I've considered myself a "Charismatic" for longer than I can remember, and I intend to continue. Unfortunately, however, I've noticed a trend among so many who share my belief that the Holy Spirit is alive and active today: more and more, people are getting swept away into believing everything they hear and attributing nearly every manifestation to God. To be frank, I believe many are falling victim to "doctrines of demons" and being led astray.

1 Timothy 4:1-2--Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron...(NKJV)

I also like the New Living Translation's version, which is a little easier to understand:

1 Timothy 4:1-2--Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. (NLT)

What does it mean to have a dead conscience? For one thing, it means that you have lost all discernment, and you will believe whatever you're told--whether it be by a false teacher, a false prophet, or a lying spirit.

In 1 Kings 22, God has determined that it is time for the evil King Ahab to be taken out of power, so he gathers a meeting in the throne room of heaven:

1 Kings 22:19-23--Micaiah [the prophet] continued, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?'

"One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.'

"'By what means?' the LORD asked.

"'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said.

"'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.'

"So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you." (NIV)

I believe we are seeing this same sort of thing happening to many of the people in the Charismatic movement. Why? Because so many of us have turned away and followed after deceptive teachings and doctrines of demons. Like Ahab, we have no regard for the truth of the Lord. In contrast to Ahab, however, the Lord's purpose is not a physical death, but rather a spiritual one. God's plan has always been to bring us to the cross of Christ in repentance so that we can have our sin put to death and the Holy Spirit may bring us new life through His power.

I feel that the Charismatic Movement is experiencing a great shaking at this time. So much of it has been hijacked by "doctrines of demons." So many of our brothers and sisters are listening to lying spirits who prophesy peace, and then they are teaching these false words to others. False teachings and demonic manifestations are running rampant, and people are outright accepting them. Worse yet, they are attributing them to the Holy Spirit! This is wrong, but it is being allowed by the Lord so that those who are not lovers of the Truth will be exposed.

In this time of shaking, people will either buy the delusion hook, line, and sinker, or they will reject it and embrace the truth of Christ. That is why discernment is so vital in the Church today. As John said, the spirit of antichrist is already in the world. We need to be aware of what this spirit is doing, because it foreshadows what will take place at the end of time:

2 Thessalonians 2:8-12--And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (NIV)

Friends, I'm calling for a reformation among Charismatics. Tomorrow I intend to share some specific ways to make this happen, so check back then. For now, please pray for discernment and focus during these times of shaking so that you may "be able to stand your ground when the day of evil comes."

God bless!
--Art--

Several years ago, before many people knew who Todd Bentley was, I ordered his teaching set "Open Heavens" (this was so long ago, it was a set of cassette tapes!). I listened to these teachings intently. I actually remember having an awkward feeling in my gut as I began to listen, but I ignored it because I was so hungry for what Todd had to say. To be honest, much of what he said was perfectly accurate to the Word of God. And I will also say that the possibility of entering into Heaven is certainly real, biblically supported, and able to happen today. In fact, it was because of the truth in these teachings that I was able to understand the visions the Lord was giving me and why He was giving them.

Then some music started on the tape. I began to feel as though the Lord was raising me up, and in my spirit I could see all sorts of brilliant, bright light. But suddenly, Todd Bentley chimed in and tried to verbally guide the experience. I felt like I had dropped out of bed and landed harshly on the floor. Nevertheless, in trust I kept listening, believing that Todd was a man of God and wouldn't lead me astray. I began to feel a darkness coming over me, and I knew this was an evil spirit, but I wrote it off as if it was the devil trying to distract me from what God was doing. Little did I know at the time that God was not in it at all!

The year that followed was one of the darkest times for me emotionally. I constantly felt distant from the Lord. I suffered from depression. I would weep at the slightest onset of emotional discomfort. I had no self-control. This condition didn't go away until finally my girlfriend, Robin (young though she was), discerned that I had an evil spirit and cast it out of me in the name of Jesus. I've actually come across several testimonies online of people who had encounters almost identical to mine, and they also suffered from spiritual defilement after engaging in Todd's guided visualization.

Guided visualization is when a human being or an evil spirit tries to induce an experience that God is not authorizing. Satan tried things like this with Jesus. As our Lord fasted and prayed in the wilderness for 40 days, the devil approached Him three times. Each time, the devil used scripture to entice Jesus into performing a miracle, gaining authority, or having a spiritual experience with angels that Father God had not authorized. Jesus didn't resist the devil in those matters because the Scriptures being quoted weren't true--He resisted the devil because He only wanted to do what He saw His Father in Heaven doing; and He only wanted to do it according to His Father's plan.

By practicing guided visualization in his conferences, seminars, teachings, and ministry, Todd Bentley has been usurping God's sovereignty. Many of the people involved are actually having encounters in heaven, but many others are being deceived by lying spirits!

A few months ago, I was invited out to a prayer meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by a man who knows Todd Bentley. This man taught for an hour on Heavenly encounters, and I really didn't have much of a check in my spirit as he did so. Then he said, "Who wants to go?" He invited me up to play piano while he went to each of the seventy people in the room and "guided them" into a vision. He would take them by the hand and start sharing things that he was seeing, and then they would take over.

