The Toronto Deception by Pastor Paul Gowdy

September 13, 2007 in apostasy, christianity, Christians, Church, discernment, God, new age, religion, spiritual growth, Spiritual Life, Spirituality, Testimonies | Tags: | 107 comments

Because of a special program broadcast in Brazil November 13, 2011  featuring Paul Gowdy, two new translations of his article are available.

https://kimolsen.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/a-decepcao-toronto-pelo-pastor-paul-gowdy/

Portuguese Version link above

https://kimolsen.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/el-engano-de-toronto-por-el-pastor-pablo-gowdy/

Spanish Version link above

*Update*

The Toronto Deception

By a former Toronto Vineyard Pastor

It has taken me nine years to actually come to the place where I would write this story. Part of the reason was because I was not fully convinced that it is appropriate to speak out against weaknesses in the body of Christ publicly. Another reason is because it has taken years of soul searching to become convinced that what happened in the Toronto Airport Church was actually all bad or at least more bad than good!
 
For the past number of years I have called it a mixed blessing. I think James A. Beverly called it this in his book Holy Laughter and the Toronto Blessing 1994. Today I would call it a mixed curse concluding that any individual good that came from this experience is far outweighed by much harm and satanic deception. I suppose that therein has been my dilemma. I have tried to live my life in the fear of the Lord and Jesus told us that the unforgivable sin was the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Attributing to Satan what was in fact a work of God. If pressed as to whether or not the Toronto blessing is all God or all Devil I will still be hedgy, but I am convinced that Satan has used this experience to blind people to the historical doctrines of God, to produce fruit in keeping with repentance, to failing to test and discern the spirits and failing to test prophecy.
 
After three years of being in the thick of the Toronto blessing our Vineyard assembly in Scarborough ( East Toronto) just about self destructed. We devoured one another, with gossip, backstabbing, division, sects criticism etc. After three years of ‘soaking,’ praying for people, shaking, rolling, laughing, roaring, ministering at TACF on their prayer team, leading worship at TACF, preaching at TACF, basically living at TACF we were the most carnal, immature and deceived Christians that I know. I remember saying to my friend and senior pastor at Scarborough Vineyard Church in 1997 that ever since the Toronto Blessing came we have just about fallen to bits! He agreed!
 
My experience has been that the manifestation of spiritual gifts mentioned in 1st Corinthians 12 was much more common in our assembly, before January 1994 (when the Toronto blessing started.) than during this period of supposed Holy Spirit visitation.
 
During 1992-1993 when praying for people we would experience what I believe was genuine prophesy, deliverance and much grace and favour from the Lord. After the Toronto Blessing started, all ministry time changed, the only prayers were ‘More Lord MORE ’, the shouting of ‘Fire’ the jerky shaking of the body with the ‘ooh ooh OOH WOOOAAH’ prayer. (I kid you not!)
 
On January 20th 1994 about 15 people from our church traveled over to Toronto Airport Vineyard in order to listen to Randy Clark, a Vineyard pastor from the USA. John Arnott had called our senior pastor to invite us. He communicated that Randy had been to the Rodney Howard Browne meetings and that the stuff had broke out in his church in the following weeks. John was hoping that something might break out with us too. We were only too happy to travel over. We were a church plant out of the Toronto Airport and we started in 1992. In those days there were three Vineyard Churches in Toronto. One Down Town church, Scarborough vineyard church to the east and the Airport Church. We were one big happy family. Because we were small in number we did special meetings, conferences etc, together.
 
The year before most of our leadership teams joined and had headed to Nicaragua for a short term missions trip. We had genuine love and fellowship with each other. Since leaving the Vineyard churches I have read a fair bit of analysis from the critics.
Some make out that the Toronto Blessing was one huge conspiracy to lead the body of Christ into heresy. Heresy and apostasy I suspect may well be the result, but none of these destinations were intentional. I am honestly convinced that the leaders in the Vineyard churches are genuine born-again Christians who love the Lord, but have fallen into deception. They have not loved the Lord enough to keep His commandments. They have failed to obey the scriptures and have been led astray by our longing for something bigger and brighter and more exciting and dynamic. I am guilty of this sin also. I have preached renewal in Korea, the United Kingdom, the USA and here in Canada. I am genuinely repentant and in writing this story I would ask you the bride and body of Christ to forgive me. Especially the Pentecostal / Charismatic Christians among you, for you are my immediate family theologically. I am an evangelical Christian, I always have been but I do not believe in the cessation of the spiritual gifts at the end of the apostolic era. I believe that it was my evangelical roots (my family are Baptists and I was born again in the Presbyterian Church.) that started to open my eyes to problems with this so called renewal.
In hind sight I look back and think how could I have been so blind? I laughed at people acting like dogs and pretending to urinate on the columns of the TACF building. I watched people pretend to be animals, bark, roar, cluck, pretend to fly as if they had wings, perpetually act drunk and sing silly songs. How I thought that any of this was from the Holy Spirit of God amazes me today. It was loud irreverent and blasphemous to the Holy God of the Bible. I suppose in my mind I reasoned that as long as they did not teach any thing in direct violation to scripture then it was what we called the exotic. This is a buzz word for manifestations that could not be justified from a biblical perspective. I was taught from the pulpit that we had two options. The order of the nursery full of life and messy or the order of the graveyard, very orderly but dead!
 
