his prophet’. They say that Jesus was a prophet, but they will never say that Muhammad is ‘a prophet’. Every Muslim will strictly adhere to the belief that ‘Muhammad is the prophet’. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the prophets and that in these last days Jesus was the final word (Hebrews 1:1-2), but Islam teaches that Muhammad is the true messenger and the one chosen by God.
While one-world religion proponents argue that we can agree on most issues and therefore should not bicker over the few that we don’t agree on, the truth is that certain beliefs cannot be compromised. Look at Philippians 2:5-8
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
This is at the core of our Christian faith. You cannot compromise this truth and remain in the faith. Also consider 1 Timothy 3:16
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory..
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
John 1:10-14 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
This wasn’t controversial among those who held to the word of God, but in this era where Christians do not seek the Lord through the word, this has become a point of contention. The world has always denied Jesus as the only way and in these last days, the church has forgotten the truth of salvation in Christ just as the Bible foretold. Look at 2 Peter 2:1
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
Is this not exactly what the ‘open letter to Christians’ is asking us to do? I have quoted some of the most influential evangelical leaders and each one of them has denied that Jesus is the only way of salvation – which is a denial of the faith. On November 18, 2007, a response was posted to the acommonword.com website. The letter written was headed up by the seminary professors at Yale University and signed by over 300 evangelical Christian leaders and organizations. You can read the entire letter on the Common Word website, but I want to bring your attention to this excerpt:
We receive the open letter as a Muslim hand of conviviality and cooperation extended to Christians world-wide. In this response we extend our own Christian hand in return, so that together with all other human beings we may live in peace and justice as we seek to love God and our neighbors.
…
And to those who nevertheless relish conflict and destruction for their own sake or reckon that ultimately they stand to gain through them, we say that our very eternal souls are all also at stake if we fail to sincerely make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony.
The evangelical community received the letter and then implied that any who do not receive this are ‘those who relish conflict and destruction’. By stating that they receive the invitation, it is an acknowledgement and acceptance of the terms written in the letter as we examined above. Any who do not agree to this form of unity are identified as the cause of conflict. If you read the letter you will see that one of the overarching themes is the quest for world peace. It is not a jump in conclusion that those who do not agree with the plan for peace by compromising their faith in Christ are a threat to peace and will become the enemy of the world religions that are uniting.
Consider that Rick Warren has stated that those who refuse to change must die or leave. David Spangler stated in his writings that people who will not accept the new world spirituality (which he calls the Luciferic Initiation) will be removed from the world to an upper room to be retrained until they can be embodied and safely be returned to the social body; Leonard Sweet states that we must change or die and these each are endorsing each other. Leonard Sweet quotes David Spangler in his book ‘Soul Tsunami’. In this book, Sweet states:
I am grateful to David Spangler for his help in formulating this “new cell” understanding of New Light leadership.”
Rick Warren endorsed this very book and wrote the forward on the front and back cover. Ken Blanchard has been commissioned by Rick Warren to teach leaders who will teach evangelical churches and Blanchard spoke at the ‘Choices for the Future’ symposium with Barbara Marx Hubbard. In her book, Hubbard echoes the warnings of these evangelical leaders but adds chilling details that make it clear that the ultimate plan is to force the world into the New Age spirituality. Look at these excerpts from her writings found in ‘The Book of Co-Creation’:
Out of the full spectrum of human personality, one-fourth is electing to transcend… One-fourth is destructive…they are defective seeds. In the past they were permitted to die a ‘natural death’. …Now as we approach the quantum shift from the creature-human to the co-creative human – the human who is an inheritor of god-like powers – the destructive one-fourth must be eliminated from the social body. …Fortunately, you are not responsible for this act, we are. We are in charge of God’s selection process for the planet Earth. He selects, we destroy. We are the riders of the pale horse, Death”.
“This act is as horrible as killing a cancer cell. It must be done for the sake of the future of the whole. So be it; be prepared for the selection process which is now beginning. We, the elders, have been patiently waiting until the very last moment before the quantum transformation, to take action to cut out this corrupted and corrupting element in the body of humanity. It is like watching a cancer grow; something must be done before the whole body is destroyed…. The destructive one fourth must be eliminated from the social body.”
