Prayer

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Soaking Prayer? The New NAR Pagan Approach, Beware !

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This trend will surely reach our shores soon, if it is not already in South Africa. Beware and run from these type of false teachings, beloved brothers and sisters. This new ludicrous practice is part of the New Apostolic Reformation movement (NAR) as it is typical of their style of teaching. Do not be deceived, there is nothing Biblical about this latest trend from NAR. This latest pagan ritual called “soaking prayer” is nothing but a form of Contemplative spirituality, an eastern form of meditation wrapped in a nice colored paper and disguised under the banner of Christianity. It is pagan Mysticism. Dr John MacArthur says the following about NAR :

“NAR, the New Apostolic Reformation. It is not new, it is not apostolic, and it is not a reformation, by the way. It is like Grape-Nuts, it’s not grapes and it’s not nuts, it’s like Christian Science, it’s not Christian and it’s not scientific. Well the New Apostolic Reformation isn’t new, it isn’t apostolic and it isn’t a reformation. But it is a rapidly expanding movement being generated by some of the same old troubling false teachers and false leaders that have been around in Charismania for decades, always dishonoring the Holy Spirit, always dishonoring the Scripture, always claiming miracle signs, wonders, visions, dreams.”

We previously reported on NAR in an article here: Warning! Rick Joyner to visit South Africa and Join hands with Angus Buchan

Here is how Dr  John MacArthur explains Contemplative spirituality:

Contemplative spirituality is an extremely dangerous practice for any person who desires to live a biblical, God-centered life. It is most commonly associated with the emerging church movement, which is riddled with false teachings. It is also used by many different groups that have little, if any, connection with Christianity.

In practice, contemplative spirituality is primarily centered on meditation, although not meditation with a biblical perspective. Passages such as Joshua 1:8 actually exhort us to meditate: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Notice what the focus of meditation should be—the Word of God. Contemplative spirituality-driven meditation focuses on nothing, literally. A practitioner is exhorted to completely empty his/her mind, to just “be.” Supposedly, this helps one to open up to a greater spiritual experience. However, we are exhorted in Scripture to transform our minds to that of Christ’s, to have His mind. Emptying our minds is contrary to such active, conscious transformation. Continue reading →

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The End of Self….The Beginning of Christ

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Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
taken from: Cured At Last!, sermon No. 2018, April 8, 1888.

“All that you do apart from Jesus, in order to win salvation, will only cause you increased suffering. You have tried to save yourself by prayers. Your prayers have turned your thoughts upon your sin and its punishment and thus you have become more wretched than before. You have attended to ceremonies and if you have used them sincerely, they have worked in you a solemn sense of the holiness of God and of your own distance from Him. And this, though very proper, has only increased your sorrow. You have been trying to feel good and to do good, that so you may be good. But the very effort has made you feel how far off you are from the goodness you so much desire.

Your self-denial has excited cravings after evil and your mortifications have given new life to your pride. Efforts after salvation made in your own strength act like the struggles of a drowning man, which sink the more surely. As the fruit of your desperate efforts, you have suffered all the more. In the end I trust this may work for your good, but up till now it has served no healing purpose—you are now at death’s door and all your praying, weeping, Church-going, Chapel-going and sacrament-taking—do not help you one bit. There has been this peculiarly poignant pang about it all, that you are not better. Cheerily did you hope but cruelly are you disappointed. Continue reading →

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Getting Past the TULIP

Tulip Nico

Michael S. Horton

“Like Christ’s redeeming work, then, faith is not merely offered but is actually conferred, by sheer grace and without any obligation to grant it.”

Just as Luther’s followers preferred to be called “evangelicals” but were labeled “Lutherans” by Rome, around 1558 Lutherans coined the term “Calvinist” for those who held Calvin’s view of the Supper over against both Zwingli and Luther. Despite self-chosen labels such as “evangelical” and “Reformed” (preferred because the aim was always to reform the catholic church rather than start a new one), “Calvinism” unfortunately stuck as a popular nickname.

No Central Dogma  Continue reading →

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“Abba” is not “Daddy”

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Charismatics love to use the word “Daddy” when they refer to God. Praise the Lord, however,  for the Scriptures that reveal the truth to us.

Many years ago, while I was still attending a Charismatic church, a speaker on the day referred to God as his daddy. It irks me when people speak of God in such a derogatory way.  Who are we then, to bring God down to our level? It is shameful to say the least.)

We are called to show reverence, humility and honour to God.
Somehow “Daddy” just doesn’t cut it in that regard.

Jesus Himself never used such terminology and He knew God better than anyone else, being the Son of God.

Jesus said:

Father take this cup from me.
Our Father who art in heaven.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
Go into your closet and pray to your Father.