At the end, he asked, "How many of you saw something?" Most of the room raised their hands. "Okay," he continued, "that's a little hard to count. How many of you would be willing to say that all you saw was the back of your eyelids?" About five of the seventy people raised their hands. Then he began to ask people what they saw. Many of them shared visions of things that resonated with me in my spirit--in fact, some of them had visions of places in heaven that I had personally encountered in previous years. Like I said, this sort of thing is real! But there were also those who were making things up, and there were also those who were being outright deceived by demons.

In my heart, though, I struggled to rejoice about even the true experiences people had as I drove 3 hours back to my house. Actually, I felt a little grieved. It took me a while to figure out why, but it finally occured to me that these were not all authorized experiences. God did not initiate them. He allowed them, yes; but He did not approve. Rather than God getting all the glory for the encounter, people raved about how this man had led them into it. This is one of the pitfalls of guided visualization.

Feel free to seek the Lord and allow Him to carry you into visions, dreams, and trances. Allow Him to give you genuine encounters in the spiritual realm! But don't try to induce it yourself, and don't rely on someone else to guide you there. Let's be like Christ and ONLY do what our Father is doing. If He initiates the encounter, you can be certain that you are in the right place at the right time! If not, you are opening yourself up to demons and spiritual defilement.

Be discerning, friends!
--Art--

Angels are real, but so are demons. And of greatest concern to me is that "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Todd Bentley has been raising a lot of eyebrows over the years with his talk of angels and spiritual encounters--especially surrounding the meetings going on right now in Lakeland.

I must admit, I'm personally getting a little weary with writing about Todd Bentley, but this is clearly an important topic at the present time. Just as Bentley has said that he'll stay in Florida for "as long as the revival lasts," I have a feeling I'll be writing heart-felt warnings for equally as long.

I recently received an e-mail from a concerned reader asking my thoughts about Bentley's fascination with angels. In particular, there is a spirit that Todd says is named "Emma," which Todd wrote about. This reader asked,

I read some of your blog about Todd Bentley and I wanted to ask you a few questions. What do you think about Todd's angel 'Emma'? This seems strange to me as I have never heard of female angels in the Bible, yet Todd says she's like the Proverbs 31 woman. How could she be? Does she have a family she takes care of like the Proverbs 31 woman? Angels don't procreate, so how can she be like this woman? Angels neither marry or are given in marriage....My other concern is, have you heard that Emma-o is a major Satanic entity worshipped in Japan as the King of Hell. Just google it. This wouldn't concern me normally except that Todd has a lot of Japanese writing tatooed on his body! Thanks for your time and God bless you.

This person also shared this excerpt from an article by Todd Bentley (feel free to skip it if you just want to read my reply to this reader's e-mail):

“Now let me talk about an angelic experience with Emma. Twice Bob Jones asked me about this angel that was in Kansas City in 1980: “Todd, have you ever seen the angel by the name of Emma?” He asked me as if he expected that this angel was appearing to me. Surprised, I said, “Bob, who is Emma?” He told me that Emma was the angel that helped birth and start the whole prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s. She was a mothering-type angel that helped nurture the prophetic as it broke out. Within a few weeks of Bob asking me about Emma, I was in a service in Beulah, North Dakota. In the middle of the service I was in conversation with Ivan and another person when in walks Emma. As I stared at the angel with open eyes, the Lord said, “Here’s Emma.” I’m not kidding. She floated a couple of inches off the floor. It was almost like Kathryn Khulman in those old videos when she wore a white dress and looked like she was gliding across the platform. Emma appeared beautiful and young-about 22 years old-but she was old at the same time. She seemed to carry the wisdom, virtue and grace of Proverbs 31 on her life.

She glided into the room, emitting brilliant light and colors. Emma carried these bags and began pulling gold out of them. Then, as she walked up and down the aisles of the church, she began putting gold dust on people. “God, what is happening?” I asked. The Lord answered: “She is releasing the gold, which is both the revelation and the financial breakthrough that I am bringing into this church. I want you to prophecy that Emma showed up in this service-the same angel that appeared in Kansas city-as a sign that I am endorsing and releasing a prophetic spirit in the church.” See, when angels come, they always come for a reason; we need to actually ask God what the purpose is. Within three weeks of that visitation, the church had given me the biggest offering I had ever received to that point in my ministry. Thousands of dollars! Thousands! Even though the entire community consisted of only three thousand people, weeks after I left the church the pastor testified that the church offerings had either doubled or tripled.

During this visitation the pastor’s wife (it was an AOG church) got totally whacked by the Holy Ghost - she began running around barking like a dog or squawking like a chicken as a powerful prophetic spirit came on her. Also, as this prophetic anointing came on her, she started getting phone numbers of complete strangers and calling them up on the telephone and prophesying over them. She would tell them that God gave her their telephone number and then would give them words of knowledge. Complete strangers. Then angels started showing up in the church.

