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For the average person, every day it is the same thing. We wake up, go to work, go home, eat dinner have a bit of leisure time and go to bed. This is not bad in itself because we are to work for a living and not be a burden to society. So this is part of life that we must accept and be glad of it. We are to work with our hands, mind our own business, and be a blessing to others.
So what has happened?
I was looking at a photograph of our living room when I was a young girl. The room simply consisted of a sofa, coffee and end tables, Hi-Fi (a speaker cabinet with a record player and radio), TV and one of those pole lamps. That was it. Maybe a picture on the wall. We were not poor, this was just average. How different is the home of today.
I have to wonder why it has become so important to have the best framed piece of art in the neighborhood. The most expensive car. The house with the most columns or turrets. Not only do we have to have the best “things” on the market, we NEED the lastest technology. Actually we are controlled by the constant advancements of new products on the horizon because the older stuff becomes obsolete and unusable. What a ploy and effective technique this is to get our dollars.
I guess it pretty much goes without too much ado that money is what rules our lives. Money and what it acquires has become our God. But “I need these things” you say…..true there are things we do need, and God says that He will provide for His children. He says not to worry about food, shelter, and clothing. You might notice He does not say anything about retirement funds, the lastest cell phone, or a Mercedes Benz.
If we begin to worship things instead of God, we will be dealt with as individuals and as a nation. When money becomes a God to us, we will see judgment from God by the way He destroys our false gods. This is done in order to turn us away from our false gods and to turn us back to the true and living God, Jesus Christ.
In the study of Moses and the plagues that befell Pharaoh and the Egyptians, there is some very interesting information. The plagues happened to discredit the gods that the Egyptians worshiped. Pharaoh himself was associated with the sun god Ra.
The Egyptians worshiped many gods but mainly they represented three areas of their lives, the Nile river, the land and the sky. So lets looks at the judgments and what they represented to the people of Egypt.
1. The Nile turns to blood. – The people worshiped the Nile river as it’s waters provided drinking water, they bathed in it and it watered their livestock and crops. God turned the water to blood and all the fish died and it stank.
2. Frogs covered the Land – The people worshiped the frogs especially the frog god Heket, and they could not kill them. The frogs died and lay in rotting heaps.
3. The dust of the land became lice or gnats. – There was a god of the soil named Geb. But the dust became lice and they plagued the people.
4. Flies broke out and ruined the land. – Many insects were identified with the gods and were worshiped but these flies harmed the land. The flies only afflicted the Egyptians.
5. Their livestock died. – Bulls and cows were woshiped. There was a bull god Apis and Hathor, a cow of fertility. Also there is the Ram god Amun. God destroyed these gods of the people.
AMUN
6. The plague of the boils – The Egyptians were themselves inflicted this time.
7. The hailstorm. – Now the next three judgments are against the gods of the sky. The hailstorm ruined crops and those who feared the Lord took their animals to shelter.
8. The plague of the Locusts. – The locusts came from the sky and ate whatever the hailstorm did not destroy.
9. The darkness. – The god of the sun RA could not overcome this plague and God shows how He is the true God.
God judged and plagued all who would not acknowledge Him.
Who or what comes first in your life? Are you putting your money, investments, retirement funds before the Lord? If you are… you will surely feel the sting and pain of the days to come.
The fiasco we are seeing today in the financial sectors are orchestrated to bring about loss of freedom to the American people. We gladly will give up our freedoms and let the government intervene if only our monies are secure. Our sovereignty is at stake here but the money is more important. Safety of one’s 401 retirement fund is a driving force of what the public will endure. And these stocks are not even real. They are only perceived values which can change at any given moment. Just like the value of your home, the market value fluctuates with the times. This is what people have placed their hope and trust in.
It is easy to see what drives the American people and it is not the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ and walking in faith that He will provide. We can see that God will show us how impotent the false gods of our lives truly are by the judgments and plagues against Pharaoh and his officials. This is what we are seeing right now. Your money could be gone in an instant. Then what will you do? Is God right now showing you where your heart truly lies and what it is that you treasure most? Are you experiencing panic or the extraordinary peace that comes only from God?
Please use this market slowdown as a marker for your life. How are you going to react to not having access to your money or losing it all? Who are you going to turn to? As the governments of the world unite to give us a temporary false sense of security, are you beginning to see the picture of our current and future oppression?
Are you asking yourself about your relationship with Jesus Christ? You should be. This is the time to be right with the Lord. We were not put on earth to own a Blackberry, we were put here to worship and serve Jesus Christ. So, is God exposing your fears because of what you may lose in earthly possessions? Is He sending a hailstorm to demolish your surroundings? Are you in darkness right now and Jesus is showing you that faith in Him is the only light?
If you are putting other gods before Jesus, like money, wealth, possessions, etc., then you are in rebellion and disobedient. Please read Exodus 7:14 – 10:20 to see how rebellion was dealt with in the past. Then go to Revelation and read about the trumpet and bowl judgments to see how current rebellion against God will be dealt with. God never changes, He is the same God we see in Exodus, and He will judge those who worship the false gods of today and tomorrow.
Imagine all your possessions gone and see what you have left. If you are walking with the Lord, He is all you will need.
I will share a quick story. My business began to decline rapidly about 18 months ago. I began to have trouble sleeping at night. A weight was felt in my soul. I wanted to sleep alot. But instead of allowing myself to fall into self-pity, I pressed on at work, read my Bible, studied to teach Bible classes, and prayed like never before. I prayed for others who may be going through similar circumstances.
A corner was turned. I began to understand that the Lord was testing me and wanting me to completely surrender my situation and lay it at His feet. Driving home last night from BSF the Lord revealed to me that I had grown immensely in faith while under the stressful circumstances He has allowed in my life. Tears welled in my eyes when I realized how much the Lord loves me enough to train me and use me for His glory.
Is God testing you right now? Is He exposing the false gods in your life to see your reaction? If so are you turning away from them? Is He asking you to turn to only Him in times of trouble? Are you praising and giving thanks to our Lord even though there is a mountain of trouble at your feet that looks impossible? God is the only one who truly has the answers. Will you seek Him today?
*****
Our dollar bill has the eye of Horus as the capstone of the pyramid. When the capstone lands and the pyramid is complete, we should see the completion of the New World Order.
Annuit Coeptis – Announcing the birth of (1776 A.D.)
Novus Ordo Seclorem – New World Order
So our dollar bill announced the birth of the New World Order in the United States in 1776.
The seal is also full of masonic symbols and it says on either side of the eagles head,
E Pluribus Unum – One out of many
Times are getting tougher. The economy is in terrible shape and things may only get worse. These are most certainly unsure times.
So, I have to ask, how strong is your faith right now?
How many novels have you read the last twelve months? Newspapers? On-line articles? Instructions on assembling an exercise bike? How many recipes have you looked at and considered? What about decorating magazines? Sports Illustrated? Fishing and Hunting News?
How much time have you spent watching TV? Listening to music? Playing cards? Going to restaurants and dining out? Visiting with your neighbors? E-mailing friends and family? Shopping on-line?
We can spend a lot of leisure time for many enjoyable activities. So…how much time do you spend each day reading your Bible and praying?
Again I have to ask, how strong is your faith right now? I can say that your faith is probably proportionate to the amount of time you spend in God’s word and praying. I am not talking about church going, although this is a positive. I am referring to the time you spend alone with God. Spending time alone with God and His Word is how your learn about Him and how you apply the truths to your life.
If you are not reading your Bible how can you know what God’s promises are? How can God speak to you through the Reader’s Digest?
Here are some of God’s Promises
Here is a promise to Moses when he worried about going to Pharaoh on behalf of the Israelites.
Exodus 3:12a “And God said, “I will be with you..”
When I was afraid to speak on a radio program the Lord showed me this verse.
Jeremiah 1:7 “But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Matthew records Jesus as saying much that directly relates to worry.
Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear….”
Matthew 6 :26 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…”
Matthew 6:27 “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
Matthew 6:30 “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
Matthew 6:31 “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?'”
Matthew 6:32 “For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…..”
Jesus is telling over and over not to worry because He knows what our needs are. If we talk to God in prayer He hears us, so we are to trust Him to provide. Worrying about our basic needs is a lack of faith in God. So this is sin. But indeed we must first seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness of Christ. Worry is not righteousness but unbelief.
Paul is pretty clear in Philippians 4:6-7 about worry and freedom from anxiety.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present you requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
One of the most amazing woman I have ever met is Jean who was formerly a leader in our Bible study. She told our group this story.
“As our house was burning to the ground I was filled with this incredible sense of peace. There we were standing outside helplessly watching the flames take everything we owned. But the Lord was with me. Later friends and family came to us supplying us with every little need. I remember looking for a kitchen utensil and someone came to my door with the very thing was I needing. The Lord supplied all that had been lost. But I knew this would be so ..that very day that all was consumed by the fire.”
As she told the story you could see the peace and tranquility on her face and I could imagine that is what she looked like on the very day her house burned to the ground.
What is your attitude? Are you anxious? Knowing God’s character helps calm our fears and knowing His ways give us confidence for the future. Are you trusting the Lord with your future? Are you trusting God to provide for you? How can you change your thinking so that He comes first? Put Him first and then trust for His provision.
