Some of my IHOP “Red Flags”

There were many, many experiences that made me do a double take and say “what?” while I was at IHOP but that internal questioning was quickly explained away or rebuked by internship leaders. Once I began to deviate from IHOP’s teachings and study scripture on my own for answers to the internal conflicts I wrestled with, I began questioning the pseudo reality I had been conditioned to embrace. Suddenly I saw the isolated red flag incidences as a seamless pattern of error and the veil of deception fell. I stopped rationalizing and justifying. Enough was enough and I was done and wanted out.

There are much more personal experiences than I can put into one single blog post, but here are a few I still recall pretty strongly.

1. Mandatory fasts which made me very physically ill. They would never admit to having “mandatory” fasts but when you don’t have any food available, close down the kitchen, give your cook the day off and don’t allow interns to hold jobs (so that they have money to go buy food if they aren’t participating in the fast) then that is called mandatory.

2. Being practically held hostage in the prayer room and told that it was required that I be there and I was not allowed to leave even though I did not feel well and wanted to go back to my apartment. I was told I needed to stay in the prayer room to be part of the “corporate anointing” and that I shouldn’t leave. It was one of my “required” prayer room sets as an intern so I spent the remainder of that 2-hour set in one of the side prayer rooms in the back sobbing on the floor because I wanted to leave so badly and our internship leaders were standing by the door. You might ask “why didn’t you just force your way out and leave anyway?” When you are part of cult where free, independent thinking is not condoned when you don’t comply with what is expected of you, very often guilt, manipulation and penalties are instated for those who resist. Interns who didn’t follow “the rules” of the internship were penalized through loss of privileges (such as loss of your day off, having to do extra work/manual labor, etc.)

3. The grip of control and micro-management increasing: greater demands and restrictions on interns (such as increased pressure to fast more to attain a higher pinnacle of spirituality) being told where we had to sit when in the prayer room, taught a model for how to pray, how to dance, sing, etc. Any form of worship outside of this model was not considered to be acceptable. It had to fit IHOP’s style and method to be admissible.

4. Mandatory journaling assignments which we had to do weekly and then we had to turn in our journals to be read by internship leaders

5. Seeing how controlled the prayer room was. Rather than having freedom to express my heart to the Lord, I was put in a box and told how I had to do everything IHOP’s way. I had reading and writing assignments whenever I was in the prayer room.

6. There was no alone time ever to really think, reason, test, question or process anything. We were run ragged from sun up to late into the night which always left me exhausted, depleted and burnt out.

7. Once when I got sick, my mother came to pick me up and internship leaders resisted letting me leave with her (even though she lived in town). My internship ‘com leader’ (short for community leader) objected and still impressed upon me the importance of going to the prayer room even though I was too sick to get off the couch. My mother said “she is my daughter and I’m taking her home and taking care of her. Period.”

8. The more leadership responsibility I was given as an intern, the more I got peeks into the “inside”. I saw the outer fringes of the internal operations of how IHOP functioned. I was on an IHOP dance team and sang as a chorus leader on a few worship teams. To dance, I had to follow a specific model that IHOP required. To sing, I had to attend the briefing/de-briefing meetings before and after each worship set where I saw first-hand how carefully controlled that the seemingly “spontaneous” aspects of worship were carefully calculated and often planned ahead of time.

9. Another intern got deathly ill and it wasn’t until she ended up being hospitalized that internship leaders took seriously the fact she was sick. They accused her of faking an illness to get out of attending IHOP classes and time in the prayer room. This was told to me directly by that intern.

10. If I wanted to go anywhere off IHOP property (even to go see my family who lived in town) I had to notify internship leaders of my whereabouts at all times. I had no autonomy or freedom as an individual. Some leaders who were 19 (but were former interns which gave them elite status) were telling me where to be, what to do and when I was expected to be home. I had to answer to them for everything. I was in my early 20’s and had lived on my own before so the feeling of suffocation and having no personal rights to space, privacy, independent thought, etc. was overwhelming.

There is much more but I think that’s a sufficient start to at least give you an idea of some of what was happening when I was at IHOP. It wasn’t until after I left that I began to see far more than I had been able to see when I was still involved. The casual observer on the periphery won’t necessarily see the reality of all that is happening there because they are seeing the veil that IHOP has built to carefully cloak the truth of a lot of what really happens.

After I left, I realized how worn out and exhausted I was in every way imaginable. I spent days and weeks sleeping and physically healing from the trauma of the experiences I had just come out of and to let my body heal from the fasting and sleep deprivation. It took a long time for me to really start healing emotionally and spiritually and to begin putting pieces together. Recovering from mental and spiritual abuse like that is a hard road and a difficult place to come out from. I did months of research after I left IHOP and the immediate dust had settled. I wanted to see the roots of the giant beanstalk that had sprouted up and choked the life out of everything in me. I started going back as far into the history of IHOP as I could. As interns we were required to listen to 18 hours of audio CDs recapping all of the history of IHOP and the “prophesies” that led to it’s starting. I started researching on the internet about the names of the so called prophets of this movement and what they had come out of. That led me to picking apart a very carefully woven web of key players that all were connected to this massive organization.