Is this not an exact fulfillment of John 16:2b-4?
…the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 “And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 “But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. …
Notice that Barbara Marx Hubbard has declared that the selection process is already underway and who do you think the ‘destructive one-fourth’ is? Based on the testimony of Hubbard and our own evangelical leaders, those who refuse to change must die. Hubbard may sound like a New Age flake, but she has a lot of backing. She has worked with the White House under two presidents including our current administration; she was a vice president nominee in 1984, she was an American Citizen ambassador to the former Soviet Union; she has founded two major global organizations (the ‘Global Association for New Global Thought’ and the ‘World Future Society’); she has written 5 books and delivered over 80 keynote speeches to colleges, leadership conventions, political organizations, and has direct ties with our current evangelical leaders.
Just consider how many times death is endorsed by our major evangelical leaders. In Tim LaHaye’s left behind series, the tribulation force of God fought against the lost souls by killing them. This was justified since their souls were supposedly already lost anyway. This is the overarching theme in their Left Behind game where ‘Christians’ are encouraged to kill those who refuse to be evangelized. You can find ample information on this game by doing a search on ‘Left Behind: Eternal Forces’. In the evangelical letter to the muslims, our leaders state that those who refuse to compromise risk their eternal souls. Rick Warren calls church leaders that resist the purpose driven movement ‘leaders from hell’ and compared them to Sanballat. Sanballat tried to prevent Nehemiah from building the wall around Jerusalem. Ironically, Warren is attacking those who are trying to build a wall between the church and the world while claiming that the true wall builders are the ones attacking. For the first time in history, the evangelical community has joined forces with the world to stand against those who stand upon the word of God. Now the political, world religions, and evangelical church are all calling for the destruction of those who refuse to be evangelized into the New World Order.
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Please finish the article HERE
http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/topical/vision/vision4.shtml
Have you ever slowly waded into a cool swimming pool? At first it seems cold, but little by little, you inch deeper and deeper into the water as your body gets used to the temperature. Before you know it you are ready to dive right in because you have become accustomed to your surroundings and it no longers feels uncomfortable. Where once there was wariness, there is now familiarity. In a pool of water where a foot was gingerly lowered, there is now splashing and frolicking.
So it is, in the case of indoctrination. To teach or accept a system of thought uncritically. These children are unknowingly being indoctrinated into Hindu philosophy, and the parents allow it. Why?… because they themselves have accepted it.
Did you know that the Sun Salutation is a form of worshiping the Sun God? Read Deuteronomy 17: 2-4, to find out if this practice is acceptible for a Christian.
“If a man or woman living among you…is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord…contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun..”
I think this is pretty clear. Deuteromony says these practices are “detestable” unto the Lord.
Do you know why the asanas (poses) in the Sun Salutation are to be done in a certain order? They were created and developed over a 5,000 year period. The positions were not created to stretch the muscles or to create relaxation. The unnatural positions were created to force energy up the spine and ultimately into the brain for spiritual unification with Atman. Yoga means to yoke. To create union with Hindu gods. This is an oversimplified explanation but there is plenty of information once you get past the american pasteurized yoga versions. Here is quote from a Swami:
“your karma, your births and deaths – all which can be overcome if you enter into the substance of nature by understanding its laws, by becoming cosmic itself in essence. Towards this end, yoga takes us.”
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/patanjali/raja_92.html
So if you want to really learn something about yoga then wander around the above link for awhile.
Obviously, the Bible is not silent on this. We are to have nothing to do with the heathen gods of the world, or participate in their rites. Even the Hindus have expressed dismay that Christians have hijacked their practices and that Christian terminology has replaced their own. HIndus know that their religion or philosophy cannot be removed from the practice.
Satan would never say…”Here jump into this occult pool of Hinduistic activity,” to Christians. Who would jump in? Instead Hindu religious activities and terminologies are neutralized into language we easily accept. Exercise and relaxation. The true reason as stated earlier is to awaken a cosmic force in the body. Now you won’t hear this explanation in american gyms or yoga studios. It may well be, because the instructor is unaware of the true reasons the poses were developed.