What is God trying to burn away in your life right now? What gives Him glory in your life? Our greatest purpose in life is to give God glory. How can you do this if you don’t know Him? That is why a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ is our greatest strength.
We must have faith to please God. So how strong is your faith this very moment? Are you rejoicing in your suffering as Paul did? Are you opening your Bible and leaning on the Lord and His Word? If not….will you?
Who’s Laughing Now?
by Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
www.christianresearchservice.com
September 9, 2008
But they mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and
served their idols, which became a snare to them (Psalm 106:35-36).
Years ago, many parents laughed when their children were introduced to Yoga, Transcendental Meditation, relaxation, and visualization techniques in the secular schools and YMCA. Many school teachers and principles shrugged their shoulders and thought the techniques would help develop calmer, better behaved students.
On the job-site, professing Christians participated in company-sponsored “Stress Reduction” seminars. They laughed under their breath and refused to speak out against it–for fear of losing their jobs. Now, many companies across the nation offer Yoga, Tai Chi, Reiki, and other New Age practices as regular motivational courses for employees.
Despite the complaints and concerns, many bookstore managers and officials within the “Christian bookstore” industry laughed and continued to advertise and promote books written by New Age authors. The “bottom line” (money) was more important than the spiritual welfare of the innocent and unwary.
With the husband off to work, a professing Christian woman turned to a video tape and spent and hour-per-day practicing Yoga. She laughed when her three year old child watched and imitated her moves.
Across the nation, and in many parts of the world, certified Yoga instructors cashed in on the booming Christian exercise craze and introduced churches and denominations to “Christian Yoga.” The postures were the same as Yoga, they said, but it had nothing to do with Hinduism. They laughed all the way to the bank.
During a church-sponsored “Christian Yoga” class, an instructor began bowing to the “god” within her students, and offered the Hindu Sanskrit salutation, Namaste. The students laughed, rolled their eyes, and bowed to the instructor.
Along with Hatha Yoga, a church offered a Labyrinth walk, a Buddhist Teachings and Meditation group, and Yoga for children. During the children’s Yoga class, the adults smiled and laughed when their toddlers tried to perform the Yoga postures.
Average church members laughed when New Age techniques and practices were introduced during church-sponsored retreats, outings, and seminars. They sang the praises of books written by New Age authors, and passed the books around like tea and crumpets at a social event. Those who refused to laugh were encouraged to leave and find another church.
Christian colleges and universities weren’t immune to the New Age Movement. Many presidents and faculty members openly welcomed Kundalini Yoga and other New Age practices as an on-and-off campus course. Students laughed as they performed the Cobra pose, the Scorpion pose, and the Corpse pose in their classes, gyms and dorms.
Many pastors across the land laughed, compromised, and turned a deaf-ear to the “Stress Management” and “Christian Yoga” courses being taught in their own churches. It is just a harmless form of exercise, they said. However, some pastors stopped laughing when they noticed a change-for-the-worse in the attitude and spirituality of some of their members.
In his spare time, one pastor practiced Yoga. Along with regular Yoga classes, the pastor’s church offered a gentle form of Tai Chi. The pastor’s congregation expressed an ever-present joy over his open-mindedness.
Across the world, professing Christians laughed when they were warned about the spiritual, mental, and physical dangers of practicing Yoga and its demon inspired postures. In their stubborn pride they continued to purchase New Age materials and promote New Age practices to untold numbers of men, women, and children.
Years ago, many laughed and brushed-off the New Age Movement as a mere fad that would eventually fade away. But behind the scenes, it slithered into every strata of our society–homes, elementary and high schools, bookstores, jobs, colleges, universities, churches, and pulpits.
But 2,000 years ago, the Apostle Paul refused to laugh when confronted with the New Age Movement of his day. Under divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul provided the following remedy:
Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing
(Acts 19:18-20).
God expressly forbids the practice of New Age techniques and the promotion of New Age materials.
Who’s laughing now?
Related reading:
—This article first appeared as a post on the DiscernIt blog, and has been revised.
Volume 19 Number 4 July/August 2008
What Language Do You Speak?
Jewel Grewe
Our spoken and written language is the most important aspect of our culture and identity as a people. In 1997 The Summer Institute of Linguistics noted that the Bible had been translated into 2,197 languages. The Ethnologue Institute has a detailed list of 6,809 distinct languages. In the U.S. we recognize what part of the country someone comes from by their accent. As an American traveling overseas, my ears always perk up when an American accent floats across a crowded airport (Americans seem to speak quite loudly, especially overseas). We identify one another by our language. Our knowledge of the spoken and the written word enables us to hear and understand each other.
Likewise, true knowledge is gained through understanding. Understanding comes through applying oneself to the Truth. Proverbs 24:5 states that: A man of knowledge increaseth strength.
The Word of God is the very fountain of all knowledge. The study thereof should be of utmost importance in the believer’s life. It will identify us as believers. Our knowledge of the Word will enable us to hear and understand His will for our lives.
The Language of the Redeemed
In I Peter 2:9 we are told that we are a peculiar people: But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
This means that we have been set apart from the world. We are part of a different world than that which is around us. We speak a different language; it is the language of the Redeemed. True holiness before God is the daily goal of the true follower of Christ. I Peter 1:13&14 says: Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.
The language of the redeemed binds us together even closer than the language of our native country.
It is because of this understanding that our hearts break over so many dear Christians who are not steeped in God’s Word today. They are not satisfied with the simplicity and beauty of walking by faith daily in the joy and blessings that He gives. This is the reason why Discernment Ministries has plodded along these many years weeping in the dreary dust of the crowds flittering here and there like the Athenians who spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.
Oh, but they say, God is doing a new thing in the earth. That does not mean to jump ship without a life jacket. When you hear those words, follow the admonition of Scripture – rather prefer to err on side of caution. Listen to the language spoken. Oh, yes, websites of many errant teachers can copy a statement of belief that looks genuine. But is this what they really believe? They can make many claims that will suck in the gullible. But what are they really teaching?
After studying these things for so many years, it is hard to know who is deceived the most. Is it the Leaders who have moved so far away from the knowledge of the Holy and instead, promote the profane and call it holy; or, is it the Followers who blindly run to and fro?
As a young girl, I grew up in Minnesota. The Voice of Healing had just started. Evangelists visited Minneapolis on a regular basis and my father, an Assembly of God pastor, supported every campaign that came through. My eldest sister was born with spinal bifida and was paralyzed from the waist down. Naturally, the greatest desire for our family was that she be healed. We attended meetings by: William Branham, Oral Roberts, AA Allen, the Cerullo brothers, Raymond Richey, Velmer Gardner, Kathryn Kuhlman, and I could go on and on. My sister was usually relegated to a back corner somewhere as she was considered a “difficult case.” I wondered about that. William Branham told my father that “it wasn’t God’s will to heal her.” I wondered about that. In some meetings I would observe “set-ups” where people would walk in a side door, sit in a wheelchair and when the healing lines would form, they would be wheeled up and be proclaimed “healed” and walk off the stage. I wondered about that.
At 12 years of age we moved to Zion, Illinois where there was a lot of fascinating history. My father had known John G. Lake personally when he had lived in Zion in his younger days. My piano teacher would relegate us with stories of John Alexander Dowie. During this time the Charismatic movement started, and my father and I visited many Full Gospel Business Men’s Conventions as he was active in the local chapter. A whole new set of individuals became known to my father as he would drive speakers to their next engagement, and I would sit in the back seat drinking in every word. Derek Prince, Don Bashan, Nicholas Bhengu and many others passed our way.
Latter Rain
Stanley Frodsham, a dear man of God and the Editor of the Pentecostal Evangel for many years, became part of the Latter Rain Movement that started in 1948. He and many others left the fold of the Assemblies of God and joined with those who were part of the “new thing” that came out of that particular time. Stanley Frodsham and his wife moved to Zion and attended our church. Mrs. Frodsham became my Sunday School teacher. Rev. Frodsham was the biographer for Smith Wigglesworth. He and his wife had traveled extensively with him and I was fascinated with the many stories they told. When I went to Central Bible College, the Frodshams had moved there and they introduced me to the Latter Rain group called The House of Prayer. At CBC attending Brother Kessel’s class I learned one side of the story of the split in the Assemblies of God http://www.discernment-ministries.org/NL_January1997.pdf. After attending this particular group for awhile, I learned the Latter Rain side of the story. I now realize all of this was part of God’s teaching process in my own life, even attempting such a ministry as Discernment Ministries. (Many years later I questioned Stanley Frodsham’s daughter about his involvement in the Latter Rain. Her answer was: “My father was a glutton for the supernatural”).
Yes, there are wonderful sincere people who are genuine in their love of the Lord but are always looking for “supernatural experiences and revelations,” but in doing so cause division and harm to the body of Christ. Yet, God in His infinite mercy has a way a working in the lives of His children who are humble and remain low at the Master’s feet, which I know was true of the Frodshams.
After several years of processing and growing in my Christian walk, I left for South Africa as young eager missionary to work with a 75-year-old lady with a genuine “apostolic ministry gift.” I say that because Ruth established many churches along with other wonderful missionaries, and the work of God in the Northern Province in South Africa is a testimony to their lives and sacrifices. Those people truly laid down their lives for the Gospel. They gave their all! Many times Ruth would go out and spend her last mite to fill up the little pick-up truck with vegetables that she could pass out to the hungry. They gave unstintingly of their time and resources for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It distressed me greatly when new innovative thinkers came on the scene and denigrated the work of these pioneers with a “new way of doing missions.” They then would maneuver to get rid of those who had gone before.
