By
Jocelyn Andersen
ONE WAY CAFÉ PRESS
Auburndale, FL, USA
Copyright ©¸ 2007 Jocelyn Andersen
All Biblical references are from the
King James Version
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God Bless !!
January 22 2009
My Denomination Does Not Promote
NEW AGE SPIRITUALITY
Through Spiritual Formation!
Contents of New Age
Spirituality (in the church)
Denominations
using Spiritual Formation
Danger of
contemplative prayer
Authors
promoting contemplative spirituality
Apostles-Prophets the coming
New Age
Mike Bickle on
Contemplative prayer
Ascension gifts
a New Age term
Fruit of the
Prophetic movement
Authors we
recommend on Contemplative Spirituality
My
Denomination Does Not Promote
NEW AGE
SPIRITUALITY
Through
Spiritual Formation!. . . . Does it?
Now the Spirit speaks expressly that
in the latter time many shall depart from the faith.(1 Timothy 4:1).
The scriptures predict a great falling
away, a massive departing from the faith, to occur during the Latter Time
(1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Thessalonians
2:3).
That time has arrived!!
The scriptures say that those who
are involved in the latter-day departing-apostasy-will e turned over to a
strong delusion because they choose to believe the lie. And because they will
not receive a love of the truth, the
Bible says their doom will be sealed
forever (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11). This is obviously nothing to take lightly or
flirt with in the slightest. The passage in 2 Thessalonians 2 is a specific
reference to the same latter day departure mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:1. The
scriptures tell us those who fall away in the latter time will not necessarily
do so in order to live overtly sinful lives (although some will). Instead, they
will forsake the true faith by embracing a counterfeit faith.
Many will sincerely believe they are
following Christ but will find out, too late, that it is another Jesus-not the
Jesus of the Bible-that they are following (Matthew 7:22-23).
Seducing Spirits and doctrines of devils; There are two movements advancing at lightning speed through the Body of
Christ today. Both movements are extremely seductive and promote a spirituality
which corrupts believers from the simplicity found in Christ by weaving New
Age/Occult precepts and practices into the very fabric of their lives and
faith.
Due to aggressive promotion through
monetary grants, high profile church leaders and vast interdenominational networks
(along with the prevalence and availability of media and internet exposure), no
group or denomination has been spared the influence of one or both of these
movements.
These doctrines of devils are
presented in such subtle and seductive ways that a complete paradigm shift (a
shift from one position or one belief system to another) begins to take place
within the hearts and minds of those who are drawn to and embrace the concepts
taught through these movements.
Once this happens, the believer, completely
unawares, begins the process of becoming prodigal. The written Word of God
becomes secondary to the experiential (that which can be experienced), and the
danger of falling away, at that point, becomes a real possibility. These
movements also have the devastating effect of drawing many into Christian
church membership without ever coming to a saving knowledge of Christ.
They are drawn to and embrace a form
of spirituality-a form of godliness-that has no saving power whatsoever. Almost
all prominent proponents of the modern Church Growth Movement promote the
spirituality of one or both of these movements.
Spiritual Formation
Spiritual Formation programs along with
trained Spiritual Directors are now being implemented within every major
denomination. Spiritual Formation is defined as, the teaching and application
of "spiritual disciplines." The spiritual disciplines of Spiritual
Formation, as we will show, can be found nowhere in scripture.
The spiritual direction facilitated
by Spiritual Directors is loudly touted as being an ancient Christian
tradition. What is usually not mentioned is that it is not a Protestant
Christian tradition or even a tradition practiced by the early church, but
rather a Roman Catholic tradition.
Seminary graduates, of every
doctrinal persuasion, are being trained in ever increasing numbers to introduce
certain spiritual disciplines into the lives and prayer habits of those within their
spheres of influence. It must be understood, that when the term "spiritual
discipline" is used, it is almost always referring to incorporating
contemplative prayer into the lives of church members.
Many churches are even introducing
contemplative prayer into their children's programs. Contemplative prayer is by
far the main practice promoted by the Spiritual Directors who lead church
members onto the slippery slopes of spiritual formation.
Contemplative prayer is also called
soaking or centering prayer. The terms spiritual formation and contemplative
prayer are practically synonymous. And what the average Christian does not
know, is that there is virtually no difference between what Christians call
contemplative prayer and what New Agers and Occultists call Transcendental
Meditation.
Contemplative prayer, soaking prayer
and centering prayer are simply old fashioned Hinduism dressed up in modern
Christian terminology. Of the two movements permeating the evangelical church,
the most widely accepted and pervasive within mainstream congregations is
Spiritual Formation.
What Is Contemplative Prayer?
There is a great deal of confusion
among Christians as why the practice of contemplative prayer should conflict
with the biblical practice of our faith. It is difficult for many to grasp the
fact that contemplative prayer is actually not prayer at all, but rather a
"Christianized" form of unbiblical, spiritually dangerous, eastern
meditation. Most of us know it by the name, transcendental meditation (TM). And
it is rightly associated with Hinduism, all forms of Occult and New Age
Spirituality.
Webster's dictionary defines a
contemplative as one who practices contemplation. To contemplate means to
ponder, to meditate upon. So what's wrong with that? Well, nothing is wrong
with pondering or meditating upon things-as long as they are the right things,
and as long as the pondering and meditating does not become obsessive.
The only thing upon which we can
appropriately meditate on obsessively is the Written Word of God. Psalm one
instructs us to do that. So how do we apply Webster's definition of contemplate
to what is known today as contemplative prayer?
We can't. It is simply not possible. There are those, at this point, who will say this conclusion is not
correct as many are being taught to choose a word or phrase out of the Bible
and meditate on it as a spiritual discipline. But on closer examination, meditation
upon the Word of God (which is scriptural and healthy) is not what is being
promoted. But let's take a look at what is really being taught.
Christians are encouraged to select
one word or very short phrase then repeat it over and over (Mantra Meditation).
The purpose and effect of this is to clear the mind of all thought. That makes
the term contemplative prayer an oxymoron.
How does one contemplate, clear the mind, and pray all at the same time? These are separate activities which
cannot be done simultaneously. Contemplative prayer is nothing less than the
practice of eastern meditation (transcendental meditation [TM]), which is
"clear your mind of all thought."
How does one meditate on something with a blank mind? The answer to that is-they don't.
They can't. It simply is not possible. Transcendental meditation and
contemplative prayer both mandate clearing all thoughts from the mind, thereby
opening the spirit to receive the thoughts of someone or something else.
