Month: September 2013 (Page 1 of 3)

Discerning Christians realize that we are in the last days.  Some Christians are reacting to that realization by hoping for a timely deliverance before any terrible event happens to them.  I agree that God’s word declares that we are not appointed unto His wrath.  However, one should consider that the majority of Christians around the world have been suffering persecution for decades.  A significant number are experiencing very harsh persecution.  Nearly 200,000 Christians are martyred each year according to recent statistics.  Other ones are tortured, raped, robbed, beaten, and imprisoned, and live daily in with the threat of violence.  They are outcasts, targets for any thug who wants to molest them, and many of them have little means of income.  Just to have something to eat or a decent place to live are daily struggles for them.

Conversely, American evangelicals have an elitism that prevents them from believing that such persecution could happen to them.  They believe that all will be peace, and before anything harsh occurs, God will snatch them out of harms way.  It is because of this mindset that they are not alarmed by the approaching global government with One World Religion.  They see prophecies of the end times either being fulfilled or on the brink of fulfillment, and their response is to become excited that they will soon be taken to heaven.  This is elitism peculiar to American evangelicals.  It is a perverted teaching of the Scriptural view of the end times.  I would think that even commons sense would lead us to recognize the discrepancy of such elitism.  For example, why would God allow the early church and the majority of the present world to endure great persecution, but exempt the lazy, heresy-infested, apathetic, lethargic, uncommitted, and unproductive American church? 

Anyone that attempts to manipulate the Scriptures, add conjecture, and force God’s word to imply that American evangelicals will not suffer persecution is teaching elitism.  I want to remind them that exemption from the wrath of God does not mean that Christians are also exempted from the wrath of man.  There is no way of knowing exactly how much persecution that Christians will suffer before the rapture occurs.  In my opinion, teaching Christians that they will not have to suffer persecution simply because they are Americans is heresy.  Anyone who believes such heresy had better wake up to the truth and get prepared to face a terrible period of persecution before it is too late.  From my observation I have concluded that the majority of American Christians are completely unprepared to face even mild persecution.  They turn a deaf ear and blind eye to the evil encroachment that is occurring about them while believing that they have clear sailing to the finish line.  Consequently, they are not doing anything to resist the invasion or to assist anyone that is fighting that good fight of faith.  So deeply entrenched is their elitism that they cannot even pray for the ones who are doing battle.  The most dangerous factor in elitism is to believe that it is unnecessary to be more than a pew warmer to qualify for total exemption from persecution.

For those individuals I am deeply concerned.  I wish to point them to a troubling section of Christ’s teaching about the state of the last generation of Christians.

In Matthew 25:1-13, Christ presented a parable of ten virgins, five wise and five foolish.  It is a warning about being prepared for the Coming of the Lord.  Obviously, this is a reference to ten professing Christians.  The evidence is in the fact that they were all virgins, they all had lamps, they all had fire on their wicks, they were all together in the same place, they were all waiting for the Bridegroom, and they all called Him Lord.  The only difference was that five of them were unprepared and had brought no extra oil.  Therefore, when their wicks began to flicker, they did not have enough fire to follow the other five into the wedding. 

The majority of professing Christians today do not have enough fire to even witness for Christ, to pray, to read or study their bibles, or to do anything but attend church meetings, and some only do that occasionally.  Why do they believe that they are prepared for the harshness of the last days?  The answer is because they have been taught elitism by pastors that are reticent to say anything negative from the pulpit.  Most modern preaching is all about “Your Best Life Now” to some degree and variation.  It is about what ever draws a crowd and keeps them coming.  Everything centers on positive, sensational, and hyper-encouraging, themes.  This may explain why news and support for the persecuted church is strangely absent from most church meetings. 

Elitism is a great wall built with untempered mortar. 

“Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar— say to those who plaster it with untempered mortar, that it will fall. There will be flooding rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall tear it down.  Surely, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the mortar with which you plastered it?’”  (Ezekiel 113:10-12 NKJV)

It will take a strong individual equipped with knowledge and indwelt by the Holy Spirit to withstand the deception and persecution of the last days.  People attempting to coast to the finish line are completely unprepared to overcome.  God’s word is clear that only the ones that overcome will be honored.

