The question of guidance

True guidance includes seeking God’s will in all aspects of one’s life, not boasting about success, not envying the success of others, appreciating others and not criticizing them behind their backs, forgiving and not holding grudges, not falling into the sin of lust, not falling into greed, taking care of one’s own rest and health, or taking care of the well-being and love of one’s spouse and children. Many well-known servants of God have stumbled in these areas, and each of us is in the same danger. We need God’s grace and strength to be able to control our condition

Foreword

Do you struggle with guidance? Have you wondered how to act in different situations or how to tell the difference between God’s guidance and the wrong kind of guidance, or whether you can even tell them apart?

   We are going to deal with this difficult subject on the next pages. We will look at the most common problems associated with guidance, such as the role of the word of God, prophesies, voices, dreams, and other important influences. We will try to introduce some of the areas in which people can easily make mistakes. However, it is true that mistakes made in these areas are often the best teachers. It is unfortunate that we must learn many things through mistakes.

   However, our main emphasis will be placed on learning how to recognize guidance that comes from the wrong sources (demons), and how demonic guidance differs from God’s guidance. This is important because there is always the danger of being misled if we do not know the characteristics of God’s guidance and how He usually acts. Jessie Penn-Lewis and Evan Roberts tell in their book War on the Saints what happened in the lives of many people when demon powers ended a large revival in Wales through their attacks. They tell how demons penetrated this revival through people who sincerely wanted to know God and opened their hearts to the guidance of the Spirit, but did not really know the characteristics of God’s guidance. They did not know how God wants to lead people and how people might come under the influence of the wrong guidance. We will, therefore, especially concentrate on this so that we can distinguish the right guidance from the wrong.

1. Different sides to guidance

THE WORD OF GOD

- (Matt 22:29) Jesus answered and said to them, You do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

When we are looking for guidance in our life, the most important thing to do is to turn to the Bible and learn its main principles. God has given us His word; in it we can learn His will and understand the principles upon which He wants to lead us. He does not want us to seek guidance outside His word; instead, he wants us to understand His plan and will. That being said, we must be very careful about how we approach Biblical text. It’s important to consider verses in their proper context, and to avoid randomly pulling verses out of the Bible.  

   In practice this means that God never leads anyone into sin or to do against His will. We come to know His will by reading the Bible. God will not lead anyone into committing adultery (Hebr 13:4) or crimes, having premarital sexual relationships (1 Cor 7:1-5), practicing homosexuality (1 Cor 6:9,10), or abortion (You shall not kill, Rom 13:9). He does not want us to harm others or ourselves (Rom 13:10: Love works no ill to his neighbor), and does not want us to act irresponsibly or break the law (Proverbs 24:21, Romans 13:1-5). These actions are repeatedly mentioned in the Bible as being harmful. He never speaks, leads, or inspires prophecies that go against His principles. Instead, He wants us to leave sin and enter into His presence.

   The following quote describes what may happen if God’s principles are ignored. It describes a situation in which people divorced after hearing "prophecies," because they did not test these messages in the light of the word of God. Many errors are made this way, when guidance is not examined in the light of God’s principles and lessons:

There are also other ways to undermine the authority of the word of God. Some of my friends had a firm evangelical background and a heart, which burned for God. They started to attend a group whose members seemed to demonstrate spiritual gifts. At first, the prophesies were according to the Bible, and they loved to see how God worked in this way. However, little by little the contents of the prophesies started to differ from the normal understanding of the truth of the Bible. They, however, blindly trusted the prophesies and did not dare to question them. As a result, at least five homes were broken through divorces, by the order of the "spirit." When the matter was discussed with them on the basis of the Word, no one listened. In the disguise of super-spirituality, the authority of God's word had been supplanted. It is clear that the spirit who gave the commandments was not the Holy Spirit." (1)

Surrendering your life to God. When we are looking for guidance from God, the first condition is that we have been saved and have given our life to Him. Sometimes the reason for the lack of guidance can simply be that this has not been realized in our lives. We may have “idols” that prevent the perfect fulfillment of his will. Such wrong things can be hobbies, following sports, magazines and TV. They can become false, even if they are not all false in themselves, because they completely steal from us the time we could use to seek God.  TV in particular, and nowadays computers too, are the worst of the worst, because you can easily waste several hours of precious time working on them every day. Jesus said some serious words about this:

- (Matt 16:25) For whoever will save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

- (Luke 17:32-33) Remember Lot’s wife.

33 Whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

David Wilkerson also talked about misusing our free time in his book Näky (The Vision) 30 years ago. In this book, he wrote that the Christians who live closest to the time of Jesus’ second coming would spend the least time with Him. This description is certainly true in the life of many Christians today:

I can see that the sin of the future is misusing our free time. This does not refer to the weeks spent on holiday. It is not a question of the time you spend in Europe or in the Holy Land. It is not a question of taking a hunting or fishing trip. It is not a question of hours spent surfing, boating, water-skiing or riding. No! I believe that all of these things are good. I'm talking about all the wasted time; of the time a person has at his disposal to choose for himself how to use it; of the time he could spend talking with Heavenly Father.

    I can see that Satan comes again to accuse the last Christians:

Look at that Christian, slave of the television! Look at him! He spends hours of his time looking at TV series, comedies, sports, but he doesn't have time to be with God. He has no time in his schedule for God. He hunts, fishes, travels, plays golf, tennis, and basketball. He goes to the movies and parties, but he doesn't have time to read the Bible or pray. Is this the Christian of the last days walking in faith? Is this the Christian whose faith conquers the world? Is this the Christian whose objective is to get ready for the last days when persecution and Chaos rule the world? Are these the lobster Christians on whom the world falls?

The Greatest sin against God in the future will not be the abuse of one's body, nor satisfying the lusts of the flesh, not even cursing His name. The greatest sin against God will be that people do not care for Him when He clearly calls for them. I see a development, which has taken place behind closed doors. Christians in the last days, who live much closer to the coming of Christ than the first Christians, will spend the least time before Him.

IN A NATURAL WAY. When we are looking for guidance, we should note that God generally does not give us supernatural signs or visions, dreams and revelations every day. Even though He can give us detailed instructions, which the Bible also mentions in Acts (Acts 8:29 16:9,10), the biggest part of His guidance is delivered on a natural level, the level of everyday life. This means that if we first give our life to God and search for His will, we will receive guidance. It usually comes in a form that we do not always recognize. The general rule is that we first search for His will and turn to Him and pray. What is special about this kind of “natural” guidance is that we may not notice until later how God led us all the time. We may, perhaps, notice later that we have been in His plans all the time, even though we did not see any special signs:

- (Jer 31:9) They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

- (Matt 6:33) But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. 

Another important point about guidance is that we ought to use our common sense. We will not necessarily receive special guidance for every situation we meet in life. That is when we must act according to our better understanding and common sense. George Müller, for example, followed this principle. He first drew a line on a piece of paper; on one side of the line he wrote down the positive points and on the other side the negative. He said that "by using this method I was never misled."

   It should also be noted that the kind of guidance in which the supernatural force around us is constantly guiding (some examples of this are whispers directing us where to turn or what to do) or trying to force us into action, or threatening us; or visions that do not cease; these are characteristic of activities by evil spirits. If a person experiences such a supernatural whisper almost every moment, or even sees into the spirit world all the time, his guidance is certainly not from God.

WRONG ASSURANCE AND enthusiasm. Our own enthusiasm, imagination, and self-assurance can create some of the biggest obstacles to guidance. We may be so enthusiastic about something that we never stop to ask the will of God or show good judgment.

    This is very common in matters of love and infatuation. The biggest mistakes come from being blind to the imperfections of the person we love. We may not pay any attention to many Everyday activities that will affect the relationship (e.g., using money, sharing the same calling, etc.). Many of the false steps taken in love and infatuation might have been avoided if our own vivid imagination, enthusiasm, and self-assurance had not falsely directed us. The Proverbs also teach about this:

- (Pro 19:2) Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hastens with his feet sins.

A similar lively imagination and self-assurance can manifest itself in the area of the work of the kingdom of God. Here, too, a person's own enthusiasm and imagination can confuse everything. It can manifest itself in the fact that he can be absolutely sure of God's plan in advance, perhaps declare others healthy before his time, or promise a miracle, but does not inquire at all about God's plan in the same situation. He ignores that Jesus never took steps that the Father had not planned for his life, but sought to do only what he knew was God's plan in that very situation. He said of himself:

- (John 5:19) Then answered Jesus and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for what things soever he does, these also does the Son likewise.

The example told by Mel Tari illustrates the point. It is a question of how people tried to do a miracle, which, however, was not in God's plans at that moment. They confused their own enthusiasm with the will of God. The example shows that we must first find out God's plan and will, otherwise we will be led astray. It is the basic thing in all spiritual work and its success:

One thing is sure. After the beginning of the revival, we must have learnt that it is best not to pressure God. We cannot demand Him to do things our way, even though for us it would seem like the wisest thing to do. We must not take "steps of faith," before we are sure that it is the will of God.

   Otherwise, we will create a mess. If we try to cross a river three meters deep without the Lord ordering us to do so, we will surely sink to the bottom and drown, even though our motives were spiritual, such as to testify to the Muslims who are standing by the river.

   Some believers tried in faith to ask God to raise their friend from the dead, but they did not stop to ask what God thought about it. They were so enthusiastic about their idea that they repeatedly told God that if only He would do a miracle, His name would be glorified. It might also start a revival in that region.

   But God does not need men to defend Himself. He does not need to do a miracle to prove that he is God. The Lord did not raise the person from the dead. He knew what would happen: instead of Him, the miracle would have got all the glory.

   God also knew that my friends wanted to claim some of the fame for themselves. They were not strong enough to give all the glory to Jesus. If someone would have said to them, "How spiritual you are! Tell me the secret of your great faith", the flattery might have made them proud and destroyed them spiritually. (2)

Another more tragic example shows that one should not move forward if one is not absolutely sure that God is involved in the action. It tells about people who took a "step of faith", but without God having planned it for their lives. The example brings out our dependence on God, and that we must first be clear about his "rhema word", otherwise nothing will work.

I heard about a group of Korean young people who were going to a youth camp when their trip seemed to end before it even started. A road was cut off because a flood had destroyed a bridge. The youth decided to continue in faith and walk on water. They walked into the flooding stream together like Peter in his time. A few days later, their bodies were found in the lower reaches of the river. The event caused a major commotion in Korea. A reverend discussed the reasons of the accident in public by explaining what the word “rhema” means. The youth only had “logos” and not “rhema”. Mere great faith or fancy is not enough for such a step if there is no rhema to base one's faith on.

   Rhema is not necessary for everything, though. It would be completely overly spiritual to claim that our prayers should always be based on a special announcement from God. This is only rarely needed. However, in the case of serious and great steps, rhema is sometimes necessary. We cannot walk on water, raise the dead or do other powerful deeds on mere faith. If God gives you rhema, however, you should proceed in faith and the word will become true in your life. In such a case, faith means obedience and God will provide you with the necessary faith. (3)

SIGNIFICANCE OF INNER TESTIMONY. One of the most important elements of guidance is inner testimony. It means that we don't need to look for guidance from the outside through others, but God Himself gives everyone who follows him understanding and certainty in which direction to go and which not to. It is a question of whether our inner life is peaceful or troubled. If a Christian feels troubled, hesitant or restless these feelings can be considered warning signs. Hasty, fast decisions should be avoided. However, if a Christian feels inner assurance and a peaceful feeling, he is going to the right direction. The more he thinks about it, the better he feels, and it can be considered a green light from God. Peace and tranquility prove that guidance is from God. The Bible talks about it in many verses:

- (Col 3:15) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you are called in one body; and be you thankful.

- (Phil 4:7) And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

- (Isaiah 48:17,18) Thus said the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD your God which teaches you to profit, which leads you by the way that you should go.

18 O that you had listened to my commandments! then had your peace been as a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea:

- (Rom 8:9,16) But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

- (1 John 5:10) He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself: he that believes not God has made him a liar; because he believes not the record that God gave of his Son.