Occultists and New Agers are not ashamed to admit that when they are in that
thoughtless state, they are essentially at the mercy of any number of spirit
beings.
Experienced proponents of
contemplative prayer admit the same thing and advise Christians to pray for
protection before beginning meditation. The goal of contemplative prayer is to
reach a place of no thought whatsoever. That state is called, among other
things, entering into the silence. It is also referred to by Christians as, the Secret Place.
The term contemplative prayer is not
only oxymoronic, as the one automatically cancels out the other, but it is also
a very deceptive and erroneous term. Contemplative prayer traces its roots to a
group of monks called, The Desert Fathers. The Desert Fathers taught that it
didn't matter what method you used to seek God-all were good, and they
unashamedly sought and implemented non-Christian, eastern, methods of
meditation into their spiritual practices.
Jesus harshly rebuked The Desert Father's philosophy and methods of seeking God when he
forbade us to pray using vain repetitions as the heathen do. It is a shame that
many today, who profess to be followers of Christ, reject the words of Christ
concerning contemplative prayer while embracing the philosophies and practices
of The Desert Fathers.
Scripture commands us not only to
meditate upon something-the Written Word of God (Psalm 1:2), but also to
refrain from learning the way of the heathen (Jeremiah 10:2).
Scripture is very clear that it does
matter what methods we use to seek God (Proverbs 14:12). Without going any
deeper into the subject of contemplative prayer, we already see that it is
derived from Hinduism (Christian contemplatives do not attempt
to deny this) and is diabolically
opposed to the scriptural form of meditation prescribed in Psalms chapter one
verse two.
There is little argument that
spiritual formation programs and contemplative prayer go hand in hand. Other
spiritual disciplines include, but are not limited to, yoga and labyrinth walking.
These are finding a great deal of acceptance and implementation within
evangelical congregations. Neither should be, as they are both unscriptural
spiritual activities.
Labyrinth walking is found in all forms of occult, and
ask any real Hindu Yogi if there is any such thing as "Christian"
yoga. You will bluntly be told, "No." Yoga is an intrinsic part of
the practice of Hinduism. It is a religious activity whether the participant
cares to admit it or not.
As previously stated, all denominations have been affected by
spiritual formation. Just because your local congregation may not, as yet,
be familiar with these things is no reason for assuming that your denomination
has not already jumped on the contemplative bandwagon.
Denomination
with Spiritual Formation
Take a look at the list of major
denominations which have instituted Spiritual Formation programs in their
theological seminaries and key churches:
v
Andover Newton Theological School
v
Assemblies of God (AG Theological Seminary)
v
Baptist (Baylor University & Dallas Theological Seminary)
v
Church of God (Mount Paran)
v
Methodist (Dubuque Theological Seminary)
v
Moody Bible Institute
v
Nazarene Theological Seminaries
v
Presbyterian Theological Seminaries
v
Wheaton College
Hungry Hearts Ministries received an
email from within the Dean's office at the United Methodist University of
Dubuque Theological Seminary requesting information concerning labyrinth
walking. They had our ministry, Hungry Hearts Ministries, confused with a
prominent, online, Presbyterian spiritual formation outreach with a similar
name.
They wrote requesting my
permission to use a certain newsletter article in training their seminary
students to facilitate labyrinth walking as part of their spiritual formation
program.
Below is a copy of that
correspondence:
"The University of Dubuque
Theological Seminary located in Dubuque, Iowa would like copyright permission
to reproduce "Labyrinth" from the summer 2000, Vol. 8, No. 2 edition
of Hungry Hearts.
The purpose is for use in our
Spiritual Formation Group class. We are seeking permission to use as part of
our curriculum for several years. Is there a onetime copyright fee that would
cover us for several years? We have approx. 30-40 students in the class per
year. Thank you for your assistance."
We responded that we had no idea as
to what they were referring and received a rather brusque reply when they
realized their mistake.
The Real Danger of Contemplative Prayer
Herein lies the real danger of
contemplative prayer, all who embrace contemplative spirituality, at some point,
begin to experience an ecumenical, panentheistic, paradigm shift. Once that
happens, Christians who previously held traditional beliefs, begin to hold
evangelical, Bible-believing Christians in utter contempt, rejecting even such
basics as the authority of the Bible and the importance of soul winning by
preaching the gospel.
Former Sunday school worker/now
contemplative author, Sue Monk Kidd,
is an example of this. Within the familiar confines of her Baptist Church, she
came to the unfortunate conclusion that her ultimate spiritual authority was
not the Bible at all, but rather the divine voice of her own soul (Dance of the
Dissident Daughter, 1996).
Kidd now boasts in her newest title
that she has moved past the traditional to the sacred "feminine." Sue
Monk Kidd's books are touted as "Christian" books and sold in
Christian Bookstores everywhere. Southern Baptist Life Way Bookstores has been
confronted by concerned evangelicals, to no avail, on more than one occasion,
concerning their promotion of contemplative authors-like Sue Monk Kidd-who
boldly deny biblical authority and the exclusivity of the Christian faith.
Although contemplative spirituality
is obviously rooted in non-Christian, eastern, religious systems, believers
should be alerted to the fact that the modern day contemplative movement,
promoted within Protestant evangelical fellowships through spiritual formation
programs, descends directly from the Roman Catholic mystics (who in turn
adopted it directly from the eastern religions). It is commonly acknowledged
among serious contemplatives that contemplative prayer cannot be fully embraced
without referencing, at some point, the Roman Catholic mystics-Saint Teresa of
Avila, Saint Ignatius, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and the Desert Fathers are
just a few of these.
However, this fact may not be
mentioned at first while introducing "Spiritual Disciplines" to non
Catholic Evangelicals. Mike Bickle, a leader in the prophetic movement who
heavily promotes contemplative prayer, makes no excuses for the fact that if
you want to "go deeper into God," you must embrace both contemplative
prayer and the Roman Catholic Mystics. He freely admits contemplative prayer
cannot be found in scripture nor can it be found anywhere in protestant tradition-it
can only be found within eastern religions (Hindu and Buddhist) which passed it
on to Christianity via the Roman Catholic Church.
