But the Lord was not in it...
Art Nelson
While I
normally don't do this, I think that this time I must speak out publicly about
Todd Bentley and the Lakeland circus. Not because there is a need for anyone
else to point out the deceptions and fleshly manifestations; but, because there
seemed to be so much controversy and division on whether what was happening was
God or not. It is amazing to me that so many people were so indecisive about the
manifestations and the antics of Todd Bentley. Where is our discernment? Do we
actually understand so little of the ways of our God?
In the early
Charismatic days, the leaders would not have given room for this type of hype
and deception but would have dismissed it out of hand as a confusing mixture of
spirits. Now, not only is it accepted, but it is actually endorsed. We have
become so open minded that we forget that our God is a holy God; that the throne
room of Heaven is filled with beings who cry, “holy, holy, holy”; that the Lord
has poured forth the Spirit from the Father whose first name is Holy.
In the
Lakeland gatherings, Bentley has substituted “hype” for “holy”, “bam” for
“praise”, and “angels” for the Holy Ghost. Where did we ever get the idea that
this was acceptable?
But, people
say, miracles are happening. Power is being manifested. Things are happening. We
need to remember that activity, even powerful activity, doesn't mean anything.
This was what Elijah learned when he was hiding in a cave after running from
Jezebel.
1 Kings 19:11-12
NASB
(11)
So He said, "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold,
the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains
and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD;
but
the LORD
was
not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake,
but
the LORD
was
not in the earthquake.
(12)
After the earthquake a fire,
but
the LORD
was
not in the fire;
and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.
Elijah heard the
mighty wind, the earthquake, the roaring fire; but, he didn't stir himself
because he recognized that the Lord was not in it. Only when he heard the gentle
blowing, the still small voice did he go out because he knew that it was the
Lord.
Why are we so easily taken it by useless
manifestations like “spiritual firebombs”, people being “slain” in the spirit,
jerking and frenzied agitation, and “drunkenness”. We need to remember the
lesson to Elijah, “but the Lord was not it”.
It is absolutely necessary that we learn
the ways of the Lord. God was grieved with the children of Israel in the
wilderness because they did not learn His ways. They yielded to the error in
their heart.
Wherefore I was grieved with that
generation, and said, They do always err in
their
heart; and they have not known my ways.
(Hebrews 3:10 KJV)
They didn't enter into
their rest because of unbelief, disobedience, and a lack of knowledge of His
ways. God is no respecter of persons—we are in the same predicament and will
reap the same consequences if we don't learn His ways.
His way is in the gentle blowing, the
still small voice; not the wind, fire or earthquake. The flesh hypes the
spectacular and neglects the Word. Let's examine some of our problems.
First, let's look at “power”. Everybody
seems to think that any display of “power” must be the Lord. However, that is
simply not true. All legitimate power and authority does belong to the Lord;
but, there are those who exercise illegitimate power by operating from usurped
authority.
Before He ascended, Jesus told His
disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they had received the promise of the
Father, that is, the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit they would receive the
power of the Holy Spirit. All power and authority has been given to Jesus, but
the Holy Spirit administrates all of the things given to Jesus by the Father. We
cannot exercise any of the power of God without the Holy Spirit.
Now, we know and understand that the Holy
Spirit is God as is the Father and the Lord Jesus. Because the Holy Spirit is
God, no one controls Him, commands Him, nor manipulates Him. The Holy Spirit
operates according to the will of the Father and not according to the will of
any person. The Holy Spirit does what is pleasing to God. Any spirit which you
can control is NOT the Holy Spirit.
In light of what was just said, does
anyone seriously believe that anybody can wad up the power of the Spirit into a
“spiritual firebomb” and throw it across the room so that it will “explode” and
knock everybody down? Ridiculous. But, it makes a nice circus act for Bentley
and his staff. This is not the power of God because the Holy Spirit does not
operate in this manner—it is outside of His character.
The Lord will rule His Kingdom until all
of His enemies have been put under His feet. This includes those that operate in
illegitimate authority and power.
then comes
the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has
abolished all rule and all authority and power.
(1 Corinthians 15:24 NASB)
Notice that during this
time that Jesus is abolishing “all rule and all authority and power.” The Father
has given all of this to Him. He will abolish every power and authority and rule
that is not of Him. That means that right now in the earth there is authority
and power operating that is not of Jesus; therefore, it must be from the enemy.
that is,
the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and
signs and false wonders,
(2 Thessalonians 2:9 NASB)
Those who operate in the
spirit of anti-christ come with all of the power of the enemy, doing the work,
the activity of Satan by signs and false wonders. We see from this that not all
power demonstrating signs and wonders are from the Lord. How, then, do we tell
the difference?
We judge what a man does
by what a man is. Jesus said that our love for one another would be what marks
us as His disciples. It is the fruit of the Spirit not the gifts that determine
our legitimacy. And it is by the fruit or character of the Spirit that others
determine or discern our validity as a servant and minister of God.