I believe Emma released a financial and prophetic anointing in that place. That was the first angel that I have ever seen in the form of a woman. Some angels I’ve seen seemed like they were neither male nor female. However, Emma appeared as a woman who was like a Deborah, like a mother in Zion. When she came, she began to mentor, nurture and opened up a prophetic well. The people in the church began having trances and visions and the pastor began getting words of knowledge and moving in healing. That congregation also saw more financial breakthrough than they had ever seen before.

I was at another meeting in Atlanta when my wife, Shonnah, saw two financial angels walk into the service and pour oil out on the pastor. Shonnah then knew there was financial breakthrough coming. That night two people wrote the pastor cheques for $16,000 and $17,000 and others also wrote cheques to Fresh Fire for thousands of dollars, which we used for missions to the nations. In addition, many people experienced great financial blessing as well. The day after this angelic visitation one guy had millions of dollars released to him-he had been waiting for about 10 years for this breakthrough. All this financial release came because my wife saw two financial angels walk up and stand on the platform. Can you imagine? We need to pray for the Father to give us financial angels for our lives, our church and region. With this angelic assistance, we will prevail and overcome the warfare trying to hold back our financial breakthrough. Some of you don’t know how to use the angels in intercession like this. You don’t even know whether it’s OK or not….”

And here is the reply I sent in response to this woman's questions:

I should start by saying that I have some reservations in my spirit about Todd’s “Emma” angel that really concern me—I believe this and many of the other angels Todd talks about are actually demons. But I believe I should offer a little more of an answer because we all need to learn to enhance our discernment in Christ.

My concerns regarding this spirit are not based on the fact that it appears female. I’ve personally never encountered a female-looking angel. Typically, they don’t look either male or female, but because of their stature and intensity, they are often thought to be males by many people. Look through Scripture, and you’ll find that many times angels were referred to as “men” by those telling the account; but as you pointed out, they don’t marry. We also see in Hebrews that by showing hospitality to strangers, some have entertained angels without knowing it. To assume that an angel would never appear in a female form would imply that only male strangers could be angels. Maybe that’s true; maybe not--I really don’t know. What I do know, however, is that angels can take any form they like. If a true angel appears as a woman, it may very well have some sort of prophetic meaning (nurturing? birthing? Just thoughts). If a demon can appear like a female, then so can an angel. Whether or not that would happen, I don’t know, but I am certain that it’s possible. Again, I’ve never run across this, I just don’t see enough biblical grounds to write it off as impossible.

In regard to the Proverbs 31 woman reference, Todd didn’t say that she was that woman, he only said that she seemed to carry the wisdom, virtue, and grace of that woman. I’m not saying that makes it true--I just don’t want to waste time disproving something he didn’t actually say.

I wasn’t aware of the Japanese spirit bearing the similar name. It’s possible that there’s a connection here, but I don’t have a feeling one way or another. I try to be careful not to pass judgments based on speculation when I don’t have a clear word from the Lord. Thanks for bringing it up though--it’s worth being aware of.

Also, I have previously read the article you shared. One of the things that concerned me was the pastor’s wife who "began running around barking like a dog [and] squawking like a chicken"--this was said to be from a "powerful prophetic spirit." I sharply disagree with this being a "prophetic" spirit. Paul was clear in 1 Corinthians 14 that what makes prophecy unique is that it’s intelligible (in contrast with tongues, unless someone interprets). I am particularly thinking of verses 23 through 25: "So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, 'God is really among you!'" In the case of barking like a dog or squawking like a chicken, an unbeliever’s response would be more like verse 23: "They’re out of their mind!" This is not by any means prophetic. The only time I see someone behaving like an animal in Scripture is when King Nebuchadnezzar was judged by God and wandered the wilderness like a wild beast for a few years. That’s not a prophetic spirit. Furthermore, manifestations like this have been documented over and over again in the foreign mission field, and the missionaries write about casting demons out of such people (Derek Prince wrote about this extensively).

Based on the article alone, I would say that if "Emma" made the pastor’s wife bark like a dog and squawk like a chicken, then either it was the judgment of God or a demonic manifestation. I would argue the latter. It grieves me that such things are attributed to the Holy Spirit!

The main reason I don’t feel right about "Emma," though, is that this spirit is constantly stealing glory from Jesus Christ. A true angel would do no such thing. I’ve watched Todd Bentley at these meetings get so distracted talking about the healing angel (named "winds of change") that Jesus doesn’t even get mentioned for nearly an hour. Read through that article about Emma again and you’ll find that Jesus is never mentioned even once--but money is brought up quite a bit. The impression one might get from the article is "seek Emma and get rich." It does not point people to Christ in the least way. As Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God and money."

Thanks for asking the great questions! Let me know if you have other thoughts or if there’s more that concerns you.

God bless!
--Art--

Friends, we need to be very cautious with Todd Bentley. I've written a lot already about this and my convictions have only been solidified over the past couple weeks. As a matter of fact, I've noticed that the more time that passes, the more grieved I sense the Holy Spirit is with the Lakeland meetings. There is a flurry of spiritual activity happening in Lakeland, Florida, right now. Yes, some people are truly being healed, but they are becomming harder and harder to find. I see more and more demons gaining influence in these meetings, and the manifestations are following.

