My Will Be Done.
When prophesy is not prophesy! and a bit of a rant at the end.
MattS AMTM January 2019 Part 22 (heresy and false teachings)
“Pastor Couple Prophesies 2019 Will Be the Greatest Year Ever”
This article, “Pastor Couple Prophesies 2019 Will Be the Greatest Year Ever” found its way into my inbox. As I looked at the title, I thought “Oh No!!, another bit of NAR nonspecific nonsense prophecy” That is the way I am looking at said “so called” prophetic articles these days. The article quoted a verse in Mark 11. They put in the article Mark 11:21-23, but only used verse 23. I looked up the whole passage of scripture the article quoted, and saw that they, (as NAR folk often do) had missed out the relevant and important context of the verse. I want to think nice things about the folks who had written this article, and sometimes I really struggle with that, but the Holy Spirit reminds me that I have also been in great deception and came out of it.
By the way, the couple that wrote this article and had this “so called” prophetic word are “global senior pastors” (GLOBAL??!!) at a Church called “Contagious“, and my first thought was “please Lord, don’t let this be “contagious” but alas, I realised it was too late for that! It has been in Charisma Magazine and gone out to a whole lot of folks. By the way, I view “Charisma Magazine” as a New Apostolic Reformation mouthpiece. They do have an occasional good article, but I would not recommend them for regular good spiritual teaching or reading material, if you want to say grounded in God’s truth.
I had a good look at the “Contagious” website and there was one thing that was quietly screaming at me after a thorough perusal of said “Contagious” website, it was “the love of money”. If you think that is a harsh criticism, check the website out for yourself. I want to cut people some slack, give a bit of grace, but I was really struggling in this situation.
Anyway, back to the “Contagious Church Global Senior Pastors” article.
The article starts out by saying “This year you will experience the greatest year ever“.That would be nice…. but, it sounds a bit like “Your best life now“……… The pastors go on to say that this is a prophetic declaration of what God is going to do for you this year….. Really?… For me?? Hmmm…… I’m not quite sure now if it was for them, or for me……… never mind.
The global pastors say that God gave them 5 simple instructions… as follows;
1.Prepare to leave behind the familiar.
2.Get comfortable with knowing less—I am not going to give you all the details. Trust me when facing the unknown.
3.Prepared to acquire new skills and connect with new people.
4.Confess and decree what I show you even when it does not initially appear.
5.Stay laser focused and beware of distraction.
Apart from the obvious, I’m not really sure what most of this actually means, and is it really from God?
Lajun and Valora Cole ( the global pastors) say one thing I agree with, they say “Abraham taught us that placing our trust in God always pays off” I absolutely agree with that.
Lajun and Valora go on to say “Did you know that declarations and confessions are one of the most powerful methods of increasing your faith? Norvell Hayes was known for saying, “You can have what you say!” The Scriptures teach us that hearing is the key to developing faith because “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17, KJV).” [bold text my added emphasis]
Norvell, a man, says “I can have what I say?” “I’ll have a million dollars please”…………….. “okay, so where is it?” Faith comes by hearing the word of God, yup, I get that, so what does that have to do with “having what I say”?
I checked out Norvell Hayesand he is real (or was, he died last year), I checked out the quote he was alleged to have made “You can have what you say!” but could not find it, however Norvell did make the Zedekiah List with several very “interesting quotes” (check them out)
Lajun and Valora tell us that “There are numerous texts within Scripture that reference the power of the professed word.” and go on to attempt to qualify this statement with this……
“God demonstrated this for us when he created the heavens, the earth and the stars. As His children, we too have the power to create our world with the spoken word. Proverbs 18:21 teaches us that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Moreover, one of the synoptic Gospels writes, “For truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:21-23, MEV). We as believers have power to speak our destiny into existence. Following this principle, we have written the following faith confessions for 2019 designed to increase our expectations of God and strengthen our faith.” [bold text my added emphasis]
I have a lot of problems with the last paragraph. What Lajun and Valora seem to be saying is that because God created things, we, as His children, can create things also. They go on to quote Proverbs 18:21” Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” In a sense we can do this if we have been given the authority to do so, as a Judge or King pronouncing a death sentence on a criminal, or a doctor agreeing to an abortion or authorising life giving surgery. This is all in the power of the tongue and there are other examples of what the tongue can do. Although I’m not sure that Lajun and Valora mean this kind of power.