As a young immature pastor I wanted life with mess. I failed to remember that God wants us to become mature and grow up in him. I became disconcerted by the prophetic words that came forth especially one by Carol Arnott in which she had her bride experience where she was taken into the very presence of Jesus and said that the love that she experienced was even better than sex! I was shocked in my spirit and thought how can one compare the love of God with sex? When we suspected that demons were running riot in our services John Arnott would teach that we should ask are they coming or going. If they are leaving then that is ok! John would defend the chaos by saying that we ought not be afraid of being deceived, if we have asked the Holy Spirit to come and fill us then how could Satan come and deceive us? This would make Satan very strong and God very weak! He said that we needed to have more faith in a Big God to protect us than in a Big Devil to deceive us. This sounded very convincing but was totally contrary to scripture for Jesus and Paul and Peter and John all warn us about the power of deceiving spirits and especially so in the last days. Again we did not love God enough to obey His Word and the result was that we opened ourselves up to lying spirits. May God have mercy upon us!
 
Finally the penny dropped for me as I was rolling around one night ‘drunk in the Spirit’ as we would say. I started singing and as I rolled around the floor the Nursery Rhyme ‘Mary had a little lamb its fleece was white as snow.’ came to mind. I sang this in a mocking spirit and instantly my heart told me this was a demon. Instantly I repented and was in total shock. How could a demon get into me? Did I not love God? Was I not zealous for the things of God? Was I not nuts about Jesus? I knew that an unclean spirit had just manifested through me and I was guilty of great sin. After this experience I stayed away from TACF. I did not go back there any more. I did not possess the conviction to denounce the whole experience but thought that we where failing to pastor the Blessing well enough.
 
Even after I stopped going over to TACF, I had to pastor the fruit of it. One example was when some of our people returned from a meeting there asking us if we had all received the golden sword of the Lord? I asked them what they were talking about thinking that it was some prophetic reference to the Holy Scriptures but they said, ‘no, its not the Bible, it’s an invisible golden sword that only the really pure can receive. If taken in an unrighteous fashion then the Lord would kill you. But if you are holy enough to receive it then you can wield this sword and it will heal aids, Cancer etc. and bring salvation. How one wielded this sword was by pretending to have this invisible sword in your hand and motioning to strike people with it when in prayer! I thought while even in deception at this time that the TACF had become Looney bins! This was purportedly first received by Carol Arnott and then given to the ones holy enough to receive it!
 
Another thing was the golden fillings in the teeth. We had people in our assembly peeping down one another’s throats looking for the gold fillings that God had placed there to show how much he loved them! In all my time there I only heard one message on repentance given by a visiting speaker from Hong Kong named Jackie Pullinger. It went over like a lead balloon. We were not there to repent, we were there to party in the Lord! After one year into the blessing I spoke out at a pastors meeting and said ‘guys we have shaken, rattled, rolled, laughed cried and bought the tee-shirt. But we have no revival, no salvation, no fruit and no increased evangelism so what’s the deal?’ I was soundly rebuked – who was I to expect to see fruit when the Lord was healing his broken people? We had been legalistic long enough and God was spending this time restoring his wounded and freeing us from legalism I was told not to push the Lord and the harvest would come in his time.’
 
I knew this was wrong because the Lord had commanded us to go into all the earth and make disciples! Not, that everyone should take a sabbatical for who knows how long, while God does some strange new thing! Ultimately I left over something as controversial as the ordination of women. Personally I believe from scripture that women should not be pastors/ elders in a local assembly. I could be wrong on this and there is much debate in the Church today but that is my conviction and in the Vineyard churches they were ordaining all the pastors wives to co pastor with them. I am certainly for women in ministry but believe that the Elder/ pastor role in a local assembly has been reserved for men. I did not write scripture but God willing I will have the grace from now on to obey it.
 
So there is my story. I could go on and document much excess, folly, sin and latter day reign teaching that manifest from the prophetic end of this Blessing but others have already done that. We sang about Joel’s army and the billion soul revival as if it were one of the Ten Commandments, and as always it was just around the corner. Next month, next year etc. Jesus said that when the son of man returns will he find faith upon the earth? And if he does not return when he does no flesh would be saved but for the sake of the elect he comes. This is a far cry from the dominionism that is being taught all through the vineyard / prophetic/ spiritual warfare movement. I honestly think that they think they are going to take over the whole world! While in the Vineyard I embraced a life verse from the Apostle Paul the phrase do not go beyond what is written!
 
To finish I just want to say sorry for the damage, that I have personally done by teaching things that are not correct biblically. I repent before men as I already have before God. I will not excuse my falling into deception. I did not bother to test things when the scriptures commanded us to do so. Everyone who was there when this thing started knows that what I write is true, they would just come to different conclusions especially if they are still promoting the ‘river!’
 
To those in the river I would say swim out, there are things living in the water that will bite you real good! I love the people of TACF and the Vineyard movement but I think that we have much to answer for and may the Lord open your eyes sooner rather than later. I suspect that when this letter goes online I will get bombarded by emails from both camps, some damning me for still believing in the ministry of the Holy Spirit and still walking in deception and some old friends damning me for exposing dirt or being negative about the Lords anointed! Well, the Lord knows my heart and by his grace he will guide me into all truth as I seek to know Christ and him crucified! If you believe that I walk in sin and error please pray for me that the Lord would forgive me and open my eyes. I will study the word to show my self a work man approved! I would call on all who read this to pray that the Lord would open the eyes of all who have been involved in this deception. Whether leader or follower, we are loved and the Lord is a forgiving God. He says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. I believe we are like the church in Laodicea, we think that we are rich, have prospered and need nothing, we do not realise that we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. We must take the Counsel of Jesus and buy gold refined in the fire (which is his suffering, not a false spirit!), white garments to clothe our shameful nakedness and salve for our eyes that we might see again. Jesus is calling us to repentance and thank the Lord that he is, for it will lead us to true restoration with our Father! If God has forgiven me and opened my eyes then he can do it for all those caught in deception too. I will finish with a warning from Paul, he says if you think you are standing firm be careful lest you fall.
Sincerely Paul Gowdy.
 

 

Important Special Report: Colleges and Universities who Promote Yoga and New Age Practices.