We MUST have discernment in these matters. As much as I hate to say it, most of what we are discerning now in Lakeland is between evil spirits and flesh--there's not nearly as much of God's genuine activity going on. I've tried to remain positive about the Lakeland meetings for as long as possible, but I'm afraid that they've been overrun with evil spirits, and the leaders are none the wiser. We DEFINITELY need to be in prayer crying out for God's mercy. Continue to be discerning and don't write the entire thing off because there are still some things being done by the Lord (scarce as they may be)--but I admonish you to be even more cautious than ever with Todd Bentley and the "Lakeland Healing Outpouring."

Keep the eyes of your heart fixed on Jesus Christ!

--Art--

The Holy Spirit is just that: HOLY. To be holy, according to the Encarta Dictionary, is to be "dedicated or set apart...devoted to the service of God...sacred...awe-inspiring...having a character that evokes reverance." These are some of the aspects of the Holy Spirit. Then, throughout the Scripture, we discover many other aspects: His gentleness, His humility (always pointing to Christ), His work in the Resurrection of Jesus, His present-day revealing of Jesus Christ...

But what I'm seeing in Lakeland is not in line with all these things. It certainly is awe-inspiring at times, but then so is a really good musician. And every other aspect can only be seen with loose references. For instance, I have heard from many people (pastors included) who have been watching the meetings from the beginning and noticed that never once has the resurrection of Jesus Christ been even mentioned. This is a shame because it is so foundational to Christianity. As Paul said, if there is no resurrection of Christ, then "our preaching is useless and so is your faith."

And how about humility? I certainly cannot judge a man's heart, but I can definitely judge his actions and the fruit of those actions. As Paul said, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?" (1 Cor. 5:12). As soon as someone claims to be a Christian, they open themselves up to scrutiny and judgment within the Body of Christ--not for the sake of division, but for the sake of purification and a resultant unity. As far as humility goes, I keep seeing Todd drawing attention to himself and going into great detail about the revelations he has received. Have we forgotten Colossians 2:18? "Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions." I'm deeply concerned for Todd.

I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit is not at all present--rather, I sense that He is grieved to have been given a backseat to Todd.

But this problem goes way farther than the "Healing Revival" in Lakeland. It spreads to the Charismatic movement as a whole. I would consider myself a Charismatic due to my relationship with the Holy Spirit and belief in His spiritual gifts; but I am becoming increasingly bothered by the excesses, falsehoods, and lack of reverence demonstrated by many people in the Charismatic movement. I recently had to remove a book from my "recommended reading" page because of the author's unrepentant, irreverant actions.

I'm speaking about John Crowder who authored a book titled The New Mystics. I like this book because it provides a detailed history of the Holy Spirit's activity and presence throughout all of world history up to the present. It has hundreds of well-researched mini-biographies of God's people and the supernatural things they did in the name of Jesus. It is even honest enough to point out the shortcommings and failures of some of these men and women with warnings not to fall into the same traps. But John Crowder has unfortunately not taken his own advice, and I can no longer support or defend him.

To be specific, I found a YouTube video in which John and his friend Benjamin Dunn feature themselves getting "high" by "tokin' the Ghost." It is not only offensive, but I fear for their souls because of the great deception they're in and the blasphemy of their actions as they pretend to take hits on a baby Jesus doll as if it were Marijuana. (I do not want to promote the video, but in case you don't believe me, here's the address: http://youtube.com/watch?v=h5YJPGaH_n0)

There is another video (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ec91wvUY7Yo&feature=related) in which Crowder says, "I used to have a teaching gift; now I have a unique gift of being struck mute in the middle of a service." Really? Interesting--I only see this in Scripture as a disciplinary measure (check out yesterday's post about manifestations). John also says there are little, fat, "friar tuck" angels that travel with him and "wheel in barrels from heaven."

Where is the reverence? Where is Jesus Christ? Where is the holiness? Where is the HOLY Spirit?

As much as it grieves me to write these things about brothers like Todd and John, I have to be faithful to the Truth and warn the Body of Christ not to follow their actions or theology in the least.

Keep praying for the leaders and teachers of the Charismatic movement because Satan clearly has issued a systematic attack on us all. If it is not exposed for what it is, then it will remain in darkness. Those of us who have the eyes to see need to sound the alarm even if it costs us (I've already had speaking engagements cancel because of my recent articles).

Ephesians 5:11--Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, test the spirits and continue to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. The TRUE Holy Spirit will point you to Him; but if you find yourself being distracted from Jesus, then you have fallen victim to an evil spirit. Please be careful, friends.

God bless!

I've been getting a flood of comments and e-mails regarding my recent posts about Todd Bentley and the Lakeland meetings--Keep them coming! But one issue has come up that I feel needs to be addressed publically: physical manifestations like shaking, jerking, squalking, and twitching.