Marriage in 1971 and arrival of a family took our lives into a different set of circumstances and new ventures in our ministry – even to then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Ultimately we came to the U.S. where many things already had changed in the church. While pastoring in the States, we quickly became aware that Christian television was changing the whole direction of the church. A language was being spoken that somehow sounded foreign to our ears. Thankfully we realized that what at stake was the preaching of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Language of the Apostasy
It is grieving to me to write this as there are so many sincere people involved. It is so hard for me to understand why so many get caught up in these things. My heart cries with Paul who said, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (I Cor. 2:1-2).
Please don’t dismiss me as a heresy hunter and shut up your mind to anything but your preconceived notions. This is about Truth. Whether you are Todd Bentley, C. Peter Wagner, Bob Jones, Paul Cain or a pastor of a church, you can be deceived. None of us escape Satan’s devices. As simply as I possibly can, I will attempt to lay out some of the unscriptural language of the apostasy.
Let us examine the foundation for what we are now witnessing – from a 1993 Discernment newsletter,
www.discernment-ministries.org/NL_JanFeb1993.pdf
In the newsletter there is a review of a book by William DeArteaga entitled Quenching the Spirit. DeArteaga makes the assertion that “God brings new truth to the church by first revealing it to cults and occult groups.” He already had written a book in 1983 entitled Past Life Visions in which he lauds Agnes Sandford’s incredibly heretical The Healing Light and defends her belief in a pre-earth human existence (pp 145-6); seems to embrace evolution of man from a lower species (p. 126); declares the “ghosts” are “earthbound souls” (p 187) who may legitimately communicate with the living (p 182) and that the dead should be ministered to by the church (p 183). He argues that reincarnation is Biblical and was “validated by Jesus” (pp 197-209) and that such a gospel is helpful for India because it allows “the Hindu to maintain… the concept of Karma-reincarnation” (p 215); and he recommends regression into past lives as a standard method of spiritual healing for the church to adopt (pp. 151-163). [The Berean Call, Nov. ’92.]
The language of the occult
At the time this Discernment newsletter was written (1993), DeArteaga’s book was legitimized by the TBN, obviously to back up many of the teachings being promoted. There are ministries active today who have no problem introducing occult practices and call it “truth,” and claim we can use these experiences for a deeper “relationship” with God.
Satan’s language
I heard about one ministry that boasted, when invited to a Luciferian Initiation, that really Lucifer just means “angel of light” and after all, we all want “light”! Do you wonder why there is no mention of sin any longer? Has it grieved you that the cross is a subject avoided like poison?
Patricia King (Extreme Prophetic) influenced Todd Bentley after his conversion. I personally do not think he had any opportunity to sit under sound doctrine and learn the first principles. He was “channeled” into the supernatural realm to hook up with what taught him as getting “connected.””.
Her itinerant pastor, who doubles as a travelling DJ, calls the show “Club Mysterio” on an online video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2i5k6WuwX4 Please compare this to the New Age version at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxDebb9dLKY&NR=1
This newsletter could actually be a large book to do justice to this vast subject. However, if it just makes one person stop, think and repent, it is worth the effort. It is about souls for whom Jesus died that our hearts grieve. The days for “playing church” are over, folk.
Revival Language
“Well, revivals can be messy you know”. This is the way the weirdness is excused. After all, we want to “move higher” into God. We hear sincere folk saying things like: We have to move into a ‘higher place’ – a place of intimacy with God. Jesus did the things the Father told Him to do. WE MUST MOVE INTO THAT PLACE. A place of the knowledge of the Lord that the Lord yearns us to come into. Teachings on “intimacy with God” have sold many books. But just stop here a moment. Isn’t that what any “religion” requires? Always striving after something? Bringing offerings to the many gods in Hinduism, faithfully bowing low in the mosques, dancing into a frenzy to obtain “oneness”?
Let us take a breath and rest in the Scriptures a moment. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: Which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (I Peter 2:9&10)
The language of the Scripture tells us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is the power of God unto salvation. This is what this is all about. The perversion of language is the ploy of the enemy to subvert the body of Christ to follow another gospel.
Matthew 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
II Thess. 2:9 Him, whose coming after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders.
Language of Angels
Dear ones, nowhere in Scripture do we find angels appearing out of nowhere to just keep in communication with us. The culture right now is crazy about angels and Hollywood is churning out movies to satisfy that desire. To read and listen to the stories about Todd Bentley’s angels really denigrates the truth of Scripture. On his website in 2002 he talks about a particular rock on Rick Joyner’s property at Moravian Falls. This rock supposedly has some power, and as they approach it there are three young angels “horsing around, wrestling, getting each other in head-locks and giving noogies.” He learned from others that these were the worship angels who oversee the worship center.
Sorry, but this isn’t biblical. The worship angels are before the throne of God… and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. They give glory to God night and day without rest. We serve a Holy God. His holiness NEVER CHANGES. Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And some cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kSlt0_8HwMk
Yet Todd Bentley says, “they [the angels] have nothing in heaven to do but waiting to serve God’s purpose in you!”
Language of the Lie
Bob Jones, who obviously has had a huge influence in Todd Bentley’s life, even introducing him to his angel in 1988, said, “the children will possess the Spirit without measure – for these are the best of all generations that have ever been upon the face of the earth. And the best of all generations are those ELECTED SEEDS that will glorify Christ in the last days… they will move into things of the supernatural that no one has ever moved in before. Every miracle, sign and wonder they’ll move in the power that Christ did…. They themselves will be that generation that’s raised up to put death itself underneath their feet and to glorify Christ in every way and the church that is raising up in the government will be the head and the covering for them… the chosen generation of history that will go beyond all the others in power.” He goes on to say, “This generation of the young people that are coming are going to see the beginning of this World-wide New Order… it is going to change the expression of Christianity in the earth in a generation.”
From a Discernment newsletter in 1990, www.discernment-ministries.org/NL_Sept1990.pdf you will read that Gnosticism has again entrenched itself in the thinking of Christendom. Mystical knowledge is replacing the truth of the Word of God. And they are talking of taking over the WORLD?
Language of Heresy
The greatest sorrow of all is that the deity of Jesus Christ is undermined by this teaching. The divine purpose of the Holy Scriptures is the revelation of Jesus Christ – the Lamb of God. Gnosticism gives way to “higher knowledge”. It brings about disinterest in the Bible and Bible teaching. The “anointed seed” is now said to be connecting with the supernatural realm, and this heresy draws the masses with its instant gratification.
The door is being opened, Eat this fruit and ye will be as god. Accept this lie and you will find yourself at the altar of mysticism where all of the religions of the world worship based on subjectivity, humanism and brotherhood.
What Language do you Speak?
It is time to examine ourselves – whether we are in the faith or not. Have we been led astray by “strange fire”? Has the siren’s sweet song lulled your senses and caused shipwreck to your walk with God? Repent and return to your first love that you may be found worthy to stand in His Presence.
The following are two recent podcasts that I did on the subject of The “revival” and The New Apostolic Reformation. http://sliceoflaodicea.com/slicecast/
“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, …For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God…. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (I Cor. 1:10a, 2-3)
****This article was posted with the permission of Jewel Grewe****
http://www.discernment-ministries.org/NLJulyAugust_2008.htm
- Jewel Grewe (left) and myself at the conference in Spring Hill, Florida.
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Friday » August 15 » 2008
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Faith healer abandons pulpit
Evangelist leaves Florida faithful, marital friction suspected
Thursday, August 14, 2008
An Abbotsford faith healer has mysteriously left the Florida pulpit where he attracted hundreds of thousands of miracle-seeking followers. Todd Bentley arrived at the Ignited Church in Lakeland, Fla., for a five-day preaching stint in early April. Five days became four months as he began drawing hundreds of people, some from as far away as Europe, to the church each night. In an interview from Florida in April, Bentley told The Province he planned to stay in the U.S. until the crowds left. They haven’t, but Bentley has. A notice posted on the website of Bentley’s Abbotsford-based ministry says he and his wife, Shonnah, are “experiencing significant friction in their relationship and are currently separated.” Staff at Fresh Fire Ministries did not return calls yesterday. But Patsy Barnes with the Ignited Church said the healing ministry is continuing — without Bentley. “I do not know where Todd is,” she said. A preaching itinerary posted on the Fresh Fire website advertises a “One Night Only Revival Impartation with Todd Bentley” in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday and an Abbotsford conference on Sept. 17. It is unclear whether Bentley will attend either. Christian bloggers across Canada and the U.S. are questioning Bentley’s authenticity. Some speculate his abrupt departure from the Florida revival is due to marital problems, while others point to a segment on ABC News’ investigative program, Nightline. The program, which aired in July, showed footage from the Florida revival. In one heart-breaking scene, a 15-year-old boy with spina bifida walks without leg braces in front of Bentley and the crowd. He is later shown stumbling and falling outside the church. The Nightline reporter asked Fresh Fire for three people who can show medical proof they have been healed through Bentley. None could be provided. When The Province earlier asked to speak to someone who had been healed through Bentley in either B.C. or Florida, Fresh Fire was unable to find someone, citing difficulties with outdated contact information and record-keeping problems. gluymes@theprovince.com © The Vancouver Province 2008
Thank you Bud for sending the updated information
kim
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Are we suffering for Jesus Christ?