September 10, 2007 in apostasy, christianity, Church, discernment, faith, new age, religion, Spiritual Life, Yoga | Leave a comment

This is an important article because a major goal of the Theosophists is to infiltrate the Western education system with Eastern mysticism. These schools are CHRISTIAN BAPTIST supported in part by  the churches!!!

kim

SPECIAL REPORT: Southern Baptist Convention ‘List of Colleges and Universities’ Contains Schools Promoting

Yoga/New Age

Source: Christian Research Service

by Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
September 10, 2007Introduction: During the preparation of this article, Christian Research Service (CRS) contacted SBC officials and asked specific questions pertaining to the schools listed on the SBC’s “List of Colleges and Universities” at http://www.sbc.net/colleges.asp. As of this writing, the list contains 52 schools.Unfortunately, almost half of the schools listed are promoting Yoga and other forms of the New Age Movement, such as Reiki, Feng Shui, Labyrinth, Tai Chi, Yoga for kids, and student field trips to “an ashram and worship with Tibetan Buddhist monks.”CRS also called the SBC headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, and spoke to an SBC Executive Committee official concerning the Cooperative Program, and what part it plays in the support and sponsorship of the schools. The official explained that,
* The SBC does not have or support any colleges.
* The colleges and universities listed on the SBC website are directly connected to the corresponding state Baptist conventions. 1 * The colleges and universities don’t receive any cooperative program funds from the SBC’s National Convention.
When asked if there are certain criteria or guidelines the schools must meet prior to being considered for support or sponsorship, the SBC official explained that each state convention votes whether or not to officially align with the college or university, and that typically there has to be a Baptist connection.While the colleges and universities do not receive Cooperative Program funding from the SBC’s National Convention, they do receive funding from the SBC’s state conventions. According to SBC officials, the funds are primarily designated for endowments and student scholarships, and may be used for building additions and projects.Briefly, the colleges and universities listed on the SBC’s website receive financial funding from the SBC state conventions–by way of tithes and offerings Southern Baptists give through their local SBC churches–through the Cooperative Program, which states in part that,

“Churches in your state work together through your state convention to support a wide array of ministries and missions including: evangelism efforts, children’s homes, volunteer missions, missions education, new churches, colleges and universities, collegiate ministries, camps, and much more”(2.

According to the SBC’s website, since 1845 the SBC “has grown to over 16 million members who worship in more than 42,000 churches in the United States” (3 ). Thus, over the years, untold millions of dollars–if not billions–has made its way from the collection plate to support the various efforts outlined in the SBC’s Cooperative Program, including colleges and universities.

And colleges and universities, whether Christian or secular–have the potential to strengthen or weaken, sharpen or dull young adults, whose sensitive minds are spiritually ripe for cultivation.

Concerning schools and colleges, the SBC’s May 1939 “Resolution on Christian Education” states in part:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That Baptists throughout the South be urged to acquaint themselves with the abundant educational opportunities afforded in our Baptist schools and colleges and to assist in turning Baptist students to them that the future for Christian education and Christian democracy, even Christian civilization itself, may be guarded with jealous care (4
.
Guarded with jealous care. How powerful the words. As Christians, are we not charged with the responsibility to jealously guard fellow Christians with the same care as the Apostle Paul demonstrated?

For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin (2 Corinthians 11:2).

In his farewell address to the Ephesian elders, Paul admonished them to jealously guard themselves and their body of believers, defend and protect that which had been entrusted to them: the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears (Acts 20:28-31).

Christian parent, as you review the following list of colleges and universities, ask yourself this question: Is the spiritual welfare of my son or daughter being guarded with jealous care? To see the documentation on the SBC list of Colleges/Universities that are promoting Yoga and the New Age, click here.


This article or excerpt was posted on September 10, 2007@ 1:16 am .

From: http://www.christianresearchservice.com

Is there New Age religion in your town? Just look in your newspapers Religion section.

September 10, 2007 in apostasy, Church, discernment, Jesus, new age, religion, Spiritual Life | 16 comments

                   temple_visinfo1.jpg               

*****UPDATE*******September 16th    Sunday Paper    The Kitsap Sun*******UPDATE*******

This is in the Religion Section 

…..Ministerial Association will host Kitsap County clergy, chaplains and spiritual leaders in a second annual retreat day Oct. 16th at Firway House Retreat….The retreat will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the theme “Thank God You’re Here!” The day includes holy leisure, celebration of call and humor.  A rustic outdoor labyrinth is available on site for prayer, play and pondering.

 WHOA WHOA  BACK-UP!!!!!!    LABYRINTH????

First it was Taize,  then this..this..ECK  nonsense, and now a ministerial LABYRINTH?

OH LORD HAVE MERCY ON US…..

September 10th

                  THE ECK TEMPLE IN MINNESOTA

                    (notice the pyramid structure)

It wasn’t too long ago that the religious section in my local newpaper was advertising a Taize Service and that all were welcome.  Taize service?  What was this?

For an explanation click here:

https://kimolsen.wordpress.com/2007/07/30/crisis-in-the-church-taize-what-is-it/

Then i noticed that the religion editor was touting a New Age book by Matthew Fox. I emailed her with the information that Matthew Fox was a New Ager and did she know that she was promoting this kind of material.  I guess so, nothing has changed.

Now today. It is Saturday, September 8th and let’s take a look to see what we find.  OH, BOY, Rick Warren is  speaking at a church in a nearby town, promoting his 40 Days of Purpose: The Next Step.  Actually i really want to attend this for research if i can.  

Aha, this is what i wanted to share with you. This ad was down in the left hand corner.

“Discover YOUR own ANSWERS to Divine MYSTERIES of LIFE”. For information ….

http://www.eckankar.org/index.html

hmmm….let’s take a look at this website.