They go on to quote Mark 11:23 (as stated already) but use Mark 11:21-23 in the article. As I previously mentioned they only quote the part of scripture that meets their needs, as in “For truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says“. They missed Verse 22 which says”And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God“. Having faith in God means trusting Him, trusting God to do the moving and the shaking as He wills things.
When quoting a scriptural principle, we must take all scripture into account (the whole counsel of God), not just what suits our needs. So when it says in 1 John 5:14” This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” or Lamentations 3:37” Who isthere who speaks and it comes to pass,Unless the Lord has commanded it?” or when Jesus said in Luke 22:42” saying,“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” or Matthew 6:33” But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Clearly it is God’s will not ours that is paramount.
In the last part of the paragraph mentioned, Lajun and Valora indicate they have a list of “faith confessions” for 2019….. these faith confessions are as follows (it’s a big list);
Confessions and Declarations for 2019
—2019 will be the year of the Greatest Successes of my life.
—2019 will be my best year ever.
—I am stronger than I’ve ever been.
—I am smarter than I’ve ever been.
—I am more determined than I’ve ever been.
—I am more anointed than I’ve ever been.
—I am more focused than I’ve ever been before.
—I will grow more than I’ve ever grown.
—I am more prepared than I’ve ever been.
—I have more clarity than I’ve ever had.
—I have more wisdom than I’ve ever had.
—I have more knowledge than I’ve ever had.
—I have more vision than I’ve ever had.
—I have more faith than I’ve ever had.
—I have more revelation than I’ve ever had before.
—I have a better relationship with God than I’ve ever had before.
—I know more about God than I’ve ever know before.
—I know more about His word than I’ve ever known before.
—I know more about His Spirit than I’ve ever known before.
—I see things on an entirely new level.
—I will give more than I’ve ever given because I am going to receive more than I’ve ever received.
—I will sow more than I’ve ever sown because I will reap the largest harvest I’ve ever had.
—I will write more life-altering books; run more multi-billion-dollar businesses; have more world-changing; industry-disrupting ideas; develop more patents and create more inventions than I ever have before.
—I will build bigger and better than I’ve ever built before.
—I will achieve more than I’ve ever achieved before.
—I will do more than I’ve ever done.
—I am committed to the success of my destiny and my future.
—I am going to do it, no matter what it takes.
I had to compress them a little to save on some space………
Okay, so have you read all the “faith declarations”? It’s a seriously solid list to try and digest and it’s giving me some serious indigestion. I’m not against making a positive statement about things, or just having a general positive attitude, but this is like a spiritual “Super Size Me” list. When did we get the right to make “confessions and declarations” like this. We are created beings, we can create only what God has allowed us to create, we cannot speak things into existence. We cannot order God around or command him to do things, If we are walking in God’s will and have a tiny mustard seed of trust and faith in Him, “He” will move the mountains if they are in the way of what He purposes for us. Lamentations 3:37” Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass,Unless the Lord has commanded it?“
This stuff is Gnosticism, it is “Word of Faith, name it and claim it, it is about self and how we are going to speak our destiny, it is doing things by ourselves and paying lip service to God, it is almost “magical thinking“. It is narcissistic, it is about me, myself and I, it is about self deceit and about “delusions of grandeur” that usually accompany psychosis or narcissism. I am reminded of Lucifer’s five “I wills” in Isaiah 14:12-15 and of the “prosperity gospel” teachings. If I were to just have enough faith, just have enough belief, If I just “squeeze” hard enough, maybe something will happen!!
What if I truly believe in this whole list of Lajun and Valora’s, and absolutely none of it happens, and I end up with a lot of sorrow and troubles not of my own making. Is that because I have not confessed and declared enough, or had enough faith?
C’mon folks, where is the thinking part of our brains that God gave us…………….. please see this stuff for what it really is.
In my regular Bible study, I felt a nudge to read the book of Jude (which was not part of plan today) and wondered why? I read the chapter introduction and discovered that Jude was very likely writing a warning to the recipients to guard against those pedalling Gnostic heresies. In verse five, it reads “for certain persons have crept in unnoticed“, this would be just like the Gnostic heresies, they also creep in unnoticed, as they seem to be so much like the truth. And then I read about “clouds without water” in verses 12 & 13, “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;13wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.“
Are the words of these “confessions and declarations” coming from “empty clouds”?
