CARM STANDS FIRM with the Author of 'The Shack'

When our Faith is resting on the whole Word of God, and we trust and have confidence in God's Word, we will be prepared for the battle, and will stand firm in the faith till the end. When our commitment to Christ is strong, and we seek after righteousness, we can stand firm in the knowledge of God's Word, for it is our armor, our shield, our helmet and sword, our belt, and our breastplate, and the shoes, in the battle, no matter what the circumstances may be. Ephesians 6:14-17.

Last night we heard an excellent interview with the Author Paul Young about his runaway best selling book 'The Shack', with radio host Matt Slick - from Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry. This interview is available to hear, that is, as long as it stays available on the CARM website -radio interviews. This is an excellent opportunity to hear the Author himself (Paul Young) explain his book in the context of it's theological meaning, as the radio host - Matt Slick presents a biblical and apologetic response to the concerns that have been raised about the book's influence, meaning and content. It is a 58 minute interview that is well worth listening to in it's entirety.

Visit CARM and hear the radio interview here:

http://www.carm.org/apologetics/carm-radio

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

By Prayer and the Holy Spirit - Stand Firm

The Apostle Paul wrote: "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us." 2 Thessalonians 2:15

This was an exhortation from Paul to the Thessalonians to not be weak in their faith. He urges them to Stand Firm, and to keep a tight grip on the 'Truth' they had been taught. Paul's mention of 'Tradition' was not talking about extra-biblical traditions that were ecclesiastical (priestly or religious). But, they were to stand firm and hold fast to what God had said, and to the written Scriptures, and stand firm in what Paul had said and taught by his teachings and writings. The Greek word translation for 'Traditions' literally means 'things handed down' and refers to divine revelation.

Remember also what Jesus said in John 15:7,8 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." God's Word and prayer working together does produces fruitful lives for Christ and proves we belong to Him.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:2 "Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you."

He warns believers in 2 Thess 3:6 "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us."

More instruction from the bible that tell us to hold fast and stand firm in the faith:

1 Timothy 6:20-21 "O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoid worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge" which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith."

2 Timothy 1:13,14 "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you."

So, to Stand Firm in the Faith, is not something done of yourself. We are empowered to stand firm by the Holy Spirit by holding fast to sound words, (those found in Scripture) standing firm on the revealed truths in God's Word. We are also 'warned' to guard, through the Holy Spirit this treasure which has been entrusted to us.

Further on in the passages in 2 Thessalonians we are instructed to pray, because we can not obey what Paul is saying in our own strength. We need to be dependent on God's power to stand firm. It is only by God's mighty power that we are able to stand firm in the faith. It is by the Holy Spirit that we are empowered to stand strong. So hold firmly your spiritual ground. Know God's truth from His word. And pray always.

Colossians 1:29 "For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me."

As we wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to return, we must stay strong and Stand Firm, not be weak. Do not be weakened by this world. We must draw our strength from Him. We must Stand Firm and guard the truths He has entrusted to us by the power of the Holy Spirit and in prayer. We must be alert and watchful in our walk (our lives) and stand firm in the faith (what we believe) so we are not distracted and deceived by false teachings.

Be watchful that we do not become unbelieving, unfaithful, and insecure about our faith. Pray always. God is true to His promises. Our salvation is in Him. God loves us and has redeemed us. We must continue to stand firm and be courageous in our troubles and in our lack, and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus in anticipation of His return. Be strong,.... Stand firm in the faith.

Remember daily Titus 2:11-14 "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."

Titus 2:15 "These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you."

Be Strong, Stand Firm in the Faith.

Stand Firm and Discern the Shack

Stand Firm in the Faith - has been given permission by Midwest Christian Outreach to share this article from their Journal Vol. 15 No. 1. (Don and Joy Veinot are Co-Founders of Midwest Christian Outreach, Inc. - national Apologetics Ministry and mission to New Religious Movements. (In Ministry since. 1987)
Discernment and The Shack by Gino geraci - Vol. 15 No. 1











The Shack Has generated countless comments, endless reviews, and more criticism than a presidential candidate. Long ago in his book A Call to Discernment, Dr. Jay Adams noted Christian apologist and pioneer biblical counselor, used a brilliant illustration from conservative political philosopher William F. Buckley’s book The Jeweler’s Eye:

The title is, of course, a calculated effrontery, the relic of an impromptu answer I gave once to a tenacious young interviewer who, toward the end of a very long session, asked me what opinion did I have of myself. I replied that I thought of myself as a perfectly average middle-aged American, with however, a jeweler’s eye for political truths… The jeweler knows value; that is his trade. (1)

Dr. Adams rightly pointed out that Buckley was speaking of discernment. The jeweler rightly distinguishes a common stone from a precious gem, the right mineral from the matrix and mineral, the flawed from the truly valuable. The jeweler looks at the stone and asks the questions: “What is this?” Is it valuable?” “How can it be cut in such a way to enhance beauty and create value?” Individuals in discernment ministry--people with a jeweler’s eye for historical biblical Christianity and theological truth--have stared long and hard into the rough crystal people call The Shack, by William P. Young. It looks like a diamond, but it is not; it is common quartz crystal filled with inclusions and cracks that mar whatever value it may even have had as costume jewelry.

I am an average Christian with a jeweler’s eye for biblical truth. An interesting crystal may fool a child, but it will not fool a person who handles precious stones for a living. There is a large dark spot in Young’s work of fiction; a crack runs through it; a flaw so profound that it renders the stone useless rather than priceless.

The Shack contains subtle and not-so-subtle heresies. The Shack also contains what many Bible scholars would call “aberrant” teaching. Former Professor of Theology at Denver Seminary Dr. Gordon Lewis wrote to me in a private e-mail that: Heresy is a conscious and deliberate rejection of orthodox teaching and the acceptance of contradictory views on the biblically revealed essentials of the Christian faith. (2)
In the category of aberration, Dr. Lewis writes: Unorthodox doctrine leads to aberrant behavior that wanders from the path of right action (ortho-practice) on biblically revealed moral and spiritual essentials of Christian living. Beliefs have consequence(s). [sic] (3)
I am hard-pressed to judge Young’s motives. I cannot determine his reasons for misrepresenting the God of the Bible. In The Shack, Young’s Papa character (God the Father) appears as a large, black woman.

However, I am more than happy to reveal my own motives. If someone reading this review asks: “What is motivating you to write this monograph?” My answer is : I am an ordinary, middle-aged, Christian man who is a pastor, who loves the Lord Jesus, who embraces historical biblical Christianity, who is asked by scores of people: “what do you think of this book?” “What is wrong with this book?” I have no axe to grind or score to settle. If a child finds a piece of glass washed smooth by the ocean’s tide and believes she has found a precious stone--a valuable gem--who am I to rain on her fantasy? But if the child tries to sell me that polished glass as a precious gem or attempts to swallow the glass for reasons that only a child would know; then do I have some kind of responsibility to tell the child her precious tresure is not really valuable or safe to eat?

I am not envious of Young. I must admit a deep sense of concern, because several of my Calvary Chapel pastor friends have read this book and mistaken it for a jewel. Some things are easy to write about. Some themes are timeless and valuable to Christians in every generation. Who doesn’t love devotional literature or priceless fiction saturated with Bible promises with eternal themes? We love the stories of hope; we love the stories filled with the love of God and the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation to God.

The biblical writer Jude certainly desired to write about the theme of “our common salvation” and then stopped and wrote: … I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 1:3)

Jude used the definite article the with the word faith for good reason. The term “the faith” embodies the essentials of Christianity. In their wonderful book Conviction Without Compromise, Dr. Norm Geisler (Dean of Southern Evangelical Seminary) and Dr. Ron Rhodes (Director of Reasoning From The Scriptures) outlines some of the essentials of Christianity and preface their book with the fourth-century church ather Augustine’s oft-repeated dictum:
In essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty; and in all things charity. (4)

At the top of the list under the “essentials” category, we find: God’s unity; the historic, biblical revelation of the Trinity; Christ’s deity; and Christ’s humanity. Conviction Without Compromise also includes notes about essentials; salvation essentials (the inspiration of the Bible), an interpretation essential--which means, to the authors, the historical-grammatical method of interpreting Scripture. (5)

In Essentials Unity
People who love and/or hate The Shack usually agree with the saying, “in essentials unity,” but they are hard-pressed to ask and answer the question: “Does The Shack compromise the essentials of historic biblical Christianity?” “Is this something we should ever care about or fight about?” The Apostle Jude’s admonition “to contend earnestly for the faith” must mean a vigorous defense of the truth and a willingness to divide over the truth rather than unite under the false flag of tolerance or bad theology.