I should start by saying that I have experienced a couple genuine instances in which God touched me in a physical way and I could feel His presence. Don't think I'm saying that such a thing is impossible. But in every case that I've experienced a touch from God, I had complete control over my physical body--have we forgotten that the fruit of the Spirit includes self-control? (see Galatians 5:22)

The only times that I could not control what was happening to me was when a demon was involved--either attacking me or coming out of me. Sort of makes you think about all the shaking and jerking we hear about at the Lakeland meetings, doesn't it?

The Holy Spirit produces self control, whereas an evil spirit causes a lack of it. Even where "speaking in tongues" is concerned, one has the freedom to yeild their tongue to the Holy Spirit--Acts 2:4 says that the believers "began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit ENABLED them"--not as He controlled them. Even where spontaneous utterances of prophecy are concerned, Paul said, "The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet." The Holy Spirit produces self-control; but we see plenty of cases in the Bible where an evil spirit "seized" a person, threw them into convulsions, or caused them to behave like an animal. The only time I see God being the initiator in a physical manifestation that results in a loss of control is where disobedience or unbelief was concerned--like when Zechariah was struck mute in Luke 1 or when King Nebuchadnezzar was sent into the wilderness as a crazy man in Daniel 4. I never hear of Jesus shaking or jerking--He always had complete control.

Several years ago, as a teenager, a friend and I took a road trip to Toronto to check things out. I have to be honest--what I saw there was similar in some ways to the Lakeland stuff, but there were some huge differences. Yes, there was a lot of self-hypnosis and silliness going on. TACF's Senior Pastor, John Arnott, even pointed it out by telling a story about a Sunday School teacher who accidentally spilled some gold glitter in the hall; and by the time she had returned with a vaccuum, there were fifteen people huddled around it, speading it on their faces, rolling on the floor, jerking, and making all sorts of noises. While I was there, people squalked like chickens and roared like lions--things that author and missionary Derek Prince said happened in Africa as evil spirits would take hold of witchdoctors and others involved in the occult. Nevertheless, at Toronto, I also saw a lot of true things being done, and the credit was always emphatically given to Jesus Christ. Very real biblical truths about the love of Father God were highlighted, and many hearts have been healed as a result. My point is that in Lakeland, as with Toronto, we need to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Again, I've followed Bentley's ministry since before anyone knew who he was, and I know from observation and discernment that his gift of healing was bestowed by the Holy Spirit. As I've said before, if someone get's healed in Lakeland or over the Internet through what's happening there, I praise God for it and give Him all the glory. We must give the honor and credit to Christ. But the teachings, ministry methods, and unhealthy focus on spiritual beings at the expense of Jesus Christ should be adamantly opposed as false.

As I've said, the first danger is that Todd's healing gift seems to give credentials to his teachings, and many of these are pretty out-of-whack. But I also believe I need to bring light to some of the physical manifestations that people are exhibiting. To be honest, I don't think these manifestations are originating with Bentley--I think they're risidual from the attacks of the enemy that were wrought on the Toronto and Brownsville "revivals." When I visited Toronto, I fell into the trap of seeking the manifestations until I realized it was a ploy of the enemy to distract people from the truth of what God was wanting to do there.

I could see the plan rather clearly: get the people to focus on fruitless shakes and jerks in their physical body so they won't pay attention to the spiritual application. Not only that, but the enemy knew that if people could be duped into synchretism--in which these manifestations are seen as being synonymous with what God was genuinely doing--then it would turn a lot of "discerning" people off to the movement altogether and the Body of Christ would be divided.

Guess what? This is what happened. The manifestations became so entwined with the actual working of God that people felt they had to either embrace all of it or reject all of it--there was no in-between.

Real discernment from the Holy Spirit is not used to accept or renounce a big-picture; that can be done with our human minds. Black and white bricks can be separated by hand, but black and white paint can only be separated by a miracle. "Brick-style" discernment is based on human logic, whereas "paint-style" discernment is based on the Holy Spirit. Brownsville, Toronto, and Lakeland are a soup of gray paint, and we can't approach them with human logic. That's why the bulk of people's writing about such things seem to be polarized--either for or against the entire thing. They say, "Well, it's not black, so it must be white..." or they say, "It's not white, so it must be black." As a result, Christians are divided by it and the devil has succeeded in bringing confusion to the Body of Christ. You cannot apply "brick-style" discernment in a "paint-style" issue. Instead, we must seek the Holy Spirit for true heavenly discernment about what we can accept and what needs to be renounced. To deal with it like a brick brings division, but to deal with it like paint brings purity.

Approach the Lakeland meetings with prayer and discernment--and remember that we're a Body made up of many parts. If you see something in my posts in which I'm mistaken, please let me know. But if you see something here you hadn't thought of, take it to the Lord in prayer and search the Scriptures to see if what I have to say is true.

Let's keep praying for Todd! God bless!