Here is an excerpt from Yoga2U:
Kundalini, The Kundalini (kundala=coil of a rope; Kundalini=a coiled female serpent) is the divine cosmic energy. This force or energy is symbolised as a coiled and sleeping serpent lying dormant in the lowest nerve centre at the base of the spinal column, the Muladhara-chakra. This latent energy has to be aroused and made to ascend the main spinal channel, the Susumna piercing the chakras right up to the Sahasrara, the thousand-petalled lotus in the head. Then the Yogi is in union with the Supreme Universal Soul.
YOGA = KUNDALINI = SERPENT POWER
Now look at these children below. What are we subjecting them to? Why are we allowing serpent power to be exposed to these precious children. How has it happened, that we have been slowing blindly ourselves to the infiltration and worship of false gods and teachings into our supposedly Christian nation? Ever since the Beatles introduced the world to Hinduism through their music, there has been an increasing comfort level and acceptance of eastern religions that was not known here in the states.
We have allowed this by not standing up for Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us to reject other gods of the world. Are we openly doing this? Christians…are you protecting your children, grand-children, nieces, and nephews by expressing concern over these issues?
Once someone is indoctrinated into false beliefs it is extremely difficult to help them see the truth. Once someone is used to water, they do not want to get out. They say, “Hey the water is great, come on in. What are you afraid of? The water is not cold it is wonderful.” But they have numbed themselves to the truth.
If you are involved in occult practices, stop and repent. Do not allow your children or people you care about, to be indoctrinated into eastern mysticism. When you tell other Christians that Yoga is NOT ok, you may experience anything from indifference to indignation. I often am called, ignorant, narrow-minded, ridiculous, or self-righteous. This is something you get used to. Maybe. But do not let this stop you from telling others the truth. Also, If you want to help others, pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to them.
WENATCHEE — WASL testing kicked off Tuesday, and with it began a new kind of stress relief for elementary schoolkids: morning yoga
A 10-year-old girl at Lincoln Elementary requested it. Her fourth-grade teacher Tina Nicpan-Brown couldn’t say no.
“For them it gives permission to just relax and not think about anything,” Nicpan-Brown said after yoga Tuesday. “They deal with a lot of pressure between home and school, so if there’s anything I can do to take that anxiety away, I will.”
Gym lights dimmed to a soft glow Tuesday morning. Babbling creek sounds and wooden flutes flowed from a stereo in the corner.
Alexis Rodriguez, 10, stretches his back along with about 30 other students as teacher Tina Nicpan-Brown leads a yoga session at Lincoln Elementary School before school Tuesday, the first day of WASL testing. (World photo/Kathryn Stevens)
“Inhale into cow, feel the stretch in your belly,” Nicpan-Brown said slowly and steadily. On all fours, students let their midsections sink slightly to the floor.
“And exhale into cat.” With a breath out, they tucked into a scared-cat position, stretching their back muscles.
About 20 girls crowded the front rows, silently focused, with an occasional smile-exchange with other girls.
Six boys banded together in the back, quietly interjecting fake farts, snoring sounds and giggles.
Ana Giles, 10, helps teacher Tina Nicpan-Brown lead about 30 students from Lincoln Elementary School in yoga before the start of the schoolday Tuesday, the first day of WASL testing at the school. Ana has practiced yoga at home before, so Nicpan-Brown, her fourth-grade teacher, asked her to help demonstrate some of the poses. (World photo/Kathryn Stevens)
“Toe power!” Matt Kirkpatrick, 10, murmured to his buddies as he dug his toes into the mat for downward-facing dog, a basic pose that looks like a human pitch tent with hands and feet on the ground, rump in the air.
“It looks kind of funny sometimes,” Matt said after class. “We don’t have to do the hard stuff, like putting my leg behind my neck. I thought it was fun.”
Nicpan-Brown introduced her class to yoga during their studies about India this winter. They learned that Indian children practice yoga two hours a day in school. The students were intrigued.
Nicpan-Brown turned to her yoga instructor Jan Bullock, who also works as a counselor at Foothills Middle School, for advice on how to adapt it for kids. After a 45-minute yoga introduction, students later requested yoga before class tests and projects.