- (1 Cor 3:16) Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

- (Eph 1:13) In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

This means that inner testimony is one of the most important facets of guidance. If guidance does not contradict the Scriptures and the person feels inner peace, they’re getting a green light. John Bevere describes his experience:

Whether the word comes from another person or whether we hear it in our hearts, the peace found through the spirit of Christ is always the determining issue. If we feel peace in our hearts, it is the Holy Spirit’s confirmation for the truth. If there is unrest or worry in our hearts, God’s Spirit has not spoken to us. (...)

   When we needed an administrative manager for our service work, I spent more than a year finding the right person. Four good men were offered to us during that time. We looked at their qualifications and interviewed two of them. Three of them were more qualified than I had even imagined. (...) Despite their great accomplishments, we only had a little or no peace in our hearts. My friends asked questions, and my understanding was purely screaming. I thought, “Have you become so religious that you cannot hire a good man when you see one?” Every time I rejected a candidate, I thought, “Will I ever get the help we need?” By the time we interviewed the third person, I convinced myself to move on. I did not have peace deep inside me, however. The unrest or sign became so powerful that I finally understood that hiring that person was surely not of God, and God was merciful.

   During this period of time, my wife often said to me, “You should speak to Scott before hiring anyone.” Scott had assisted us a couple of times as a volunteer. After having interviewed the others, I asked Scott whether he was interested. He prayed to find out and said he was. The day he came to my office to meet us, God’s peace and presence flowed into my heart and that of my wife, and they filled the entire office. We glanced at each other, surprised, all through the interview. We were shocked at feeling such peace instead of the unrest we had felt during the previous interviews. We knew without a doubt that Scott was God’s choice because we felt the testimony of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Scott was a huge blessing for our service work. All the other men were truly God-fearing men but they were not God’s choice for this position. (4)

OUR BEHAVIOUR

- (2 Tim 1:7) For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

- (Col 4:5-6) Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

6 Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man.

One important aspect of guidance is correct behaviour. It should be balanced and filled with love and peace towards our neighbours – just like Jesus’ behaviour. If we do not have love and the fruit of the Spirit (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law, Gal 5:22,23), if we act aggressively or act as if we know everything and never admit our faults, then it will be very difficult for people to receive the Gospel – they will tend to reject it. In the same way, if people see that there is exaggeration, extremity or intemperance, without the respect for God, in our lives they usually are offended. Then it is also difficult for them to receive the message of the Gospel.

   When doing the work of God and spreading the Gospel, a person can be overcome by religious hate without even knowing it. It is not a question of hating what is wrong or wrong behaviour; it is an attitude lacking love towards specific groups, such as homosexuals, Jehovah’s witnesses or unbelieving priests. It means that we do not have to like all the things these people and other people represent but if someone has a harsh, judgemental and reproachful attitude, this attitude will probably keep these people from entering the kingdom of God. They will move away from God instead of coming closer to Him.

   Bill Hybels has written about the wrong attitudes often seen in evangelism. He states that if we have done something wrong or inept, an apology can improve the situation. It should not be forgotten. It can be used to correct harmful attitudes and words that we may have committed.

Many people have asked me over the years what they should do to make right the wrong acts they have committed during evangelism. When they have pressurised people. When they have ruined the whole thing. When they have tried to help someone believe while God actually only wanted them to help the other until twenty.

   My answer is always the same: “What about apologising? I don’t know your situation in detail but my non-believing friends simply love it when I apologise to them.”

   (...) If you have done something wrong when telling people about Christ, go to those whom you have trespassed and beg for their forgiveness. “I tried to run faster and farther than the Spirit urged.” Or: “I tired you with my talking. I confused you. I preached. I was arrogant. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?” No matter what you did, take responsibility and thus take the first step in making things right. (5)

Behaviour matters also in a meeting. T. B. Barratt, the apostle of the Pentecostal revival, has brought it up. He stated that even the way of presentation can ruin a good thing if it is presented unnaturally. He described people who had gesticulated uninhibitedly and unnaturally, and many people had unnecessarily been hurt by this. And the worst thing was that the same persons claimed that the Holy Spirit works like that.

"The issue can be good, but the way you present it can ruin it. I have often heard men and women of the revival acting in this way. Their speech has been overflowing, their gestures uninhibited and unnatural, and many people have unnecessarily been hurt by this. The worst thing is that they claim that the Holy Spirit is behind this kind of behaviour. No, no, and once again no! Undoubtedly, the Spirit of God is in them, but they do not present what the Spirit would want to say through them in the right way. Please do not understand me wrong. I do not claim that everyone should be a perfect speaker, but there is one thing everyone can learn. And it is good that it is learned." (6)

Let’s study another comment about the same subject. It is from Frank Bartleman's book Azusa Street 312 (p. 144), which tells of the early days of the Pentecostal revival and how some drifted into empty performances. They were not guided by the Spirit in their "performances" as Bartleman stated. These are good teachings when we want to walk under God's guidance and that our neighbors would be saved. If our behaviour is not correctly balanced and pleasant, how could anyone become interested in God? 

Occasionally, there were presentations in which there did not seem to be any guidance of the Spirit. Such presentations ended quickly. Sometimes the meetings were quite powerful. But there always seemed to be temptation toward empty presentations, just like nowadays. No cross is needed in such meetings, no turning away from selfish life. That is why ‘acting’ is always in popularity.

THE MEANING OF LOVE

- (Matt 22:36-39) Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.

- (1 Cor 13:1,2) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

As we speak about guidance, we must not forget the significance of love. As God says, in addition to Him we should love our neighbours more and more. If someone's life does not move in this direction and they drift into other kinds of actions and attitudes, it is always straying away from the truth and the true guidance of God. Expressing a hard, quarrelsome, and loveless attitude towards others only demonstrates that our own spiritual life is not on the right course. Some examples of unacceptable behaviour include refusing to love people who have different tastes in music (Christian rock, etc.), or unrepentant people, or becoming bitter if the leaders of the church support positions that we are unable to accept.

   Let’s study some more verses describing Paul and his life. Before his conversion he was hostile and cruel but when God changed him, he became a quite different and new man. He received love for people (compare Rom 5:5: …because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us) and worried about apostates and the fallen. He certainly did not utter threats and curses to others, which is one of the attributes of false prophets, although he warned people not to go down the wrong path. Instead, he tried to win them through love, giving us a pattern (Phil 3:17). Let us stay on the same track in our spiritual life, and we will certainly go in the right direction:

- (2 Cor 12:14-15) Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

- (2 Cor 11:29) Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?

- (2 Cor 2:3-4) And I wrote this same to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.

4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have more abundantly to you.

- (Rom 9:1-3) I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh

- (2 Tim 3:10-11) But you have fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity, patience,

11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

- (Phil 3:17) Brothers, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as you have us for an ensample.

Respect. As for respect for people and authority, it comes up in several Bible verses. We have been given an invitation to respect everyone, regardless of whether we think differently or in the same way as respectable individuals. It should never depend on the different perceptions of others if we follow the instructions of the Bible. There should be an appreciative attitude towards everyone. It applies to the king, the government, the employer, the parents and all the people. In the Bible it is written:

- (1 Peter 2:17) Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

- (Rom 13:1,2) Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

2 Whoever therefore resists the power, resists the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

- (1 Peter 2:18) Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the fraudulent.

- (Eph 6:2,3) Honor your father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

3 That it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.

What about the leaders of the peoples? It is very common for people not to follow this advice. People often talk about their leaders and what they have done in a negative and derogatory tone. They point out the leaders’ mistakes and mention them in their speeches. This may be because they consider the leaders to be liberal or they consider the leaders being advocates of issues they themselves do not like. This blinds people from the fact that they should respect such leaders – including church leaders – regardless of that.

   What's the use of spreading slander? If we are unable to personally influence the opinions of the leaders or discuss differences with them, what's the use of focusing on what they have done? The Bible clearly instructs us not to become the accuser but to pray and thank God for these people. The most significant point is that this advice was voiced by Paul who was repeatedly mistreated by earthly leaders.

- (1 Tim 2:1-4) I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;

4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

John Bevere wrote about the same thing in one of his books. He told about the dream of his wife, which is associated with the veneration of the people's leaders. Are we people, whose own behaviour causes people to reject God?

My wife once saw a dream I’ll never forget. President Clinton's years in office, my wife woke me up one night in shock. She seemed very upset. She said, “John, I saw a dream, and I must tell you about it.” (God often speaks to Lisa through dreams.)

   She continued, “You and I were in a great big hall listening to a preacher. I don’t know who the preacher was but he was popular among the Christians. He spoke against President Clinton, degrading him. He went on and on about how bad a human being the President is. Most of the listeners eagerly shouted ‘Amen’, confirming what the preacher said. You and I felt very uncomfortable.”

   Lisa continued, “Then, I saw in the dimly lit room a man standing up and walking out at the back of the great hall. I felt like I should follow him. When I reached the building’s lobby, he turned and looked at me. He was President Clinton. He was very sad; his heart had broken and then he collapsed.”

   Lisa concluded by saying, “John, I knew in my dream that the President had come to the congregation for assistance and support, but the congregation disdained him because of lack of love and pity. God showed me that we hardened his heart so that he turned away from what he personally and the nation as a whole needed.” (7)

Pride

- (Eze 28:15,17) You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, till iniquity was found in you.

17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness: I will cast you to the ground, I will lay you before kings, that they may behold you.

One thing that can easily lead us astray and away from the will of God is pride - looking at ourselves. It was also the devil’s first sin. He admired himself instead of God (the verses above). Instead of turning to God and being grateful for grace, he began to stare at himself and his beauty, which then became a fall for him.

   If we are not careful, this can also happen to us: we may forget that everything starting from salvation is a gift and God's mercy. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are such, and so are miracles. These are also things like our natural abilities, such as the gift of speech and writing. These things are not of our own making; but the qualities for these things have already been acquired through conception and birth. In the end, there is very little that we would not have received either directly from God or through natural birth as a gift. Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5) and “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt 10:8). In the same way, Paul brought out, “For who makes you to differ from another? and what have you that you did not receive? now if you did receive it, why do you glory, as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor 4:7). These words are important to remember in all spiritual work, otherwise we will go astray:

- (1 Cor 10:12) Why let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

- (Pro 18:12) Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility.

- (1 John 2:19) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

- (Mark 9:34-35) But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.

35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and said to them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

So, there is the danger of self-admiration and self-pride and it is easy to fall into these emotions when everything is going well. They usually emerge after we have won a great victory, or our popularity has risen, or we have received a lot of praise from people; winning large rewards and being praised by many others can lead us into thinking too highly of ourselves. Many people may be captured during such moments by misleading spirits. They are no longer able to see that everything comes from the grace of God; they become self-centered and can no longer see things clearly, but like through a curtain. This can happen, even though the Bible warns us very clearly about thinking too much of ourselves or seeking for praise from others:

- (Rom 12:3) For I say, through the grace given to me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.

- (Gal 6:3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

- (John 5:44) How can you believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that comes from God only?

- (Luke 6:26) Woe to you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

In one prophecy (Stanley Frodsham’s prophecy in 1965) there was a warning that many may fall under the domination of misleading spirits in the coming days, because they are used by God in enormous miracles and signs and they get praise from people. This happens if we do not see things realistically in the light of the previous verses, and understand that without Jesus, we can do nothing. Let’s study this prophecy that describes well how deception is possible. This can easily happen after great victories:

As I appear to My people with an enormous power of revival, I prepare them for the dark time which is coming. Along with the glory is coming great darkness, because glory will prepare My people for the darkness. I help My people to get through with the help of My Spirit’s appearing. Be careful that you do not swell with pride and think that you are already at your destination. Many will become conceited as those who received My message in the old days, but did not hold to it. Did I not anoint Jehu?