********************************

E C K A N K A R, Religion of the Light and Sound of God

Soul is eternal and is the individual’s true identity.

Soul exists because God loves it.

Soul is on a journey of Self- and God-Realization.

Spiritual unfoldment can be accelerated through conscious contact the ECK, Divine Spirit.

The Mahanta, the Living ECK Master is the spiritual leader of Eckankar.   (Harold)*

You can actively explore the spiritual worlds through Soul Travel, Dreams, and other spiritual techniques.

                        

                       harold.jpg

                            “Harold”*

        The Mahanta, the Living ECK Master  “Harold”*

This is the thing about Soul Travel. It gives you such a glimpse of truth—not just as a piece of knowledge out there—but as a living, breathing part of you, so that you know something as truth. . . .
Often you find out that life is more beautiful and fuller than you had ever expected it to be. And God’s creation is more wondrous.

—Sri Harold Klemp,

 

On this website, there is an invitation to listen to an audio of the word HU  (The name of the ECK God) being sung for 5 minutes straight. Uh….this is a monotonous chant of one syllable….very contemplative…..for the full 5 minutes.  Skip this droning heresy and go get a snack instead.

****************************

 

Now i could talk all day about the problems with ECK (teachings of  a man instead of the Bible, techniques to contact the spirit world, the elimination of Jesus Christ)…but i just wanted to point out that not everything in the religious section in your newspaper glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ.  If you think about it,  take a look sometime to see if you can identify the New Age advertisements. Look at their terminology and websites. It is a great way to practice your discernment.

The answers to the mysteries of life are found in the Bible……not Harold*.

kim

Running Against the Wind by Brian Flynn – Contemplative Spirituality

September 7, 2007 in apostasy, Brian Flynn, Christians, Church, contemplative spirituality, discernment, new age, occult, religion, Spiritual Life | 14 comments

                 runningagainstthewindmedium.jpgrunningagainstthewindmedium.jpgrunningagainstthewindmedium.jpg

What a great book this was!….. It was engaging from the start and filled with important information that the church of today needs to know.

Here is something I learned.

You know those psychics who do readings and know certain things about you? They guess your brothers name or say they know that your grandmothers favorite color was lilac. Often they are right.  Or how about this… they know your boyfriend is going to ask you to marry you.  How does this work? I mean how do they know these things about our personal lives.  Well they don’t know, but others do.

Others? What Others?

The more I learn about contemplative prayer the more alarmed I become.  CP is being introduced into the church in the most subtle of ways at times, then sometimes it seems it is almost flaunted in the church’s face. Both methods of introduction are dangerous. When unbiblical practices are slowly integrated into Christianity people do not seem to notice. When a trusted church leader promotes a new way to worship without questioning it himself, the people just follow. The reason the church doesn’t know enough to question these new practices is that they are not familiar enough with the Bible.

At some point in time, all Christians will have to decide for themselves, whether or not they want to follow this emerging mysticism in our churches today. Willl they even recognize it when it comes upon them? Will there be no personal decisions made because Christians are not even aware these decisions are being made for them behind the scenes? This is the large question looming in my mind.

In his book, “Running against the Wind” Brian Flynn tells the story of a course he took in mind control. It was offered as a way to be a pyschic reader. After six months of preparation and meditations his teacher told the class:

“Starting tonight we will begin to identify and later come to know your spirit guides–the ones who will assist you in your readings. With your eyes closed, imagine an open doorway standing in front of you. Now, silently within your mind, ask the first guide to step in front of the door and reveal him or herself.”

Brian now explains how the spirits emerge:

“At first, as I stared at the doorway, I saw only blackness. Then a moment later, a large figure appeared looking similar to a Viking or medieval soldier. He looked tough, strong and somewhat intimidating….The next to appear was a very meek looking woman with a warm smile. After her there came a smoke-like vapor rising from the floor. (pg.65)

The teacher continued:

“Allow each one to appear before the door so that you become familiar with them…..stop analyzing it all, and just trust your feelings. The more you let go, the more you will be open to the spirit guides’ abilities to teach you what you need to know.” (pg.67)

These are the “others” mentioned earlier.  These are the spirit guides that many have evoked from another spiritual realm by deep meditation and visualization.

How is it that we can rely on God alone if we have “spirit guides” to teach us what we need to know.  The answer is that we will not rely on God or read the Bible for the truth on how to live our lives for the Lord.

We are NOT to delve into this spirit world. It is forbidden in the Bible. Divination is a means for extracting information or guidance from a pagan god which is a demon. Therefore, divination is occult.

What does occult mean? Occult is supernatural or hidden powers that are NOT from God. Seeking information or guidance from this source is dangerous. The New Age is occult through and through and so is ANY means or methods to obtain this occult knowledge.

Here is why this is forbidden. 

Deuteronomy 18:10-12: “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.  For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD…”

“A consulter with familiar spirits.” Why would we as Christians need to consult with these spirits. WE DO NOT. We have the Holy Spirit. Why in the world would we settle for anything when we already have the real thing. The “others” are counterfeits.

Brian talks about his personal life while all of this is going on:

“Rarely a day passed that we didn’t fight about something..it always ended with vicious personal attacks. At times I thought i was losing my mind. I had this feeling of being stirred up like someone else was saying those cruel words to Hailey…Instead I had put all my hopes on the universe or some lucky break that would lead us to wealth…I couldn’t help but feel betrayed by them (spirit guides) though…I trusted them to guide me and they guided me right to bankruptcy court.   (pg 70)

Here Brian talks about a situation when he started truly considering Jesus as the Son of God.