Most leading contemplatives have no
problem agreeing with Mike Bickle on this. Some (but by no means all) descriptive terms used by those who promote
contemplative spirituality are: Going
deeper into God ; Experiencing the presence ;God Meditation ;The Silence Solitude ;Reflecting / Reflection ;Lectio
Divina ; Spiritual disciplines ; The Secret Place ; Soaking Prayer ; Centering
Prayer
One of the first observable fruits of contemplative spirituality in an
evangelical Christian is an ecumenical mindset which fails to discern important
doctrinal differences between Protestant and Roman Catholic beliefs and
practices.
All Christians who are experiencing
paradigm shifts by means of these spiritual disciplines become enamored with
eastern culture. Both their words and writings are peppered with frequent
references to the un-spirituality of the "western" church. Peace,
peace, love, love and "Don't Judge!" are words of the day. Actually
the word, "judgmental," is the most frequently used word in the new
spirituality. But the same ones whose conversation is so liberally sprinkled
with these also have no problem with criticizing-often viciously-those with
more "traditional" beliefs.
All contemplatives eventually
experience a failure to understand why there are religious differences at all
between those in any religion who are seeking God using any means. The
prevailing attitude becomes, "Seek God. It does not matter how you do
it-just do it-he'll accept you regardless."
Bible believing Christians knows
this is simply not true. Jesus Christ, the Jesus of the Bible, is the only way,
the only truth and the only life. Far too many have fallen in love with another
Jesus. One they will find out, unfortunately when it is altogether too late,
cannot save.
In spite of what the Bible teaches,
among those who adopt the Spiritual Disciplines, the doctrine that God only
indwells those who are saved by faith in the shed blood of Christ takes second
place to the unscriptural belief that God is in everything and everyone. In
fact, the word, doctrine, itself becomes a dirty word.
Contemplative prayer is dangerous
Everything, including the
acquisition of sound doctrine, becomes subordinate to the experiential. Contemplative spirituality is an
"experiential spirituality." That means that in the course of
practicing this spiritual discipline the person experiences something. That is
the whole purpose of it--to experience God. Only it is not the God of Heaven
who is being experienced. Contemplative
prayer is dangerous.
In his book, Prayer: Finding the
Heart's True Home, Richard Foster warns his readers that they may receive
guidance during contemplative prayer that is not divine guidance. He warns that
the person entering into such meditation may not be safe from "dark and
evil" spirits. Yet he encourages the pursuit of it anyway.
Brian Flynn, a former new age medium
who now exposes new age practices within the church, suggests that Christians
pursue this unscriptural, dangerous, form of meditation, because they become
infatuated with the seductive feeling that accompanies it.
Mike Bickle strongly emphasizes the
experience that contemplative prayer produces while introducing the subject to
potential victims.
A few well known
authors who are now promoting
contemplative spirituality are as follows:
v
Beth Moore
v
Bill Hamon
v
Brennen Manning
v
Chuck Swindoll
v
C. Scott Peck
v
David Jeremiah
v
Father Thomas Keating
v Henri Nouwen
v Max Lucado
v Mike Bickle
v
Richard Foster
v
Rick Joyner
v
Rick Warren
v
Sue Monk Kidd
v
Thomas Merton
This is a very short list
(comparatively) which highlights the pervasiveness of this movement and the
diversity of religious affiliations and backgrounds of those who promote
contemplative spirituality. It is a frightening fact that the list of
evangelical, contemplative authors is growing daily.
The dangers of contemplative,
experiential, spirituality are severe enough that Bible believing Christians
should give anyone promoting these beliefs a very wide berth. When allowed to
run its course, the end result of embracing
this spirituality is a complete paradigm shift-not only away from the
simplicity found in Christ, but altogether
away from the fact that Jesus Christ, the Jesus of the Bible, is the only way,
the only truth, and the only life.
To a man, all evangelical
contemplatives profess belief in Christ. But it cannot possibly be the Jesus of
the Bible they are professing as the Jesus of the Bible condemns their
heathen-practices in no uncertain terms when he forbids vain repetitions in
prayer. Therefore, I submit that it is
another Jesus they follow.
All prominent, contemplatives admitted in every single one stress, that
they have finally come to the understanding that God is in all things.
The scriptures do not even hint at
such a thing. This is an admission, whether they own up to it or not, that, in
their refined, revised, contemplative, opinion, Jesus is no longer the only
way, the only truth or the only life.
There is no way God can be in
everything and only in those who belong to his son at the same time. The two
ideas are mutually exclusive-each diabolically opposed-to the other.
The end result of contemplative
spirituality is Panentheism. Panentheism is the unscriptural belief that God is
in all things as opposed to the biblical teaching that he resides, not in all
things, but only within those who belong to him through faith in his risen son,
the only Christ- Christ Jesus.
Apostles –
Prophets & The Coming NEW AGE;
Articles on Contemplative Prayer and
The Prophetic.
The second movement sweeping through
the Body of Christ, primarily through the Pentecostal/Charismatic branches,
promotes contemplative spirituality and attacks traditional, evangelical
beliefs and practices in just about every area. It is commonly known as The
Prophetic, or the Apostle-Prophet movement.
A decade ago Bill Hamon, called the
Father of the Apostle-Prophet Movement, had this to say about the amazing fact
that 20,000 new believers per day were being won to the Lord in China, he
wrote, ".that sounds great, but." (Apostles Prophets and the Coming
Moves of God, 1997)
How can you add a "but" to
the fact that 20,000 believers a day are coming to the Lord? Bill Hamon does it
because he claims that signs and wonders are the definitive proof that God is
validating a ministry and that these are the fruit we should be looking for-the
fact that souls are won to Christ is merely incidental.
Experiences, signs, wonders and our
own inner voices do not supersede the authority of the written word of God and the
amazing miracle of the salvation of a soul. Rick Joyner, another prophetic leader who promotes contemplative prayer,
also emphasizes the experiential in place of the authority of the Bible. He did
this when he claimed he had lots of scripture to back up the things he wrote in
his incredibly anti-Bible, anti-evangelical, unscriptural book, The Harvest.
But, he informed his readers, he didn't use much of it in the book because,
instead of looking to the Bible for confirmation of the truth, he preferred that
they "commune with the spirit" in order to know if he had written the
truth or not.
What if a defense attorney, or
prosecutor, tried using that approach with a judge or jury? They would get
laughed out of the courthouse (in addition to any other consequences they would
face from the judge and their clients). So why is it Christians, people who
claim to have God almighty residing within them, seem to be the most gullible
people on the planet? Could it be due to the influence of a spirit of whoredom
and rebellion- whoring after what God has not given and rebellion against his
revealed, written word-the Bible?
