Showing posts with label spirit of control. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spirit of control. Show all posts

Thursday, September 22, 2016

6 Warning Signs of Spiritual Danger - J. LEE GRADY CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Don't ignore the warning signs. You may need to examine your ministry's priorities.
Don't ignore the warning signs. You may need to examine your ministry's priorities. (Lightstock )

6 Warning Signs of Spiritual Danger

Fire in My Bones, by J. Lee Grady
A desperate friend recently contacted me because he was worried that his son might be under the influence of a Christian ministry with questionable doctrines. The leader of the ministry preaches that any church that doesn't experience regular healings isn't following the true Jesus—and he suggests that only his small congregation has an inside track with God. Thankfully, my friend's son discerned something was off track.
Satan loves to pull Christians into unhealthy extremes. And immature Christian leaders sometimes allow youthful pride, greed or insecurity to suck them into toxic spirituality. The result is always a trail of wounded people. In my years of ministry, I've learned there are several clear signs that a ministry has veered away from the truth and into deception. Here are the most obvious:
1. Lack of spiritual accountability. Healthy leaders know they need to surround themselves with mentors and advisers who can question them if they step out of line. Proverbs 11:14 says: "In the multitude of counselors there is safety." But if you are following a teacher, prophet or apostle who has not submitted himself to any form of accountability, you are asking for trouble. Never align yourself with a Lone Ranger, no matter how fiery his sermons are. He will likely lead you off a cliff.
2. Overemphasis on money. You'd think we would have learned this by now, after so many American charlatans have conned people out of their life savings to build their mansions. But the charismatic church today is still vulnerable to the extremes of financial shenanigans. Godly leaders always call people to fund the work of the church and gospel outreach; unhealthy leaders, on the contrary, manipulate people in order to line their own pockets. Don't be charmed when a preacher makes outlandish promises about what will happen if you give to him.
3. An elitist attitude. All believers in Jesus are part of the body of Christ. Yet Christians who experience certain gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit are sometimes tempted to think they are superior. If they aren't careful, this subtle spiritual pride can morph into a dangerous elitism. Suddenly they are God's favorites, with special access to revelation that no one else knows and authority that no one else has.
Some ministries today claim to have inside information about end-times prophecy and the return of Jesus. In some cases they convince people to store up food and even guns to prepare for Armageddon. Back in the 1980s, a preacher named Charles Meade convinced many people to follow him to Florida, where his church taught that only those who aligned themselves with Meade's group would survive the last days. Don't let anyone suck you into this kind of cultic mindset.
4. A spirit of control among followers. A mature leader knows the members of his church don't belong to him. But there are insecure and untrained pastors who use manipulation and threats to keep their members loyal. True pastors don't have to constantly teach on spiritual authority to win their support of their flocks; but a controlling leader constantly emphasizes that he is in charge, and he demands total submission. This mindset can lead to serious spiritual abuse.
5. Constant talk of miracles with no documentation. There is a great hunger today in the body of Christ for the miraculous—and faith is rising for healing, prophecy and the full manifestation of the Holy Spirit's power. But in the rush to see God's power displayed, some people fall into the trap of hyping, sensationalizing or even faking miracles to get attention. This never bears good fruit.
In 2008, thousands of people traveled to Lakeland, Florida, to witness a "revival" that was supposedly marked by nightly miracles. Yet many of the healings (and even resurrections) that were announced from the pulpit were never verified—and the whole thing abruptly ended when the evangelist leading those meetings admitted to adultery. I hope we learned our lesson from Lakeland. God help us from ever repeating that tragedy.
6. Strange revelations that lack biblical basis. The apostle Paul warned us long ago that waves of deception would affect the church. "For the time will come when people will no longer endure sound doctrine ... they will turn their ears away from the truth ... " (2 Tim. 4:3-4). Never follow a preacher who claims "inside information" from God that no one else knows. Don't be mesmerized by his teachings—even if he claims that an angel gave him this information, or that he received it in a supernatural vision.
The test of truth is not how spooky spiritual something sounds, but whether it is in line with God's Word. Many false prophets can say, "God showed me this," but they are lying if their message contradicts Scripture. If something sounds really off when you hear it, don't ignore your gut feelings.
Don't be deceived. If you are a follower of Christ, you have been equipped with an internal alarm system that will warn you about any unhealthy teaching or ministry. Listen to the Holy Spirit, who is called the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). He can give you the discernment to know the difference between truth and error.  
J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. He is the author of several books including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 10 Lies Men Believe, Fearless Daughters of the Bible and The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, atthemordecaiproject.org.
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Monday, July 27, 2015

Sharing Love From Sweden - FREE TO DO THE WILL OF GOD by Eva Haglund


FREE TO DO THE WILL OF GOD
Eva Haglund, Sweden

A bird flies free without anything hindering it. God wants us to fly free like birds without anyone hindering us. We need to be free from control by anybody else. We need to make our own decisions in what we feel peace in and not let other people rule over us who want to control. We must not do what we do not feel peace in. We need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

There are some people who are very dominant and want to rule over others by controlling them. I am not talking about the usual way of being submitted to leaders you have confidence in but when a person wants to control a person in a wrong way.

There are certain people who want to take over the leadership in a congregation if they are allowed controlled by the spirit of Jezebel. We must not be bound but must say no when it needs said, and not let any one rule over with this spirit.

Christ has called us to freedom. There are certain Christian leaders who do not know the heart of the Father with love and compassion. They have hard hearts and are controlling the members in certain congregations. Some members do not dare leave the congregation or to say no. All leaders do not know God's heart of love and do not have love for the sheep. We need to choose a congregation where the leader/leaders love Jesus and have His love for the people. By their fruit you will know the tree, as Jesus said.

As Christians we also can hear from God. We can get teaching from the Word. We also need good advice from spiritual mothers and fathers in Body of Christ who are mature persons in Body of Christ. I believe there needs to be more spiritual mothers and fathers after God's heart in the Body of Christ. In some congregations there are just young people, but old and young need each other. Jesus says in John 19, "Mother, see your son!" and "Son, see your mother!"

In Proverbs 29:25 is written, "The fear of men brings a snare" but we need to be like eagles who fly high. We all have our unique calling and it is written in Joel 2:8 "They do not push one another.
Everyone marches in his own column."

There are some people who are manipulative and who have egoistic motives. They want to control others. We need to say no when we sense it is wrong. It is more love by saying no because then you can teach that person that this behavior is wrong. It is good to help other people but it needs to be in a right way.
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Parents ought to be the ones who are the ones who decide and not the children who rule over the children. God wants us to have have our freedom in Christ and not let our wings be bound and heavy.
We also need to tell the truth in situations as Paul did to people.

Esther, Stephen and John were also bold and we can learn from them. There are situations when we also need to be quiet as Jesus was in Mark 14:6, where we read that He "kept silent and answered nothing."

In another situation Jesus spoke as in Luke 16:14: "Now the Pharisees who were lovers of money , also heard these things and they derided Him. And He said to them, "You are those who justify themselves before men, but God knows your heart . For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." Jesus told the truth. We can also be bold and say the truth in situations, but it is good to have patience and not be angry and condemn anybody.

In Luke 6: 22 is written, "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven. For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets."

We can sometimes get badly treated following God but then the reward is great in heaven. It is good to know when it is tough that God gives back. God is faithful and good to know that Jesus suffered most and suffered this because of His so great love to us.

He gave also His life for all people. We read in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." 

In Yeshua/Jesus name is salvation.