discernment – Page 56

discernment, false teachers, holy living

How do you confront a brother or sister who follows a false teacher?

Posted on January 4, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

This blog is about prophecy, discernment and encouragement. In the discernment department, I write a lot about false teachers and show from the bible how and why the particular ones mentioned are false. I do the same with false doctrines.

However it is harder to know how to approach a person in your church who is under the sway of some of these teachings. You know that so-and-so is false. They don’t. There is no question that the issue shouldn’t be raised, because after all, the gifts are to be used for the building up of the saints to the ultimate glory of His name. Jesus wants a pure church. The Spirit works hard to ensure it, so that we can point to Jesus in holiness. But HOW do you approach someone you see involved in a Beth Moore study, or going to a Bethel Redding or IHOP conference, or using a curriculum by Henry Blackaby?

It reminds us that faith cannot be removed or detached from the realm of real life.
~John MacArthurIt’s one thing to know about false teachers in the academic sense, but quite another to put the information to edifying use inside a church teaching situation. Both theological knowledge and deeds are important in a Christian. I’ve had the opportunity to approach some various church leaders and some brethren in various churches regarding different false teachings or teachers. With that in mind here is what I did when approaching a person about a false teacher.

Please understand that this is not a template or a method to be mindlessly copied. I’m just a forgiven sinner, a woman in Georgia working out my salvation with fear and trembling. There may be other ways to bring up the subject in a church or with a person. There are undoubtedly other scriptures to rely on as the basis for the action. Please share your method and your thoughts on scriptures that apply to the issue.

Painting by echo feng, cc license

First of all, if you desire to approach someone about a false teacher or false doctrine in your church, it demonstrates the love you have of Jesus to care for His name so much that you want to protect your sisters from the dangers and poison that false teaching brings! “And many will follow their [false teachers] sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed,” (2 Peter 2:2). False teachers bring these heresies in and it always leads to destruction of those who follow- if they don’t repent. (Revelation 2:22-23). Therefore, remaining silent about the poison false teaching brings is actually hate. Helping brethren avoid the predators is helping them to abide in Him (1 John 2:27) and is love.

Though it is for the glory of the name of Jesus, it’s hard to share even with a wise and trainable sister, one who wants to know and asked to know, about a favored false teacher, only to then see her saddened over the truth. Thankfully, these kind of hard feelings are fleeting and ultimately relationship building and not relationship-destroying.

On the other end of the spectrum, some people become very angry when told that a false teacher isn’t worth pursuing. These people are usually bound up in pride, and they cling to the teacher because they have invested their ego and pride in making the decision to follow them in the first place. It is called “Deception by Investment”, and these people remain angry, but at you, for bringing it to light. They would rather continue investing in the false teacher instead of looking it up like a Berean, so as not to puncture their pride. This kind of anger can be relationship destroying because you become the object of their ire rather than the false teacher who is blaspheming Jesus.

The first step is always prayer. The first pass in the process is always pray for your pastor, teachers, and

By Chris Yarzab, cc license

Sunday School Director (who makes the decisions about which books to buy) or brother or sister you’ve developed a burden for.

Second, because it is a leader who makes the decisions on what curriculum to bring forward, I usually make an appointment with the leader and sit down in private and discuss my concerns. Even if it is a church member and not a leader who you want to talk with, still, make an appointment, maybe for coffee. Ask to stay after Wednesday night prayer meeting for a few minutes. Go to brunch after church.

I’d let the leader know that in the upcoming meeting you’re going to share concerns about such and such a teacher, so they will know what the meeting will be about- and so they can pray more specifically too. I’ve done this with the Pastor, Sunday School Superintendent, Teacher, and Ladies Ministry Leader. I don’t want to sandbag them or embarrass them publicly so I always ask to meet.

Most importantly and scripturally, meeting in private is also an acknowledgement of their office as leader, Hebrews 13:17 says,

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray before the meeting. A lot.


Molly Sabourin Original was in color

Third, when you meet: if they are a leader worth their salt, they will appreciate your humble approach and also appreciate the opportunity you’ve given them to personally research the issue you’re putting before them, and to pray. Even if you’re speaking with a sister, and even if they are confused or angry with the subject of the talk, they will see the lengths you’ve gone to reach them in love. If you were in error and didn’t know it, wouldn’t you want someone to come alongside and put their arm around you and take time and speak to you in love? (Mark 12:31).

In my opinion another benefit of doing it this way is that if my interpretation of the verses and the scriptures leading me to a conclusion that a teacher is false is actually incorrect, the leader can then have an opportunity to instruct me.

This woman’s short essay on how she chose to bring up a Beth Moore teaching to a sister who was about to enter a BM study was really good. I find it instructive and encourage you to read it, too. Loving sisters who love Beth Moore.

Fourth, in the meeting, (if you get a chance to meet in privately or one-on-one), I’d have put together some notes about why you feel so and so is an unprofitable teacher. I use notes when I speak to the leader or person because I’m very shy socially and I refer to notes because I get really tangled up and I forget the points I’d wanted to make. I give it to them when we’re done. This helps because it gives someone a chance to later read over what you’ve said.

I’d keep it short and choose the worst offenses from the teacher’s cadre of false indicators. For example, though I’ve written about Beth Moore’s falsity many times, I am especially aggravated at the vision she says she had where Jesus spoke to her like she was a prophet and told her the church was paralyzed by unbelief. To me, it is the clearest example of her falsity. The link for that essay explaining why it is a false vision, with scriptures, is here: “Examining Beth Moore’s Statement ‘My Bride is Paralyzed by Unbelief’

Here is a good web page from Rev Matt Slick (who runs CARM.org) outlining succinctly Beth Moore’s many aberrations, you could pick and choose which ones the Spirit seems to be leading you to. The site has similar summaries for other false teachers, as well.

FMI: Is Beth Moore a false teacher?When you meet, the main idea is not to make an airtight legal case, but to share solid information particular to your heart and the church’s situation, and then to step back and let the Spirit apply these truths to their hearts.

I’d also include some verses which support your right and duty to point these things out, a few are above in the beginning of this post, a few are below. Just in case you get the old chestnut “Judge Not!” verse or “Touch not God’s anointed!”

Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
2 Timothy 3:5 Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people
Romans 16:17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.

5. When it comes time for the ladies study to begin, and the leader has dismissed your concerns or hasn’t had time to work through it yet, or the Sunday School class is about to start, have your prayerful decision ready. I hope it is that you will choose not to attend. If you’re asked by the other ladies or men why you’re not attending, have a short statement ready in your mind to reply. Not as detailed as you give the leader, but enough to say in a sound bite which conclusively states your opinion.

Something like “I have researched Beth Moore’s doctrine and her teaching methods and have come to the conclusion that since she confesses hearing from Jesus and having visions, she twists scripture from its historical context and allegories it too often, as she did in her Strongholds book with misapplying Galatians 5:1, so it seems she is a false teacher and I decided not to partake of the study. I’d be more than happy to talk about this later with anyone who has concerns with my (and my husband’s?) decision.”

Salem (MA) Public Library, cc photo

Or you might say, “Joel Osteen is a word-faith preacher who refuses to preach the whole counsel of God and since Ephesians 4:14 says to preach the whole counsel of God, Osteen demonstrates a lack of discernment and a rebellion against the Spirit inspired word, so I humbly decline to attend the study.” And then your absence from it will be the continuing statement.

Use scripture in all cases, with the leader and with the brethren and in all discussions. It is the power of God to apply truth to hearts. Always use scripture. I can’t say it enough, it is of extreme importance. Use scripture. It is not our earnestness or our fervor or our zeal which will win them over. It is not a carefully constructed argument. It is not the power of our intellect which will pierce the spell they are under with a false teacher. It is the Word!

“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 2:12-13).

The Spirit will resonate the verses you use in minds and hearts, and if I was a betting woman, at least one of them will seek you out later to say, “I had concerns too, but couldn’t put my finger on them. Can you tell me more?” And by golly you can hand them the same paper you gave the Leader you chose to speak with previously.

6. At all times keep praying. And keep loving the sisters and brothers who are under the teacher’s spell, by all means. Some of them might be false converts but some of them will be truly brethren in the faith, standing on the same blood soaked ground you’re standing on.

‘Under A Spell” rjg329, cc license

The spell of the false teacher is always powerful. Picture a doctrine-whisperer seducing the brethren.

