The Church Is Missing The Mark
How can the Church reach out and share Jesus with the unsaved? How can
she get their attention? How can you do your part, as a disciple of
Christ, to take Him to others who need Him?
These are some of the
most compelling questions on the minds of many well-meaning believers at
this time. They want to see the Church expand, ‘take ground’ for Jesus,
grow and be physically successful.
It seems that the
Church is making little headway against the onslaught of worldliness,
materialism and hopelessness that Satan has birthed. How can she push
back the gates of hell?
God’s Priorities At This Time
The first question to
be answered is: Should she really be trying to push back the gates of
hell? Is her objective on earth to physically expand, get bigger, with
more converts, and gain greater influence?
Those questions are
answered in the article Souls, Souls, Souls. You may be surprised
to know that Jesus’ concerns are not those which are upper- most in most
evangelists’ minds!
These are two of the
statements Jesus has spoken to me in this context:
-
A preacher's success is not rated by the number
of people he reaches, but by the depth of repentance he teaches.
-
I am not found in the institutions of men.
The latter statement
came when I was writing to Derek Prince Ministries. They rejected the
input Jesus gave me for them. This happens across ‘the board’!
There are many
institutions which men have founded, called churches, and which Jesus is
not happy with. Most churches fall into this category. When you
understand the messages to the seven churches of Revelation, you will
understand why.
Clearly, God’s
objectives and priorities are not those of church leaders, who think
that their churches should be expanding, not contracting. However, God
is more interested in quality than quantity.
He is preparing a Bride
for His Son. He is not creating megachurches for this age, to serve some
purpose in converting the world now. Jesus called His flock, “little
flock”. That’s lost on the majority.
When you understand the
mind of God, and that His objectives are not those of man, you will be
in a better position to hear more clearly from Him and know His will for
your outreach.
This is elaborated upon
in the article enclosed, Simple Evangelism.
There are great
problems with the outreach of large ministries, where compromise with
falsity is undermining their true spiritual success. Remember that God’s
objective is not physical, but spiritual.
He promised the
restoration of truth before the close of the age and the coming of Jesus
in power. That restoration of truth is top of His agenda now. It’s at
the forefront of God’s Work of ‘Elijah’ today, which was prophesied in
Malachi 4:5-6.
Who were the only three
whom God ‘translated’ – transmuted their physical bodies into spirit –
mentioned in the Bible? Answer: Enoch, Moses, Elijah.
Why did He transmute
them? Enoch: because he had been perfected in righteousness as
far as was possible for him. Moses: because Moses had finished
his task of leading
Israel
out of the falsity of Egypt and establishing truth at that time.
Elijah: because he had done what God required of him in countering
falsity and re-establishing truth in apostate Israel.
You see that the
establishment of righteousness is of paramount importance to God.
NOTHING PRECEDES THAT IN GOD’S PURPOSE. It’s not numbers; not size;
nothing physical. Truth comes first.
It’s the establishment
of truth and its acceptance which delivers people, setting them free
from demonic bondages, from false concepts that enslave, and from every
device of the enemy to destroy spirituality (Jn 8:32). Too many have
neglected pure truth in their bid to do their part in God’s Work on
earth.
In their zeal to win
converts to Christ, what is really their objective? The spiritual, or
the physical? Quite often it’s the latter: to build a bigger church.
That’s not Jesus’
objective. His is greater.
The Restoration Of Pure Truth
“I will send you Elijah
the prophet...” were words of meaning for Israel, who awaited
deliverance from captivity. How much more poignant they should be for
spiritually-minded Christians today, awaiting Jesus’ spiritual coming to
deliver from spiritual captivity!
Yet, it seems, another
agenda takes precedence over God’s one. A counterfeit, usurping Jesus’
prerogatives as Deliverer, Saviour, Ruler. One which seeks to establish
His throne now on earth through the power and influence of ‘the Church’.
There is something very
wrong, howbeit subtle and undetected, with this mainly physical
emphasis. It is a discreet substitution of His purpose by men who
have gone forth in His name – many of them making names for themselves
in the process, elevating them and making them famous.
In the feverish
activity to “save the lost at any cost”, Jesus has become more hazy,
while the performers who have come in His name are more lifted up and
distinctive. They are eclipsing Him by their own fame.
Yet, Elijah was
promised to restore – not fame to men – but the Way of Truth.
When John the Baptist
prepared the Way before Jesus, he hammered the religious ones about
their hypocrisy and self-righteousness (Lk 3:7-9). They were so
misguided. So John’s message of repentance trod on toes and hurt ears.
So does Elijah’s today.
Restoring truth that has been lost to the Church is not popular and
accepted. Every true prophet has been criticised harshly for truth’s
sake, by those who resisted it.
Do you think it’s any
different today? I mean, in the Church? If so, you are naive and
ill-informed.
It isn’t surprising
that humans, being what they are (even when converted), do not want to
be told where their beliefs are out of line with truth. They prefer to
shut down the bringer of pure truth, and hold onto what is more
convenient, and what they are used to. It doesn’t stop Elijah’s work,
although it hinders it.
At this time,
misconceptions and false beliefs abound from ministries and churches.
Elijah’s work wields the axe against the falsity, preparing the Way by
chopping down everything that obstructs pure truth.
We outline in
Wielding The Divine Axe eleven areas of church teaching which are
being corrected in this restoration.
God has given many
dreams to my wife and me – as well as to others overseas – confirming
MM’s commission from God. This is merely one:
3rd Dec 2000.
Helena. Clearing the path to Aylesbury
In this dream the country lane was overgrown, so I was clearing
a way to Aylesbury with a strimmer [symbolic meaning].
In Africa, a number of
evangelists there received revelations in dreams about this work of God,
showing that I am appointed by Him as a prophet, and that MM’s work is
restoring truth as prophesied in the Bible. (See Revelations From God
About MM, What God Said About MM, His Face Shone
in The Bible Speaks, Vol 4, More Than A Prophet, etc. I
won’t repeat those revelations here.)
God confirms His word
with signs following. The above contain some of those divine signs of
the task we have been assigned.
Jesus’ Purpose
Jesus came to train
disciples, not to build churches. That may tread on toes, but it’s true.
While He said that He
would establish His Church (Matt 16:18), He didn’t mean an organisation
but a spiritual organism. The true Church is composed of those who are
led by His Spirit (Rom
8:14,9).
This is a very
individual calling, not a corporate one. Jesus leads each person who
submits to Him.
Yet, we find today that
many Christians submit to church leaders and not to Christ. Cults have
taken over what Jesus intended to be ‘My Church’. Because of this
blasphemous transition – which was prophesied (Is 52:5) – Jesus wants
churches dismantled, His people set free, and able to follow Him more
fully.
The thrust of Christian
evangelism today is the opposite. It has ended up ‘churching’ folk.
Christianity has become churchianity. It’s lost what was intended.
Jesus is no longer
Number One. The human organisation has become Number One, and Jesus only
secondary. It’s idolatry. Because of this transition, and other aspects
of rebellion, the Great Tribulation is coming to destroy all that men
have established in defiance of God’s Word. Every stone shall be thrown
down (Matt 24:2).
These institutions of
men, called ‘churches’, are not what Jesus intended. He didn’t say it is
OK for men to rule over His chosen. It’s an abomination!
This is fully covered in God’s Church – Whose Authority?
Truth is shocking! Only
half of the people that go under the banner of ‘the Church’ will be
saved (Matt 25:2, 8-12). Half choose lawlessness, not obedience.
The Church is not
preparing people for what is coming! It’s shallow teaching may introduce
people to Jesus, but not prepare them for Tribulation, suffering, and
martyrdom. Consequently, many will fall away, as Jesus tragically
foretold (Matt 24:9,10). Many are being deceived, likewise, just as He
said (24:4,5,11).
In this climate of
confusion, He sends a ‘crier’, a prophet, to show the way, but who
listens? Very few care for pure truth. Most are too self-willed to
receive correction or redirection. But the Midnight Cry goes out
nonetheless (Matt 25:6). And Jesus will come, and the door will be
closed in the faces of the foolish who were too preoccupied with other
things to listen.
Yes, Jesus’ purpose is
to prepare a Bride in His righteousness and truth. He wants a
HOLY Church,
uncompromised, willing to accept and do ALL He says.
The questions for each
believer now, at this late hour, are: Will you live by every word of
God? Or will you reject this witness and be rejected at His coming?
For not the hearers of
the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be
justified (Rom 2:13).
See Dreams From God
below,
click here.
Souls, Souls, Souls
This is the slogan or swansong of
mega-evangelists. But it is not right. Here is what is wrong with it.
Look at what Benny Hinn says, as an example.
Benny Hinn writes in his January 2007 partner letter: “As we begin a new
year, I want to again remind you that the great cry of God’s heart is
for SOULS, SOULS, SOULS!”