“They asked me if I’d be willing to do it before WASL, so I scheduled it before school so I could invite more people,” Nicpan-Brown said. She agreed to lead nine classes on WASL days for third-, fourth- and fifth-graders with parent permission.
Nicpan-Brown said many of her 9- and 10-year-olds are afraid of failure, and some believe they won’t graduate to fifth grade if they don’t pass the WASL, she said.
“(WASL) makes me nervous, like maybe I won’t pass,” said 10-year-old Alexis Rodriguez after Tuesday’s session. “I think doing yoga makes me feel relaxed so it’s not so difficult.”
For 10-year-old Chyanne Rubash, “It feels good to stretch out my muscles so I can sit down for a long time and focus on the test,” she said.
About 35 students signed up, but Nicpan-Brown expects 25 to 30 to show up on any given morning.
“I’m honored that they came and wanted to help themselves,” Nicpan-Brown said. “They were willing to get up at 6 in the morning to be here at 7:20. I’m really proud of them.”
Carl Jung was never clear about his own religious beliefs. But this unusual idea of synchronicity is easily explained by the Hindu view of reality. In the Hindu view, our individual egos are like islands in a sea: We look out at the world and each other and think we are separate entities. What we don’t see is that we are connected to each other by means of the ocean floor beneath the waters.
Does Psychology belong in the Church?
Psychology counsels no fear of the Lord at anytime in any of its therapies, let alone
at the beginning. So there is no wisdom in it. The Bible teaches that
there is body, soul, and spirit; psychology says there is only the body and
the soul.
***
The Bible teaches us that it is Holy Spirit that will lead us in
all truth and that it is sharper than a two edged sword, dividing even the
soul from spirit. Psychology doesn’t even believe in the Holy Spirit.
***
The Bible teaches us about our eternal destiny. Psychology offers no hope for
eternity.
***
The Bible teaches us to lay up for our selves treasures in heaven. Psychology offers no concept of heaven to lay up your treasures for.
***
The Bible says seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things
(our needs) will be added unto us. Psychology doesn’t seek first the
Kingdom of God, in fact it never seeks the Kingdom of God.
***
The Bible teaches that our help comes from the Lord. Psychology tells us our help
comes from one or more of unproven theories and tens of thousands of
psychotherapists whose ideas were drawn from paganism, divination,
astrology, humanism, and evolution.
***
The Bible teaches that being lovers of selves is mankind’s problem. Psychology teaches that being lovers of selves is the solution. Bible teaches that we can come freely to drink the waters of life. Psychology charges for it.
***
The Bible offers the opportunity of becoming a new man in Christ. Psychology offers an improved or even damaged version of the old man.
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The Bible teaches that our strength is perfected in weakness and that in suffering, sin loses its power. Psychology teaches us how to balance our strengths and weaknesses with personality profiles derived from paganism and divination.
***
The Bible esteems the contrite and broken spirit. Psychology esteems self-esteem.
***
The Bible teaches us to rejoice in the suffering or being persecuted with Christ to produce
character and overcome the world. Psychology has no interest in Christ’s
suffering, our suffering with Christ, or sees any redemptive value in his
shed blood.
***
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ believed in demon possession and delivered those possessed. Psychology teaches that there is no such thing as demon possession…so there is nothing to be delivered from.
***
The Bible tells us how to be blessed in the Beatitudes. Psychology
doesn’t even comprehend blessing, so it can not offer anyone a blessing
because it omits the person required to administer these blessings, that is
Jesus Christ.
***
The Bible tells us we can’t produce the fruit of the spirit
which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control without abiding in the vine which is Jesus
Christ himself. Psychology attempts to bear this fruit by abiding in the
teaching of such founders as Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud who opposed
Christianity!
***
The Bible teaches that there are primarily three things that are required of
every Christian: (1) Salvation, (2) Sanctification, and (3) Carry out the
Great Commission so that others may receive. Psychology can’t offer
Salvation, Sanctification, and is unable to and does not even pretend to
offer the Great Commission in order that others might be saved and
sanctified.
***
…..The Church needs to wake up too and stop integrating
and mixing the Gospel with the Religion of Psychology in its programs too!
