by Rochelle Arnold
Imagine if you will, a lonely young man or young woman wandering through various shops looking for some spiritual guidance or self-help. Maybe this person really doesn’t know what they are looking for. Each time they come into a new shop they are greeted by a different type of Jesus or a different kind of Christ, teacher, or guru.
Some of the Jesus personalities have very radical ideas, others seem legitimately concerned with helping this person, but what they all have in common is some sort of charisma or light about them. This charming light attracts customers to the shop owners and all the products within their stores.
At each shop the person purchases books, movies, clothing, and food. When they get home, they begin to go through all of their stuff. Surprisingly all the things they have purchased seem worthless and do not meet their needs or expectations. They are left with feelings of emptiness, loneliness, and frustration. And so, they set off on their endless journey again trying to find the truth and some guidance for their life.
A Sense of Belonging
Most people want to belong to something or fit into some group and feel like they are genuinely loved, and, on its face, there is really nothing wrong with that. Often times people are just searching for others that have common interests or something that is bigger than themselves. Something to be a part of.
It is very easy to become enamored with shiny things or the latest fad. But everything that glimmers is not gold. Some people seem to just carry a natural charisma, whether they are a celebrity, an actor, a pastor, an author, a ministry leader, a musician, or whatever it might be.
I once attended a church many years ago where my husband and I were invited over to the pastor's home. While we were sitting there in the living room, somebody that really needed prayer was hurting, having some serious health issues was seated next to me. I was moved with compassion and as I reached my hand over to pray for this woman another person there said, "Hey you've got to wait for the pastor and his assistant before you can pray." I was taken aback by that statement and thought it was a bit strange.
Later that week I had a dream that I was back in the pastor’s home, but this time everyone was looking up at the balcony waiting for the pastor to come downstairs and they were much to my dismay, raising their hands as if they were worshiping him. They had put this man on a pedestal and frankly his doctrine was not sound, and his teachings were vain babblings and philosophies.
In Context
I have been especially surprised over the years what different so called “Christians,” believe. For one thing there are a multitude of different religions and denominations in which all of them believe slightly different things. There are rituals, traditions, philosophies, new age, rules and regulations, and fleshly emotionalism mixed in with true biblical doctrine. Many times Bible teachers or leaders use scripture out of context without understanding the time and the place in which the story or scripture was written. For example, according to some people women are not allowed to teach or preach, but this scripture is taken out of context. 1 Timothy 2:12 reads, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather she is to remain quiet.”
Today scholars argue that the instruction is directed to the particular church in Ephesus and must be interpreted in a contemporary context. At that time in the church, women sat on one side and men on the other. There was an order in worship as Paul was aware of women that were interrupting the service and speaking out of turn. Some women were teaching false doctrine, so Paul admonishes them in 1 Corinthians 14:34 saying, “Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.”
Surely this scripture has been taken out of context to oppress women into believing they are not allowed to be preachers, teachers, or pastors, but this is not the case. If you cross reference scripture you will find that there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28) The first woman to ever preach the gospel was Mary of Magdala who first saw Jesus after he rose from the dead. When the men in the company abandoned him at the hour of mortal danger, Mary of Magdala was one of the women who stayed with him, even to the Crucifixion. She was present at the tomb, the first person to who Jesus appeared after his resurrection and the first to preach the “Good News,” of that miracle. (Mark 16)
In Acts 18 Priscilla and her husband Aquila were Paul’s co-workers in Christ Jesus (Romans 16:3). They taught a Jew named Apollos more about Jesus. In Romans 16:1, Paul says, “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people including me.” In addition, Deborah was a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, and she was leading Israel at that time. (Judges 4:4)
The Mixture
Mixture in the church consists of mixing pagan beliefs, false doctrine, and useless philosophies into the true Word of God, which results in the person of Christ being diminished and his work on our behalf nulled and voided. I know people who I thought were genuine Christians seek advise from tarot cards and fortune tellers. This is a dangerous practice as it is equal to sorcery and witchcraft. Often those who teach or believe in false doctrine or false Christs demand compliance with their opinions and ridicule the values of the upright.
In Matthew 24 the disciples asked Jesus what the sign would be of His coming and the end of the age. He replied, “Be careful that no one misleads you, deceiving you and leading you into error. For many will come in My name (misusing it and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to me) saying I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) and they will mislead many.” (Amplified). You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but the end is not yet.”
“There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. There will be great trouble, anguish, and betrayal. Many will hate one another. Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold.” Many false prophets will appear and mislead many. But the one who endures suffering to the end will be saved. This good news of the gospel will be preached throughout the whole world a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
A Different Gospel
“For if one comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, you tolerate it or agree with it easily. (2 Corinthians 11:4) “And don’t be surprised for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14) So, getting back to those mixture shops, the false Christs come in the form of a good thing, an angel of light, a minister or teacher of the gospel. “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)
I would suggest you look up in the news what is now happening at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. Mike Bickle a self-proclaimed prophet has been kicked out of his own ministry because he prophesied falsely to young women that his wife was going to die, and they would then become his new wife. He is an example of a false prophet who is now under investigation for sexual misconduct. I was deceived by this man and had some of his books, which I now have thrown away. Other false prophets are Julie Green who resides in Bettendorf, Iowa, and Robin Bullock. And trust me there are many, many, others.
Galatians 1:6, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
The Spirit of Divination
“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain woman possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by fortune telling. She followed Paul and Silas and cried, saying, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And she did this for many days. But Paul being annoyed and grieved, turned, and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. (Acts 16:16) Paul and Silas were then beaten and thrown in prison because the masters of this woman were out of the money, she brought them. So even if someone says all the right things, this doesn’t mean they are legitimately being led of the Holy Spirit. Discernment and deliverance are missing in the modern-day church, and this has fueled the mixture in the shops or churches.
You practice discernment by praying regularly, knowing the Bible, and having an intimate relationship with Jesus. The Holy Spirit will reveal wrong teaching and wrong spirits to you. In 1 Corinthians 12:10, Paul refers to distinguishing between spirits, or discerning of spirits as a spiritual gift that God gives to believers in order to recognize lying spirits and to identify deceptive and erroneous doctrines. Paul warned when this gift of discernment is not being exercised in the church, distortion of the truth occurs.
Apostasy
“The Holy Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in the later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, misled by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron, who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from certain kinds of foods which God has created to be gratefully shared by those who believe and have knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:1). Friends, I believe we are living in the last days where the birth pangs and anguish are going to intensify before Jesus Christ comes again. May you not be deceived by mixtures in the shops, ministries, movies, books, and churches.
If I gave you a pure glass of water, and then added in a drop of poison, would you still drink it? No, you would not, because it could kill you. The same goes for the mixtures in the church and the teachings of the Bible, we need to study to show ourselves approved, being able to rightly divide the Word of God. (2 Timothy 2:15) Do not allow mixture to come into your beliefs about Christ, because if you do you will nullify the good news of the gospel. Step away from the mixture shops and pick up your Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand the Word of God. Practice discernment and test the spirits to distinguish the pure from the mixture.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:13, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to everlasting life, and there are few who find it.”
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