“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.” Joel 2:28 As I recently prepared for a podcast Q&A, I had a friend and sister in Christ pose this question of personal interest. Perhaps you have had the same question. “Why are so many visions accepted in New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) churches…
This week, I recorded an episode answering listener’s questions concerning some beliefs of the New Apostolic Reformation. Some of these questions also included personal elements of how to navigate coming out of this movement and unlearning much of the teaching while also dealing with loved ones and family members still entrenched in it. Here was one of the questions from this week’s episode. “My husband and I were in an NAR based church for 12 years. As you can imagine,…
A self -professing apostle stands on a platform in various gatherings while children are brought before her. The parents are bringing their children forward in order to seek out deliverance from indwelling demons. Some of the children writhe on the floor and scream. Some children react passively to the countdown to three for the demons to leave. The minister tells the people that children can have indwelling demons as well, and they need deliverance from inhabiting demons. There is even…
Have you ever looked back on something you said or did and thanked the Lord for correcting you in your sin and error, when you rightfully deserved judgment? We all have moments, even on a daily basis, where we thank God for His grace and mercy toward us, and many of us could say that such sin and error are not available for public scrutiny. Over the past several years, one of the things that became painfully clear personally was…
The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:14,15 The deliverance movement seems to never run out of…
Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, freely submitting to, and taking delight in God’s wise, and fatherly disposal in every condition. Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment If you had asked me several years ago how to find contentment in God, I would likely have said that it is only found in God and in the abundant life He promises in His Word. That answer sounds a bit convoluted, doesn’t it? To some…
And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’—when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 A New Year is upon us, and with that comes an array of prophecies from various…
Spiritual abuse, false teaching, and doctrinal error are not exclusive to a specific movement or religious belief system. Having said that, when coming out of what is termed the New Apostolic Reformation movement, finding a Biblically sound church can be daunting and intimidating. There are some people who are reluctant to attend a local church again because of previous personal experiences with church leadership. Spiritual abuse and emotional manipulation can take a toll on the ability to trust another pastor…
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 Are we able to know and to think God’s…
But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. 1 Corinthians 14:22 ESV Imagine participating in what is deemed a prophetic seeing experiment. You are invited to join your consciousness with Jesus and to see the way He sees about a specific…