Charles Spurgeon , nineteenth-century pastor of Metropolitan Tabernacle Church in London, wrote:
Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right. (6)

What is it about this book that causes otherwise discerning Christians to suspend belief, enter the story, feel spiritually uplifted and encouraged, and speak of God’s love and forgiveness with fresh perspective? The fundamental problem lies in the reader’s inability to tell the difference between what is biblically right and biblically wrong; between what is right and almost right.

Does God love us? The answer is , “Yes.” Does God forgive us in Christ? The answer is, “Yes.” Does the Bible paint a picture of the Godhead where Father, Son, and Holy Spirit carry on like some rowdy cousins, eating like gluttons, making a mess, and playing practical jokes on each other? We believe Jesus is a real human being. But we do not believe Jesus is some cartoon character. I am all about fun. But guess what? God’s ways are not our ways. Is it any wonder that thoughtful people who have read this book and it’s characterization of God have come up with terms like “blasphemous,” sacrilegious,” “loathsome,” and “irreverent?”

Does The Shack misrepresent the God of the Bible and distort, pervert, or mislead the sinner who doesn’t know God or the saint who does know God? Young presents a god who loves and forgives, but he ignores the God Who also judges, Who condemns both sin and sinners on the basis of His perfect Holiness. In my reading of The Shack, the author seems committed to a low, perhaps even disparaging, view of the Scriptures. The author seems quite content to mock the Bible.

In seminary [Mack] had been taught that God had completely stopped any overt communication with moderns, preferring to have them only listen to and follow sacred Scripture, property interpreted, of course. God’s voice had been reduced to paper, and even that paper had to be moderated and deciphered by the proper authorities and intellects. It seemed that direct communication with God was something exclusively for the ancients and uncivilized, while educated Westerners’ access to God was mediated and controlled by the intelligentsia. Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book. Especially an expensive one bound in leather with gilt edges, or was that guilt edges. (7)

There is a theme in The Shack: When asked questions about the Bible, characters in the bible, or events in the bible, Young’s Papa character is almost glib and condescending; and the character goes on to explain how things really are.

At GotQuestions.org under, “What is Got Questions.org’s review of The Shack by William P. Young, “ the author wisely notes:

If one is to teach error, it is important to do away with Scripture, either by adding to it (Mormonism), mistranslating it (Jehovah’s Witnesses) or simply mocking it (The Shack and some others in the “emergent church”). (8)

If hard-pressed, both Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses would tell you that they love and honor the Bible--for the Mormons: “as far as it is correctly translated,” (LDS Eighth Article of Faith) and for the Jehovah’s Witnesses: “As everyone knows, there are mistakes in the Bible…” (WATCHTOWER, 04/15/28, P. 126) AND “…the Bible cannot be properly understood without Jehovah’s visible organization [the WTBTS] in mind.” (WATCHTOWER, 10/01/67, p. 587).

What is Young’s view of the Bible? He seems to distance himself from the biblical themes, images, and concepts found in the Bible.

Does The Shack claim to teach about the God of the Bible? Musician/songwriter Michael W. Smith seems to think so when he writes: “My wife and I laughed, cried, and repented of our own lack of faith along the way. THE SHACK will leave you craving for the presence of God.” (9)

The Shack is not really a parable--an earthly story that represents a heavenly truth. The Shack is more of an allegory--an attempt to use literary devices to represent and communicate generalizations and /or truths--in this case alleged truths about God, truths about forgiveness, truths about the nature of pain and suffering.

A Brief Summation of The Shack The Shack seems to be a book people either love or hate. I have not met too many people who have read the book with detached ambivalence. Christian author and blogger Tim Challies rightly points out:

The book is all about the content and about the teaching it contains. The book’s reviews focus not on the quality of the story but on its spiritual and emotional impact. (10)

The Shack has been called a modern parable, Eugene Peterson, author of the very controversial Bible paraphrase The Message, went so far as to write:
This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good! (11)

Is the book “that good?” Not really. It fails the elementary literature tests (great story, memorable characters, and timeless truths.) Pilgrim’s Progress is a book soaked and saturated in Scriptures and contains timeless biblical themes and truths. Does it not seem that to the “jeweler’s eye,” comparing The Shack with Pilgrim’s Progress is a bit like comparing worthless colored glass beads with precious, costly diamonds?

The Shack’s story revolves around the main character Mack (Mackenzie) Phillips. Mack’s daughter Missy is abducted and killed by a serial killer while on a family vacation. The story painfully unfolds, and we are taken to a shack were evidence of foul play exists. Mack receives a mysterious note from Papa. “Papa” is the affectionate term Mack’s wife uses for God the Father. The pain and tragic loss of their daughter is simply called Mack’s “Great Sadness.”

Through a series of events, Mack finds himself back at the shack--the scene of the crime--and has a supernatural encounter with three figures: Papa, Jesus, and a character called Sarayu. The author has the main character Mack embark on an emotional, psychological and theological journey.

The problem critics have with the book is not simply the journey, but the misrepresentations of God, the Godhead, the Trinity, revelation and forgiveness. The people who have expressed gratitude and joy over the book seem unaffected by its blatant misrepresentations of God; but rather, they sympathize and identify with the character’s fictional journey of pain, understanding, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
One would have to be pretty hard-hearted not to feel some sympathy for a man whose daughter is kidnapped and brutally murdered. Like Job in the Old Testament, Mack goes through a series of questions and answers designed to answer the problems of the presence of evil, the relationship of God to man; and the issues of forgiveness and hope. But unlike Job, Mack does not have an encounter with the God of the Bible.

Young, in a sermon he delivered at Crossroads Church in Denver, suggested he would like his book made into a movie. I have some ideas and suggestions for the main cast of characters which I have drawn from media and popular culture:

* Mackenzie Allen Phillips: David Duchavney (Fox “Spooky” Mulder from the X-Files)
* Papa: Oprah Winfrey (still struggling with her weight) or Della Reese
* Jesus: Dr. Phil (with an appropriate hair piece and a nose prosthesis’
* Sarayu: Lucy Lui (dressed in gossamer, looking kind of like an Asian fairy), Sarayu is Sancrit for Wind, but its roots means to flow, and it is the name of a river in India.

Years ago, A.W. Tozer (The Christian Missionary and Alliance pastor of the last century) warned of what he called:

…a new decalogue adopted by the neo-Christians of our day, the first word of which reads “Thou shalt not disagree,” and a new set of Beatitudes too, which begins “Blessed are they that tolerate everything, for they shall not be made accountable for anything.” (12)

Tozer pointed out:
It is now the accepted thing to talk over religious differences in public with the understanding that no one will try to convert another or point out errors in his belief. Imagine Moses agreeing to take part in a panel discussion with Israel over the golden calf, or Elijah engaging in a gentlemanly dialogue with the prophets of Baal.” (13)

The author of The Shack doesn’t seem to be too interested in addressing the criticisms brought by defenders of historic, biblical Christianity.

What you are about to read is something that Mack and I have struggled with for many months to put into words. It’s a little, well…no, it is a lot on the fantastic side. Whether some parts of it are actually true or not, I won’t be the judge. Suffice it to say that while some things may not be scientifically provable, they can be still true nonetheless. (14)

The author then offers a couple of disclaimers:
…if you happen upon this story and hate it,…Sorry…but it wasn’t primarily written for you. Then again, maybe it was. (15)

What are we to believe or not believe? Was the story written for you or not? If you hate the story, the story is for you; if you love the story, the story is for you (-S+Y and +S=Y?)
And they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Timothy 4:4)’

Cathy Lynn Grossman, of USA Today, writes: “As for critics, he [Young] shakes his head.” Grossman quotes the author of The Shack:
* I don’t want to enter the Ultimate Fighting ring and duke it out in a cage-match with dogmatists. I have no need to knock churches down or pull people out.

* I have a lot of freedom by knowing that you really experience God in relationships. Wherever you are. It’s fluid and dynamic, not cemented into an institution with a concrete foundation.
But it’s not about me. I have everything that matters, a free and open life full of love and empty of all secrets. (16)

Young claims he has “a free and open life full of love and empty of all secrets.” He leaves me with the impression that he elevates his own personal experience over the revelation of God in the Bible. Is that a problem? I believe the Bible teaches we can experience God in life-giving and life-sustaining relationships. I don’t believe our experience informs our theology, but rather, our theology informs our experience.