I want to again remind
you that it isn’t! That’s a half-truth. As I wrote in Newsletter
35, June 2006:
“If God were interested
in numbers, He’s doing a lousy job of saving the world! Most of the
world is steeped in superstition, deception and false religion of all
shades. And for those who think that Christians are excepted, that very
supposition is evidence of their own blindness of which Jesus warned
(Matt 24:4,5).
“The truth is that
Jesus is not failing. He said that His Kingdom is NOT of this world (Jn
18:36). So, He is not desperate to save most people now. He is
fully in control. It is part of His scheme of things to allow massive
deception to engulf the majority. Paul revealed God’s mind on the
matter:
“For God has
committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all
(Rom 11:32).
“While Paul was
referring to Israel – the people of God at that time – his words outline
a major principle in God’s working with humanity.
“This principle is not
understood by many preachers.” (MM Newsletter 35, p 1.)
Look at this revealing
statement of God’s mind:
...And the Lord
added [to the Church] daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:47).
If God were trying to
save all – “SOULS, SOULS, SOULS!” – then surely He was failing!
No, He wasn’t failing.
God doesn’t fail. It’s clear that HE WASN’T TRYING TO CALL AND
CONVERT ALL! Each person who was called was individually selected.
That’s what Jesus said in John 6:44.
Selection
– “ELECTION” as Paul wrote – is the method God employs in this age. In
the Millennium it will be “SOULS, SOULS, SOULS!” But not now.
Paul wrote to the
Thessalonians:
...knowing, beloved
brethren, your election by God (1 Thes 1:4).
And to the Romans:
...that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him
who calls (Rom 9:11).
What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says
to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I
will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” (Rom
9:14,15.)
But the zealous
mega-evangelist, only equipped with part truth and a compromised gospel,
races off to reach everyone and anyone. If that’s all he can do, that’s
fine. God foreknows what he will do, and He uses him accordingly. But
‘SOULS, SOULS, SOULS’ is a half-truth, and half-truths are lies – subtle
errors, untruths. Look where this half-truth leads.
Leading To Money
To simplify the ‘cry’
of the evangelists’ letter, it is this: “God is desperate to reach all
the people in the world before they die. Those we don’t reach are going
to burn in agony in hell forever. So, we’ve got to get to them now! To
do that I need money, and lots of it, to achieve the task. So send me
your money.”
Apart from the
ridiculous fallacy that people are going to burn in hell forever if they
don’t hear the gospel (truth about hell is explained in Why Hell?),
and the other lie that God is anxious to reach and call all people now,
it leads to the next logical point of how are we going to
do it (reach people)?
In Benny Hinn’s case,
he has been given gifts to use in his outreach. He has followed on in
the footsteps of Kathryn Kuhlman, and in many ways has mimicked what she
did by using stage performances as the means of contact. That’s his
choice. Certainly he reaches millions by this method, coupled with TV.
There are dangers in that.
Firstly, he is lifted
up. He has become like a superstar. Secondly, it isolates him a great
deal from the common man. There is insufficient interaction with
ordinary people and lack of proper follow-up.
I have written a number
of letters to his organisation over the years. There has never been an
adequate response. He was given a dream of Jezebel in his ministry and
the dangers this evil spirit poses to him. (Explained in Benny Hinn’s
Dream of Jezebel.) I brought up this subject with him in writing,
but my letter didn’t even reach him, because some Jezebel-infested
person in his organisation made sure it didn’t get further than the
shredder!
Thirdly, Benny is
isolated and prevented from receiving necessary input from prophets.
Prophets whom God is using – are not in his organisation, they are
outside it. But he is blind to that. So, he is cut off from part of the
knowledge and will of God.
Hence the problems we
are mentioning.
To get back to the gist
of his letter. Basically, it is asking for money. Money has become a
central aspect. This becomes a dangerously false emphasis.
His letter states:
“Like Paul the apostle,
we should cry, ‘That I might by all means save some’ (1 Cor 9:22).
[That’s fine. Nothing wrong with that.]
“As you sow your most
generous seed today to help fulfil our mission be sure to include
your prayer requests. Amazing, supernatural things can happen when
people come into agreement...” (See Prayer Of Agreement in The
Bible Speaks, Vol 1, p 19.)
When Jesus delivered
His parable of the sower sowing the seed, He was not talking about money
(Matt 13). He was talking about the Word of God – God’s truth. THAT is
the primary thing of greatest importance to God. THAT is what is
protected by the people of God, and against which the devil and the
world’s ‘sea’ come to try and destroy (Rev 12). So, to substitute God’s
emphasis and give the ‘seed’ a human and carnal emphasis is almost
blasphemy. If it’s deliberate, it IS blasphemy. Benny Hinn doesn’t do it
deliberately. Some other evangelists do. Their motivation is to get
money, for themselves, not just to spread what little they know of God’s
Word.
Also strongly implied
in his words above is the devilish suggestion that if you give money to
Benny Hinn Ministries, you are thereby coming into agreement with them,
and can expect God to perform a miracle for you. In crude terms, “Give
us what we want (money), and there’s a better chance that God will give
you what you want (deliverance, healing).” This is no better than the
Catholic indulgences of the Dark Ages when superstition ruled big time.
It’s subtle, mind you, not as blatant as the Catholic ruse – and which
is how the Catholic Church became immensely wealthy, as it still is
today. It has not renounced its dishonest wealth. It is still dishonest.
The ploy works, of
course, otherwise these evangelists wouldn’t send out their letters with
flyers asking for response, and making suggestions about monetary
amounts (big amounts, they don’t want small sums that are derisory). But
it’s looking to man and mammon, not to God and to Christ.
A ministry that is
honestly faith-orientated does not ask for money. It asks God, and God,
who holds all wealth in His hands, provides. He may not provide for big,
flamboyant stage performances, but He gives you what you need to do His
will.
The trouble is, all the
charismatic evangelists and their organisational entourage are out of
step with the will of God, and are defying Him in the way they operate.
Their operations are not run on faith and truth, but humanly.
God foreknew that this
compromise would take place, and He allows it because He does not remove
a person’s free moral agency. He lets all the ‘big men of God’ make
mistakes that He might humble them all. No one is going to enter God’s
Kingdom as a high and mighty ‘evangelist’, if that term means you are
lifted above others in human pride. You and I are only going to enter
God’s Kingdom with the attitude and demeanour of a little child (Matt
18).
Elisha performed twice
as many miracles as Elijah (he had a ‘double portion’ of God’s Spirit),
and perhaps God had to let him die of sickness (2 Ki 13:14,20) for that
reason – humbling (Ps 119:67, 71).
Benny Hinn’s partner
letter (end of 2006) blatantly begs:
“...I have committed
2007 to be the year of ‘winning the lost at any cost’. And I am asking
you more than ever to support the work of the Gospel so we might
continue winning the lost at any cost around the world.”
He ends with this plea:
“Will you help me
finish 2006 strong with your tax-deductible, year-end seed?”
Then he quotes Luke
6:38, which, although a highly relevant principle, should not be used as
a manipulative lever to extract funds from gullible folk. Manipulation
is the first ‘seed’ of the working of the evil spirit of Jezebel, about
which Benny was warned in a dream. But no one who understands his dream
has been able to reach him and warn him of what God means.
So he carries on
performing an abomination – plying financial supporters with letters to
subtly coerce them into parting with money to him. The cause might be
laudable, but the method is not.
A Wrong Emphasis
Returning to what Paul
said to the Romans:
...that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him
who calls (Rom 9:11).
In context, Paul was
addressing salvation for new believers who still had a strong
works-oriented psychology – because that was the emphasis under the Old
Covenant. It was what Judaism taught. He had to wean them off such an
emphasis, so they realised the greater value of the Spirit. For, as
Zechariah reminds us of God’s words: It is “not by [human]
might nor by [financial] power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord
of hosts” (Zech 4:6) that the work of God is accomplished.
However, evangelists
like Benny Hinn – who relies upon God for the miracles on stage – also
need to rely upon Him for their financial supply, not look to man. By
asking his supporters, a reversion has taken place akin to what Paul
condemned back then – a reliance upon human works.
Is that God’s fault?
Let Paul answer.
What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! ...“I will
have mercy on whomever I will have mercy” (Rom 9:14,15.)
Remember, God is NOT
trying to call everyone now. If He were, Paul would never have written
what he did in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29. Nor would he have said this in
relation to whom He selectively calls:
Therefore He has
mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens (Rom 9:18).
That’s not the theology
that mega-evangelists promote! Theirs is SOULS, SOULS, SOULS! Do you
believe the lie that if limitless funds were poured into their efforts,
they could convert the whole world now? If so you are sorely deluded.
God has other priorities.
There is another Work
of God on earth today that is MORE important than the work of
evangelism. It is Elijah’s (Mal 4:5-6) but most do not care for the work
of Elijah, just as their predecessors didn’t.
The Charismatic Deception
The power of God, used aright,
brings deliverance. But seeking power for its own sake leads to
deception and brings a curse.
