I was watching our local Christian TV station.
A preacher was standing at the front of the platform, just about to fall off, or so it seemed.
The congregation had locked arms and was swaying forward and backward when suddenly the preacher swept his arm in front of himself.
As he did so, the entire congregation fell backward like dominoes.
WOW! I thought. What power the Holy Spirit must have! He can knock people over!
How edifying!
How up-lifting!
How Christ-like!
How Biblical!
Biblical?
Oooo!
I ran and got my Bible to look up all of the instances where the Holy Spirit caused whole congregations to fall over when motioned at by the preacher.
Not one example.
How can this be, I wondered?
I must be missing something.
I looked in Bible dictionaries, topical Bibles, concordances, commentaries.
Nothing.
This is terrible!
If the Bible is God's revelation of His character, His love for His creation and His plan for its redemption, where is the part about dominomic congregations?
If "everything you need to know about God is found in the Word of God, nothing you need to know about God is not found in the Word of God and everything you think you know about God that is not in the Word of God you just made up," then God must have made a mistake leaving out the part about falling backward in unison at the sweep of a preacher's hand.
God made a mistake!
He did not reveal enough!
He must have much more to reveal!
That, my friend, is Voodoo Christianity.
He has revealed all He needs for us to know.
There is no further revelation.
Not one single preacher has learned one single thing about God that He has not already revealed for us all to know in His Word.
If you are not satisfied with what God has revealed in His Word, you are not satisfied with God.
If you are not satisfied with God, you are not saved.
You need to come to know Him by placing your faith in, and only in, the finished work of Christ at the cross of calvary and His resurrection.
You do not need to place your faith in your extra-Biblical experiences.
You do not need to place your faith in some prosperity "gospel" (which is no gospel at all).You do not need to place your faith in God's healing power.
You need to find sufficiency in Christ alone.If God chooses to give you wealth, that's His business.
If God chooses to heal you, that's His business.
Our only business is to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
When we do, we will receive the gift of persecution.
When we do, we will receive the gift of a daily death.
We will also receive the gift of eternal life.
We need nothing more.
Those are the marks of real, saving faith.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
REALITY TV? Part 1
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13 comments:
Actually I don't watch Christian TV because of that type of thing. However, remember the walls of Jericho fell down because of God's power. I wouldn't want to unequovically say that it can't happen again in some way or another.
rod willett: If I understand you correctly, you see the falling of the walls as similar to the falling of people.
Interesting.
I tagged you today, but feel free to skip if you're busy.
Hi Joe
Actually I don't think God's power is limited to only walls. However, I would have some serious reservations if I saw it happen to people. I just don't want to say it could never happen. I studied crowd behavior years ago in college, and crowds are capable of some strange collective behavior.
12I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man,"[b]dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
***This... is in the bible... it may have not been "people"... but it was someone falling because of the power of God.
Pretty cool huh?
annonymous: WOW! Where did you find that? Is that in the Bible?
Oh my...I must never have read that before.........NOT.
Totally unrelated to the topic, of course.
I cringe when I see these televangelists. I'm sure Jesus would never have gone to the templ in a 350 horsepower chariot.
I hope you will not take offense if I suggest something though, brother.
I believe there are many things the Lord gives to people that is not explicit in scripture, things which are for that individual alone.
I also think the Lord gave us many mysteries to discover, a part of the joy living is in using the intense curiosity He endowed in us.
It is true that all that He has given us in the scripture is true. It is also true that all he has given us in His creation is true.
we have a very long way to go to even scratch the surface of those mysteries.
God bless my friend.
Joe, you need to be more gentle, if I may say it. Anonymous was not totally off topic. Granted, you were talking about a crowd and not an individual (and many such incidents, we all know, do occur in scripture). Your sarcasm had a cutting tone to it, whether or not you realize it. I think you were just trying to be funny, but think if you would say that face to face, would you be so blunt?
Joe said...
sticking up for anonymous: Well, in a sense I was being funny, but on another level I have noticed that people always tend to try to "prove" their points by quoting Scripture verses instead of the Word of God.
"Say, what?" you may ask.
Yeah.
The Bible says, "Judas hanged himself"
The Bible also says, "Go thou and do likewise."
The Bible also says, "Whatsoever you doeth, do quickly."
One could form a false doctine using those verses.
Lots of false doctrines are formed using seemingly connected, but really random Scriptures.
Nevertheless, I admit to claiming as one of my own spiritual gifts that of sarcasm.
I'm not troubled by it and I am not troubled when people use it on me.
But it does get me in a whole lot of trouble, 'cause nobody likes a smart-mouth, of which I am chief.
BTW: I betcha annonymous can stick up for himself.
BTWBTW: I am deeply wounded that I have been accused of not being gentle.
And yes, I probably would be that blunt. That's why I stay in so much trouble all the time.
You'd think that after 65 years I would have learned...but, no. I'm more than a little slow.
Rod: Hi! Nice to "see" you!
Well, it did happen. I saw it. People actually fell down. To attribute it to the Holy Spirit, however, rather than some kind of crowd manipulaton, is a total stretch.
(BTW: I did my undergraduate work at Stetson University in Sociology and Psychology...but God has forgiven me for that.)
Sarcasm is evidence of pride. You appear not to mind being resisted by God since you boast of being sarcastic. Normally I think you're funny. Normally I like your posts. But I don't like the way you brag about your bluntness as if it's supposed to fortify the points you're trying to make. With all due respect, because you are my elder, your brand of humor is not always God-glorifying. Never mind offending ME. Who am I? Have you talked to the Lord about what's funny and what's not? You preach about the danger of others quoting scripture instead of the Word of God, yet you arrogantly disregard the fruit of gentleness while gloating about the fruit of pride. What's up with that? I think I recognize it for what it is because we're so much alike, Joe--except that I am trying not to boast in anything except the cross of Jesus, who died for our pride .
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