“Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken.” (Eze 22:28 nasb)
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Journal,
The ability to discern properly relates to a believer’s intuition, that is, to the deep of the inner man that alerts him to things that are not right. The mature believer has learned to pay close attention to the ‘cautions’ of his own spirit. But where the immature believer gets in trouble is when he overrides the cautions in his heart. Often this overriding comes from, ‘Something must be wrong with me. Everyone else thinks this is of God.’
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The apostle Paul calls attention to our need to grow up spiritually:
“For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.” (Php 1:8-10)
The problem is that we humans long for spiritual realities. Hence the problem. Ever since the fall of Adam, all humanity has entered into Adam’s state of spiritual disrepair. Moses speaks of this as a defect.
Listen to Moses:
“For I proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He. They have acted corruptly toward Him, they are not His children, because of their defect; but are a perverse and crooked generation.” (Deu 32:3-5).
When a person turns to the Lord, they enter into a new expression of being as a believer. They are now followers of Jesus. Yet there is still work to be done in order to repair what had been lost in the fall of Adam. The Bible speaks of this work as ‘the renewing of our mind,’ or, ‘the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.’A place to begin is in understanding what the Bible means by ‘the lie.’
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The Lie That Caused the fall of Adam –
The original lie that Satan used on Eve can be considered the mother of all lies. Understand this and you are on your way to realizing how this same lie is making its rounds in large portions of the Charismatic movement today.
‘The lie’ was that Adam and Eve could be exactly what God is, therefore they would have no need for God. They themselves would be gods. And this is the very lie being pushed today. It is insidious because people do not realize that it actually undermines the Lordship of Jesus Christ in a person’s life. If I can do everything Jesus does, then why would I need Jesus. (Think about it.)
Satan is a liar. A lie is a deception at work. A deception is a form of mind control. One Hebrew
term that defines deception means, ‘to steal the heart.’
While the Bible says that God cannot lie, Jesus tells us that Satan’s primary calling card is lying. Satan’s main mode of operation is defined Biblically as. ‘power and signs and false wonders, and all the deception of wickedness.’ (Cf. 2Th2:9,10)
The lying wonders do not do away with the true miracles and workings of God. But the miracles of God are always in a form of bringing glory to Jesus Christ, and not to a man.
Coming back to Satan as a liar, Jesus spoke to a certain group who were religiously serving Satan, though they would certainly deny this. They were willing to believe in Jesus, but it had to be on their terms, and not on the terms for who Jesus really was.
Listen:
“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Joh 8:42-44)
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Once again let’s come back to the lie that caused the fall of Adam.
The first recorded lie in the Scriptures was when Satan used his dark power to deceive Eve. The lie that he used to deceive Eve has become what the Bible calls, ‘the lie.’ It is the godhood lie. (Keep that term in mind.)
Concerning the forbidden fruit, Satan said to Eve, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day yo eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, [you will be a god] knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4,5)
This godhood lie is found in one form or another in the history of the human race. Roman Emperors were worshipped as gods. The Pharaohs considered themselves to be gods. The emperor of Japan was considered a god. Hinduism is a major player in the godhood lie as well as is Mormonism and new age teachings. And today this lie is being promoted by certain well-known charismatic speakers.
It is not a matter of my picking on notable Charismatic preachers. You can decide for yourself. Here are samplings of Charismatic teachers (and others) who are promoting the godhood lie.
The Original Lie being Promoted Today –
“You don’t have a god in you, you are one.” (Kenneth Copeland, “The Force Of Love”, audiotape #02-0028, Kenneth Copeland Ministries.)
“I am a ‘little messiah’ walking on earth.” (Benny Hinn, “Praise-a-thon Program” on TBN, broadcast.)
Joseph Smith – the so-called prophet of the Mormon Church said: “As God is, man shall become.”
Shirley McClain proudly declared: “I am God. I am God. I am God. I am God.”
Jim Jones (the infamous murder of the Jonestown massacre)- “You are what Jesus was. Jesus said that every human being was a god. It is written that you are gods. I’m a god and you are a god.”
Margot Adler – “We are as gods and might as well get good at it.”
Benny Hinn – “Don’t say you have Jesus. You are everything he was, is and shall be.”
“When you say, ‘I am a Christian, you are saying I am a little Messiah walking on the earth. May I say it? You are a little god running around.” – Benny Hinn
“You are as much the incarnation of God as Christ was….The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.” (Kenneth Hagin, “Word of Faith.”)
“Adam and Eve were placed in the world as the seed and expression of God. Just as dogs have puppies and cats have kittens, so God has little gods; we have trouble comprehending this truth. Until we comprehend that we are little gods, we cannot manifest the kingdom of God.” (Earl Paulk, “Satan Unmasked”)
“I am a little god!…I have His name. I’m one with Him. I’m in covenant relation. I am a little god! Critics, be gone!” (Paul Crouch, TBN).
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End Time Delusions and Deceptions
I want to be kind in saying that there are men and women who get caught up in the convolution of all the Charismatic error because of their own lack of understanding of the Scriptures. This may even be true for some of the noted charismatic teachers. These people often come to their senses and began to recognize that much of what they are involved in is super charged flesh. The Lord in His goodness helps these misguided souls to find their way out of the quagmire of deception.
For the sake of my readers who are concerned over how to spot someone who may be operating under a spirit that is not of God, here are some common traits that are found in false preachers and teachers. (I’ve provided Scripture resources for your study. Place your cursor over the Scripture.)
Beware of:
(1) People with an arrogant boastful spirit. Pride is always a major working factor in a demonic deception. Cf. Dan7:11; James3:15,16.
(2) Counterfeit gifting. Sorcery manifests itself as a form of spiritual mind control, and in a manner of fortune telling. Cf. Acts 8:9-11; Matt7:21-23.
(3) Sensual and fleshly exhibition with no true reverence or respect for holiness. 2Pet2:2,3.
(4) The preaching of a false Jesus that does not Biblically agree with true character of the Son of God. Cf. 2Co11:4,13-15.
(5) The preaching of a gospel that is not in full accord with God’s testimony as given in the New Testament. Cf. Gal1:6-9; 1Tim6:3-6.
(6) Lifting up personalities who claim to be modern-day apostles and prophets, and, who, in turn, claim authority equal to that of the Bible apostles and prophets. Cf. Eph2:19,20; 2Co11:12; 1John2:6.
(7) Where the preacher uses language that equates himself with God; where he boasts of godlike abilities; where he preaches an earthly prosperity message; where he claims powers of creation, and such like.
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Here is an example of a noted Charismatic teacher making pure mockery of God creating the animals. If you are unable to see the mockery here it must be because you are not well acquainted with God’s Word. Judge for yourself.
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What is our single need with regard to a true walk of faith…
The only remedy for our disrepair is to come to God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”(John 10:10)
And for you you are still in fear about your walk with the Lord, and about being deceived, always keep in mind the great Shepherd promise:
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (Joh 10:27-30 NASB)
Be encouraged. The love of the Lord belongs to you.
In Christ Jesus always,
Buddy
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