Some years ago, a charismatic believer gave me a copy of a book which
was introduced as “A Divine Revelation of the Coming Revival”. The
Next Move Of God was written by a well-known lady in charismatic
circles, Fuchsia Pickett.
I gratefully accepted
the book and read it. It contained a mixture of truth and error, fact
and fiction – as is the case throughout the charismatic movement. In the
charismatic church there is true and false, and the false contaminates
the true.
Mixture is a deadly
thing, as we know from the episode in the Garden when Satan contaminated
truth with his suggestive questions, half truth and deceit. Where God
gives revelation in considerable quantity – as it has been throughout
the charismatic church – people complacently and arrogantly tend to
think that there could be no or little error with it. But:
...where envy
[pride
and selfish ambition drive envy] and self-seeking exist,
confusion and every evil thing are there (James
3:16).
Tragically that is the
case with the audience to whom Fuchsia Pickett was writing in her book.
Excesses and pursuit of ‘revival’ experiences for their own sake, as we
have witnessed at Toronto (denounced by Paul Gowdy, an ex-Toronto
Vineyard pastor, see Coming Out of the Toronto Deception from MM,
and also challenged in our book Testing The Spirits), have played
right into Satan’s hands. When you analyse what was taking place, here
is the nub of it:
-
The desire to be ‘part of the action’, where God is at work; the desire
to be successful. This can be from a wrong motive – the pride of life (1
Jn 2:16).
-
The itch to get ‘a spiritual experience’ – the lust of the flesh
(ibid.).
-
And the hunger for something new, exciting, gratifying, that you see
others ‘enjoying’ – lust of the eyes (ibid.)
All these are not from
Above (ibid.), but are:
...earthly,
sensual, demonic (James 3:15).
It’s hard to stomach
when you have been IN such a move – believed wholeheartedly to have been
of God – to come to realise that it was so misguided:
...having eyes full
of an adulteress
[margin], and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls.
They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed
children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray,
following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of
unrighteousness (2 Pet 2:14-15).
This is not just my
claim. It was revealed in dreams from God (see the following pages). We
have published some of these dreams in:
1. Dreams From God
About The
Charismatic Church;
2. The
Charismatic Church
Shrine;
3. A
Message To Charismatics,
etc.
God gave a pastor’s
wife in the USA a vision in which she saw lots of whitish papers –
representing God’s revelations in dreams, prophetic words, etc. – coming
down from heaven. They looked light as they descended, but when they
piled up on the ground (it was a large pile) they became dark.
In other words, while
God gave much prophecy it became contaminated by wrong emphasis, pride,
self-seeking, self-glorification, ambition and other bad human character
traits. God gave it to promote righteousness (pure and white), but it
ended up promoting a compromise of good and evil (grey).
Many false ministers
‘adorn’ the charismatic church’s portals. They have controlled and
influenced what has come in and gone out. Hence the corruption.
Once again, it’s hard
for many to believe these words could apply to ministers they highly
respect:
These, like natural
brute beasts, made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the
things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own
corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those
who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and
blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with
you... (2 Pet 2:12,13).
They mouth great
swelling words (Jude 16) that appeal to pride – they want to impress.
But the deceit in this pride is lost on the majority. Under the facade
lurks a demonic counterfeit, a lie. (Explained in Apostasy in God’s
Church, and Testing The Spirits.)
Fuchsia Pickett was
influenced by these men (and women) who deceive with impressive words.
As a result, some of the conclusions of what God told her have been
contaminated. For example, she says:
I think today I can
hear God say, “My people, heaven’s windows are opened. The blessings are
being poured forth now. They will continue throughout this year,
throughout this decade [nineties] and into the next century. My glory is
going to come forth in a continually greater measure.” We won’t have to
say God is moving in Canada or Florida or California; in England,
Germany or Argentina. We will be able to say it is happening right where
we are.
God is visiting His
people again. The floodgates are about to open, bringing a heaven-sent,
gully-washing, sin-killing revival... There will be such a shout of
victory... We won’t have to fight the ungodly leaders of the world [we
shouldn’t be doing that, anyway; Jesus’ gospel is apolitical]. God
Himself will take care of them. There will be a great toppling. As the
walls of Jericho came down with the sound of the trumpet and a shout
(Josh 6:20), so the walls of wickedness in our country are coming down.
There will be a
clamping down on violence and wickedness in the media and an end to the
destruction wrought by those who stood against marriage and for
abortion. The army of God – His Church – is going to march through this
nation [USA] and bind the powers of darkness, praising the name of our
Lord as He releases the spirit of liberty upon our nation. ...I believe
the Church will become a mighty river that floods the earth until the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord covers it. (The Next Move
Of God, p 175.)
That is a
miscomprehension, an illusion, a lie.
She ends with this
rallying call:
“Move back, gates of
hell! Here comes the Church!”
This sort of
triumphalistic emphasis permeates the charismatic mentality. It contains
very physical elements: large numbers of people, physical size of the
Church, predominance in influence, etc. Analyse it and see that it’s a
power-based message! The real truth is the reverse: the true Church is
relatively small and persecuted, put down, rejected and despised.[1]
Truth is not palatable.
The purer it is, the less acceptable it is. The majority (of the Church)
reject it.
They Speak Evil Of...
In Peter’s discourse on
the influence of false ministers amongst believers, he says:
...[they] speak
evil of the things they do not understand (2 Pet
2:12).
Truths that God is
restoring as part of Elijah’s end-time work are alien to them. They grew
up with a different theology, with false concepts about some basic
biblical truths. So, when we present ‘new’ truth to them, they reject
it. I even wrote to Fuchsia Pickett several years before she died in
2004, but, like all the other charismatic leaders to whom we have
written, ‘our’ message from God sounded strange to their ears, and they
rejected us. Fuchsia – also like most others whom we contacted – didn’t
even reply.
She gives a salient
warning in her book:
God spoke a startling
message to me one night as I was ministering in a church in North
Carolina. He declared: “I will not, I will not, I will
not allow anyone who touches My plan, My program, My prophets or My
prophecy to be a part of, or participate in, the next move of God.” (p
61.)
A threefold repetition
is the most emphatic and final which God can give! The present ‘players’
on stage don’t see the “I will nots” applying to them. For this reason,
God is departing from men like Reinhard Bonnke, Morris Cerullo, and
other mega-evangelists. They – and numerous others like them – have
either not recognised, or ignored, or rejected and opposed the work of
Elijah that God is doing in restoring truth which the Church needs more
than any evangelists!
They have even spoken
evil of the next move of God, which centres on the restoration of
forgotten biblical truths, and a repentance that accepts ALL God’s Word,
not just the parts that are palatable.
They spoke evil of
God’s prophets, spoke evil of the restored truths I brought them, and
removed me from their mailing lists, because they refused to accept the
additional truth God offered them.
It’s ironic that
Fuchsia did the very thing she was so vehemently warned by God not to
do. But, perhaps because she aspired to be a central player in the
anticipated revival, that very aspiration caused her to be blind to the
next move of God in its infancy.
The heart is
deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?
(Jer 17:9.)
The subtlety of wrong
motives, as mentioned on the previous page, leads many otherwise well-
meaning believers into doing Satan’s work, obstruct- ing or opposing the
next move which God instigates.
Repentance is an
ongoing responsibility for all.
For if we would
judge ourselves, we would not be judged (1 Cor 11:31).
But, the more elevated
a person becomes, and the more acclaim they receive, the more
unassailable they feel they are. A ‘position’ in human estimation is a
precarious thing. It is based on pride. And pride always precedes a
fall. So, it’s not wise to be a sage in the eyes of man. Better to have
God’s approval alone. God’s wisdom is not accepted.
To those who aspire for
human success – as do many charismatic church leaders – God says:
My son, pay
attention to My wisdom; lend your ear to My
understanding (Prov 5:1).
For the lips of an
immoral woman drip honey and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in
the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two- edged sword. Her
feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell. Lest you ponder
her path of life – her ways are unstable (Prov 5:3-6).
Don’t ponder the path
of life of the charismatic church. She is an immoral woman. Her ways are
unstable. She promotes deception.
Simple Evangelism
One problem with large-scale evangelism, like that of Reinhard Bonnke’s
(see Pitfalls of Reinhard’s Ministry), is that the evangelist has
become lifted up. In the eyes of many people he has become a hero, an
elevated individual, a celebrity. He has been raised to a different
level from the ‘common’ individual.
But he is not on a
higher level in God’s eyes. Everything that has become lifted up by man
has to be brought down by God:
For the day of the
Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon
everything lifted up – and it shall be brought low (Is 2:12).
God gives and God takes
away. Where élitism occurs in the Church, God will destroy it, or it
will destroy the Church. Because, the Church is not the buildings, the
structure, the institution, and all that goes with those things; it’s
the ordinary people. And He wants you and me to:
Fulfil my joy by being likeminded (Phil 2:2).
