Tag: Revival

 

Lambs to the Slaughter

A Perspective From the Desert

I grew up in Modoc County, California.  When I mention the main town, Alturas, people ask “what’s it near”?  Nothing, I respond, because if I told them Canby, Termo, Ravendale or Likely, their faces remain blank.  It’s a vast, windy, arid, high desert.  Across the Warner Mountains, lies Surprise Valley, where there’s a population of Basque families.   They raise sheep in harsh conditions, with parsimonious land in terms of feed, water, and moderate temperatures.  It is generous in one way – coyotes.

 

When it’s lambing season, terrible things can happen.  Packs of coyotes flood in.  When the ewes are at their most vulnerable, as the lambs are emerging, is the choice time for the coyotes to strike.  It’s known that they will consume the emerging lamb, the hindquarters of the ewe, killing both, before moving on to the next target.  The carnage of these vulnerable sheep is heart-wrenching.  Entire flocks can be killed, not entirely eaten, just wasted.

This gets us to the Asbury ‘revival’.  Plenty of sheep, the wolves surging toward the flock, and some people calling out warnings.  I’ve shared many balanced perspectives, Biblically based, which call for restraint, discernment, and waiting to see any good fruit emanating from this gathering, before coming to a firm decision.  I’ve been called several things, most of which are not complimentary.  Or given instructions like the following:

I’m clearly dealing with an intellectual.

I do long for revival but I don’t care for viral gatherings based on false prophecy:

 

I know you might think me stubborn, but it’s a good time for 2nd Thessalonians Chapter Two.  

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.  Let no one deceive you by any means; for That Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, . . .”

I’m concerned at this point in time, with a giant falling away, even one that might appear to be the opposite, even one that just feels so good.

I also am leary of the flood of false teachers rushing to the exact spot where little lambs are emerging but not even able to walk yet.  Why would I claim the students at Asbury can’t walk?  It’s a place where Spiritual Formation (it’s included in the curriculum)  and Contemplative Praying are promoted.  According to an article from Truthkeepers.com:

“Spiritual Formation is contemplative spirituality, and it is sweeping quickly throughout Christianity today.  If a college, a seminary, a church, or an organization wants a spiritual Formation, may they keep in mind, they will get eastern mediation and the occultic realms that accompany it.

Contemplative Praying is a pagan practice that came into Protestantism via the Roman Catholic Church.  RCC mystic, Thomas Merton, recognized the church was void of spirituality.  His search for spirituality led him to associate with a Buddhist colony where he discovered Contemplative praying.  The Buddhists received it from the desert-dwelling Sufi Muslims.   . . . This mystical stream contemplative prayer is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality.  One cannot get more New Age than Spiritual Formation and Contemplative Praying.”

 

Essentially this is a group that is being fed toxic waste blended in with Christianity or as my pastor, Jim Putman of Real Life Ministries, would call it “Rat Poison Theology”.  As is clear from the list of ingredients on many rat poisons, about 95% of the contents are harmless, some might even be good for you, but the poison contained in the box will kill you.  The rest of it is just to get you to eat it in the first place.  The lambs at Asbury are already in a weakened condition.

There’s almost nothing more precious than a newborn lamb and almost nothing more heart-wrenching than seeing it meet a brutal death before it sees the light of day.  We can’t kill all the coyotes but we can mobilize to protect the lambs.

So You Think It’s a Revival
(Please note:  I did not write this, I found it on Facebook)

Would God leave His people without a way to examine ALL things? Would God do a thing that prevents believers from being able to immediately examine it? Would He require believers to wait some undisclosed amount of time to “see what happens?” If the devil inspired a revival today, would we know how to examine it? Would the devil duplicate old false revivals or reinvent new ‘Moves of God” to lure in an unsuspecting crowd? Would the devil aim to target young impressionable youths mostly devoid of sound doctrine and ignorant of the false “moves of God” throughout Church history? Does the devil seek to be worshiped and praised?

I Will Not Trade My Bible For Revival

Let’s examine these things.

All too often people today are testing the supernatural or spiritual things, by what they hear or see, by their experiences, or by their feelings.  If it feels good or right, they “bear witness.”

Another way we see people “testing the spirits” today is by just accepting it by faith, since whatever is happening is inside the church, and therefore “must be from God.”

NONE of these forms of testing are a biblical measure for Truth and they have more in common with the way the world operates, than the Church.

Not all supernatural experiences are from God. Just because it is real does not always mean it is true or authentic. Satan can perform lying signs and wonders that exhibit power just as the apostles did.