   However, the things according to My wishes did not come true in his life. Listen to messengers, but do not admire the person of these messengers. For many who receive from Me the enormous anointment with miracles and signs, will become proud as they get admiration from people, and they will fall aside. I will not do it with pleasure; I have prepared them for standing. I will call many to this work and prepare them for it, but remember that many will fall. They are like bright lights, about which people are glad. But the misleading spirits will captivate them so that many of My people go astray. (8)

Secular laws and the issue of military service. Secular laws can also be part of God's guidance. It means following the prevailing laws, as long as they are not clearly in conflict with God's will (Acts 4:19). The Bible indicates that we must not join the rebellious, so anarchy, violence, and breaking good laws cannot be right. This is what happened in the 16th century Reformation, when some went to extremes (rejecters of the law and destroyers of images - also Acts 19 tells how people destroyed magic tools used in witchcraft, but it happened voluntarily and only concerned their own objects, not others). They rejected both the temporal laws and God's will because of their wrong religiousness:

- (Pro 24:21) My son, fear you the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

- (Rom 13:1-3) Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

2 Whoever therefore resists the power, resists the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will you then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and you shall have praise of the same

What about the question of military service? How should we respond to this difficult issue and what does the New Testament teach about it? Is there any mention of it in the teachings of the Apostles and Jesus? This issue is not very clearly explained on the New Testament side. On the other hand, we can find both positive and negative points in favour of it, which will be examined below and which shed light on the matter. Based on them, one can get some idea of the area. What is important, however, is that no one's conscience should be shackled in this matter, because no one can be the determinant of another's conscience:

The positive points

- The need of authority to use the sword. Although a private person should not seize the sword on his own as Jesus said (Matt 26:52), it is still reasonable for authorities to use the sword when need arises, because criminals do this as well. (Rom 13:3,4: the power…bears not the sword in vain.) It is needed to maintain order and prevent crimes; otherwise criminals are allowed to do whatever they want.

  The nation's armed forces can be seen as an extension of the police system. When the police system combats internal threats and crime, the purpose of the armed forces is to protect society from external attacks. Here, too, weapons may be needed.

- Even though the Commandments passed to us through Moses make it quite clear that we should not kill, other laws made acceptable in some cases the death penalty for wrongdoing. (See Exodus 21:12). In it, a difference between a private person and authority was made. An individual must not do injustice to anyone, but a wrongdoer can be punished for his deeds. This rule has also been applied to armed service.

- If the authority turns another cheek and does not resist evil, it is difficult to maintain order. It leads only to tolerance for criminal actions. The wrongdoers feel they are being allowed to do their deeds in peace.

   On the other hand, if we do not repel the attacks of others, the same confusion can occur. If an attacker like Hitler (generally, the attackers are similar), whose purpose is to destroy hundreds of thousands of people, is allowed to work in peace and we look away, then we act as though we accept what is wrong. The use of a gun in defense can be justified for this reason.

The negative points

- When we search for arguments against the use of guns, one of the most important reasons is that man is an eternal being who either goes to Heaven or Hell. If he dies prematurely in a war, he will no longer have the opportunity to change his position after that, which is an unfortunate thing. He needs to hear the message of the Gospel and receive salvation before crossing the border. Hebrews says how we have only one life. It is not possible to change our position after this life:

- (Hebr 9:27) And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment:

• Jesus said: “Put up again your sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” (Matt 26:52). Likewise, he urged us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek to them. These are good instructions when we meet our neighbors in everyday life:

- (Matt 5:43-48) You have heard that it has been said, You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.

44 But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which spitefully use you, and persecute you;

45 That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if you salute your brothers only, what do you more than others? do not even the publicans so?

48 Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

• One negative point is that hatred of any kind towards other nations is certainly not God's will. It is not right that people and nations are hated and despised. By doing so you are exalting yourself and judging others, actions about which Jesus warned us. The right expression of love for one’s country it is not made through such animosity; we must appreciate our neighbor nations and other nationalities, not only our own nation or certain nations.

  Frank Bartleman stated in his book Azusa Street (it recounts the early days of Pentecostal revival) that wars harden people and their hearts fill with hate. The description refers to the time just before the First World War when he went to Europe. He also wrote that to him the Gospel is the same during both peace and war:

We did not want to return to America so soon, but we were forced to leave because of safety. Besides, all the efforts of the nations aimed at that people’s hearts would fill with hate and bloodthirstiness. There did not seem to be any room for the spirit of the Gospel. The Sermon on the Mount has nothing in common with the principles of “the god of war”. During a war, people are expected to do their best to hate, curse, and kill enemies, certainly not to love them. Let others do so, if they think it is suitable, but to me the Gospel is perfectly same during peace and war. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever.”

   (…) ”Seven fat years” in the beginning of pouring out of the Pentecost. “Seven lean years” on the eve of the World War. We prophesied it in the beginning. We could also see how churches would get highly involved in it. The religious situation hardened. What is next? Luther expected “the end of the world” in his time.

MUSIC. Continuing the list of idols in people’s lives, a very common one is so-called Christian hard rock and the worldly rock music some people like. This may bind many people so they spend several hours daily listening to it. It can be the same kind of idol as TV and movies. All of these take our time.

   However, it is worth asking what fruit has such aggressive and angry music, which is completely contrary to the nature of the Holy Spirit of God, brought about? Is it not a fact that this kind of music generally produces nothing positive? It neither makes people aware of their sins nor results in godly sorrow, genuine repentance, hunger for Christ, or respect for and worship of God. On the other hand, the more common and more peaceful and happy praise music can lead people toward God. Hard rock music completely lacks these kinds of good results.

  In other words, it is quite different for someone to say that he has turned to God than it is for God's Holy Spirit to reveal to us our condition and the need for salvation. Rebirth comes from heaven, but it is possible to make decisions without the regenerative work of God's Spirit and true repentance within you.

   One can generally say that the harder the so-called Christian rock is, the more superficial is the faith; perhaps people have not yet experienced real salvation, and thus cannot lead others into salvation.

   David Wilkerson wrote about this in his book Pasuuna soi (Set the Trumpet to the Mouth), p. 101. He stated that many people are so bound by this music that it is more difficult for them to give it up than to give up stimulants. They can cling to the music, even though the Lord has full control in other areas of their life:

One reason the Spirit of God left the Jesus revival last decade is that they refused to reject their old music. They gave up marijuana, heroin, alcohol, wrong sex, and even their distorted life style. But their dear rock music they have not given up. "But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage?" (Gal 4:9)...

   Amazing! I would say that its grip is stronger than that of drugs, alcohol or tobacco. It is the widest mass preference in the history of the world. Are they going to hold on to it even before the judgment of God? Will Christ say, "I tell you that one thing is lacking from you; one idol has remained. You stubbornly walked your way. The music that grieved me, you let control your life: all this for the sake of not giving everything to me!”  "But you have made me to serve with your sins, you have wearied me with your iniquities." (Isa 43:24). 

2. The prophecies

Prophecies can also be a source of guidance. We have to take some things into consideration so that we can use them in the correct way, because otherwise we can easily get on the wrong track. Make a note of the following points:

Not the most important thing in guidance. The most important thing in the use of prophecies is that they are not the main way guidance is given, only one of them. They have to stay in the background – not play the main role – when we are searching for guidance. Neither can they take the place of the word of God, as might easily happen.

   The main rule in using prophecies should be that they usually only confirm what we already know – they rarely bring out anything new. It is unlikely that God would first speak to others about our guidance. He will most certainly always speak about it first to our own hearts before telling it to us through the prophesies of others. This should always be the order.

   As to different ministries in the church, it is good to understand that if all of the ministry is led by prophecies or new revelations, we will always be led astray. Most of the heresies and false movements have their beginning in the incorrect emphasis and use of prophecies. They have begun because this gift (or perhaps an imitation of this gift) has been raised into first importance, though it should only be in a secondary position.

   Donald Gee addressed this confusion when he described his experience of the first events of the Pentecost movement. He warned about wrongly emphasizing prophesies:

In my country, Wales, several Pentecostal brothers have gone astray by misusing the gift of prophecy so that all of their activity is led by prophecies. All of their churches have been established by prophets and their private lives are guided by these prophets. This is very dangerous and quite wrong and completely non-biblical. We are not allowed to mix the teaching of the Old and the New Testament like this. I am glad that the Lord has brought me here to warn you. If this misunderstanding were ever to happen here in Finland, I pray that you would firmly stand against it. (9)

Not perfect. The second thing that should be noted is that our prophecies are always imperfect (1 Cor 13:9: For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.). No-one ever gets perfect in using this gift, but imperfection is seen especially among those who have not been believers for a long time. They may present their own thoughts as prophecies and make mistakes, because they have not yet had the chance to grow in this respect.

   Imperfection in prophesying is described in the next quote. Steve Thompson wrote in his book that just like musicians make many mistakes when practicing to be better players, we may have to go through the same kind of process when practicing to use the gift of prophecy. In this practice, we usually learn by the process of trial and error:

What musician could become talented without making thousands of mistakes? Not a single one. Why do we then expect those people who are just beginning to use their prophetic gifts to do everything right from the very beginning? We have to be ready to make mistakes before we can do things well. The key is that we start. The sooner we start, the sooner we can become skilful. (10)

So, even if prophecies are not always perfect, it does not necessarily mean the prophet is false: it is only imperfectly using this gift. Because of the same imperfection, it is good to make sure that we do not start to look down on this gift, but that we give it its right value. Paul taught that we must prove everything and hold fast to that which is good:

- (1 Cor 14:29) Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

- (1 Thess 5:19-21) Quench not the Spirit.

20 Despise not prophesyings.

21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

FALSE PROPHECIES AND PROPHETS. The devil can imitate a genuine gift of prophecy and other gifts of the Holy Spirit as mentioned in 1 Cor 12. Imitating this gift is possible because many people are in connection with evil spirits. Because of this, their prophesies can occasionally come true and the information or "the message of knowledge" can be true. (Acts 16:16 mentions a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. Even a believer can sometimes be a channel for an evil spirit if he has in his past been dealing with fortune telling or occultism, and has not yet completely been released from this spirit.)

   However, if we look at some of the features of false prophecies, we can see that certain characteristics can be found in all of them. The most common characteristics are described below.

Content. One characteristic of false prophecies is that they contain information that does not even belong to prophetic communication. They are more like fortune telling messages. Authentic prophecies should be only for edification, exhortation, and comfort. (1 Cor 14:3: But he that prophesies speaks to men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.) False prophecies generally cross this line and ”foretell” quite different things. The following are typical:

• In them, it is common to urge the donation of money to specific causes. It is something that certainly does not fall within the realm of true prophecy. These kinds of prophecies almost always come from the person himself.

I know some former rich people who have gone bankrupt because they listened to someone prophesying about how they should invest their money.

   I remember a man who came to one of my meetings. I knew who he was although I didn’t know him personally. I did not know that he never made a deal without asking a so-called prophet for advice first.

   I said to him, “I have a powerful urge to say this to you: you will lose all you own and go bankrupt if you continue to listen to your advisor.”

   He ignored my warning. The poor man who used to be rich lost his home and all his property. I have seen this happen many times. (11)

- False prophecies reject the word of God. They often contradict the word of God and may, for example, advise a person to get a divorce and marry someone else (the reason may be "the current spouse not being spiritual enough” or “not being a believer”, for example) or to do something else, that conflicts with the word of God. The end result of these prophecies (when obeyed) is that a person often will lose faith.

- One of the clearest signs that a prophetic message is false is that it gives advice on finding a spouse or marrying someone even though the person himself does not want to do that. It is good to note that God never forces us to marry someone and does not provide guidance on important matters like this through the prophecies of others. These kinds of prophecies ought to be immediately rejected.

Ritva heard about a Finnish couple in Australia who got married just because someone prophesied so to them. They did not examine whether the prophecy was genuine, but blindly trusted it and followed it. That couple's marriage was so terrible that it eventually lapsed into divorce! The fruits of true prophecy are wonderful, but the fruits of false are bitter! Others have engaged in full-time Christian ministry only because someone prophesied to them about it, and they were truly unhappy and restless when doing the Lord’s work. You must have the peace of the Lord—otherwise, you must not obey any such prophecy! (12)

- False prophecies direct people about how to take care of their business, or tell someone about the exact hour of their death. God never tells anyone in advance when they will die, which would make people unnecessarily fearful. He does not want His children to be anxious. He only wants to bring them closer and into a good relationship with Himself. A true prophecy is for edification, exhortation, and comfort (1 Cor 14:3). False prophecies do not edify, exhort, or comfort.