So many people ask “Why do Christian’s suffer?”
I am afraid I have to ask instead, “Why are Christians NOT suffering for the Lord Jesus Christ these days?”
It seems as though we are seeing times of great reversal of thought. For instance, false teachings in the church of today are saying that if we give 100 fold we will receive back, 300 fold, 600 fold, 1000 fold, etc. While it is true that the Christian will receive blessings, and it is not wrong to want the rewards, it is not to be our focus. The Bible tells us we will suffer for Christ, but this makes us uncomfortable so we delight instead of being told of the riches we receive when we give to ministries.
With the attitude of “What’s in it for me?” the gospel perishes. This is the ugly result of Word of Faith and prosperity teachings.
While studying Genesis, I found the story of Joseph truly astounding. There is so much information about how we are live our own lives by Joseph’s example that it simply cannot be contained in this short article.
Joseph was hated by his brothers. He was chosen by God. They plotted against him and threw him into a pit to die, while they ate a meal. When a caravan approached, the brothers decided to sell him to the Ishmaelites so as not to spill his blood. They took revenge on their father Jacob and deceived him by staining the coat with blood of a goat. This is of course the famed coat which belonged to Jacob’s favorite son.
Joseph must have felt led by God after receiving his two dreams. What excitement he must have experienced, anticipating his service to God, only to be sold into slavery in which he suffered for 13 years. He was a servant in Potiphar’s house, only to be accused wrongly by his master’s wife. He then was imprisoned and thrown on the floor in chains. It was not until the Pharaoh summoned Joseph because he could interpret dreams, that he was removed from prison. Later he was elevated to the highest court in Egypt. He was 30 years old at this time.
So what did Joseph do to deserve the extreme suffering that was inflicted upon him? Nothing! There is no evidence that Joseph deserved such treatment from family and foes. He walked with the Lord and was obedient to God’s will.
Search the scriptures in Genesis 39-40 for the complaints put forth by Joseph for his unjust treatment and you will find nothing. Look at his amazing qualities and actions while he suffered and you will discover a model of what constitutes a great leader of God.
Search for the ways that Joseph was trained through his suffering. He always waited on God and learned faith through his difficulties. What trust and fellowship he had. There is no way Joseph would have understood why he was being put through these hardships. Yet there was no hatred, bitterness, doubt, or worry. Joseph’s faith puts my faith to shame. No matter what situation he was in, he endured, he was faithful, and he was determined to be the best slave he could be. The Lord trained Joseph for service in this manner.
How can you look at Joseph and apply his great faith and trust in the Lord to your everyday situations? Are you grousing and complaining about your circumstances? Is the Lord testing you? Are you being prepared for a future work? Is the Lord refining you? If you have never trusted the Lord in your difficulties how can you aid your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Times of trouble can strengthen us if we call upon the name of Lord. The problem with false teachings today is that we call upon the Glory of the Lord upon us and just “soak” in ecstasy. This is a deception of the enemy. The self-elevating process seems ridiculous when looking back at Joseph and examining his faith and actions in his life while he was suffering. What we can learn from the example set forth by Joseph, is how the Lord trained him to serve others. Joseph was eventually exalted. Was he proud? Did he pump his fists in victory? Did he hold his position over his brothers? No.
There was no self-exultation in this godly leader. No self-promotion. He did not touch God’s glory. There are few leaders who can shun the pride of success and fame. This pride is so evident today.
So why do Christians suffer? As a Christian other people are watching you. What is your reaction going to be if you experience a economic downfall? A death in the family? Declining health? Will you be complaining and grumbling, or will you instead be praying for strength in the Lord to bear up under difficulty? What example are you setting for those in your family or unbelievers who are watching you?
Suffering can be a blessing. It gives the opportunity to witness of the grace of God and the hope that He gives in adversity. Are you prepared to witness to the goodness of God when your situation seems impossible? Will others see the love and joy in your heart even though your circumstances may appear glum and dreary? God has a plan that He will work out for His purposes, and we may never know in our lifetime what that purpose may be.
Paul is a prime example of many hardships. Beatings, shipwrecks, persecution, distresses, sleepless nights, imprisonment, loneliness, poverty, riots, and pain. He suffered much while preaching the cross of Jesus Christ. Yet he was not discouraged. He kept running the race. In the midst of such sorrows there was also much rejoicing.
This rejoicing and glory was balanced by Paul’s thorn in the flesh. He asked three times to have this thorn removed. But God did not remove it. He was told, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9a)
So Paul delighted in his weaknesses. (2 Corinthians 12:9b-10) “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”So how can we apply this to our own lives? We certainly have our share of sickness, trials and tribulations. The comfort God gives us will balance our afflictions and His grace will be sufficient. Of course, this is not what we are hearing from the pulpit. God’s grace is not enough so we are being sold the deception that healing and prosperity has been withheld from us because we lack faith. This destroys our walk with the Lord. How this cheers up Satan when we no longer rely on the sufficiency of God, and his abundance of grace. (2 Corinthians 8:9)
This lack of trust in the Word of God, stops the flow of comfort that we would give to others. (2 Corinthians 1:4) So we should rely on the eternal glory that outweighs all suffering.
“Therefore do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18.)
Paul is saying that the eternal glory will far exceed the sufferings of this present life, since we have the resurrection to look forward to. Not all suffering will bring glory though. Faith is required. That is why we are not to fix our eyes on the unseen. When faith is not enough we allow ourselves to stray into realms of the paranormal to satisfy our lack.
Both Joseph and Paul experienced God’s comfort in their trials. But God gives a supernatural comfort, joy and peace. Is this your experience, that every trial is abounding with consolation? Are you anticipating the glory that is promised to all believers at the return of Jesus Christ? Are you willing to suffer pain for His name? Are you willing to endure persecution for the declaration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
1 Peter 4:19
So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
A Biblically based commentary on current issues that impact you
Unbiblical Teachings on Prayer and Experiencing God
How Mysticism Misleads Christians
by Bob DeWaay
To a Christian, praying to God is privilege, a blessing, and a Biblically defined responsibility. We are called to pray. But a genre of literature exists that I call “prayer secrets.” Practitioners claim to have discovered new avenues of prayer that can create power, excitement, success, and even new revelations from God. These “prayer secrets” add unbiblical practices and claims to prayer in the hope of spicing up the topic to make it more interesting. And this is not a new development; mystical practices have been brought into the church under the guise of prayer since medieval times.
However, since these teachings change in form and packaging, I will review three books about prayer and “experiencing God” subjectively. What they have in common is a form of pietism that promises better things than to go before the throne of grace to find help in time of need, as well as other basic Biblical teachings on prayer.
Experiencing God by Henry T. Blackaby
Blackaby’s book, co-authored by Claude King, promises readers that they can come to know God by experience and come to know God’s will beyond what is revealed in Scripture, thereby living out a life full of adventure.1 Blackaby promises his readers that they will, among other things, learn to hear God speaking to them and learn to identify God’s activities.2 He promises to alleviate their problem of being frustrated with their Christian experience.
Experiencing God does start out with some basic facts about the gospel and has a place for people to check to indicate that they have made a “decision for Jesus.” I am glad he told his readers about such things as sin and repentance but am disappointed in the “make a decision for Jesus” approach. We have addressed that elsewhere.3 But having checked the appropriate box, the reader is quickly ushered into the realm of subjectivity that permeates Blackaby’s approach from beginning to end. For example, we are urged to evaluate our “present experience with God.”4 However, I have known people who are totally deceived and in bondage to false doctrine who are very excited about their experience with God, so such evaluation doesn’t do much good. For example, I once met a pastor who just returned from the Toronto laughing revival and was so very excited because he had seen “God” cause people to bark like dogs and quack like ducks. That is just one example why what one thinks about his own “experience with God” is immaterial. What we need to know are the terms God has laid down for knowing Him and walking faithfully with Him.
In Blackaby’s theology, the importance of God’s self-revelation through the Scriptures is de-emphasized while personal experience is given priority. He writes, “We come to know God as we experience Him. God reveals Himself through our experience of Him at work in our lives.”5 I am not disputing that God is at work in our lives if we have truly been converted. But, like other subjectivists, Blackaby de-emphasizes specific revelation (Scripture) and puts unwarranted emphasis on general revelation (what can be observed in the created order). Our personal, spiritual experiences are unreliable. People observing general revelation and interpreting their own spiritual experiences in light of it have created the host of the world’s false religions.
For example, Blackaby writes, “Find out what the Master is doing—then that is what you need to be doing.”6 Here he suggests that by observing what is around us and studying human history we can determine God’s will. He further suggests that God reveals His will by some process in history—that He hasn’t revealed it once for all. But this subjective approach cannot reveal God’s moral law which is His revealed will. Someone’s estimate of “what God is doing” is likely to be based on their own prejudices and inclinations. Let’s look at another example. Consider a person who believes the social gospel. If they see a situation where social services are being provided, they will conclude that they are witnessing “what God is doing.” In the previous example of the laughing revival, that pastor was a charismatic. His thinking led him to believe that anything that appears to have a supernatural cause done in the context of a Christian meeting must be “what God is doing.” So he saw people behaving oddly in such a context and joined it so as to participate in God’s activities. Subjective evaluations can lead to falsely attributing things to God that in fact are not from God.