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Revelation 3:5 NKJV)

As to the fate of the ones that slumbered and slept without oil, I do not wish to find out first hand.   All I know in my heart (and I believe the Holy Spirit warns me daily about it) is that we must be spiritually prepared for the harsh times ahead.  We must be very careful not to allow the cares of this life and the world system to distract, dis-focus, and weaken us to the extent that we will not be able to continue confessing Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior under the threat of brutal persecution.  We must be careful to inspect our hearts, make certain that we are not elitists and therefore apathetic concerning the danger of end time’s persecution.   There are many warnings about preparedness in God’s word concerning the last days.  We should study and become familiar with them.  Elitist-based apathy is a powerful deterrent to preparedness.  When it all comes down it will occur very quickly.  There will be no time to prepare.  If one is avoiding preparation because of elitism, that soul will suffer greatly when that dark hour arrives.

While I applaud all efforts to evangelize Mormons, I do not believe that Dr. George Wood (General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God) engaged in such an effort when he spoke to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and BYU students.  I read his explanation of involvement carefully several times. In my opinion his words do not match reality.  While he claims to have been led by the Holy Spirit, the Mormons perceived his words to be favorable to the point of endorsement.  A case in point is the article in BYU’s online magazine, The Digital Universe, concluding that Dr. Woods inferred, God is playing a role in all religions and that Christians are more united than they sometimes think.  Dr. Wood erroneously stated that the release attributed the statement to him.  Instead, it was the perception of his speech by Mormons.  Further evidence of Dr. Wood’s effect on the Mormons is evidenced by Professor Andrew Skinner of the Department of Ancient Scripture that remarked, You can feel the Spirit of God with him when you shake his hand.  For one to recognize or feel a kindred spirit in someone filled with the Spirit of God, he would need to be indwelt by the same Spirit.  Dr. Wood also said of Mormon elder Jeffery Holland, His response immediately bonded my heart to him.  What impression were the Mormons actually receiving from Dr. Wood?

It is clear that what Mormons were feeling in Dr. Wood was not the Spirit of God, but a spirit of comradely acceptance, cooperation, and social ecumenism.  Dr. Wood states as much when he declares that he met with several LDS leaders and a few members of the BYU Law School and Religious Education faculties regarding common concerns: religious liberty, how to work effectively to resist the cultural and secular pressures to push persons of faith out of the public square, the increasing coarseness within secular culture and the pressure that exerts on youth; as well as issues related to abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and end of life concerns.   This opportunity manifested after Dr. Wood and a number of evangelicals met in the Utah governor’s mansion for an address by a top LDS leader.  Dr. Wood goes on to state, If evangelicals, Roman Catholics, LDS and others can stand together on issues of marriage as between a man and woman, right to life, and religious freedom – our country and culture will be better for it.  That may or may not be true, but will Mormons be better for this unity by social gospel?  Will the millions of professing Christians that they proselytize be better for it?  Will the kingdom of God be better for it? To all those questions I answer with a resounding “no”.  To believe otherwise is to focus on the temporal rather than the eternal perspective.

God did not call His church to unite and consort with cults (or pagans) to save the world from the consequences of the fall.  He did not instruct us to join with diabolical people to build a better society.  He called us to expose their works of darkness and reveal the path to deliverance through Jesus Christ.  Sadly, it appears that Dr. Wood has done more to validate Mormonism than he has to expose it as a dangerous and extremely deceptive cult.  By his gregarious and unabashed courting of their cooperation on social issues, he has marginalized their heresy and to a great extent elevated them to a degree of equality with Christianity.  Many AoG members may fall victim to their evangelism as a result of this validation.  They will not be able to discern Dr. Wood’s intent.  All they will know is that he favored Mormonism with his title and office.

In my opinion, the interfaith (another term for ecumenism) agenda of Standing Together, the group Dr. Wood associates with, is no different than what the heretical Emergent Church is engaged in. The vision of Standing Together is: Advancing Biblical Unity and Spiritual Transformation in Utah.  In their values section, they state: We affirm that there is one Church in Utah that meets in various locations.  When churches love and pray for one another, our witness for Christ is credible and effective.  Unprecedented unity will contribute to healthier local churches and transformed lives by the thousands.  Spiritual Transformation is a pagan system of beliefs and practices that is invading Christianity at an alarming rate.  It has been touted by New Age and professing Christian leaders as the bridge that unites all religions.  They also claim to have a biblical basis for what they call Interfaith Dialogue, but the link was inactive.  It is clear from the Scriptures that God wants us to evangelize the lost properly, not to assemble with and form alliances with them. He commands us to expose the unfruitful works of darkness, not gloss over their heresy and sins with warm bonding words of empathy and communion.  A true interfaith dialogue begins with distinguishing the difference between light and darkness.  Such a dialogue must present the Gospel of Christ Jesus that calls people out of darkness into His marvelous light. 