All supernatural or spiritual events must be tested before they can be embraced as truth. Don’t be intimidated by big names or multitudes of people saying not to test things. It’s your spiritual right, even your obligation, for your own protection.

The Apostle of Love in 1 John 4:1 tells us to try or “test the spirits.” This command is for our protection. It is not an option.
For example: The way to test a false prophet was by doctrine, not by what they would predict, because in Deuteronomy 13 God says it can actually come to pass, but that He is testing you whether you love the Lord. 

We need to be cautious in hearing and experiencing spiritual “stuff”.

The spiritual man or woman can discern all things. This shows maturity as Hebrews 5:13-14 says. 2 John 9 speaks to us about deceivers and tells us the only way to know is by doctrine: “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God;”

The Word of God is available to everyone, and it “is quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12).  So, we are to use the written Word of God for ourselves and others to discriminate concerning a teaching or whatever is transpiring in any supernatural service.

Of course, God is still active today. He has not been lazy or not “moving” as some might imply with their claim of how all of a sudden God is moving. God wrote the Word and taught believers the doctrine of Christ. He has chosen to limit how He works by working within the parameters of what He has revealed in His Word. He will not go beyond what is written and neither should we.

Today we are confronted with a new type of Gospel, one of experiencing the supernatural. Signs and wonders were never the focus. The Focus was Christ and Him Crucified, His forgiveness and man being reconciled to a Holy God.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven.” Just saying things in His Name or doing things, especially great and wondrous things, in His Name does not make you or anyone a Christian. Read Matthew 7:21-25 because the devil can and will counterfeit outward manifestations.

When you are under deception, you are able to justify any action as long as Jesus’ name is attached to it.

Those who trust in their experiences will all be fooled because they have no measuring stick. They are not familiar with the Word, nor do they abide in it to be immune from deceptions.
Satan is not just a counterfeiter, he is an inventor, especially when it comes to religious-spiritual practices. He uses clever deceptive means to get people from one level of deception to the next. Satan has a counterfeit program involving signs and wonders that he has used throughout history.

God made it clear that it is an evil generation that seeks a sign! Nothing has changed in the Word of God nor in the heart of man. A true supernatural experience will always complement the Word NOT contradict it.

We need to look at all supernatural events from a biblical perspective. It is inconsistent with God’s character to allow His supernatural power to accompany false teachers/teachings that deny what He has so clearly said in His word.

Deception aimed against the Church will take place inside the church, make no mistake.

God still does miracles, but He will NOT honor falsehood with the power of His presence. Any sign or wonder or supernatural event must be questioned and tested by the Word rather than relying on the experience itself to validate it.

Examining the fruit of a person is examining what they say, do and teach and if it conforms to the written Word of God. If it is not in accordance with Gods Word, it is not good fruit and it is not abiding in the doctrine of Christ and therefore not abiding on the vine (John 15:4).

The fruit being examined is of individuals and NOT ministries or supernatural events. There is no waiting to examine the fruit of a “move of God.” God will always honor Truth and move people towards repentance and the gospel. A move of God will always move people towards an accurate understanding of the Truth written in Gods Word. God has indeed limited Himself to operate within the parameters of His Truth which He has revealed to us through His Son and by the written Word of God.

C.D. Cole stated it well by saying, “People who are looking for miracles as a sign or proof of God’s presence and favor are putting themselves in a good position to be deceived. What is supernatural is not necessarily divine.”

A.W. Tozer once said “It is no sin to doubt some things but it may be fatal to believe everything.”

You can’t know what not to participate in unless you judge by God’s Word, and then after you find out it’s wrong you are obligated to let others know.

The one thing that God does not say is to do nothing and leave it ALL up to Him.  He tells us to do what is right. One must be mature to do what is right.

To judge teachings and supernatural occurrences is to act in love. To stand by and ignore them while falsehood continues to spread and misleads and even destroys many lives is negligence. It is the absence of true discipleship and compassion. True love is not silent when people are being misled or deceived.

There is ALWAYS real cheese in a rat trap.

What if this whole event is a trap. What if this whole thing was planned months prior to occur days prior to a scheduled ecumenical and NAR prayer day across college campuses nationwide. What if this whole thing is a marketing strategy to create momentum and hype before they launch their product or true intentions? What if after the day of “prayer” on February 23rd the “revival” moves off location to a more convenient place for deceivers to now move in? What if they begin to schedule the services and “close doors?” Does Gods Spirit rest? What if they use the gullibility and kindness of many well intended Christians to promote a manufactured move of God powered by the Social Media giants? What if the god of this world knows exactly what he is doing?

Do not underestimate the power that Satan has and is allowed to use by God to test believers to see if they love Truth.