- If a prophecy is of God, it raises the atmosphere in a meeting instead of dampening it down. If a prophecy that is of a false spirit is said aloud, it is like throwing cold water on top of the gathered people. Such a prophecy does not edify, exhort and comfort (1 Cor 14:3: But he that prophesies speaks to men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.). Instead, it suppresses and oppresses:

Years ago, I held a seven-week series of meetings in a ward. Every single night at about the same time, at the same time in the meeting, just as the collection plates were being put into circulation, a woman stood up to speak in tongues. She repeated the same words every night. After a while, I would have been able to repeat all her message. If no one else wanted to explain the message, she did it herself. It was like somebody poured cold water on top of the audience. It oppressed the entire meeting.

   The reverend asked me to teach the listeners one Sunday morning as he had to be out of town. This was unusual. I stopped before the tolling of the bell. One of the deacons asked me,

   “Brother Hagin, could I ask something?”

   “Of course,” I said. I thought he had something to ask about the lesson I had just given.

   He said: “When a message is given in tongues in a public meeting, shouldn’t it be a blessing for the congregation? Or should it put an end to the meeting?”

   That dear woman sat directly in front of me.

   I said, “This question is not about the lesson. I’m not comfortable about talking about it right now.”

   Others, some of the congregation’s elders, said, “Brother Hagin, we would like to hear the answer to the question.”

   So I said, “If a message is of God, it raises the atmosphere in a meeting instead of dampening it down.”

   The woman was smart enough to learn from this. She came to me and said, “I’m wrong, aren’t I?”

   I said, “Yes, madam, you are wrong.”

   She continued, “I thought that I was doing something wrong the whole time. But I wanted to be available to God. I will stop my wrong prophecies now.”

   I said, “Thank you, you are a true blessing for this congregation.” (13)

- False prophecies may address controversial subjects in a congregation, to control others, and act as a source of answers to doctrinal questions. Prophecies that try to control or teach people (true prophecy at most sheds light on what is already written in the Bible) come from people themselves or from the devil. It is good to note that God has given teachers and His word to His congregation, so that His Gospel is spread. Prophecies are not the right tool for teaching.

- False prophecies often deal with devastation and destruction or tell the day Jesus will come back (even though Matt 24:36 clearly states that we cannot know the exact date). Even true prophecies can deal with destruction and negative things, but always through  a loving attitude.

- Criticizing false prophets can be forbidden or punishable, even though 1 Cor 14:29, for example, teaches: "Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.”

- False prophecies often refer to teachings that are not in the Bible. Many cults and heretical movements have their beginning in revelations of a "guru" or a false messiah or in guiding spirits and angels (Mormonism, etc.). It is characteristic for these movements that only the people in their group can be saved, meaning that they displace Jesus as the Savior. They also concentrate on the end of the world, and their members are totally submissive to the leader whom they believe to be the messiah. This leader may also make all the decisions concerning his followers’ career and private life. This goes completely against biblical leadership, which only includes encouragement, support, and being an example (1 Peter 5:3…).

Compulsive behavior is one characteristic of a false prophet. A person may be under a power so that he cannot control himself, even though 1 Cor 14:28 and 14:32, among others, indicate otherwise (But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God...  And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.). It is also possible that if someone’s prophecies come from a false source, the speaker may bring his message out with an unnatural and a high-pitched voice and his face can often be distorted.

Does not have the spirit of love. One of the clearest signs of a false prophecy is that it does not contain love or humility. All prophecies and actions should be in accordance with the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace... , Gal 5:22) and the nature of Jesus, and be full of wisdom that comes from above (Jam 3:17: But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.) Prophecies that come from a false source are generally fanatic, full of hardness, hostile, accusing, and condemning.

   The right prophecies can also warn us or reproach us for our sins and also be harsh sometimes, but if they come from God, the bottom line is always the love of God and the call to salvation. If this cannot be seen in a prophecy; it is certainly not from God and we ought to immediately reject it.

   This is also addressed in the following text written by Steve Thompson. He says that criticism and anger, the emotional expressions of false prophets, do not belong in the true prophecies that are delivered in accordance with the example set by Jesus:

Some current models and teachings about prophetic people defend this kind of anger, but it is clear that God does not accept or defend it. We must obey those models that God has given us, in spite of our experiences. The prophets have not been called or created to be critical, harsh, and angry. These are not included in the prophetic gift. If we believe and teach this, we will create a new generation of harsh and angry prophets instead of people who are patient and forgiving just like Jesus. (14)

Furthermore, a real prophet is not hard towards hardened people, because it is never the will of God. As we look at the attitude of Jesus towards the generation of that time and Jerusalem, He wept over it (And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,  Saying, If you had known, even you, at least in this your day, the things which belong to your peace! but now they are hid from your eyes, Luke 19:41,42). Likewise, Paul did not curse his citizens but prayed to God for them, so that they might be saved (Rom 10:1: Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.) It is the model given to us by God also now. A prophet who curses others but does not care for people is not sent by God. It is worthwhile to be careful with such persons:

”Nicky”, Dave said, “today God speaks again – audibly and clearly.”

   But we all are so weary of hearing about judgment.

   “Yes, there are also false prophets: mindless, immoral, half-mad, who have proclaimed themselves prophets and who also proclaim judgment”, Dave admitted. “But they have been sent by Satan to pervert the real message of sentries sent by God.” (15)

The fruit of prophecies. The fruits of false prophecies are always sour, the results always negative. True prophecies usually try to lead us into a closer relationship with God, to repentance, and toward an understanding of mercy. False prophecies do the opposite. They lead people into sin, divorce, negligence, fear, futility, oppression -- especially into the destruction of prayer and faith – all those deeds and emotions that always come from the devil.

   A good example has been provided by Yonggi Cho in his book. He writes about a situation where a woman who was under the influence of a spirit (an evil spirit, compare to Acts 16:16) told her predictions about others. The example demonstrates several characteristic features of a prophecy that comes from a false source:

Once a member of our congregation claimed that she had a miraculous gift of prophecy, and her prophecies actually came true several times.

   Because of this, many weak believers were so dominated by her prophecies that they ignored their prayer life, reading the Bible, and the life of faith. These prophecies were their guide. They came in multitudes to this woman to hear the so-called message of God for their daily problems, as if they had asked advice from a fortune teller.

   Because I was not able to immediately recognize whether this was from God or the devil, I observed the situation for a while. But when time passed, it became clear that the fruits of the woman’s work were not the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The attitude of her predictions was frivolous, lacking humility, love and peace like in a dove. Her words were cold, frightening, and destructive.

   (...) I threw myself to the ground before God and I prayed that He would tell me the truth by giving me the gift of distinguishing between spirits. In a vision, He showed me that there was an evil spirit in the woman.

   Because of this, I had the courage to put into effect disciplinary measures against this woman. The congregation was only just saved from a hurricane. Peace returned. (16)

Beware of enthusiasm and compulsive fulfilment of prophecies. When people are seeking prophecies, they want to hear positive messages about success, money, God’s blessings, finding a spouse, successful service work, etc. They want these things in their lives and easily accept every word that comes through "prophecy" and deals with the same topics. This happens easily if the prophecy accurately describes the things that have happened to them in the past and present.

   There is a great danger in this setting: Once a person has heard a word, he can begin to implement it himself. People may be inspired by it or consider it as God’s law or God’s advice that cannot be questioned. In their enthusiasm – once having heard the prophecy – people may quit their jobs or do something else that is not included in God's plan for their lives. Or they may, obligated by the prophecy – “because God told me so” – go to work in an area for which they have not the necessary talent or to which God never summoned them. They may consider the prophecy and obedience to it more important than the internal understanding they used to have, which each Christian can experience in their relationship with God.

   Our own enthusiasm or attempt to compulsively fulfill prophecies, therefore, are things to watch out for. If we do so, we fail to take into account the fact that not all prophecies are from God, and that there may be false prophets within the congregation. The Scriptures repeatedly warn us about false prophets. We must keep in mind the warnings of Jesus and the Apostles.

- (Matt 7:15-17) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.

- (Matt 24:11,24) And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

- (2 Peter 2:1,2) But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

- (Rev 2:20) Notwithstanding I have a few things against you, because you suffer that woman Jezebel, which calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.

- (1 John 4:1) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

- (2 Cor 11:13-15) For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

In his important book Thus Saith the Lord, John Bevere gave several examples of how the life of a person or an entire congregation veered off track when they held prophecies in too high regard. He gave examples (construction plans of congregations, service work, finding a spouse) that show how people lost all divine wisdom when they heard a prophecy and blindly started to make it realize without taking into account the fact that God's prophets might be wrong or that not all prophecies come from God.

   The example below given by John Bevere is about how people may start implementing things that are not included in God’s plan because of “prophecies”, and how the entire atmosphere within a congregation may change because of a false prophecy. It is possible when people hold the gift in too high regard, not taking into account the fact that prophecies may be from the wrong source.

After the meeting, the reverend hurriedly led me into his office. I knew we would have a serious conversation but I had no idea what he was about to say. He closed the door to his office, sat down and breathed a long sigh of relief.

   (...) He said, “It all started five months ago when a renown prophet visited our congregation. As you know, we are currently doing a construction project. Well, this person stood in front of my congregation sharing some personal words and then said, ‘Thus speaks the Lord: 'You are building a church that is too small’.’ The prophet said that the Lord says we should build a church that is twice as large because He was about to do something big.”

   (...) He continued, "That's not all. That person knew that my worship group and I were going to produce a CD and said God wanted it to be released within six months. My praise group was excited. To make it happen, we had to buy recording equipment for twenty-five thousand dollars. It certainly wasn't a wise move from us right then, but how dare I resist God's will? So, we used the money and now we have the CD that has not brought us much joy.”

   (...) Larger churches and popular CDs may first sound like ideas coming from God. Such prophecies make people inspired and offer them an appealing vision to base their campaign on. The only problem is the people around the false declaration, who fell under the distorted divine authority and will. Their gaze was directed and lured away from where it used to be, and from the leader who faithfully worked among them, and so they then adopted the words of a person about whom the same cannot be said. I wish I could say that this is the single available example of such activities, but I have unfortunately seen other similar cases, too. (17)

IMITATION MOVEMENTS. Since it is possible that there are different kinds of false prophets and false messiahs, about which Jesus warned us when He was on Earth (Matt 24:24: For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets...) it is also possible that different movements or cults are formed to follow these people. These, however, are not of God. Each group has unique features.

   It is crucial to understand that these kinds of movements that spring up to follow false prophets and messiahs do exist, that some people may be led astray, and that they can be led away from the loving guidance of God if they are not careful. If you are a member of this kind of a cult or movement you should look into this and recognize that it cannot be from God. He wants to release everyone from relationships that are based upon lies.

   The following characteristics, for example, are common to such cults and movements. Let’s study them and related Bible verses:

- Salvation is only possible if one joins the movement. Jehovah’s Witnesses have adopted this doctrine.

- No teachings from outside the movement are allowed, and there is a powerful mindset of “us versus them”. Group members may consider themselves to be the only true followers of God.

- Members are isolated from society and their families. The apostle Paul wrote:

- (1 Tim 5:8) But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

- Groups may emphasize sexual behaviour or completely deny it.

- Groups may have very strict rules about what to eat and wear, and may teach legalism (that they can influence their own salvation through their own actions).

- Groups may follow an authoritarian leadership model. For example, in the Unification Church the leader Sun Myung Moon decided with whom his followers could marry.  Such activity goes completely against true leadership. According to the Bible, we must respect our leaders but we are completely subservient only to God. A true shepherd is not a ruling lord but is a role model:

- (1 Peter 5:1-4) The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.

- Members wait for the end of the world and follow prophecies that give exact dates. Group members believe that only they will survive the future trial. According to the Bible, nobody can know the exact moment when Jesus returns to earth (Matt 24:36).

- Leaving the movement is difficult. Members do not dare to leave because of fear.

- The group demands full commitment; people are expected to give all their time and money to the group, and to go nowhere else.

- The fruits of the leaders are not good. They are not examples of humility, love and sincerity. Jesus has taught us:

- (Matt 7:15-20) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Why by their fruits you shall know them.

3. Test all voices and messages!

One important area in guidance is testing the voices, messages and dreams that we may receive. Testing them is important because there are also other channels than God from which we can receive messages, meaning the devil and the evil spirits. We may base all our decisions on some voices without testing them. We may take them as the law even though they may come from the devil, may be against our better judgment, and may go against the word of God.