Young also makes the claim he doesn’t want “to enter the Ultimate Fighting ring,” but yet, he has challenged historic, biblical Christianity. Musician/songwriter Jim Croce warned in his hit tune from the 70’s : “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape; you don’t spit into the wind; you don’t pull the mask of the Lone Ranger,” If those constitute risky behaviors, how much more is it to misrepresent the Bible’s revelation of God? And there’s the rub. The author doesn’t seem to either know or care that he is misrepresenting the bible’s truth about God. Young has made repeated public comments on radio, television, newspaper, and internet about the critics who he deems are heavily invested in a God Who also encompasses wrath or judgment. Somehow the god of The Shack is mistaken as more kind and more understanding than the God of the Bible. However, justice is not antithetical to kindness.
I have had the privilege of working with law-enforcement officials and their families. In the F.B.I. if you pull a gun on a federal agent, you are pulling a gun on every federal agent. And if follows that when you threaten a marine, you threaten every marine. If you threaten an American citizen, you threaten every American citizen.

When you dismiss the historic,, biblical view of God, Jesus, and the Trinity; when you reject the bible’s clear revelation; when you downplay the Scripture’s teachings at the expense of personal experience, when you redefine the central message of salvation as being something other than the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary (salvation is not psycho-babble, no matter how “good” it sounds); when you redefine redemption; when you portray God in a way inconsistent with the Revelation of God of the bible; when you redefine the roles and hierarchy within the Godhead; when you leave the reader with the impression that you believe in Universalism* but privately or from pulpits affirm the exclusivity of Jesus; you are going to create misunderstandings. And for the person who cares about truth, for the person who sees himself or herself not as some sort of dogmatist, but rather, as a person in love with the revelation of God the revelation God has provided about Himself given in the Bible, The Shack constitutes a threat.
Misrepresentations In The Shack
Young doesn’t seem interested in defending his warped and weird views of God including the nature of the Trinity or his heretical views of patripassianism and subordinationism. These may seem scary terms to some, but a couple of definitions may help.

Patripassianism is a form of modalism--the teaching that there is only one God yet appears in three different modes or manifestations (as opposed to the orthodox teaching that there is only one God Who eternally and equally co-exists in three persons). Patripassianism comes from the Latin, and means the father suffers. The term refers to the teaching that God the Father suffers on the cross as Son--since according to this false view, the two are different modes or manifestations of the same person.
At one point, Mack notices:
…scars in (Papa’s) wrists, like those he now assumed Jesus also had on his, (18) And later Papa says:
When we three spoke ourself [sic] into human existence as the Son of God, we became fully human. We also choose to embrace all the limitations that this entailed. Even through we have always been present in this created universe, we now became flesh and blood. (19)

No, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit did not speak themselves into human existence; but rather, only the Son became fully human (John 1:14). The Bible reveals that Jesus is one person with two natures: fully God and Fully human. The Father is not the Son and does not have a human nature; the Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son and does not have and never will have a human nature.
Norm Geisler rightly and soundly points out The Shack contains a heretical view of the Father suffering. Geisler points out that patripassianism was condemned by the Nicene Council (A.D. 325) and the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451). At issue or at stake is the notion that God changes, Dr. Geisler notes:

Suffering is a form of change, and the Bible makes it very clear that God cannot change. “I the LORD change not” (Mal. 3:6). “THERE IS NO SHADOW OF CHANGE WITH Him” (James 1:17). When all else changes, God “remains the same” (Heb. 1:10-12) (20)

Do The Shack and it’s author paint a picture of a God who changes? In what way does God change? The flood gates of heresy open (I.e. open view or neo-theism--the idea that God does not fully know or determine the future). If God can change, then the revelation of the bible is false. If God can change in any way, can God change in every way?

Young’s character has God the Father as well as God the Son “suffering” thus confusing the nature of God:
“Haven’t you seen the wounds on Papa [God the Father] too? “ I didn’t understand them. “How could he ….” for love. He choose the way of the cross…because of love.” (21)

According to Young’s characterization, the way God changes is God changes out of love; God is willing to change, able to change, “to get inside your stuff” (Crossroads Church audio file). If God is willing to change, motivated by love to get inside your stuff, then according to Young, the change God proposes must be good (an improvement in His flawed original plan? ). Right? Wrong. In reality, the nature of God and the plan of God are perfect. If the nature of God changes and/or if the plan of God changes, that is an indictment against the fundamental nature and/or character of God changes is heresy.
For some reason, perhaps for several reasons, those who love The Shack embrace the notion that God, indeed, does change! The Shack offers a shiny, glass pebble of psychological relief for the human heart and invites the reader to embrace a god who changes-so you don’t have to. For those who “love” The Shack, they are invited to embrace a god who allegedly changes-who changes because of (Young’s redefinition of) love in order “to get inside your stuff.”
God doesn’t change! The cross of Jesus does reveal the love of God-the love of an already perfect, unchanging God. Jesus came to die to absorb the wrath of God, to please His heavenly Father, to learn obedience and fulfill God’s perfect plan; to achieve His own Resurrection from the dead. If you think the Bible doesn’t contain enough reasons to declare God’s love, perhaps reading well know Christian author and pastor, John Piper’s book Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die would be helpful. (22)

Young defends his position by appealing to 2 Corinthians 5:19. “That God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself;” with the net result that the reader is left with the impression that Young’s view is some kind of modified form of Universalism. In Young’s faulty analysis and interpretation of 2 Corinthians 5:19, God the Father is literally present (in some unknown way) in Christ-suffering, even experiencing the roman nails, and taking on permanent wounds-visible, tangible, real. But for purposes of discussion, let’s suppose that Young does not mean real, physical, and tangible, but rather, he means in some sense metaphorical or allegorical. Is the net result a God who changes?

The Apostle Paul is convinced that God the Father was by means of Jesus’ death on the cross reconciling the world to Himself, and He was not coexisting or taking on an additional nature or experiencing ontological change with Jesus. Tozer writes;
For a moral being to change it would be necessary that the change be in one of three directions. He must go from better to worse or from worse to better; or granted that the moral quality remain stable, he must change within himself, as from immature to mature or from one order of being to another. It should be clear that God can move in none of these directions. His perfections forever rule out any such possibility. (23)
He then continues:
God cannot change for the better. Since He is perfectly holy, He has never been less holy than He is now and can never be holier than He is and has always been. Neither can God change for the worse. Any deterioration within the unspeakably holy nature of God is impossible. Indeed, I believe it impossible even to think of such a thing, for the moment we attempt to do so, the object about which we are thinking is no longer God but something else and someone less than He. The one of whom we are thinking may be a great and awesome creature, but because he is a creature he cannot be the self-existent Creator. (24)

Subordinationism is a heretical teaching proposing that any One of the Trinity is lesser in rank or dignity than others. In contrast, although there is no autonomous Person of the Trinity-none who is God apart from any other Person-yet each Person is autotheos ( “God in and of Himself).
Gender Bender God
Tim Challies cites from Old Testament Theology by Bruce Waltke (one of the leading Old Testament scholars in the world) where Waltke argues that both representation and misrepresentation matter:

God, who is over all, represents himself by masculine names and titles, not feminine ones. He identifies himself as Father, Son, and Spirit, not Parent, Child, and Spirit, not Mother, Daughter, and Spirit. Jesus taught his church to address God as “Father” (Luke 11:2) and to baptize disciples “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19). God’s titles and King, not Queen; Lord, not Lady. God, not mortals, has the right to name himself. It is inexcusable hubris and idolatry on the part of mortals to change the images by which the eternal God chooses to represent himself. We cannot change God’s names, titles, or metaphors, without committing idolatry, for we will have re-imagined him in a way other than the metaphors and the incarnation by which he revealed himself. His representations and incarnations are inseparable from his being. (25)

Young has “re-imagined” God in The Shack. What Waltke rightly calls “inexcusable hubris and idolatry” becomes excusable and laughable to Young who presents a god who gives the book’s main character greens that may give him the runs. The inexcusable becomes excusable as Young has the character Papa explain the mystery:

Mackenzie, I am neither male nor female, even though both genders are derived fro my nature. If I choose to appear [emphasis in the original] to you as a man or woman, it’s because I love you. For me to appear to you as a woman and suggest you call me Papa is simply to mix metaphors, to help you keep from falling so easily back into your religious conditioning. (26)

Theologians concede that God is neither male nor female; but they would be hard-pressed to accept that God communicates his nature by mixing ,metaphors “to help” people “from falling back” into “religious conditioning.” Is the Bible’s revelation of God “religious conditioning or does Young’s god need to “mix metaphors” to promote this product of Young’s own imagination?
Is Young sympathetic to the person who imagines his own failed father as the Heavenly Father; and rather than give God a bum rap, he abandons the biblical revelation of God for a psychological accommodation to help re-imagine a loving God?

