Spiritual Cuckoos

I would like to close this letter on a word of caution. I have been sharing as your leader for the past two years (since May 2002). Our group has learned quite a few things. You guys has blessed me deeply. It is now embarrassing to admit that I initially avoided being your cell group leader. I tried to act “blur” and hoped that my mother-in-law would not appoint me as your leader when her cell multiplied. I guess God saw my reluctance and wanted me to “feed His sheep” any way. God knew that my Christian walk was on a plateau and the only way out was to take on this responsibility, this spiritual mantle.

Well, I thank God for the opportunity. I have indeed learned a lot these past two years. Let me count my personal “achievements”…..read the Bible with understanding from cover to cover, became more conscious of God’s presence in my daily working life, prayed more when I was faced with a problem, evangelized to some of my clients, saw healing of the soul and emotion, had my faith bolstered by testimonies in our group, became wiser in the Lord….I had also collected a library of Bible literature, which I am proud of.

Now, I have to lay the ground rules for you guys. I have been a Christian for nearly twenty years and, believe you me, the years didn’t add up. In these twenty years, I had gone from one extreme to the other.

I had prayed non-stop for two days (with breaks of course). I had seen the possessed delivered by our pastor. I had cast out demons – some very fake ones even. I had been slain by the Spirit (falling whilst standing up). I had tried to laugh in the Spirit but only managed short outburst of sweet giggles. I had preached fire and brimstone. I had scared young believers with stories of hell and sufferings. I had argued for the existence of God and the fate of the devil. I had evangelized in shopping malls, going cold turkey. I had been mocked by non-believers and complimented by believers. I had also tried ascetic living by abstaining from tv, magazine, newspaper, and coke. And finally (but not least) I had fasted for a few days.

Then, I swung to the other extreme. I had backslided a few times in my heart. I had used religion to exploit people. I had a mouth that didn’t know when to keep quiet. I made fun of people for my pleasure. I got angry easily. I still wanted my way. I led a double life – being a weekend Christian and a weekday heathen. I sometimes did not walk my talk and talk my walk. I complained and doubted. Sometimes, my fists were raised against God for things I didn’t understand. Sometimes, they were pressed against my chest in fear and anxiety.

I am far from perfect. I am just glad that I could catch a glimpse of my best when I am with you guys on Friday.

Armed with the above experiences, I self-appointed myself this sacred task to warn you guys against spiritual extremism. Since I had experienced it (on both sides), I think I am now qualified to offer you some helpful tips. Here are my three senses’ worth.

1st Sense : Test all revelation and experience against the infallible Word of God

Always test all things (1 John 4:1). Do not be easily sold to an idea, suggestion or “revelation” that you are uneasy with. Do not chase after experiences or feelings. Experience is not the benchmark of true spirituality. Good feelings do not mean good living. All things must be guarded against. Remember the devil is committed to your fall. He led Eve to fall. He seduced many with his lies. He is wolf in sheep clothing. He will not let up until you are washed up in the shores of disappointment, defeat and discouragement.

We are his prime targets since he can’t get back at God. He hurts God by hurting us. Charles Spurgeon puts it cleverly, “There is nothing that Satan can do for his evil cause that he does not do. We may be halfhearted, but he never is. He is the very image of ceaseless industry and untiring earnestness. He will do all that can be done in the time of his permitted rage. We may be sure that he will never lose a day.” Sounds like a pretty good worker? Alas, on the wrong side of the fence.

Your feelings or emotions can deceive or work for you. Joy, peace and love are emotions you feel when you draw near to God. By the same token, you may feel the same, almost indistinguishable feelings (of joy, peace and love) when you are drawn away from God or when you embrace erroneous teachings as truth. Your emotions may lift you up to greater spiritual heights. It can also perpetuate a facade of spirituality without deepening your relationship with God.