I was reading up on Beth Moore the other night. I read one woman’s blog where she had written that she had attended a Living Proof conference and really wanted to talk with Moore, because two of her children had died and she knew Moore could share the grief of child-loss, since Moore had given her adopted son back to his mother after raising him for 7 years. This blogger said she approached a counselor at the back of the arena when the conference was over. The following is an excerpt from her narrative. While I understand the woman was in the throes of grief, it is still a startling example of how deeply people get wrapped up in false teachers:

“As we were walking and I was crying, I realized that Beth Moore was standing right beside me with her back to me. I looked at the woman leading me out of the room and held up my hand as if to say, “Just one minute.” With my other hand, I reached out and literally took a hold of Beth’s arm as if it were my only chance to ever be that close to her and feel her love. I couldn’t help but think of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ robe……not implying that Beth has this same power, but simply saying that I truly wanted a blessing from Beth and in touching her hoped that I would receive it.”

These women are truly ensnared! Those who follow false teachers are caught up on something satanic. We can’t beat satan but the Spirit of God can. I say satanic because the false teacher always tries to shift your gaze from Jesus to themselves. So many of them have elevated the teacher to a status they certainly don’t deserve but if they are so emotionally (or financially) invested, they will balk at the notion that they have misplaced their trust. Just be sensitive.

On the other hand sometimes the Spirit helps by moving a person out off range of the predator. Distance helps clear the vision and they see the false teacher in a new light.

This is the narrative of a pastor’s wife who moved from Alabama to Wisconsin to plant a church with her husband. She used to love Beth Moore but found out after the move that her love affair was drying out. Her writing is clear and down to earth funny. “Secret Life of a Pastor’s wife: Breaking Up with Beth Moore“

Josh Mishell, cc license

“Even though I am a native Southerner, born and bred in Alabama and having lived in the south all of my life, when I look through my Midwestern lenses, Beth Moore is not relevant. Her homey humor, “beloved,” and “bless your heart” sayings don’t translate. I would watch the faces of native Wisconsinites as they watched her DVD. They thought she was cheesy and as much of an over-the-top caricature as Jeff Foxworthy. “You girls, know what I’m sayin’, right? We wouldn’t be caught dead without our face on and our hair did.” Hah! Most of the Wisconsin women I know can shovel snow, chop wood, and milk a cow without batting an eye. So many of my students grew up on dairy farms and were out milking cows by 5 am, shared a room with 4 other siblings, and didn’t have a car until they graduated from college and bought their own. Concern about curling their hair in Africa would not rank in their list of concerns. And quite frankly, she’s very patronizing to women and holds very, very strict gender stereotypes.”

Nick Sherman, cc license

If a teacher doesn’t translate it is because they are embedded in the world and using the world’s language- the wrong language. God’s word always translates because He transcends distance and time.

The upshot is that even if initially your message about a false teacher is not received, the Spirit is always working. He perhaps had prepared the person you’re going to speak with by sending other people prior to you. Or subsequent to your talk, His work might continue in physically moving the person from the location of false teacher’s sphere…or cause financial hardship to prevent cable subscription so TBN won’t come into their house anymore, or to simply illuminate the scriptures when that person is reading the bible, or continue the work in a zillion ways we can’t anticipate. Though we get emotionally wrapped up in the conversation, it is not the only thing the Spirit is doing and His work extends far beyond our little participation in it.

“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)

That’s why we use the Word and not our opinion in these talks. Our opinion is just a puff of wind, but His word is always working!

7. Not to say that it always works out. Sometimes the person you speak with doesn’t see the light but your exhortation might entrench them further into their snare. This, too, is the work of God. His glory is always the highest outcome of everything we do. He is working for the glory of His name. This is where I found Ezekiel 2:3-7 especially helpful-

Flickr marsmet533, cc license

“And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.”

NOT that we’re prophets but on His day the person will have no excuse. In Revelation 2:20-22 Jesus is describing a false prophetess and commanding John to tell the church at Thyatira to leave off her and repent, and He gave them time to repent. He is always reaching for His sheep. But not all repent and leave off the false teacher, but His glory is such that they will know they were told. Ultimately, it is not up to us and it is not about us, but about Him and His glory, now and on His Day.

In conclusion, those are my thoughts on how to approach a person involved with a false teacher.

Pray, (Philippians 4:6)
Research with biblical accuracy to the best of your ability, (2 Timothy 2:15)
Respect your leaders, (1 Thessalonians 5:12-14 )
Meet and talk humbly of the issue, (Galatians 6:1)
Share notes, (1 John 2:1)
Be open to correction, (Hebrews 12:11)
Pray some more, (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Ephesians 6:18)
Separate from the false teacher, doctrine, curriculum, or teaching (Romans 16:17)
Remain reliant on the Spirit no matter the perceived, observed, temporal outcome, (John 14:26)
Pray (Romans 8:26).

Often, I’ve discovered that there are more people in the church who feel the way we do but simply don’t

Yenkassa, cc license

speak up because they don’t know HOW to go about bringing difficult topics up. And for others, the notion of challenging a current popular teacher’s doctrine on a biblical basis will be a new thing to them, because many churches or church members never do it at all. They are watching what we do, which is pursuing holiness and building each other up. (Ephesians 4:11-32; Philippians 2:1-18). There are always wider lessons in everything the Spirit in involved in. Just make sure the Spirit IS involved by being gentle, prayerful and biblically accurate.

This is what I came up with after prayer and research. What do you think? What has been your experience?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unity among the body, no divisions

Posted on January 2, 2014May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

It is important to pursue unity. It is equally important to know exactly what unity you’re pursuing. Paul said,

“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” (1 Corinthians 1:10).

Though the liberal, the post-modernist, emerging church would like it to, the verse does not stop here:

‘I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united.’

No. Scriptures say we are to be united in the same mind and in the same judgment. Mindless unity among any person whether or not someone professes all the Gospel is not what is in view here. So what does ‘the same mind’ mean? Matthew Henry’s Commentary says,

“In the great things of religion be of one mind; and where there is not unity of sentiment, still let there be union of affection. Agreement in the greater things should extinguish divisions about the lesser. There will be perfect union in heaven, and the nearer we approach it on earth, the nearer we come to perfection. Paul and Apollos both were faithful ministers of Jesus Christ, and helpers of their faith and joy; but those disposed to be contentious, broke into parties. So liable are the best things to be corrupted, and the gospel and its institutions made engines of discord and contention. Satan has always endeavoured to stir up strife among Christians, as one of his chief devices against the gospel.

You see his point. Satan even uses the Gospel to divide. We must agree on the greater things and to do that, we must know what they are.

Amos 3:3 says, “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?“

picture by Moyan Brenn on Flickr

Much happens before two people arrive somewhere and then go forth together. They individually and then together study on where they are to go, and what they are to do, how they will get there, and at what time. How will they know where they are going unless they consult and agree, and are friends? Of first importance is that the individual agrees with God in all His statutes, and then the two who are to go walking agree with the basis for their appointment. Then they walk. No one arrives at the designated place and one says to the other, “Ready to go get our haircut?” and the other says, “But I thought we were going to the movies?” They know why they are there and where they are to go.

It is this kind of agreement that Paul has in mind in instructing the Corinthians. He doesn’t mean unite with all who profess Christ so that there will be no divisions. Divisions are inevitable and never let a post-modernist liberal tell you otherwise. The Gospel divides. (Matthew 10: 34-37; John 7: 5). Those who adhere to it are always offending those who don’t, even within the church of Christ, for there are many tares.

A mindless unity would indicate Paul was saying the Corinthians should unite with Judaizers, Gnostics, and Nicolaitans, so that the body is not divided. But uniting with false professors always divides anyway, that’s what Matthew Henry was saying when he explained that satan uses the Gospel to divide. Division is not the issue. If there are divisions over doctrine, that is good. If there is division among those who agree, it is bad. There’s a huge difference.

Biblical unity is not nor should be mindless. It is a problem when it is not of same mind and not of same judgment, meaning of the same doctrine and same discipline.

In modern days, false teachers urge us to unite with Mormons, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, any and all people who speak the name God and mention Christ, but in fact there is NO agreement behind it. We hear people say “The three Abrahamic religions” and claim “we worship the same God.” Therefore they are not of the same mind and the same judgment. They cannot go walking with a true Christian.

If those I mentioned above agree and then meet to go walking, they will find that they are in fact divided. “I thought we were going to Kolob?” The other one says, “But I thought we were headed to Purgatory?” while the third remarks, “No, I thought we were going to Mecca.” And the fourth comments “But we should go to the Western Wall and then to synagogue…” You see? They do not agree after all and should not go walking. There is no unity there.