Young leaves the reader (at least this reader) with the impression that his father failed him on many levels. Was Young’s father emotionally unavailable, cold, and distant? Does it really help to re-imagine God as a non-threatening black woman to compensate for his own view of God?

Non-Essentials In The Shack
Dr. Albert Mahler (President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) says; “This book includes undiluted heresy.” # Although I agree with my friend Dr. Mohler, I would also point out the book contains some fairly diluted heresy as well. (27)

The diluted heresies in The Shack remind me of how heroin and cocaine dealers would “stomp” on their products-dilute and divide them--so they could get the most bang for their buck. Heresy in large does can kill the host; but heresy divided and diluted attempts to get the user high without killing the host. The Shack does an excellent job of masking the heresies and all the while giving the reader a psychological buzz by presenting a ”God” filled with unconditional love and short on Judgment.

The popularity of The Shack lies in it’s ability to share some facets of the good news without pointing out the bad news. The cross of Jesus is barely mentioned. A fairly large amount of time is devoted to God’s love and God’s affection, but God’s holiness and righteousness is largely ignored.
The Shack certainly presents Jesus as God and Man. Yet, the Jesus of the Shack embraces the false teaching made popular by John Wimber, and others, that Jesus performed miracles only as a man filled with the Holy Spirit in submission to the Father, thus denying the bible’s teaching of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ.

He [Jesus] has never drawn upon his nature as God to do anything. He has only lived out of his relationship with me [Papa, living in the very same manner that I desire to be in relationship with every human being. He is just to do it to the uttermost-the first to absolutely trust my life within him, the first to believe in my love and my appearance without regard for appearance and consequence. (28)

The author has his (god) character say some things completely inconsistent with the revelation of Scripture. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus, and by Jesus all things consist (see Col1:16-17). Subordinationism reduces the Second Person of the Trinity in rank by implying that His human nature places Him with less glory, dignity, or honor. The Scriptures teach and orthodox Christianity has always affirmed, that the person in the Godhead are equal in essence.

Young makes additional statements that suggest that hierarchy and authority within the Godhead simply don’t exist, and that hierarchy and authority are the result of sin. Once again, Young has his (god) character Papa say: Mackenzie, we have no concept of final authority among us, only unity. We are in a circle of relationship, not a chain of command or “great chain of being” as your ancestors termed it. What you’re seeing here is relationship without any overlay of power. We don’t need power over the other because ‘we are always looking out for the best. Hierarchy would make no sense among us. (29)

What makes no sense to Young’s character makes perfect sense to the God of the bible. The Scriptures reveal both authority and hierarchy within the Godhead. Jesus is sent by the Father; Jesus obeys the Father; the Holy Spirit obeys both Father and Son (John 14:26; John 15:26). The obedience and submission within the Godhead are not the result of sin, but rather, the revelation of the Scriptures concerning perfect love demonstrated in the way the Father relates to the Son and the way both the Father and the Son relate to the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Paul writes: But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the lead of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Cor. 11:3) Paul also warned Timothy:
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies, in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” ( 1Timothy 4:1-3) But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. (1 Timothy 4:7)
Young’s Jesus character informs Mack that Papa and Saayu are: …indeed submitted to one another and have always been so and always will be…In fact, we [read Trinity} are submitted to you [Mack} in the same way. (30)

What? In what way? In a conditional or unconditional way? Why then did Jesus submit Himself to the Father? Why did Jesus say, “Not My will, but Thy will be done?” (Luke 22:42) Does the Bible teach submission to authority in spiritual and family and government matters? What do you think Young means? I believe Young is projecting his own anti-authority sentiments, and that includes Young’s unwillingness to accept the authority of the Bible. According to Young, God is an extreme egalitarian.

Papa asks Mack to forgive the murderer of his daughter, Papa says: Mack, for you to forgive this man is for you to release him to me and allow me to redeem him. (31)

What in the world does that mean? Is God only free to redeem people who have been forgiven by their human victims? Does this mean we can have no expectation of repentance, even through the Bible says, “If your brother sins against you, rebuke him, and if he repents forgive him” (Luke 17:3-5) ? What about the Jesus character saying: I am the best way any human can relate to Papa or Sarayu.” (32)

However, the true Jesus of the bible says: I am the way, the truth, the life. (John 14:6, emphasis mine) Are there other “ways”-less ways, less then best ways, average ways, next-to-best ways-still possible? Why does the Jesus character hold out the false hope that these might be another way for the reader?

In All things Charity
Challies has an excellent review posted on his web site (www.challies.com) He writes:
Despite the great amount of poor theology, my greatest concern is probably this one: the book has a quietly subversive quality to it. Young seems set on undermining orthodox Christianity. For example, at one point Mack states that, despite years of seminary and years of being a Christian, most of the things taught to him at the shack have never occurred to him before. Later he says, “I understand what you’re saying. I did that for years after seminary. I had the right answers, sometimes, but I didn’t know you. This weekend, sharing life with you has been far more illuminating that any of those answers.

An Idiot’s Guide To Basic Bible Discernment
Robert M. Bowman, Jr. (Christian author and apologist) wrote an excellent book titled; Orthodoxy and Heresy. There is a chapter in the book titled, “Judging Others-is it Always Wrong?” The chapter begins with a discussion of when judging is wrong. Bowman explains we are to avoid hypocritical judgments. Hypocritical judgments are not bad because they are false-the judgment itself may be true. They are bad because they are given in a spirit of self-righteousness, absent is self-scrutiny. Hypocritical judgments result in judgment for the hypocrite. We are to avoid presumptuous judgments. Bowman rightly points out , “There are some matters on which human beings simply are not competent to judge.” (33) I believe we are not competent to judge if Young is saved or not saved.

Bowman also points out that another sort of presumptuous judgment is taking a non-essential matter and making it the litmus test regarding Christian fellowship. In the Bible, the Apostle Paul warns about this by citing the misapplication of dietary restrictions and feast days as matters for Christian fellowship. Does embracing or rejecting the content of Young’s book constitute an essential of the faith?

Bowman then points out in chapter 3, “When Judging is Right.”
Judging truth from error and good from evil.
Judging unrepentant sinners in the church.
Judging teachers of false versions of Christianity. (34)
Bowman also points out in chapter 6, “It’s Not Always Black or White.”
“It is helpful to speak of religious doctrines which undermine or are in tension with a group’s orthodox beliefs as aberrational or aberrant,. Holding such aberrational views is a serious problem, and those who do so must be considered as being in serious sin and should be treated accordingly. Specifically, those advocating such errors should not be allowed to teach or minister in the church, and those refusing to keep such aberrant views to themselves should be excommunicated. (35)

He continues and says:
The charge that a person’s or group’s beliefs are aberrational is a serious one that cannot be made easily. It is arguable that at one level any incorrect belief is at tension with or undermines orthodox beliefs. By aberrational, however I am referring only to false beliefs which do serious damage to the integrity of an orthodox confession of faith. (36)

Conclusion One person named Michael Burton posted this in the review section of Amazon.com:
Upon sober reflection, perhaps you will discern that this IS an amazing book and THE book for you if, and only if..
You want to recreate God in your own image;
You find Isaiah’s portrayal of a holy God seated upon His throne to be a disturbing image;
You would prefer to metaphorically cast God the Father as a loving and large black woman named “Papa” Jesus as a laid back and friendly Middle Eastern man, and the Holy Spirit as a calm and cool Asian woman;
You want a God so small that you and she/he/she can just hang out as best buddies;
You regard the Bible as an extremely biased , narrowminded and insufficient revelation of God in leather binding with “guilt edges” (p. 65);
You therefore believe that God talks to people today, and that whatever she or he says to people trumps biblical truth (p.66);
You believe that God is never to be feared (p.90);
You believe that Jesus’ miracles do not affirm Him as God, but prove only “that Jesus is truly human” (p. 99)
You want a God who does not hold people accountable for, nor punishes sin (p. 119);
You want a God who does not demand that you submit to him or her, but one who submits to YOU (p.145)
You want a God who accepts everyone-“Buddhists…Muslims, bankers and bookies-as his or her children no matter what their beliefs or behavior, and that Jesus has “no desire to make them Christian”. (p.223);
You believe that Jesus lied when He warned, “Broad is the road that leads to destruction”. (Matt. 7:13), because in the Shack Jesus says, “Most roads don’t lead anywhere” (p.182)
Young has said he never meant for those quotes in his book to mean he believes in Universalism. He has said his critics are too deeply invested in a God of Judgment to read his book in the spirit in which it was written.