In a later book, Joyner shared a
vision he received where he saw a holy mountain which portrayed Christians who
focused primarily on soul winning as being at the bottom of the developmental
heap. According to Joyner, ardent soul winners are the least spiritually
developed and most pathetic of all Christians (The Final Quest, 1996).
All who embrace the Prophetic
Movement (which often brings contemplative spirituality along with it), sooner
or later begin losing their respect for the written word of God along with
their burden for evangelistic soul winning. Aggressive evangelism, by reaching
the gospel, becomes discouraged (even ridiculed) and relationship or prophetic
evangelism is encouraged to replace it. That may sound good on the surface but
denies the basic biblical fact that it is the gospel of Jesus Christ and
nothing else, that is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).
Telling someone that God loves them
is telling them the absolute truth, but it is not equal to telling them the
gospel. And it is only the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation. We
find in I Corinthians 15:1-4, that the gospel is the good news that Jesus came,
died and rose again for our sins.
Again, do not think any fellowship is immune to the influence of
contemplative spirituality. Spiritual Formation programs are taking root within
literally every denomination and belief platform of evangelical Christianity
including both Pentecostals and non- Pentecostals; Embracing the Prophetic
Movement is not a requirement for implementing the spiritual discipline of
contemplative prayer, nor is rejecting the prophetic movement any protection
against it.
Mike Bickle on Contemplative Prayer
Mike Bickle, director of the
International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City, and a well-known leader in
the Prophetic movement, claims that God is restoring contemplative prayer to
the church. He goes on to claim that contemplative prayer is a God ordained
means of entering into the fullness of God, and that the brightest lights in
church history have been Roman Catholic mystics who lived during the dark ages.
He went on to say the western church
had much to learn from the mystics. Anti-evangelical propaganda is prominent
throughout his speeches. He informs his followers that they are constantly
being put on the defensive by and being forced to apologize to, evangelical
Christians for their (Bickle's followers) intensity toward God by saying
"Other Christians force us to hide our intensity-to wear a facade."
However, he comforts them with the good news that they don't "have to wear
any facade" when they got together in little oasis' "like this"
(meaning they can openly hate and ridicule evangelicals at his and other
prophetic meetings like his).
He continued his barrage against
evangelicals by saying, "They don't grasp it at all-being introduced into
the deep realms of love (referring to the seductive experience of contemplative
prayer)."
Bickle freely admits
to pursuing non-Christian eastern religious philosophies and has nothing but
criticism for the "unspiritual" western church.
Bickle says
evangelical Christians are a pathetic and ignorant bunch. According to him the
Protestant wing of the western church is only a tiny percentage of the Body of
Christ and is nearly completely (98%) unaware that the Holy Spirit is restoring
ontemplative prayer to the church.
He quotes over and
over again from the book, Sacred Pathways, which recommends carrying some
symbol or icon, choosing a mantra and visualizing God. Each one of these things
are common in all forms of occult and are contradictory to the Word of God,
which forbids imagery of any sort or vain repetitions being used in conjunction
with prayer.
Bickle proclaims (in
all earnestness) that Barnes & Nobles is prophesying to the church that we
need the Roman Catholic mystics.
He says he believes
this because the book store chain has carried so many books on the mystics and
contemplative prayer.
Bickle insists we need to study the lives and writings of the Roman
Catholic mystics.
Bickle wants to know why the church is
not picking up on the fact that God is calling the entire Body of Christ to
live lifestyles of contemplative prayer.
Bickle accuses evangelicals of being
ignorant of the fact that church history did not begin with Martin Luther. He
does this because he believes the most inspiring light in all of Christianity
came out of the Roman Catholic Church during the dark ages.
He minimizes the
false doctrine and atrocities (i.e., the murder of true followers of Christ) by
that vile institution by saying, "But didn't Catholics do some funny
things? Well, when you stand before the Lord you'll find out you did some funny
things too." Let this writer go on record as saying the brightest, most
inspiring, light ever produced by the Roman Catholic Church was the light produced
by the fires at Smithfield where true Christians were burned alive for standing
up for the totality and exclusivity of the "doctrine" of Jesus
Christ, and I fail to find anything at all in that, that can be called
"funny."
Bickle heavily
promotes Bernard of Clairvaux, who he falsely claims was a just a quiet little
monk who only wanted to stay in his hermitage, praying and reading The Song of
Solomon. He leaves out the part where the quiet little monk travels extensively
as a major instigator of the second crusade (not one single true Christian ever
participated in those brutal-Roman Catholic- crusades).
The writings of Roman Catholic Monk,
Father Thomas Keating (the modern day Father of contemplative prayer) are also
promoted heavily in contemplative writings.
Bickle says the Roman
Catholic contemplatives are examples for us of, "a way to a deeper life in
God." He went on to say, "The protestant world is in great need of
examples (like these) that will beckon us to the fullness of God."
The bottom line is, Mike Bickle is telling the Body of Christ that the
Bible does not contain everything we need to know concerning life and godliness. He is telling us we are woefully
deficient in having lost God's fullness and need to look to New Age, Eastern
philosophy and to Roman Catholic mysticism as examples of how to restore it.
More from Mike Bickle on Contemplative Prayer
Mike Bickle says this of
contemplative prayer: This is an
imperfect science, it (the term contemplative prayer) is not a term, that is, a
biblical term, it’s an idea. There's no place where Paul the apostle said the
term contemplative prayer means this. Different ones throughout church history
define it differently. I have 30, 40, 50 titles on contemplative prayer in my
home. Any book on contemplative prayer, I just buy them. At first it confused me, because one person
talked about it so different from another person, it took me a few of years to
figure it out that there is no clear infallible definition."
The above quotes from Mike Bickle
are taken from his audio message entitled, "Contemplative Prayer part
2."
What Bickle just said in the quotes
above is this: Contemplative prayer is
an evolving thing; Contemplative prayer
cannot be found in the Bible; To one
person it means one thing-to another it means something else. Mike Bickle will
read anything on ontemplative prayer regardless of who writes it. Contemplative prayer cannot be defined.
Here is another Mike Bickle
recommendation on pursuing contemplative prayer, "You're gonna need
resources to do it (to go into the deep waters of God). The Protestant world is
really, really narrow on the resources of contemplative prayer." There is
a very good reason as to why the Protestant world is really, really narrow on
resources of contemplative prayer. Because it is not found in the Bible!
