I had to preach a
very difficult message yesterday.
When we first arrived in Northern Ghana, we saw that the
people here are absolutely on fire for the Lord. But as we have spent more time here, and had
a chance to see some things below the surface, we have seen a lot of
ignorance. Many of the people here are
illiterate. And many of the ones who can
read, including some of the church pastors and elders, don’t even have Bibles! So we have noticed some false doctrine being
taught. We have even experienced signs
and wonders being counterfeited.
Our team witnessed a pastor command a demon to come out of a
boy, when there was no demon. We felt a
spirit of pride on the pastor. We have
actually seen this a few times here. It
is a high-jacking of God’s glory! But
what is dangerous, is that some people start to go along with it. Some people will actually pretend to have a
spirit cast out of them because the false teachers will put their hands on them
and start commanding the demon to come out.
So the people think that if it doesn’t come out, there must be something
wrong with them. I watched it happen! It happens because the people don’t have
knowledge. They are only doing what they
have seen it look like, what they think it should look like.
The other night, we saw people come forward to receive the
Holy Spirit. As the pastor began to pray
for them, people started screaming, and throwing chairs, and writhing in pain
on the ground.
It was chaos! My
spirit felt grieved, and my heart was completely broken! Our team has spent a lot of time in prayer
about this. One thing I know for sure: the
Holy Spirit does not bring fear. He does
not bring chaos. And He does not bring
confusion!
So God has been teaching me about the value of
knowledge. The Bible has a lot to say
about wisdom.
Prov 8:11 For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the
things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
Prov 2:1-5 My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my
commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your
heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your
voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for
hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the
knowledge of God (seek and you will find).
Prov 2:10-12 When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is
pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep
you, to deliver you from the way of evil.
Prov 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean
not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct your paths. Do not be wise in
your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength
to your bones.
Prov 3:13-15 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man
who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of
silver, and her gain than fine gold. She
is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare
with her.
Prov 3:21-24 Keep sound wisdom and discretion; so they will
be life to your soul and grace to your neck.
Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not
stumble. When you lie down, you will not
be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.
Prov 4:5-7 Get wisdom!
Get understanding! Do not forget,
nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will
keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing;
therefore get wisdom. And in all your
getting, get understanding.
So how do we get wisdom?
The Bible tells us of two ways for sure: the Bible, and a healthy fear
of the Lord.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.
The Bible is the written word of God, and the source of our
knowledge! It is precious! It is priceless! It is a weapon!
Eph 6:11-17 Put on the whole armor of God…the breastplate of
righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Most of the armor of God is for defense
against our enemies: breastplate, shield, helmet. But the word of God is our SWORD! It is what makes us powerful. It is what we use to attack! With the word of God, not only can we defend
ourselves against evil things which try to come against us, but we can attack
and destroy them!
Hebrews 4:12 For the Word of God is living and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and
spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.
Prov 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
From what I have observed, the people here are terrified of
evil powers. And because they are
terrified, they focus on evil powers.
Yes, Jesus told us to cast out demons.
But that’s not all He said to do.
And if all we are focused on is the evil, we are missing out on so much
more that God has for us! Our fear of
the Lord HAS TO BE GREATER than our fear of satan. For if we are more afraid of evil, than of
God’s righteous judgments, then we give power to satan. God is more powerful then satan. Satan trembles at the voice of God. He trembles at the mention of the name Jesus
Christ. And in the end, God will cast
him into the lake of burning fire.
Ps 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a
good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
Prov 19:23 The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who
has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil.
Prov 22:4 By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches
and honor and life.
So why is it important for us to have knowledge?
The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
2 Tim 4:3-5 For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine, but according to their own desires…But you be watchful in all
things.
We have to beware of false profits. We have to beware of false teachings. If we do not have knowledge, if we do not
have the word of God, how else will we know if what we are hearing and seeing
is true? If we don’t have knowledge, we
are susceptible to false teachings. We
are vulnerable and exposed! But if we
know the word of God, we can protect ourselves from being deceived.
Titus 1:10-16 For there are many deceivers…whose mouths must
be stopped…They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being
abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
Prov 11:14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but
in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
Prov 14:25 A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful
witness speaks lies.
Prov 19:20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that
you may be wise.