God’s providence unfolding in history is what we actually observe. But providence contains good and evil. We cannot know what God’s revealed will is by observing providence. We can only know His will through inerrant, infallible, special revelation—Scripture. Even our dreams and inner impressions are part of providence and they too are a mixture of good and evil (and indifferent). They do not reveal what God is doing or His will for our lives.
Blackaby fails to distinguish these categories, and thus uses stories of God revealing things to prophets and apostles in the Bible to suggest that these experiences should be normative for us. For example he includes a section about Moses, not to prove that Moses was an authoritative spokesperson for God, but to prove that God expects all of us to gain revelation like Moses did. This is false, and we have shown it to be false in a recent article. In the Moses section of his book Blackaby writes, “His desire is to get us from where we are to where He is working. When God reveals to you where He is working, that becomes His invitation to join Him.”8
Such a search for “where God is working” makes no sense. God is working always everywhere as He holds all things together by “the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Blackaby’s concept “where God is working” is vague. Is he talking about geography? God’s revealed will is to preach the gospel to all people everywhere. God works through the gospel to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment and to convert those who will be saved. There is no place off-limits, and this great work of God is not limited by geography. Blackaby’s kind of thinking causes people get on airplanes scurrying to the latest hot “revival.” But how do they know God wants them in Pensacola, for example, chasing a spiritual experience rather than preaching the gospel where they live? The simple answer: they don’t.
Blackaby’s book is filled with claims that we all need personal revelations from God, that these are binding upon us, and that if we do not gain these “words from God” we are going to fail God and live frustrated and empty lives. He claims that we are to obey these words seemingly without question: “When you do what He tells you, no matter how insensible it may seem, God accomplishes what He purposed through you. Not only do you experience God’s power and presence, but so do those who observe what you are doing.”9 This is simply wrong and is a version of works righteousness.
All that I can possibly know as God’s binding, authoritative will is what God TOLD me (Scripture) not what God “tells” me (subjective ideas that may or may not be from God). It is abusive to bind people to non-authoritative, fallible words (even insensible ones) and tell them that obeying such words is the key to God’s presence in their lives. This, in my opinion, is an attack against the gospel. We have the promise of God’s presence because of what He did for us through the cross, not because we have become mystics following ideas that enter our minds which we decided might be from Him. But Blackaby reiterates, “Obey whatever God tells you to do.”10 So, on that point I think I’ll choose to follow his advice based on what I know God has told me in the Scriptures. I know God told me not to listen to people who teach false doctrine; I am going to obey that and not listen to Blackaby.
Beyond promoting these personal revelations as laws to be obeyed (as if they were God’s revealed moral law), he further claims they are also infallible: “When we come to God to know what He is about to do where we are, we also come with the assurance that what God indicates He is about to do is certain to come to pass.”11 This is another problem, because the only things certain to come to pass are those God has predicted in Scripture. Personal revelations that we think might be from God are not certainly from God [we can’t be sure they are] and they will not “certainly come to pass.” Blackaby calls this type of word “revelation”: “When He opens your spiritual eyes to see where He as at work, that revelation is your invitation to join Him.”12 Subjective impressions are now to be considered revelation? This approach could lead to every imaginable error.
Blackaby makes personal revelations not only binding (they must be obeyed) and infallible (certain), but he also declares that they are necessary for everyone’s spiritual well-being: “If the Christian does not know when God is speaking, he is in trouble at the heart of his Christian life!” Furthermore, he says, “If you have been given a word from God, you must continue in that direction until it comes to pass (even twenty f13ive years like Abraham).” That means that if someone should get one of these “words from God” and if it actually was not from God, he would be obligated to follow whatever foolhardy, insensible path the “word” led him down. Such teaching, in my opinion, is foolish and abusive to the flock.
God physically appeared to Abraham many times as “the angel of the Lord.” Abraham received special revelations. We don’t. We do not have the same certainty that our subjective impressions are “the word of the Lord.” Amazingly, Blackaby sees the problem with his approach but still presses on with it: “If you have not been given a word from God yet you say you have, you stand in judgment as a false prophet . . . [cites Deut. 18:21-22].”14 EXACTLY! That is the very claim I made in the last issue of CIC.15 If these personal words from God are taken as binding, and we speak them to ourselves and they are not totally accurate, we have become false prophets to our own selves. Blackaby evidently agrees, yet he pushes on.
The flaws of Blackaby’s subjectivism are rather obvious when you examine his claims objectively. God’s revealed will is not found by subjective experiences, but in Scripture. Looking around in the world hoping to discover “where God is working” is impossible since God is always working everywhere as He providentially brings history along toward His ultimate purposes. We will be fooled by our own prejudices because we think “God working” must look something like whatever our religious inclinations tell us it will look like. Furthermore, he has elevated fallible words that may or may not be from God to the level of infallible Scripture and elevated every believer to the status of Moses and Abraham as recipients of special revelation. Following his approach is not how we “experience God.” We cannot not know if we are experiencing God in any way other than to come to Him on His own terms, by faith. When we do, we are assured that God is with us no matter what experiences we have.
Body Prayer by Doug Pagitt
Doug Pagitt,Emergent Church leader, wrote a book (coauthored by Kathryn Prill) that claims that using various body postures can bring people closer to God and deepen one’s life of prayer.16 Here is an example of some of the claims of this book:
Engaging the body in acts of being present with God, including certain ceremonial practices, opens us up to God in new ways. People of faith in ancient times understood that such physical acts and practices as rest and worship, dietary restrictions, and mandated fabric in their wardrobes were of great value to their faith and life.17
The problem is that the Bible says that these types of practices are of NO value:
If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)– in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. (Colossians 2:20-23)
Furthermore, creating dietary restrictions for religious reasons is called a “doctrine of demons” (1Timothy 4:1-5).
Pagitt claims that we can connect with God through body prayers. He calls his approach a “deeper” form of prayer: “This book is meant to be a companion and a guide into deeper forms of prayer; this book is not a specific prescription of how prayer must be done.” I appreciate that he does not claim that these postures are mandatory. But that introduces an important question—if his postures are not mandated by Scripture (and they are not) how can they be “deeper” than the sort of prayer the Bible does teach? Such claims are the problem with all the “prayer secrets” books. Why is praying to God in the manner taught in Scripture so inadequa18te that people need to discover new practices that are superior to those Jesus and His apostles taught? Would God withhold something so good and important to all but those spiritual innovators who discover the secret? The Bible says, “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2Peter 1:3). God did not forget to reveal to the Biblical writers key practices we need.
Pagitt teaches the same “breath prayers” that we have discussed in other articles:
As you begin to pray, close your eyes. Then inhale and exhale with deep breaths. Put your hands in a comfortable position—consider turning both hands palms up. Notice the tension in your head … and let it go as you take in a deep breath … and then exhale. Notice the tension in your shoulders and let it go, again by breathing in and then out. Notice the tension in your stomach and let it go. Move down your body doing the same.19
Concentrating on one’s breath is a way to achieve an altered state of consciousness. Jesus told us to ask the Father in His name, which we can do when fully conscious and requires no prior stress relief practice.
Some of the postures are similar in that they seem more like a technique for self awareness. One is pressing fingertips together: “There is a theory that pressing each fingertip to its corresponding fingertip activates a certain portion of our brain. Also, it is one of the gentlest ways to feel our own pulse.” Doing some of these practices is even confused with reconciliation which one comes through the finished work of Christ received by faith:
Start in a sitting position. Then use your arms to push your body up so you are standing. Inhale deeply through your mouth. Let your shoulders fall, release any stress in the top of your legs, and let your hips fall forward. Feel pressure on the bottom of your feet—and in that space alone. Keep breathing deeply. Allow the deep breaths to prepare you and arm you for the work of reconciliation.21
Reconciliation does not happen through some physical process, but through Christ’s blood atonement which we have received by faith (Romans 5:9-11).
It is not surprising, given the theology of the Emergent Church, that Pagitt’s approach is infused with theological immanence at the expense of transcendence. He writes, “So we extend to the rest of the world this hope: that good will be saved and increased and that God’s dreams will be done on earth as they are in heaven.”22 Pagitt claims that we are co-re-creators of the world: “God is never finished with creation, and God is never finished with us. We are constantly being re-created, and we are invited to join God as co-re-creators of the world.”23 There is no cataclysmic, future judgment of the cosmos in the theology of most Emergent Church leaders. Rather God is working in the world to transform it into a better place through the processes of history.
