Continuing in our study from Psalm 15, we are going to address speaking the truth in our heart.
To speak truth in my heart goes very deep. What we think in our hearts is a very private thing. We can hide our true thoughts so easily from other people. However, God knows our hearts, even when we don’t speak a word. (Psalm 139:2) So what about the times we say in our hearts, “What an idiot!”? God sees it, and He isn’t impressed. Granted, we live in a time where there is rampant wickedness transpiring around us. However, we must be careful not to allow our spirits to become tainted by those vile things.
I can’t help but think back to Hannah, who spoke the truth in her heart to the Lord. She didn’t speak ill of Penninah or her husband. She didn’t even gossip about the priest who thought her to be drunk. Instead, she quietly took all of this to the Lord, pouring out all of her frustrations, hurt, and bitterness.
In a world where social media is so easily accessible, it is so easy to post something in the heat of the moment. With intense anger, our fingers can easily type out our raw emotions. Too often, people go to social media first when they need to be taking the issue to the Lord.
What are some of your deepest thoughts that need to be cleansed by the Lord?
What about when we think things like:
What an idiot.
They are stupid.
What a moron.
They are so annoying.
You get the point. We may not audibly say these things, but God still sees them in our heart.
What about when someone lies about us? Let God be your defense. Forgive as you go — you may be judged more by your behavior rather than the false rumor. The following verses may be a good reminder for all of us.
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3, NJKV)
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. (1 Peter 2:21-23, NKJV)
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 1:6-7, NKJV)
I will admit — this concept of speaking the truth in my heart can be dark because sometimes the truth of what I am thinking doesn’t follow what 1 Corinthians says about love. Many times, my true thoughts aren’t loving or kind. Instead, they are rude, easily provoked, angry, proud…I think you get the picture.
Now let’s look back at where we started — speaking truth in my heart. What about when someone does me wrong? We must be real and honest with ourselves. We must focus on speaking truth in our heart. That isn’t the truth about what happened. It is deeper — it is the Truth of God’s Word and how I am going to respond to what happened. We have a choice. Do we let a bitter root grow? Or do we rise above, seeking to be found without spot or blemish?
My prayer for us is that we allow the Lord to speak truth to our hearts where there are ungodly thoughts. May we be willing to let Him transform us so our thoughts become the true, just, lovely, pure, and noble thoughts mentioned in Philippians 4.
Last time we talked about leaven in the church. Today I want to approach it from a different standpoint. Many of us believe we are living in the end times, so we are paying close attention to the news in light of scripture. While that can be a good thing, it can also be a problem since there is a lot of fake news out there. Many of us have resorted to using alternative media to keep ourselves informed.
One story that is taking social media by storm is a new Netflix movie called “Leave the World Behind.” For some, it is tempting to watch the movie in hopes of learning how things might play out in the end times. When you realize this movie was produced by the Obamas and that our former President had a lot of input into the story line, the movie suddenly takes a sinister turn. Questions immediately come to mind. Did he reveal things to the writers that are top secret? Did he commit treason with what he shared? Does he know what is really about to happen, or is he just guessing?
After praying about it, researching it, and speaking to a few close friends, I am not going to watch it. My reasons are many. It is on Netflix, which I canceled after they were allowed kiddie porn on their platform. I don’t want to pay any money to the Obamas. The movie is rated R. The movie has violence, sex scenes, lots of cussing, even using our Lord’s Name in vain. Those are just a few reasons why I am choosing not to watch it.
But let’s look at it in light of leaven from the world. Our world is filled with leaven, and it is spreading like wildfire. There is a line in the movie where one person says not to trust white people. Many have said that is in there to distract you from the real message they are sharing through the movie. I have no doubt about that. The powers that be are constantly trying to do things to make us more divided than we already are.
We must carefully guard ourselves from being infected by the leaven in the world. The comment about not trusting white people can invoke hate and anger in us. The story line about an EMP strike can lead us to fear and panic. That is not of God! What if we think we can handle the movie, but later, when things really break down in our world, we find ourselves paralyzed with fear? Fear that we had no idea was possible — all because we compromised our values and watched a worldly show whose narrative is now coming back to bite us. It could shake our faith right out of us if we aren’t careful about what we allow our ears and eyes to see and hear.