You soon find out that
the big-name evangelists are not likeminded when you try to contact
them. They won’t fellowship with you on the same level. They generally
have to be on stage, and you down below, on the ground level. Either
they do not consider themselves on the same level, or their position has
put them up higher where they are unreachable.
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness
of mind let each esteem others better than himself (Phil 2:3).
For decades I looked up
to ministers as if they were on a higher spiritual plane than me. That
was an illusion. God showed me it was a fallacy.
But, even so, men like
Reinhard Bonnke, Benny Hinn, Luis Palau, and others who have reached
many millions of people for the Gospel, have had my great respect for
their work’s sake and for the achievements of their lives. However, that
should not cloud our judgement of God’s estimation of them. In
comparison with you or me, how do they compare? Paul repudiated such
comparisons as futile, unwise, unhelpful and counter-productive (2 Cor
10:12). The truth is that, just because such men have reached many more
in their work, does not mean they are spiritually superior to you or me.
God looks on things differently to the way we view them humanly.
The spiritual viewpoint
is not the physical viewpoint. The humble person is the most celebrated
in God’s count (Is 66:2), not the one who has reached the most people
for the Gospel.
If you take a
discerning look through the New Testament, you see that Jesus elevated
godly women. Why? Because society put them down. He commended the woman
who wept over Him, washing His feet with her hair (Lk 7:44). He praised
what Mary did, lavishing expensive perfume on Him (Matt 26:6-13; Jn
11:2). He extolled the sacrifice of the poor widow at the temple
treasury (Mk 12:43).
Women in many societies
are still terribly put down, undervalued, and underappreciated. Yet it
is a woman who portrays allegorically the Church and all that is good
with the Church. And in symbolic dreams God frequently portrays
oppressive church leaders, false ministers, and the unconverted as men.
God invariably likes to
turn the tables on wrong concepts and incorrect approaches.
For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight
of God (Lk
16:15).
The Evangelist’s Contribution
Is there not division
in the Church because of the elevation of evangelists, preachers,
ministers? You bet there is!
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions
among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same
mind and in the same judgment (1 Cor 1:10).
We don’t see a
harmonious Church today. It is fractured into thousands of pieces, and
most of the problem has been caused by leaders. Self, pride and ambition
have been chief factors in spawning this state of affairs. Human nature
hasn’t changed since Ezekiel’s time. And the lesson Ezekiel 34 teaches
us is about ministers fleecing the people instead of feeding them.
Falsity abounds today in churches!
What’s the use of
evangelists bringing in new converts into churches rife with contention,
pride, error, deception, ministerial superiority, élitism, and where
so-called ‘servants of God’ jockey for position?
Look at the lesson of
the widow:
Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into
the treasury. And many who were rich put in much (Mk
12:41).
So it is with the
capable and extrovert, who often aspire to ministerial positions. They
are able to contribute much to the temple treasury. I don’t mean in
fiscal terms. I hope you get my ‘drift’.
Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites
[very small copper
coins] (12:42).
So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I
say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who
have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their
abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her
whole livelihood” (12:43,44).
Jesus considered her
contribution very great! So it is with evangelism. Your personal example
goes a lot further than the ‘preach’ standing on his platform. It’s the
light of your life which can penetrate the darkness of others’ lives.
Your sacrifice speaks greater volumes than many soap box sermons.
The Calling Of A Disciple
I hope you realise that
you are called to be a disciple of Jesus. As a disciple, you are in all
respects the same as your Discipler. If you don’t believe that, read
John 14:12-14 and Luke 6:40. You are not divine, of course. I don’t mean
that. I mean that you can do, and should do, what Jesus did as a human
being. He showed compassion, love, sacrifice, and personal discipline.
A disciple is one
disciplined to live precisely like the Discipler. It’s a tall order, but
one we should consistently aim for. Perfection is the goal (Matt 5:48).
As one called by Jesus,
He commissioned you:
Go therefore and make disciples... (Matt 28:19).
How can you make
disciples?
Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you (28:20).
And if you do that, He
promises to be with you always (28:20b).
Evangelism is for all
disciples, not just for evangelists.
Philip was a deacon
(Acts 6:5), but he evangelised and many heeded his words (Acts 8:5-8).
You don’t need a
position. You need the Spirit. With the Spirit of Jesus going with you,
He does the miracles, and those works do a work of conviction.
The multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip,
hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits,
crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed, and
many who were paralyzed and lame were healed (Acts 8:6-7).
It wasn’t because
Philip was an evangelist that he evangelised. He wasn’t an evangelist
back then. He was a deacon, doing menial work serving the Church. When
he reached out to others, God backed him up, and that’s when he became
an evangelist (Acts 21:8). I hope you see how God works.
You don’t evangelise
because you are an evangelist. You evangelise because God is with you.
When He uses you to bring others to Him, you become an evangelist.
Many hanker after the
‘position’. But there is no position! In their vanity, such
people think being an evangelist is being elevated. Silly fools! It’s
the opposite of that. It’s laying down your life for others. It’s making
yourself of no repute, so that you can win others to Christ, like Paul
did.
A lady who meets in our
home fellowship was told in a prophetic word about 14 years ago that she
would have a healing ministry. 14 years later she now does. God trained
her through her life of labour and love for Jesus, so that she is
equipped to serve the body in the unique way God can use her.
When demons are
present, she hears a clicking noise in her left ear. People, even
believers, need deliverance from demons. So in teaching others to put
their faith in Jesus, she can help them be delivered from demons and
receive their healing.
She doesn’t have a
public platform. There’s no soap box, no advertising, no microphone, no
loud speakers, no fanfare, no razzmatazz. It’s all very simple. She has
shared Jesus individually with her workmates, challenging them about
belief in God, about the power and grace of Jesus, and given them some
MM publications for food for thought. With that introduction, Jesus
backs her up, giving a dream to each person, or to her about the person.
This super- natural element brings a new dimension into their life, just
like Philip brought to the Samaritans.
She wasn’t ordained an
evangelist. She took her ‘marching orders’ in the humble workplace of a
school kitchen. But on cost-effectiveness she is more effective than
Reinhard Bonnke or any big-time evangelist who needs mega-money to reach
the masses. She doesn’t depend upon money to reach the ‘lost’. She
depends upon the Spirit.
God leads her to people
now outside her work- place, and will lead her further afield as time
elapses.
The early Church
expanded in the same way, by individuals reaching individuals. There was
no mega-money, no loud speakers, no microphones, no razzmatazz. They
were simple disciples, doing simple evangelism.
It’s time for change in
today’s perverted world. And there’s nothing more perverted today than
some of the concepts the Church has inherited. Reliance upon money;
reliance upon personalities; reliance upon programmes – it’s all
perverse! It’s not of God!
If all disciples were
to be self-disciplined as Jesus was, they would see the power of God
move more powerfully and effectively than before. A team of such
self-disciplined individuals, sold out to God, would achieve far more
than all the big names on the world’s evangelical stages!
Fired up by God’s
Spirit inside, with the flames of love for Jesus burning, the light of
Jesus in you can have more impact than big celebrations that tend to
have an emotional impact for the moment.
YOU are the light of the world (Matt
5:14).
Jesus was the main
Light of the world and He wasn’t a silent witness. His Light spoke, too.
So, let your light do its work as Jesus commanded (Mt 5:16).
Further Reading:
Witnessing For Christ (£2.00).
How To Impress
Many evangelists resort to human
methods to try and reach people. They try and impress humanly. But what
is truly impressive to God is not what impresses amn at all! And vice
versa.
When I was in college, one of the coursework books offered was How To
Win Friends and Influence People. The author was Dale Carnegie, whom
we nicknamed Dale Carnality. And it was appropriate! For, if you seek to
impress people, your motivation is selfish. You are trying to buy them
by false behaviour which is carnal, fleshly.
To impress, you have to
maintain a ‘front’, a false image of yourself. You try and appear good
or in some way appealing to them. That is humbug. You become a
pretender, a fraud, a fake.
You can see this
frequently in politicians who are trying to win people to themselves, to
impress others for selfish advantage and gain. And many of them resort
to lies, cunning deceit, and trickery to get what they want – a
following.
“Trust me” they say.
God says, “Trust no
man” (Jer 17:5; Ps 146:3).
Jesus warned, “Beware
of men..!” (Matt 10:17).
You are not called to
follow men per se. You are called to follow Christ, the Saviour
of humanity.
When Paul wrote:
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Cor 11:1), he was not
wanting a following for himself. He didn’t want people following him as
such. He wanted to see people note that anything good in his example was
as a result of Christ living in him by His Spirit (Gal 2:20). He was
dead against sectarianism and cultism, when people follow others instead
of Jesus (1 Cor 1:10-13).
Paul did not seek to
impress as ordinary men do. He wrote:
My speech and my
preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power (1 Cor 2:4). In presence
[I] am lowly among you (2 Cor 10:1).
It’s hard to believe,
but he was actually NOT at all impressive to people on a human level:
When I came to you,
I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to
you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything
among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in
weakness, in fear, and in much trembling (1 Cor 2:1-3).