Pagitt’s terminology reflects a rather panentheistic worldview that is infused with God in some not totally explained way:
There is a rhythm to life. We find it in the ocean tides, in the rising and setting of the sun, in the beating of our hearts. And there is a rhythm of God—a rhythm that encompasses life, both the life we can readily see and the unseen life of the spirit. The rhythm of God beckons us, guide us, and dwells in us.24
This highly immanent theology implies that God is in the creation to be discovered, and not as the transcendent One who can only be known by His self-revelation in the authoritative Scriptures and in Christ who came in the flesh and ascended into heaven. Pagitt says, “As those who are created in the image of God, we are endowed with this rhythm.”25 Since all human beings are created in God’s image this is a universal statement, not limited to those who have been converted through the gospel. He continues, “We can find it [the rhythm of God] step into it, and live in it. This is the kingdom of God — to live in sync with the rhythm of God.”26
Sadly, the processes of “body prayer” described in this book reflect a theology that is gleaned not from authoritative Scripture but from creative efforts to create a version of prayer that is in keeping with the sensibilities of the postmodern culture. Key ideas that the Bible teaches about prayer (coming to God on His terms, grace for sinners, how we have access to God only because of the blood atonement, that God hears Christians who ask according to His will, etc.) are missing from this book. The techniques and teachings found in the book are not taught in the Bible. So the bigger question is whether God has spoken and revealed how we can come to Him or whether the means of access to God are discovered in the creation. Pagitt and his co-author leave us searching for the “rhythm of God” in the creation by means God has not ordained.
Prayer Quest by Dee Duke
The subtitle to this book is “Breaking through to your God-given dreams and destiny.” Duke speaks of our dreams and God’s dreams throughout his book. In the Bible God gave dreams to certain people. Those dreams, if interpreted by an infallible prophet, revealed God’s will and God plans. In the Bible, the dreams were from God, but they were not God’s dreams. They were the dreams of the people who dreamt them (for example Nebuchadnezzar’s in Daniel 2). Here we have to add a point of clarification: Only the dreams that are interpreted in the Bible by God’s prophets and spokespersons can be considered to authoritatively reveal God’s will.
The term “dream” in English can mean “hope for an ideal future,” as in, “I have a dream.” This denotes the hope for some better state of affairs that may or may not come into existence. Duke, in his book, is clearly not using the term in the Biblical sense as a dream a person has that has been interpreted by an authoritative prophet. Instead he says, “He calls us now to dream His dreams, to ask Him daily to display His power.”27 Duke is speaking of a hoped for future when he uses the term “dream”:
Welcome to the reality where dreams come true! God has a dream, and it is certain to happen just as He imagines it. He has placed the stamp of His image on our souls, so that we also dream great dreams. As we learn to passionately share and enjoy God’s dreams, we will see Him work in amazing ways . . .”28
This statement involves some serious category problems. Supposedly God’s dream is His imagination about the future. We (all humans evidently because all humans are created in God’s image) can dream like God. Either this is anthropomorphism run amok or some seriously bad theology. God is the one who says this about Himself: “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9, 10). God does not dream, He decrees. God calls things into being and works all things according to the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). He doesn’t imagine a potential future that may or may not happen.
Concerning us, the only thing we know about what God “dreams” (using Duke’s terminology) is what is revealed in Scripture. Our own dreams about what we would like the future to bring are not going to make God do anything. Duke says, “This book is intended to help you learn to walk so intimately with God that you will see Him fulfill His dreams in and through you.” This brings us back to the typical “prayer secret” genre of Christian writing. Supposedly there is some key to “intimacy with God” that is not based on the once-for-all finished work of Christ, not based on availing ourselves of the means of grace by faith, but based on our own level of personal piety and the use of practices not revealed in the Bible.29
Duke asks his readers, “Do you feel as though you’ve given up on dreams you had when your faith was new?” The implication is that our “dreams” (i.e., hopes for an ideal or optimal future) somehow authoritatively reveal God’s will and that we must make these come to pass by some process. But our ideas about what we hope life will be like are nothing more than ideas and may have nothing to do with God’s purposes. Our dreams are part of providence, but providence contains good and evil. Duke is treating personal imaginations about the future as if they were infallible guidance to be nurtured and followed. But personal dreams are not God’s moral law.
Here is a further definition of what Duke means by “dream,”
A dream is a desire felt so strongly that we think and meditate on it constantly until we see it in our mind as clearly as if it were reality. A dream believes that what is desired will happen; it is accomplished by anticipation and positive expectation. People who dream tend to be upbeat and enthusiastic.30
This is a very much the type of mind over matter thinking that has enjoyed popularity in self-help circles.
He gives people some practical guidance on releasing their “imagination” in prayer: “Envision yourself embarking on a day trip into the presence of God. . . . Envision yourself approaching God in His glory.”31 This is strikingly similar to guided imagery. He gives more examples of how to manage your dream time with God, including making lists of dream notes. This is a journey into the subjective realm under the guise of “prayer.”
Much bad teaching comes into the church by route of mysticism, subjectivism, and having faulty theological categories. In previous articles I carefully defined categories to help my readers avoid these pitfalls. Risking redundancy, I must again assert that there is God’s revealed will in Scripture as well as God’s providential will (containing good and evil) that is revealed as history unfolds. Though Duke wants us to dream God’s dreams about the future, he admits that these dreams we might have come from various sources. He lists thoughts from God, your own thoughts, thoughts from the world, and thoughts from Satan. His readers are supposed to sort through their dream notes to find ones that they think are from God. But how? God’s future providen32tial will is not revealed and cannot be known until it unfolds in history. Our dreams about the future cannot be determined to be from God by any means available to us because they are not revealed in Scripture.
Duke reveals his lack of Biblical understanding when he cites the scripture, “My sheep know my voice,” as proof that we can figure out which of our dreams is God’s voice. That passage in John 10 is about those whom the Father has given to the Son and who consequently will respond to the gospel and follow Christ, not about listening to various subjective voices in our heads and trying to figure out which one sounds the most like Christ.
There is no need to belabor how bad this book is theologically. It starts from a series of faulty premises and bad theology and builds from there a concept of prayer that is not taught in the Bible. The term “dream” as he uses it is basically the idea of one’s imagination. The Bible tells us about those who speak in this manner: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the Lord’”. (Jeremiah 23:16).
That a publishing house like Navpress produced this book shows how little discernment there is in the evangelical movement these days.
Conclusion
God has not left us to fish around in the world of spirits and subjective experiences to know Him and speak to Him. God send His Son, who pre-existed as God and with God, to be born of a virgin and live in history in the flesh. The apostles heard Him, touched Him and saw Him (see 1John 1:1-3). He died for sins on the cross, shedding His blood to avert God’s wrath against our sin. He was bodily raised on the third day and He bodily ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father. Before He left He promised His followers that they could ask the Father anything in His name. He inspired eyewitnesses to write His inerrant words so that we would know the truth from Him. The Bible promises us that He hears us. It doesn’t give us a set of techniques to hear inner voices and call these techniques “prayer.”
The mystics are confident that their extra-biblical techniques and extra-biblical experiences are certainly from God and are making more pious Christians than those of us who only have prayer as taught in the Bible and the Word of God to go by. Having discovered the secrets to increased piety and “intimacy with God,” they write books so that others can become similarly “enlightened” and be saved from their “ordinary” Christian lives. Dear readers, they are selling you a bill of goods. They are not infallible apostles and prophets, they do not speak authoritatively for God, their theology is unbiblical, and their practices are not ordained by God. I have touched on three examples of this approach but there have been literally thousands of them in church history. The simple application is this: do not listen to them. They can only deceive you; they cannot make you more holy or pleasing to God. Only the finished work of Christ and His ordained means of grace can do that.
Find more of Bob DeWaay here:
FIRST-PERSON: Neither faith nor healing
Posted on Jul 11, 2008 | by William A. Dembski
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FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)–Todd Bentley’s healing ministry has gained national attention. His daily meetings for the past three months in Lakeland, Fla., have attracted hundreds of thousands from all over the world. The press has begun to question Bentley’s legitimacy — Is his financial accounting above board? Are miracles really happening? I want to raise some more personal concerns.
On July 3, my wife, three children and I attended Bentley’s “impartation service” in Denton, Texas, north of Dallas. Why? We have twin 7-year-old boys, one of whom is autistic (largely nonverbal, still not fully toilet trained, serious developmental delays). Friends urged that we attend the meeting for his miraculous healing.
Call us stubborn, but my wife and I are unimpressed with doctors who see our son’s condition as hopeless. We believe that God still heals and that His means of healing include conventional medicine, alternative medicine, prayer, fasting, love and, yes, miracles. In any case, we haven’t given up on our son’s recovery (we still remember the day when he was developmentally on track). So if God wanted to use Todd Bentley, we were open to it.
As faith healers go, Bentley is unconventional. Exhibiting black shirt, baggy jeans, tattoos and piercings, he prefers grunge to Gucci. But his appearance wasn’t a problem for my wife or me. God in the Bible used many unconventional people. The problem for us was the manipulation, hype and agenda that seemed to pervade the meeting.
It was a 130-mile drive for my family to get to the meeting. When we called the organizers, they urged us to get there by 3 p.m. even though the meeting didn’t start till 7 p.m. The venue (a basketball arena) seated 8,500 people, yet the organizers told us to expect 14,000 people to show up. So the only way to be sure of getting a seat was to get there early.
We therefore piled the kids into the minivan early afternoon, arriving around 4:30. At 6:30, after sitting for two hours, the arena was about three-quarters full. One of the organizers then announced that traffic was backed up for miles around Denton and that several thousand were trying to get into the meeting, most of whom would have to be turned away. This was sheer hype. A significant block of seats (at least 20 percent) were cordoned off and never used throughout the whole night. We could have arrived anytime and still gotten seats.