A good friend of mine reminded me of a song that is so simple, but the message is so true. “Oh be careful little eyes what you see….Oh be careful little ears what you hear.” What a great reminder when we are tempted to taste a bit of leaven from this world.
2 Corinthians 2:11 tells us we are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. However, that doesn’t mean we should get caught up in secular movies in hopes of learning something to help us when things come apart at the seams. Philippians 4 admonishes us to think upon that which is true, honorable, pure, right, lovely, commendable, and excellent. Scripture is filled with wisdom from above that will us stand firm in the evil day. Instead of stirring up feelings of anger, hate, rage, and fear, scripture will fill us with love, hope, encouragement, peace, and strength to endure.
Your spiritual roots go deeply into his life as you are continually infused with strength, encouraged in every way. For you are established in the faith you have absorbed and enriched by your devotion to him! (Colossians 2:7, TPT)
Having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. (Colossians 2:7, NASB)
In TPT, the wording sounds very New Age-y to me — almost like you can breathe deeply, causing your roots to grow, every breath infused with strength. Yet the NASB makes it very clear that to grow, we must be firmly rooted in Christ and established in our faith. John 1 tells us Christ is the Word, so to grow deeply means spending a lot of time in the Word, learning and applying what we learn.
This “realm of death” describes our former state, for we were held in sin’s grasp. But now, we’ve been resurrected out of that “realm of death” never to return, for we are forever alive and forgiven of all our sins! (Colossians 2:13, TPT)
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, (Colossians 2:13, NASB)
TPT in this verse reminds me of a teaching from the false prosperity gospel. First, it is like that our old nature is completely gone. However, Paul spoke about the constant battle of doing the things he didn’t want to do and not doing the things he should do. Our fleshly nature, which they refer to as the “realm of death,” is something we carry with us until the Lord calls us home.
Secondly, they view the cross as a place of death, and are challenged to move away from it. They neglect the scriptures that tell us to take up our cross daily and follow the Lord, to die daily, and to boast in nothing but the cross of Christ. Yes, our old life is to be left behind. The hymn Amazing Grace causes us to pause and remember from where we have come and where we are now going. While we aren’t to dwell on the past, an occasional reflection back to what we were can keep us humble and remind us that our new life is all about Christ and what He has done.
The more I check verses in The Passion Translation, the more convinced I am that it is very sneaky and deceptive. That is why I feel compelled to share some of the errors I am finding in it. Sometimes it feels good to switch to another version to try and “freshen up” our devotional time. However, we must never forget to keep our Berean focus when we do so.
I want to continue today in comparing a few verses in different versions to show examples of why we need to be Bereans with the versions we choose to read.
Since we first heard about you, we’ve kept you always in our prayers that you would receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over your lives, making you reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding. (Colossians 1:9, TPT)
For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Colossians 1:9, NASB)
There is quite a difference between both versions here. The Passion Translation (TPT) focuses on knowledge of God’s pleasure over our lives. As I read this, I can’t help but scratch my head and think, “What does that even mean?” Yet, the NASB makes it clear that the prayer is for the church to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will (not His pleasure) in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. It reminds me of James 3:17: But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. (NASB)
I mentioned previously that The Passion Translation follows the beliefs of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). One thing common to this group is to focus on experiences, emotions, and feelings. Keeping that in mind as I read the end of verse 9, I cannot help but wonder what the author means by “all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” That movement has “modern day prophets” or “modern day apostles,” who are revered as anointed people of God. I can see their followers seeking that spiritual wisdom from people they hold in high regard, yet neglecting what the Word says about wisdom and understanding.
We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness! And we pray that you would be energized with all his explosive power from the realm of his magnificent glory, filling you with great hope. Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think of how God made you worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to us by living in the light. (Colossians 1:10-12, TPT)
So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyouslygiving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. (Colossians 1:10-12, NASB)
Let’s look at some of the differences here.
Pleasing God in every good thing you do verses pleasing Him in all respects.
Maturing in the rich experience of knowing God verses increasing in the knowledge of God. Also, notice that TPT uses the word “experience.” That movement depends a lot on experiences, which can be dangerous, leading one astray because they are led by their feelings, rather than the Word of God.
The NAR movement focuses a lot on power words. We see an example of this from words like energized, explosive power, realm of magnificent glory, soar with gratitude, just to name a few.