During the protestant reformation,
people rightly rebelled against the extra-scriptural proclamations of the Pope
and the Mystics. Reformation Christians rightly turned to the Bible alone in order
to be fully furnished as what they needed to know about life and godliness (2
Timothy 3:15-17). Contemplative prayer
is not found in the Bible. Even
proponents of it admit to that. Yet they go right on assuring us it is
perfectly **safe, beneficial, and even necessary to our spiritual growth, to
pursue an unbiblical spiritual activity.
Contemplative prayer is not a
perfectly safe, beneficial or necessary spiritual activity for Bible believing Christians.
And if it is an unbiblical spiritual activity, what does that make it? That
makes it dangerous.
The Holy Spirit certainly cannot be
a part of any spiritual activity that is unbiblical. So, what spirit is behind
it? We only have two choices here. Christians, we are not lacking in resources
to help us connect with God. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the
written word of God, and the Holy Spirit of God really do give us all the
resources we need in order to experience God to the fullest. It does not go any deeper or get any
simpler than that.
There are no gifts like the
authentic gifts of God. Do not fall for cheap, soul-stealing counterfeits! I
fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so
your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ (2
Corinthians 11:3).
v
Do You Honestly Believe...? .that the Church of the Living God went into
apostasy shortly after the last of the original 12 apostles died? Bill Hamon
says it did.
v
Do you honestly believe God would heal a transvestite? By giving him an
instant sex change operation? Cindy Jacobs says he will.
v
Do you honestly believe the least spiritually developed-bottom of barrel
Christians are those who focus on soul-winning? Rick Joyner says they are.
#1) The scriptures
assure us that God's Truth has never been taken from his people, nor will it
ever be. Those who depart in the latter-day apostasy (predicted in 2
Thessalonians 2:3 and 1 Timothy 4:1), will do so out of rebellion against the
truth-not because truth has been lost. It will be a deliberate rejection of
God's truth (his written word, the Bible)-which the scriptures tell us endures
to every generation (Psalm 100:5).
#2.) Transvestites
are effeminate men-homosexuals- men who dress as women, desire to be women and
have sexual relations with other men. The Word of God is explicit on where God
stands on the sin of effeminacy and homosexuality. The Bible says the effeminate will not enter the kingdom
of God. God will not contradict his Word by giving an effeminate man a
miraculous, instant, sex change operation. He will, however, deliver the
repentant from sinful oppressions (1 Corinthians 6:9).
#3.) The very last words
of Jesus included a command to win the lost. Jesus himself said that he came
personally to seek and to save them that were lost. The scriptures say,
"He that winneth souls is wise." There is no higher calling or more
worthy activity than
that of being a soul-winner. The
accuser and opposer of our souls (the devil), however, will do or say anything
he can to prevent Christians from being obedient to Christ in this commission.
And remember, Satan can transform
himself into an angel of light and his ministers are transformed as into
ministers of righteousness... (2 Corinthians 11:15).
Jesus had only harsh words for those
who opposed soul-winning in his day-he said, "Ye are of your Father, the
devil. You do not enter in yourselves, and you prevent those who would..."
The three people whose names are
mentioned at the beginning of this article are respected leaders of the, false,
prophetic movement which has infiltrated the Church of Jesus Christ to an
alarming degree. This movement is known by many names by far the most common is
"The Prophetic," followed
by the Apostle-Prophet Movement, the Five-Fold Ministry Restoration Movement,
or Apostolic-Prophetic Restoration
Movement.
Those affiliated with this movement
have a mandate from Bill Hamon (often called the "Father" of the
movement) to network, network, and network! And network they do.
They usually infiltrate subtly and
deceptively, by saying, in their initial contact, that they have a,
"vision to network with other Christians for the purpose of 'taking Jesus
outside the four walls' and into the streets."
Taking Jesus outside the four walls
Taking Jesus to the Streets Sounds good doesn't it? But do you hear the subtle
reproach in those words? Don't you feel the sting? Does the barb hit home?
What a pompous arrogant bunch they
are! If the Body of Christ has not been taking the Gospel "outside the
four walls," and who says they aren't? Neither are those in the prophetic
movement for they are only interested in networking in order to promote their
own prophetic agenda.
Start listening for the buzz-words
of this movement. I guarantee you will hear them:
v
Present Truth (or Present Restored Truth)
v
Taking Jesus to the streets
v
Outside the four walls
v
Five-Fold Ministries/Ministers (restoring the...)
v
Prophetic/The Prophetic/Prophetic Evangelism/
v
Prophetic Activation
v
Spiritual Gift Activation
v
Awakening / spiritual awakening
v
Paradigm/ Paradigm Shift
v
Harvesting Souls
v
Ascension Gifts/ Ascension Ministers or Ministries
If you hear any if these-the
influence has somehow crept into your life and church fellowship on some level.
Present Restored Truth
The phrase "Biblical insights
[combined] with personal rhema..," is found on the commendations page
(xvii) of Bill Hamon's book Apostles Prophets and the Coming Moves of God.
Exactly what is personal rhema?
Hamon calls it "present
restored truth." This is so-called "truth" the apostle or
prophet receives by direct revelation, and no claim is made that it can be
backed up by scripture.
Here is a quote from a disciple of
Bill Hamon's: "God is restoring truth to the Church that was lost during
the dark ages of Church history (500-1500 A.D). The believer will understand
the importance of being established in "present truth." ( Prophet
Quinn Mitchell from his prophetic in action website).
"Present Truth," according
to its purveyors and Bill Hamon spin-offs, is extra-scriptural revelation
supposedly from God that has nothing whatsoever to do with Biblical Truth. And
they are not at all ashamed of admitting to this fact. In fact, they are frequently quoted as saying,
"you won't find this in the Bible, but..."
According to present truth, one of
the main premises of the prophetic movement is that Christians should be
seeking spiritual growth and ascension to new and higher levels in the
"ascension" gifts (i.e., the prophetic).
“Ascension” gifts are a New Age term (along with the new age concept of "higher levels") that has
been integrated into Christian vocabulary by prophetic leaders such as Bill
Hamon and many others. Although they will loudly protest this conclusion by
saying they coined the term using Ephesians four, I find it more than a little
interesting that new age "ascension" books and gifts can be purchased
alongside metaphysical books and gifts at new age book stores.