“The voices of my guides were constantly ringing in my head…I had never felt this type of resistance or opposition from my guides……The reason they were resisting me was because they were opposed to Him. They hated Jesus….They did not want me to become a Christian because they were not of God. Satan in his attempt to keep me where I was, revealed who he was…the identity of my guides were revealed.” (pg.84)

Wow! Brian did learn the truth for the Lord opened his eyes.

It is fascinating when someone who has come out of the New Age and who has accepted Jesus Christ as savior, finds similarities in both New Age and Emergent church techniques.

Here is an exerpt:

“If you are not a New Ager but rather a Christian, you may be in for the surprise of your life because this very New Age movement I speak of has and is now infiltrating the Christian church at a rapid and alarming rate. And you can imagine my horror when I left the New Age movement only to find the very same techniques and practices I literally ran from, were waiting patiently for me in the church pews, pulpits and bookstores of the church. Oh, it isn’t called the New Age movement–names have been changed. But as a rose by any other name is just as sweet so too is the New Age movement by any other name just as deviant and dangerous. And there’s a very good chance it has already entered your church, your college and even your home.”  (pg. 89)

Contemplative prayer may sound quite lovely or innocent and in some instances it may be, but if you are reading books by Brian McLaren, Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, Brennan Manning, Matthew Fox, or Tony Campolo, (just to name a few), you may be opening yourself up to deception. Most of these authors all tow-the-line for the mysticism of meditation and use such terms as sacred space, inner space, breath prayer, inner silence, into the silence, be still, turning off the mind, etc.  This list goes on and on. But repetition  of phrases is almost always used, which is just a form of meditation. It is no different than eastern meditation no matter what word is used.

Brian tell us this:

“Jesus told us not to use vain repetitions as…the heathen do. Jesus tell us the heathen who pray this way, do so because they think this type of prayer will more likely be heard and responded to. He then tells us not to be like them because our Heavenly Father already knows what we need before we even ask Him.” (pg. 171)

Contrast this with a quote from Brennan Manning:

“The first step in faith is to stop thinking about God at the time of prayer..Choose a single, sacred word…repeat the sacred word inwardly, slowly, and often.”

Can’t you see what is happening here? Manning is asking you to forget about God and to speak repetitions as the heathen do.  

This next excerpt will be my last as I want you to buy the book and read it for yourself. There is just so much in it….but please ponder this……

“If contemplative prayer or other Eastern practices were sanctioned or blessed by God of the Bible, why are there no stories of any Hindus or Buddists coming to Christ by these methods. Instead we hear of Christians receiving revelations during contemplative prayer that all paths lead to God and that God is in all.” (pg 171)

Good question. It seems that all revelations that are being received by occult means are very similar in nature.  Remember that theosophy or the divine wisdom of the “ascended masters” revealed the same message.  That we are God, that we are divine.  This is most certainly not true.  The Divine One is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do not open yourself to the occult powers by engaging in occult methods. If you use occult methods expect occult results. All “revelations” need to be compared against God’s word and tested because we are to test these things. These spirit guides are not of God which means they are unholy. At first they will deceive you by their friendly appearance and neutral suggestions. But Brian said they eventually revealed themselves as from Satan. 

Trust in God only. The Son of God is Jesus Christ and you can know Him by simply praying to Him as he taught in the Bible. Once you receive Him into your life by repenting your sin and believing only in Him, you will be indwelled by the Holy Spirit. There is no need to search anywhere else but the Bible. His Word will guide, lead, comfort, and encourage you daily.

I want to thank Brian Flynn for writing this book and for bravely sharing so much of his personal experiences.

kim

Are you an Alcoholic? Give it to the Lord.

September 3, 2007 in AA, addiction, Alchohol, Alcoholism, christianity | 8 comments

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I hated AA.  I decided…okay…if I quit for good, then I would never have to attend another one of these lousy meetings.  Of course I had to attend the required meetings while I was in Rehab. 

I was saved as a young girl but I quit going to church when I was 16 years old. By the time I was 21 I was a full-blown alcoholic.  I wallowed in this condition for another 10 years. I will spare you the ugly details.

The Lord is good.  Even though I had turned my back on Him… He never left me.  Talking about this with other Christians is important. This is not only part of my testimony but this shows how we can overcome obstacles in our life with His divine help.

When I look back……. after all this time, I remember that I used to believe that somehow I had managed to pull myself up out of  this declining situation. When push came to shove I could handle things myself, figure out the problem and solve it. How foolish I was. My strength never came from myself.

When attending AA, we were encouraged to call upon a higher source.  Of course for me this is the Lord Jesus Christ. But what about those who don’t know Him.  Who do others call upon in their time of need? There is only one higher source.

Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

About 90-95% persons do not make it the first time they go through AA.  Many never make it back to sobriety. The addiction of the drink is both mental and physical, so the attempt to overcome both aspects is extremely difficult indeed. Your body craves the alcohol because now it now depends on it. Your mind tells you that it will be impossible to function socially without the crutch of the liquid tranquility.

But you know my friend…there is someone who you can lean on…who will listen to your cares and problems.  It is Jesus Christ. The one and only Saviour of the world.

But you need to know…you need to turn to Him because He is the only one who truly saves.  You are a sinner and you need to confess to Him.  Repent and ask His forgiveness. Ask Him to come into your life. Then be ready to Live Only for Him.  Give your life over.  If you do this only to try to save yourself,….it won’t work.  Do it because you know in your heart that Jesus is the answer, He always was and always will be the answer to ALL things.  He died for you so that you would have salvation and life eternal.

So there is hope and your hope is in Jesus.