“For his letters,”
they say, “are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak
and his speech contemptible.” (2 Cor 10:10.)
Paul wouldn’t have made
a very good modern stage- or tele-evangelist! But he was highly
qualified in handling the Word of God. He knew ‘his stuff’! He
accurately conveyed God’s truth. That, of course, didn’t make him
popular. Some might have considered him a bit of a bore if it hadn’t
been for the accounts of the miracles God performed at his hands (Acts
15:12).
Paul knew his
limitations, but he also knew that he held God’s truth in its purity,
and that’s what matters most:
Even though I am
untrained in speech, yet I am not in
[spiritual]
knowledge... (2 Cor 11:6a).
Who Gets The Money?
People aren’t as
interested in purity of truth today as they are in being entertained.
So, the guys with the big followings are invariably false ministers (not
all of them, but many of them) with a great ability to preach and shine
charisma. Not the charisma that Paul described in 1 Corinthians 12, but
the human version. They have learned the art of deception – how to win
friends and influence people.
It begins with
impressing others.
Tricksters like Rodney
Howard-Browne, and his laughing spirits; false prophets like the Kansas
City prophets, Rick Joyner, or Kenneth Copeland; and mega-evangelists
and false teachers by the score have dominated the evangelical stage by
using clever techniques of manipulation and persuasion. They can move
audiences by what they say and how they say it. They touch hearts and
minds, affecting, impacting and swaying them.
Because they are
effective in their manner and speech, people listen, heed, and follow.
The majority are not discerning enough to realise that the ‘truth’ they
imbibe is mixed with error. They swallow that as well.
The performance artist
is not bothered much about truth versus error. He’s bothered about
ratings. What can he do to get what he wants? – the greatest number of
people to listen to him, to believe him, and to support him. In one word
– cash!
Out of this mentality
has grown an evangelical mega-industry, with billions of dollars
slushing around its coffers. Someone told me not so long ago that Rick
Joyner claimed to have so much money – millions, I guess – that he
‘boastfully’ announced if any other ministry was short of funds they
could ask him for a loan.
We are short of funds,
but I wouldn’t ask him for a loan. I ask the One who has all the silver
and gold at His disposal (Hag 2:8), and trust Him to provide, even if He
lets us go short like the apostle Paul did at times (2 Cor 11:8-9).
Most people are
foolish, like sheep, and make a completely wrong deduction. They think
that the evidence of God’s support for these large ministries is in the
money that pours in. And they assume that because they have all this
wealth, they therefore have God’s approval, and must be true ministers.
Because so many believers give their tithes to these men, new sheep
gullibly sign up and make these (mostly) false ministers richer still!
It’s a pity humanity is
so easily deceived by illusions, and physical appearance. It’s a pity
they are ignorant of some facts. Instead of being so easily impressed by
the wealth and influence of these megatricksters they should learn a few
simple truths.
Wealth
totals 666 in Greek. Tradition (following men) also adds up to
666 in the Greek NT text. And we are warned against accepting the mark
of the beast or the number (666) of his name (Rev 13:17,18).
He deceives those
who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do...
telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the
beast... (Rev 13:14.)
The description
portrays the beast of Rome, whose human government, achievements,
conquests and domination impressed a lot of people. And the image
represents an object of universal worship that is modelled on this
beast. It has various fulfilments, but you cannot fail to see one in the
monolith of the Catholic Church whose hierarchic government is a replica
(image) of that of Rome’s civil domination.
The description also
befits any other ecclesiastical set-ups and ministers whose impressive
style or influence becomes an object of equal worship. ‘Charismatic
Church’, and all big churches take heed!!
What Impresses God
So what, then,
impresses God? If we are to beware letting men impress us in human
terms, what, in spiritual terms, are we to be impressed by?
Here are 25 things that
impress God in human conduct and character:
-
Whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven (Matt 18:4).
-
Fear God and
give glory to Him... (Rev 14:7).
-
Jesus saw
Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite
indeed, in whom is no deceit!” (Jn 1:47.)
-
Let your
conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ... that you stand fast in
one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the
gospel (Phil
1:27).
-
...contend
earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the
saints (Jude 3).
-
As each one has
received a gift, minister it to one another... (1 Pet 4:11).
-
He who has My
commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me... (Jn 14:21).
-
Give to every
one who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not
ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, do to them
likewise (Luke
6:30-31).
-
Blessed are you
when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and
cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake (Luke 6:22).
-
Love your
enemies, do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your
reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High (Luke
6:35).
-
By this all
will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one
another (Jn
13:35).
-
Walk by faith
and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).
-
Pure and
undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit
orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world (Jas
1:27).
-
Greater love
has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
You are My friends if you do whatever I command you (Jn
15:13-14).
-
By this we know
love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay
down our lives for the brethren (1 Jn
3:16).
-
Blessed are the
dead who die in the Lord... (Rev 14:13).
-
Here is the
patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of
God and the faith of Jesus (Rev
14:12).
-
[Do not seek
elevation.] Do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher,
and you are all brethren (Matt 23:8).
-
[Do not seek a
following. Be like John the Baptist, who said,] He must increase,
but I must decrease (Jn
3:30).
-
[Do not seek to
impress] seeing that many boast according to the flesh... (2 Cor
11:18). Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in due time (1 Pet 5:6).
-
Let those who
suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in
doing good, as to a faithful Creator (1 Pet
4:19).
-
Since Christ
suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind (1
Pet 4:1).
-
Let us consider
one another in order to stir up love and good works (Heb
10:24).
-
By faith the
elders obtained a good testimony (Heb 11:2).
-
We count them
blessed who endure [in the hope of Christ] (Jas
5:11).
-
And now abide
faith, hope, love, these three; the greatest of these is love (1 Cor
13:13).
So:
Cut off opportunity
from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in
the things of which they boast (2 Cor 11:12).
Further Reading:
The Charismatic Church Shrine
(50p).
Selwyn Hughes
1928-2006
What God revealed about the legacy
of this well-known evangelist. There are MANY like him, preaching Jese,
but whose theology is very suspect because it is incomplete! It can lead
to complacency and losing salvation!
Selwyn Hughes founded Crusade For World Revival (CWR). CWR’s
Newsletter summarises:
“It began with one man,
Selwyn Hughes. Forty years ago something great was birthed with a few
thoughts on the back of a postcard, a desire to help Christians to read
the Word of God every day, a vision to pray for revival, a heart to help
the hurting and broken, a commitment to come alongside others struggling
in ministry and the hope that the gospel might feed a spiritually hungry
world.” (CWR Today, Apr-June 2006, p 4.)
The Plaudits
“Selwyn Hughes died
peacefully on 9 January [2006]. He is now with His Lord whom he served
so faithfully, his life’s work complete; his legacy immense.
“Towards the end of
2005 Selwyn grew increasingly weak. Early in the New Year he was taken
to a local hospice for assessment. Whilst there, his health further
deteriorated and he was called home to glory. He was free from pain and
very peaceful, telling those attending him that he had finished all that
God had called him to do and that he was ready to go, looking forward
with anticipation to meeting his Lord.
“Selwyn will be
remembered as one of the UK’s greatest post-war Christian leaders. His
remarkable ministry touched six decades and several generations. He
excelled as pastor, teacher, counsellor and writer. He seems to have
been in at the start of almost everything significant in church life in
the UK for as long as anyone can recall – charismatic renewal, themed
Bible reading notes, large-scale celebrations, tours of the Holy Land,
prayer for revival, Christian counselling and even the use of the OHP!
“He authored more than
50 books, many of them expounding Christian truth and how to live the
Christian life. Selwyn Hughes inspired, wrote and delivered a wide range
of training courses, seminars and study guides. He travelled the world
for 50 years teaching small groups of church leaders and massed crowds
of many thousands. And, of course, his unremitting commitment in writing
Every Day With Jesus is legendary. Even this very day nearly one
million people in 130 countries will spend time with God, encouraged in
their devotion by Selwyn’s words.
“But those are the
headlines. Many friends, colleagues and readers will remember a dear
man, compassionate correspondent, mentor and brother in Christ.
“September 2005 was a
time of joyous celebration and lively anticipation for Selwyn. More than
a thousand friends and supporters gathered at Waverley Abbey House to
commemorate the 40th anniversary of CWR and Every Day With Jesus.
The thronging crowd also heard details of an exciting ten-year vision
that builds on four decades of extraordinary ministry and expands still
further the reach and scope of CWR. Selwyn eagerly embraced what lay
ahead and expressed his very real confidence in those to whom it would
fall to perpetuate the ministry he began.
Selwyn knew his Lord
was calling him home. Tellingly, he concluded the epilogue to his
autobiography by saying, ‘There was a time nearly ten years ago when I
said I was ready to go but eager to stay. Now, however, things are
different. Now I am eager to go but willing to stay.’
“In June 2005 Selwyn
received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Brunel
University for ‘outstanding service to Christian education.’ This was
fitting public recognition of his truly outstanding gift and ministry.