At 7, Keith Miller (the chief organizer, http://www.sfwm.org) started things off. After prompting the audience to perform ritualistic acts of worship (stand up, raise your hands, say after me …), he passed the baton to a young woman singer and her backup band. The sound system was terrible — sounds were loud and distorted. The music was repetitive in the extreme. In almost two hours of this “music ministry,” only a handful of songs were sung, and many of them seemed to consist of only one or two phrases.
Finally, around 9 p.m. Bentley began to speak. He devoted much of his message to the visions he has received and the miracles he claims have happened in his ministry. Then, almost as an afterthought, he spent a few minutes preaching from the Bible (John 5). In fact, he admitted that he was having us open the Bible simply so that it couldn’t be said that he didn’t preach from the Bible. So much for reverencing the Scriptures.
Nowhere in Bentley’s message did I see an emphasis on the love and compassion of God — that healing is an expression of God’s goodness and care for humanity. Rather, the emphasis throughout was on power — the power to heal and be healed.
Bentley told stories of remarkable healings. In fact, he claims that in his ministry 30 people have now been raised from the dead. Are these stories credible? A common pattern in his accounts of healing was an absence of specificity. Bentley claims that one man, unembalmed, had been dead for 48 hours and was in a coffin. When the family gathered around at a funeral home, the man knocked from inside the coffin to be let out.
But what are the specifics? Who was this man? What’s his name? Where’s the death certificate? And why not parade the man at Bentley’s meetings? If I am ever raised from the dead through anyone’s ministry, you can be sure I’ll put in a guest appearance. Bentley claims that he is having a team investigate healings performed under his ministry and will soon go public with the evidence. I look forward to seeing it.
After preaching, Bentley took the offering. During the offering he asked “How much anointing do you want to receive?” Thus he linked the blessing we should receive with the amount of money we gave.
After the offering, Bentley said a general prayer for mass healing. People who thought they were healed then came forward. But I saw no obvious or dramatic evidence of healing. After the general prayer for mass healing, Bentley indicated that he would pray for the severest cases.
At this point, a friend who was with us urged that she and my wife take our son with autism down for prayer (I stayed with our other son and daughter). Over an hour later my son with autism was still not able to get to the main floor for prayer. Ushers twice prevented that from happening. They noted that he was not in a wheelchair. Wheelchair cases clearly had priority — presumably they provided better opportunities for the cameras, which filmed everything. They also invoked the fire marshals, who, they claimed, prohibited too many people on the floor of the arena. But earlier in the service, during the worship time, they had packed the floor with people singing and whooping it up.
After midnight we were told that it would be an hour and a half before our son could get prayer. At that point, we got up and left. Yet the story doesn’t end there. When we got to the minivan, our other son remembered that he had left his Bible in the arena. When my wife went back to retrieve it, everybody, including Bentley, had suddenly cleared out. Staying an hour and a half would not have mattered.
Our son was refused prayer twice because he didn’t look the part, and he was told to wait still longer for a prayer that would never have been offered. And even those who looked the part seemed to look no better after Bentley’s prayer — the exodus from the arena of people bound in wheelchairs was poignant.
My son’s situation was not unique — a man with bone cancer and his wife traveled a long distance, were likewise refused prayer, and left in tears. People with needs were shortchanged. It seemed that power, prestige and money (in that order) were dominating motives behind the meeting. Minimal time was given to healing, though plenty was devoted to assaulting our senses with blaring insipid music and even to Bentley promoting and selling his own products (books and CDs).
Neither my wife nor I regret going. It was an education. Our kids are resilient. But the ride home raised a question. We found ourselves avoiding talking about the event until the children fell asleep. Then, as they drifted off in the early morning, we talked in hushed tones about how easily religion can be abused, in this case to exploit our family. What do we tell our children? I’m still working on that one.
–30–
William A. Dembski is research professor of philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The above article was passed on to me by:
Bud Press from:
http://www.christianresearchservice.com/
Bud also send out this update about a video from ABC. Watch and you will see the actual documents presented to ABC from Fresh Fire Ministries, for proof of the healings. Only three were produced and they were measely indeed. What a sham.
This article is from:
Authentic Spirituality
Here is the blog address and you really should go this blog and read the comments.
http://freebelievers.com/blog-entry/authentic-spirituality
First of all, I’d like to say that I consider myself to be a “Charismatic Christian.” By that, I mean to say that I share an excitement about God that is not always visibly evident in some of the more traditional denominations. I also share the belief that the Holy Spirit is alive and moving as much today as in the New Testament. Most of my writings specifically address the Christian mindset from the perspective of Charismatic-Pentecostal because that is the background from which I come. I say that because I want to make clear that when I “call stuff out,” I am not critically standing on the outside looking in, but I am living very much on the inside. The fire with which I address certain subjects, however, does not come from my loyalty and love for a set of beliefs or a particular sect, but from a sincere love for individuals who many times are trampled to death by those beliefs.
With that in mind, I would like to address something that has bothered me all my life, but have never put into words until now. I believe that this little issue has taken its toll on thousands of genuine and honest God-seekers, and has left them feeling as though they are completely missing God. It’s time to expose one of the church’s greatest and best-kept secrets. Exposing this could set Charismatic Christianity back a thousand years. I’m about to blow a cover off this religion in a way I’ve never seen done before, so buckle your seatbelts.
My 8th grade science teacher pinned up one of those psychedelic mind-bending posters that supposedly had a picture within a picture that you could psychologically see inside, if you stared long enough and allowed your eyes to go out of focus. Those things never worked for me. I could stare for hours and I never saw anything but a bunch of squiggly lines and shapes. Supposedly this particular poster had moving dinosaurs in it. At least that’s what the first kid claimed to see as he let out a, “Wooooee, dude, I tooootally see it!” I got up close and looked till my head hurt but I still couldn’t see what he was talking about. Sure enough, one by one, people started to see the moving dinosaurs. Everyone was laughing and talking about it. There was energy and excitement as people coahed friends on how to look in just the right way to “experience” it with them. One by one you could hear people getting a “break-through” as they would finally se what everyone else was seeing. I felt ignorant, because all I saw were stupid, squiggly lines.
I quit trying about half-way through the year. I got to the point where I just ignored the poster when I came to class. Truthfully, I resented the fact that he put it up there in the first place. It was a science class. Why hang a poster with hidden dinosaurs? It didn’t make sense to me, and I found it to be a source of irritation every time another two or three people exclaimed, “I see it, I see it!!!!” I even considered lying to everyone at one point because it was only me and perhaps two other kids who were on the outs, and neither of them had a cool bone in their body.
By the end of the school year, it appeared that the majority of the school had experienced the dinosaurs and I still couldn’t see them. How embarrassing. My embarrassment was short-lived, however, because on the last day of school, the cocky old science teacher stood before the class and revealed to everyone that there were no dinosaurs in the picture. IT WAS A HOAX! He wanted to illustrate how peer pressure can easily sway others. It was amazing to see different people become angry and defensive and swear up and down that they saw moving dinosaurs. I believe those kids could have taken a lie-detector test and passed with flying colors. They fully believed that they saw dinosaurs moving!
Time and again, I have sat with sincere people who feel like they must be missing something in the God department. They tell me that they don’t understand why God hasn’t moved on them the way He has with their friends and Church mates. They are plagued with a nagging sense that they are always a few miles behind the rest of the group and regardless of how hard they try; they can’t seem to catch up. Every time there’s another testimony about God moving in someone’s life, they are reminded that they can’t hear His voice like everyone else and don’t feel the same spiritual ecstasy that their Christian counterparts continually describe and claim to have received.
Over and over, I hear people talking about “Peace that surpasses understanding” and “joy unspeakable,” as though it’s an orgasmic state of mind that truly spiritual people achieve after encountering God in a personal way. I can recall being in Bible college, watching my classmates weep and wail while lying on the floor during the worship service as though the Holy Spirit had completely taken control. They would talk about receiving a touch from God that instantly changed everything. Some couldn’t remain upright during the service because the ‘power of God was all over them.’ All the while, I felt like I did in my 8th grade class when I couldn’t see the moving dinosaurs. What am I missing here? Why doesn’t God do that to me during praise and worship? When am I going to receive a touch like that? How come I can’t hear His voice so easily? Why do I still struggle with depression? What’s wrong with me?
It began to unravel when a popular evangelist came to our Bible college. This guy was known for laying hands on people and having them “fall out” in the spirit. I was excited to receive this and nervous that I wouldn’t. After a short sermon on the power of God, this gentleman instructed us to line up side by side. He would then walk from person to person, laying hands on each one. Sure enough, they were dropping like flies. Everyone he touched turned to Jell-O and hit the floor under the power of God. I was praying a million miles a minute as he drew closer. Finally, I felt his hand on my forehead and I stood there waiting to be launched into the supernatural. I waited and waited but nothing happened. He kept praying for me but I wasn’t going down. Then he started saying things like, “Just receive it, brother,” and “Don’t hold back from God.” At that moment, I felt the eyes of everyone in the class upon me and I knew somehow it was my fault that I wasn’t receiving “the power of God.” Guess what I did. . . . I fell.
When we were in the parking lot and walking to our cars, my classmates were praising God and leaping for joy because of the incredible move of the Holy Spirit that they had just witnessed. People were talking about how awesome God was and how wonderful it was to receive a touch of His power, but I continued walking with my head down, saying, “I will never, ever do that again!” Someone asked me what it was I’d never do again and I said, “I fell on purpose.” To my amazement, every person there admitted that they had purposely fallen, as well.