The confusion and misunderstanding might go away if Young would affirm historic, biblical belief. Creedal theology does service a purpose in that we don’t “play telephone” with doctrine. Statements of faith have real value.

One of the great challenges any writer faces is to write in such a way that his core message is understood. What is the core message of The Shack? I have read the book twice-once quickly and once carefully.

The core message of The Shack seems to be; Nearly 2,000 years of historic, biblical Christianity has had it all wrong-well, maybe not all wrong. Yes, there is a God; and that god is a God of unconditional love. Nevertheless, Young contends that God may not be as angry with sin as He has described in His Word-the Bible; and there probably is some sort of universal forgiveness that results in the ultimate redemption of all mankind. Does Young assume the Bible has a lot of great stories, characters, beliefs, concepts, and doctrines; but hey, human experience is at least as important? Yes, the god of the bible reveals Himself in Trinity, but Young’s book presents his Trinity as just a modified form of modalism very similar to that of Oneness Pentecostals. So, if you want genuine and profound healing from trauma and /or abuse and you desire true and lasting answers to life’s deeper questions, The Shack offers more psycho-babble than hope.
Young has fashioned a fictional vehicle to re-create and experience a god (because this god is not the God of revelation, but rather Young’s imagination) who: “…is the ground of all being, dwell in, around and through all things.” (38)

Young confuses a transcendent God-Who is greater than and exists above and independent of creation-with a pantheistic god-a god ho is a part of, but not all of this world.

What does the author really believe about God? What does the author really believe about Universalism? Over and over again we are presented with Young’s character saying the most outrageous things. For example, Papa says to Mack: We [the Trinity] have limited ourselves out of respect for you.” (39)

Really? The Creator-God, limits Himself out of respect for created beings? - limits Himself in order to entertain and engage them? But, the god of the bible refuses to limit Himself, choosing rather to enlighten us by saying; “For My thoughts [are] not your thoughts, Nor [are] your ways My ways,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 55:8) Sarayu (Young’s Holy Spirit character) says to Mack: Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to Light and Good; they do not have actual existence… (40)

Is that what the Bible teaches? How did the Jesus of the Bible get it so utterly wrong attributing His temptations in the desert to the evil Devil and speaking to him as well? (See Luke 4:1-13.)

Young’s character Papa bloviates; I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is it’s own punishment, devouring you fro the inside. It is not my purpose to punish it; but to cure it. (41)

We know there are consequences of sin, both temporal and eternal. How does the god of the bible cure sin? Jesus dies on the cross. How does the god of The Shack cure sin? Papa’s statement is that the punishment for sin is the punishment we receive in this life. The punishment in the bible for the unredeemed is a Christ-less eternity in Hell.

The Shack neither visits, nor explains, nor expands the Biblical view of the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross. The God of the Shack doesn’t seem to hate sin (only in as much as it hurts someone in the here and the now); doesn’t require sinners to repent; and fails to explain the nature of conversion or what constitutes Biblical conversion or salvation. The Shack is not a precious gem, but a broken piece of glass that should be labeled: “Harmful if Swallowed”
* Universalism is the false belief that all will be saved. Scripture quotations are from the New King James Versions.

Endnotes:
1. Adam, Jay A Call to Discernment Eugene, OR Harvest House Pub.
2. Lewis, Gordon 2008, Heresy and Abberrat Conduct 8 November. Private emial correspondence with Gino Geraci.
3.lbid
4. Geisler, Norm and Rhondes, Convictions without Compromise Eugene, OR Harvest House Pub. 2008
5. lbid
6. Elliott, Wayne, shack attack - Or a Call to Discernment? [online] http://www.hereiblog.com/
7. http://www.gotquestions.org/The-Shack-review.htm
8. Houndmann, S. Michael , 2008 'What is Got Questions. org's reiew of The Shack by William P. Young? [online] http://gotquestions.org/The-Shack-review.html (accessed on 11 October 2008)
9. Smith, Michael W. back cover of The Shack, Newbury Park, CA ; Wndblown Media, 2007
10. Challies, Tim A Reader's Review of The Shack [online]
11. Peterson, Eurgene back cover of The Shack
12. Tozer, A.W. , Gems from Tozer selections rom the Writings of A.W. Tozer Wing Spread Publishers, 1980 47-48
13. lbid, 47-48
14. Young, op. cit, 12.
15. lbid., 13
16. Grossman, Cathy Lynn 2008 'Shack opens doors but critics call book 'scripturally incorrect' [online] http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-05-28-the-shack-N.htm (accessed on 12 November 2008)
17. Challies, op. cit
18. Young, op.cit., 96
19. lbid,. 99
20. Norman Geisler, http://normgeisler.com/
21. Young, op, cit., 165
22. Piper, John Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die, Wheaton, IL. Crossway books 2006
23. Tozer, A.W. The Knowledge of the Holy, HarperCollins Pub. 1961; 49
24. lbid,. 49
25. Challies, op. cit
26. Young op cit , 93
27. Mohler , Dr Albert 2008 Radio Broadcast - Encore Presentation, April 11, 2008 http://www.albertmohler.com/
28. Young, op.cit, 99-100
29. lbid,. 122
30. lbid, 145
31. lbid., 224
32. lbid., 109
33. Bowman, Robert M. Jr. Orthodoxy and Heresy, Grand Rapids; Baker Book House, 1992 - 29-30
34. lbid,. 30-32
35. lbid, 53
36 lbid., 53
37. Burton, Michael , 2007, Customer Review [online] http://www.amazon.com/review/R2lQLK8MCPWZLJ (accessed on 12 November 2008)
38. Young, op. cit., 112
39. lbid . 106
40. lbid 136
41. ibid., 119

Midwest Christian Outreach - http://www.midwestoutreach.org

Support Discernment Ministries International

It is important in these financially tough times for Christians to Stand Firm and not neglect to supporting much needed discernment ministries. These ministries clearly defend the doctrines of our faith and define and expose errors in false teachings that are causing confusion for thousands of believers. They put this information in their newsletters and on their on-line websites that are helpful to the body of Christ.

Pastors and laymen alike, benefit from these articles and websites. This information is a great blessing for Christians that may have loved ones ensnared in false teachings and need to have and share their exceptional information and websites with those they know. Without financial support these ministries can not continue to produce newsletters and the minimal amount needed for operating cost. The bible tells us: We are to support those in the work. ( 1 Corth 9:7)

Please consider supporting the ministry of DMI. Recently their website has gone down and needs to get back up on the Internet. The Website and articles are a great resouces and valuable information that needs to remain on the internet, so please consider supporting their work.

Rev. Robert Liichow has been faithful in defending the gospel in his ministry and apologetic work for more then 15 years. He is an author, researcher, and conference speaker and has spoken on numerous radio programs such as ' issues etc'. You can send your prayers and support to: P.O. Box 15639, Detroit, Michigan 48215

You can Stand Firm on God's Word

Many believers today don't fully acknowledge the bible is the sufficient truth. But if you are a bible-believing Christian then you know that the Scripture is the final authority in testing all things. 1 Thess 5:21,22.  In the Bible we find our hope, our doctrine, and where our faith is built and established, and how we learn to know our Savior and Redeemer - Jesus Christ. We have every reason to Stand Firm on the Truths presented in the Bible - God's Word.

This Foundation is so sure, that in the book of Jude it says - that we are to contend earnestly for the Faith. The Faith that is complete! and has been perserved and stands true for all times. As Jude 3 says: "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing tht you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints."

We are to respect the scriptures and defend it, contending for the truth. If your Pastor truly stands on the word and knows Christ, he will teach you to honor the Lord's words over his own or others. He will be available to instruct, and use the scripture in his conversation and pray with you, and he will build you up in the word and equip you for the work of service. Eph. 4:12

One obvious mark of a false teacher is that he elevates himself, his ideas, and opinions, and fails to deliver a biblical example in his actions. Yes, he may use the bible in his sermons, but do you discern the interpretation given to you? In Acts 17:11 it says: "Now these were more noble-minded then those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with much eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so". These Christians were praised for testing the teaching not scorned as being troublesome.

We are not to follow anyone except the Lord Jesus Christ. Respect your teachers, yes, that is right in the Lord, but do not elevate them in such a way as to ignore the clear written word of God. We're not to follow teachers, Pastors, or Televangelists, or even a Christian author's voice and writings above the scriptures. Many times they can help our growth in the Christian life, but never should they replace our study of Scripture and our loyalty and faithfulness to Christ. We are to follow the Chief Shepherd.

In John 10:27 Jesus said; "My Sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater then all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."