CC photo by supernovaK

Whenever someone tells you that we should unite in order to reduce division, refer them to Paul’s full exhortation and ask what it means to be united in same mind and same judgment. And in case we ourselves are not sure, please listen to this fantastic sermon from Phil Johnson, who goes over exactly what the Gospel is, and the things of first importance that make up its necessary elements. After hearing this, you will know what it means to have same mind and same judgment with other Christians, united in His atoning, bloody death and glorious resurrection.

Things of First Importance (Phil Johnson)
1 Corinthians 15: 1-5

“Walking” by Katherine Johnson, CC photo

discernment, gluttony, homosexuality, not that there's anything wrong with that, rachel held evans

Everyone’s literal about sin until you bring up homosexuality

Posted on December 31, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

In the crucible of what passes for discussion about the sin of homosexuality, I’ve noticed an insidious acceptance in Christians of one of the conditions that the gay lobby insists we make. This acceptance has crept in and is in fact a double standard. It is akin to the scenes in the old Seinfeld episode “The Outing.” Let me explain.

Twenty years ago, in an episode of the comedy sitcom “Seinfeld,” Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza, lifelong buddies, are mistaken for a homosexual couple, and “strenuously deny that they are gay, conditioning their denials with ‘Not that there’s anything wrong with that.’ The line would soon afterward become a catchphrase. Jason Alexander maintains that it is the most popular to originate from the series. The episode earned a GLAAD award. (source)

In each case when the catchphrase was uttered, the person would shrug, throw up their hands in a mock submission and shake their head. See this 17 second compilation:

In discussing homosexuality today, immediate ire rises from all quarters unless homosexuality is couched in the most glowing of terms. If a person does not give hearty approval to homosexuality, (Romans 1:32), one is immediately scourged. The scourging is fast, immediate, and vicious. Just ask Phil Robertson.

If it were up to the homosexual lobby, no one would ever mention homosexuality as a sin. Evah. Failing that, the double standard now is that we can’t mention homosexuality as a sin unless we also mention all the other sins too, at the same time. To paraphrase many of the other discussions I’ve read, such as Rachel Held Evans’s question, “Why is homosexuality the great biblical debate of this decade and not slavery?” a discussion along those “not that there’s anything wrong with that” lines might go like this-

“Homosexuality is a sin”.
“Wait just a minute, bub. Gossip is a sin, what about that? Or envy, that’s a sin too. And drunkenness. Why single out homosexuality? Hey, bub, there’s lots of sins. Not that there aren’t other sins too!”

We are now supposed to cushion the sting of stating sodomy is a sin by including it in a list of all other sins.

The double standard enters in because the reverse is not true.

“Murder is a sin.”
“Wait just a minute, bub. Homosexuality is a sin, too. What about that? You didn’t mention that one. Or envy, that’s a sin. And drunkenness. Why single out murder? Hey, bub, there’s lots of sins. Why aren’t you talking about them, too?”

“Gluttony is a sin”
“Wait just a minute, bub. Homosexuality is a sin, too. What about that? You didn’t mention that one. Or drunkenness, that’s a sin. And anger. Why single out gluttony? Hey, bub, there’s lots of sins. Why aren’t you talking about them, too?”

We have allowed ourselves to substitute the phrase, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that” with “Not that there aren’t any other sins!” And throwing up our hands in a mock submission and shaking our heads, in vain attempts to stave off anger and vicious comebacks.

Don’t fall for it. This is just a temporary compromise to the gay lobby’s ultimate goal: full-on prohibition of any talk of homosexuality being mentioned as a sin at all. (Romans 1:32 again). It’s a diversionary tactic.

It is a given that we understand there are many sins. Lists and lists of them are given in the bible. (Romans 1:29-31, 2 Corinthians 12:20, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Jude 1:16). Committing even one of them disqualifies a person from heaven and Jesus is great enough to forgive them, no matter how many you committed. If a person is talking about the greatness of Jesus in His ability and desire to forgive any and all sins, then by all means, list the bunch of them to illustrate the breadth of His mercy and grace! That’s what Phil Robertson was doing when he mentioned a hearty selection of sins, not just the one that must not be mentioned.

Even then, you see the gay lobby can’t ever be satisfied, because they complained that in mentioning homosexuality together with a bunch of other sins, he was comparing homosexuality to them…you see the pointlessness of caving even an inch to their demands.

But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. (Galatians 2:5)While the discussion may legitimately call for an expanded list of sins, it is not necessary to hide homosexuality within a larger list of sins just to make it palatable to the LGBT lobby. If the discussion is about the sin of gossip, then the discussion will be about gossip. No one will suggest including adultery in the talk because it is in some way perversely fair to all the other sins to mention them too.

So if the discussion arises about homosexuality, it is disingenuous to force an inclusion of all sins along with homosexuality. Homosexuality is not a protected class of sins, and it has biblical merit as a discussion point all on its own.

Here is where some, like Rachel Held Evans, make the mistake of selective literalism. The doctrinally ignorant will insist that if we are going to take the bible literally and include homosexuality as a literal sin (all I can picture is Sheldon saying ‘Literally? Literally?’) then we must also wear head coverings and gouge out our eyes if looking lustfully at another woman. Because, let’s be literal. It’s just another diversionary tactic.

Evans wrote: “We may laugh at these examples or dismiss them silly, but the biblical language employed in these contexts is actually pretty strong: eating shellfish is an abomination, a bare head is a disgrace, gossips will not inherit the kingdom of God, careless words are punishable by hell, guys who leer at women should gouge out their eyes.“

Below is a parable of incorrect biblical literalism as acted by the Big Bang Theory’s Zack, posed by Evans above:

Correct use of literally:

So if you’re discussing homosexuality as a literal and factual sin and that is the topic, don’t feel you have to say “Not that there aren’t other sins too!” We don’t bow in subjection to them for even a moment, give not an inch. Here’s why. Going back to the Galatians 2:5 verse above,

“The unyielding stand of Paul and Barnabas and their strong support by the Jerusalem apostles and leaders was to show the Judaizers that from now on, no Judaizer could ever say that Paul deceived you. No Judaizer could ever say that the prominent leaders of Jerusalem agree with us, not him…” (source)

Don’t cave. Stay strong. Speak plainly the truth of the bible, not compromising its truths where and when we are called to proclaim them. Otherwise, all too soon, “Not that there aren’t other sins too!” literally will become, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that!”

bible, discernment, joel osteen, positive confession, speech

"If you cannot be positive, then at least be quiet"- Christian, before you press share on that Facebook quote…

Posted on December 31, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

There is a quote going around among Facebook that I’d like to address. Here it is:

On the surface, it seems like a good goal, right? In the vein of making New Year resolutions, it seems like a pretty good thing to resolve. I’ll press re-share! After all, Ephesians 4:29 says let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouths and speak only what builds up. I’m on board with this.

Wait just a second. I’d like to plea for Christians to stop and think for a moment before sharing or posting. Think of what the quote really says when you consider the source. It is actually a chocolate wrapped cockroach. This quote is exactly the kind of subtle lie that satan spoke in the garden.

When we first meet the devil, we are told off the bat that he is the most subtle creature of all. (Genesis 3:1). He is crafty. Shortly after we were introduced to satan, satan became the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is actually in charge of the world system (as far as God lets him). Since satan is a liar and the father of lies, (John 8:44), and he is in charge of the world system, then the world system is a lie. (HT to Todd Friel for that syllogism).

So what could be harmful or deceptive about such a positive statement as quoted above? It goes like this:

Joel Osteen says it is not positive to speak of sin or judgment- so he doesn’t. Even though as a preacher he is supposed to give the whole counsel of God, he decided that speaking of the unsavory things in the bible is “not his calling.” He would also disagree on marking and avoiding false teachers as Romans 16:17-18 says to do. Osteen starves his followers of the spiritual bread they need by refusing to speak what he defines as negative, and therefore unnecessary, and only speaks what he deems as positive.

In this subtle way, Osteen gets Christians to remain quiet about confronting sin.

Another way the quote is deceptively harmful to our witness is that Osteen is a Word-Faith preacher.

He says that what we proclaim can impact and even create our reality. Osteen really believes that saying positive declarations aloud will make them come true. This is a false doctrine called positive confession.

“Positive confession is the practice of saying aloud what you want to happen with the expectation that God will make it a reality.” (source)

Osteen says negative speech demonstrates that we lack the kind of faith God requires us to show Him if He is going to fulfill the promises He is ‘duty bound’ to fulfill- but only if we stay positive. However,

“[T]the Bible is very clear that ‘negative confession’ does not negate God’s blessings.” (source)

So in this vein I disagree with Osteen’s statement “If you cannot be positive, then at least be quiet,” because I know what he means by it- and it is not biblical. Alternately, if a person chooses to remain quiet according to the bible’s definition (and the two are NOT the same) then I agree.