The NASB mentions attaining steadfastness and patience while that whole concept is absent from TPT. That is not by accident. This movement focuses on positive, happy, feel-good words. Like the prosperity gospel, anything having to do with steadfastness and patience would be perceived as negative. It reminds me of what Peter says about how false teachers will malignthe way of truth, and thus, exploit us with false words, using their greediness to get us to buy their books and tapes. God says their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. They WILL be judged! (2 Peter 2:2-3)
We will pause here so we can digest the concepts a bit before we move on to some other scriptures.
If you have read my writings, you have heard me often give admonitions to be a Berean with what you read and any preaching you hear. Make sure that it lines up with the Word so that you aren’t deceived.
I want to give that admonition once again, but not in a way that you would expect. I recently discovered how deceptive certain versions of the Bible can be. We must be a Berean, even when reading scripture! A friend of mine sent me a couple of charts on Bibles. One shows which versions are a word for word translation and which ones are paraphrases. The other shows the reading level on which they have been written, along with showing which versions use gender-neutral language. It also lists them by number, according to how accurate they are with the original language. I found them quite insightful and have attached them at the end of this message so you can view them.
The version I want to address today is one that wasn’t on the list. It is The Passion Translation, first published in 2017 to reflect the beliefs of The New Apostolic Reformation, which is nothing more than a cult. Bible Gateway has even removed The Passion Translation from their website. Here is a website that explains more about their beliefs and why they are dangerous.
I like to change things up during my lunchtime reading at work. I have been in some of the epistles, meditating on a few verses that I feel the Lord is impressing upon me. I decided to compare those verses in other versions. What I found was quite enlightening as well as disturbing.
Colossians 4:6: Your speech must always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. (NASB)
“Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one [who questions you].” (AMP)
Now let’s look at the verses in The Passion Translation. “Let every word you speak be drenched with grace and tempered with truth and clarity. For then you will be prepared to give a respectful answer to anyone who asks about your faith.” (TPT)
At first, it sounds really good. However, as I went back and studied every word in light of the compromise and woke-ness that is hitting many churches, I became quite disturbed.
TPT: Basically it is telling us to give a respectful answer — an answer that might not be biblical truth. It’s respectful, regardless of what biblical truth declares. In other words, be respectful, even if the version of truth shared isn’t biblical truth.
AMP: Your answer will be seasoned with salt. You are giving an answer with only one point of view, and that view is based on biblical truth. Truth is truth regardless of what the correct, respectful answer is.
We must remember how Jesus answered those who opposed Him. He always spoke the truth. Sometimes it infuriated His hearers. Yet, His answers were always respectful (and pleasing) to God. We must remember our focus in this world. We aren’t called to respect the world and its ways. We are to expose the deeds of darkness. Paul asked a great question that we should ponder when facing those who oppose us. “Am I now seeking favor of people, or of God?” (Galatians 1:10) The same could be said when we are seeking to be respectful. Our aim should be to respect God in all we say and do. Our goal is not to be respectful of views that are opposed to the Word of God. We can be kind to those who oppose us. We must remember that contrary to what the world says, true love speaks biblical truth even when it isn’t popular.
I will share some more insights from the Word, comparing to The Passion Translation in upcoming writings. My goal is to help all of us see the importance of being careful with what versions we allow into our lives.
Is it ever ok to lie? I have been wrestling with that thought recently.As I watch the legal persecution of the church, as well as the physical persecution that is happening in other countries, it has me pondering many things. My coworker and I often have discussions on what is coming, which leads to the question, “What are we to do about it?” First and foremost, we are to be praying and reading the Word.
Proverbs is filled with practical and spiritual applications to life. What I have been wrestling with is the practical, wise, and godly response we must give in the days ahead of us when persecution comes to our front door or our office.
One thing we have been discussing is, “When is it ok to lie?” Admit it — with what is coming, it would be so easy to lie to save our skin. But if we seek to honor Christ in all we do, we know that won’t be an option for every choice. I decided to dig deeper into this topic and want to share what I found, in hopes that it may help you navigate these dark times.
When our women’s group was studying Genesis, we saw the times where Abraham told Sarah to lie and say she was his sister (partial truth.) Let’s take a look and see the repercussions of those lies.