As Christians we are to use discernment to know who is speaking, and what is being taught - is the bible being rightly interpreted? But throughout history there has always been false prophets and false teachings, that is why we are warned in 1 John 4:1 to test the spirits ourselves --to see if what they are saying aligns with the Word of God. It teaches us; "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

We are to test the teachers to the Word of God - that's the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation - that's all of it. We are to hold scripture higher then our teachers. The believers in the book of Acts were not scorned for testing Paul's teachings and neither should we as we test our teachers to the Word. In 2 Timothy 3:16 it says; "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;"

But anyone who has walked with Christ by knowing Him through the bible, will realize the great blessing of the Authority of God's word.

But if you are around professing believers who have a low view of scripture, but tend to follow the latest 'new interpretations' and 'words' that are popular among the crowds - it's possible you will never be able to distinguish a false teacher - (Matt 7:15,16) from a true biblical teacher.

The next time someone passes on a CD teaching, or recommends a conference, or passes on a book to you - saying 'You gotta read this! THINK...and REMEMBER... Test it to Scripture, look up the verses that are being used, and see if the Scripture is being used in it's context and proper meaning. Don't just trust popularity or reputation of a teacher, test the teachings by the Bible.

Because the voice of truth which is the Word of God may not be as important to you as it should if you are unwilling to test your teachers. That is how people get lead astray within the Church. Remember the warnings given from Acts 20:32 where Paul warned that "Savage wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock, teaching perverse things to draw away disciples unto themselves."

Remember how important Jesus placed the Scriptures in His high priestly prayer and what He said in John 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth, Your word is truth". Ask yourself today if you stand firm on the scriptures and it's teachings alone.

The Faithful Stand Firm

We are all challenged by life's trials and troubles as believers. Difficult times present themselves, and sometimes hard decisions must be made. But we must stand firm when it is the right thing to do. We must stand firm in our faith when we encounter blatant sin and corruption, we must decide what to do in our faithfulness to Christ. We cannot afford to be stumbled by the schemes of the devil.

We find our answers in the bible, and pray asking God to help us. It is all the wisdom we need for life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3 Embracing that truth will bring us peace and assures us the confidence we need in the battle and in the storms of life.

When someone gets stumbled and confused, it is by listening to men and their opinions without consulting God's word. Making their words and actions significant over scripture is a foolish way to walk out our faith. Hebrews 12:2 admonishes us to 'keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

There are times in life that we must do the right thing. You must determine your course of action based on the bible and examine your own conscience. Don't settle for compromise. Stand firm. During times of persecution and trials it is more important then ever to stand firm in obedience to Christ. Remembering Jesus' words in Matt 5:10,11 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me."

Don't give in when bullied , or give up because of antagonism by those who oppose the truth, show your alligence and faithfulness to Christ and He has promised to always be faithful and bless you.

Regardless what the enemy of our faith does, we stand firm, standing with courage, not in our own strength, but in the strength of the Lord. Secure in the righteousness of Christ. It is our breastplate of protection. Ephesians 6:14 "Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. "

Stand Firm and Trust God

God Alone a Refuge From Treachery and Oppression


Psalm 62

My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him is my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.

How long will you assail a man,
that you may murder him, all of you,
Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

They have counseled only to thrust him down
from his high position;
They delight in falsehood;
They bless with their mouth,
But inwardly they curse.

My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.

On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.

Men of low degree are only vanity
and men of rank are a lie;
In the balances they go up;
They are together lighter than breath.

Do not trust in oppression
And do not vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.

Once God has spoken;
Twice I have heard this;
That power belongs to God;
And lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord,
For You recompense a man according to his work.

Stand Firm in the Faith and test the spirits

Ephesians 6:10 -17"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, Having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace; in addition to all, take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take up the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God."

The only way for Christians to stand Firm in the Faith is to be solidly grounded in the Word of God - The Bible.  God's Word never changes, it is the same yesterday, today and forever. Don't be fooled by unbiblical teachings that come from false teachers. More then ever Christians need to cling to the sufficiency of Scripture. We need to be spiritually fit to enter the battle. The above Scripture from Ephesians tells us what we will need to put on to be victorious in that battle. This armor protects us from the enemy of our faith from false teaching and deception. Choose your teachers wisely ! Remember what the Scriptures tell you:

1 John 4:1
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false Prophets have gone out into the world."

Many are claiming that love is the highest and only truth in scripture, but this passage is proof that it is not. There is a biblical and doctrinal test for discerning the spirits, so we are instructed from 1 John 4:1 not to believe every spirit. The doctrinal test is found in 1 John 4:1-6

Verse 5,6 "They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. "

As believers in Christ we are told from Scripture to obey sound doctrine. (Matt 24:11, 2 Peter 2:2, and Jude 3.) There are stern warnings from the Bible against false doctrine. The wise and discerning Christian does well to pay attention to this instruction in these perilous times.

Standing Firm in Adversity

Where is our faith during times of adversity, and how do we stand firm in our faith when trials and sufferings come. Suffering is a part of life. Everyone goes through some sort of suffering and adversities in their lives at one time or another, and no one is immune from it. Some go through more suffering then others. Job 5:7 says; "Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward". It doesn't matter if you are a Christian or non-christian - all people suffer in this life. There are sorrows, pressures, need, loneliness, hunger, trials, unpopularity, physical pain, loss, disappointment.

Through these times in our life, we must Stand Firm in our Faith in Christ. God's promises are in the Scriptures to fortify the believer through times of trials, sufferings, and adversity. Our God is merciful and the Holy Spirit has been given to the believer to comfort us, and help us pray as we turn to Him in humility He strengthens us in our circumstances. Our standing in Christ is a firm foundation when times of trouble come.

We can deal with adversity and sufferings through our attitudes. But sometimes we can become distracted by our sufferings and lose site of God's call on our lives, and God's eternal purpose in all things. We must remind ourselves as Romans 8:28,29 says; "And all things work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the first born among many brethren;" This is where Faith works it's greatest effect in our lives. By Faith we trust God that their is a higher good God is working.

For those who are in ministry positions, Christians should remember to pray for these ones who are devoted to serve the Lord. Pastors, teachers, missionary workers, apologists and those who witness for Christ, especially those on the internet, need to be guarded by divine power. Those who are on the front lines need special prayer, remember those you know today in your prayers.

We may suffer only temporarily or we may suffer all our lives. The end result is that we all look forward to - is being with the Lord in Heaven. Those thoughts will put all things into proper perspective. No where in the Bible does it say that a Christian is exempt from tribulations and troubles. Sometimes God permits suffering as Paul says in Philippians 1:29 "For to you it has been granted for Christ sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake," We need to stay faithful during adversity, He is more then able to see us through.

Sometimes God may permit suffering - to speak through our lives as a testimony to comfort others. God might be using your suffering to inspire and strengthen others. Those of us that are enduring adversities can identify and sympathize with others in ways we have ourselves been comforted in Christ. This scripture gives reinforcement in our confidence of this fact -2 Corinthians 1:3,4, says; "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

So in the midst of suffering what is it that we learn, how is God glorified? The bible helps give us the answers. Jesus knowing that his disciples would face troubles comforted them by telling them in John 14:1 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me." Because of God's grace and mercy, We can look beyond suffering and adversity and see what God's higher purpose is, and what he wants to teach us. We can be encouraged and pray that God will reveal the reasons for the suffering, we can turn to His word and seek His instruction for our lives in whatever circumstances we are going through. Trust Him. His word will give us comfort, encouragement, understanding, truth and strength. Praise be to God.

Truth Matters - Lunacy In Lakeland - by Rev. Robert S. Liichow

In these days of increasing deception, it is becoming more important then ever for Christians to stand firm in the faith and discern the times in which we live.

Due to the increase interest in Todd Bentley and the Lakeland Revival, we have been given permission to share an article written by Rev. Robert S. Liichow. Robert and his wife Tracy are founders of ‘Discernment Ministries International, an Apologetic and Polemic ministry devoted to teaching truth and exposing error. Rev. Liichow is a graduate from the University of Michigan and has recently graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary. Robert Liichow is a prolific writer, conference speaker, and church consultants and exit counselor. He has also been a frequent radio guest on Issues etc. DMI publish a monthly newsletter ‘Truth Matters’, and have had an internet discernment Ministry for many years on the Internet. If you would like to support the Ministry and work and receive a newsletter, You can contact their ministry by visiting the website at: http://www.discernment.org/

June 2008 - Vol. 13 / Issue 6 Truth Matters: The Lunacy in Lakeland déjà vu All Over Again - By Robert S. Liichow Over the last month or so DMI has been inundated with reports (many of them “glowing”) with the latest revival to be sent, theoretically, by the Holy Spirit. Now many of the former sign-seekers who partook of the revival at Toronto and Pensacola are now flocking to Lakeland, FL to experience the latest outpouring of God’s power and presence.