Here is a great link to check out. Please…please take a few minutes and click it.

http://www.livingwaters.com/good/

kim

(sober 23 years … only because of the Lord)

Kundalini and the Christian

September 3, 2007 in Christians, discernment, new age, occult, religion, Spiritual Life, Yoga | Tags: , , , , | 15 comments

This is a great article about the comparisons between Kundalini and the Toronto Blessing manifestations from    http://www.inplainsite.org

Also think about contemplative prayer when reading this article. Toward the end it talks about the phenomena that happens at Hyper-Charismatic meetings.  This reminds me of the Glory Meetings that are being held today by the Extreme Prophetic group.   The link to the full article is provided below. Please take a few minutes to look at the charts. 

kundalini.jpgKUNDALINI – (Sanskrit kund, “to burn”; kunda, “to coil or to spiral”) a concentrated field of intelligent, cosmic invisible energy absolutely vital to life; beginning in the base of the spine as a man or woman begins to evolve in their first incarnation; fed by the chakras along the spine and by the cosmic energy entering through the feet from the earth; as wisdom is earned in each ….Kundalini is at least a 1000 years old occult practice with it’s roots in India. It involves bodily manifestations as a consequence to the ‘Awakening of an individual’s kundalini’, and is related to several other occultic practices like Qi Gong (a Chinese occultic tradition).

Shakti Pat or Divine Touch Robert Walker described what takes place in Kundalini yoga: ‘Few Christians realise that for thousands of years gurus have operated with gifts of healing, miracles, gifts of knowledge, and intense displays of spiritual consciousness as they stretch out and connect with a cosmic power which, though demonic in origin, is very real. The meetings which mystic Hindu gurus hold are called ‘Darshan’. At these meetings devotees go forward to receive spiritual experience from a touch by the open palm of the hand, often to the forehead, by the guru in what is known as the Shakti Pat or divine touch. The raising of the spiritual experience is called raising Kundalini. The practice is quite intricate but is brought on by Shakti Pat in conjunction with the repetition of mantras or religious phrases and by holding physical positions for a long time. After a period when the devotee has reached a certain spiritual elevation they begin to shake, jerk, or hop or squirm uncontrollably, sometimes breaking into uncontrolled animal noises or laughter as they reach an ecstatic high. These manifestations are called ‘Kriyas’. Devotees sometimes roar like lions and show all kinds of physical signs during this period. Often devotees move on to higher states of spiritual consciousness and become inert physically and appear to slip into an unconsciousness when they lose sense of what is happening around them. This state is called ‘samadhi’ and it leads to a deeper spiritual experience.’
See Yoga And Christianity

The Chart Below was prepared by Antti Huima in August 1996, based on the Kundalini FAQ, the Siddha Mahayoga FAQ, and general knowledge about the so-called Toronto Blessing movement. The Kundalini FAQs are found from http://www.spiritweb.org/ which has since closed.

Note. This document is laid out in two columns. The leftmost column contains quotes from the documents describing Kundalini. The rightmost column contains the comments of the author, pointing to the similarity between the Kundalini and the Toronto Blessing experiences.

 

Read the rest of this article here:

http://www.inplainsite.org/html/kundalini.html

also check out my post:

https://kimolsen.wordpress.com/2007/06/05/yoga-is-occult/

Opening the Third Eye-Christians Beware

August 31, 2007 in apostasy, Christians, discernment, Dominionism, Life, new age, occult, religion, Spiritual Life, Yoga | 336 comments

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What is the Third Eye and why should Christians know about it.

First let’s look at Wikipedia:

The 3rd or Inner Eye  – A metaphysical opening which refers to the 6th chakra (brow), that leads to higher consciousness. A new age symbol of enlightenment.

Okay… so the Third Eye is a psychic ability connected to the occult. Dictionary.com defines occult as knowledge of secret or supernatural powers, beyond the the range of ordinary senses, or secret/hidden information only available to the initiated.

Next we need to know how one “opens” this Third Eye. The main way that one opens himself up to the spirit realm, is through meditation.  It is through meditation that one achieves an altered state of consciousness. Constantly you will find that meditation, or the emptying of one’s mind,  is the doorway to all metaphysical activity.

Back to the 6th chakra.  The chakras usually relate to yoga, but not always.  The 6th chakra in yoga is the brow.  When kundalini (serpent power) rises to the the brow, there is enlightenment that is characterized by light. Those using yoga as a means of enlightenment get results by meditation, forced breathing patterns and using unnatural positions to force the power at the base of the spine upwards with the crown chakra as the main goal.

Another way enlightenment occurs is through meditation and visualization.  Certain techniques are used to “see” and direct the serpent power up the spine through the chakras (nerve centers/wheels).

Here is another description.  The kundalini rises and then goes into the brain and then down into the pituitary gland which awakens the pineal gland. When they meet there is union.  This is an initiation of the birth of passage into another dimension and beyond. This is supposed to cause an explosion of light.

The third eye is also known as:

The middle eye of Shiva in Buddhism.

In Hinduism it is the eye of clairvoyance. This Hindus wear the Tilak. The red spot between the brows.  When I was researching my Goddess Worship post, I looked at a link, describing Christian women who have been applying the red spot on their forehead and worshiping each other’s divinity.

In Egypt it is known as The Eye of Horus or the Eye of Osiris.

In Freemasonry, it is the All Seeing Eye.  The same one that is found on our one dollar bill. This All Seeing Eye is surrounded by light.

But the eye usually means the same…esoteric knowledge that man so desires. This eye represents the passing  into a spiritual world than man has no business entering. It is forbidden because it will deceive and oppress.

In Genesis 3:5-7  For God doth know..then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods…knowing Good and Evil….And the eyes of them both opened.

The Hebrew word for eyes is not plural but singular so what the serpent said was that their eye would be broadened by knowledge.  Scripture here is not talking about the physical organ but the eye of the soul.

So for today…opening yourself up or opening your third eye is the same.  It is opening a gate between two worlds.  Meditation is a sure way of accomplishing this opening up of yourself especially through Contemplative prayer.  This is simply meditation masked with Christian terminology. The fear that accompanies entrance into deep meditative levels is there for a reason…it is a warning from God.