Lord Carey took the opportunity to describe Selwyn as ‘a giant in the
faith’.
“It gave him huge joy
to preach in the Cardiff International Arena at the 100th Anniversary of
the Welsh Revival, the event that had so impacted his own life and
ministry.
“Selwyn will be
terribly missed, but the immense legacy of his ministry ensures that the
effects of his faith and passion for Christ will continue to touch and
transform the lives of thousands upon thousands for years to come.” (CWR
Today, Apr-June 2006, pp 1-2.)
But there’s a big
problem!
Deceptive Legacy
The eulogy above is
effectively worship. The man is being given adulation. What about his
faults? What about the heresies that are still not ironed out in his
teaching? What about the influence of those errors on the many thousands
who will yet learn of ‘Biblical truth’ through his materials, but who
will be given a distorted picture?
Of course, I realise
that a deceived person cannot warn others about the deception to which
he himself is subject. So it falls to another to point out deficiencies.
If you have been around ‘the Church’ for a good number of years, you
will know that such responsibility is the prophet’s lot.
When a prophet receives
revelation from God about a church leader, don’t you think God considers
the issue which He raises highly important? You bet!
Here is my account of
what God showed me:
24th August 2006. M.
Selwyn Hughes.
A friend had left with
us a copy of CWR Today, the magazine produced by Crusade For
World Revival (CWR), an organisation founded by Selwyn Hughes who died
in January. Yesterday,
Helena
was looking at this and commenting to me. She said Selwyn was about 78
(6 x 13) when he died, which is significant. Was he a false minister?
Considering his total lack of acknowledgement or response to several
letters I wrote to him in the past, and how he promoted himself, I now
had my reservations about him.
Not wanting to prejudge
him or be wrong, before going to bed, I prayed that God would show me
(if that is what He wanted to do). In the early hours I had a nightmare.
It was frightening! [It was not clear whether I was put in SH’s
position, or the position of some of those whom he taught.]
I was in a rectangular
box and couldn’t get out [the trap of the teaching, or various lacks in
it, in CWR’s ministry, and/or SH’s spiritual situation]. I felt I was
lost, that my fate was irreversible. It was a state of utter
hopelessness and fear. It was horrific! For about ten minutes (I guess)
I felt this sheer panic and terror at the realisation that I had not
made it into God’s kingdom and that I could not do so.
Then I woke up and
realised – thankfully! – that this nightmare scenario was only a dream!
It was so real and ghastly! Was God saying that Selwyn Hughes was NOT a
true minister? Or was God trying to point out the horrendous trap that
lies in impartial acceptance of the truth of God? SH preached about
Jesus, and promoted some of what Jesus taught, but he didn’t preach the
whole truth, and most of all, what he established was an institution
(Waverley Abbey House) that glorified himself as much as Jesus. No one
is exempt from the judgement of God, and His judgement is not going to
be pleasant for many ministers who have taken the name of Christ to
glorify themselves. (From MM’s Dream Diary.)
That is what I wrote
immediately after the dream that morning. The dream is a stark warning
from God! Jesus warned of those who could cause others to stumble:
Whoever causes one
of these little ones who believe in Me to sin
[Gk skandalizo,
to entrap, trip up, ensnare, stumble], it would be better for
him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in
the depth of the sea... Woe to that man by whom the offence comes!
(Matt 18:6-7.)
What Jesus is talking
about is something that comes to cause a potential child of God to
stumble spiritually, and thereby not enter the Kingdom of God. There are
various ways offences can come. In the present context, people can be
seriously led astray by false teaching. If you are fed subtle heresy
that speaks about Christ, but which denies Him – it sounds an impossible
contradiction, but it happens throughout the Church where antinomian
teaching replaces truth – believers who choose antinomian error rather
than humble obedience will find themselves shut outside the door on the
Fateful Day.
This is why Jesus
warned so forcefully to beware of men bringing deception in His name
(Matt 24:4,5), and why Peter prophesied of widespread destructive
heresies that would deny the Lord who bought us (2 Pet 2:1), and why
Paul also predicted a great falling away from truth (2 Thes 2:3).
It sounds almost
heretical to suggest, but it is possible that many thousands, even
millions, of Christians are headed for hell because they have chosen to
accept a theology that is providing them licence to disobey God. Their
belief in Jesus is such that it ‘allows’ them to indulge in
unrighteousness without upsetting their conscience.
And for this reason
God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the
lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth
but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thes 2:11,12).
I wrote to Selwyn
Hughes some years before his death. He advertised on the back page of
The Plain Truth magazine. I warned him that by so doing he was
associating with a cult which has very serious charges to answer to God.
(Explained in God Speaks To The WCG.) He never acknowledged my
letter.
Another time I wrote to
him to notify him of how revival would come to Britain, for which he had
been praying for decades. I informed him of what God had said about
Diana being raised from the dead, and of the resultant witness to the
nation for the purpose of restoring and publicising the ‘lost’ truths
which the Church desperately needs to regain.
Again, there wasn’t a
whisper of a reply; not even an acknowledgement in politeness.
When we wrote to
Buckingham
Palace,
or 10 Downing Street, or Clarence House (Prince Charles’ residence), we
received a brief reply. Why can’t a minister of God do that? Was Selwyn
Hughes above that? Did he consider that he had all truth and so didn’t
need to hear from me or anyone else?
Was he consumed with
some sort of ambition that he didn’t care that he paid one of the worst
cults for advertising space to promote his materials? Was CWR a vehicle
that elevated HIM more than Christ?
A year or two after I
notified him of the dreams about Diana’s resurrection as part of the
last revival in this age, his glossy, plush magazine Revival World
Report folded up. It’s a pity he couldn’t believe what God sent to
him, to help him see more clearly.
When God sends a
prophet and you reject the prophet, you reject the message he brought to
you from God. You may not reject God completely, but it doesn’t please
Him when you effectively say, “Thanks, God, but I’d rather not. You keep
it.”
And if many thousands
of people think that Selwyn Hughes was a paragon, that his teachings
were without fault, or that they don’t need anything more, spiritually,
is that not a recipe for failure? Is that not the Laodicean syndrome,
which God cannot abide?! (Rev 3:16.) And is it possible that the legacy
of Selwyn’s teaching is a dangerous mixture of truth and error that can
deceive people into complacency and cause them to stumble? (Matt 18:6.)
Does it only lead into
idolatry to publish a glowing obituary like the aforementioned? Where a
man is lifted up, is not Jesus dethroned?
I would like to think
that Selwyn Hughes was saved, and did make it into God’s kingdom.
But you must not take lightly the warning God gave about the effect of
his teaching. Some people are not going to make it into God’s kingdom
BECAUSE of the subtle error in Selwyn Hughes’ teaching! Paul also warned
about this in 1 Corinthians 3 (vs 10-18).
If anyone defiles
the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is
holy, which temple you are (1 Cor
3:17).
God speaks through dreams to
prophets He has appointed (Num 12:6), and to a lesser extent to
believers whome He wants to reach. Here are a few dreams which are
relevant in this context.
As I was writing this
document, a prophetess in Ukraine sent me an e-mail containing some
dreams which a Russian correspondent had sent to her. Where people are
needy and hungry for God’s truths, God speaks, and dreams or night
visions are one chief and effective means of His communication to us.
Through the imagery,
God can convey much more than words alone. And, because the recipient is
unconscious or semiconscious, God is able to convey accurately what He
wants to, without the human mind interfering too much with the
revelation, as can often be the case with prophetic words.
The dreams which
Lyudmila forwarded to me are most apt in the context of the subject of
this paper! Clearly, God is emphasising these matters. They are of great
importance to Him, and He wants His children to heed!
Here is what the
Russian brother wrote about his dreams. Mila translated it into English
and added the appropriate comments following as comment:
Great Waters Shall Come
Dream 1:
...I and a conductor [or a steward, also a guide – the Russian word can
mean any of the three]. The conductor says, “Land rats must become water
[beings], lest they perish, for a great water shall come”.
Mila’s Comment:
It can be a warning to ‘professing’ Christians (rats) about the upcoming
trials. Rats (rodents) live to satisfy their own needs. Generally, they
are of no use to others, but rather cause damage.
Dream 1:
In short, the message of the ‘Conductor’ or ‘Guide’ (God’s messenger,
i.e. a prophet – a true prophet speaks for God, so he represents Jesus
in His Prophetic capacity) can be ‘translated’ as follows:
“Unspiritual
‘Christians’ who do not love Truth and do not listen to the Holy Spirit
(because they are selfishly motivated) must learn to live by My Word and
in the stream of My Spirit, or else they will PERISH (the second death,
which is the last one), losing their salvation. For the Great
Tribulation is coming SOON – a time when they will need a genuine faith
and courage in suffering (something possible only with God’s help) to be
able to stand in trials and remain faithful to their Lord.”