Have you ever heard someone explain a commonly misunderstood concept, and then your new understanding seems to haunt you? Such is the case for me when it comes to "Binding and Loosing," which many Christians talk about but few understand. When I was around 11 years old, we had a minister visit our church from Texas, and he spoke about these two words. Like a good little Christian, I went home and researched the message for myself, and it checked out. Believe it or not, most of us have a completely backwards understanding of these terms.

Here's the origin:

Matthew 18:18,19 - "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (NIV)

We very often use this verse to justify phrases like this:

• "I bind you, Satan."
• "I loose the Holy Spirit"
• "Father, bind the enemy"
• "Lord, loose peace"

The list could go on, but you get the idea. The problem is that we've been basing our understanding of these words on the English definition rather than the original Greek.

In the Greek, the word "bind" is "deo," which means to knit, tie, and wind--like "binding" a Christmas tree to the roof of your car or "binding" together the pages of a book. It is a matter of tight connection. This verse isn't instructing us to "bind" the devil. But Acts 20:22 uses the word "deo" correctly when Paul says, "And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there" (NKJV). Jesus' original instruction was saying to knit ourselves with, tie ourselves to, and wind ourselves around His Holy Spirit.

As for the word "loose," the Greek word is "luo." We seem to use this instruction from Jesus to "loose the Holy Spirit" before a meeting, etc. I don't know who decided this is what it meant, but I didn't know the Holy Spirit was stuck! In reality, the Greek word "luo" means to break up--to destroy, dissolve, loose, and melt.

We now see that Christ is giving us the power to destroy the forces of darkness--not just tie them up! Whatever we destroy, dissolve, and melt on earth will be destroyed in heaven! When we cast out an evil spirit on earth, that spirit has also lost any audience it might have in heaven! If we "luo" that spirit here, we "lou" it there! That spirit cannot approach God (like Satan did in the book of Job) and barter for the right to attack a person spiritually. To "luo" is to destroy!

To see this word used in a different context, pay attention to the words “destroy” and “destruction” in 2 Peter 3:11,12: “Since everything will be destroyed [luo] in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction [luo] of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.” Now that's luo!

Overall, Christ is really talking about the spiritual pacts we make; are we knitting ourselves with God and destroying the demons in our lives, or are we tying ourselves to evil spirits and dissolving our connections with God? Christ gave us the power to bind and to loose spiritual things. This is the power to attach and destroy. It is the prerogative of the Holy Spirit to become intimately enmeshed into our lives. On the same token, though, it is the objective of Satan to attain that same goal.

Who are we binding ourselves to?
Who are we destroying?

Galatians 5:24,25—Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (NIV)

I recently read a short article that impressed me on one point (even though the rest of it was a little weird). The person said that angels and demons are not supernatural. The word "supernatural" implies something that is "above and beyond" creation, but angels and demons are created beings. In other words, the only being who is truly "supernatural" is God Himself!

Angels and demons are natural, created beings, completely spiritual in nature (with no physical bodies, although they can sometimes appear physically). Humans are created both physical and spiritual in nature; but just because we have a spirit doesn't make us supernatural either. We were created, and so were the angels and demons that war for our souls. Only God is truly supernatural.

Why is this important? Because it puts things into right perspective! To quote the words of one of my favorite songs, "In Christ Alone," "No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand!" HE IS SUPER-NATURAL! My God is ABOVE nature! He is ABOVE all created things!

As children of a supernatural God, we need not fear ANYTHING natural--He created it all and can intervene at any moment! His power and love are above and beyond EVERYTHING that has been made!

Romans 8:38-39--For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (NIV).

---

ABOVE ALL

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

© 1999 Integrity's Hosanna! Music/LenSongs Publishing

When we read about Jesus in the Gospels or about His apostles in the book of Acts, we find several places where they were involved in casting out demons. We even find places that say "many demons" were cast out! In fact, some people had multiple demons opressing them. And Jesus told His disciples (which includes you and me) that we have authority over all the power of the enemy. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of Jesus Christ, we can heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, and cast out demons.

Such activities were so common in Bible days, but these days it seems like we pretend demons are nothing but figments of an uneducated person's imagination. And yet, all over the world we see dramatic evidence of their existance.

I'm reminded of the many cases in Africa and South America where people are inhabited by spirits that make them behave like animals--eating grass, crawling on all fours, slithering like a snake, clawing at people, and making bizarre noises. When the spirit is cast out in Jesus' name, these people come to their senses and testify to the power of God.

This isn't the only way demons work in other countries, but it is very common. And yet we rarely see such things in America. Demons try to be more clever here. Instead of dramatically demonstrating their influence over a person, they do so sneakily and subtly. And here's how:

In Genesis, we are told that God formed man from the dust of the ground (body), breathed into him the breath (Hebrew: "spirit") of life, and man became a living soul. Body, spirit, soul. From this description, we learn that the soul is the product of the body and spirit coming together. As a result, our soul (which consists of our mind, will, and emotions) can be directly affected by the condition of our body or spirit at any given moment.

In a healthy Christian, our spirit is fully alive in Christ and supercedes the condition of our body so that our soul obeys our spirit. But if our spirit is not alert and drifts off to sleep, our body takes over and our souls become slaves to our impulses and physical condition.