You can not serve two masters! Choose today whom you will follow — the
Mighty Counselor and Intercessor, or your flawed psychotherapist as your
counselor! Psychology is based on myths while Paul in his Second Epistle to
Timothy said to turn aside from myths!
The above is from Psychology Debunked
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We are being told today that we have a self-esteem problem. Is this really true? I would venture to say that truly we esteem ourselves very highly. Are we not told to watch our for #1?. The proper position in life is to be at the top of ladder and certainly to be at a lower rung is to be looked down upon. Climb, climb, climb. Don’t we like to buy the best we can afford in life? How many times have we said to ourselves, “I really deserve a treat”…. “I just have to have this.” No…I do not think that low self-esteem is a problem, because in fact we love ourselves very much. We are full of pride. We get easily offended. We get impatient. “How dare I be made to wait.”…”Did you see how that clerk treated me?”… “Hey, I was next in line.”
We spend a great part of the day making personal selections and decisions that benefit self. Many professionals are raking in the dough telling people how to love themselves more by increasing their self-esteem. Self-love is not the problem.
Jesus knew this. In Matthew 22 a scribe asks Him “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Matthew 22:37-39
” Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
We are to love God first, then our neighbors then ourselves. We are the last in line. When we take the focus off of ourselves and put it on Jesus…our life changes. We begin to care more about others, especially our brethren. But…there is a certain despair that is caused by our inability to do this very thing. This should drive us to the cross, on our knees in prayer.
kim
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John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-
John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
War on the Saints – Manifestations
When I was sixteen and in Youth Group at church, our leader decided that it would be a great idea to visit other churches and attend their worship service. Our first and only visit would be to a Southern Baptist church in Seattle. I lived in Bellevue at the time, a predominately middle-class white community.
On that particular Sunday morning in the year 1969, we all piled into a couple of cars and headed for Seattle. I remember we all sat in the very back row of the church. Now the service started and the music impressed us. We were used to the typical hymns and this music didn’t sound like anything we had heard before, and it was great.
Of course this was before total pandemonium broke out. The singing got louder and louder and then wilder. Before we knew it…people were rolling in the aisles, legs and arms were flailing, there were loud cries and anguished shouts. People were laying everywhere, shaking, jerking and wailing.
Ushers then came out but now they were dressed as nurses. In white uniforms. People who could not get up were carried out on stretchers. I do not really recall how long this went on. I do remember looking over at our youth group leader and noticing how white his face looked.
When the service was over, (there was no sermon) I remember filing out and shaking the pastors hand, with him thanking us for coming. What a silent ride home. We never discussed what we had seen at this church. To this day I wonder what my friends in youth group told their parents.
I knew that this was not of God and that what we had seen….was demonic. This was my first discernment. It was not until 2004, 35 years later, that I found out about the Toronto Blessing, and Brownsville, Pensacola manifestations. Watching video clips from these services mirrored exactly what I saw so many years ago.
This is from War on the Saints:
MIXED MANIFESTATIONS
The majority of those present may have no idea of the mixture which has crept in. Some fall upon the ground unable to bear the strained emotion, or effect upon the mind; and some are thrown down by some supernatural power; others cry out in ecstasy; the speaker leaves the platform, passes by a young man, who becomes conscious of a feeling of intoxication upon him, which does not leave his senses for some time. Others laugh with the exuberance of the intoxicating joy. Some have had real spiritual help and blessing through the Word of God being expounded ere this climax came, and during the pure outflow of the Holy Spirit; consequently they accept these strange workings as from God, because in the first stage of the meeting, their needs have been truly met by Him; and they cannot discern the two separate “manifestations” coming through the same channel! If they doubt the latter part of the meeting, they fear they are untrue to their inner conviction that the earlier part was “of God.” Others are conscious that the “manifestations” are contrary to their spiritual vision, and judgment; but on account of the blessing of the earlier part they stifle their doubts, and say “We cannot understand the ‘physical’ manifestations, but we must not expect to understand all that God does. We only know that the wonderful outpouring of truth and love and light at the beginning of the meeting was from God, and met our need. No one can mistake the sincerity, the pure motive of the speaker . . therefore, although I cannot understand, or say I ‘like’ the physical manifestations, yet–it must be all of God . . “
TRUE AND COUNTERFEIT ACCEPTED TOGETHER
Briefly put, this is a glimpse into the mixed “manifestations” which have come upon the Church of God, since the Revival in Wales; for, almost without exception, in every land where revival has since broken forth, within a very brief period of time the counterfeit stream has mingled with the true; and almost without exception, true and false have been accepted together, because of the workers being ignorant of the possibility of concurrent streams; or else have been rejected together by those who could not detect the one from the other; or it has been believed that there was no “true” at all, because the majority of believers fail to understand that there can be mixed workings of the (1) Divine and Satanic, (2) Divine and human, (3) Satanic and human, (4) soul and spirit, (5) soul and body, (6) body and spirit; the three latter in the way of feelings and consciousness, and the three former in the way of source and power.