Mila’s Comment:
Explanation of the imagery:
Jesus likened the
upcoming trials to the coming of a great rain with a powerful wind and
flood.
He said that a house
built on the sand shall not stand (Mt. 7:26-27). The house, built on the
rock is God’s Church (not a building or an organization, established by
man, but Christ’s spiritual Body that consists of all true believers in
whom His Spirit dwells). It stands on the foundation of the Rock of our
Salvation – Jesus (on His Word, i.e. His Truth, His teaching).
However, the majority
of Christian organizations that call themselves churches are like a
house built on the sand. In them, the pure teaching of Christ is not
being taught, and His Spirit is not allowed to lead believers (or only
minimally). Such structures are going to fall, and their falling will be
terrible!
As for superficial
believers (rats), which have housed themselves very comfortably
in those churches, who are not interested in God’s Truth, they will find
themselves in the whirlpool of horrible events. These events are
ordained by God to happen in order to purify and save from the second
death many of such ‘nominal Christians’ through the fires of
tribulation. Otherwise, they would have lost their salvation. (See
Revelation 7:9-14; 12:1-17; 14:9-13; 20:4.)
The words that ‘land
rats’ (spiritually dry Christians) must become ‘water [beings]’
(Spirit-filled), I see as a call to learn to live in the stream of the
Living Water of the Holy Spirit and to be washed by the Water of the
Word (Eph 5:26).
The warning about the
upcoming great water (flood) is very significant. In this
connection, may I remind you of Revelation 12:15, where the Dragon is
after the Woman, sending a great flood to destroy her. This symbolism
pictures persecution and tribulations, echoing Jesus’ warning in Mt.
7:26-27 above.
Efim Served: So, You Must Serve
Dream 2:
A room with a big table; on the table – many geographic maps. There are
two men beside the maps. I got up and sat down beside one of the men (he
was lying on a bench at the table).
Then a woman came in
and said: ‘Master has ordered’ – and handed one of them a scroll. The
man lying [on the bench] got up, and together with the other one, they
looked through the scroll. After that, they threw the scroll on the
table, saying: ‘who needs this? This is useless.’
The woman took the
scroll and turned to me. She said: ‘You read!’
The scroll contained a
few rows, written as verses of a poem:
Ephim [or: Ethim?]
served,
Ephim suffered,
And you, too, serve.
Mila’s Comment:
I can see the symbolism of the dream as portraying self-will, arrogance,
laziness and the lack of proper response of church leaders to prophetic
messages, which express God’s will. In the symbolism of dreams, a woman
often depicts a church (as a congregation of believers), or individual
believers and ministries led by the Holy Spirit. Man in dreams often
portrays church leaders, as well as stubborn and self-willed Christians,
who do not listen to the Spirit’s leading. In this dream, I believe the
two men symbolize your church leaders.
The room is a metaphor
for your church, as a human structure. The table with the geographic
maps on it may symbolize how many Christian evangelical ministries and
churches make plans of ‘winning the world for Christ’. At the same time,
one of them was shown lying on the bench – a picture of laziness and
idleness. The other one did not seem to be doing much either. This means
that they pretend to serve the Lord and His Church. They make
a show of their service. In the eyes of the Lord, they do not serve
properly! Hence, the prophetic message – the scroll, delivered by a
woman! (I will come back to the woman later.)
The rows of verses
represent a corrective message and a reproach by implication to your
church leader. A shepherd’s duty is to SERVE, to take care of Christ’s
flock. They must feed God’s people with the healthy food of pure Word of
God (the teaching of Christ). Nevertheless, they do not do it! They have
their own plans and their own viewpoint of what is important! Therefore,
they DO NOT SERVE, from God’s point of view.
The second verse –
Ephim suffered – reminds us about Jesus’ prophecies that His followers
must be ready to suffer for His name. The past generations of Christians
have suffered cruel persecutions, and many have died as martyrs.
A time is nearing, when
we too, will have to go through similar trials. But modern preachers and
church pastors are busy “fleecing the flock”. It is not profitable for
them to teach such a message, which is unpleasant to an unspiritual ear
and unpopular. They are concerned that people might dislike it and leave
their church, which would mean: “good-bye money!”
The third verse is a
direct command of God to all of us (and you personally) to follow the
good examples of the previous generations of true followers of Christ.
“And YOU, TOO, SERVE!” every Christian has his or her own service,
appointed to them by the Lord. If we seek His will and genuinely desire
to do it – not to become lifted up or famous – then He can use us for
the benefit of His Church.
Your church leaders do
not heed corrective messages of God, sent through today’s prophets. They
reject anything that does not coincide with the dogma they once
accepted, or with their self-willed plans (those are the works of the
flesh, void of the guidance of the Spirit). This is shown in the dream.
Master sent them a message, but they rejected it! Jesus is Our Master.
This is the scroll from Christ Himself, sent through a prophetic
ministry. Your leaders found it unimportant and of no value.
That is why the woman
(prophetic ministry) addressed you. She demanded that you read and do
what the message says!!! Will you heed?
Malcolm’s Comment:
About the name, Ephim. This is close to these variants with their
meanings:
Ephraim = very faithful
(Hebrew).
(Diminutive form of Ephraim = Eph).
Effie (feminine) = diminutive form of Euphemia = of good report.
Ethan (masculine) = firmness; strength (Hebrew).
Finally, Efim
Gerasemovich Klubniken was the prophet whom God used to deliver the
Armenian Pentecostal Christians before the Turkish massacres in 1914.
(Related in MM’s booklet Why The
Holy Spirit?)
So, the allusion to the
prophet whom God importantly used almost 100 years ago contains a hint
of something similar today.
Mila’s Comment:
Now to the woman. I am sure that the image if the woman here symbolizes
the prophetic ministry of Midnight Ministries, GB (MM). A prophet’s
function is to bring corrective messages from God for the benefit of the
Church. The books of MM contain such messages.
This literature is
Spirit-inspired. It brings back to the Church Jesus’ true teaching,
purified from the most serious errors and false teachings. This is why
the Lord moved me to start translating the major publications of MM into
Russian.
[Mila’s Russian and
Ukrainian translations of MM publications are on the web at
www.MidnightInAmerica.net .]
They open our eyes to
what is wrong in the Church today (from God’s perspective, not human).
Unfortunately, the great majority of church leaders, famed evangelists
and preachers are not interested in what God says to them. They make
their own plans…
Black Angels And Great Tribulation
Dream 3:
Black angels are falling from the sky. The moment they hit the ground
their wings fall off, and they become men and women. In the dream, I
know that they have an ability to read my mind.
Three women came up to
me. I asked them to take off their T-shirts. [They did.] Some of them
had 4 breasts, some – 6. I asked them to show me their backs. They
turned. I saw 3 pairs of symmetrical scars. I asked them: ‘Are you
fallen angels?’ They answered, ‘yes’. I asked, ‘why did God deprive
you?’ They answered, ‘Because we had disobeyed.’
Mila’s Comment:
Two meanings of the dream:
1. These fallen angels
symbolize demonic influences on people (both in churches and in the
world) in the last days, when the Fallen Star (Satan) together with his
‘angels’ is thrown down to earth from heaven (Rev. 12:7-9).
The result of their
influences is the spreading of evil in the world, which will become so
great that even the love of many (for God) will grow cold (Mt. 24). Many
will fall away and become traitors.
Number 4
signifies that these things will be happening all over
the world, and number 6 points at the evil in man.
2. This analogy is to
teach us a lesson as servants, students and children of God. If God has
not spared angels, but threw them down from heaven for disobedience
and will judge them (2 Pet. 2:4), then what awaits those of the Church
who have despised the will of God?! When we break clear commands of God
and reject His admonitions to correct our mistakes by getting rid of old
misconceptions and false teachings, we too, show DISOBEDIENCE!
The dreams you have
shared with us are very important. Many others could benefit from
reading them.
We also hope that you
yourself will heed the warning of the second dream and will not consider
the true teaching of Christ unimportant. The translations of MM
literature on our website can help you to understand many difficult
issues.
They have helped us and
many others in different parts of the world. You can also request any of
these publications in a printed form. We will be glad to send them to
you at the mailing address you will provide. We are not rich, but always
glad to serve for the spreading of the Truth that gives freedom.
May the Lord bless you
with His revelations and lead you on along the path of His Truth.
In Jesus’ love,
Mila Thompson
Dreams For The Midnight Hour
The following are a
selection of dreams which God has given Malcolm (M) or Helena (H). They
are only very few of the hundreds (perhaps a thousand +) which He has
given to Midnight Ministries as part of His divine commendation of this
‘Elijah-like’ function.
For not he who
commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends (2 Cor
10:18).
God’s priority of
purpose hinges upon His truths and their restoration. It’s not about
personalities. God has not given these dreams for Malcolm and Helena,
but to confirm His truth with a manifold sign.