This may sound a little harsh, but these words of Lajun and Valora’s are not prophetic words, they are either generated by the spirit of man or they are demonic. How do I know, because it does not conform with scripture and the whole counsel of God. I may personally want a million dollars, but if it is not in line with God’s will for me, is God just going to give it to me? The many people that get taken in and believe that this “prophecy” is from God, concerns me greatly. And there will be Christians who believe that these folk are God’s anointed, and no one should speak against their words or deeds.
I am tired of hearing this nonsense, so I’m going to have a little rant about why I do what I do……………………
Time for a Some Reflection… and a Little Rant…..
I really get sick of writing this stuff at times, as I have better things to do!! However, if just one person turns away from, or recognises the error in this nonsense, (as in the article I have just written about, and yes, it is nonsense). If someone acquires some discernment as a result, I will continue to post my thoughts on things, backed up with scripture, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. I have seen some pretty nasty stuff in the last few years amongst “Christians” in the so called “Christian Truther Community”, people (so called Christians) being downright nasty to one another, lots of nastiness online, in all sorts of forums and online ministries. Christians puffing themselves up about how well they are doing, how many people they have led to the Lord etc. Satan is having a field day.
I have had a few “nasty” to just plain “rude” emails from folks who disagree with me, however, thankfully, the vast majority of emails that I receive have been encouraging and supportive. I have seen people in the Christian Discernment ministries who have just gone rogue. I have seen some that call themselves discerning, but proceed to mock and criticise other folks in a very personal way without any basis in fact. I see some that get it wrong, acknowledge this error, and correct their errors publicly, these are few are far between. I see some that get it wrong, and rebuke private correction, and then rebuke public correction, and they refuse to acknowledge their error. These people are many. And yes, there are just some that are just in it for the fame, power and money.
I see some online pronouncements from long-time discernment writers who just sound fed up and burnt out with the whole thing, and almost sound like they are denouncing their ministry. Yes, it is easy to set up a website and start being critical of others in Christendom, there is now plenty to be critical of, it is easy to start tearing a “fellow” Christian down, by mocking and making destructive pronouncements about their character or ministry. This can all be achieved with a computer, an internet connection and a few spare dollars.
However, to be truly discerning requires something quite different. I will admit that I do not always get it right, I have made mistakes and will no doubt do so in future, but this is most definitely not my aim, as I know the freedom that comes from understanding the truth of the Gospel. I know the power of God, and of God’s Word, He has operated in my life in ways that I could not ever deny, with both blessing and discipline.
I know what it is like to be deceived by deceivers, and to be forbidden from questioning by those whose words and actions “should” be questioned and they “should”be held to account for them, and yes, one day they will. I know that there are some people claiming to be Christians who are just plain evil and don’t wish to change, they like being selfish and evil, they have some sorry stuff coming to them if they don’t change, that’s not my opinion, that is Biblical. There are some claiming to be Christians who believe in the absolute rightness of what they are saying, but if you were to measure their rightness by Biblical standards they would fail, in my opinion, they are under deception, blinded by the god of this world.
Do we all fall short by Biblical standards, yes we do, as sinners we have all fallen short of the glory of God Romans 3:23. But there are some who stand firmly on their fixed opinion that their particular interpretation of scripture in correct, and is without question, my question is, has God already given them over to delusional thinking in believing their lies?. There are many Christians who lash out at those that they see are in error, without any grace, without any love, they threaten to expose said offenders publicly in some way if they do not conform to their wishes. They take this side, or that side, what about God’s side…… does that even occur to them?
On the flipside, there are some truly awesome and amazing Christians out there, faithfully serving God and their fellow Christians, often these folks go unnoticed by men (not by God though) as they are concerned about doing God’s work in the best way they know how, listening and responding to the voice of the Holy Spirit. They don’t concern themselves with the things of the world, as they know they are just strangers/aliens passing through.
So, why do I and many others continue to do what we do, when it is actually not an enjoyable thing. Because Jesus, and the apostles that Jesus appointed personally, asked us to do so. When the disciples asked Jesus about signs of his return (Matt 24), Jesus started off by saying “Do not be deceived“, There are numerous scriptures about discernment,false teaching and deceptions by Satan in the last days. It is my impression, and not just mine alone, that Christians in general have gone to sleep at the wheel, they lack discernment, and have a watered down morality that fits in with a politically correct agenda. Jesus again warns us in Matthew 24: 42-44. Sadly this fits in with how a “great apostacy” or “great falling away from the faith” might occur. It appears that there will be a problem with Christians not being awake and alert in this time of the end of the age. We do not know when Jesus is returning, but we have some very broad signs of His return , and He asks us to watch out for deception and be alert!!