Now, if our soul is the result of our body and spirit coming together, what do you suppose happens when an evil spirit comes into the mix? Well, for one thing, we get confused on a spiritual level. For another thing our soul gets affected, causing us to have tainted emotions, evil thoughts, and unwise choices. Furthermore, our body can be effected. Just as our human body is given life by our human spirit, it can also be adversely affected by an evil spirit.

Demonic activity is no less common today than it was 2000 years ago in the Bible. If anything, it is more prevalent because the end is approaching and Satan knows his time is short. In America, demons produce mental disorders, clinical depression, strife, envy, and other things that seem like they're just natural parts of who we are. We try to physically suppress their effect on the soul by taking pills and changing our diet, but we often end up in worse shape than we were in before.

In the past three weeks I've had the opportunity to see four people instantly set free from clinical depression as I took gentle authority over the evil spirit, cast it out, and prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill that void in the person's life. In fact, I too went through a few hours of unexplainable depression on Sunday until my girlfriend Robin took authority in Jesus' name and cast the evil spirit away (this may have been one of the spirits that was cast out of the others, which should remind us that we need to stay clothed in the armor of God).

My encouragement to all of you is not that you would go out looking for depressed people and casting out demons. Jesus said we need to be careful about that because if the person does not also get their life filled up with God and repent, the evil spirit will vome back with seven more demons worse than himself. I've seen this happen in the past too, so I'm very careful about this.

Another word of caution is that we need not tell the person, "You have a demon." This could be just the thing that demon needs to make the person leave or put up walls. Instead, offer to pray for them and then take authority during your prayer. Tell the spirit to leave in Jesus' name and invite the Holy Spirit to bring healing and transformation to the person. By the way, "taking authority" does not mean yelling, or being angry, or jumping, or doing anything else dramatic. In a confrontation, the person with the most authority is often the one who is most calm. Tell the spirit to leave and not come back. Speak on behalf of Jesus Christ, and make that point known. It's that simple. No hype, just authority.

So if you know someone who is struggling with an evil spirit in any way, I tell you on behalf of Jesus Christ that you have been given the authority in Him to cast out demons. But also seek the overflowing power of the Holy Spirit, and put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6) so that you may remain protected and not vulnerable (otherwise you might wind up affected by the same demon like I was in the story earlier).

God bless!

This last Wednesday, my friend Tony (who leads our men's Bible Study) pointed out that the devil tends to attack those areas of our lives that God wants to use most. Then Sunday came along and I believe the Holy Spirit revealed something to me allong those lines during a time of prayer.

The thought occurred to me (I believe it was from God, but judge for yourself) that the enemy has been around for a while and understands how to read the human genetic code. He looks for things God meant for good, and he perverts them so that we never become who we were created to be.

For instance, suppose God created one person to be a fiery, passionate, bold Christian who is not afraid to speak the truth in the face of opposition. Then the enemy comes along, sees the God-given potential that has been written into that person's DNA, and attacks it. Later in life, the circumstances the enemy has brought against that person have wounded their soul and spirit to such an extent that instead of being a bold proclaimer of the Truth, they become a person with an anger and rage problem.

And here's the hard part--Does God hold that person accountable for their actions? You bet. Why? Because that's not who they were created to be. Yes, they have some DNA that makes it very easy for them to have anger and rage problems, but the fact remains that this was not God's reason for writing that DNA!

Yesterday I met someone (who will remain anonymous) who God is calling out of a homosexual relationship and into His Kingdom. This person's response was to respond to the Holy Spirit and leave the house where they were living. We got to pray together for salvation and new life, and this person stated that they genuinely felt different than before. Sure, there will be a process of spiritual and emotional transformation involved--I've experienced this first hand in my own battle with lust and sensuality. But I think one of the most important things that came up was this matter of DNA and how modern scientists claim to have found "the gay gene" (I apologize if that term is offensive to any of you).

You see, God created this person to have a tender, caring heart through which the Holy Spirit can reveal His power and love in awesome ways. The enemy came along and attacked that DNA early in their life through circumstances and lies spoken into their thoughts. And now, years later, this person has finally accepted that Jesus Christ has something better in store!

The supernatural love of God knows no limits! The Bible says, "God is love," and, "Love covers a multitude of sins!" God is not shocked when the devil attacks us in the areas God meant for good--He is grieved. Why? Because it hurts to watch someone you love getting dragged away from you. Not only that, but the things we often get "dragged away by" are the things God meant to be used for good--like the firey boldness of the one who was dragged into rage or the sensitivity, creativity, and personality of the one who was dragged into homosexuality.

We need to stop explaining away our sin by saying, "Well, that's just the way I was made; so God must want me to be like this." The truth is, he made you just the way He wanted to so He could reveal something about Himself through you that no one else could. He created you with a purpose and a destiny. He has a reason for every gene in your genetic code. But He did not create you to live a life of sin.