Matt 7:15-18 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in
sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs
from thistles? Every good tree bears
good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
So how did we know that what we were seeing was
counterfeit? Thank God for spiritual
discernment! When God puts His Spirit in
us, we can use that Spirit to test if something isn’t right. The Bible says we will know a tree by its
fruit.
But we should never allow spiritual discernment to turn to
criticism, or we will block our way to God.
God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that
we may intercede.
2 Tim 3:13-17 But
evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being
deceived. But you must continue in the
things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have
learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which
are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus. All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Prov 29:12 If a ruler pays attention to lies, all his
servants become wicked.
Oswald Chambers talks about counterfeiting signs and wonders
in “My Utmost for His Highest.” It
actually helped me to understand how people could do such a thing. He said that when we are unhealthy physically
or emotionally, we seek thrills. One way
people seek thrills is by counterfeiting the Holy Ghost. The thrill of signs and wonders gives the
people an emotional high. But what they
are doing is so dangerous!
So I was asked to preach on Sunday. And Nicole and I decided to go back to the
church where we had seen some of these things.
And I knew what I had to do. But
I did not want to do it! I asked God,
“Can’t You just give me a warm and fuzzy message to share with them?” But my heart was so heavy with all that I had
seen, and I knew God wanted me to show them the danger in what they were
doing. So I prayed and asked God to give
me the words to share with these people.
I asked that He would show me how to approach the subject gently, out of
genuine love and concern for my brothers and sisters.
So I gave them scripture after scripture showing them the
value of wisdom. I talked to them about
spiritual discernment. I told them what
the Bible says about the characteristics of the Holy Spirit, and how what I saw
did not line up with scriptures.
Gal 5:18-22 But if
you are led by the Spirit…the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, JOY, PEACE,
LONGSUFFERING, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF-CONTROL.
John 14:27 My peace I give unto you. The Holy Spirit bring peace, joy,
comfort. When we are baptized in the
Holy Spirit, we are overcome with a peaceful and comforting feeling of complete
surrender. I AM YOURS!
John 15:11 That My joy might remain in you, and that your
joy might be full.
“My peace I give unto you.”
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, it is a peace all over from the
crown of the head to the sole of the feet.
Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:9 And the God of peace will be with you.
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts
1 Thess 1:6 And you became followers of the Lord, having
received the joy of the Holy Spirit
God gives us His Holy Spirit so that we can become one with
him (our spirits can become one with His).
God gives us His Holy Spirit so that our lives will produce a longing
after God in other lives. God gives us
His Holy Spirit so that He can get us to a place where He can use us. Let Him do what He likes, not what you think
it should look like. And not what
someone told you it should look like.
Everything God does is for His own glory, and to draw more
lives to Himself. Therefore, if you are
being baptized in the Holy Spirit, it is going to be an experience which draws
others to Himself. It is not going to be
a scary or chaotic experience. It is
going to be an enticing, inviting experience which draws others in.
1 Thes 5:19 Quench not the Spirit.
Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit. Don’t rush Him. The voice of the Holy Spirit is quiet and
GENTLE. You know who rushes? Satan!
Am I prepared to wait on the Lord and let him grip me by His power and
do a work in me that is worthy of Himself?
Ask yourself, have I been doubting something about Jesus –
an experience to which others testify but which I have not had? How the Holy Spirit will come and when the
Holy Spirit will come are a mystery, but when they do come, they are
indescribably precious!
1 Cor 9:16 We forget that the touch of God is mystical and
supernatural. If you can tell me all
about how and why God works, I doubt you heard Him at all. Paul said “woe is unto me if I preach not the
gospel.”
There is power in God’s silence. God’s silences are His answers. His silence is the sign that He is bringing
you into a marvelous understanding of himself.
There is pleasure in His silence.
Time is nothing to God. He is not
in a rush and He will not be rushed. One
of my favorite songs says, “In the quiet, in the stillness, I know that You are
there.” A wonderful thing about being
still and knowing that He is God is the calming effect. Silence is the first sign of His intimacy with
you.
Sometimes we get in a rush: why doesn’t God reveal Himself
to me? It is not that He will not, it is
that He cannot because you have not abandoned yourself to Him. You are waiting for Him to do what you think
it should look like, what you have been taught it should look like, or what you
have seen or heard it should look like.
The Holy Spirit does not answer to us.
He does not conform to what we want Him to do.
Do I know my Risen Lord?
Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? “Believe ye that I am able to do this? If I take up any other method, I am turning
my back on God. Hebrews 11:6 Without
faith, it is impossible to please Him.
Faith brings us into right relationship with God and gives God His
opportunity.
James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to
you. You cannot act for Him, it must be
His own deliberate act. The moment the
supernatural rush of the Spirit of God comes into us, the power of the devil
and the power of the world is paralyzed.
God doesn’t struggle or battle with satan. He has already defeated him. There is no contest. There is no struggle. Look at when Jesus cast the demon out of the
man and into pigs, the demon didn’t resist or fight back. It was instantly cast out!
Your faith needs to be rooted in God. If your faith is rooted in experiences,
anything that happens is likely to upset that faith.
Never nourish an experience which does not have God as its
Source, and faith in God as its result.
If you do, your experience is anti-Christian, no matter what visions you
may have had. Don’t dam up the Holy
Spirit in you to produce false experiences.
If only we could
grasp the unrivalled power of the Holy Spirit.
It is the love of God at work in me.
Col 2:6-8 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith,
as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.. Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit.
1 Thess 5:16-22 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in
everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for
you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. TEST ALL THINGS; HOLD FAST WHAT IS GOOD. Abstain from every form of evil.
2 Thess 2:3-9 Let no
one deceive you by any means, for that person opposes and exalts himself above
God by drawing attention to himself to be God.
That person will be exposed and God will destroy him, because it is the
working of satan with all power, signs and lying wonders.
If your focus is on anything other than God, you are not
being led by the Holy Spirit, for satan does not have power over the Holy
Spirit.
1 Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times
some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines
of demons. Satan will do everything to
try to steal glory from God.
2 Tim 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of
power and of love and of a sound mind.
Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit
Eph 5:18- Be filled with the Holy Spirit…speaking to one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in
your heart to the Lord, giving thanks to God always.
James 4:7-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from
you. Draw near to God and He will draw
near to you.
Prov 1:23 Surely I will pour out My Spirit on you; I will
make my words known to you.
John 14:16-17 And I will pray to My Father, and He will send
you a Comforter…the Spirit of Truth…and He will dwell in you.
Luke 11:13 If you know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask Him! It is a good gift!
1 John 4:1-4 Do not believe every spirit, but test the
spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out
into this world. By this you know the
Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has
come in the flesh is not of God. And
this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is
now already in the world. You are of
God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is
greater than he who is in the world.
Isaiah 40:31 They that wait upon the Lord…shall walk and not
faint. God is always present. He is always moving. We have to learn to be patient, and to depend
on and believe that He will come.
When we are certain of the way God is going to work, he will
never work in that way again (he never healed the exact same way twice).
We have to learn to be quiet and wait upon the Lord.
So what happens if we fake an encounter with the Holy
Spirit?
Prov 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping
watch on the evil and the good.
Prov 28:13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, but
whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
Exodus 20:16 You shall not bear false witness
Exodus 23:1-2 You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an
unrighteous witness. You shall not
follow a crowd to do evil.
Prov 6:16-19 These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are
an abomination to Him: A lying tongue, a false witness who speaks lies…
Prov 19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who
speaks lies shall perish.
But the great thing about God is that when we confess our
sins, and ask for forgiveness, he is quick to forgive us.
John 21:15-17 Peter
denied Jesus three times, and yet after the Resurrection Jesus appeared to
Peter alone. He restored him in private,
then He restored him in front of the others as well and said “thou knowest that
I love thee.”
Prov 24:12 If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” does
not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according
to his deeds?
The purpose of my message was not to judge anyone, and I
told them that. God is the only
judge. The purpose of my message was not
to accuse anyone of anything. The
purpose of my message was not to condemn anyone.
The purpose of my message was to make my brothers and
sisters in Christ aware of some of the ways satan will try to use them to steal
glory from God. The purpose of my
message was to empower them with the word of God. To arm them with truth and knowledge. And the purpose of my message was to encourage
them to always seek out knowledge. I
told those who don’t have a Bible to get one.
I told them if they couldn’t get one, to tell me and I would get them
one. I told the ones who don’t know how
to read to find someone who can and spend time with them. Always test everything you are taught with
the scriptures. Because the scriptures
are truth. And God’s word never returns
void.
So please be praying for the people here in Ghana to have
wisdom!