There are times when I wish this would all go away and I could just stick my head in the sand and pretend that it just is not happening, being back in the 1970’s in New Zealand would be just great, for most here in NZ, especially Christians, it was a good time to be alive.
These days it seems that Christians seem to be burnt out, many seem to be uncaring and unconcerned about false teachings and heresy, they will quickly say that we should not judge or criticize other Christians, even without looking at the reason for the criticism. Many Christians have lost their ability to discern truth from error, many go with Benny Hinn and say “Touch not My Anointed“, why? Because it is easier to do this than be in disagreement with another Christian. Especially when that brother or sister seems “so sincere”!!
As a child, I suffered a double whammy in my upbringing when it came to being conditioned not to question. I was raised as a Catholic, and was raised by a narcissistic parent. Catholics are conditioned not to question the Church, as are children of narcissists conditioned not to question their narcissistic parent. There is a price you pay for questioning either the Church or the parent, sometimes it is physical or verbal abuse, or being ostracised or ridiculed by both the Church and the parent. At worst you could be threatened with excommunication from the Church, and be threatened with being disowned by the parent, and these things are designed to keep you under control and not questioning. I asked God at times why I had gone through the troubles that I did, however, as I look back I realise, that there was training and preparation for what I am doing now, those experiences sharpened me.
Being raised in the Catholic Church until my mid teens, (at this time I became a Christian and everything changed), I had to shed a lot of heretical beliefs. Many were dealt with simply by having them revealed through reading the Bible, others false beliefs died hard with other Christians challenging my Catholic version of things, and there were some serious “Ouch” moments that happened along the way. So, yes, I have some concern about hearing false teaching, heresies and lies being pedalled as “Thus Saith The Lord” to Christendom. Having the heresy exposed in my thinking was a painful thing, nobody wants to think that they are labouring under false beliefs, we all want to think that we have the “truth”. But there is only one truth and that is the word of God, not interpreted with our own eisegetical slant on it.
I will say this again and again and again (can you see me going “BLUE”in the face yet?) until people understand that “the father of lies“, Satan is extremely clever at deception and deceiving us. This is why God has given us his Word and the Holy Spirit to guide us through the deception. When Satan tempted Jesus after his 40 day fast (Matt 4:1-11), Jesus rebuffed and rebuked Satan with scripture. Satan will cause division amongst Christians, just as surely as he unites Christians that serve his purpose. Satan is so good at it. This is not a compliment, for Satan, it is a testament to his downfall. Satan has a very very very short time in which complete his end times agenda before he is bound up for around a thousand years. He is pulling out all the stops.
By the way, I use to rail against Satan in my articles and call him all sorts of things, I don’t do that anymore, it’s not my job. I can rebuke him with the authority Jesus has given, resist him and stand against him and his forces, but it is not my job to rail against him or denigrate him no matter how I feel about him personally, that is actually God’s job to deal with him, so I leave that to God now.
When I feel this way, and it happens often these days, I like to remember Philippians 4:6-9. It says
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.“
It is hard to do these things at times, that is, to dwell on the good things, especially when there are so many unpleasant things going on. But I remind myself to dwell on the good things and there are plenty of those, I just have to look around me and they are there. That is why I keep going, if Satan’s time is short, that means ours is even shorter, So I will keep going until I am unable to do so. In my extra reading today in the book of Jude, I read at the end of the chapter verses 21- 23” keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting;23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.“
My prayer is, “keep me in your truth Lord, keep me from deception, and to have mercy on those who are doubting, to save others, snatching them out of the fire, and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh”
This prayer is also my prayer for all the others who working in this area.
RESEARCH. (The author of this article may not necessarily agree with all the views expressed in the research material)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8%3A44&version=NASB
https://www.openbible.info/topics/discernment
https://www.openbible.info/topics/deception_by_satan_in_last_days
https://www.openbible.info/topics/false_teachings
https://www.gotquestions.org/power-of-the-tongue.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/speak-things-into-existence.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/positive-confession.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_thinking
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/magical-thinking
https://www.zedekiahlist.com/cgi-bin/quotes.pl?&id=20484755
https://www.gotquestions.org/fate-destiny.html
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