There must be more than one quantity to make a mixture; at least two. The devil mixes his lies with the truth, for he must use a truth to carry his lies. The believer must therefore discriminate, and judge all things. He must be able to see so much to be impure, and so much that he can accept. Satan is a “mixer.” If in anything he finds ninety-nine percent pure, he tries to insert one percent of his poisonous stream, and this grows, if undetected, until the proportions are reversed. Where there is mixture acknowledged to be in meetings where supernatural manifestations take place, if believers are unable to discriminate, they should keep away from these “mixtures” until they are able to discern.
In accepting the counterfeits of Satan, the believer thinks, and believes, he is complying with Divine conditions in order to ascend to a higher life; whereas he complies with conditions for Satanic workings in his life, and thereby descends into a pit of deception and suffering, with his spirit and motive pure.
Ppg. 98-100
I have never found out, even though I have been researching how the false manifestations were transferred or originated in this Seattle church.The transfer of the “anointing” from HTB ( Holy Trinity Brompton) to Toronto (the Toronto Blessing), then onto Pensacola, is well documented. If you take a look at this chart you will see some interesting and well-known names.
Here is the main link
The Holy Spirit cannot be passed from one person into another. In the Parable of the Ten Virgins, Matthew 25:1-13, each virgin had a lamp which represents the profession of Christianity. It is the oil that gives off the light though. The oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. When the virgins slept because of their long wait for the bridegroom, five of them had not prepared themselves. When the midnight cry came, the virgins awoke and started to trim their lamps, but alas, five had no oil. They asked the five virgins for some of their oil, but they said. “No, go and buy some for yourselves.” This oil is not transferable. One cannot borrow the Holy Spirit from another person. Neither can it be “transferred”, “imparted” or “passed on.”
It was too late for these foolish virgins, for when they returned the door was shut.
“Sir! Sir! Open the door for us.”
“I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.”
War on the Saints – Lying Spirits
I once read a book in which the author consistently said, “The Lord told me”. This was repeated so often I began to doubt that everything this author said was indeed from the Lord.
I have a reason to question his oft quoted assertion. I too can say “The Lord told me”, ” I heard”, “I sensed.” Come to find out, even though I was aware of lying spirits, I still listened to them, thinking that I could always tell the difference. I was wrong.
Not too long ago I read an e-book from a man who was featured on a blog, The Sign of Jonah. His story was fascinating and it was evident that he thought he truly was in the will of God, but certain aspects of his story began to reveal that he was deceived. He told of how he was always hearing from God. God was being rather specific with this man. Apparently this man went through his day, constantly being directed as to what to wear, what to eat, and when to make a left turn. He saw red dragons on all supposedly “evil” sites that needed to be “taken” for the Lord. It became apparent that this man was totally deceived and was not listening to God but had given his ear over to the lying spirits.
In the book “War of the Saints” it talks of counterfeit guidance.
“As Christ was a pattern or example for His followers, guidance or ‘leading’ in its perfect and true form is shown in His life, and believers can only expect the co-working of the Holy Spirit when they walk after the pattern of their Example. Out of line with the Pattern the cease to have the working of the Holy Spirit, and become open to the deceptive counterfeit workings of evil spirits.”
“If the believer ceases to use mind, reason, will and all his other faculties as a person, and depends upon voices, and impulses for guidance in every detail of life, he will be ‘led’ or guided by evil spirits, feigning to be God.”