What is amazing to me is that everything I have read about this latest manifestation of excited ignorance is that it is nothing new! The same “manifestations” of uncontrollable laughter, being slain in the spirit, reports of teeth being filled with gold, angel feathers being found along with gem stones after the praise services, etc. In short it is the same-old / same-old. The usual fanatical claims of miracles are being reported (and as usual unsubstantiated). Let me just cite one such “miracle” report before delving into the background of these meetings:

This is the 13 resurrection as a result of this outpouring. I’m saying to the media “the dead are being raised.” I received this testimony: “My dear brother died. We requested an all night wake. At the funeral we played the revival. We declared my brother alive. At 2:19 a.m. my brother began to stir in his coffin. My brother sat up in the coffin praising God. My brother went to heaven and he thought he would not return. He said Todd was Bring his spirit back from heaven. All of us the funeral home were praising God. (Obtained from http://www.revivallakeland.org/ , May 25, 2008

Thirteen people have been raised from the dead as a result of this outpouring so the enthusiasts say. I simply ask this -- can you please supply DMI with the names, addresses, phone numbers and Death Certificates of these, any individuals? After all if thirteen people have been raised from the dead by the poer of God then, obviously, their experience will stand any form of scrutiny. I doubt seriously that Fresh Fire Ministries (the vortex of this most recent Saint Vitas’ dance of delusion) will respond at all to our request.

Who Is Behind The Lunacy at Lakeland?

Revivalist Todd Bentley, an obese, massively tattooed and pierced individual who started a ministry called “Fresh Fire Ministries” several years ago in Abbotsford, Canada. The following information comes from his own ministries webpage regarding his ministry background: “In his late teens, Todd had a dramatic encounter with the saving and delivering power of God. This experience brought Todd out of a lifestyle of drug and alcohol addiction without cravings or withdrawal symptoms. He was also delivered from a lifestyle involving criminal activity, youth prisons, drugs, sex satanic music and bondage. Todd’s miraculous conversion to Jesus was much like the Apostle Paul’s on the Damascus road. Todd was instantly transformed into a radical disciple and soul winning evangelist for Jesus. (Obtained from http://www.freshfire.ca/index.php?Id=101&pid=8 on 05-28-08 bolding added for emphasis).

I rejoice that God delivered Todd from such a sinful past (mirrors my own in many ways). But to compare ones conversion to that of the greatest Apostle in the Bible is a little grandiose. “God has drawn Todd into deep and intimate places of prayer. These extended times in God’s presence has released a fresh prophetic and miracle-healing anointing…He ministers prophetically, corporately and personally as well as brings forth the word of God with the power and demonstration of the Spirit -- God confirming His word with signs and wonders following. God has released an increase of the healing anointing into Todd’s life to the point where the blind see, the deaf hear & growths dissolve as Jesus still heals every sickness and disease. (ibid. bolding added)

This is the typical template of any of the revivalist of our past. AA Allen, Jack Coe, T.L. Osborn, William Branham all wrote about spending hours “shut in{“ with God in deep prayer with the end result of being given supernatural powers to work miracles and heal the sick. Not only did God allegedly give Todd a fresh (is there a stale anointing?) prophetic and miracle-healing anointing it seems that God has released an INCREASE of the healing anointing into Todd’s life! This increased healing anointing is so powerful that the blind see, the deaf hear, growths dissolve, as Jesus (through Todd Bentley) still heals every sickness and disease. The following are a couple of testimonies from the Lakeland lunacy proving Todd’s magnificent healing anointing:

George: We have a man that can see out of a glass eye! Never have I heard of a glass eye seeing. I need a minute to process this. You can’t see out of a glass eye? Never have before. I can see light and shadow. When the optic nerve registers, I’ll be able to see. This is more of a miracle than if the Lord gave him a real eye. (Obtained from http://www.revivallakeland.org/ on 05-28-08 bold type added).

(I must admit that is pretty good when a guy can see through his glass eye. Let’s just set aside the FACT that no further verifiable information is given and let’s forget that the biblical Jesus healed by restoration, I.e. withered had made whole, deafness cured vs. giving the person a gold hearing aid, etc.) This testimony and other’s we will look at just prove the susceptibility of people who check their minds at the door !

One thing that is patently missing from Mr. Bentley’s testimony is the lack of any biblical education (I know some of you are saying, “here he goes again”) yet facts are facts. Here is a man going around the world teaching the Bible, yet without having been taught himself ! The only credentials that sign-seekers want to know about is whether or not the preacher has some divine personal encounter with God. It is the alleged encounter that counts and is given a higher precedence over formal seminary training. To the sign-seeker the divine encounter is a spiritual revelation directly from the Holy Spirit to your human spirit. Formal biblical training is merely head knowledge; one mans understanding being transmitted from a mere man to another, man (or woman). Spirit ALWAYS trumps the mind in the extremists’ life. Since Todd (or Hinn, Copeland, Meyer, Dollar, etc) have no formal training then obviously their teaching is coming from a “higher” source, that source being touted as none other then the Holy Spirit Himself. In Bentley’s case we have a man who the testimony of the Apostle Paul & the Lord Jesus Christ, talk about your double portion! Here is a glowing review written by the Publishers at Destiny Image Publications:

Todd Bentley is causing quite a stir worldwide. Some say he is being used by the Lord to bring healing and miracles to thousands of people -- others are deeply skeptical of him and his ministry, Fresh Fire founded in 1979. What started for the 32-year-old Canadian as an invitation to speak at a church in Lakeland, Florida, in April 2008, has turned into a massively growing revival that now accommodates 10,000 people on land at the local airport. According to Fresh Fire Ministries 1.2 million people have watched the streaming broadcasts on the internet, and more then 140,000 people from at least 40 countries have attended the meetings. Todd’s book, The Journey into the Miraculous, tells of his dramatic deliverance as a teenager from a life of alcohol, drugs, prison, and the occult, launching him by the Holy Spirit into a worldwide ministry… According to Todd, “I was told by a modern-day prophet that I am part of the ‘first fruits’ wave of a billion people whom God would light on fire. I am a forerunner and one of many who will carry the healing anointing to the nations. God has lead me to put this book together not just to tell about my personal journey into the miraculous, but also to help people understand what God is doing in our time, and encourage readers to take steps of faith in areas where they may have been holding back.” As an evangelist and revivalist operating in a fresh prophetic and miracle-healing anointing. Todd has witnessed God heal hundreds of people who were: diseased with cancer, blind, addicted to drugs, alcohol and tobacco, and in bondage to Satan’s evil. Todd Bentley’s recently released book, The Reality of the Supernatural World: Exposing Heavenly Realms and Prophetic Experiences, teaches how Spirit-filled believers can take back what Satan has perverted, allowing them to explore the supernatural realms that God wants them to experience. Todd shares revelation about the supernatural world including: how to access it; types of experiences; locations in the supernatural; functions of angels; how to live under an open Heaven; and the price of accessing spiritual depth. (obtained from Destiny Image Communique” >dnj@destinyimage.com 06-06-08, (bold type added for emphasis).