   Below, we are going to look at the features specific to the messages from the devil and evil spirits. If you notice the next features in the messages you have received, they are certainly not from God:

"Special guidance." It is characteristic of the speech of evil spirits that they strengthen a person's self-love and make him flaunt at "direct special guidance". They make us think that we are more advanced or on a higher spiritual level than others, that we commit no more sins (even though 1 John 1:8 teaches the opposite), that we are very close to God and are led in a very special way, that we have a different road ahead of us and we might be selected for a great and special task. Everything that will happen to us is great and special, and will never happen to others.

   This is described in the next example. This person was in contact with UFOs and practiced automatic writing and the use of a pendulum, the result being that she was driven to "special guidance." She was freed later:

I didn't answer him, but I thought that naturally there is no resemblance for he didn't know God as I did – he hadn't been "taught Heavenly matters." I, however, had a direct connection to God and knew what it was like "in the kingdom of God," how there was peace and Joy and fellowship. I was on a firm base.

    (...) My heart was filled with a deep sense of peace. It was as if I alone was trusted with the loveliest secret of a wonderland, which would soon be exposed to me so that I could appreciate it in all of its glory.

    ... In those deep layers where the desire for greatness, power, and ambition lies in every person, I absorbed the sweet promises according to which I would not only experience great and exciting things, but I would have an important and visible part in them myself. I would get the lead role in a great play that would be performed to an attentive audience. I would receive ridicule and opposition, but also admiration and adoration - and in any case, it would be much more exciting than my hitherto unnoticed life. (18)

Crushing. In the previous example the voices and messages made the person boast. It is also possible that they can weaken our trust in God. These voices can accuse and crush a person so that he is driven into despair and under condemnation in his relationship with God because he’s afraid that he has committed an unforgivable sin. (Sometimes these voices can resemble our own internal voice and tell us things such as "you have committed an unforgivable sin,” or “you are special,” or “you are always wrong,” or “God doesn’t love you,” and so on.) The holiness of God might make people in this position terrified and slavishly fearful – too afraid to even look for the source of the voices. In a deep depression, a person might even submit to the judgment and criticism of the whole world because he doesn’t want to be disobedient to the voices he believes to come from God.

   An example of this kind of a wrong fear is described in the following sentences describing the life of a well-known Finnish trance preacher, Helena Konttinen. If you experience a similar kind of fear you can be sure that it does not come from God:

The beginning of the summer was like this, and I was quite angry with God. Even in trance, the presence of the Savior didn't feel comforting, but made me afraid. I would rather have escaped it. (…)

   19 days after these punishments, I still didn't have peace of conscience. I felt a flame of damnation, and the judgment of God frightened me." (…) (19)

To distinguish God’s work from that of the devil it is good to know that they are quite different. God never wants His relationship with His children to be crushing; He does not lead them into despair. Neither does a right experience of God’s holiness make His children terrified. Experiencing the One True God results in healthy worship, repentance, and a voluntary desire to surrender one's life to Him. He has not given His children the spirit of slavery and fear, but rather the Spirit of adoption, in which we can confidently cry "Abba, father!” He is also the God of comfort as the Bible repeatedly teaches:

- (Rom 8:15) For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

- (2 Cor 1:3- 4) Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

4 Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted of God.

Compulsive behavior. Messages that come from a false source can be crushing and may contain elements of forcing, capricious threats, punishment, or sudden hostility. These are, indeed, always from the devil. He tries to force and drive people into all kinds of actions that seldom lead anywhere and might show them in a bad light or spoil their testimony in the eyes of other people.

   This area may also include compulsive public confessions, "testimonies," or "prophecies," which a person must compulsively utter to others in order to experience "liberation." However, it is good to note that a true confession of sin should never be anything compulsive, but should be done voluntarily and only to God or those against whom transgressions have been committed. Compulsive public confessions should always be watched out for and avoided. 

   To show the difference, we can say that God never coerces a person, but calls him. If we are filled with the Spirit, even then we are not forced to do something against our will, but we ourselves can control our speech and behavior all the time.

   The next two very typical cases are good examples of guidance that comes from wrong sources. They originated as a result of the use of a pendulum and auto-typing, which are very common things that lead to misdirection:

... This moved Mrs. S. to tears, and she continued to communicate with the pendulum method through the night for many months, because she felt an irresistible compulsion to do so. The Spirit also began to give him commandments using internal dictation. She had to count all the churches she knew, list the roles her opera singer husband had played, and so on. The Spirit was always able to dispel the doubts that came to mind. The influence of the Spirit became more and more painful and took on perverted, erotic forms, manifesting themselves as compulsive fantasies of the kind that had always been alien to Mrs. S. At nights, she had to lie for hours in bed without moving or keep her hand in cold water until it ached. The voices increased; occasionally she had to listen to a whole choir of voices. When suicidal thoughts started to control her mind, she asked for help from a spiritualist movement, so that she could be freed from the spirit that had tormented her.

A civilized artist, Mrs Bn, experienced a total change of personality as a result of her experiences in automatic writing. She raged, continually massaged her temples, and screamed, “Lord help me, Lord help me.” She might kneel on the street and pray, or refuse eating, because she would go to hell if she ate after six o’clock. (20)

Inconsistency. One characteristic of messages that come from evil spirits is inconsistency. Even though such messages might be very accurate (excluding the possibility of chance), they might also be very inconsistent, imperfect, and incorrect so that the things promised either do not come true or their fulfillment is continually delayed.

   The changing nature of the messages is one of the most important features of messages from the wrong sources. If there is even a single contradiction in the messages a person receives, or if something promised does not come true, there is immediately reason to suspect that it is not the action of God's Spirit, but misleading spirits.

   The following example shows very well what this issue is all about. Even in it, the promised things did not always come true and the person sought to suppress all the doubts that arose in her mind, which is very common. However, she got rid of his false guidance, which he had drifted into through auto-writing and UFOs, among other things:

That was all that was needed, for me to close my eyes from clear warnings. It was strange that the fulfillment of the promises was constantly delayed. Why did He, who was from the kingdom of love, torment me so and sometimes speak to me like an insulted little child? Why was He so indecisive and ignorant of simple things – isn't God omnipotent and omniscient? I ignored all the questions, for they wouldn't have endured critical inspection. My will suppressed them. (21)

Another thing to consider is that we never reject the help of others in guidance. If a person has a sharply infallible attitude and thinks that he is "in direct, special guidance and connection", then he himself is in great danger of getting lost. He runs the risk of getting lost, because he lives in false certainty and infallibility, not taking into account the opinions of others, which, however, could guide him to the right way.

   Smith Wigglesworth described this in one of his books. He wrote about a woman who received contradictory information in her messages and who did not test it. The woman also sharply rejected the help of others, believing that she was under direct and special guidance: 

On this, the information was incorrect. There was no bank open at 7.30 a.m., and research showed that the bank in question wasn’t even in this town.

   How did this message affect her? The young woman listened to it. She paid so much attention to it that she did not listen to anyone else.

   I tell you the danger in this: If you cannot discuss it, you are wrong. If you are right and everyone else is wrong, but you do not tolerate any examination, or if your truth does not bear to be studied under daylight, you are wrong, no matter who you are! You will be saved from many troubles if you listen to what others say. Do not say, "Naturally I know. I KNOW that I am right.” (22)

Sudden suggestions and fruitless results. Other indications that guidance is coming from the devil include sudden suggestions and fruitless results. It is possible that a compelling, demanding, and persistent voice demands impulsive actions and sometimes even uses verses from the Bible to support them. (The voice of God is never like this; it is like the peaceful voice of a good friend and produces a sense of peace. For example, in the Old Testament, young Samuel first thought that the voice he heard was priest Eli, who took care of him.) The voice might, for example, advise you to leave your family or resign from your job, "…because Christ is coming back soon. Immediately resign from your job and start to live a life of faith!”

   However, the Bible says, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." (1 Tim 5:8) and "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat." (2 Thess 3:10).

   When a person is overwhelmed by these voices from a false source, he can drift into the strangest of habits: he can wear worn clothes as a "sign of humility or obedience", he can deny himself food and sleep, he can experience "labor pains" for the sake of souls, "vicarious suffering" for others. Or he is afraid to take the slightest step -"because of obedience to God" -  in even the simplest things, such as going to the store, shaking carpets, or what jacket he puts on. He does not understand that God has given us the freedom of reason and choice in such matters. We can choose how we operate in them and at what time.

   Listening to wrong voices will only shipwreck the person and spoil his testimony in the eyes of others. A good example of wrong guidance is seen in the next case, in which a person was dealing with UFOs but was later freed from the wrong guidance:

I calmed down again and felt, if possible, even happier and more hopeful. Why would I be afraid, since someone was supervising every step I took!

   Again and again I bent my head backwards and looked at the stars in the sky. Would they come? How? When? I was ready, I wanted to go up there – into the distance – at that moment it was my only desire. I had burnt all bridges behind me, at least almost all of them. I was ready to leave my work as a teacher, as I had been informed a couple of days earlier, and my belongings would be sold as soon as possible – my scooter I had already sold for a very low price. The money I received I would give to charity, as “greetings from angels." All according to the Scripture. But I wished that they would fetch me this evening and forget to return me back on Earth, for there was nothing here that could compare to the paradise of my sisters and brothers. (23)

4. Don't be passive!

We have already discussed some of the issues connected with guidance coming from the wrong source. We have mentioned that one can drift into trouble when we do not test voices, dreams and prophecies.

   One channel for false guidance can also be the pursuit of the passivity of the mind as well as the body. A person can fall under false spirits if he pursues these states and does not know how the true guidance of God will take place. We are going to look at the passive state of our mind and body in separate sections, and consider the consequences of passivity:

Passivity of mind. It is possible that a person can drift into the wrong kind of guidance by, for example, allowing his mind to become passive while seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit or waiting for the Holy Spirit to speak to him. A person may think that he must empty his mind and suppress his conscience and be in a passive "condition of death" so the Holy Spirit can enter and effect change. Some have even stayed awake for days when they have pursued the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Some have fasted, or repeated a sentence thousands of times to get the gift of speaking in tongues until their mind has finally become confused, exhausted, and empty. They have thought that this kind of a vacuous condition and their "weakness" is a precondition for God to act. (If you get the gift of speaking in tongues in the above-mentioned way it is probably not God's gift but an imitation of it.)

   However, it is good to understand that passivity, inward-looking, inner silence, surrendering one's self-consciousness and mind to a passive "state of death" (perhaps using gal 2:20 incorrectly) or becoming "weak" in the wrong way is never God's will. He does not want our passivity and empty mind, but that we are at full strength of body and soul all the time, and the mind refreshed. A person should beware of excessive self-fatigue, staying awake too long, and sometimes harsh fasting. We must take good care of our body so that we do not burden it too much.

   In addition, it is good to know that an empty mind and a passive physical state are among the most important prerequisites for evil spirits to function. The wrong kind of anointment always requires passivity. That is why mediums, spirit healers, and the users of a crystal ball, for example, try to achieve this state of passivity through Oriental meditation, breathing and concentration exercises, visualization or other comparable methods; they lead people to fall under the influence of evil spirits.

Passiveness of body. Another view is that a person must be like a passive machine so God can flow through him. A person must be passive so God can use him and affect him. People have thought that a person must give his body "to the Holy Spirit" and that God will then move him, affect his or her desires and even speak through him. It has also been thought that the Holy Spirit will come and occupy a person in such a way that he cannot control himself or know what to do.

   However, this view is also wrong. God never displaces our personality or walks over us. Neither does He move people around like passive pawns in a chess game. Such activity is commonly found among, for example, mediums and automatic writers who are occupied by strange spirits who speak and write through them. Instead, God always wants a person’s soul and body to be fully functioning and in his own control. And if a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, it is not a matter of his being passive, but the person himself is wanting, loving, speaking, making decisions, testing everything, praying to God who is in Heaven, and speaking in tongues. Often when the Holy Spirit affects people, it is difficult to see what is from Him and what comes from the person himself.