Our daddy who art in heaven? (It’s just not right)

We can, however, clearly see where overplayed humanism has again brought changes and altered meanings to what is written in Scripture. Continue reading →

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GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY DEFINED

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People who vehemently fight against the Doctrines of Grace,  have NO understanding of Scripture,  it is due to a lack of understanding and reading the Word of God. This is why there are so many , stupid , senseless ugly arguments about the doctrines of election on Social media. People are not taught the Bible at most churches today, hence the lack of and rejection of the Bible. People wake up and study the Word! Continue reading →

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The Wisdom of Proverbs

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Proverbs 13:1-25

A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. (2) From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good, but the desire of the treacherous is for violence. (3) Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. (4) The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. (5) The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace. (6) Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but sin overthrows the wicked. (7) One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. (8) The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth, but a poor man hears no threat. (9) The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out. (10) By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom. (11) Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. (12) Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. (13) Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. (14) The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. (15) Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. (16) In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. (17) A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing. (18) Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored. (19) A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools. (20) Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. (21) Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good. (22) A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous. (23) The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food, but it is swept away through injustice. (24) Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. (25) The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want.  (ESV)

John Gills commentary  on some verses :  Continue reading →

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The Purpose of Christian Ministry

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Horatius Bonar 

“The object of the Christian ministry is to convert sinners and to edify the body of Christ. No faithful minister can possibly rest short of this. Applause, fame, popularity, honor, wealth-all these are vain. If souls are not won, if saints are not matured, our ministry itself is vain.

The question, therefore, which each of us has to answer to his own conscience is, ‘Has it been the end of my ministry, has it been the desire of my heart to save the lost and guide the saved? Is this my aim in every sermon I preach, in every visit I pay? Is it under the influence of this feeling that I continually live and walk and speak? Is it for this I pray and toil and fast and weep? Is it for this I spend and am spent, counting it, next to the salvation of my own soul, my chiefest joy to be the instrument of saving others? Is it for this that I exist? To accomplish this would I gladly die? Have I seen the

pleasure of the Lord prospering in my hand? Have I seen souls converted under my ministry? Have God’s people found refreshment from my lips, and gone upon their way rejoicing, or have I seen no fruit of my labors, and yet content to remain unblest? Am I satisfied to preach, and yet not know of one saving impression made, one sinner awakened ?’

Nothing short of positive success can satisfy a true minister of Christ. His plans may proceed smoothly and his external machinery may work steadily, but without actual fruit in the saving of souls he counts all these as nothing. His feeling is: ‘My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you’ (Galatians 4:19). And it is this feeling which makes him successful”
– Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
taken from: Words to Winners of Souls.

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Lectio Divina in South Africa Among Dutch Reformed


Warning, Warning  !!  This false teaching has been rife in South Africa for a couple of years now.   A letter (see below)  Lectio Divina in South Africa Among Dutch Reformed – “Is there really a different way of reading the Word?” was sent to me by a dear friend via the Monthly News Letters from Lighthouse Trails website.  1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

We must be like the Bereans of old in Thessalonica:

Acts 17:11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Before reading the letter written by a South African to Lighthouse Trails, please take a couple of minutes to understand:

 What is Lectio Divina ? 

Answer: Lectio Divina is Latin for “divine reading,” “spiritual reading,” or “holy reading” and represents a method of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to provide special spiritual insights. The principles of lectio divina were expressed around the year A.D. 220 and practiced by Catholic monks, especially the monastic rules of Sts. Pachomius, Augustine, Basil, and Benedict. Continue reading →

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Is Arminianism a damnable heresy?

Stephen Pribble

Having been condemned by the Synod of Dordrecht (Dort) in 1618-1619, Arminianism is indeed a heresy, a serious departure from the historic faith of the Christian church. “Arminius, a theological professor at the University of Leyden, departed from the Reformed faith in his teaching concerning five important points. He taught conditional election on the ground of foreseen faith, universal atonement, partial depravity, resistible grace, and the possibility of a lapse from grace. These views were rejected by the Synod…” (from the introduction to the Canons of Dort in the Psalter Hymnal, 1959 ed.).

The Bible teaches that God elected His people in Christ before time began. “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world…” (Eph. 1:4). This election was out of God’s mere free grace and love, with nothing in the creature as a condition or cause inducing Him to do this. “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)… So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy” (Rom. 9:11, 16).

The Bible teaches that Christ did His atoning work on behalf of His elect people, and no others. “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Eph. 5:25). “I lay down my life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:15). “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine” (John 17:9). Continue reading →

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The Sovereignty Of God In Salvation

John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

A.W. PINK’S

THE
SOVEREIGNTY
OF GOD

CHAPTER FOUR

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN SALVATION


“O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out” (Rom. 11:33).

“Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9); but the Lord does not save all. Why not? He does save some; then if He saves some, why not others? Is it because they are too sinful and depraved? No; for the Apostle wrote, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15). Therefore, if God saved the “chief” of sinners, none are excluded because of their depravity. Why then does not God save all? Is it because some are too stony-hearted to be won? No; because it is written, that God will “take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 11:19). Then is it because some are so stubborn, so intractable, so defiant that God is unable to woo them to Himself? Before we answer this question let us ask another; let us appeal to the experience of the Christian reader. Continue reading →

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Entertainment and Style of Music Do Not Convert People

John MacArthur,

“It’s not the style of our music that gets people converted. It’s not because of the entertainment level that they enjoy that gets them converted. Sooner or later you’ve got to get down to confronting them with the message and my judgment is sooner is better than later. So what are we waiting for? Let’s just get them to hear the message, that’s how they’re going to be saved. Take out the preaching of sin, take out the preaching of hell, take out repentance, take out the cross, and then people will feel comfortable. That’s the new trend. Build an image of love, care, being nice and if everybody is nice, they like us, they might like Jesus. That is tragically not the case. Continue reading →

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The Important Leadership of Mothers

By  

on Sep 19, 2012 

My son, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments,
for length of days and years of life
and peace they will add to you.Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good success
in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:1-4) Continue reading →

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Beware False Prophets

Do not think it is the obvious that we can now who is a false teacher/prophet, it is those who profess to be believers who can lead you astray. Mat_7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

This is an excellent sermon and exposition done by Pastor Vodie Baucham.

Please listen here :

OR DOWNLOAD SERMON HERE

Voddie Baucham 

Some sermon exert noted I jotted down :
Though the culture at large has a problem with judging, Christians are not only allowed to do so, we are commanded to do so. In this portion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus informs us that we must learn to discern and expose false teaching and false teachers.

False prophets are not always easy to spot.D A Carson ” Warnings against false prophets are necessarily based on the conviction that not all prophets are true, that truth can be violated and that the gospels enemies usually conceal their hostility and try to pass them selves of as fellow believers” (Quote used by Voddie) Continue reading →

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The Beatitudes and Christ

by Arthur Pink

The Beatitudes and Christ The Beatitudes and Christ Our meditations upon the Beatitudes would not be complete unless they turned our thoughts to the person of our blessed Lord. As we have endeavored to show, they describe the character and conduct of a Christian, and as Christian character is nothing more or less than being experimentally conformed to the image of God’s Son we must turn to Him for the perfect pattern. In the Lord Jesus Christ we find the brightest manifestations of the highest exemplifications of the different spiritual graces which are found, dimly reflected, in His followers. Not one or two but all of these perfections were displayed by Him, for Me is not only “lovely,” but “altogether lovely.” May the Holy Spirit who is here to glorify Him take now of the things of Christ and show them unto us.

First, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Most blessed is it to see how the Scriptures speak of Him who was rich becoming poor for our sakes, that we through His poverty might be rich. Great indeed was the poverty into which He entered. Born of parents who were poor in this world’s goods, He commenced His earthly life in a manger. During His youth and early manhood He toiled at the carpenter’s bench. After His public ministry had begun He declared that though the foxes had their holes and the birds of the air their nests, the Son of Man had not where to lay His head. If we trace out the Messianic utterances recorded in the Psalms by the Spirit of prophecy, we shall find that again and again He confessed to God His poverty of spirit: “I am poor and sorrowful” (Ps. 69:29); and, “Bow down thine ear, O Jehovah, for I am poor and needy” (Ps. 86:1); and again, “For I am poor and needy, and My heart is wounded within me” (Ps. 109:22). Continue reading →

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Bewitched

Acts 20:29-30 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; (30) and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

John MacArthur – Grace to You

Galatians 3:1-5

 

Our study tonight takes us to the third chapter of the book of Galatians in our continuing look at this most exciting and helpful book. We will be considering verses 1-5. Galatians 3:1-5.

Defection is an ugly word. So is the word deserter. Certainly, there is nothing more bewildering, and few things more sorrowing, than to see a Christian who defects, or deserts, the purity of the Christian faith by which he has been born again and by which he has been nurtured, to settle for something less. But strange as it may seem, many Christians do. We find that they begin well. They receive the grace of Christ extended in salvation; they live in humble faith, but soon they fall into systems of legalism, systems of ritual, systems of works. I wonder how many Christians, for example, have come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ in a very personal way and have then fallen into a very liturgical church pattern, where they merely go through formalities and functions that have only external symbolism and no internal significance. I wonder how many people begin well, but then begin to substitute things like confirmation and communion and baptism and the Mass and any other kind of particular church rite for the realities of the Christian faith.

This is an issue that comes to full force in the book of Galatians, because this is the issue that confronts the heart of the Apostle Paul. He had been used as the mouthpiece of God to introduce the Galatians to the truth of the Gospel. He was the one who preached the gospel of grace; he was the one who exposed them to the magnificence of the Christian experience (which was by faith plus nothing) in the perfect and finished work of Jesus Christ. But since that time when he had begun with them, they had defected. They had deserted the simple purity of a grace gospel and substituted a form of religion, inferior and impotent.

This is not to say they had lost their salvation. It is to say, rather, that they substituted for the fullness of their life in Christ a form of religion that had no power and no joy. Furthermore, the unsaved world would get it’s doctrine of salvation from their lives and if they live legalistic lives, the world then is to conclude that salvation comes by legalism and nothing could be further from the truth. Continue reading →