I am also more than a little
convinced that those rising to "higher levels" in the ascension gifts
are doing it, not with the help of the Holy Spirit at all, but with the help of
spiritual entities known among the more advanced new agers as the,
"Ascended Masters."
Present Truth, as already stated, is
truth that was supposedly lost to the church during the Dark Ages and is now
being restored, via revelation, by those who are highly developed in the
"ascension gifts."
Those who focus merely on growing in
the knowledge of God with the help of the Holy Spirit through his written word
and who focus on soul-winning are regarded as spiritually under-developed
Christians. The kingpins of the Prophetic movement who supposedly have ascended
to "higher levels," have demonstrated a zero tolerance policy in
regards to those who will not let go of what they derisively call
"old" religious traditions-unless of course it is the "old"
Roman Catholic religious tradition of contemplative prayer.
The old religious traditions they
are trying to overcome and do away with are twofold. The old tradition of
holding to the authority of scripture as the standard for judging any and every
utterance and evangelistic soul-winning by way of preaching the gospel are
things they say must go.
Extra-scriptural revelation,
prophetic evangelism (soothe-saying), having spiritual gifts
"activated" (another new age term and practice) and growing in the "ascension" gifts
are the major priorities of the prophetic movement-along with networking of
course.
The concept of the prophetic
movement's "present truth" is at variance with the scriptures which
clearly say God's truth (contained in his word-the Bible) endures to every
generation. Does that mean God's truth was available (albeit difficult for the
common man to access) during the Dark
Ages? That is exactly what it means. Don't forget, the term "Dark
Ages" is a man made term coined to describe a particularly difficult
period in history in which the Roman Catholic Church made a cruel, aggressive,
unsuccessful attempt to snuff out the light of the written word of God.
Jesus demonstrated a very different
set of priorities from those who exalt spiritual growth in the "ascension
gifts" over understanding the written Word of God and over soul-winning.
When he gave his disciples, not just the 12 he called apostles-but the seventy
others as well, power over all the power of the enemy (fairly spiritually
developed group I'd say). Jesus warned them not to get caught up in the fact
that they had such great power. He said having all that power was not the most
important thing. Well, if having all power over all the forces of the enemy was
not so important, then what was the better thing? They were told to rejoice because
their souls were saved. Imagine that.
Jesus said being saved and winning
souls was the better thing. With that warning, our Lord and Savior lumped
himself with the same group of pathetic, under-developed Christians Bill Hamon
claims are part of the "anti-Christ religious system."
I cannot recommend reading his book
Apostles Prophets and the Coming Moves of God, but that is where you will find
the above mentioned phrase used in reference to traditional evangelical
believers who refuse to buy the bill of goods Hamon has been so successful in
selling to so many.
The man's words are smoother than
butter, but it is clear that war is in his heart-and not against that old
serpent, Satan, as they so love to boast. It has been pointed out that
movements do not necessarily need a god in order to be successful, but that no
movement can be successful without a devil. Even Hitler admitted the Jews
served an important purpose in being the devil of the Third Reich. Almost
nothing rallies a diverse group of people together in the same cause like a
common devil can do.
I propose that the "devil" of the prophetic movement is not Satan at all,
but rather traditional, evangelical, Bible believing Christians who contend
earnestly for the faith and oppose the prophetic movement's unscriptural
"revelations" and the false foundations they are building based on
these revelations.
The Bible says: "You shall know
the truth, and the truth will make you free." But those who resist present
restored truth, by stubbornly clinging to scripture, are called a number of nasty names by the leaders of the
apostle-prophet movement. Here are a few examples of the names Bill Hamon calls
ordinary Bible believing, evangelical, Christians
who refuse to be seduced by the doctrines of devils he promotes.
(Most of the below can be found in
just the first chapter of his book):
v
Rebellious
v
Critical
v
Jealous
v
"Traditional" (as in "old fogy")
v
Contentious
v
Narrow Minded
v
Not open to the Holy Spirit
v
Not very spiritually developed
v
Discriminating
v
Belonging to the "anti-Christ religious system"
v
Withered hand
Jesus embodies truth. He "is" the truth as well as "speaks" the truth. And
He-as our creator-chose to give us the truth in his written Word, the
scriptures-which will endure forever. The scriptures themselves claim to endure
to every generation-to be preserved to every generation. The scriptures
themselves claim to be complete in that they are "settled forever."
Where does that leave room for those who say God's truth has been lost? Which
generation is not included in "every?"
So whose "truth" is going
to carry the most weight with us the "present truth" of Bill Hamon,
Peter Wagner, Rick Joyner and their crowd (which
is growing exponentially and who waste no opportunity to pooh, pooh, ridicule
and viciously stereotype Bible believing soul winners)... or the Word of
Truth that endures to all generations, the Bible?
Long after "present restored truth" has dropped its rotten
fruit, dried up, and like the dust, has blown completely away, but that which
has been written, will still endure.
Fruit of the Prophetic Movement
What Kind of Fruit Is the Prophetic
Movement Producing? The Father of the Apostle-Prophet movement begins his
Apostle-Prophet book by laying a false foundation and building from there.
Hamon's unscriptural premise is stated very early and very clearly on the
dedication page (V) of his 1997 book Apostles Prophets and the Coming Moves of
God.
It is here that the reader is
informed that Jesus will not be "released" from heaven (to raise the
dead, catch out his church and establish his kingdom) until the way is
prepared, in advance, for him by a certain group of spiritually advanced people
getting down to business and restoring all things first. This is spin on the
Universalist belief that the entire race must rise to a higher awareness of God
before all things that are possible with God become actual. It goes without
saying that Hamon claims all this will be done by those who are well advanced
in the "ascension gifts."
Now, I read my bible daily. I pick
up reading every day exactly where I left off the day before. I have been doing
that since 1980. I do not know what Bible Bill Hamon has been reading, but I do
know what is, and is not, written in the scriptures. And no such thing as Bill
Hamon describes in the dedication of his book is contained within the pages of
the Bible I read. Uh-oh, there I go aligning myself with those he calls the
rebellious, anti-Christ religious system again. I have come to the conclusion
those are really all who disagree with Bill Hamon-and I am not being facetious
here.
Although the scriptures accurately
predict the general condition of the world (and the church) in the latter
times, nowhere in scripture do we read that Jesus' return is dependent upon any
human behavior or accomplishment. The scriptures are clear the time for His return is an "appointed" time-decreed
before-hand by the Father, and known only to the Father. There is a day and
there is an hour. And it has been pre-determined since before the foundation of
the earth.