In today’s showdown on
‘Mt Carmel’, so that the restored truths of God in MM are verified, He
will perform greater miracles than He has
done for the ‘former’ prophets, apostles and evangelists. He will raise
the dead, as we have prophesied. People long dead are shortly going to
be brought back by God’s power, to witness for Jesus and confirm these
things.[2]
These are the days of
Elijah. Elijah restored the truth of God in the midst of widespread
deception and self-willed rebellion (1 Ki 18:36-39). So ‘he’ will today.
Restoring pure truth
for God’s people in this late hour is the main function of MM’s work.
God verifies it with revelations and signs because people are asleep.
[MM’s Dream Diary
is on the web at www.midnightministries.org.uk.]
Reinhard Bonnke Not Listening
13th August 2006. M.
Reinhard Bonnke
I was walking side by side with Reinhard, trying to get him to
listen to what I had to say, but I wasn’t succeeding. He was not paying
attention.
Meaning:
Side by side depicts the equality we have in God’s sight. Many people
would think much more highly of Reinhard than of me, a ‘nobody’, because
of the millions to whom Reinhard has preached. But God’s estimation is
not to elevate him. He’s on our level, and I have input from God for
him. But can I reach him? Will he listen? The dream shows the present
situation. [I sent him some items of our literature, but he didn’t
respond, just as the dream depicted.]
Human Effort Of Tele-Evangelism
15th December 2005. M.
Tele-evangelism
In this dream, various tele-evangelists were engaged in their work
of trying to reach out to others. They seemed as if they were ‘scraping
the barrel’ – running out of ideas of what to do. All they could do was
to rely upon personalities to try and get the attention of their
audience.
As one example, they
asked Floyd McClung to come on their show. We have a tape of his,
entitled The Father Heart of God, which is a basic message
explaining about God’s loving heart, as that of the most loving Father
you could ever want to know. Perhaps that’s why he figured in the dream.
They asked him to appear on their TV set, hoping that his message would
attract viewers and improve their ratings. But I got the feeling that it
was a human effort and the content of what was covered was shallow.
Other Ministries Reject MM
10th April 2003. H.
Unhelpful contacts
I was having contact with a man who had a ministry. I was hoping he
would show interest in MM literature, but he wasn’t at all helpful. I
had contact with a secretary who was supposed to help us, but she didn’t
get very far either.
Meaning:
God is showing that the Church is not ready for what we have to offer.
Most ministers are spiritually asleep! (But the raising of the dead will
wake up the Church!)
Our Lacks
25th August 2002. H.
Living on the
corner with no house
This was a
dream of a street of houses. We lived on the corner [prominent position
in God's scheme of things] but we had no house. We only had a place to
stay, but without a roof or any shelter. I bought a big TV set and took
care of it.
Meaning:
The TV symbolises publicity which is to come with the miracles. As a
ministry we have debts, symbolised by the lack of shelter and only God
to shelter and protect us from failure. He watches over us and performs
miracles.
27th August 2002. H. 2
Dreams
1) There was a huge
downpour over our house.
The water was
leaking through the roof. The container which I was using to catch the
water was totally inadequate.
Meaning:
Our situation, which is currently incapable of handling the massive
influx which will soon come once people are raised from the dead here,
and publicity follows.
The water depicts the outpouring of His Spirit, of power, of truth and
of all its concomitant repercussions.
TV Interview About Raising The Dead
2) I (Helena) was being
interviewed by Richard Madeley. We were enjoying a lively discussion
about the miracles of the dead being raised.
Meaning:
He is a well-known TV presenter who interviews celebrities and comments
on some current affairs. The dream is one of so many that we have
received, showing that publicity will be God's main way of spreading the
gospel in Britain from now on.
Church Needs Radical Restoration
18th Nov 2000. M.
The Empty Shell of a Building
I was standing on a road, looking right into the empty shell of a
building. It was tall (about 20 feet above ground) and went into the
ground quite deep too (about ten feet below ground), but there was
nothing in it. It was a mess, with old paint and paper peeling off the
walls. It looked like a bombed out building in London during the Blitz.
No one seemed to care about the state of this building. When I looked at
it I thought “This has got such great potential. Why doesn’t someone do
something?! It could have floors put in and made so much more productive
and useful.”
Meaning:
An allegory of the empty state of the Church. It has deep traditions and
great potential, but it needs radical transformation. It needs the
disciplined work of incorporating the missing aspects of the faith once
delivered into its structure to make it what it should be. But who cares
to do that? No one, it would seem!
Jesus and Smith Wigglesworth
28th April 1998. M. Dream of
Jesus and Wigglesworth
This dream was very short. Smith Wigglesworth
came to me and gave me a present. It was a bottle of olive oil for
anointing. It was not a tiny one but quite large for a bottle of
anointing oil. He told me to minister to him. I felt a bit out of place
at first (Who am I to pray for him? It ought to be the other way
around!), but I did as he said. I prayed for him and invoked God's love
upon him. When I opened my eyes, I was standing before Jesus, not Smith
Wigglesworth! Whatever we do to another person, we do to Jesus (Matt
25:40).
God Supports The Faithful
10th January 2007. M. We trust
God to provide
A woman came to me in this dream, to ask me
how we operated this ministry. It seemed that she was thinking of
starting a ministry. (She was represented in the dream by a woman we
know as a business acquaintance, but who is unconverted.) I replied to
her that we trust God to provide. We operate by faith. “It’s explained
in the booklet Lessons In Faith” I told her.
Meaning: The dream reveals a
common problem in the mentality of a number of Christians who think that
they can decide of themselves to do something like we are doing (without
an organised church behind us). If God has called you to that – fine –
He will make it possible. But don’t think you can decide to do
such a thing. The decision is God’s, not yours. And if it’s your
decision, you won’t succeed. If it’s God’s decision, and you implicitly
obey Him, follow His lead and guidance, He will enable you.
Implicit in her question was the issue of “how can I get
money to do this thing?” When Midnight Ministries began that was NEVER a
question in my mind. That might surprise some people, but it’s true. I
reacted to an inner ‘urge’, a prompt of the Spirit, a compulsion to
rectify spiritual atrocities being committed blasphemously in the name
of Jesus. I was furious at the idolatry, lies and deceit of men playing
God in the church. And I rose up to counter the abuse, to try and put
right the wrong, to proclaim the truth where deception was being
promoted.
THAT was the thing that projected me into ministry –
something driven by the Spirit – not a selfish whim or human desire. I
would never have chosen ministry as a ‘vocation’. I was a builder, and
content to stay a builder to the end. But God had another job for me to
do, and I hope I have done it adequately.
My belief is that it’s generally wrong to seek
ministry. Usually, what underlies that is a wrong motive – especially in
black Africa, so we have seen – where men race off to do it because they
expect elevation through it, a secure income, a convenient lifestyle,
or for similar reasons.
In the article series Get Ready!, which is a ‘cry’
to get ready for the Tribulation and the Kingdom of God which
immediately follows, I wrote:
If you are looking for an easy ride, or for a
place of physical comfort, you are looking in the wrong place (2 Tim
2:3). Your eyes need to be fixed on Him, not on the physical things
of this world. When I say “fixed on Him”, I mean that He is more
vital to you than physical comforts; that obedience to His command
is more important to you than satisfying your physical wants. When
you have that sort of commitment, you will have the faith to trust
Him in your difficulties. But if your love for self is greater than
your love for Him, then that faith you need will elude you (p 3).
In the dream, the woman’s concern was money. She didn’t
have the faith to know that God would provide for HIS work – if she was
doing His work. But if she had been converted, her focus would not have
been on the physical, it would have been on the spiritual – doing God’s
will, which is what Jesus’ driving motivation was – and all that she
needed for that purpose would have been provided.
The pride in self-will and self-seeking keep the
majority distant from God, so they lack faith, just as Jesus
predicted long ago (Luke 18:8). (Get Ready, p 3.)
I once told a minister in Nigeria that it would have been
better for him to give up being a church leader, closed the church, and
got all those with high and mighty aspirations like him to go with him
and farm the land. THAT would produce the humility to bring God into
their situation. But telling him such a thing was like advising him to
walk to Mars. There is only one way to become humble enough for God to
use you, and for you to have the faith to trust in Him, and it isn’t a
pleasant or easy course. Few there be that find it!
Truth Is Being Restored
A dream to Kassahun Ayele
on 10th August 2004.
[Kassahun is a prophet who lives in Ethiopia.]
All the families of MM
were gathered together in a large auditorium [symbol of the vast scope
of God's worldwide Work]. We were seated at a rectangular form.
In the centre there was a
large golden box heated by flames of fire inside it. We were warming
ourselves from the heat coming from the box. While we were watching and
warming, Helena stood and said that we are warming ourselves before The
Ark of God. Someone asked her, "Are you telling us that the iron box is
The Ark of God?"
Helena
answered "Certainly!"
God is in our midst!
Malcolm B Heap, December
2007
Further Reading:
The Ark Of The Covenant (£1.00).
Is Midnight Ministries Literature Inspired
By God?
(75p.)
Midnight
In America
PO Box 8493,
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