The Issachar Ministry

This is a helpful and timely article that I’m sure will alert some, upset many, and hopefully convict us all!

Blessings to you in Jesus the pre-eminent One!

Peter McArthur

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AVOIDING  STRANGE  FIRE

by Jonas Clark

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The Holy Spirit is not strange, weird or mystical. He is the third part of the Trinity. He is a gentleman, statesman and a loving God that lifts up Christ the only begotten son of God. He is not a female presence, an it, a thing, a mist, a feeling or some force.

There are many people interested in prophetic ministry and there’s much confusion about it.

Throughout your ministry you will be faced with many odd, even strange things that will require much spiritual discernment.

Spiritual discernment will come from the Holy Spirit and be verified by many Scriptures throughout the written Word of God. History has introduced many diverting prophets with strange manifestations. Your advantage is four thousand years of written biblical history to use as your guide for accuracy from Adam to Christ. One corner stone for staying biblical is using that written history as your foundation for measuring truth. When strange things happen look to the Word for biblical examples. If you can’t find any then something is terribly wrong.

Experiences, even vivid, powerful, and supernatural ones are not measurements for truth. In my generation some have gold dust, feathers, gems, and people barking and roaring like lions in their meetings. A search through the Scriptures gives no evidence that the Holy Spirit used any of these things to confirm Christ’s Word. Others say female angels are healing people.

There is no evidence of the existence of female angels in the Word. These are only a few examples of strange fire. Someone may tell you that the things of the Spirit can’t be understood by the natural man. That’s not true at all because the  Holy Spirit can be understood. He never violates the written Word. The things of the Spirit are understood by the logos, the Bible (Hebrews 4:12). The Holy Spirit is not strange, weird or mystical.

He is the third part of the Trinity. He is a gentleman, statesman and a loving God that lifts up Christ the only begotten son of God.

He is not a female presence, an it, a thing, a midst, a feeling or some  force.

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PROPHETS OF DECEPTION

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In our generation Jezebel and Baalim prophets are the prevailing enemies of true prophetic ministry. In the last twenty years these spirits have become sophisticated, built their own network of churches, followers, training schools, written many books and produced many training videos. These spirits intend to hijack the prophetic ministry and hold themselves out to be the experts in the field. They condemn any criticism by outsiders as irrelevant, unloving, ignorant and judgmental. Hopefully by the time you read this material their folly will be known to all and your generation will escape their deceptions. More than likely things are much worse. If so, you will find them as your strongest opponents.

Both these prophetic groups and others you will encounter have all types of strange signs and wonders in their meetings. Just remember not all wonders, no matter how mystical and exciting are from the Holy Ghost (1 John 4:1). Even legitimate miracles in meetings do not confirm these ministers are flowing right.

Scripture says, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23).

One particular trait among them is the love of money that finances extravagant lifestyles. Those that embrace these spirits are merchandisers. A merchandiser sells prophecies, healings, religious oils, potions and various products that reinforce their beliefs. Typically they work within their own networks focusing on getting as much money from people as possible. They have all kinds of gimmick offerings that manipulate people. They are always recruiting followers to join their groups. I have seen them work every kind of evil when it comes to stealing from God’s people.

One young man met with me that hooked up with one of these merchandising networks. He gave me his ordination papers from the various ministers within the network and renounced his involvement. He said the purpose of their many conferences is to raise money, not to advance the ministry of Christ. After services they divide the offerings among themselves. He shocked me when he said the  amount of money one raises confirms the level of their prophetic anointing. For several hours he spoke of many individuals, some well known and others obscure, gave their names and explained numerous evil strategies for meetings across our nation. They even merchandise one another. They look for young naïve upstarts to turn into devils like themselves. There is every sort of evil working behind the scenes among these people. These are “professional prophets” that watch videos and listen to audios to learn the sayings and particular mannerisms of true ministers of the Gospel and from their own they think are effective deceivers (Jeremiah 23:30).

Avoid them and don’t do any meetings with them or for them and don’t attend them. Beware of their accolades, flatterys and smiles toward you. At first they will flatter you. If that works then they will merchandise you. If that doesn’t work they will blackball you. Just remember, if you can be flattered, you can be bought. Christ’s servants are not prostitutes.

A spirit of rejection may attack you if these leaders shun you. If you feel that way just think of it like this, rejection is protection. You don’t need anyone’s approval except Christ’s.

God’s servants can’t be bought at any price! Don’t try to learn anything from the false prophets. You are not a psychic, mystic, spiritist or soothsayer. You are a minister of  Jesus Christ. You have a responsibility to use your gift as a faithful steward to serve the body of Christ. The purpose of the anointing is to establish and advance the Kingdom of God, give witness to the love of God and confirm to the world the resurrection of Christ our Saviour. You will also be called to turn the heart of people toward God, walk in holiness, confront sin and build the Church of Christ. Avoid fame, accolades from men and vain glory, and mind your motives in all things (Proverbs 4:23).

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…..May the Word and the Word alone be our compass in these days.

…..Peter McArthur     www.issachar.org.au

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Tags: bible, Discernment, error, false prophets, false teachers, sound doctrine, spiritual deception

This entry was posted on Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 10:42 am and is filed under Peter's blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.