10 Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a time, because the famine was severe in the land. 11 It came about, when he was approaching Egypt, that he said to his wife Sarai, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.” 14 Now it came about, when Abram entered Egypt, that the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and he gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for myself as a wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go!” 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him. (Genesis 12:10-20, NASB)
In our women’s study, we were pondering the feelings Sarah might have had when Abraham lied to save his own skin. He certainly wasn’t concerned about hers! Even so, Abraham obviously didn’t learn anything from this experience because he did it again!
Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he lived for a time in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent men and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.” 4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You kill a nation, even though blameless? 5 Did he himself not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. 7 Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours.” (Genesis 20:1-7, NASB)
We can clearly see that Abraham’s sin didn’t just affect him. It affected many people! It even affected Isaac because he did the same thing years later.
6 So Isaac lived in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is beautiful.” 8 Now it came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down through a window, and saw them, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she certainly is your wife! So how is it that you said, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘otherwise I might be killed on account of her.’” 10 And Abimelech said, “What is this that you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.” (Genesis 26:6-11, NASB)
Now let’s take a look at some other situations where people lied in the Bible.
The midwives lied to Pharaoh about the Hebrew women and their babies. Their lies protected the lives of many Hebrew children.
“And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.” (Exodus 1:19, NKJV)
Rahab’s lie protected the spies and enabled the Israelites to conquer Jericho.
3 ”Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.” (Joshua 2:3-7, ESV)
We see complete opposite things happening from the first set of lies to the second set of lies. Yet, as I pondered, I was still befuddled. My moment of clarity came as I thought about history.
What did people do in the days of the Hitler? If they were hiding Jews, and Nazi’s came to the door to ask if they had Jews in the house, did they say, “Why yes! We do!” No, they lied, in hopes of sparing the Jews the deadly concentration camps.
You may be thinking that the 10 Commandments tell us not to lie. However, that isn’t exactly what it says. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16, NASB) There is a difference here. We must not lie and say something against our neighbor. That is different than the examples I gave above about people in the Bible lying for the greater good, as well as the ones who lied to protect the Jews.
Another thing I found quite insightful is in Revelation 22:15, where it talks about liars. “Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral persons, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.” (NASB, emphasis added) Notice that it says those who love and practice lying. This means it is a habit or a lifestyle for them. Those who make lying a lifestyle are speaking Satan’s native language, proving they are of the devil. (Thank you, Pastor, for sharing this wonderful insight with me.) For those of us who may find ourselves in a situation where lying is for the greater good, we may still feel a bit of angst in our soul. That is because we are children of light, and we don’t love the thought of lying, even if it is for the greater good.
As we navigate these dark and troublesome days, we must be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. If lying would dishonor the Lord, then we must speak truth, regardless of the consequences. If lying would help to protect others, then our actions will honor the Lord because we aren’t seeking to save our own skin. We are doing it to help protect others.
Lord, give us great insight and godly wisdom for the coming days. We cannot navigate these waters without Your abundant help and mercy. Amen.
Over the last few years, one phrase that has been at forefront of my mind is to let scripture interpret scripture. This wise counsel led me on a journey to test what I had believed for well over twenty years. What I discovered shocked me to the core of being!
We must not look at a couple of verses and build a belief system or ministry from those verses. We must look at the whole context. Sadly, we have multitudes of ministries that have taken just a few verses out of context, and it has made them millions of dollars by selling their books and DVDs.
Scripture is clear that we are not exceed what is written in scripture. (1 Corinthians 4:6) Doing so can lead one down a very slippery slope to apostasy. In this struggle to be a Berean, the Lord had to expose another false belief in my own life. It is on the topic of binding and loosing. This teaching was deeply rooted within me. It took much prayer, studying of the scriptures, and discussing it with my pastor for me to break free of the lies I had believed for decades.
Before I expose the error, I want to share some of the concepts I was taught so you understand how those roots can grow so deeply in a person.
Binding and loosing was seen as spiritual warfare. For instance, if I wanted to do warfare over someone who wasn’t saved, I could say, “I bind ____’s mind to the mind of Christ, their feet to paths of righteousness, and their body to the blood of Jesus.”
When we look scripturally at this, there is a problem. First, God gave us free will. For me to bind someone’s mind, feet, and body, it implies that I have the power to do so. That creates another problem. Why would I have the power to do that when God gave us free will? By declaring the above, it implies that I have more power than Almighty God! That is blasphemous!