In closing his response, Dr, Wood commended the Mormons for their kindness and respect. He also presented a statement by Pastor Ray Smith who commended him for speaking in their language (Story, Faith, and Family). Their language? I must inform Pastor Smith that true Christians have the same if not greater affinity for story, faith, and family. In fact, true Christians have a much better quality of faith because our God is the true and only God. We have a better family because true Christains love our wives as the true Christ loves the church. We have a better story, the greatest story ever told, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, Mormonism is an example of delusional obeisance to a heretical con artist and one of the worst family men in modern religion, Joseph Smith.  Further, I could not under any circumstances agree to uniting with them on the issues of religious liberty when they hold millions captive in spiritual bondage. I could not in good conscience join them on issues of morality when they have no compunction about spreading a deadly deception that has resulted in multitudes entering eternity unsaved.  To do so is an indication of how weak and non-discerning many professing Christians have become.

In conclusion, I believe that it is obvious the Holy Spirit was not involved in this event.  After two years of involvement with Mormons, Dr. Wood has made some dear friends, bonded with LDS leaders, won their respect, and incited them to believe that they have achieved one of their major goals, acceptance by mainstream Christianity.  One could hobnob with a group of atheists in the same manner, speak at their conference, and leave them with the same impression.  It all adds up to one thing, i.e., there was no conviction by the Holy Spirit at that meeting.  However, Dr. Wood claims that he was led by the Holy Spirit.  I find it difficult to believe that a group of people immersed in great darkness, deceived and most likely possessed by demons, would feel comfortable, accepted by, and a kinship with the Holy Spirit.  I also doubt that the Holy Spirit would pass up an opportunity to convict such a group of their lostness and bondage.  Conviction is the primary work of the Holy Spirit.

And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: (John 16:8 NKJV)

Although sinners may feel a Christian’s love, acceptance, and compassion for them, they will also feel conviction.  I do not believe that it is possible to be anointed by the Holy Spirit without sinners being convicted.  Further, I do not believe it is possible for a Spirit-filled believer to speak to a group of deceived and delusional sinners without his or her words being anointed unless the believer has somehow quenched the Holy Spirit.  If ones agenda is to gain respect, cause people to feel comfortable and accepted, and to establish a bond of friendship and communion, there will be no conviction in that one’s words.  In fact, that agenda is carried out by thousands of Christian preachers every Sunday morning.  Some of them, such as Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Judah Smith, and other pastors of mega churches, are masters of speaking without a hint of conviction.  They convert a great number of followers, not of Christ, but of them.  Accolades from sinners after one speaks are the hallmark of a dead message, enticing words of man’s wisdom, lacking the demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power.

Dr. Wood apparently believes that he was led by the Holy Spirit to spend two years with an Emergent group currying the favor of the LDS.  But remember, this is the same Dr. Wood that invited a New Age guru, Ruth Haley Barton, to speak at the General Council. He is the same AoG leader that promotes Spiritual Formation and its deadly heresy Contemplative Prayer.  It is the same Dr. Wood that supports Emergent heretic Rick Warren.  This is the Dr. Wood that engineered and ensconced into the AoG an ecumenical agreement with the Roman Catholic Church.  Now he joins with an ecumenical/interfaith group to socialize with and give validity to Mormonism.  In my opinion, Dr. Wood is in lockstep with the Emergent Church Movement and will continue to carrying out what he believes is God’s agenda to turn the AoG into the largest New Age denomination in the world.  His clever response will be sufficient for individuals that need only the skin of a reason to continue supporting him.  For the ones that discern by the Holy Spirit, it falls well short of an adequate explanation.

It was my privilege and opportunity to speak with students last week at Brigham Young University on my faith and family. For those who may have questions regarding my appearance at BYU and meetings with some in the LDS leadership, let me provide some context.

In the greater Salt Lake City area there is an evangelical association called Standing Together. It’s comprised of approximately 100 evangelical churches that in recent years have been reaching out in friendship to LDS leaders and members. Our Assemblies of God pastors and churches in Salt Lake City are involved in Standing Together. Such contacts have produced an openness not previously experienced. Just two weeks before me, Dr. Richard Land, president of Southern Theological Seminary in Charlotte, spoke at BYU. Two weeks after me, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, will speak at BYU. And, it is my understanding that Ravi Zacharias has been invited to return to preach at the Mormon Tabernacle early next year. He has done so previously.

