Guard Your Life And Your Doctrine Closely!
'Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils'... 1 Timothy 4:1
'Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in My name, saying
I am Christ; and the time draweth near; go ye not therefore after them'. Luke 21:8
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ;
I feel heavily burdened by the Spirit of the Lord
to write regarding the seducing and demonic spirits that have pervaded, even
overtaken the church in this day and age. Consider the constant admonition of
the Lord to "hear what the Spirit saith unto the church..." In these last
hours of time God has warned us again and again in His Word to be on our guard
against these spirits that have invaded the church in countless numbers. These
seducing spirits are the very ones who will cause people to gather around them
those who will tell them what their 'itching ears' want to hear
(2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Some years ago while on a ministry trip to
Guyana, South America; we had the opportunity to visit the former
residence of Jim Jones as well as Jonestown, where more than 900 people came to
the end of their lives in a mass suicide while all of Hell roared with laughter.
As I stood there looking at the site of that great tragedy, I found my capacity
for compassion could not reach beyond the children who, through no fault of
their own, were forcibly brought to this place of demonic activity where they
suffered unspeakable torments until the day the Lord delivered them through
death.
Having studied the life of Jim Jones, I could
summon neither compassion nor pity for one single adult who had willingly
followed this demon-possessed maniac into the very pits of Hell. Now, before
anyone makes the rush to judgment, accusing me of being cold hearted or of not
having any love for those 'poor unfortunate' people; let's look back at their
lives and doctrine.
Prior to moving his operation to Guyana, Jim
Jones had a church in California where many of these same 'unfortunate' people
were regular members of the congregation.
This so-called 'church' was in fact, a demonic
stronghold of heresy, false doctrine, witchcraft, sexual immorality,
homosexuality, greed and idolatry (which is adoration of man). Space does not
permit me to go into all of the heresy that was not only taught by Jim Jones,
but was readily accepted by his congregation. Allow me to point out what should
have been some obvious warning signs that would have marked Jim Jones as being
demon possessed rather than the Godly pastor he claimed to be.
Jim Jones, acting as Pastor, put himself forward
as the final, absolute and only authority; overriding even the Word of God. (If
a Pastor will lie and manipulate in even the smallest of things, he will do so
in larger issues as well). During one of Jim Jones' services, which was being
recorded, he picked up the Bible, the Holy Scriptures; tore it in half, threw it
to the floor, wiped his feet on it and told the congregation they had no need of
that 'book'; they had only to listen to him. Not one of those adults who
committed suicide at Jonestown got up and left that service. None of them even
disputed the matter with him.
On another occasion, (again at a service which
was being recorded), Jim Jones said that Mary, the mother of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ, was a whore. The actual words he used were far more
obscene and I would not repeat them. He then went on to say that 'Jesus was an
illegitimate child' therefore He should not be looked at as the Messiah. Again,
his actual words were ones I could not repeat either in writing or speaking.
Once again, not one person left the church. Instead they just sat there like
mindless robots, absorbing all that shameful and slanderous doctrine. I firmly
believe it was at this point that God gave them over to a reprobate mind.
At this point allow me to relate some things from
my own personal experiences. Approximately a year or so ago, I wrote an article
which appeared on this website entitled, 'The Spirit is Alive and Well and
Moving Down Under'. This article was primarily about an upright and Godly Pastor
and his wife who followed and taught the Word of God. He had his work cut out
for him as there were many in his church that were filled with all manner of sin
and problems. This Pastor had asked me to come and minister at his church; and
to help him counsel with those people who were willing to be set free from the
strongholds that Satan had over their lives.
During my first public ministry at this church
the Lord revealed to me that there were Elders there that had offenses against
other Elders, Elders who had bitterness one against another; there were even
Elders and those who were in Leadership positions who had hearts that were
filled with hatred and a lust for power. Worst of all, through witchcraft and a
demonic desire to overthrow the Senior Pastor and his wife and take control of
the church, some of these people were corrupting the hearts and minds of others.
Most of these things I prophesied publicly in a Board meeting of the Elders of
the church, but some things I spoke to the Senior Pastor privately about, for
the church had other problems as well; sexual immorality, fornication,
lesbianism, pedophilia, incest, drunkenness, fraud, greed and idolatry. In fact,
even though the Senior Pastor and his wife were faithful servants of Jesus
Christ, his church had many of the same problems as the church of which Jim
Jones was the Pastor. (There the similarity ended).
There was one man in particular I had serious
concerns about. The Lord had revealed to me he was unsaved, an adulterer and
demon possessed. I later met his wife only to discover she was an adulteress and
involved in witchcraft. He was also an ex-convict; something which most of the
congregation was not aware of. Both this man and his wife had been previously
married to ones who professed Christ (as did they) at the time of the divorces.