Another commonplace scenario involved coming against demons. If you were struggling with sexual sin, you would bind a perverse spirit. If you were struggling with smoking or drinking, you would bind the spirit of addiction and alcohol. If you battled with fits of rage, you would bind the spirit of anger. I think you get the picture.
The problem with this belief is that it takes much of the responsibility off of you, and puts it on evil spirits. There is a loss of accountability in one’s life if you can blame your temptations and sins on an evil spirit.
As for loosing, if you wanted something, you would simply say something like, “I loose my finances in the Name of Jesus.” The expected result was that God would increase your finances. However, the ministries that teach this concept are the ones getting rich because they are taking advantage of those who are struggling to pay their bills. They see this enticing teaching, thinking it is their way out of financial crisis. After all, look at how rich these pastors are! So it must work! Nope! It only works for those whose wicked scheming sucks you into their web of deceit.
Take a look at the disciples. They were poor and never binded or loosed their finances or other material things. Look at Stephen when he was getting stoned. He never rebuked or bound Satan because it wasn’t scriptural to do so.
Another thing that was quite commonplace was to bind Satan. For instance, “Satan, I bind this flu that is trying to take root in my body.” Yet, when we let scripture interpret scripture, we see that an angel is the one who binds Satan, and it is for 1000 years. (Revelation 20:1-2) It is foolish for us to think we have more power than any angel.
So what is biblical concept of binding and loosing?
“Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be confirmed. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, he is to be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:15-18, NASB)
Now that we have looked at it in context, allowing scripture to interpret scripture, we can clearly see it is referring to church discipline. It is exercising judgment on conduct. It is judicial authority given to the church (not just the pastor) based on God’s law. 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 gives an excellent example of church discipline upon a man who was sexually immoral.
The context here is forgiving someone who sinned against you, but won’t admit it. If we let them do what they’re doing, we loose or permit them to live as though nothing happened. If we bind or forbid them to worship with us because of the stubbornness of their heart; we’re saying sin has consequences. Heaven has already said that, thus we are saying what heaven says.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19, NASB)
In that culture, to loose meant to permit; to bind meant to prohibit. To loose was to free from the law, to bind was to put under the law. Again, it refers to law and discipline.
As for the keys to the kingdom, it refers to the faithful preaching of the Word of God where the kingdom is opened to those who were previously unbelievers. We see this in Acts 2 with the Jews, Acts 8 with the Samaritans, and Acts 10 with the Roman centurion and his family. I think Charles Spurgeon had an insightful way of describing it. “Each church has the keys of its own door. When those keys are rightly turned by the assembly below, the act is ratified above.”
There is a video on You Tube of Kenneth Copeland coming against Covid. He gives an excellent example of how we are not to do warfare. First, he addressed Satan, coming against him. Even angels didn’t do that. They left it up to God. Next, he said, “I stand in the office of the prophet of God.” He not only declares himself a prophet, but says he is THE prophet of God. That is audacious. While he didn’t use the terms rebuke, bind, or loose, he used another phrase that is quite common in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles. “I execute judgment on you…I demand judgment on you, Covid-19…I call you done…..It is finished…It is over saith my…” At this point, his son-in-law’s voice spoke over him, but I am confident that he was going to say, “Saith my God.” And here we are, well over three years passed the start of Covid-19, and it is NOT gone. People are still getting sick with it. According to the Old Testament laws, Kenneth Copeland should have been put to death many months ago when his “word” didn’t come to pass.
If we are to bind Satan, as false teachers insist, then why doesn’t it work? The above scenario is a perfect example of how they will twist the words of scripture, yet their “formula” doesn’t work. False teachers will bind and loose things with the impression that God is obligated to do what they have said. However, that is not what binding and loosing means. Binding and loosing is directed by heaven. When we say what God has already said, we are agreeing with what is already in the Word. Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing by Himself; He can only do what He sees the Father doing because whatever the Father does the Son does” (John 5:19).
This journey has been an intense struggle for me. There have been tears of shame and repentance. There have also been tears of relief and thankfulness because the Lord loves me enough to not only show me the Truth, but to walk this dark valley with me, breaking the chains with every step forward.