I am troubled by everything about Mr. Bentley as I have already mentioned he declares to have had a conversion experience like Saul of Tarsus, is empowered with the miracle anointing of our Lord Jesus Christ and now we read that he is like John the Baptist in that he is a forerunner but his mission is to carry the healing anointing to the nations! Obviously, we are not dealing with a mere mortal but one of the super-charged end time remnant Ubermensch long prophesied to come by former heretics. A so called restored prophet Todd Bentley that he was one of a billion people God was going to set on “fire” Statistically that is pretty hard to swallow. There are around 2.1 billion professing Christians (obtained from http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html ), so that means one out of 2 Christians will become “Todd-like.” Me thinks not. What is more troubling than these grandiose claims of Bentley’s are his statements about teaching God’s people which are unbiblical and occultic in nature. He claims to teach God’s people how to take back from Satan the ability to “explore the supernatural realms that God wants them to experience.” Where in the entire Bible are we told that God wants us to explore supernatural realms? Where are we told that Satan has somehow hindered us from doing so? According to my knowledge of world cultures, and religions, Satan is constantly moving shamans, witchdoctors, crones, and others to delve into the supernatural to have mystical “experiences” via mind-altering drugs and practices. The Lord Never encourages His people to attempt to explore the supernatural or seek after supernatural experiences as Todd is teaching. Not only is this a false teaching it is a dangerous one. Bentley goes on to say that he will teach people how to access the supernatural, what types of experiences they can expect (I am sure it is nothing more than the usual holy laughter, spiritual drunkenness, being slain in the spirit, flapping, flopping and jumping about). Todd will reveal locations in the supernatural ! Again, where does the Bible speak of any of this? This is all “new” revelation which does not proceed from the Holy Spirit. Here is an example of Mr. Bentley “ministering”. The following is a direct transcript from a You Tube Video:

The woman was standing in the back of the room when the faith of God hit the meeting, and her tumor exploded out of her right leg, slid down her leg onto the floor! (Audience applause) I said, “God I prayed for like a hundred crippled people, Not one? He said, “That’s because I want you to grab that lady’s crippled legs and bang them up-and-down on the platform like a baseball bat.” (Audience laughter) I walked up and grabbed her legs, and I started going, BAM! BAM! I started banging them up-and-down on the plat[form]! She got healed! And I’m thinking, God why is not the power of God moving? He said, “Because you haven’t kicked that woman in the face.” (Audience laughter) And there is this old lady worshipping right in front of the platform. (Audience laughter) And the Holy Spirit spoke to me -- the gift of faith came on me -- He said, “Kick her in the face with your biker-boot.” I inched closer and I went like this [Todd Bentley performs a kick with his right leg and yells] BAM! (Audience laughter) And just as my boot made contact with her nose, she fell under the power of God. (audience laughters ) Obtained from: http://www.christianresearchservice.com on 06-09-08).

Does this sound like the manner in which Jesus ministered healing? Is “God’s” power moving dependent upon anything we do, especially kicking an elderly woman in the face? To Bentley the gift of faith equals doing something bizarre and then attributing it to the Holy Spirit.

Is the Revival Biblical ? Is revivalism biblical? That depends upon how we define our terms. To the charismatic extremist revival is when the Holy Spirit re-descends upon people in a certain locale and they are moved to repentance, or their spiritual joy restored or they are empowered to serve God in some dramatic manner. Please understand that the concept of “revivals” themselves comes out of either some portion of so-called restored Pentecostalism or pietism, both experiences based groups. In the united States revivalism was directly tied to Pentecostalism and the belief that the Lord Jesus was soon to return. They believed He sent the Holy Spirit again to give people the gift of tongues to go into the entire world and proclaim the Gospel. This was the foundation of the Azusa Street revival of 1906. Well, Jesus did not return as quickly as hoped so Pentecostalism formed into distinct denominations. Forty years later after World War ll another “revival” broke out this time it was not a “soul-saving and healing revival” as opposed to seeking the salvation of the world, this revival was more concerned with healings and miracles. It was run by men such as William M. Branham, Jack Coe, AA Allen, Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborn and a few others. It died out due to the exposure of fraud, immorality, lack of verifiable proof and the people simply wanting something more.

Almost forty years later the next really true “revival” has to be considered that initiated by Rodney Howard Browne, dubbed “the Holy Ghost Bartender,” In short his unbiblical manifestations became the hallmark of the latest move of the Spirit and they initially became centered at Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TAF) , from whence it spread to Holy Trinity, Bromptom England, from there via Steve Hill to Brownsville Assembly of God (BAG) in Pensacola, Florida. What differentiated this New Wine being poured out from the other two previous moves of the Spirit, was that it was a revival of “Joy” one in which the Heavenly Father came down to play with His children. I kid you not, I heard this in person, saw it played out in person at TACF, filmed it and dissected it and found nothing but filth. The end result of TACF and the BAG was that both churches underwent splits. The senior pastor’s left when the crowds died down and the sign-seekers were left unfulfilled and still hungry for “more” of God, since they had received little to no true spiritual nutrition. NEVER FORGET THE FOLLOWING QUOTE:

Son, let me tell you something. Do you know when you can tell a revival meeting is over? Do you know when God’s saying to move on to the next town? When you can turn people on their head and shake them and no money falls out, then you know God’s saying ‘Move on, son’, -- A.A. Allen message to brother Marjoe Gortner. Obtained from the Preachers, James Morris St. Martin’s Press.

This is exactly what happened at TACF and BAG, the crowds thinned out, the other leaders in the church felt abused and used. The revivalists had all become extremely wealthy and left town! Now out of the blue we have another revival! Suddenly signs and wonders are being performed (this time down the way in Lakeland vs. Pensacola) Now the hungry can run and be filled with empty promises of power and glory. They can have a safe place to go enthusiastically mad and engage in the St. Vitas dance of delusion once more. Oh, make no mistake my friends, these experiences are powerful, fun, and very addictive (I speak from personal experience) and when they are grabbed in the clothing of the so called “anointing” of the Spirit they become holy to the practitioners.

Let’s close with some simple Bible thoughts. Does the Bible prophecy a great world-wide end-time soul-saving revival? No it does not. As opposed to a great “ingathering” of souls the Bible speaks of a great falling away (2 Thess. 2:3) an apostasy. Our Lord Himself speaks rhetorically by asking if when He returns will He find faith on the earth (See Luke 18:8), no! Jesus is also caustic regarding those who run hither and thither seeking signs: A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away. Matthew 16:4 He considers such people (1) wicked and (2) adulterous, why? Primarily because these people are not seeking Jesus per se, they are seeking loaves and fishes, they’re looking to gain spiritual power and not the face of God. Jesus excoriates those who dare to claim to be the ones working the signs and wonders:

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you, Away from me, you evildoers!” Matthew 7:22,23

I fear for Todd and all like him and their alleged “fresh prophetic anointing” and the false unfulfilled words they proclaim in the name of our Lord. The deliverances and miracles they say they have done in the name of Jesus… yet our Master says “I never knew you” Let me say that in the Greek this is very plain it does not imply “I used to know you, but I don’t know you now,” No Jesus NEVER knew these folks. What is more what on the surface seemed to be a good work, I.e. prophetic words, demonic deliverances, miracles Jesus calls those doing such things evildoers not doers of good!

The Bible is filled with warnings about false prophets, false apostles, false teachers, when will our sign-seeking friends awake to these warnings?

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruit ye shall know them. Matt. 7:15-20

Our Lord warns us to beware of the false prophets -- they are coming in droves.

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:11-13.

What is the “fruit” of these false prophetic Sinisters? Many (a huge number in the Greek) shall be deceived, not blessed. The love of many (same word in the Greek) shall grow cold towards Jesus due to all the fraud being perpetrated in His holy name. The false words, the fake healings, the fraudulent claims will cause many unstable believers to become shipwrecked. Again and again our Lord warns His Church to beware (be-ware) false prophets, I.e. people who come in His name, show signs and wonders and YET do not belong to Jesus at all.

This is why the Apostle John warns: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

Even from the beginning of the Church MANY false prophets went out to deceive God’s children, how many more so today? Many today even claim to be apostles (I have met and spoken with no less than six of these deceivers): For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 2Cor. 11:13-15

As a former charismatic extremist I taught much about the “five-fold” ministry of Christ (Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher, and Evangelist) it was not until my deliverance from doctrinal darkness that I saw another false five-fold ministry in the Bible as well consisting of: false shepherds, false prophets, false apostles, false teachers, and false brethren… and to add a sixth, false Christs.

Charismatic extremists say that they have more faith in God to keep them doctrinally pure than in the devil to mislead them. I admit that sounds pious and faithful, yet if this were the case then why do we have ALL the warnings about being deceived in the Old and New Covenants? If what our extremists’ brethren proclaim is true then the Bible must be wrong. Scripture consistently warns us to “beware.” Beware of what and of whom? Without a doubt God is Almighty and Sovereign, yet the almighty and sovereign God has seen fit to warn His children to be alert to their foe. Here are a few examples:

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing. But inwardly they are ravening wolves, Matthew 7:15

But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues Matthew 7:17

Beware of the dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. Phip 3:2

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Col. 2:8

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also being led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own steadfastness 2 Peter 3:17

Truth Matters my brothers and sisters and in these last days God has spoken to us through His Son and all we need is to look to Jesus through God’s Word and find the satisfaction our souls yearn for. What is transpiring in Lakeland, FL, is not a move of the Holy Spirit anymore than what recently occurred in TACF and Brownsville, both revivals left behind them thousands of disillusioned people. Some of these no doubt have run to Lakeland hoping against hope that maybe this will be the “real deal”. Sadly, they will find out the hard way this Lakeland is nothing more then excited ignorance in which our Lord is neither glorified nor present. Pray for those being mislead by the plethora of false prophets and apostles today!