Ephesians 4:29 says let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouths and speak only what builds up.
Ecclesiastes 10:12 says words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips.
Colossians 3:8 says But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips,
Colossians 4:6 says in part, Let your speech be always with grace,

There is no such thing as a good statement from a false teacher. The bible says, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:17-20.)

(Source)

Even in a case where the statement seems good and wholesome, coming from an evil and devilish source, it means the quote is evil also. It’s tainted by its unseen evil agenda. The bible says, “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”(Romans 3:13).

Throat, tongue, lips; you see that no part of where an evil person speaks from is safe from the venom that permeates their speech before it escapes their body.

Because satan is so deceptive, he packages deception in pleasant-looking bundles. In this way, even a “positive” quote is poison.

The bible is full of admonitions regarding a Christian’s speech. And, it has the ultimate advantage of being the most impeccable source. There are many good preachers of the past and present to quote, and it is good to do so. However, if you are unsure of a the quoted person’s Christian credibility, you can’t go wrong quoting the word of God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking backward to mark forward progress

Posted on December 30, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

After Jesus justifies us, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us to help us resist unholy desires, and to grow us in Christ-likeness. He helps us resist the “old man” (Romans 6:6) and creates in us a “new man.” (Ephesians 4:24). This process is called progressive sanctification.

Progressive sanctification

“Indeed, the more sanctified the person is, the more conformed he is to the image of his Savior, the more he must recoil against every lack of conformity to the holiness of God. The deeper his apprehension of the majesty of God, the greater the intensity of his love to God, the more persistent his yearning for the attainment of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the more conscious will he be of the gravity of the sin that remains and the more poignant will be his detestation of it….Was this not the effect in all the people of God as they came into closer proximity to the revelation of God’s holiness.” -John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied

Even as the old man fades away, the new man is budding. EPrata photo

Sanctification is hard to see, and it is easy to see. It is hard to detect because the Spirit’s work is invisible. Like the minute progress of a blade of grass, you know it is growing but you can’t see the actual growth as it occurs. All you know is that one day you drive down your driveway and you notice the grass and you say, “Gee, I should mow the lawn.”

“The growth of trees and plants takes place so slowly that it is not easily seen. Daily we notice little change. But, in course of time, we see that a great change has taken place. So it is with grace. Sanctification is a progressive, lifelong work (Prov 4:18). It is an amazing work of God’s grace and it is a work to be prayed for (Rom 8:27).” ~John Owen, The Holy Spirit

On the other hand, the process of sanctification in a person is easy to see because His work bears fruit.

Does your life bear fruit? Evidence of sanctification? EPrata

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23).

I got a glimpse of it when I was looking up my Amazon.com account. I was searching for a book I’d ordered earlier in the year whose name I couldn’t remember. Yes, that is evidence of aging, not sanctification! If I don’t write it down it’s gone forever, seems like. Anyway, then I saw that I could go back and review my orders year by year. Curious, I went backwards as far as my account went, for me that was from 2013 back to 1997. First of all, I was startled to see evidence that I’d been an Amazon customer for 17 years! Secondly, it is very interesting to look backwards at the journey I was making, unknown at the time, toward Christ. Here was graphic proof, in the form of dozens of book covers…

I was justified and saved by His grace in January 2004. (Well really late Dec 2003 but for ease of chronicling purposes, say beginning of 2004).

In 1997, ’98, ’99 most of my purchases were of music. Mostly blues. Some Christmas presents were mixed in, and there were sprinkled in purchases my husband was making on my account also. If I bought a book, it was either politics, culture, or crafts. I was not interested in spiritual things, at least, not enough to buy and read a book about it.

In 2000, ’01, and ’02 suddenly my purchases were all on the topic of spirituality. I’d gotten got very spiritual. I was at first buying stuff about the Native American religions and bought a lot of books on that topic. Music too. Then the book-buys gravitated to nature/earth religions like shamanism and animal knowledge etc and the merchandise I was buying reflected that interest. Female power and goddesses and women wisdom. Then came the meditation and Buddhism phase. Lots of spirituality that was “inner” and Gnostic. Plus, candles. Oy.

In 2003 my purchases abruptly reflected a drastic turn for the dark side. I was consumed with books on demons and vampires and seamy mixtures of the two. Kundalini and serpent power and tantra and worse. It was stunning to see the rapid turn that my allegedly lighthearted former spiritual interests took into the hellish side. Of course, all spirituality that does not stem from Jesus IS from the dark side, but I didn’t know that at the time. And it shows me it does not take long for satan to draw a person experimenting with “spirituality” ever deeper into bondage and away from the Light. I was sinking fast.

I believe 2003’s purchases were graphically reflective of the spiritual warfare going on in me and all around me.

In January 2004 I was saved! Praise God in the highest for His grace. My book purchases started lightening up. I was still interested in unholy angels for a while, but from a more sanctified perspective. “Who are they? How did they get that way? Can they be saved?” Like that. There was a short spate of interest in modern-day prophets and books from false teacher C Peter Wagner, and ‘creating your own reality’, personal-power kind of books. Even as a newbie to the faith I rapidly discerned that books like those were not profitable. Thank you Holy Spirit for your discerning wisdom you impart! Then I was interested in holy angels, church life, and then abruptly, since 2005, my purchases became heavily theological- and centered on Christ.

Even then I can see the progression from light theology to deep theology. From “9 Marks of a Healthy Church” and “How to be an Expository Listener” to books about church history, to the Puritans such as Thomas Manton, “Counterfeit Miracles” by BB Warfield, and finally to this day, Jerry Bridges books and a LOT of books by modern day theologian John MacArthur. I think his “Because The Time is Near” is my all-time favorite.

For your New Year resolution, make a determination to look out with refreshed eyes from His inner position of sanctification through your life, your living space, your stuff. Sort and ruthlessly remove anything that could be a stumbling block. Because, they’re there.

Every once in a while I go around the house and remove things which are not profitable, and this includes books. All the books I mentioned above I have long since thrown into the garbage. I review my bookshelf occasionally not only to refresh me as to what is there (and so I’ll know what I can give away if someone mentions an author) but to remove anything that my increased sanctification shows is not edifying.

Progressive Sanctification

“True believers grow. When God begins a true work of salvation in a person, He finishes and perfects that work. Paul expressed that assurance when he wrote in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” If you are a true Christian, you are going to be growing-and that means you are going to be more and more like Christ. Life produces itself. If you’re alive you are going to grow, there’s no other way. You’ll improve. You’ll increase. The Spirit will move you from one level of glory to the next. So examine your life. Do you see spiritual growth? Do you see the decreasing frequency of sin? Is there an increasing pattern of righteousness and devotion to God?” ~John MacArthur

Sanctification is a process by which the Spirit opens your eyes and conforms your self to Jesus. The Spirit’s ministry is to point to Him, and away from ourselves and unholy things. Resolve to look with refreshed eyes at your wants and needs, but also your clothes, books, art hanging on the wall, knick-knacks, etc. If you are saved, you have grown. Look to see how much. So then you can praise the Spirit and thank the Christ and submit to the father and do it all over again. Pick up your cross daily, and, my brethren, grow by His Spirit!

Photo by EPrata

“The soul of a true Christian, as I then wrote my meditations, appeared like such a little white flower as we see in the spring of the year; low and humble on the ground, opening its bosom to receive the pleasant beams of the sun’s glory; rejoicing as it were in a calm rapture; diffusing around a sweet fragrancy; standing peacefully and lovingly, in the midst of other flowers round about; all in like manner opening their bosoms to drink in the light of the sun. There was no part of creature holiness, that I had so great a sense of its loveliness, as humility, brokenness of heart and poverty of spirit; and there was nothing that I so earnestly longed for. My heart panted after this – to lie low before God, as in the dust; that I might be nothing, and that God might be all, that I might become as a little child.” ~Jonathan Edwards

discernment, mark driscoll, merchandise, wolf

The worst thing I’ve ever heard a husband say about his wife: plus, Mark Driscoll and the evangelical industrial complex

Posted on November 29, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Mars Hill church

I’ve written about Mark Driscoll twice in the last week. I promise this won’t become the Mark Driscoll blog, but it seems the Holy Spirit offers me a moment of critical mass, when all of a sudden, the qualms and concerns I’ve had about a particular preacher or writer is enough. And with Mark Driscoll, enough is enough.