Two years ago the National Association of Evangelicals held a meeting in Salt Lake City. At that time, Standing Together arranged a meeting with approximately 125 or so of us in the governor’s mansion for an address by a top LDS leader, Dr. Jeffrey Holland. That resulted in a conversation and friendship between him and me that ultimately led to my being invited to speak at BYU and also have opportunity to meet with several LDS leaders and a few members of the BYU Law School and Religious Education faculties regarding common concerns: religious liberty, how to work effectively to resist the cultural and secular pressures to push persons of faith out of the public square, the increasing coarseness within secular culture and the pressure that exerts on youth; as well as issues related to abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and end of life concerns.

I was invited to speak to BYU students on the subject of Faith and Family. There were no restrictions on what I could say. One of the key leaders, knowing my personal testimony, requested that I speak on this subject. Students were not required to attend and gave up their lunch hour to do so. About 400 students crammed into every seat in the auditorium, and the overflow room – twice the size of the auditorium – also filled up with students. For 45 minutes, I spoke freely about how the Pentecostal Movement came to be, how the Assemblies of God arose out of that Movement, how my parents became AG missionaries, miracles in my family including my Dad (through the intercessory prayer of my mother) who was spared from poisoning by Tibetans on the mission field and my sister being healed of near blindness when she was 18. I told how during a revival at Central Bible College she had a vision of Christ on the cross, reached to take blood from the cross to apply to her eyes, but in actual reality took her glasses off and flung them across the platform. When she came out of the vision, she had perfect sight. I talked freely about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues. I went on then to share my experience of faith, and ended by noting that faith is not subjective but is based on the objective reality of Jesus Christ risen from the dead. The students listened in rapt attention and when I was finished, gave a prolonged ovation. I leave the results to the Lord.

I’m providing for you a quote from one of our AG pastors, Ray Smith, pastor of Salt Lake Christian Center. He was in the audience at BYU.
———
Dr. Wood,
Thank you so much for your lecture that I was privileged to attend. Your message obviously led by the Holy Spirit was exceptional. I cannot help but intercede for the hundreds of students that were able to hear you talk in their language (Story, Family and Faith) as if you were talking to a group of CBC students. Telling your story of your search for truth and the markers of faith that influence your decisions is, (in my opinion) exactly what they needed to hear. Theology with a personal narrative is so compelling to LDS students. I know that we will see fruit in eternity from your willingness to go out of the box and into the marketplace of the Mormon faith.
———-
The Executive Leadership Team and the Executive Presbytery have been kept fully informed and have approved my willingness to establish these contacts and relationships. I do not pretend to know what the Holy Spirit might be doing within the LDS leadership, but I do believe the Spirit opened this door.

There is much more I could say, but those who trust my leadership will know that I would not have opened this door except the Spirit and our leaders “bade me go.” For those who do not trust my leadership, probably nothing I say will suffice and I simply leave that to the Lord.

There was a release from BYU that some are quoting and I close with reference to that. On the whole the release summarized well my visit, closing with this quote from me, “The whole aspect of the Christian faith, and my personal faith, rests upon whether or not Jesus Christ rose again from the dead.”

There are two brief references in the BYU release that require my clarification.

First, there was no interfaith discussion with the students. The leadership of BYU placed no restrictions on my message to the students and I freely shared about my faith and family. I did have private discussions with several in LDS leadership regarding the differences that separate us doctrinally; but also we discussed where we could work together within the public square on religious liberty and issues of morality.

Second, the BYU release quoted me as saying that “God is playing a role in all religions and that Christians are more united than they sometimes think.” While I do believe that the Holy Spirit is seeking to draw all persons to Jesus, I did not state what was attributed to me, but I do believe that there is common ground on issues facing our country and culture that we can stand united on. If evangelicals, Roman Catholics, LDS and others can stand together on issues of marriage as between a man and woman, right to life, and religious freedom – our country and culture will be better for it.

Finally, I must say that all within the LDS community treated me with utmost kindness and respect. One of their senior leaders said to me, “America needs the Assemblies of God.” I believe that was said most sincerely. I love and pray for the friends I have made within the LDS community over these past two years. I live, pray, and witness in expectation that we will live to see the prophecy of Pentecost fulfilled, that in these last days the Spirit will be poured out on all.

Thank you for your patience and prayers. I trust this explanation is helpful to you. Blessings!