The so-called Toronto Blessing was, I believe, a precursor to the great last days deception. The emphasis was on the Holy Spirit, not on Christ. Except the spirit was most unholy. Rodney Howard-Browne told people not to pray in the meetings. I wonder why. What happened to "test the spirits"? I knew many Christians who got sucked in. The next move will be even more deceptive. Again the emphasis is on the Holy Spirit and lying signs and wonders. There is such a lack of teaching in the modern church that deception is all too easy.
Revival
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I know that there are some ministries that came out of Toronto that are quite powerful.
Rolland and Heidi Baker went to Toronto and saw all the people laughing and their response was to weep; because they saw that the people were so blessed! But this blessing was not being given to the entire body of Christ. So, they became missionaries for the holy laughter movement. And signs and wonders followed them.
There is something to be said for a manifestation of the miracles that were spoken about happening in the word.
You can read about the miracles; or you can experience them.
One is a dry understanding of doctrine; the other is a thirst-quenching experience of what that doctrine tells you about.
Of course it is written that in the latter days even the elect might be deceived by lying signs and wonders.
Which is not to say that every sign and wonder that you might see in your life has to be of the lying sort.
It is important that we test everything by the word and hold fast that which is good.
Appearances can be deceiving.
And the ministries that are of God will normally be spoken against; for that is satan's mode of operation...slander.
If a sign or wonder points to what we can decidedly determine to be false doctrine with the word, then that sign or wonder is very likely the sort that is spoken of in Matthew 24:24.
And usually the signs and wonders that are satanic in nature will not be beneficial in the long run.
There was a guy named Todd Bentley who was popular who was doing signs and wonders through Kundalini, even in the Christian church. It appeared that the people were being healed on stage; but when you went to do the follow-up, it turned out that those same people were dropping dead three days later.
If a sign or wonder is of God it will have lasting benefits to the person in whom it is accomplished.
For the devil cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
Rolland and Heidi Baker went to Toronto and saw all the people laughing and their response was to weep; because they saw that the people were so blessed! But this blessing was not being given to the entire body of Christ. So, they became missionaries for the holy laughter movement. And signs and wonders followed them.
There is something to be said for a manifestation of the miracles that were spoken about happening in the word.
You can read about the miracles; or you can experience them.
One is a dry understanding of doctrine; the other is a thirst-quenching experience of what that doctrine tells you about.
Of course it is written that in the latter days even the elect might be deceived by lying signs and wonders.
Which is not to say that every sign and wonder that you might see in your life has to be of the lying sort.
It is important that we test everything by the word and hold fast that which is good.
Appearances can be deceiving.
And the ministries that are of God will normally be spoken against; for that is satan's mode of operation...slander.
If a sign or wonder points to what we can decidedly determine to be false doctrine with the word, then that sign or wonder is very likely the sort that is spoken of in Matthew 24:24.
And usually the signs and wonders that are satanic in nature will not be beneficial in the long run.
There was a guy named Todd Bentley who was popular who was doing signs and wonders through Kundalini, even in the Christian church. It appeared that the people were being healed on stage; but when you went to do the follow-up, it turned out that those same people were dropping dead three days later.
If a sign or wonder is of God it will have lasting benefits to the person in whom it is accomplished.
For the devil cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
Hi Gideon,
The denomination I was brought up in came from the Welsh Revival. My grandparents came from Scotland being sent by the Apostolic Church to help establish the work in Australia and New Zealand. They brought the truths of the 5 fold ministries, (Eph. 4: 11) and the Eternal Purposes.
Every major move of God is to do with the Holy Spirit restoring truth to the Body of Christ. We know that the Apostle Paul warned his disciples of deception coming. Here is a quick overview.
The Apostle Paul gave the early disciples the whole counsel of God. They were taught the full revelation of Christ, His character and His purposes.
`For I (Paul) have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.` (Acts 20: 27)
Here is a summary of the main truths, then the errors that came in and finally the restoring of those truths through the centuries.
Ministry gifts (Eph. 4: 11) - Bishops were substituted. (AD 110)
Holy Spirit infilling and gifts - Formalisation of worship. (3rd C)
Holiness - Amalgamation of Church and State. (AD 323)
Baptism for believers - Infant Sprinkling. (6th C)
Justification by Faith - Penance Indulgence. (AD 1063 / Dark Ages)
Reformation, Lutheran - Justification by Faith. (1517)
Baptist - Full Immersion. (1608)
Methodist - Holiness. (1738)
Pentecostal - Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (1906)
Apostolic - Christ`s ministries (Eph. 4: 11) (1916) & the Eternal Purposes.