I wrote about his self-described (pseudo)-suffering here, whereupon I compared his published list of personal woes to real martyrs’ suffering. I also wrote about him here, where I looked at his plagiarism and other bad fruits, and asked the question, ‘Does the fruit of Mark Driscoll’s works show he is a false pastor and a wolf?” (Answer, yes).

In that second essay, I listed many examples of a man in a downward spiral, who clearly does not have the Holy Spirit in him and yet is given pass after pass for wild and ungodly behavior against the church, against his sheep, and against Jesus. I’d queried the interwebs in a non-rhetorical question, ‘at what point does the visible church collect its God-given discernment and place a pastor like Mark Driscoll in the wolf category?’

After the initial charge of plagiarism surfaced on the Janet Mefferd show, a second (and third) round surfaced a couple of days later on the same show. Ms Mefferd offered verbal and .pdf proof that there was more plagiarism, this time, not just similar concept, tone, and language, but word-for-word lifting. Mark Driscoll’s book “Trial: 8 Witnesses from 1 & 2 Peter” had on pages 7 & 8 whole word-for-word paragraphs from different pages that were published in D.A. Carson et al “1 Peter,” New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, Ed. D. A. Carson, 4th ed. (Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), p. 1370. You can see the evidence here.

Janet Mefferd
public Facebook profile

It is plain and clear that the bible says men who are called to pastor should be shepherds after Jesus’s own heart (Jeremiah 3:15). It is also plain and clear that they are held to an extremely high standard: they must be above reproach. (Titus 1:6; 1 Timothy 3:2). Above reproach in the Greek word as it’s used in the NT means blameless, not convictable when a person is properly scrutinized. GotQuestions explains ‘above reproach’ in our terms,

“The dictionary defines “reproach” as shame or disgrace or that which brings rebuke or censure upon a person. The Bible speaks of being “above reproach” or “blameless” as one of the distinctive marks of those who aspire to the office of elder or deacon within the church (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6-7). As such, their work for the church, as well as their interactions with others, are to be of such moral quality that they do not bring shame or in any way disgrace the body of Christ or the name of Jesus. This holds true not only within the church, but outside it as well.”

In other words, if you were to look closely at a pastor’s life, there would be nothing you could accuse him or or call him to account over.

This is obviously not the case with Mark Driscoll. He is almost constantly reproved for some kind of bad behavior or other. There have been moral failings, ethical breaches, spiritual irreverence and doctrinal error. He has been counseled by elders of the faith and has ignored their counsel, demonstrating a refusal to submit to authority. The specifics are at this link. Though the sheep bleat and bleat, Mr Driscoll remains, seemingly impervious to the attempts to lever leviathan from his place.

Of all the perplexing and ruinous behaviors in that list which Mr Driscoll has evidenced, there is one which affronts me greatly. It is the modern blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. That term was created and expounded upon by Dr John MacArthur in his sermon of the same title delivered in 2011. He had become concerned with the modern mystics (of which Driscoll is one) who claim to receive direct visions and revelation from the Holy Spirit, but which in fact are demonic. Here is Dr MacArthur’s explanation of how and why the modern blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is so deadly:

———————-

Wikipedia, Press photo

I’m not here to defend the Holy Spirit, He can defend Himself. But I am here to say that reproaches that are falling on His holy name are falling on me as well, and mostly this comes in the professing church from Pentecostals and Charismatics who feel they have free license to abuse the Holy Spirit and even blaspheme His holy name. And they do it constantly.

How do they do it? By attributing to the Holy Spirit words that He didn’t say, deeds that He didn’t do, and experiences that He didn’t produce, attributing to the Holy Spirit that which is not the work of the Holy Spirit. Endless human experiences, emotional experiences, bizarre experiences and demonic experiences are said to come from the Holy Spirit…visions, revelations, voices from heaven, messages from the Spirit through transcendental means, dreams, speaking in tongues, prophecies, out of body experiences, trips to heaven, anointings, miracles. All false, all lies, all deceptions attributed falsely to the Holy Spirit.

———————————-

Mr Driscoll has famously said “I see things” in which he claims all of the above. He claims that the Holy Spirit allows him to view sexual fornication in graphic detail as it happens, ‘like a movie.’ I am astounded the entire Church did not come down on his head in resounding reproaches for making that statement, because it is gross, blasphemous and entirely demonic. Pastor Phil Johnson aptly called Driscoll’s statement, “pornographic divination.”

Yet Driscoll’s claim stood, and like all demonic lies, it was not the first time he has made the claim. In researching this week about the claims of his plagiarism, I came across an excerpt from his book, Real Marriage, published at the beginning of 2012. It is a marital advice book in which the Driscolls reveal graphic details about their own marriage and weave those personal revelations with advice for other couples. I do not recommend the book.

Grace Driscoll
Source- Mars Hill Press Kit

In that book, Mr Driscoll reveals the following:

One night, as we approached the birth of our first child, Ashley, and the launch of our church, I had a dream in which I saw some things that shook me to my core. I saw in painful detail Grace sinning sexually during a senior trip she took after high school when we had just started dating. It was so clear it was like watching a film — something I cannot really explain but the kind of revelation I sometimes receive. I awoke, threw up, and spent the rest of the night sitting on our couch, praying, hoping it was untrue, and waiting for her to wake up so I could ask her. I asked her if it was true, fearing the answer. Yes, she confessed, it was. Grace started weeping and trying to apologize for lying to me, but I honestly don’t remember the details of the conversation, as I was shell-shocked. Had I known about this sin, I would not have married her.” (p. 11-12, Real Marriage)

Here is a pastor who claims to have the Holy Spirit inside him and claims this Pure Spirit allows him to view other people engaged in sexual congress ‘like a movie.” I find his claim makes me want to throw up. It is completely impossible that the Spirit of all holiness would place pornographic pictures in Driscoll’s head, and voyeuristically, of other people no less. How is this any different from simply putting in a real porn movie and watching it? But Driscoll claims this is a gift from the Holy Spirit. His statement is a true and explicit example of the modern blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This alone should cause enough warrant to remove Driscoll from pastoring. But wait, it gets worse.

As a Christian, Driscoll says that this demonically delivered porn vision would have been the reason he would have chosen not to marry his wife. However, we rely on the bible to make decisions, not experiences or visions. Every time someone received a vision and decisively went forward on the basis of that, it turned out to be hell itself (Mormonism, Islam, etc). He is showing the entire church through his published book that it is acceptable and holy to receive porn visions, and worse, that it is proper to make decisions based on those visions, and not the bible.

Third, as a husband, he throws aside the sovereignty of God in making the claim that the sexual visions he claims to have had would be enough reason for him not to marry her. That he did marry her is evidence of the sovereignty of God. If God had not wanted Driscoll to marry his wife Grace, he would not have. That he had been married to her for years by the time this vision entered his brain is evidence that this is the woman God has intended him to marry. It should be noted that Driscoll states he was not a virgin when they married, either. Moreover, it is the worst thing I’ve even heard a husband say about his wife, made all the worse because it is in print, and online, forever.

Can you picture Christ saying that about a sinning woman? No. Look what Jesus did say to sinning women: John 8:11, John 4:16-25, Luke 8:2. This is why Driscoll is not a shepherd after Jesus’s own heart.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, (Ephesians 5:25)

Carl Trueman made an interesting statement in between the different claims of alleged Driscoll plagiarism that surfaced over the last week. In his short but pointed essay called Judge for Yourselves, Mr Trueman said,

“This could well prove an interesting test case for the ethical stature of conservative evangelicalism. Is there an evangelical industrial complex out there or is there a morality which transcends and ultimately regulates the evangelical marketplace?“

Ms Mefferd reported that Tyndale, who published Driscoll’s A Call to Resurgence, has committed with Driscoll to publish more of his books in a new imprint called Resurgence Publishing. Last February Driscoll announced,

“We’ve reached an agreement with Tyndale House Publishers to publish numerous titles under a new imprint called Resurgence Publishing (the last two books with the Re:Lit name will be released this spring). Tyndale will publish all of my (Pastor Mark’s) work moving forward, in addition to other Resurgence authors whom we’ll announce in the coming months. We’ll kick things off this fall with the launch of my next book.”

This week, Driscoll’s publisher Tyndale said that they have examined the alleged plagiarism evidence and are fine with everything. Everything is hunky dory, please disperse.

“Tyndale House takes any accusation of plagiarism seriously and has therefore conducted a thorough in-house review of the original material and sources provided by the author. After this review we feel confident that the content in question has been properly cited in the printed book and conforms to market standards.” (source)

So we have Mr Trueman’s answer. The “evangelical industrial complex” is alive and well, machinery grinding our doctrine, the sheep, and lucre-seeking pastors and all, in the ever-eternal pursuit of money.

