If you search the internet for Christian views on spirituality, you will find a lot of controversy regarding certain doctrines and well-known T.V. preachers. Its really amazing that so many who profess to love God's Word, the Bible, to love Jesus, to be in touch with the Spirit of Truth can have such major disagreements on so many issues and people. Somewhere someone is getting deceived. And if you think that only YOU cannot be deceived, you are already deceived. Jesus said, "Take heed that no one deceives you." (Matthew 24:4). Only a fool thinks he doesn't need to take the warnings our our Saviour and Creator seriously.
There is no doubt in my mind that the enemy of our souls is at work here, sowing confusion. It is my purpose to unmask one of the major ways he does this, so we can be wiser and avoid being swept up in the wrong direction - and many times there are extremes on either side of any issue which are both equally dangerous and destructive.Satan's tactic is to mix the bad with the good. "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way." (Matthew 13:24,25). It is instructive to read the whole chapter, where you will learn that this enemy is the devil and the harvest is the end of the age - no doubt the time we are living in now.
God hates mixtures, because they confuse people and cause division. Mat 12:33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree rotten and its fruit rotten; for a tree is known by its fruit." In other words, don't make it a mixture.
In Leviticus 19:19 it says: "You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your seed with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you." I believe that these commandments while part of the mosaic law by which we are not bound today, reveal an important principle. God doesn't like it when we mix his truth with error in our doctrine, or when by our ways we welcome both God and the devil to get involved with our lives and ministries.
Why is mixture dangerous? It is because it will divide people and cause confusion. Some people will accept the good and swallow the error, while others, offended by the error, will reject the good they need to receive that is coming out of the same ministry.
If you have come to know something of God, you will know that there is a difference between satisfaction that comes from the Spirit of God and that which comes from direct excitation of the soul - the mind and emotions. It is true that when the Spirit of God moves God's children will GENERALLY be uplifted and encouraged. There is a definitely a certain pleasure associated with being in God's presence. "In your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16:11)
There is also pleasure that comes from natural things. These things are not always wrong in themselves, but when they become the focus, they take us away from the purity of devotion to Jesus Christ and quickly become corrupted. I can listen to some music which is pleasant but if I keep repeating it all the time and focusing on it because of the pleasure it gives me pretty soon I cannot be guided in my mind by the Spirit of God. So it can be with any of God's gifts.
Sometimes evil spirits masquerade as the Holy Spirit. Just because something is supernatural and there are Christian leaders who believe in it does not mean it is of God. Neither does the fact that it is supernatural mean it is not of God. The Holy Spirit's work is supernatural. He does surprising things above and beyond what can happen without His direct intervention. But not everything that is supernatural IS of God. So Christian leaders have a responsibility to regulate and
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