   This was well illustrated by the excellent examples of Jessie Penn-Lewis. She described how a person might easily sink into the wrong kind of passivity by waiting for God to start to move him and work in him:

Below, we will list some of the misconceptions and wrong conclusions that lead a believer into a passive state of mind:

   (1) "Christ lives in me", so I myself no longer live.

   (2) "Christ lives in me", meaning that I have lost my personality because Christ in person lives in me (a wrong conclusion from Gal 2:20).

   (3) "God acts in me", so I do not need to do anything, only surrender and obey (Phil 2:13).

   (4) "God wants for me", meaning that I cannot use my own will at all.

   (5) "God alone is the judge", meaning I am not allowed to use my own discernment.

   (6) "I have the mind of Christ", meaning that I cannot have any opinions of my own (1 Cor 2:16).

   (7) "God speaks to me", and so I cannot "think" or "make conclusions", only "obey" what He says.

   (8) "I am waiting for God" and "I cannot go anywhere before He moves me”.

   (9) "God reveals His will in a revelation to me", and so I do not need to decide or use my intelligence and conscience.

   (10) "I have been crucified with Christ", therefore "I am dead," and I have to "practice" death, which I imagine to be the passiveness of my feelings and thoughts. (24)

What can be the consequences of inactivity? Passivity always brings about changes in a person that are not good in the long run. Whenever a person strives for the passivity of his mind and body, he is exposed to evil spirits that bring about negative changes. Things such as the inhibition of prayer and reading the Bible, a distorted view of God(often darkly threatening as has occurred in the lives of many trance preachers), drifting into sin at the command of sounds, increasing compulsion in life, an increase of compulsive behavior, gaps in consciousness and memory, repeated seeing into the spirit world, distorted gifts, and also sensory experiences in the body may be possible.

   Jessie Penn-Lewis described these in her book "War on the Saints." She wrote about how evil spirits can give these problems and imitate the presence of God. These may be things like shivers, touches, “glow” in different parts of the body, experiencing cold, shudders, pains that seem to be like participating in the sufferings of Christ, or "a breath of air" that a person can deem the presence of God that he has longed for. These experiences, which can very easily be regarded as a sign of "God occupying the body," usually arise from being passive and praying to someone other than God and Christ who are in Heaven.

   One possible consequence of the passivity of mind and body can also be unnecessary and inexplicable suffering that leads nowhere. In addition to the fact that evil spirits can cause ordinary anguish, compression, heavy feelings, and as if an iron hoop binds a person, they can also cause unnecessary suffering that only hardens a person and does not lead him to a renewed relationship with God. E.g. "vicarious suffering on behalf of others" as well as "complicity in the sufferings of Christ", which, however, in reality are nothing more than attacks on man by the spirit world, can be such useless experiences.

  A characteristic feature of unnecessary suffering is hostile severity and the fact that it breeds terror against God and induces man, overwhelmed by slavish fear, to acts committed against one's own will and understanding. If you experience these kinds of things you should know that they are not from God and that you can be freed from them. This can be done by turning to Christ who is in Heaven and resisting the devil in the name of Jesus.

   Jessie Penn-Lewis wrote about this. She wrote that this kind of suffering that comes from the evil spiritual world does not generally lead to anything good and does not result in spiritual growth:

Suffering caused by evil spirits can be distinguished from suffering that comes from the real following of Christ in that it does in no way result in fruit, victory or spiritual growth. Suffering caused by evil spirits is completely purposeless. On the other hand, God does not do anything without a clear goal. He does not enjoy causing suffering only because of suffering, but the devil does. Suffering caused by evil spirits is often sudden and hostile and the person has no inner assurance of the Spirit that his sufferings are from God. A sharp-eyed observer can easily recognize that they come from evil spirits, just as a skilful doctor can distinguish a physical illness from a mental one.

   Suffering caused by evil spirits can be (1) spiritual, causing sudden pain or repulsive and painful "feelings" in one's spirit; (2) mental, such as a sudden lack of understanding, confusion, chaos, and terror, and intensely strong pains resembling pricks of a knife in the heart or other internal organs, or (3) physical, feeling pain in other parts of the body.

   The origins of this kind of suffering can be traced back to the time when the believer, believing to have given his life completely to God, took the "way of the cross" and voluntarily accepted sufferings he believed to be given by God. He unconsciously made space for the enemy when he accepted sufferings, that he thought were being given by God; in fact they came from evil spirits. This is one of the misunderstandings that lead to God’s being perceived as a malicious God. Deceitful spirits do their best to raise a rebellion against God through their own actions. (25)

5. No guiding spirits!

One of the things that can take us away from God's guidance and under false spirits is the notion of spirit guides that exist in man. Some people may be under the impression that we should have an angel or a spirit guide who will guide us by the hand and give constant instruction so that we now only have to carefully obey this teaching and not refuse it. In Spiritistic and New Age circles, such teaching is very common. They also have several other designations for spirit guides, such as inner adviser, higher self, resurrected masters, etc.

   If a person has such a spirit guide, however, it is one of the clearest signs of deception. If there is always an angel or spirit guide in someone's life, it is always a spiritistic spirit that wants to deceive a person and lead him to separation from God. Remarkably, the same spirit guides may well also pretend to be angels of God, or Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Bob Mumford gives a good example in his book. It features a man who got lost in the notion that he considered the spiritistic spirit to be the Holy Spirit. However, he freed himself from his delusion:

A young man came to me in the university where I was teaching and told me, “You know what, I am being led in a very miraculous way. There is always someone close to me. Whenever I ask something, I will immediately receive an answer.”

   I immediately became suspicious and started to ask this young man questions. He was clearly dealing with the ‘familiar spirit’, about which the Bible also speaks. This quite simply means that he had formed a close relationship with a spirit from the supernatural world. As it often happens, this spirit presented himself as the Holy Spirit.

   I thought about this and prayed to God that I could distinguish the spirits from one another. After two days, when the young man came to my office again, I bluntly asked him, “Have you ever been dealing with fortune telling or mind reading?”

   A curious expression came to his eyes, like he had seen through me and he said, “How did you guess? Ever since I was a child, my mother has taken me to fortune tellers.”

  (…) As I was speaking, I powerfully felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in the room and the man begun to understand. So I told him, “People use these wrong ways of guidance to find out hidden information, future events, secret wisdom, and supernatural powers. But do you understand that all of this and more can be found with the help of the Holy Spirit? Are you ready to give up this false guidance and follow the truthful and biblical guidance?”

   He nodded and said that he wanted to be freed. We prayed for his release on the basis of the Covenant, which the blood of Jesus Christ has made possible for us. When he left my office, he was a new a person. Nowadays, he works for the Lord.” (26)

HOW DO THE ANGELS OF GOD ACT? It is good to understand the way God’s angels act so that we are not misled in this respect. There are definite features by which they can always be recognized. If these certain features that are listed below, are not seen, then the spirits in question are not angels serving God Almighty:

- Angels sent by God do not constantly guide people, and they do not deliver some new divine revelation, because we have already been given the Bible, the word of God.

   Most heresies have begun by means of some angel or spirit guide appearing to people (cf. Gal 1:8: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”). Some examples of such activity include various Japanese religious movements, and the Mormon religion in America (an angel appeared to Joseph Smith).

- Angels serving God always glorify Jesus and never raise anyone above Him or lower Him to the level of people. They confess His divinity and proclaim Him to be the Christ, the Messiah, who came in the flesh and is God’s one and only Son. We are taught in 1 John how to recognize a spirit’s source. If an angel does not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, then immediately, completely reject it: 

- (1 John 4:1-3) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Hereby know you the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

3 And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

- God’s angels always glorify Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son, who appeared in the flesh. They do not want to attract any worship to themselves, but always direct worship to God. If angels have special names or provide very detailed descriptions about themselves, you can be certain that they are not angels sent by God. They never want attention for themselves. A good example of this is a description in the Revelation:

- (Rev 22:8-9) And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things.

9 Then said he to me, See you do it not: for I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

• Since God's angels never appear as spirit guides, it is clear that they also never appear at the will of man. They usually appear only in emergency situations and only when God sees fit. We should always turn to God in heaven and not to the angels, otherwise we will be led astray.

TURN TO GOD IN HEAVEN! Falling under false spirits is very often caused by a person’s not searching for and praying to God who is in Heaven, but instead turning toward some other source of guidance.  Misorientation or focus on the wrong things can manifest itself, for example, in concentrating on angelic or spirit guides, but it can equally well manifest itself in giving oneself to God, in prayer, spiritual warfare, or soul care --  all of which might get the wrong emphasis.

Giving oneself to God. The situation when a person surrenders wholeheartedly to the Holy Ghost constitutes a dangerous situation. When a person indulges in "blind obedience" to the Holy Ghost, he may not take into account at all the fact that there are other spirits in the atmosphere who can deceive him by pretending to be the Holy Ghost. He may then fall into the same kind of deception as those who deal with spirit guides.

   Persons giving themselves to God must understand that they surrender themselves to the God who is in Heaven and turn to Him. He has already sent us the Holy Spirit, who gives us the power to do this. But our mind and prayers should always be directed towards Christ and God who are in Heaven; otherwise we will be in danger of being misled.

   Jessie Penn-Lewis addressed this. She wrote that an attitude that looks very biblical can actually be dangerous and bring about a perfect shipwreck if it is not understood how the guidance of God works:

When we take a look at church history and the different "heresies" and deceptions, we can see that these deceitful periods often start from a crisis where a person totally and unreservedly gives himself to the Holy Spirit. In doing this, he opens himself to the supernatural powers of the invisible world.

 The danger lies in the fact that until the crisis situation, the believer used his reasoning ability to judge right and wrong and obeyed what he believed to be in principle God's will, but now, having surrendered to the Holy Spirit, he begins to obey the invisible person and subordinate himself and his reasoning abilities in blind obedience to what he believes to be of God. He has surrendered his will to doing the will of God, and has been captured by the powers of the invisible world. This kind of a believer naturally only wants to obey the powers of God, but does not understand that there are also other powers around and that all that is "supernatural" is not from God. He does not see that giving oneself totally to invisible powers without knowing how to distinguish the powers of God from the powers of Satan creates a great danger for an inexperienced believer.

   It is curious that the attitude, which is very biblical, can be so terribly dangerous and result in a perfect shipwreck. (27)

Jessie Penn-Lewis also wrote about "waiting meetings" for the Holy Spirit. In these meetings, people wait for the Holy Spirit to appear in a very specific way. She wrote that this can also encourage evil spirits, because it gets people to pray and trust in the spirits who are around us instead of turning to God who is in Heaven. She also wrote that this kind of method is not in accordance with the word of God. This is because the Holy Spirit is a gift our Father has given us, and it can be received immediately from Christ. After God’s sending us the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, waiting is unnecessary and is not in accordance with His Word.

   It is best to make sure that we do not start concentrating more on the Holy Spirit, miracles, or the gifts of the Holy Spirit than we concentrate on Christ and God who are in Heaven. The Holy Spirit never wants attention to be drawn to Himself and never wants our worship. Instead, the Holy Spirit wants our attention to be always directed to Christ and God who are in Heaven. The Holy Spirit never speaks about himself or brings glory to himself, but always testifies about Christ and brings glory to Him, as the next verses demonstrate:

- (John 15:26) But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me

- (John 16:13-14) However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it to you.

Where is prayer directed to? It is also good to make sure that we direct our prayers to the right source.  Prayers should always be directed to God who is in Heaven because He, His throne, and Christ are in Heaven. Any other kind of prayer is not genuine.

   If someone starts to pray to a god somewhere around or in us – a god the person can always see as an internal vision – it will, sooner or later, become evident that the person is praying to evil spirits. This happens because we try to project the person of God into our innermost being or around us, and do not understand that the God to whom we pray is in Heaven on His throne. It is important to understand this difference.

   Another fault is that the prayer is not directed straight to God who is in Heaven but to the person for whom one prays for. Sometimes even "Christian books" offer instruction on prayer and visualization through which one might be healed, by, for example, imagining that the healthy white cells or little men attack cancerous cells to destroy them. However, it should be noted that use of these methods is never required by God.  Genuine prayer and God's answers to prayers always go through Heaven because God and Christ are in Heaven. The previous methods belong to the same area as hypnotism and magic, activities, in which people are misled by lying spirits.