Discerning book buyers have long wondered why LifeWay continues to publish obvious heretics such as Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyers and the like. Offering heretical books to the sheep for money seems a bad trade compared to the treasures Jesus said are stored up for us. And now Publishing House Tyndale’s weird response to blatant plagiarism is another head-scratching moment in our apostatizing church. Why?

Because Mark Driscoll as merchandise has become more valuable to the money making church than Mark Driscoll as godly pastor is to the ever sanctifying church.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; (1 Peter 5:2)

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. (2 Peter 2:3)

discernment, jesus, last days, prophecy, second coming

The season of the return of Jesus Christ is near

Posted on November 14, 2013 by elizabethprata

Did you know that the Second Coming of Christ is one of the major themes of the bible?

There are 300 hundred prophecies about the First Coming of Jesus in the Old Testament, but there are 500 — five hundred! — in the Old Testament about His Second Coming! And in the New Testament, one out of every 25 verses has to do with the Second Coming of Jesus. In other words, there are many, many, many more prophecies about the Second Coming of Jesus than His First Coming. Probably twice as many. Why so many? Because Jesus is returning in wrath. The first time He came, He came as a compassionate Savior with tears in His eyes. But when He returns, He is returning as a conquering warrior with eyes like white hot flames because He is returning to judge and make war against the enemies of God. And so, since God does not wish that any should perish, He has given us sign after sign after sign to watch for. (source)

There are many of us who study the bible, including prophecy, and are eager for His return. We believe we are in the season of His return. The reason is not because there is one specific reason or sign, but because the signs are all converging with rapidity and laser focus. It’s happening fast and it is happening intensely.

One of the signs is that there will be apostasy in untold amounts before the Son of Man returns. Some of the verses which speak of this are:

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) NASB
“And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.”(Matthew 24:10, 12)
“Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16)
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,” (1 Timothy 4:1)
“the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Can there be any doubt that this time right now has had the greatest falling away from even professed ‘Christians’? Where the foundational precepts that make the faith are ignored or denied? Here is one such example:

Methodist Pastor Frank Schaefer Faces Trial for Son’s Gay Wedding “Schaefer, pastor of Zion United Methodist Church of Iona in South Lebanon Township, told his superiors in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference that he was going to perform at his son’s wedding in 2007 and received no warning or reprimand. It was only this April, when a parishioner filed a complaint, that Schaefer was told he would face discipline for violating church doctrine.”

How sad, that no one said anything for 5 years. Where is the discernment?

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” (Philippians 1:9-10).

What is my crime? I blessed two people that loved each other,” Schaefer, 51, told ABC News.

Love doesn’t trump God. It’s not a reason nor an excuse. Love is not an indicator of anything, except that the heart is desperately sick and not to be trusted. (Jeremiah 17:9, Genesis 6:5). His crime is that he disobeyed God, and failed his office of pastor.

“Jesus our Lord and Savior never mentioned homosexuality at all and my point is if it is that important of an issue, why didn’t he mention it?,” Schaefer said.

So we only need to follow the red words in the bible? The rest is chopped liver? Never let it be so! The Old Testament and the New Testament are replete with lists of sins that are abominations to God, homosexuality among them. (Genesis 19:1-13; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9, and Romans 1:26-27 shows that homosexuality itself is the judgment for those who had continually disobeyed God.) The minister forgot this verse, which says,

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16)

Apostasy is so rampant now that it boggles the mind that there are any decent churches left at all. And look, the article nears its conclusion with this statement:

“On Saturday in Philadelphia, nearly 50 ministers participated in a same-sex wedding at a Methodist church as a symbol of support for their colleague, Schaefer, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.”

Apostasy now, but come soon, Lord Jesus.

bible, discernment, false teachers, peter

Ongoing prophetic fulfillment of Peter’s prediction of false teachers

Posted on October 31, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I have studied the last days prophecies since almost the moment I was born-again. It was obviously and most certainly the niche the Holy Spirit placed me in. I have an earnest and never-quenching desire to learn the word of God, and especially to learn the prophecies in the word of God.

Often when people hear about prophecy, they think of the prominent ones, like the rapture, the Tribulation (AKA Time of Jacob’s Trouble), or the antichrist.

We are in the midst of a last days prophecy being fulfilled. Before I continue explaining which one, I want to make clear that the last days began with the ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit. This opened the Age of Grace. However, the Age of Grace is a period which is foretold to be like birth pangs and to hurtle toward its climactic and chaotic conclusion at Armageddon and the coming of Jesus Christ the second time. As a pregnancy gestates and then concludes, the water breaks and the pains come, at first far apart but then closer together and in more painful and bloody form until the new birth arrives. The new birth is the Kingdom on earth AKA the Millennium Era.

So we have been in the last days for 2000 years. However the prophecies foretold of events occurring at the last 7 years necessitate Israel being reformed, globally instant telecommunications, technologies which support the mark of the beast, Damascus being destroyed, the rise of Russia, etc. and we see infrastructure that align with those prophecies now. Therefore we know that the rapture is even closer and the other prophecies which are not as prominent are being readied to be fulfilled and are being fulfilled in the present day and moment.

The prophecies I’m speaking of today which I see being fulfilled, are 2 Peter 2:1-2 and 2 Peter 2:3. Here they are

GA pastor Creflo Dollar’s house

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.” (2 Peter 2:1-2)

“And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:3)

Please note that Peter makes a distinction between the times of old when false prophets trampled the way of God, and today when Peter says false teachers are the ones to watch out for.

Secondly, note that Peter says false teachers will be “among you.” Jesus warned they will wear sheep’s clothing. (Matthew 7:15). When you put on clothes in the morning, you’re hiding the flesh, hiding who you are, covering up. These prophesied false teachers will not be immediately evident as false. They will be among the believers, and they will not be teaching not spouting easily identifiable false teachings at first. They are double agents, infiltrating inside to do their deathly work.

Third, note that Peter said they will secretly bring destructive heresies. They will hold secret blasphemies in their heart, and these heresies and blasphemies will slowly and gradually filter out and permeate the faithful. The false teachers spout poison gas. They don’t spout cyanide or sarin gas, because in using the metaphor, those odorless and colorless gasses kill instantly. No, these false teachers spout carbon monoxide, which takes a while to do its deadly work, lulls the unwary to sleep, and then death comes. “Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide (CO). Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect. Symptoms of mild acute poisoning include lightheadedness, confusion, headaches, vertigo, and flu-like effects; larger exposures can lead to significant toxicity of the central nervous system and heart, and even death.” (source)

See? It takes a while to build up in the bloodstream, but all the while the poison is in your blood it is warping your mind and causing you to not be able to think straight. And note that carbon monoxide poison is “initially” non-irritating. This is exactly how false teachers operate. Eventually the poison’s buildup reaches its critical mass and you fall spiritually.

Beth Moore (and others) at Passion 2012
performing the Catholic mystical Lectio Divina (source)

Fourth, the verse says that followers of the false teachers are in fact following their sensuality. The prosperity gospel false teachers promote the original sin that satan offered Eve, which was lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh. (Genesis 3:6).

My contention is that false teachers and acceptance of their teachings are becoming so common that it’s obvious the prophecy is being fulfilled now, today.
There are so many false teachers who are obvious and rank heretics, but masses and multitudes of ‘Christians’ follow them. Have they all gone mad? Yes. The carbon monoxide buildup in the blood has almost reached its death point. Let’s look at some real examples.

Joseph Smith was the founder of Mormonism (Latter Day Saints). He lived from 1805 to 1844. In his day, he was seen as a madman, a heretic, and a false teacher. From the beginning, Joseph Smith and his followers provoked ridicule for Mormonism’s seemingly magical if not superstitious origins, and opposition as a heresy that dared to claim itself “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.” (source)

Though he had gained a few thousand converts, once a newspaper article was published exposing his promotion of polygamy and other aberrant “Christian” doctrines, this caused him to be jailed and even then, an angry mob stormed the jail and killed him outright. The men of the area were outraged at Smith’s corruption of marriage, sullying of women by seducing them into polygamy, and exaltation doctrine (humans become gods). Of course I don’t advocate lynching, but it is interesting to note that false prophet Joseph Smith’s blasphemies caused outrage and action. Today we are told to tolerate them.

The United States Congress opposed Mormonism in the form of vigorous opposition to their main tenet at that time: plural marriage. This battle squelched Mormonism’s growth for a long time. By the 1890s the Latter Day Saints movement banned plural marriage so as to escape this opposition in political and secular quarters.