Christianity is not about "denying who we are"--it's about becoming who we are! God created us each with His plan and purpose in mind, and the Christian life is one of glorifying our Father in Heaven. That means we do His will. That means we become who He created us to be! And this can only be done by the power of the Holy Spirit!

In our own strength and will-power, we are helpless when it comes to getting out of the mess the enemy has dragged us into. We've been attacked right down to our DNA, and so it seems that this is just "who we are." Do not be fooled. When we allow the transformational power of the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with God's love and show us who we are meant to be, He begins to change us from the inside-out. Our DNA doesn't change, but the way we apply it does! We become who we were created to be! And God, our Father, gets all the glory for our freedom from sin!

My prayer for each and every reader today is that you would not be swayed by the enemy to believe that your sinful nature is "just the way you were made." I pray in the name of Jesus that you would instead realize the purity and purpose that were intended by God before you were even conceived in your mother's womb. I pray that you may come to grasp how long and high and deep and wide is the love of God and how great is His kindness toward us expressed in Christ Jesus. Today is the day for you to leave your old ways of life at the cross (considering the "old you" as being dead) so that the blood of Jesus Christ can purify you and the Holy Spirit can give you a brand new life of intimacy with our Father in Heaven.

I invite and welcome you to join our family!

New Age Practices vs. Real Christianity

I recently heard a story about a local woman whose child was in the hospitol with an incurable disease. A friend of hers, who practices a form of New-Age beliefs called "Reiki," came for a visit; and after "channelling the powers of the universe," placed her hands on the boy. Guess what? He got healed, and now the mother is studying Reiki as well.

Now, when this story was shared in a roomfull of Christians, you could sense the thick uneasiness and displeasure among the group. Why? Because they knew that any miraculous work that is not done in the name of Jesus Christ distracts people from God instead of drawing them to Him. And speaking from experience (not just doctrine), such activities regularly open people up to be influenced by evil, lying spirits.

But the chief problem didn't exist in the Reiki-follower's actions. That's all she knew, and you can't blame her for having compassion on the boy. The problem is actually with us. Where were the Christians who could have gone into that room and laid their hands on the boy in the name of Jesus Christ? Where were the Christians walking in supernatural power and relationship with God? Where were the ambassadors of Christ?

Now, let me tell you another story: A few months ago, a couple friends of mine and Robin's had been experiencing some bazaar demonic manifestations. The young man had two boys (ages 3 and 5) from a previous marriage who kept seeing things; and his girlfriend was living with him. There were audible voices in the house, things moving when no one was in the room, and the boys were having nightmares. It even developed to the point where the man was quickly awakened in the night with a sharp pain in his arm, only to find a bite mark.

Long story short, five of us (all Christian young adults who meet in a weekly small group) were invited over to their house to deal with the matter. The Holy Spirit showed us that the spirits would not go away unless this couple stopped living in darkness. In the same way flies are attracted to manure, demons are attracted to spiritual darkness.

Anyhow, we told them not to make a haphazard decision right away, but rather to talk it over and make the choice together because they would both be affected. Then we prayed in the name of Jesus that the evil manifestations would stop so that the two little boys wouldn't be terrified to be in the house anymore. But we warned them firmly that if they continued to live in darkness, the results would only be temporary.

That night, in a house that had become peaceful for the first time in months, the two of them talked it over and decided they needed to take this step with Christ. The two young boys--ages 3 and 5--came back from their mom's house and also commented on the change of atmosphere. The youngest--who had been seeing one of the evil spirits--kept walking around the house saying, "Where's the little girl? I can't find the little girl..."

Since then, the two of them come every week to our small group and sometimes even host the meeting at their house. I got to baptize the young man in our friend's bathtub a few weeks ago, and then the young woman chose to get baptized a couple weeks later! They both repented of sexual imorality and totally changed the ways they related to each other. Guess what? Their relationship improved dramatically. In fact, the young lady reads her Bible every night, and a couple weeks ago her boyfriend tied a ring to the bookmark ribbon for her to find. They're getting married in June!

And it doesn't stop there: As a result of God's power and the work of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, the young man got dramatically set free from an addiction to pain killers when he received Christ, and the young woman has been free from smoking for the past month and a half since she forgave her dad for things he had done to her family. They're an awesome testimony of God's power!

So here's the scoop: there are two distinct differences between Christian works of power and New-Age works of power. First is the source. The Christian's power comes from the Holy Spirit and is limitless; the New-Age-follower's power comes either from their limited human abilities or from weak evil spirits. The second difference is that when someone gets healed by someone in New-Age, they and their family are more likely to drift away from the one true God and get more and more entrapped in separation from Him. On the other hand, when God's power is at work, people get utterly transformed inside and out. Their hearts change, their addictions evaporate, and their physical circumstances are even affected.

Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble; but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world!" Becoming a Christian doesn't mean the world suddenly becomes perfect. Rather it means that you have a relationship with the One who IS perfect! And He's the one for whom you get to be an ambassador. You too can have opportunities like my four friends and I--and you too can have a relationship with the One who is infinitely stronger than any demon, power, or circumstance!