I have been reading a manual for opening the third eye from, “The Awakening of the Third Eye” by Samuel Sagan.

It immediately states that meditation is not for relaxation, and that the third eye is the gate that leads within.

Here are some quotes:

“Developing the third eye is a direct way of expanding your conscious universe and discovering your essential values, so that you may fathom your own mystery.” (page 13)

“Suppose an angel comes to you, truly. If you have been trying to visualize angels every morning for a few months how will you know whether it is a true angel or one that you made up…The real problem is, once these visions come to you, how to discern what is real from what is a fancy of the mind” [page 18]

     [I thought this was very interesting..he was acknowledging that visualization created  visions from your own making]

“You see the universe and it’s finality completely different…It is not what you believe or what you have read that will change your spiritual life..it is what you can experience directly.” [page 18]

      [See how a change of worldview is suggested here and the Bible eliminated]

“Whenever there is a vibration or a light, there is a being behind it” (page 160)

      [The Bible tells us that Satan comes as a white light]

“What to do with an angel? Let its glory become alive in you…to worship a god first you have to become a god.” (page 161)

      [How many times have we seen this? Almost all communications from the spirit world tell us that we are as gods, just like the serpent in Genesis]

“This tragedy is quite common. There are many people who seem to be desperate for spiritual progress. They go on crying ‘I wish God could help me’…and if you look above them, what can you see? Guides and angels who keep whispering ‘Please tune into us, please receive our light‘…If these people could tune in, they would immediately receive a shower of spiritual gifts.”  (page 185)

     [Light? We already know what the “light” is in the metaphysical world. It is Satan. And this shower of  spiritual gifts?..hmmm..]

2 Corinthians 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Have you ever read the prophecies of those on the Elijah list? Have you ever had someone tell you that they have a continual conversation with God throughout the day? Have you listened to those who proclaim to the world that their visions are from God? Have you ever heard a prophet say that he could forgive your sins for you? Have you ever heard a TV evangelist say that “I am a God”?  Have you ever attended a meeting where the “spiritual” gifts are so numerous that chaos erupts?

I do believe that spiritual gifts are available to us today for the edification of the church…I also believe that many are the products of divination, and are false.  We have to discern what is God’s truth and what is man’s truth. The Bible is the deciding factor.

Is it possible that some Christians and some who claim to be Christian have opened themselves up to demonic forces and truly believe they are hearing from God, but are not? YES! That spirit guides and angels you have summoned from another metaphysical realm are holy? NO! They are not holy.

In a world that is giving way to a New Age, a new spiritual mysticism, we have to, as Christians, discern what is from God and what is not. We are to test the spirits.

I John 4:1   Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

I beg of you..do not practice anything that is at all similar to eastern meditation. Meditation is the common factor to all metaphysical and ungodly methods. If you have ….stop and repent…..ask God’s forgiveness.

The goal of the New Age is to unite all religions.  Hold strong onto your faith in Jesus Christ. I know many reject this but…. He is indeed THE ONLY WAY.

John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Also remember that Satan is a great counterfeiter and deceiver.  He imitates the things of Christ. Satan is not the light. The Lord Jesus Christ is.

So this verse bears repeating.

2 Corinthians 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light .

Pray daily that the Lord will give you discernment in these last days of great deception. Discern the light of the world, Jesus, from the counterfeit light of Satan’s enlightment. Many caught up in this spiritual deception and false system are experiencing the darkest time in their lives. Depression, anxiety, panic attacks seem to be common factors among those who have crossed over into this forbidden world. Those dark spirits who follow you do so because you invited them.

Jesus Christ demonstrated His power over the demonic world. Only He can cast out those dark spirits.  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ who triumphed over Satan and sin on the cross. He rose again. He is our Savior and will cleanse us from sin and fill us with the Holy Spirit. Faith is trust. Trust in Him.

kim

BSF Children’s Program

August 29, 2007 in Bible, Bible Study, childrens bible study, christianity, Christians, God, Jesus, religion, spiritual growth | 21 comments

bsf.jpg 

UPDATE

March 28th, 2011

I no longer teach in the BSF program but I was very blessed to be part of this wonderful program for three years.The  BSF children’s program strived to teach truth to the children about biblical concepts and did not try to merely entertain them. I have never met a more dedicated and godly group of women.

I did leave BSF for other reasons, which is discussed in some of the other articles. The executive branch would not publicly address the issued raised by others concerned about new age and emergent books recommended in their newsletter and the scripture taken from “The Message.”  “The Message” is not a bible but a paraphrase written by universalist Eugene Peterson who has alarmed many in discernment circles by his unbiblical writings and endorsement of the heretical book, “The Shack.”

**************

I am a children’s leader in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and this will be my third year teaching, and my seventh year overall. This year we will be studying The Book of John. September 2009 – May 2010.

The extent of this program to teach the Bible to the children is quite amazing. The  children’s BSF program consists of 5 parts.  We start in assembly for hymns and prayer. First in the class we have the discussion of questions and answers of the Bible passage we are studying, then we have Discovery or Homiletics which is a fun way of learning  Bible truths and applying them. Next we give the the Bible lesson itself from scripture.  The last activity varies according to the age group. The younger children are usually playing a verse memorization game. For the older children, we have Basic Truths or The Atttributes of God.

I am amazed at the quality of the lessons that are provided for these children. If you have ever participated in BSF then you may know that the lessons for the children are almost the same as the adults. The only difference is that the lesson is age appropriate. The basic principles that are taught for the Bible passage are the same as the adults.