So, Michael, are you saying that we should not trust our emotions? So ask you. Well, I believe that emotions or your personal feelings are secondary to true spirituality and maturity. The primary focus should be obedience and submission, that is, subjecting our will, mind and emotion to God. How do we do it? Well, by opening our mind and emotion to the depth of God’s love. By understanding and knowing more through His word. By increasing our awareness to sin and our unworthiness. By subjecting our fleshly desires to the cross. By nurturing a smitten and humbled heart. These are but some of the spiritual disciplines we should be engaged in. With these disciplines come a submissive spirit and an obedient will. Genuine emotions will then follow suit.

I have read about lives that were ruined because of a wrong “prophetic word” uttered or a so-called revelation proclaimed. There was a young lady who ran away from home, from her parents after she heard a prophesy over her life. The prophecy was about her future husband. It was said that she was to marry a man twice her age. She knew the man as he was a church member. However, she had always treated him as an uncle at best. As a result, she left the church and her home and married the first man she met along the way. As expected, the marriage ended up in a divorce.

Another questionable revelation came to an elderly couple. They were enjoying their retirement when they claimed they heard the prompting of the Lord asking them to become missionaries to some remote part of Africa. After months of reservation, they put up their house for auction, sold their car and bade farewell to their family and friends. They then boarded a plane to Africa. When they arrived at their so-called mission field, and before they could minister to the people, the couple was shot dead by straying bullets. Apparently, their mission field was in the middle of a civil war!

Testing all things also means that we suspend all judgment and action on the experience and revelation. We do not act on it without thought. We let it drift for a while. We flip the pages of the Bible to check its authenticity. We seek counsel from a pastor or a church leader. We examine the emotions that we are feeling to see whether we have exaggerated, distorted, or even marginalized them. We apply our reason to validate the experience.

What’s important is that we are not given in to a spur of a moment’s spiritual high. That we are not taken in by messages from the pulpit that sounds good but feel dubious. That we are not hoodwinked by signs and wonders and signs that do not transform lives or convict the heart of sin.

I have read about a lady who told a well-known pastor that God had told her that she was getting married. The pastor was extremely puzzled as she was already married. So, the lady clarified and said that God wanted her to divorce her current husband and marry her home cell leader (who was also married). The pastor then asked her why she would want to do it. She said that she was merely being obedient to God’s directions!

So, we should take our experience and revelation seriously. When you hear something from the pulpit, from your friends, from your inner spirit, or from a page of a Christian literature, always ask for discernment from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s roles are varied. He will teach you all things (John 14:26). He will remind you of everything Jesus has said to you (John 14:26) He will testify about Jesus (John 15:26. He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13). He will tell you what is yet to come (John 16:13).

2nd Sense : Don’t follow men; Follow God

I learnt this lesson the hard way. When I was a brand new Christian, I revered my youth pastor, my cell group leader, and my close friend. I treated what they said as gospel truth. When they said that drinking coke is sinful as it affects your health and body (more so, since your body is the temple of God), I stayed away from coke like the ebola virus. When my friend telephoned me and told me that he was possessed and he wanted to see me in Botanic Garden for exorcism. I galloped to Botanic Gardens with a group of my friends and carried out the exorcism in public eyes only to find out years later that it was all a personal hoax. When I was told that slaining in the spirit was a true sign of spirituality, I scampered to the altar for the “falling” experience hoping that I could earn more spiritual brownie points with God. However, I soon realized that the experience was more painful than helpful.

Here are more suspicious examples. One pastor (a very famous one) wrote that he was transported in spirit (whilst he was preaching on a Sunday) to a place where he saw (with his spirit eyes) his supposed fiancé having an adulterous affair with a man in his car. After that, he told his congregation that the wedding was called off based on this “revelation”. Imagine, being accused of committing adultery through a vision without actually committing it! I have also heard that a cell group leader who was conducting a all-night prayer meeting with his cell group members. He then told his members that God wanted all of them (ladies and guys) to regress to the time of Adam and Eve when nudity was both natural and accepted. What the cell group leader was asking his members to do was to shed their clothes!