Psalms 119:89 says the matter has
already been settled! The writer of Ecclesiastes (3:1) backs up the psalmist by
telling us there is a time for every purpose under heaven. Those are just a few
of the scriptures that speak of a set, pre-determined day and hour for Christ's
return.
Long before either of the above
scriptures were written. The Prophet Daniel wrote that the end (which is
culminated by the visible, physical return of Jesus Christ to earth) was
already an "appointed" time (Daniel 8:19). The Father already knew
both the day and the hour, and the issue, as the psalmist said, was
"settled" long before Daniel ever penned those words and long before
Jesus came the first time and informed us, yet again, of that fact.
As for the "restoring of all
things," that Hamon claims this committed group of super-Christians will
accomplish, only Jesus himself can restore all things. And nowhere in scripture
can we find where that will be accomplished before his physical return.
The establishment of Christ's
kingdom is what brings the restoration-not visa versa, and even then, we will
not see total restoration until the first 1000 years has been completed
(Revelation 20:5, 7-10, 1 Corinthians 15:24-25, Psalms 102:25-26, Isaiah 65:17).
As clear as the unscriptural
foundation, in the dedication of Hamon's book, is his New Age philosophy. Who
wouldn't want to be part of an elite group responsible for ushering in the
return of the King of Kings and then to rule and reign with him?
Do I hear an objection at this point
that New Agers (along with socialists) do not promote the idea of elite groups
but rather equality among all men? Do not deceive yourselves. They certainly do
believe that some are "more equal" than others. In all socialistic
(communistic) societies, there are the "equal" masses and the
"more equal" ruling elite. So it is within the philosophies of the
New Age Movement and the Apostle-Prophet movement. There is even a reverse
rapture included in new age teaching (which almost exactly matches that of
dominion theology) where less developed
souls will be transported out of this sphere of existence to another, more
suitable, location.
Although Hamon repeatedly claims
there are no hierarchies within the apostle-prophet movement, he also
contradicts himself by saying every church fellowship must be in submission to
an apostle-sounds fairly hierarchal to me.
Therefore, it should come as no
surprise that he "accepts" the responsibility of being an apostle
over apostles. He makes it very clear that it is the apostles and prophets who
are, or should be, in charge, while at the same time loudly proclaiming no one
is in charge. So, which is it?
It is true, though, that those in
the prophetic movement are very loosely networked in an identical fashion to
the way those involved in the new age movement are loosely networked, so the
movement is not threatened or stopped if one part of the network goes down
(Constance Cumbey has much to say about this in her book, The Hidden Dangers of
the Rainbow). But for them to claim no hierarchy is a deliberate lie. Both Bill
Hamon and Rick Joyner clearly describe the hierarchy- Hamon in his book
Apostles Prophets and the Coming Moves of God, and Joyner in his blasphemous
description of God's Holy Mountain contained in his book The Final Quest.
Jesus said we would know false
prophets by their fruits-there is no need to quibble about semantics here-false
prophets, false apostles, or false teachers- they all fall into the same
category. So let's take a brief look at one example of the fruit this movement
is producing.
Since Bill Hamon is the apostle of
apostles and the undisputed Father of this movement, it only stands to reason
that others who have embraced his philosophy, and are leaders in the movement
today, would be considered his... fruit. Rick Joyner is a self-proclaimed
"Prophet." He is considered to be one of the king pins in the
Apostle- Prophet movement.
In his book The Final Quest, he
teaches about how to tell who the high man or the low man on the totem-I
mean-holy mountain is.
In his book, he claims to have seen
a vision of God's Holy Mountain. There were people climbing that mountain.
According to Joyner, those who had reached the highest "levels" (New
Age terminology), are those who embraced the higher levels of truth concerning
the prophetic, i.e., present truth and are advanced in the "ascension
gifts."
Those who never progress past the
very lowest "levels," are the "traditionalists," those
pathetic, spiritually underdeveloped souls with a passion for soul-winning (the
very ones Hamon describes as belonging to the anti- Christ religious system).
Joyner leaves the reader perceiving them as pitiful, un-evolved Christians who
content themselves with being just soul-winners.
It is bad enough these poor
growth-stunted souls will never be as "equal" as those at or near the
top of Joyner's Mountain, but since these religious traditionalists will not
surrender to the consensus of the group, according to Hamon, they are-by
default, pitted against the group-causing disunity and hindering the
progression of "present truth" and the current moves of God from
being accepted-which in turn, keeps Jesus trapped in Heaven and hinders him
from establishing his Kingdom here on earth.
These critical, nay-Sayers who will
not accept present “truth” are therefore alienated, as hindrances, from the
group. And what is "Present
Truth?" Anything the apostle or the prophet says. That's right-anything.
And how do we know if what the prophet or apostle is uttering is actually
truth?
We don't, unless, God forbid, anyone
dares to challenge the utterances of the apostles or prophets against the
written word of God-the Bible, a practice which according to Hamon and Joyner,
only proves how ignorant and spiritually un-evolved we really are. The Bible,
as the standard for measuring what is or what is not "truth," is of
necessity, vigorously undermined (even though it is quoted, or should I say misquoted,
frequently), by the leaders of this movement.
Here some of the comments being
thrown around at prophetic gatherings:
v
God is a lot bigger than doctrine.
v
The church is so hung up on Bible study, they don't know Jesus!
I ask you, where is the only place
we find Jesus revealed as the risen Son of God-and the only name given under
heaven whereby men can be saved? The answer to those questions is only found in
the Bible! And where does doctrine come from? It comes from the Bible. And what
does the Bible have to say about sound doctrine? It says to give attention to
it, because the days are coming when men will not endure it.
So, in light of that, what kind of fruit is being produced by the
Apostle-Prophet movement? Rotten I'd say.
Does God still do signs and wonders
today? Of course he does. He is the same today, yesterday and forever. Not only
does the Word of God verify that God never changes, but I have experienced
signs and wonders in my own personal life in the form of supernatural health
and supernatural healings.
My husband is a documented miracle
at Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, GA. We have both experienced the
supernatural power of God in our lives, and we believe with all our hearts that
we should never forget that we serve a God of the miraculous.
But we should also take heed to the fact that Jesus' harshly rebuked those
who sought after signs.
How many today are touting signs and
wonders in order to validate their ministries and draw people to their
meetings? How many are seeking and following after signs and wonders?