I shared with one parent who e-mailed me about her own child at IHOP the importance of praying that the Lord will open their eyes not only to see, but to recognize and identify the red flags of IHOP. The thing is, they are probably already seeing them, but rationalizing and excusing them away as isolated events rather than viewing them as a destructive pattern. I pray that the Father will show those there who are truly seeking him the pattern of red flags…making them so obvious they can no longer ignore them.

My hope is that the young people there who are much like I was will begin to question what they see and compare it with what the scripture actually says…not how Mike Bickle twists and teaches it…and that they have the courage to identify it and reject it. Those who oppose IHOP and speak out typically experience some kind of consequences or backlash. People are a commodity there. They are traded. When wounded ones leave, IHOP leadership doesn’t sweat over it…new and unsuspecting people who are ignorant of their dangerous devices but are hungry for emotionally-driven experiences and spiritual highs will come back in the same door the others left. It’s a revolving door of deception.

The deceptions of IHOP are treacherous and very real. Did God use that place in my life and work together for my good the devastation I experienced? Absolutely. But that is a testimony to the goodness of our God…not a stamp of approval on a place. Remember he spoke through a donkey and a burning bush. That doesn’t mean we should glorify donkeys and start worshiping bushes.

My desire is to see people set free to live lives of healing and wholeness…walking in genuine love and pursuing truth. My prayer is that the things you read here inspire you to that end.

Does Acts 2 justify “drunk manifestations”?

This is a follow-up post to “Are Manifestations Really From God?” (10/09). The below question was added as a comment and I believe it is worth addressing as I have had this question posed to me more than once.

Joy wrote:
“Thank you so much for posting on this. I have been feeling red flags towards things I once just accepted as from God. But more recently, God has been teaching me what it means to measure everything by His Word. Manifestations (in the physical sense) have been one of the things that I have always blindly accepted as normal, and yet I can’t seem to find examples of these kinds of physical manifestations anywhere in the God’s Word! When I’ve questioned why I don’t see Jesus or his disciples practicing this kind of behavior, I am told that I am limiting God and putting Him in a box. One of the things that I keep hearing about lately is how physical manifestations are biblical, since the disciples behaved in a drunken manner when God’s Spirit came upon them in the book of Acts. I would love to hear what your take on this scripture is!”

My response:
I’m glad you brought that up. That is an argument I have heard others make also. What I see and hear often in groups like IHOP is the idea of building whole theologies around one verse or one isolated event and “canning it” as a justification for whatever they are wanting to defend in their words or actions. There are many reasons that the argument about why “behaving in a drunken manner is a manifestation of God’s Spirit” is a completely invalid one. I will address a few them.

First, remember that there are two specific groups of people who give a response in Acts 2 and for accuracy in reporting, both are mentioned. Group A, scripture tells us, is comprised of believing Jews from every nation (Acts 2:5). So these were observant, religious Jews who fully kept Torah. Group A takes note that each of them is hearing the apostles speaking in his own language (the languages of those present from each region). They marveled and asked how it was possible (vs. 7 & 8). Here’s the part that is often missed: Group B is made up of “others” who are there observing. [vs. 13: But others made fun of them and said, "They've just had too much wine!"]. Who makes up this group of “others” is un-told but they are clearly addressed as being a group other than and separate from the earlier mentioned group of Jews. So this is a group of mockers and naysayers standing on the sidelines. We could make many speculations but since there is no further mention of who were part of this group, assumptions would be adding to scripture what is not told to us. But we can clearly draw the fact from the passage that they were the group that was joking and mocking–not the group who was marveling and in awe that they were hearing their own native tongues being spoken by local men from the area of the Galil. (Galilee as it has been translated today)

Then Kefa (Peter in Hebrew) stands up with the eleven and quickly addresses the mocking by explaining that no one is drunk and he quiets their joking. He quickly brings a serious tone to the situation and explains what is happening. Now let me back up and address the drunkenness issue. Consider what these others (who clearly don’t know the languages being spoken) are observing: men speaking earnestly in a language they have never heard which would have made no sense to them who are full of joy and celebration. The fact that they weren’t understanding what they were hearing but saw these men testifying joyfully to what God had done is enough to have made them judge that the men had been drinking.

Now having said that, read again the paragraph below from Mike Bickle’s book “Growing in the Prophetic” and you tell me if these behaviors can be put in the same category of what the apostles were doing when the Ruach (spirit) of God came upon them:

“Shaking, jerking, loss of bodily strength, heavy breathing, eyes fluttering, lips trembling, oil on the body, changes in skin color, weeping, laughing, ‘drunkenness,’ staggering, travailing, dancing, falling, visions, hearing audibly into the spirit realm, inspired utterances (that is, prophecy), tongues, interpretation; angelic visitations and manifestations; jumping, violent rolling, screaming, wind, heat, electricity, coldness, nausea as discernment of evil, smelling or tasting good or evil presences, tingling, pain in the body as discernment of illnesses, feeling heavy weight or lightness, trances (altered physical state while seeing and hearing into the spirit world), inability to speak normally and disruption of the natural realm (for example, electrical circuits blown).” (Growing in the Prophetic, op. cit., pg. 209)

Do you see the difference?