In my endeavor to become a solid Berean, living my faith according to scripture, the Lord has challenged me to dig deeply into many areas. There have been many arduous steps in this process, but worth every bit of the of the struggle. The changes in who I am as a Christian and what I believe have been numerous and amazing. Thankfully, the Lord isn’t finished with me yet! He desires to change us from glory to glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
One of the things where the Lord has challenged me was in my daily spiritual practices. One of those spiritual disciplines was pleading the blood of Jesus. It had been a core part of my practices for nearly two decades. I would plead the blood of Jesus over myself, my family, our house, vehicles, finances, and our jobs. Yet I now realized that this spiritual discipline was nothing more than a house built on sand. There was nothing in scripture which supported it.
As I pondered on this reality, I felt compelled to understand the reasoning for this unbiblical concept. I realized that focus was placed upon the blood of Christ like it held magical powers. The pleading of the blood was like an incantation that made our prayers more powerful. It was a skewed view of prayer — a way of manipulating God to get what we desired, rather than praying for His will to be done. It is rooted in the prosperity gospel where faith is like a force. If we pray with enough faith, God has to answer our prayers. It ignores the words “Thy will be done,” in the Lord’s prayer.
Jesus taught us how we should pray. He told us not to use vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7), then He gave us a great outline in the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. None of His teachings tells us to plead His blood.
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13, NKJV) This hope is an abiding hope that remains, in spite of what transpires around us. It is not a hope that comes from a name-it-and-claim-it theology or a plead-the-blood-of-Jesus belief. It is so much richer and deeper than those false theologies.
One prayer I have often prayed is that the Lord would give me a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him better, that He would enlighten the eyes of my heart to know and understand what is the hope of His calling. (Ephesians 1:17-18) God delights in prayers like these because they are based on scripture, but also because He wants a relationship with us. He doesn’t want to be a “genie God” where we plead the blood as a means to manipulate Him into giving us carnal desires that satisfy our flesh.
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth.” (John 17:17, NKJV) In these days where deception is everywhere, God’s Word is the one place where we will always find truth.
Jesus told us to come to Him, take His yoke upon us, and learn from Him. (Matthew 11:28-29) It’s time to put away books that teach things contrary to scripture. We need to read the pure milk of the Word so we can grow strong spiritually. (1 Peter 2:2-3) “Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6, NKJV)
God’s Word will not return void, but will accomplish what He desires. (Isaiah 55:11) Time spent in the Word is never wasted, and it reaps eternal benefits!
We have all been through a lot in the last few years. Tensions have run high, bank accounts have run low. Hope has nearly run out for many. Suddenly, there seems to be hope arising in the Asbury revival.
While all of us want something uplifting, positive, and full of new hope, we must not neglect the command in scripture to test the spirits. (1 John 4:1)
In testing the spirits, a few scriptures came to mind. I couldn’t seem to shake it. Before we look into that, I have a question to ask. Do you believe we are living in the end times? Think about it for a minute. Do you really believe that? I do, and that is part of the reason I cannot seem to shake the words of Jesus. First, in Matthew 24, He warns us four times not to be deceived. He warns of false Christs arising:
Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. (Matthew 24:23-26, NASB)
Could it be that the warning from Jesus meant that we will hear of revivals happening in various places, but they aren’t true revivals? This is what led me to dig deeper into what is transpiring in Asbury. I deeply want to see a true revival, but I must also obey the command to test the spirits.
In the history of Asbury, there have supposedly been eight revivals since 1890. The Wesleyan holiness movement doesn’t preach strongly on sin, judgment, wrath, and the need for repentance. This should cause us to question if it is really from God.
Spencer Smith has spoken out about his own concerns with the Asbury revival. He actually went to to observe it and never heard the Word of God or the gospel preached. Sadly, many professing Christians have lashed out at him. They accused Spencer of trying to keep God in a box. Spencer gave a very wise reply to that. “Yes, I keep God in a box. It is called the Bible!”
In testing the spirits, I dug into the Word to see what happened at two different revivals so I could compare them with what is happening at Asbury.
In Acts 2, there was a revival where about 3000 people got saved. What happened to bring such a drastic change to the people? First Peter preached the Word of God, using Joel 2:28-32. There are many prophecies that are partially fulfilled, but have a future fulfillment, yet to be revealed. This is one of them. The part left to be fulfilled will happen at the end of the tribulation. Jesus speaks of it in Matthew 24:29. Revelation 6 also speaks of it.
