Title: WARNING --
POPULAR "EXPERIENCING GOD" STUDY COURSE IS ONE OF THE LATEST EXAMPLES OF AN END-TIMES SUBTLE DEVIATION FROM SCRIPTURE
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THE CUTTING EDGE
Recently we received information via email concerning a study course which has become popular among several diverse denominational groups. Entitled "Experiencing God," and published in 1990 by Southern Baptist pastor Henry Blackaby along with co-author Claude King, it is a workbook supposedly designed to promote a better understanding of a Christian's personal walk with God. During the decade of the nineties, over two million copies were sold and it was translated into 40 different languages. Statistics show that approximately 16% of all Southern Baptists (SBC) have taken the 13 week course and some believe that this constitutes about half of the active members! According to the report we received, a SBC Sunday School Board spokesman said that churches from many other denominations (including Roman Catholics) have gone through the course as well. In 1994 a hardback version subtitled "Knowing and Doing the Will of God" was published and has sold over 250,000 copies. Additionally, thousands have attended "Experiencing God Weekends" and "Experiencing God Weekends for Couples," which are open to "whosoever will." The report also stated that in 1997 the Jesuits at Boston College scheduled a Spring "Experiencing God" Conversation Series. It is precisely this ecumenical acceptance of the course, along with its mystical content, that we feel must be highlighted and a warning sounded.
Several excellent critiques of the book have been written and it is not our intent to try to duplicate their efforts. (Bible Discernment Ministries Book Review section can be found at http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/BookReviews/exp_god/) What we want to zero in on is the mystical aspect of the subject material being taught.
Blackaby lists what he calls "Seven Realities of Experiencing God" and number four should be especially disturbing to all fundamental believers. It states the following: "God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways." It is at this point where a major deviation from Scriptural teaching takes place and is also the dividing line between Charismatics and Fundamentalists. Where does the Bible--the Word of God--teach that God speaks to man from any other source than Scripture?
Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us how God communicated with man in the past, but it also tells us how He does so today:
"In many separate revelations--each of which set forth a portion of the Truth--and in different ways God spoke of old to [our] forefathers in and by the prophets. [But] in the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time--[that is,] He made, produced, built, operated and arranged them in order" (Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary, emphasis mine).
Notice that the underlined phrase says He has spoken, which is past tense. When the apostle John finished the Book of Revelation, the canon of Scripture was completed and everything God wants us to know about Himself and His Plan of the Ages is contained therein. In the Books of Deuteronomy and Revelation, God has also placed warnings about adding to or taking from His Word.
QUESTION #1--How can a "prophet" today reveal messages from God without violating these commands? How can anyone insist that God has spoken to them in any manner outside of the Scriptures themselves without violating these commands? In actual point of fact, they cannot! Extrabiblical revelation is therefore unscriptural. But many thousands of people--like Blackaby--are adamant in insisting that God still speaks to men as He did during Bible times and cite instance after instance in which He is supposedly doing so.
QUESTION #2--How do those who are participants in receiving and disseminating the "up to date" messages from God know for certain that it is God doing the talking? I am serious, folks! By what criteria do they ensure that God Almighty is the source? I'm sorry, but feelings just wont cut it! Neither will experience. We are all totally depraved humans and if one is truly saved, only the grace of God separates us from the vilest sinner on earth. That is why God has given us His Word in written form--we can go to it and communicate with Him. He speaks to us through His Word and we speak to Him through prayer. And where a genuine believer is concerned, there is absolutely no doubt about the authenticity of it all. But such is obviously not the case with many modern day believers who insist that God is speaking to them--and often in an audible voice! Need I remind you of the countless instances in the Bible where false prophets insisted "thus sayeth the Lord"? Do I need to remind you of the Lord's own Words regarding those who will insist at the Great White Throne Judgment that they have prophesied in His Name? In the early Church, when the spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 were fully functional [and we must remember that the New Testament was still in the process of being written], we take note that one of the gifts was "discerning of spirits" (vs.10). The Amplified Bible renders the pertinent section of verse ten as follows:
"....to another the ability to discern and distinguish between [the utterances of true] spirits [and false ones],..."