The goal of the children’s program is to  bring families together through mutual study of the Bible, to teach children the Word of God and encourage them to love and serve Him, and apply the principles in their daily lives. BSF  is meant to supplement Christian teaching in the home and the  church, not replace it.  A parent cannot drop off the child on class night. Both have to be in attendance.

We spent a lot of time just on the safety of the children.   There are ALWAYS two adults with the children. The same person who dropped off the child has to pick him/her up.  This is the same procedure for all age groups, 1st grade through high school. So you can see the importance that is placed on your child’s safety while they are in our care.

I previously attended BSF as an enrolled participant  and have been amazed at the wonderful staff and the dedicated discussion leaders who head up each group of ladies when they separate for the discussion groups. Every year my love grows for our teaching leader and know her as a true and loving servant of the Lord.

What an honor and joy it is to be able to work with these women whom I highly appreciate. Surely, I am not worthy….so I am extremely humbled to be offered such an opportunity to serve my Maker and teach children the Word of God. 

Harry, Yoda, and Yoga from Marsha West

August 28, 2007 in apologetics, apostasy, christianity, Christians, harry potter, new age, occult, Spirituality, Yoga | Leave a comment

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Harry, Yoda, and Yoga

Marsha West
August 2, 2007

Quicker than you can say “Quiddich,” a wizard’s broomstick rocketed to the sky and inscribed a smoke trail message for all the world to see… Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows…has arrived! The long-awaited book was released at the stroke of midnight on July 21, putting an end to the suspense. The Potterites, under Harry’s spell for 10 years, now know his fate.

Parents waited in long lines with their youngsters for hours on end so that little Danielle would have first crack at reading the seventh and final book in J. K. Rowling’s phenomenally successful Harry Potter series.

…….Parents who have studied occult literature in order to better understand it should by all means talk to their kids about the Potter books and explain why they’re not permitted to read them, if that’s their decision. The dangers of the occult should not be glossed over. Tell it like it is.

…….Emerging Church leaders boast “a movement from the moral to the mystical is necessary.” To that end, contemplative (centering) prayer is now marketed to Christians around the globe. Who are these Emergents?

What exactly is contemplative prayer? “As it is expressed in a modern day movement is mystically (i.e. based on a technique or method) in which one empties the mind of thought through repetition, usually of a word or phrase or focus on the breath. In this case the silence would be an absence of thought, all thought.” [4]

Some call CP the “silence.” But why not call it what it is? Yoga meditation! [5]

*******************

please read the entire article here from one of my favorite blogs.

http://simplyagape.blogspot.com/2007/08/harry-yoda-and-yoga.html

Parents or teachers  who are concerned about the occult influences in children’s lives today need to read:

Spellbound –  The Paranormal Seduction of Today’s Kids    

Here is where to order this book/ 

     Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/kdqz4 

     Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/escjy 

What is Discernment?

August 27, 2007 in apologetics, apostasy, Bible, christianity, Christians, Church, discernment, God, religion, spiritual growth, Uncategorized | 4 comments

                                  180px-fruit_stall_in_barcelona_market.jpg

First and foremost…be a fruit inspector looking for true doctrine.

I like to think discernment starts with one’s self.  You do have to be right with God. Not just a believer but totally surrendered to Him. 24/7.  I also learned that Christians can be deceived.  How is it that Christians can be deceived? It is because they may not love the truth or that they are not familiar with the Word of God.

Self-examination is difficult but this must be first dealt with. If you will not discern what is wrong with your own life, then you will never be able to discern the spirit of another.

We are to test all teachings, prophecies, and prophets.  People who speak for the Lord… should bear the fruit of the spirit. The fruit is not just good works. Look for the fruit of true doctrine. If you only look at good works, then you may be open to deception because even non-Christians can do many good works.

Many have told me that they were misled because they got lazy and no longer checked what they were being taught by their leaders  or the books they were reading, against the Bible.  So this is imperative. 

Discernment is also one of the spiritual gifts. This spiritual gift of the Holy Spirit is the ability to distinguish between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error, between holiness and evil.  It can be a sense you have about someone or the Holy Spirit will give you a warning about a situation or a person. 

I have had the experience of discernment especially when needed.  Not long ago when a so-called “prophet” began to criticize and persecute me, the Lord let me “sense” his spirit which was cruel and dark, and then let me “see” his hatred in a dream. It took awhile to shake-off this evil from me, but i have been praying for this man ever since.

As you walk with the Lord he will guide you through all things.  By his Word, you can test all things. As your relationship with the Lord deepens and matures so will your discernment because his Holy Spirit will bear witness to these things.

When you face a certain situation, pray about it  and ask the Lord to grant you discernment.  Spend time with Him in prayer and worship.

The Bible is the key to truth..Read it and read it again.. It is the manual for how to live. It comforts and ministers to you.  It is protection against deception, as all things are to be tested against the Bible.

It is essential in these times of spiritual deception that we ask the Lord for the spiritual gifts and put-on the spiritual armor of God.  The Word is both an offensive (sword) and defensive (armor) weapon.

II Corinthians 6:7  By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and the left.

Ephesians 6:17 …and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 

The purpose of the gifts of the Holy Spirit such as discernment is meant for the good of the body of Christ.  We are to use our gifts to edify and strengthen others.

I Corinthians 14:12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.

So it is okay to want these gifts and to pray for them.  Just remember that the power of these gifts is not of yourself, but it is the power of the Holy Spirit.  Do not touch this power. The power is God’s glory… not man’s.

So to discern man’s truth against God’s truth:

Pray for the gift and guidance of the Holy Spirit and then compare what man says and does against the Word of God in the Bible. 

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I like this prayer by A.W. Tozer:

“Lord, may I be one of those ‘whose souls have been illuminated by the Holy Ghost.’ Grant to me ‘the blessed gift of knowing.’ Then be pleased to use me for Your glory today.  Amen.” 

kim

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