Then there is a famous evangelist who told his congregation that God would take him away if he was unable to raise eight million dollars by a given deadline. The money was meant for building a medical center. Fearing for the evangelist’s life, the church gave and funds poured in. However, when the medical center was built, it closed down two years later. The evangelist then told his congregation that it was God’s plan to close down the medical center since its main purpose was already accomplished – that is, to let the world know about the existence of the medical center. The evangelist then concluded, “yes, the mission has been accomplished in the same way that after the three years of public ministry Jesus said on the cross, “Father, it is finished.”

It is always dangerous to build your faith on the cult of personalities. Men are fallible. I am fallible. You are too. Jesus did not say that his disciples are the way, the truth and the light. He said that he is. He commanded us to follow him, to carry the cross, to do the same works as He did (if not greater works since we have the Holy Spirit). We are warned that in the last days, many will call themselves savior or the Christ. They will preach similar gospel. They will perform some signs and wonders. They will heal the sick. They will give good counsel. But beneath the facade, lies a sinister motive.

One minister received a so-called prophetic word from the Lord in the form of a letter. Initially, the contents of the letter were biblical and the scriptures quoted were on target. Then, one paragraph of the letter talked about the Body of Christ as a naked woman on the operating table and the minister was going to give her a navel! This letter must have freaked the minister out. Later, their investigation revealed that the author of the letter had a sexual problem.

So, be on your guard. We are God’s vessel or instruments for His use. Our lives must reflect Jesus’ character and deflect all glory back to God. We are not to allow ourselves to be the center of things, to be adored or worshipped. Jesus said that we shall know them by their fruits – that is, the fruits they bear in their lives. A tree may look good but if it bears bad fruits it should be chopped down. In the same vein, a man or woman may sound good, look spiritual and act upright. But in the long run, what matters is a life that bears good fruits (Galatians 5:22-26).

3rd Sense : Always pray for Discernment and lead a balanced life

This is where I touch base with you. In Philippians 1:9-10, it is written, “This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.” There is no easier way to say this about Godly discernment: We are called to love and know more about God in order to discern for ourselves. This only comes through the discipline of our thoughts and actions.

In our thoughts, we are to take the spiritual posture as contained in Philippians 4:8, “finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

In our action, the same verse continues, “whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice.” By words alone, we can never be transformed to love God and love others. Our proclamation, our profession, our confession must be supported by our conduct. This is a sign of true spirituality, an authentic mark of a genuine believer.

On a balance Christian walk, Charles Swindoll puts it best:-

“Balance is always preferred to extremes. So as I previously reminded you: Keep your balance in all things. A scriptural word for it is moderation. Stay reasonable, Christian friend. Don’t go home and start praying for some middle-of-the-night visions; that’s not biblical. Keep a level head. Don’t get weird.

Don’t start looking for the face of Jesus in an enchilada. Or try to convince me that some cloud formation represents the Last Supper. Don’t start setting dates for Jesus’ return. Don’t play with snakes and scorpions. Don’t sacrifice your solid biblical roots and orthodox theology on the altar of bizarre experiences….

The anointing is a knowledge. You know something. You discern something. It is an inner awareness. It is a surge of strengthening assurance. And never forget it always exalts the Lord and gives all glory to God.

Let me add: Stay with the Scriptures. Whilst our individual experiences may vary somewhat as the Lord uses each of us in unique ways, we must never – and I mean never – get too far from the revealed and reliable Word of God. If you do, you will begin to use your experience as a basis of your beliefs, and the Scriptures will diminish in importance as you make more and more room for more strange experiences.”

So, I hope you are now more careful with the things that are happening around you. Please understand that our God is a God of order and rationality as well as a God of miracles and wonders. His rationality works on a different level from our limited human understanding. God works rational miracles, orderly miracles. His miracles are life-transforming. His wonders convict heart.

Therefore, keep a healthy balance of all things spiritual. Do not look for sensational testimonies, hyped up miracle meetings, emotional-frenzy crowd, and unique but skewed teachings as the anchorage of your faith and hope. Just as there is a true and living God, there is also a counterfeit one. You will do good to bear this in mind, “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:3-8)