I shared my concerns about this couple with the Senior Pastor only and he, being
a Godly man with a Pastor's heart was determined to 'go the extra mile' with
them; doing all he could to get them to see and deal with those areas in their
lives which were wrong in Christ. Sadly, this course of action (through no fault
or lack of diligence on the part of the Pastor) produced no good results and
they continued on in their devious ways.
I was a witness to this couple attempting to
undermine the Senior Pastor and his wife by making accusations against them and
propagating rumors in an effort to get others to join with them. This man went
so far as to swear an oath before God so the Senior Pastor would think he was
doing what he was supposed to be doing, but he went back on his oath, lying to
God, the Board of Elders and the congregation, and by doing so he and his wife
gained control of the church. Many of those in the church who had some of the
problems I mentioned earlier had earnestly repented before God for their sin and
were delivered and set gloriously free by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Many of these people ended up leaving the church while, sadly, others refused to
acknowledge their sin and break the bonds with the Devil. To this day they
remain enslaved to him and these people have remained also in the church. This
is largely due to the fact that this couple that are presently the Senior
Pastors do not believe in dealing out rightly with sin, thereby enabling their
own sin to remain covered. They are of the opinion that some Biblical teachings
are "too hard".
Now, do I feel sorry for those who have chosen to
stay and sit under this ministry, receiving within themselves false doctrine and
thereby never being able to have a right relationship with the Lord; rather
allowing themselves to be led down the broad road to destruction? The answer to
that is: No, no more than I did for those adults who followed Jim Jones to
Jonestown and straight into Hell. For these people, most of whom had been taught
the way of the Lord for many years by the previous Senior Pastor, have elected
by their own free will to remain under the false teaching of the present
headship, finding it easier and more comfortable to be lulled into a false sense
of security by those who never preach any message that might bring conviction of
sin.
Absurd as this whole thing sounds, I can assure
you this is not fiction, but all too real and one I myself am very familiar
with, for I have paid the price for trying to tell the truth to these people.
Indeed, the very gates of Hell have come against us (although they have not
prevailed). For from these same people came a viscous campaign of malicious
rumors, lies and false accusations against my family and I the likes of which I
have never before experienced in all my years in the ministry.
At the time of this particular attack (which has
never really ceased and has actually gotten worse), God spoke to my family and I
and told us not to defend ourselves but to remain silent and allow Him to deal
with the situation, which we did. For the Lord has said, "Vengeance is Mine,
I will repay". When you truly undertake to serve the Living and Almighty
God, you will suffer persecution, but He will be your counsel and defense.
It is important when undergoing these kinds of
trials and tribulations that you keep your mind on things above and remain in
one accord with the Word of God. If you do, He will be the only defense you will
ever need; for His Spirit will go before you and His Glory will be your rear
guard. It is only those who in their lust for power willingly become the devil's
advocates who need fear the Judgment of God. For they will do or say anything
against anyone who they fear might get in their way, or bring forth the truth
about them. Even though they will insist that they believe they are 'doing the
will of God' in these matters, they will be the ones spoken about in Matthew;
when Jesus Himself says to them, "Away from Me, I never knew you".
Blessedly, the former Senior Pastor and his wife,
along with many other saints have escaped the manipulative clutches of these
people and are continuing to worship and serve the Lord, as are we. If you find
that you are involved with a church where there is more gossip than ministry,
more slander than praise and more division than fellowship; or if the leadership
of that church refuses to teach both the goodness and the severity of God; which
is the whole truth, and instead picks and chooses scriptures to fit their own
purposes as if the Bible were some sort of buffet where you only eat what you
want-find yourself another church, or if the church you attend has Pastors or
Elders who are afraid to have anyone look too deeply into their backgrounds, or
who refuse to give their testimonies; beware. If the Eldership of your church
are a bunch of 'yes' men who care more about making points with the Pastor than
they do about pleasing the Lord; or if there are secret things going on and the
entire truth about all the activities of the church are not being revealed, you
need to get yourself free from that organization. For did not Jesus say, "You
shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."
You're not supposed to be hurt, manipulated,
controlled or maligned by the church. The church is supposed to be a place where
you can go and worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. In the church you should
be taught what your gifts and callings are so you might be able to fulfill your
place in the Body of Christ. You should find the peace, joy and love of Christ
abounding in your church, especially in the leadership. You should be finding an
example of Christ-like obedience to follow in your Pastor and Elders. If these
things are not happening you need to ask the Lord where you should be.
Remember, the Bible says, (speaking of the Lord),
'all who seek Me shall find Me'. If you're looking for someplace to go
for a religious social gathering, or a place to have your ears tickled, there
are churches aplenty that fit the bill, but if you truly desire to serve Christ
and Him only, without having to listen to a whitewashed Gospel, then ask, and
the One who is the Author and Finisher of your faith will 'lead you into
green pastures'.
Blessings and love in Christ.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions about this article.
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