“This is the time for which the deceiving spirits have been watching…he (man) is now watching for some other supernatural indication of the way to go, or the course to take….This is the moment of opportunity for a deceiving spirit to gain his faith and confidence: and so some word or words are whispered softly, that are exactly in accordance with the inward drawing that he has had….the soft whisper of the deceiving spirit is so delicate and gentle, that the believer listens to, and receives the words without question, and begins to obey this soft whisper, yielding more and more to it, without any thought of exercising mind, judgment, reason, or volition.”
“From this point deceiving spirits can increase their control, for the believer has begun the listening attitude…until he is always watching for an ‘inner voice,’ or a voice in the ear which is an exact counterfeit of the voice of God in the spirit; and thus the believer moves, and acts as a passive slave to ‘supernatural guidance.'”
ppg. 136-137
When I returned to the Lord some years back, I had a true spiritual awakening. Unfortunately, Satan was not going to give up without a fight. Every time I grew in the Lord, Satan provided opposition. I struggled to divide what was from the Lord and what was counterfeit.
God was so good to show me these things and to teach me through the Holy Spirit. All through this struggle I only wanted the truth and I prayed for answers.
Are you teachable? Do you really want the truth? This may seem like a silly question, but truly it is not, for you may say to yourself…of course I want the truth. Human nature is full of pride and what does pride do to man? It limits him. What does it limit? It limits admission.
Admission of being wrong.
Admission of being fallible.
Admission of weakness.
Admission of being deceived.
Why is this so hard? Losing face. What will others think? When we have been wrong the truth hurts. It pierces our pride, and when we are more concerned with what our fellow man thinks rather than what God thinks….we will fail every time.
It is because of this difficult admission of wrong thinking that we allow Satan to lead us into deception…no matter how many Bible verses we learn. We have to really believe and heed them. God’s Word is powerful if we actually use it and apply it to our lives. God’s Word can be poetic and inspiring but if it is left at that, using it only for its beauty we will forfeit its powerful instruction.
It is this power that keeps us teachable, humble, and open to the truth. Truth opposes lies – Satan’s lies. In these times Satan’s lies are growing more powerful because they cover-up and distort God’s written Word. When we as Christians listen to Satan’s lies, we will begin a journey into deception.
“It requires a very deep allegiance to the truth which God desires should reign in the inward parts of His children, for a believer to accept truth which cuts and humbles, as readily as he accepts that which is agreeable. The ‘undeceiving’ is painful to the feelings, and the discovery that he has been deceived is one of the keenest blows to a man who once thought that he was so ‘advanced,’ so ‘spiritual’ and so ‘infallible,’ in his certainty of obeying the Spirit of God.”
Pg. 181
So why is this deception so compelling, ever-growing, and filtering into the church? This has always been Satan’s plan. He is the deceiver of the whole earth. He is deceiving all into thinking that a new spiritual awakening is coming upon the earth. He is right, you know…there is a spiritual awakening but it has nothing to do with Jesus Christ.
“The world is now drawing nearer to the ‘time of the end,’ characterized by the deception depicted in the Apocalypse as being world-wide; when there will be deceptions of NATIONS, and individuals, on such a vast scale that the deceiver will practically have the whole earth under his control. ‘The whole world lieth in the evil one’ (1 John 19) said the Apostle, to whom was given the Revelation, describing the world as already lying deep in darkness through the deception of the evil one, and blindly led by him through vast evil spirit hosts under his control.”
Pg.10
When Satan was bombarding me with opposition and lies, I listened for awhile, but I always questioned, probed and prayed. Was I deceived? Yes, I was…but I was more interested in the truth, no matter what. If I had never acted on my doubts, who knows…I probably would be posting silly lies and prophecies that would sound just like false prophets, Kim Clement or Chuck Pierce.
I was listening to a tape this morning from a Discernment-Ministries conference I attended last year. Carolyn Schorle spoke of her deliverance from drugs prescribed to her when she was diagnosed as mentally-ill. She was taunted with the voices of demons and she battled her way out with scripture. She told us, read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. When you are done start over.
I beg of you….pray for the truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God.
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“Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.”
Daniel 11:35
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