Next, Peter also quoted Psalm 16:8-11, as well as Psalm 110:1. He told the people they needed to repent and be baptized. The result of this revival is found in verse 42. They continually devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, to fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. Notice that it says nothing of music or jumping during worship in a way that looks more like what happens at a rock concert.
Jonah walked through Ninevah, speaking God’s word that their city would be destroyed in forty days. There was no music, no singing, and no dancing. Instead, the king removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ground. He issued a proclamation to the people to be covered with sackcloth, to fast, to call upon God, and to repent of their evil ways. This resulted in the Lord relenting from bringing destruction to them.
Something else we need to consider in looking at this revival is who is endorsing it. Sean Feucht of Bethel, Shane Claiborne of the Emergent Church, IHOP, NAR (New Apostolic Reformation), Rick Warren, and Todd Bentley, just to name a few. All of these men are apostates.
They are trying to portray this revival of being a spontaneous move of the Holy Spirit. However, I found an article that shows it was planned.
Speaking of the Holy Spirit, in the interviews I have heard from those who have attended this revival, they mention over and over about the Holy Spirit. Nothing is said about the power of God or Jesus. In John 15:26, Jesus told us the Holy Spirit would come, and He would testify of Jesus. The Holy Spirit will always point to Jesus. Hearing all of this talk about the Holy Spirit is concerning to me.
There is an overabundance of music being played at this revival. It is mainly music from Hillsong, Elevation, and the Emergent Church. These songs are not biblical truth. Rather, they are songs that are sung over and over, which can lead one to a feeling of euphoria. Many are seeking a mountaintop experience through music, but it will only last as long as the music keeps playing.
The deepest growth that many Christians have is through valley experiences. Those low times of our lives cause us to dig deeper, which results in lives that are transformed, causing us to reflect our Savior because of the deep work He does in our “valley” times.
Over the years, as I have seen many false revivals and apostate churches arise, they have one thing in common — They always place the experiential above the theological. They put their feelings and emotions above the Word of God.
I have heard people quote “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,” from 2 Corinthians 3:17. However, they neglect to use in the context of what is being said. In context, it is speaking of the veil being removed whenever a person gets saved. Once the veil is removed, there is freedom or liberty, but it is not the liberty to do whatever we see fit, then to judge and criticize others who don’t think like them. The liberty of which it is speaking is that of being able to see clearly without the veil. In seeing clearly, we understand the Word and that Word will transform us from glory to glory. God’s light will shine in our hearts, giving us the Light of the knowledge of God in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:16-4:6)
Sadly, many will twist that verse, using that “liberty” to speak ill of those who dare to say the revival isn’t real, or that we have several concerns about what we are seeing.
I mentioned people bashing Spencer Smith over his concerns about Asbury. I have also had a couple of disturbing things spoken to me when I tried to give caution about believing this revival is wonderful. First, a coworker was speaking highly of it. When I gave a word of caution, she said, “Oh, don’t do that,” and turned to walk away in a huff. I quickly said, “I am only lining up what I see with scripture.” She has shunned me since — only speaking to me if I speak first.
The second encounter I had was with another person who was enthralled with what is transpiring in Ashbury. I shared my concern about how it seems to be so much music, and no preaching of the Word. I went on to say, “For real revival to come, you must have the Word of God.” She exclaimed, “You don’t need the Word of God for a revival!” I walked away stunned and saddened.
In the last few years, I have watched as families and churches have been divided over the vaccine. That was incredibly disturbing. However, I wasn’t prepared to see the division that I see taking place over Asbury. Sadly, I think this division is going to be much worse, revealing the wheat and the tares that have been allowed to grow together. It reminds me of the words from Luke 21.
But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all people because of My name. (Luke 21:16-17, NASB)
For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. (Romans 10:2-3, NASB)
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17, NASB)
Brethren, it is time to awaken from our slumber and return to the Word of God. It is time to test the spirits.
Working Out Our Salvation in the Midst of False Teaching
I recently heard a pastor speaking on false teachers and how they will spend eternity in hell. However, he added something to that comment that left me scratching my head. In essence, he said, “Unless they were truly saved before they started teaching error.” This comment led me to search the scriptures to see what they had to say on that topic.
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel, 7 which is not just another account; but there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, even now I say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! (Galatians 1:6-9)
Deserting Christ = no eternal security. No man can snatch us out of His hand, but we can choose to walk away by our own accord. Think of it like this. I can give you a gift. However, you can throw it away or return it for a refund. When you do that, the gift is no longer yours.