There has been an increase
in this generation of angelic encounters. Again, like with power, it seems that
most people think that any and all angelic encounters are with God's angels.
Again, this simply is not true. Because of Hollywood's influence, people think
that fallen angels always appear with an evil aura and manifest demonic
attributes. However, the Scriptures tell us that even the Devil can appear as an
angel of light. The whole point of deception is to deceive. Fallen angels don't
tell you that they are fallen—they tell you what you want to hear; they build up
your ego; they make you special and anything else that will draw you into their
deception.
Angels are probably
sexless since Jesus said they don't marry nor are given in marriage; that is,
they don't reproduce. When God created angels, He made each of them for a
particular job function and, since they don't reproduce, He made all that were
needed for the things that He had for them to do. However, even though they are
probably sexless, every instance recorded in the Scriptures of angels appearing
to people speaks of them as male and never female. So, an encounter with a
“female” angel is immediately suspicious and should be rebuked in the Name of
Jesus.
There is also the idea of
“commanding angels” and “releasing angels” and similar things. This is utter
nonsense. Angels are servants of God—performing His will. Fallen angels serve
the Devil and his purposes. The Scriptures tell us this about angels:
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent
out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
(Hebrews 1:14 NASB)
Yes, they are ministering
spirits that render service for our sake. But, they are “sent out” by God not
us. They minister for our sake according to the plan and purpose of God nor
according to our desires. In this age they do not obey our commands. They obey
the Lord. If you can command an angel to do what you want done, then that angel
is not an angel of the Lord but rather a fallen angel who is deceiving you for
its own purposes.
God's angels never promote
themselves or the angelic world. They exalt and promote the Lord and the purpose
of God. They never endorse anything that focuses on anything other than the
Lord.
Anointed One is the
meaning of Messiah and Christ and that is Jesus. He is the Anointed One. And,
yet, we have built a mountain of hype out “being anointed”, “receiving the
anointing”, “moving under the anointing”, “transferring the anointing” and other
similar unscriptural garbage. This mountain has been built out of Old Testament
scriptures that speak of the Holy anointing oil and its uses. Then, the
scriptures about the mantel of Elijah are spiritualized and thrown into the
anointing mix creating a flesh-based understanding of the anointing and its
uses.
The truth is that
we are anointed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus received the promise of the Father and
sent the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth to us. He was received on the day of
Pentecost in Acts chapter two. Peter testified that the promise was to us and to
our children even as many as the Lord would call. Once received, that anointing,
resides in us to teach us and lead us in the things of the Lord.
As for you, the
anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for
anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is
true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
(1 John 2:27 NASB)
The Holy Spirit is
not an object that can be moved from one person to another. He is not a force
that can only be brought forth in the proper spiritual environment. He is God,
administrating the things of God.
As for “mantels”
and “anointings” that relate to so-called “offices” and “ministries” in the
Church, that is just fleshly activity and the Lord is not in it. The five-fold
ministry functions are gifts of Jesus to His people—He decides who and when and
His decision is not subject to being “transferred” to someone else. The gifts of
the Spirit are given to whomever He wills—He decides who, when, and how many.
And these are not subject to being received or transferred at the whim of some
human 'minister'. Those who operate in such a manner are not operating in the
Holy Spirit.
Power without
character leads to deception. Power manifested for the sake of the “wow” factor
is not the power of God.
Angels that focus
on anything other than the Lord and His purposes are not the angels of the Lord.
“Female” angels are not the angels of the Lord.
The “anointing” is
not a force that is given or owned and operated at will or transferred to
another person. True anointing is by the Holy Spirit. He operates as a person
not a force. He resides in us to teach us the things of the Lord.
The Word tells us
exactly what is happening if we will only believe it and apply it.
1 Timothy 4:1-2
NASB
(1)
But the Spirit explicitly says
that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to
deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,
(2)
by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a
branding iron,
The Holy Spirit has
very clearly (explicitly) told us that some will fall from the faith by paying
attention to seducing spirits and demonic doctrines. This is brought about by
the means of hypocritical words from liars without a conscience.
This has been going
on for some time. Todd Bentley and the Lakeland circus is just the latest
episode. However, it seems that each time that this occurs, more people are
taken in than previously and the people of God as a whole are slower to discern
the Truth. It is time for us to wake up and receive a love of the Truth or we
may the casualties ourselves next time.
For further
study in this area,
you might consider these lessons from the website. ---Art
THE
DECEPTION SERIES
Lesson 1:
Background
of Deception
Lesson 2:
Lying
Signs and Wonders
Lesson 3:
From Without and Within
Lesson 4:
Path
of Deception
©
2003-2008 by Art Nelson and
Lifestream Teaching
Ministries
Previous issues of Present Truth are on the website: www.Lifestreamteaching.com
For comments or questions contact Art Nelson at this address:
artnelson@lifestreamteaching.com
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