   The next Bible verses refer to this. They clearly teach us that we must pray to the Father (or Christ) in Heaven because He and His throne are there:

- (Matt 6:9) After this manner therefore pray you: Our Father which are in heaven, Hallowed be your name.

- (Rev 5:7-8) And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne.

8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints.

Concentrating on the devil. As stated above, a prayer can be directed to the wrong recipient. Another mistake is to concentrate more on the devil than on God. This may occur in spiritual warfare during which people speak more about the devil and to the devil than about God and to God. It can happen, for instance, in the following ways:

- Worship songs that emphasize them being a weapon against evil spirits and not concentrating on glorifying God.

- Abandoning ordinary prayer is one outcome of spiritual warfare. All problems are seen as caused by Satan. It is also believed that salvation of people depends on Satan. That is why some people use prayer more as a weapon and to show authority; some people may spend hours talking to the devil.

   By doing this, one abandons the conventions of prayer and stops pleading for help from God; prayer takes on a whole other form, and the focus is placed more on the enemy than on God.

- One outcome of spiritual warfare is that it characterizes the enemy as being huge and threatening while God is seen as being miniscule and helpless, or as having difficulties in keeping the enemy under control.  Even though this kind of spiritual warfare might contain praise and even laughter (meetings in which Satan is “laughed out”), it can only reinforce the image of a great enemy and small God, because faith has been focused upon Satan and the evil spirits. It is only when people are freed from this kind of wrong warfare that the situation can improve.

Therefore, we should understand that the above-mentioned warfare is not God’s will for anyone’s life. He does not want us to concentrate on the enemy or constantly think about him; He wants us to direct our attention to Himself. Many great soul winners in the world have not focused on the devil, but have instead prayed to God, spent time with Him, and acted with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. That has been the secret of their power.

   In large revivals people have not concentrated on the enemy but on God. When people prayed to God, He destroyed the forces of the enemy and people were saved. This should also be the main rule nowadays.

   It is difficult to find in the Bible any instruction that we should spend hours every day talking to the enemy, or that we should bind the evil spirits above cities. At least, Jesus and the Apostles did not teach anything like that. Instead, Jesus advised us to pray to the Father in Heaven (Matt 6:9). Paul also prayed to God for the salvation of people:

- (Matt 9:38) Pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.

- (Rom10:1) Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

- (Ezra 8:23) So we fasted and sought our God for this: and he was entreated of us.

- (Acts 12:5) Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church to God for him.

Another thing worth noting is that if we start to fight for evil spirits by ourselves, if we end up in a one man war against them or if we become arrogant towards them (for example, 2 Peter 2:10,11 and Jude 8,9 warn about slandering the spirits), the shelter that we would otherwise possess will disappear. God wants to protect us from all evil but if we wander into the wrong areas or stick our noses into things that do not belong to us, this protection will disappear. The result can only be anxiety and depression. These evil powers should, therefore, be resisted only when God indicates their presence and when it is in His plan. As we are instructed in Eph 6:13: "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” So it is not necessary even every day. In any other instances, it is not worth our while to pay any attention to them.

     The next excerpt from a book by Judson Cornwall explains what this is all about. He wrote that paying too much attention to evil spirits only increased their effect. But when people concentrated on God the situation immediately improved:

It is with sadness that I remember in my life a time, when I was a preacher in a congregation in Eugene, Oregon. As we searched for a greater truth than what had been achieved within the framework of our denomination, we found ourselves involved in casting out demons. We were very successful in it, although it happened years before exorcism became so popular. However, we soon noticed that if one disturbs the devil during the week, one can expect the Sunday meetings to be full of demonic powers. Week after week, my assistant pastor fought with difficulties in singing and finally asked me for help. (…)

  (…) But the Lord said, "You do not lead your people to worship me before you lead them to worship the evil spirits.”

   "Oh no Lord,” I shouted, ”Let it be far from me that I would bend my knee to any demons or say anything that would lead the congregation into such worship.”

   He continued, "In every meeting you stand before your people and ask them to bow their heads before the demons present and to close their eyes because of respect for them. And then you start to speak to evil spirits. They take it as worship. Evil spirits from near and far come to your meetings because they have heard that they will be worshipped if they come.”

   You can imagine how this broke my heart. In terror, I thought that I had led saints to worshipping demons. After crying and repenting I asked the Lord what I should do.

   He said, "Do not pay any attention to the presence of evil spirits. Praise and worship me. You are my people; this house has been dedicated to serving me. Concentrate on praising me and I will take care of the evil spirits."

   (…) Since that day, and until I left the congregation, we never publicly admitted the presence of the evil spirits. We started each meeting with praise and the Lord Jesus broke all possible obstacles. When the evil spirits noticed that we no longer worshipped them or paid any attention to them, they left. Nor did they return. The answer to the cleanliness of worship is the same now as it was in the days of Moses. (…) (28)

Pastoral care. All of the above-mentioned problems can sometimes be detected during pastoral counseling sessions. Sometimes someone can explain that all problems, temptations, sins, depression, and difficulties are caused by evil spirits. People sometimes casually tell others that they harbor an evil spirit within themselves, or that evil spirits are always the cause of their illnesses and problems. Some have fallen into great fears (fear of demons), despair, even hospitalized because of these oversized statements.

   However, it is good to understand that most of our problems come simply from our own flesh and heart, not from the influence of any evil spirits. Being possessed by an evil spirit so that it controls and owns a person is quite rare. If we live in faith and do not keep our heart hardened, we cannot be possessed by evil spirits. It is more common that a person experiences disturbances from the devil, but it takes place from outside the person. It is similar to what Jesus experienced in the desert (Matt 4:1-11).

   There are several verses that speak of works of the flesh. They are ones that need to be repented of and cannot be driven out:

- (Mark 7:20-23) And he said, That which comes out of the man, that defiles the man.

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

- (Gal 5:19-21) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, jealousies, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Contentions, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

As to the possibility of evil spirits being the cause of our problems, it is important that we do not concentrate too much on the spirits or driving them out.

   Instead, what is more important is to determine whether or not the person himself is ready for repentance and willing to give up his sins – whether he feels a godly sorrow. If a person really feels godly sorrow and genuinely wants to repent for his sins, driving out demons may not be needed at all. They will disappear because the ground has been taken away from under them.

  It is more important to first repair our relationship with God and see to it that we are ready to repent. The most common signs of trouble are probably bitterness and refusing to forgive, self-hatred, passivity, following occult practices, and so on. Repairing our relationship with God will make most of these problems disappear. Even the Apostles always first spoke about repentance and advised that people should have a change of mind regarding sin. This was always the first thing they spoke about:

- (Mark 6:12) And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

- (Acts 3:19) Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

- (1 John 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

6. The wrong sources

One important thing about guidance is that we wouldn't seek it from the wrong sources. Many people may seek guidance from spirits that are not from God but belong to the kingdom of darkness. Generally, the hope of something better, finding a spouse, or some similar desire may drive people into these areas.

   The wrong source of guidance is seen in things like:

- Fortune telling from cards or palm-reading;

- Visits to a fortune teller or a clairvoyant;

- Horoscopes;

- Psychometrics is the act of predicting and passing information through physical objects or belongings.

- Predictions made while looking into a mirror or a crystal ball;

- Using a ouija board to communicate with the spirit world;  commonly used in spiritualism. Many well-known mediums have started with ouija boards.

-  A pendulum and a magic twig are also methods that have led people astray. People may have regarded them as normal scientific methods thinking that they have nothing to do with the powers of darkness. They have been commonly used, especially in searching for water, fortune telling, searching for lost people or determining medical care.

   If you have been involved in either of these methods (pendulum or magic twig), it is good for you to understand that they are not neutral. Everything used in spiritualism or other activity that answers questions by means of movement – whether pendulum, magic twig or ouija board -- is always from the devil and not from God.

   Using these methods does not lead to God’s guidance; they will only mislead you. They can bind a person spiritually and lead his life into a shipwreck, which is a common end to involvement in spiritualism. In his book Between Christ and Satan Kurt Koch shared several examples of how these practices have negatively impacted people's spiritual life.

   The next example provided by Ingerlise Provstgaard describes similar activity. In her book Kauko-ohjattu [Med fort hånd] (p. 70,71), she wrote about pendulum-principle activities. (In the same book she described her interaction with UFOs before finding salvation):

Based on my own experiences and observations of other people, I am convinced that everything that is based on the pendulum principle belongs to occultism and comes from the darkness. These might be a pendulum defining diseases or giving instructions on their treatment, a willow branch showing the place of a well, or a steel wire predicting ground radiation or veins of water or any such thing that gives answers to questions through movement, not forgetting the glass above a circle of letters.

   They do answer the question, but the answers come from evil spirits. From liars and seducers.

   That is why I have never been able to be happy about people’s stories of getting meaning to their lives or health after having visited occultist supermarkets. How could I be happy about God’s enemy giving meaning to their lives when I believe that his only purpose is to steal their life? How could I be happy about God’s enemy giving them a diagnosis and told what sort of treatment they should get, when I am convinced that he only waits for the day when he can give them the bill. He does not do anything for free. He wants to own their souls – it is his goal.”

Commit your LIFE to GOD! When people search for guidance from the wrong sources and rely upon wrong predictions and prophecies, they are giving permission to the devil to interfere in their life. Whenever we turn to the wrong sources, we give the reins of our life over to the devil and evil spirits who want to direct our lives and mislead us. This is what happened to Saul when he asked counsel of a seer who had a familiar spirit (1 Chronicles 10:13; 1 Samuel 28:5-20)

   Seeking predictions from dark sources can also cause emotional injury: depression and despair about the future can result, especially if the person sees parts of the predictions coming true. A prediction may become a curse that deeply affects a person, changes the direction of his life, and heavily burdens his mind.  Many have fallen into self-realizing the predictions they’ve received, meaning that they themselves have started to make the predictions come true.

   If you are bound by these predictions that come from demonic or satanic sources, you can be freed. When you give your life to Jesus Christ and confess this sin to God, you will be freed. As a believer born again in Christ, you can also command -- in the name of Jesus -- the evil powers that are trying to direct your life to leave; they must do so.

   You should also take into consideration the next verses, which teach us about guidance from God. When you have given your life to Him, you are under His guidance and not under the influence of dark forces or their predictions. Trust the truth in the next verses; do not doubt them:

- (Ps 37:5) Commit your way to the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

- (Ps 55:22) Cast your burden on the LORD, and he shall sustain you: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

- (Jer 31:9) They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

- (Phil 1:6) Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

7. The biographies teach

The idea to write this chapter arose when reading a book called God’s generals by Roberts Liardon. It is an interesting book about the biographies of such persons as John Alexander Dowie, Maria Woodworth-Etter, Evan Roberts, Charles F. Parham, William J. Seymour, John G. Lake, Smith Wigglesworth, Aimee Semple McPherson, Kathryn Kuhlman, William Branham, Jack Coe and A.A. Allen. It presents their strengths and shortcomings, teachings, and the miracles that took place through them.

   An interesting and educational activity is to read these and other biographies and learn about their attitudes towards criticism and persecution, how they dealt with success and great victories, or the fact that others are as anointed as they are. Often these are the areas in which we are weakest: 

”Try to be approved by God, not by people”, he answered as he walked back to the lines. Before going away he turned and by smiling a little he gave the last piece of advice, “And do not follow me”.

   In this first multitude I also saw many other men and women of God, both from my own time and history. I stopped to talk with many others. I was shocked over and over again about the fact that so many whom I thought to be in the highest positions had the lowest status in the kingdom. Many had the same story – all of them had fallen into the deadly sin of pride after their great victories, or they had fallen into envy when others were as anointed as them. Others had fallen into lust or bitterness or been discouraged at the end of their lives and had to be taken away before they crossed the line of perdition. They all warned me the same thing: the higher the spiritual authority in which you walk, the farther you can fall if you do not have love and humility. (29)

Praises and criticism. In his book Kuinka kasvaa hengellisesti (Growing Up, Spiritually), Kenneth E. Hagin brings out the features related to spiritual childhood and adulthood. With childhood he associated such topics such as idle talk about oneself and irrelevant matters, and discussion of faults and shortcomings of absent persons. He claims that they show that a person has not yet grown in his spiritual life. Instead, he attributes an interesting feature to adulthood; it is the ability to be indifferent to praise and reproach. He says that “Paul had grown in grace to such an extent that his only judge was God. He was not affected by people's perceptions and did not care what people thought of him. He was not shackled by anyone. This was not carnal independence but Holy dignity. The law of love governed Paul. He didn't get too proud and he didn't get irritated or angry easily... Immature believers get hurt or proud easily. If they are criticized or if they imagine this in their mind, they easily become restless, irritable and they feel sorry for themselves. On the other hand, if they are valued and given attention, they can easily become proud and feel important.” (p. 37).