Another gospel = accursed.
Accursed = a thing devoted to God without hope of being redeemed, and if an animal, to be slain; therefore a person or thing doomed to destruction. (From the Interlinear Bible, emphasis added)
Titus 1:15-16, NASB
15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed. (emphasis added)
Hebrews 12:14, NASB
14 Pursue peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
False teachers may have a form of godliness, as mentioned in 2 Timothy 3:5-7, but there is no true holiness in them. Hebrews 12:14 makes it clear that without true holiness, one cannot see the Lord. The implication is that they will not make it to heaven, for one cannot go to heaven without seeing the Lord.
2 John 1:6-11
6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you are to walk in it. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 Anyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. (Emphasis added)
False teachers are well-known for going beyond what is written in the scriptures. This verse makes it clear that they do not have God. There are also warnings in the Word about adding to God’s Word — the punishment being that your name will be removed the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Deuteronomy 12:32, Revelation 22:18)
Deuteronomy 13 goes into detail about false teachers, signs and wonders, etc, and how the Lord tested the people to see if they would follow after false gods. This should cause us to ponder and ask ourselves if we have created false gods for ourselves by our own doing, or by following after false teachers.
Jude 1:8-13, NASB
8 Yet in the same way these people also, dreaming, defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak abusively of angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him an abusive judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these people disparage all the things that they do not understand; and all the things that they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have given themselves up to the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are the ones who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, like shepherds caring only for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, churning up their own shameful deeds like dirty foam; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever. (Emphasis added)
I heard a wise saying that fits well with the above. “Born once, die twice. Born twice, die once.” Jude is speaking of false teachers above, stating that they will die twice. Once physically, then again when the second death comes. (Revelation 21:8)
Hebrews 5:9, NASB
And having been perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him.
The implication of the above is that if we choose to live a life of disobedience by preaching a different gospel, or by living a life of other sin, He is no longer the source of eternal salvation. I heard Jacob Prasch state that you cannot apply eternal ideas to the temporal. Our lives on earth are temporal. Our life in heaven will be eternal. Implication: We will be eternally saved when we reach eternity. Until that time, we must fight the good fight of faith. (2 Timothy 4:7) We must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 4:2)
Hebrews 6:4-6, NASB
4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
Hebrews 10:26-27, NASB
26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. (Emphasis added)
Many of the above verses speak specifically of false teachers. Some speak of living a life of sin in general, which could also include the sin of preaching a false, accursed gospel.
As I searched the scriptures looking for an answer to the comment I heard about false teachers going to hell, unless they were saved before they taught error, I noticed something. Sometimes what speaks volumes is what you do NOT see mentioned in the scriptures. Notice that in all of the verses I have shared, not one of them mentions anything about false teachers going to heaven if they were saved before the turned away to teach false doctrine.
For this pastor to make that kind of claim made it appear as if anybody could be saved, fall into a life of willful sin, and still make it to heaven. That is a big problem for me because what I found in scripture says the opposite! It sounded to me as if he was preaching “Easy Believism.” The link below goes into more detail on it.
So who is this pastor I mentioned? Was it one of the false teachers I have mentioned in this series? No. Instead, it was someone I highly respected. It is with great angst that I share this with you. My heart aches because I see such error in what he said. The person I am speaking of is Brandon Holthaus — the same person I mentioned in the last devotion.
Those of you who know me, know that I am serious about being a Berean. I am very careful about who I listen to because there is so much false teaching out there.
So what am I to do now? Brandon is highly gifted in teaching prophecy and drawing practical, spiritual applications from it for us today. After praying about it, I am feeling led to pull back. Perhaps the Lord is leading me away from watching online teaching so that I can spend more time in the Word, allowing Him alone to lead me.
I heard someone talk recently about addictions. We tend to think of addiction in terms of drinking, drugs, or food. However, in today’s tech society, we can become addicted to social media, Netflix, Hulu, or even teachings on You Tube.
I have sensed for a long time that there is coming a day when we won’t have unlimited access to good preaching. If we are using that for our main spiritual food, we are going to be in serious trouble.
Until our Blessed Lord returns for us, may we be busy building ourselves up in our most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping ourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. (Jude 1:20-21)
Proverbs 31 Wanna-be 