As I understand this gift, it was given to those who were to be spiritual "watchdogs" in insuring that those who supposedly had the gift of prophecy really spoke for God. In other words, the Holy Spirit gifted them--spiritually enabled them--to discern the origin and validity of the words being spoken. The reason for this is that Satan and his demons have not only the ability, but also the desire, to mimic God and appear to speak for Him!!!! This fact is repeatedly stressed throughout the whole of Scripture in the actions of false prophets. Therefore, if you believe that God is speaking to you, or through you to others, you had best have that spirit tested! Just as those speaking in tongues must have an interpreter present, those prophesying are out of order unless there are those present who possess the gift of discerning of spirits. The common sense reasons for these regulations should be obvious.
How does one "test" the spirits? According to 1 John 4:1-2 the test is as follows:
"Beloved, do not put faith in every spirit, but prove (test) the spirits to discover whether they proceed from God; for many false prophets have gone forth into the world. By this you may know (perceive and recognize) the Spirit of God: every spirit which acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ, the Messiah [actually] has become man and has come in the flesh is of God--has God for its source" (Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible commentary).
One of the most important warnings we can issue in this regard is that God has made it very clear that man walks by faith, not sight [2 Corin 5:7; Galatians 3:11; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:38]. Therefore, a movement that emphasizes the gifts that are visible -- and easily counterfeited by Satan -- is encouraging its members to walk by sight and not faith. If you are having someone whispering in your ear in an audible voice, you can rest assurred on the authority of God's Word, that it is not the Holy Spirit. Dreams and visions are also suspect for the same reasons; they are altogether too easily counterfeited by Satan. Remember, we are living in the End of the Age, where Jesus foretold that deception would get so very good that, if it were possible, even the Elect of God would be deceived [Matthew 24:24]. We believe too many "Christian" ministries are today being created and promoted by men and women who are not God's Elect, and they are deceiving many. Thus, most Charismatic churches today do not teach systematic theology, concentrating instead on feelings rather than doctrine, and on visible gifts that play on the emotions.
Those of you who are familiar with the Cutting Edge ministry understand that we view spiritual matters from an entirely different perspective than most. Spiritual warfare as a subject is, unfortunately, foreign to the overwhelming majority of pastors today. They give it lip service occasionally, but they really do not have a clue concerning specifics relative to the Satanic "dark side" and their objectives. For that reason, our ministry is as "one crying in the wilderness" to awaken God's people to the stark realities of this late hour. With love for all and malice toward none, we implore those who are insistent that the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 are still active -- along with those who are being indoctrinated in experience based systems like Blackaby's study course -- to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the spirit speaking to you is truly of God .
Whenever someone is speaking in tongues, prophesying, or in the process of being spoken to by what they perceive to be the Holy Spirit, according to the test of 1 John we just quoted, God instructs us to test the spirit by having it confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. As His children, God has not only instructed us--but also given us the authority--to demand that the spirit make this confession. If it is truly His Holy Spirit speaking, the confession will be immediate and unmistakable. However, some have done this only to discover to their utter horror that the spirit refused to cooperate and in many cases actually blasphemed God!
If your Christian experience involves any of the practices we have touched upon, we implore you to follow the clear instructions of the Word of God and make sure of the spirit by having godly individuals apply the test as John describes it. While you are speaking in tongues, prophesying, or receiving instructions from that which you believe to be the Holy Spirit--have the others take command of the spirit by invoking the Name and blood of Jesus Christ and instructing it to confess that Christ has come in the flesh. What have you got to lose--other than perhaps some spiritual baggage you were not aware of?
If you have received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.
If you have never received Jesus Christ as Savior, but have come to realize His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to obtain His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can also do so now, in the privacy of your home. Once you have Him as Savior, you are spiritually Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then, you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually.
If you would like to become Born Again, turn to our Salvation Page now.
We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and warn people, so that they can see the coming New World Order -- Kingdom of Antichrist -- in their daily news.
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