So how does a ridiculed and obviously ridiculous religion in the 1840s, with a disgraced and dead founder, grow in size to 14 million members today?

Joseph Smith,
1st Pres. of Latter Day Saints

After Smith’s death, the cult selected Brigham Young as its leader, and they regrouped, trekked out to Utah’s desert, and became insular and economically self-sufficient. When they finally relinquished its stance on polygamy in the late 1800s, they became poised to grow. Even at that, “Throughout the nineteenth century and most of the twentieth, Mormonism has been viewed as an aberrant, bizarre, isolated, and largely self-contained religious movement cut off from the mainstream of American society.”

Until recently. How is it that a hundred and fifty years ago, an aberrant cult poised to die in the desert, can become the fastest growing faith sector in the United States today?

This 2012 study states there are “reported 2 million new adherents and new congregations in 295 counties where they didn’t exist a decade ago, making them the fastest-growing group in the U.S.”

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” (Hosea 4:6)

In the 1800s, people knew their bible. They could not be fooled. And they not only knew their bible, they lived it, so they could not be drawn away into spiritual lusts like exaltation and fleshly lusts like polygamy. Not so today.

Joyce Meyer used to travel in this Canadair Challenger 600S;
seen here in Sydney, when she was speaker at Hillsong, ’05.
Since then she’s gotten a Gulfstream G-IV. Source Wiki

Today, people are so foolish they are exploited at every turn. The Charismatics are bursting on the scene so fast that they make the Mormon’s growth over a hundred years look like a turtle’s.

For example, Charismatic preacher and heaven tourist Jesse Duplantis has fooled his congregation so well they built him a 34,000 s.f. parsonage. Joyce Meyer fools the deceived so well they give her a jet and multiple homes. Jentezen Franklin supposedly pastors two churches, one in GA and one in CA. In order to get from one to the other on Sundays, his congregation gave him a jet.

“And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” (2 Peter 2:3)

And now the people will believe almost anything. They believe Beth Moore when she says Jesus spoke to her in a vision and told her to teach that the bride is doesn’t believe in Jesus. They believe that barking like a dog in worship is holy. They believe Sarah Young has Jesus Calling on the phone line. They believe Don Piper spent 90 minutes in a heaven where he ‘saw’ people in actual bodies (Remember, no one in heaven has a glorified body yet!). They believe four-year-old Colton Burpo when he (or his father) say that everyone in heaven has wings and Jesus rides a rainbow horse. They believe that drawing a circle on the ground and sitting in it makes you spiritual. They believe “worshiping” to songs like Highway to Hell and Michael Jackson’s Thriller is, well, worship. They believe they are living their best life now. For most of them, they are right. Things will only get worse for them after death.

“The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense.” (Proverbs 10:21)

Most don’t even look for truth anymore,
but just for “encounters”, most of which are unbiblical

Lack of discernment is the biggest problem in the church today. Personally, I believe we have passed a tipping point. Now that satan knows how many lack discernment, he is flooding the church buildings, the bookstores, and the television with false teachers and the gullible who don’t know better are building up carbon monoxide by the bucketfuls. To cement his position, satan is teaching that “doctrine” and “theology” are dirty words and all you need is an “encounter” with God. Satan has sifted the wheat and planted enough tares so that that today’s Christian church looks exactly like the chaotic and ridiculous church at Corinth that Paul rebuked.

“They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.“ (Ezekiel 44:23)

Pastors no longer fulfill their duties as overseers. Pulpit Commentary explains the Ezekiel verse above where there were four fundamental duties of the OT priests, three of them relevant to pastors today.

Education: “The education of the people in the fundamental principles of their religion, viz. that a distinction existed between the “holy” and “profane,” or “common,”

False teachers today deliberately blur that line, teaching that it is ‘tolerant’ and ‘loving’ to accept all teachers and doctrines, and thus they blur the theological lines and Christian distinctives.

Discernment: “and in the practical application of that principle, the art of discerning between the “unclean” and the “clean.”

In promoting that dreams and visions should be expected of the “sincere” Charismatic person, that extra-biblical revelation via audible encounters or tongues should be common to their faith, they in effect teach that the bible is not sufficient and the word can and should be added to. Without the word, no one knows what is true and what is not. There is little discernment any more.

Church Discipline: “The administration of justice in all disputes arising out of and connected with the practices of their religion.”

Some true sheep are no longer willing to do the hard work of protecting the body by confronting false ones in the congregation. Or, Pharisee overseers use church discipline as an excuse to rid themselves of the faithful discerning sheep, leaving them space to operate among the goats they attract. (John 7:13, John 9:22)

In other words, pastors abandoned their duties, and the sensuous people, all too willing to follow their lusts, accept false teaching readily.

Jentezen Franklin has mastered the trick of being in two places at once.

All you need is a jet and a rich congregation to pay for the jet, pilot, and fuel.
Every Sunday.

“For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:4)

The very fact that a Strange Fire conference rebuking the Charismatic movement was necessary in the first place is indicative of the prophecy’s continuing and rapidly advancing fulfillment.

The antidote to carbon monoxide poisoning is to wear a filter that keeps your head clear of the poison. That mask is the bible. Breathing the holy air of truth will always fill your brain and your lungs and your body with a freshness that keeps your mind clear and heart pure.

Meanwhile, know that even as these false teachers are coming on like a flood, Jesus was kind and gracious to tell us in advance. (Matthew 24:25). As we see the flood of falsity and the tragedy of so many who fall, cling to Him who is our faith (Hebrews 12:2)… and soon will be sight. (Luke 21:28)

___________________

Solomon asked for discernment and the LORD was greatly pleased

Posted on September 4, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Everyone knows Solomon asked God for wisdom. However people forget that he actually asked God for two things. The second thing was discernment. Here is the verse:

“Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” (1 Kings 3:9)

So Solomon asked for an understanding mind to govern and discernment to distinguish between good and evil, or right and wrong as some translations go.

Solomon’s request was not only spiritual, for he already had a measure of discernment given his relationship with God and having learned from David, his father. But Solomon’s request also related to civil and governing capacities. A total package- he was to be able to judge people rightly in matters, to solve controversies, and to be fair to one and all.

Solomon didn’t consider himself and ask for a long life or wealth or health. He asked God for the tools to help him help God’s people.

The LORD was greatly pleased with Solomon’s request.

Rodin, The Thinker, Wikipedia photo

James says that if anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God and He will give it without reproach. (James 1:5). God was pleased with Solomon’s request, because at root, it honored God and served His people. The Spirit breathed inspiration to James that anyone could and should ask for wisdom. The Lord is not stingy with handing out wisdom or discernment. If you do not have the particular gift from the Spirit of discernment, you can simply ask for more discernment/wisdom in your daily life, and He will increase you. The intent is, you’ll use it for God’s glory and to help His people.

There is a flip side to this also. Solomon dissipated. When it was time for Solomon to build the Temple, the LORD had told Solomon in 1 Kings 6:12 that IF Solomon “will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father.”

The glory that was Israel’s military might, wealth, protection, and increase were onerously placed on Solomon’s shoulders. As Matthew Henry said, “None employ themselves for God, without having his eye upon them. But God plainly let Solomon know that all the charge for building this temple, would neither excuse from obedience to the law of God, nor shelter from his judgments, in case of disobedience.”

Luke 12:48b says, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required,”

Gill’s Exposition says, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall, much be required: the more knowledge a man has, the more practice is expected from him; and the greater his gifts are, the more useful he ought to be, and diligent in the improvement of them”

The LORD reiterated the condition when Solomon prayed the dedication prayer at the newly built temple.

“But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins.” (1 Kings 9:6-9)

photo credit: jinterwas via photopin cc

So with all Solomon’s wisdom, he still backslid. With all his discernment, he allowed paganism into his heart in marrying over 700 women and having over 300 concubines. They were from foreign lands and they persuaded him to turn away from God and commit spiritual fornication with false gods.

Having wisdom and discernment is no guarantee that without all due purity in public and private life, you won’t be turned away from God.

But do ask God for wisdom. If you dare! Wisdom is knowing how to apply your knowledge. Discernment is detecting not just right from wrong or good from evil, “but right from almost right” (Charles Spurgeon).