I say all that to say this: For the better part of my ministry, I have attempted to take things that people say about God that are terrible and wrong and correct them. I have kept myself busy for the past ten years in an attempt to correct all the troubling misconceptions taught by the Church regarding the heart of God. Recently, however, I felt like I came to the conclusion of those bad things. I couldn’t find anything to address because I had pretty much covered it all. Then I felt the Lord strongly impress upon me that He would reveal that even all the good things said about Him are not true.
Our concept of “living in victory” has been embellished and exaggerated from generation to generation, to a point where we wouldn’t recognize the real thing if it jumped up and bit us on the nose. People talk about “freedom” as though it were a state of spiritual nirvana where nothing goes wrong and everything is blissfully perfect. I believe that in the Charismatic movement, there are thousands of people chasing dinosaurs in an effort to appear like they’re getting it when in fact, they have no real idea of what “IT” is.
I’m amazed when I hear testimonies of people in those Churches. It reminds me of “Reality Television.” The problem with “Reality Television” is that there is nothing real about it.
The editor reveals what he chooses by cutting and pasting bits and pieces. He omits certain parts and highlights others in an effort to create exactly what he’s looking for. This is what I see in modern-day Christian testimonies. They remind me of a 30-minute scripted sit-com where everything miraculously comes together in the end. The middle part that is raw and real is always mysteriously omitted so that the listener only sees the rags-to-riches part of what God did in a person’s life. “I once was lost, but now I’m found.” Nothing in the middle. That’s it. Overnight, everything changed and now there are no more struggles and strife in the Christian life, only continual happiness and fulfillment.
I think we do this because deep in our hearts we’re trying to sell Jesus to the public. We attempt to make Him out to be more than He is in an effort to spark interest. We present “life with Jesus” as though it’s a continuous mountain-top experience that comes with batteries included and a life-time guarantee. If this isn’t your personal experience with Him, something is wrong with your spirituality. Sadly, the result of this pattern of exaggeration is that people chase a carrot that is always just out of reach and then become depressed and disillusioned.
Let me be the first to say that the reason you can’t find the peace and joy and freedom that you’ve heard about is because it doesn’t exist. At least not in the way it’s been presented. The Christian life as advertised to you is a lie! The promises and claims that were made to you about Jesus were nothing but a list of sales tactics to close the deal. After all, who would reject eternal happiness and contentment? Who in their right mind would walk away from a Jesus who could make all their problems go away overnight? Who would say no to instantaneous freedom and victory? Especially when it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. Rattle off a quick sinner’s prayer and you’re on your way to a life of constant adventure and roller-coaster spirituality.
I think there is something to be said for the way Jesus presented Himself 2000 years ago. He rode into the city on the back of an ass. Now that resonates with my life! I get this real and raw picture in my mind, “Life on an Ass,” and it rings true. Maybe it’s not a popular concept with the Christian world, but the fact is, life is humdrum. There are “up” days and there are “down.” There are times of purpose and times of purposelessness. There are extended times when there is clear direction and you know where you’re going and then there are times when you just sit and stare at the walls and go nowhere. Life with Jesus is not filled with a continuous vibration of exhilaration and adventure. Scripture never promised that to us.
I believe that until we are given permission to accept and embrace our humanity, we will be unable to possess values such as peace and contentment. Present-day Christianity seems to be about denying and even detesting our humanity and all in the Name of Jesus. We want nothing to do with out human-ness. It’s as though people present the Christian life as a rejection of the physical realm and an adoption of all that is spiritual. You’d think that some of us are embarrassed to have arms and legs because we think we’re supposed to float from here to there through the power of God. Anything physical or human is considered ugly by today’s Charismatic standards. The phrase, “In the flesh” has been coined in an effort to shame and silence anyone who might dare to be normal and live with both feet on the ground. If God was against living in the flesh, He wouldn’t have created flesh and inserted our spirits into it.
I believe that true spirituality is more physical than spiritual. In other words, it’s NORMAL. Today’s perception of true spirituality is equated with someone no one can relate to. I think it’s something else entirely. If a person is truly in touch with their spiritual side, they will connect and become relatable to everyone. They’ll embrace their flesh and be content with who they are while, at the same time, accepting it in others. Peace and contentment is not a point in life where you no longer experience pain and discomfort. It’s the point when you understand that you will experience pain and discomfort in this life and when you do, you know He is with you and nothing’s wrong. Many perceive any form of depression as evidence that God is not present or we are not receiving what we should from Him. I disagree. Being spiritual, in my opinion, is when an individual embraces every facet of their humanity with no apologies, knowing well that their shortcomings are not evidence of God’s absence but rather, evidence of life. True spirituality comes when we understand that in the midst of living, He will never leave us.
I am convinced that an authentic Christian life looks nothing like what most Charismatic churches promote. The picture they paint is not only unattainable but it’s impossible. I no longer believe the majority of the testimonies I hear. They’ve been edited to fit a story-line that’s proven to be a crowd-pleaser and a bestseller. Rarely does anyone merely provide an accurate account of their life because to do so would be flat-out boring. We don’t want a day-to-day Jesus; we want Super Jesus!
Additionally, I don’t believe all the hype that comes out of Florida. I’m telling you right now that all the people who profess to have experienced “the fire” in Florida are nothing but a bunch of self-conscious teens claiming to have seen the moving dinosaurs on a poster in science class. When asked to produce a shred of verifiable evidence of healings and miracles, the ring-leaders in Florida have come up empty-handed. Everything you are hearing about that “outpouring” is nothing but exaggerated rumors from people who desperately want to appear as if they got it too.
Matthew 24:24
“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.”
These rumors are spread by those who sincerely want to believe that something’s happening somewhere because when they look at their own “humdrum” life, they are filled with guilt and condemnation for not measuring up to the embellished testimonies and exagerated claimes they’ve grown up hearing in the Church.
Yes, I believe that God heals and yes, I believe the Holy Spirit is alive and well. I believe in the gifts of the Spirit and I believe that God is actively speaking to His people. I consider myself to be Charismatic to the bone, but I don’t believe for one moment that these manifestations occur in the manner that we claim. The sooner we release the modern-day Christian fantasies about true spirituality and embrace normalcy, the better we’ll be.
You might be surprised to find that what you have been seeking; you already have.
In Todd Bentley’s initiation “ordination” ceremony last week one George
Banov spoke providing Bentley a ‘prophetic word.’ I must say that
initially, at least, he was a welcome relief following the demonic,
frenetic, wild head shakin’ thang of Stacey Campbell. Banov comes in at
6:00 minutes:
A quick internet search could not produce much info on Banov; but, he’s
obviously of the same heretical Latter Rain ‘stream’ as the others on stage.
The reason I wish to call attention to this is the fact that in his ‘word’
Banov uses two Messianic prophetic scriptures and claims God told him these
were for Bentley! Here’s the transcription:
“Todd on behalf of the Eastern European nations and former Communist
Countries, we want to tell you that we acknowledge and honor what’s upon
you. And, we give you the keys for Eastern Europe — especially the poor,
the rejected, the gypsies.
“And The Lord says that because you’ve loved his personal presence there are
two anointings that are released on His presence and I just want to release
those two anointings on you from the LORD. By the way, the Lord says ‘you
are well pleasing son.’ The Father, Abba, says that to you personally. The
first anointing is the anointing of the pleasure of the LORD. [emphasis
mine]
“’Surely He has borne our grief, sickness and weakness and carried our
sorrow and the pain and the punishment of us all. He was considered
stricken, smitten and afflicted by God; but, He was bruised for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities and chastisement
that brought our peace came upon him and by His stripes we were healed and
made whole.’ [Isaiah 53:4-5] And, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him
and in His presence there is fullness of joy and pleasure for evermore.
[This is apparently a paraphrase of more than one scripture with another.]
And, God’s releasing his pleasure of what He did to Jesus upon you Todd.
“And, the second anointing that he wants to release upon you is in Psalm 45
but it’s also in Hebrews chapter one verse nine. It says, ‘Because you have
loved righteousness and you have delighted in integrity and virtue and
uprightness in heart and thought and action and you have hated injustice and
iniquity; therefore God, your God has anointed you with the oil of exultant
joy and gladness above and beyond your companions.’ We bless you.”
Not only does he quote two Messianic scriptures and applies these to
Bentley, he even goes so far as to claim that the Lord referred to Todd as a
‘well pleasing son’ thus putting Bentley on par with Jesus! [Matthew 3:17;
Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22] Does this not show this group to be promoting
Manifest Sons of God doctrine – part of the heresy of the Latter Rain
teachings? And, no one batted an eyelash on stage or in the audience. In
fact, they clapped and cheered.
I wish to point out that there is only one true anointing – the anointing of
the Holy Spirit upon true believers who accept Jesus Christ as their
personal savior.
20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the
truth. 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but
because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the
liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the
antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has
the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it
does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what
he promised us—even eternal life.
26I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you
astray. 27As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you,
and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you
about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit — just as it
has taught you, remain in him. [1 John 2:20-27 NIV]
To promote that we can attain Christlikeness this side of glory is
tantamount to denying Jesus Christ’s exclusive Divinity as the One and only
Son of God. As the Apostle John points out above, this is the spirit of
antichrist.
submitted by Craig “Lee” Dorsheimer
DiscernIt 
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