Chapter 7

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Understanding The Mind of God:

A Message To The 'Charismatic Church'

Moving Ahead

There needs to be a radical reappraisal within the ‘charismatic’ movement at the moment. The Church will be unable to move forward effectively because, on the whole, it is not prepared to take ‘on board’ such ‘new’ teaching and concepts as the ones presented here. As God reveals it, truth must be embraced, no matter how unattractive or what the personal cost.

The tendency is to reject the prophet sent (Is 53; see p 69), shut your eyes to new truth and go back to sleep. You tend to ignore or reject whatever you are not accustomed to. It is not easy accepting new things. They are disturbing.

Tragically, the majority will reject this ‘new’ truth. Only the few will move ahead. The easier option – expediency – is what most will choose. That happened in the time of Jesus. He ‘turned up’ the spirituality and many left Him. (Jn 6:60-66). God also left them to it!

You can’t afford to throw away your inheritance like that! But many will! Every new concept or emphasis must be faced head-on. Accept it as a challenge, not as a threat. If you are prepared to totally humble yourself before God and investigate what I have presented here, and change where you see more light, God will pour out His matchless blessings in response. He never fails us! It is we who usually fail Him. Don’t do that at this late hour.

Now, Move Ahead and Grow Up

Benny Hinn said at Mission To London in August 1993:

“All Word but no Spirit and we will dry up. All Spirit and no Word and we will blow up. But with both Spirit and Word; we will grow up.” It is high time for the Church to grow up!

Growing pains are integral in the process, so don’t let the scope of it all alarm or daunt you. Just take one step at a time, and through each step, seek to follow God’s lead in humble obedience. Remember, the basis of true discipleship is TRUST and OBEY – trusting Him and obeying Him – not your minister, not your church, nor the church’s dogmas and doctrines. Remember:

Faith is not an end in itself. Nor are the experiences or blessings in this life. Everything is for a future purpose.
It is not just faith which you need, it is Jesus and His Truth.
You must not have faith in faith. You need faith in the Author and Finisher of your faith, Jesus Christ.
Through faith you cannot induce God to do what He has not decided to do. Faith is not a mechanical tool; it is the result of a personal relationship with God.
You don’t give to get. That is a subtle wrong emphasis. It is a doctrine of demons (I Tim 4:1).
The basis of New Testament faith is humility and obedience.
Trials and difficulties have been regarded as of Satan with no Godly purpose. That is an oversimplification. If trials and Satan had no ultimate purpose in our spiritual development, God would have eradicated them long ago! Trials can enable us to draw closer to God, and perfect us spiritually.
Assurance of deliverance and prosperity must be put in their proper spiritual context: humility and an obedient heart.
Suffering produces Godly character in us if we respond to it in the right way.
In all suffering, Jesus has promised to be with us through the difficulties. He does not always pluck us out of them.
In the next few years, a time of unprecedented trouble will engulf the whole world for three and a half years. Christians will be the focus of this satanic attack; they will not be exempt, regardless of their level of faith. So be prepared. (See pp 78,79.)
Wrong emphasis in the ‘faith movement’ is partly the result of neglecting Old Testament instruction. The OT contains found- ational truths which we need to learn from. Only when we fully understand the roots of Christianity in the OT can we correctly appreciate the promises of Jesus in the New Testament.
Understanding the Plan of God as revealed through the festivals He gave to Israel enables us to receive God’s perspective. God intends the Church to keep these festivals today. They were not annulled at Christ’s death (Matt 5:18).
Likewise, God’s Sabbath is to be observed. It is one very neglected aspect of the robes of practical righteousness Jesus wants His Bride to put on (Rev 19:7,8). None of the ten commandments has been annulled or watered down.

Easy Salvation Is Here To Destroy You!

Richard Wurmbrand, a Rumanian pastor who suffered cruelly for 14 years in Communist prisons, appraised the ‘faith movement’ in the West, when he returned to preach in Rumania. He said: “I come from the West where some preach easy salvation. Just believe, that is all. If you believe, you will not only have heaven in eternity but also health and prosperity here.

“You might escape totally from Communist persecution, but this false western teaching is around the corner to destroy your spiritual life much more than Communism could have done.

“To be a Christian means to believe in Him, which is to believe in His sacrifice on Golgotha and His teaching that we too must deny ourselves and follow Him. We are meant to be crucified and buried together with Him, not in a physical sense (though in southern Sudan Christians have been crucified even in 1990) but in fighting to the uttermost against sin, the world and the devil, and never giving up even if you lose many battles. About Britain, it is said that in war it loses all the battles but has the final victory. So must we too!

“Christian faith can bring healing. My wife, my son and I have been healed repeatedly by faith. But it is also true that many fall sick because of their faith. Perfectly sane men became Christians. For this they were jailed, beaten, tortured; they lost their health because of Christ. He has made many prosper in business, but many with a good living lost everything. Their houses and property were confiscated, or they had to pay heavy fines again and again because they became Christians.

“Don’t serve Christ for what you can get from Him.” (From Torture To Triumph, Richard Wurmbrand, p 48).

Indeed, any who want to take the name of Christ must count the cost of following Him. It is a far from easy road. It is one along which you must be prepared to lose your all – even your life.

One day you and I will be able to look death in the face and laugh and say that we’ve done all the dying we’re going to do – if we endure to the end. However, that day is not yet. That day will come when Jesus makes us immortal like Him. Until then, while we live in this physical world, we cannot afford to become complacent.

There is great tribulation looming ahead for the whole world which will involve Christians. Only those whose faith is firmly founded upon the Rock of the Word of God will stand.