Christ`s ministries, (apostle, prophet, teacher, pastor, evangelist) develop the believers and the whole Body into spiritual maturity and understanding. They stimulate the perfecting of the `Christ life` and promote the function and ministry of each member in the Body.
When Christ ascended `He gave some (people) to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ,
Till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ......may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ.` (Eph. 4: 11 - 15)
The denomination I was brought up in came from the Welsh Revival. My grandparents came from Scotland being sent by the Apostolic Church to help establish the work in Australia and New Zealand. They brought the truths of the 5 fold ministries, (Eph. 4: 11) and the Eternal Purposes.
Every major move of God is to do with the Holy Spirit restoring truth to the Body of Christ. We know that the Apostle Paul warned his disciples of deception coming. Here is a quick overview.
The Apostle Paul gave the early disciples the whole counsel of God. They were taught the full revelation of Christ, His character and His purposes.
`For I (Paul) have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.` (Acts 20: 27)
Here is a summary of the main truths, then the errors that came in and finally the restoring of those truths through the centuries.
Ministry gifts (Eph. 4: 11) - Bishops were substituted. (AD 110)
Holy Spirit infilling and gifts - Formalisation of worship. (3rd C)
Holiness - Amalgamation of Church and State. (AD 323)
Baptism for believers - Infant Sprinkling. (6th C)
Justification by Faith - Penance Indulgence. (AD 1063 / Dark Ages)
Reformation, Lutheran - Justification by Faith. (1517)
Baptist - Full Immersion. (1608)
Methodist - Holiness. (1738)
Pentecostal - Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (1906)
Apostolic - Christ`s ministries (Eph. 4: 11) (1916) & the Eternal Purposes.
Christ`s ministries, (apostle, prophet, teacher, pastor, evangelist) develop the believers and the whole Body into spiritual maturity and understanding. They stimulate the perfecting of the `Christ life` and promote the function and ministry of each member in the Body.
When Christ ascended `He gave some (people) to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ,
Till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ......may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ.` (Eph. 4: 11 - 15)
Thanks for that history. While the reformation and what has followed reversed a lot of what what false, too much of the false structure remains. Accurate doctrine is not enough. The structure of most churches (I use that word in the common understanding, not the Bible definition) is still a pyramid leadership with a passive congregation. The word Pastor is mentioned twice in the NT. Yet now we have pastors for anything and everything.
There are some exceptions, but mostly the pastor carries the burden of the church, hence the "pastor burnout" syndrome. I was advised to become ordained in the Baptist church. I knew what that entailed and I shrank from the idea. Being available 24/7 to solve the tiniest problem did not appeal to me at all. 45 years later and I'm glad that I never went down that track.
The biggest problem is also the one that should be obvious to all, but it is not. Most Christians do not know Jesus as the Life. If they did, their lives would be transformed. Jesus came that we might have Life. Christians know that He is the way to God. They will agree that He is Truth. But Life? The very reason that Jesus came? Most Christians are clueless as to what this means in reality.
This must change. The real church will go underground. It won't be able to rely on paid professionals to prop up the congregation. The church in China thrives because it has multiple leaders. If the government locks up one or several, there is someone well able to replace them.
There are some exceptions, but mostly the pastor carries the burden of the church, hence the "pastor burnout" syndrome. I was advised to become ordained in the Baptist church. I knew what that entailed and I shrank from the idea. Being available 24/7 to solve the tiniest problem did not appeal to me at all. 45 years later and I'm glad that I never went down that track.
The biggest problem is also the one that should be obvious to all, but it is not. Most Christians do not know Jesus as the Life. If they did, their lives would be transformed. Jesus came that we might have Life. Christians know that He is the way to God. They will agree that He is Truth. But Life? The very reason that Jesus came? Most Christians are clueless as to what this means in reality.
This must change. The real church will go underground. It won't be able to rely on paid professionals to prop up the congregation. The church in China thrives because it has multiple leaders. If the government locks up one or several, there is someone well able to replace them.
I agree Gideon. I also know that the Lord is building and maturing His church (not denominations/structures of man). And that church, Body of Christ is across the centuries and across the world. We don`t see all who are part of His Body but I believe that the Lord knows what He is doing and knows who are His.
The structures like scaffolding helped for a time, however they have been exposed and are not how we can measure what the Lord has or is doing. We can only have faith and trust in the Lord for His great work amongst us.
The structures like scaffolding helped for a time, however they have been exposed and are not how we can measure what the Lord has or is doing. We can only have faith and trust in the Lord for His great work amongst us.
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