It goes without saying the discernment and wisdom that we yearn for and live by are God’s truths, not man’s. Live by His statutes and His paths, and ask for the wisdom and discernment to always remain there, walking uprightly in His wise ways. Discernment is a bestowal from the Lord which honors Him and serves the brethren. And it greatly pleases the Lord when we ask for it.

discernment, false doctrine, genesis 3, satan

Discerning The Circle Maker’s advertising techniques and how they match Genesis 3

Posted on June 24, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Just two days ago, I published a piece about the book, The Circle Maker, written by Mark Batterson and released in 2012. I’d left the issue alone until then, choosing not to do a book review or a discernment essay on it because it seemed so obvious that this was something Christians should not be involved in. But at the end of 2012 it became clear that Batterson’s concept of casting a circle to claim God’s promises to unleash our dreams was saturating even the most stalwart bastions of the faith, when the organizers and participant of the True Woman conference including Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Joni Earicksen Tada, promoted it. These are elder woman who should be leading us women into a deeper faith, not into occult and pagan practices that originate from outside the bible. I was pretty shocked.

Many other fine essays exist on the internet that show you in biblical terms why Batterson’s circle making is unwise and even dangerous, including a review by pastor and Christian book reviewer Tim Challies. In the piece I linked to above, there is a set of links at the bottom to some of those writings.

So I developed a piece from an angle that demonstrated in pictures that the practice Batterson promotes is not new and it is not Christian.

However I’d like to write about it one more time, this time as a discernment piece to unpack the way he presented it. Something that Mr Batterson said sticks in my craw, and though I’d planned a piece today examining an uplifting verse from Matthew, I am switching to get this down first. It’s like what Jude said,

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3)

I am contending. Hopefully this will help someone be discerning, not just of The Circle Maker but in general and armed for the future by unpacking the techniques used to attract people to the book and its premise, and how they are the same that satan used in the Garden against Eve.

See, in his promotional video and in the book’s advertising blurb, Mr Batterson said:

“Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer, and to God’s vision for your life, than what you’re experiencing?”

This is how successful advertisers always begin their pitch.

It is how satan began his pitch. He approached Eve and made her doubt what she knew, so she would be open to hearing a solution to a problem she didn’t know she had.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)

Then satan, taking a cue from Ron Popeil, said, ‘but wait, there’s more!’ And satan presented to her a solution to her problem she didn’t know she even had until satan pointed it out.

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

Eve wanted to fill the lack that she now understands she has in her life,

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate”, (Genesis 3:6a)

And like all false doctrine, it spreads quickly, corrupting others right away.

“and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6b)

So there was Eve, the only sinless woman to ever live and she dwelled in utter perfection. The air temperature was perfect. Her surroundings were beautiful. Her body was perfect inside and out. The animals were perfect. She was never hungry or cold or angry or had any ache whatsoever. She had perfect harmony with her husband and perfect unity with God.

And yet satan was able to convince Eve that somewhere out there, there’s more. He told her that her life lacked something, and she believed it. Taking the fruit, she ate, rationalizing all the way. Now read Mr Batterson’s pitch again:

“Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer, and to God’s vision for your life, than what you’re experiencing?”

I mourn daily that so many Christians forgo the praise that is due the Lord and forget how glorious a life we are actually living. Though we do not dwell in perfection like Eve did, we have perfection inside us.

First, let’s stop a moment and thing of how full our lives really are. We have been saved by grace. This is monumental! As Dr MacArthur preached, we should be “adoring God for our eternal inheritance.” When did we become discontent with the universe’s most glorious act, the salvation of a sinner to the holy breast of God!?

But wait, there’s more! God dwells inside us!! Wow! What a gift!

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” (Romans 8:9)

Jesus Himself deemed that He would send us a comforter, teacher, friend, and guide. Jesus said,

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”… (John 16:7). “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26).

But wait, there’s more! If all that wasn’t enough, we have the opportunity to pray to Him, and He listens. Have we become inured to the fact that God is God, He who calls Himself I AM, will listen to our petitions and pleas? Far from being disinterested or inattentive, Jesus is monumentally interested in bringing about Good for our sakes. He didn’t save us just to wander off and sit on another planet contemplating His navel. He is involved with His people. He accepts praise and worship, and He ordains good for us. He listens to our prayers!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26).

But wait, there’s more!

Jesus sent the Spirit to inspire men to write His words down, so that we could always have its wisdom and comfort to guide us also. The Spirit makes the words come alive and since they are eternal and come from the holy place, the words in the bible are eternally good.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16).

There is so much more, too. We are justified, sanctified, have the privilege of prayer, have the incredible word, have the daily opportunity to serve Jesus, have treasures stored up in heaven, have an eternity awaiting us in glory…and yet satan comes along and says-

“Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer, and to God’s vision for your life, than what you’re experiencing?”

My answer is no. No, I don’t sense there is far more to prayer. I trust that there is and I trust the Lord to take care of things whether I “sense” it or not. No, I do not sense there is far more to God’s vision for my life, I know there is. I trust Him to unfold it in His timing and in His way. No, I do not sense there are more experiences to have, I know that there are. I trust the Lord to bring me along in sanctification whether I ‘feel’ it or not. I trust the promises in the bible about what my daily life will be like.

I trust what God hath said.

I get sad when adults are so undiscerning. I get upset undiscerning adults taint the children.

Jesus is very protective of the children. They are the means by which the successive generations carry the faith. (Joel 1:3).

“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.” (Luke 17:2)

“but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

And yet on August 6, 2013, The Circle Maker for Kids will be released. An undiscerning generation will be teaching the next generation to rely on sensing, personal experience, and wiccan circle casting for their worship.

Within two years of the original book’s release, do you see how quickly we have been made merchandise of? For kids, for students, the daily journal, the curriculum, prayer challenge, it goes on and on.

Do you see the original book’s cover in hardback, ‘the solution to 10,000 problems”? Did you know there were 10,000 problems that Mark Batterson can help you solve? I thought the bible was the solution to 10,000 problems!

A classic advertising technique- you have a problem, and here is the solution. My prophet’s heart cries out, why, o why, aren’t the bible’s solutions good enough for people?

The blurb says “The Circle Maker will help you bring your God-given dreams into being through tenacious prayers that honor God and make the impossible come true.”

You…your… my prayers will make my dreams come true…let’s cut the middle part from the sentence and just say what is really his truth: “The Circle Maker will … make the impossible come true.”

It is God who answers prayer a God who does the impossible. Not my prayers, not my faith in my prayers not my method of prayer, and not my tenacity.

Jesus, please come soon and save the children from this ruinous generation!

Below I’ve pasted “Efficient Advertising Techniques“. Be aware when you are being sold a bill of goods and being made merchandise out of. It begins with a question, and intimating you have a problem you didn’t know you had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Advertising techniques can be of many kinds. All creative advertisers use some of the following techniques and tricks to grab the potential consumer’s attention and turn it to sales.”

Arouse Curiosity
“Nothing works better than this technique. Humans, by nature are always drawn towards the unknown, or in this case something new and advanced. Arousing curiosity with words, prints, images or visuals will definitely make an impact. On an average, an individual spends less than 5 seconds to go through an entire ad. If your subject does not arouse curiosity immediately, it is a lost opportunity. A well-crafted ad should be eye-catching, and difficult to ignore.”

“Do you ever sense that there’s far more to prayer?”

Hath God really said?

Promise a Benefit
“Most brands are associated with some pre-defined character, and they need to be re-emphasized with every new service advertised. The headline must promise a benefit for the consumer, because in most instances it is the headline that sells the product more than the copy, images or the celebrity. Advertisements should also carry general information about the service center address, phone numbers, credit cards that the business accepts, and the name of a person to ask for when calling for more information.”

“In this powerful booklet, excerpted from THE CIRCLE MAKER, Batterson helps you uncover your heart’s deepest desires and God-given dreams and unleash them through the kind of audacious prayer that God delights to answer.”

Emotional Appeal
“Many advertisers attract attention by pulling at the heart stings and triggering emotions. An emotional response is by far the most powerful reason for making decisions. Emotional and rational thoughts are interdependent, as the ability to decide rationally is determined by issues that drive the emotions. We get more attracted to products and services that make us feel good and safe. The concept of emotional appeal are best seen in insurance ads made world over, and also companies that associate their sales with social upliftment causes.”

“How big is your God? Bigger than a positive MRI or a negative evaluation? Bigger than your secret sin or secret dream? Is He big enough to heal your marriage or your child?“

Children
“In most houses, children have a say in every big or small purchase made. Most parents just give in to the tantrums, a fact well-known to the advertisers. Out of ten commercials one sees through any medium, 8 have children featured in them who are generally a little more perfect than the target audience. These perfect children then go on to become role-models that have to emulated by other children.”

“The Circle Maker for Kids: Basing this story on his adult bestseller The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson shares the ancient Jewish legend of Honi the Rainmaker with children to teach them about the power of prayer. Ages 4-8.“