    As for the above words, they are certainly true for most of us. After all, very few people can handle constant praise, let alone criticism, if it goes on for years. They make a person either boast about his special position or become discouraged and bitter. Both are possible because most people are very dependent on the opinions of others.

    Good advice in this area is found in the following words of Paul. In them, he tells about his own spiritual life, but also about true humility, which includes considering others better than himself. If a person forgets these and starts staring too much at himself and the opinions of others, he is in great danger of getting lost:

- (1 Cor 4:3) But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yes, I judge not my own self.

- (Phil 2:3) Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! Taking care of one’s natural body is one prerequisite for spiritual work. Sometimes those who are used by God may forget this. They may fast too much, whereupon Satan can press them. (A person who has suffered from mental problems will be more prone to this. These persons should refrain from fasting for long periods of time.) They may neglect rest and sleep because of spiritual work or praying.

   This happened to Evan Roberts when he forgot to rest. In the beginning of the revival he slept only two or three hours a night and ate very little. When this had been going on for some time, Evan Roberts burned out and was forced to stop his work. He did not remember that we must obey the laws prescribed by God so that we are able to work. We cannot go against these laws for long.

   Thus, taking care of one’s body and health is necessary. As important as fasting, prayer and spiritual work are, they should not override sleep and resting. We must be strong spiritually, mentally and physically. Only then will the work go better:

- (Exo 18:17,18) And Moses’ father-in-law said to him, The thing that you do is not good.

18 You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you: for this thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it yourself alone.

- (Luke 8:22,23) Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said to them, Let us go over to the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR FAMILY! One important need is to take care of your family. Sometimes those who are involved in spiritual work forget this. They may assign the wrong order of importance to things, and become so preoccupied by their devotion to spiritual matters, and absent from home for such extended periods of time, that their most important missionary field -- their family -- is neglected. This wrong order of priorities can cause problems later in life, because your children may grow into bitter adults who turn their back on God.

   Brother Yun describes his troubles with prioritizing matters in his book Taivaallinen mies (The Heavenly Man):

I think that my second period of captivity was a turning point in our marriage. The Lord warned me that if I did not repent and change the order of importance in my life, I would lose my family. I changed my habits and I have never regretted it. (…) I started to put my love of God first, my love of my family second and my love of the work of the Lord third. (…)

   I taught that the congregation should not succumb to the plot of the Pharaoh where he tried to persuade Moses and Aaron to leave their wives and children behind as they went to serve God (Exo 10:10-11). I encouraged leaders to take their family along to do the work of the Lord and even take their wives and children with them whenever possible. I stressed the point that even the apostles had the same problem and therefore Paul asked, “Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?” (1 Cor 9:5) (30)

The next verses also refer to the same subject. They indicate that we must reserve time for our beloved family and take care of them in order to have the right foundation for our spiritual work. Naturally, we must also take care of our social duties:

- (1 Tim 5:8) But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

- (1 Tim 3:2-5) A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

4 One that rules well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

5 For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?

- (Eph 5:25) Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Don’T TURN AWAY FROM GOD’S CALLING! As we read a biography, we see the whole life of a person unfold. We see their achievements and strengths, their weaknesses and failures. We can also see how a person reacts to misfortunes and success, and how he has passed them.

   One of the most interesting Christian biographies is that of John Alexander Dowie. His biography reveals how a person can stray from God’s plan for our lives (a similar case is the life of William Branham). He was obviously a servant of God who led thousands of people to receive salvation and healing; but in the latter part of his life Dowie’s activities were not so focused on serving the will of God. He made the following mistakes:

Building an earthly kingdom. One of the most obvious mistakes made by Dowie was that he did not stick with his original calling. One example of this is the city of Zion, which he began to build in the latter part of his life. He began to build an earthly kingdom instead of concentrating on his original calling: salvation and healing. Before that, he was for a brief period of time active in politics.

   Political and construction activities are not themselves wrong. It is good that there exist politicians who have Christian values and who address issues from a Christian perspective. It is also good that meeting places and buildings meant for spiritual use are built as long as such construction fits God’s plan and purpose and is not too expensive. In many cases, though, such buildings have regrettably become the most important subject while the most important need – to serve the people -- has been forgotten.

   Dowie’s mistake was that when he began to build an earthly kingdom, his spiritual work died down. He did not remember that we have been called to spread the Gospel, not to found the kingdom of God on the Earth too early. Jesus gave an order to go into all the world (Mark 16:15), not to build political systems and cities, in which Dowie was involved. He and many other workers of the Gospel have forgotten this, and it has been their fate.

The wrong illusions about himself. The errors made by Dowie did not end with his attempt to build an earthly kingdom. In addition to the building, he began to imagine that he was Elijah. This took place when some people talked to him about the subject. He dismissed the idea at first, just as he was supposed to do, but then it stuck in his mind and developed further until he finally accepted it, received it and proclaimed it truth. Later on he also proclaimed himself as the first apostle, which is a perfect example of strayed thinking. A similar thing happened to William Branham, who decades later also imagined that he was Elijah and the first angel of the church in Laodicea.

   Similarities between these two men, especially during the latter part of their lives, are obvious. Their experiences illustrate the truth in Niilo Yli-Vainio’s statement that it is easier for a person to bear winning in the lottery than being used by God: “This is why many become impossible and many fall…” (Mauno Saari, Saarnaaja, p. 273).

Criticizing others. One of Dowie’s faults in the latter part of his life was that he began to criticize other servants of God. He began to attack them and his sermons became mere criticisms of his enemies. He was especially hostile towards Maria Woodworth-Etter, through whom thousands of people had been saved and healed. He preached against Etter whenever he had the opportunity, even though he had supported her before and said that her actions were from God.

   There are probably three reasons for Dowie’s behaviour and his criticism of others, a pattern of behaviour into which many others have lapsed.

Jealousy is probably one reason why some begin to criticize others. It is difficult for them to accept that others are as anointed as they are, and so they begin to look for faults in them. They do not understand that spiritual work should be teamwork and not competition with others. If we do not remember that we are on the same side, on God’s team, and instead begin to compete to gain prestige, then we will stray from our real calling. At the same time we lose our position in eternity. We should also remember what Jesus said about this issue. The greatest one is not he who attracts the largest crowds, but he who serves others:

- (Matt 23:11) But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 And whoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

The wrong gift of distinguishing between spirits is the second reason why some begin criticizing others. Here, a person may sincerely think that some actions are not from God. He can deem himself ‘sharp-sighted’, even though he is in fact overpowered by such blindness that he cannot see the work of God in others. He cannot see what God does to help other people, but he sees only their faults, not what is right. 

   We should indeed take into account the fact that nobody has fully understanding, and that anyone can make a mistake in spiritual evaluation. When we were saved, we certainly did not receive perfect knowledge regarding every issue. The apostle James also said: “For in many things we offend all” (James 3:2) and this is certainly true. In some and several evaluations we can, naturally, be right, but if someone thinks that he is always right, it is the first huge mistake. We will not receive that kind of understanding until in heaven.

Lack of love. The third reason for criticism is a lack of love. Where it is lacking, there is a critical and judgmental spirit towards those who think differently, or also towards priests. In these cases, attention is paid to unessential issues and differences between people, but appreciation of people is forgotten. William J. Seymour from the revival of Azusa Street wrote in his time: “You cannot win people by preaching against their congregation or pastor (…)  if you preach against congregations, the sweet spirit of Christ (…) is not there and judging spirits replace it. (…) When people do no longer have God’s love, they preach about dressing, eating, doctrines of people and also against other congregations. (…) If we think that we have the whole truth or that we are better than everybody else, we will fall.” (31)

   The next quote refers to the same subject. It indicates how we may fight for some service work but forget and reject the people that God has sent to us. We do not love our fellowmen but our own service work and the satisfaction we get from it. This danger is very real; we may have the wrong order of importance:

When he spoke, his words hit me deep. I was also guilty of everything he mentioned. I remembered many young men and women whom I had swept away thinking that they were not important enough to take my time. I desperately wanted to return back and bring them together! I began to grieve so heavily that it was worse than the feeling I had when I understood I had wasted time. I had wasted people! Now many of them were prisoners of the enemy, since they had been wounded and been taken prisoners during the fight on the mountain. This whole fight was about people, and still people were often deemed as the most unimportant. We fight more for truths than for people to whom they are given. We fight for some service work but at the same time we tread on the people who are in it.

   ‘And many people deem me a spiritual leader! I am really the least of God’s people’, I thought aloud. (32)

REFERENCES:

1. Timothy M. Warner, (Spiritual Warware) Taistelurukous, p. 124

2. Mel and Nona Tari, (Like Gentle Breeze Of Jesus) Kuin hiljainen tuulenhyminä, p. 64,65

3. Tapani Suonto: Valmistu Jumalan käyttöön, p. 127,128

4. John Bevere: Näinkö sanoo Herra? (Thus saith the Lord?), p. 206,207

5. Bill Hybels: Vain muutama askel (Just Walk Across the Room), p. 148, 149

6. Martin Ski: "T.B. Barratt - helluntaiapostoli", p. 192

7. John Bevere: Kunnioitus palkitaan (Honors’s Reward), p. 80

8. Mary K. Baxter, Näkyjä tulevasta, p. 220,221

9. Donald Gee, Hengen lahjoista, p. 56

10. Steve Thompson, (YOU MAY ALL PROPHESY) Tunnista Jumalan ääni, p. 95

11. Kenneth Hagin: Miten vaellat Jumalan Hengen johdatuksessa (How You Can Be Led By The Spirit Of God), p. 103

12. Ritva ja Kristian Sand: Löydä elämäntehtäväsi, p. 128

13. Kenneth Hagin: Miten vaellat Jumalan Hengen johdatuksessa (How You Can Be Led By The Spirit Of God), p. 105,106

14. Steve Thompson, (YOU MAY ALL PROPHESY) Tunnista Jumalan ääni, p. 126

15. Nicky Cruz: David Wilkersonin viimeinen varoitus, p.115

16. Yonggi Cho, Pyhä Henki ja sinä, p. 124

17. John Bevere: Näinkö sanoo Herra? (Thus Saith the Lord?), p 156-160

18. Ingerlise Provstgaard, (Med fort hånd) Kauko-ohjattu, p. 13,16,58

19. K.K. Sarlin, Aikamme profeetta Helena Konttinen, p. 82,85

20. Irma Weisen, Vieraita unen takaa, p. 111,116

21. Ingerlise Provstgaard, (Med fort hånd) Kauko-ohjattu, p. 58,59

22. Smith Wigglesworth, (CRY OF THE SPIRIT) Hengen huuto, p. 55

23. Ingerlise Provstgaard, (Med fort hånd) Kauko-ohjattu, p. 16

24. Jessie Penn-Lewis, (WAR ON THE SAINTS) Pyhien sota, p. 44

25. Jessie Penn-Lewis, (WAR ON THE SAINTS) Pyhien sota, p. 56

26. Bob Mumford, (TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT GUIDANCE) Suunnitelma sinua varten, p. 17,18

27. Jessie Penn-Lewis, (WAR ON THE SAINTS) Pyhien sota, p. 36

28. Judson Cornwall, (LET US PRAISE) On aika ylistää, p. 74-76

29. Rick Joyner: Petos, taistelu, voitto (Final Quest), p. 101

30. Veli Yun and Paul Hattaway: Taivaallinen mies (THE HEAVENLY MAN), p.196,197

31. Apostolic Faith, January 1907 (citation from the book of Roberts Liardon: “Jumalan kenraalit”, p. 148)

32. Rick Joyner: Petos, taistelu, voitto (Final Quest), p. 85

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