Jesus said a wicked and adulterous people seek after a sign.
The miracles-the signs and wonders
Jesus performed during his ministry were in response to real needs-they were
not frivolous manifestations that catered to sinful lusts to see and experience
the supernatural. We even see Jesus refusing to meet a legitimate need when a
crowd was hungry and wanted another meal- because he perceived they were not
following him for who he was but rather for what they could get from him.
That was a very subtle and dangerous
shift in motivation on their part-ours too if that is the case. It changes us from
faithful followers of Christ into an adulterous, whoring people. We are
cheating on God when we begin following after signs, wonders and words from the
so-called prophets/soothe-sayers. The word of God says if we dream a dream,
tell it. If we have a word, speak it faithfully. These things benefit us all by
turning us from our own wicked ways to God's life-giving ways.
But there are far too many who run
when God has not sent them and speak words they did not hear from the Holy
Spirit. God says these deceitful dreamers actually steal his words from his
people and bring them to ruin
(Jeremiah 23:21-32).
"Is there anything whereof it may
be said, See this is new? The thing that has been, it is that which shall be;
and that which is done is that which shall be done:" And there is
"no" new thing under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:10, 9).
In light of the above information
(straight from the Word of God), how should we be dealing with those who claim
to be receiving new light or new revelation, i.e., present truth?
Isaiah gives clear instructions on
how to receive "light" from God: "Should not a people seek unto
their God... to the Law and to the testimonies (the written word of God)? If
they speak not according to this word, it is because... There is no light in
them (Isaiah 8:19-20)!
That is a direct reference to the
written word of God- the Holy Scriptures. Isaiah is clearly saying that every
utterance must be weighed against what has already been written. If these were
the only two references in the Word of God dealing with those who claim to be
saying something new or receiving new revelation, they would be enough to
debunk these false apostles and prophets
who claim to be restoring *present
truth, but they are not.
*Remember, present truth is supposed "truth" that cannot be
found in the scriptures!
So do not listen to anyone claiming to receive new revelation from God that,
even they will admit, cannot be backed up by scripture. These people, no matter
how good they sound, no matter how genuine they seem to be, are false, and,
according to Isaiah, there is no light in them.
Those who are committed to the
Apostle-Prophet movement love to tell those of us who love the Bible that our
theology is getting in the way of our faith and spiritual growth. Doctrine, to
them, has become a dirty word-unless it is an ever-evolving, Darwinian, type of
doctrine that morphs with each tasty morsel of new light that proceeds from the
mouths of the "prophets."
If one chooses to follow the leaders
of this movement, the Holy Scriptures must be trashed... because the "new
light/present truth" that is continuously spewing forth from the mouths of
these apostles and prophets contradicts the written Word of God.
On a daily basis, the followers of these clouds without water choose to
reject what is written in favor of "present truth" spoken by present
day oracles. When Jesus was tempted, he did not entertain Satan's seductive
offers for even one second. He was very stubborn in his choice of clinging to
what was already written.
We must be just as stubborn about it as our Lord was.
Satan had a comeback, which many
fall for, in spite of Jesus' example. He too said, "It is written."
Satan can quote scripture quite
well, and so can his ministers. If we are not doers of the Word, but if we are
hearers only, we... will... be... duped!
We are told in the Bible to give attention to doctrine. We are told in the written Word of
God that in the last days, men will not endure sound doctrine.
What is doctrine? Is doctrine that complicated, boring, incomprehensible stuff theologians
spend their lives analyzing, obsessing with, writing and debating about? I hope
not! For if that is what it is, I do not want anything to do with it either!
Fortunately, that is not what
doctrine is. The word
"Doctrine" means instruction. That entails a bit more than simply
teaching. However, the Bible says that in the last days, sound doctrine will be
despised, and people will be heaping teachers to themselves- specifically
teachers whose words make the hearer feel good.
That is happening now. The time Paul spoke of in 1Timothy
4:1 and 2 Timothy 4:3-4 is upon
us in full force.
Doctrine is purely and simply what
God has to say about any given subject. And he arranged to have that written, very
simply, and very clearly, in his Word-the Bible- which will endure forever, and
has been preserved to every generation (Psalm 100:5kjv, Psalm 12:6-7 kjv ).
Notice the Psalmist said the written
Word of God would be preserved to every generation-not evolved or edited
according to Bill Hamon's, or anyone else's definition of "present
truth." The reason for that is two-fold:
1.) First, the written Word of God is timeless. It is never outdated.
It was written by the great I Am-not by the great I Have Been or the great I
Will Be. Any "time" with our awesome God (the one who inhabits
eternity) is always the present time. Therefore, essentially, everything
written in the Bible is present truth. "Present Truth" has already
been written and is contained within the canon of scripture-Genesis through
Revelation.
2.) Second, the basic needs of
humans-who are created in the image of God-remain the same from generation to
generation. There really is nothing new under the sun. What, I ask you, is
wrong with being clear about our *doctrines (biblical teachings, instructions,
and beliefs)? And what is wrong with being clear about the authority we base
those beliefs on? Do we base them on the unchangeable, rock solid, foundation
of the written Word of God, which is preserved to every generation? Or do we
base them on the words of those who build on sand and change with every wind
of.*@!#?
*Doctrine is not a dirty word!
Authors on contemplative spirituality;
Authors we recommend who have
written at length concerning contemplative spirituality include:
v
Ray Yungen is author of "A Time of Departing" which is a
thorough work exposing Contemplative Spirituality and Spiritual Formation.
v
Brian Flynn is a former New Age Medium who authored "Running Against
the Wind" which exposes the New Age teachings involved in contemplative
spirituality and spiritual formation programs.
v
Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon wrote extensively on the subject over 20
years ago in "The Seduction of Christianity." The book has not lost
its relevance for today's Christian. Rather, on re-reading it, we found it to
be even more relevant today than when it was first written.
More information regarding the subjects of "the prophetic" and
contemplative spirituality can be found online at:
v
www.HungryHeartsMinistries.com
v
www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com
v
Prominent Ministries that promote Spiritual Formation
v
Focus on the Family
v
Awana Clubs
v
CMA (Christian Management Association)
v
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
v
Reformed Church in America
v
Biola University
v
Bethel Seminary
v
Salvation Army
v
Dallas Theological Seminary
v
Baylor University
v
Baptist State Convention of North Carolina
v
Wheaton College
v
Moody Bible Institute
Presented to you by
January 22 2009
God Bless!
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