When the spirit of God came upon people they shared the good news of the gospel, were healed of illnesses and physical handicaps and were made completely whole. Over and over there are accounts which clearly illustrate what is of the spirit of God and what is from the evil one (Satan). Violent shaking, falling into fire, foaming at the mouth, barking, gnashing, etc. were the effects of demonic manifestation when the Lord (or his followers) cast demons out.

As a disclaimer I want to mention that I am not saying that every time someone dances before the Lord or feels the love of God envelop them that they are experiencing a manifestation of the demonic. Keep in mind that when the Lord healed someone it was not to draw attention to himself–it was to bring praise and glory to the Father. He discouraged people from telling others and often asked them to keep it quiet and tell no one when they received a healing. Is this the same attitude and approach that accompany barking, shrieking and rolling on the floor? What does this activity communicate? Is it drawing attention to self or does it glorify and give praise and honor to the Father? What does this behavior produce in the life of the one who participates in it? Is a sign of healing and freedom to shake and convulse or see gold dust on your hands? Think about it and ask the spirit to lead you into what is true–not what you’ve been to conditioned to accept as truth simply because a ministry endorses it.

I’ve heard criticisms such as “to say that these things are not of the spirit of God is blaspheming the spirit so you’d better be careful in making that claim.” Knowing what I know to be true of the God I serve…the God who looks at the heart and knows the thoughts & intentions of all men…I know that He knows my heart and what I intend by what I say. I would caution that the real danger is to attribute to God such things as loss of bodily control, meditative trances, contemplative transcendental meditation, etc. A true blasphemy of the spirit of God is to insult the Lord by attributing actions and manifestations to Him that are not of Him at all. Would that not be a far more grieving action than to avoid what does not bear the fruit or characteristics of being from Him? If the Lord knows your heart and knows that your desire is to serve Him in truth and purity of heart and so you withdraw from and stay away from that which you do not believe glorifies Him, is that not what guarding your heart is also about? We are called as believers to walk blameless and holy (set apart) lives before God which do not look like the pagan and self-gratifying practices of the world around us. So then, being entangled in things that are clearly part of the occult, spirit-ism, pantheism, new age, humanism, etc. that have infiltrated our culture (including religious cultures) is the very thing we are to guard against.

Let us choose to live lives that are set apart from the practices of the world so that we may glorify the Father with our words, actions and the thoughts of our heart.

Blessings to you!

Leaving the Land of “Never Enough”

From my experiences as a former IHOP intern & staff member and from other involvements with cult-like religious groups and churches, etc. one thing that I find to be a consistent thread is the message of never being or doing enough. There is a spiritual pinnacle you are always trying to reach, a spiritual high you are always trying to attain, a sense of closeness to God that you are always running after but it seems to elude you. You run on a constant emotional and spiritual treadmill but you never reach the destination.

A cult always wants MORE. It requires more of your time and resources to accomplish its goals and visions. You become the fuel that they use to run the machine. It’s your energy that they extract to feed their agenda. A cult makes constant demands…some are spoken directly and some are implied indirectly by using guilt and manipulation to influence you to give more and do more…and make you think it was YOUR idea–not theirs.

A cult will never say “Thank you, you’ve done enough. You can stop giving to us financially, we have all that we need. You are enough exactly as we are and we accept you without requiring you to redefine who you are to fit with us.”

In a cult, there is never enough of your:

effort
dedication
sacrifice
money
desire/passion
self discipline
performance
focus
giving (of yourself and resources)
fasting
hours of prayer
meetings
time
energy
your talents and gifts

No boundaries are respected.
Personal free will and opinion is denied.
Questioning, independent thinking and logical reasoning are forbidden.

If you are content in who you are, they lose control. A cult cannot operate when its members are free thinking people with a free will to choose and make their own decisions. Co-dependency is required for control to continue.

But here is where the truth shatters the glass of deception and control:

You don’t have to do more to be loved more and you don’t have to be more to be accepted more.

While we were yet sinners, the Father sent our Messiah who gave His life as a ransom for us. Before we were anything by the world’s evaluation, we had purpose and value in the heart of the Father.

The goal of every believer and follower of God should be to live our lives from a place of complete shalom. Shalom in Hebrew doesn’t just mean peace. Hebrew words can often carry multiple meanings depending on the context in which they are used. Shalom can also be translated as tranquility, safety, well being, welfare, health, contentment, success, comfort, wholeness and integrity. It is a common Jewish greeting.

So when I speak of living life from a place of shalom rather than striving after something that a cult, church or religious group tells you that you have to work harder to achieve or attain, I’m talking about a life that is lived from a place of rest and wholeness. A place of having enough and being enough.

That doesn’t mean we won’t have trials or go through difficult times. It is about coming to a place of where our hearts are at rest and we experience total contentment in our heavenly Father. It requires ceasing from striving. It’s about having hearts and minds grounded in the truth that He loves us and delights in us….simply because we are His. We have inherent value because we were instilled with value when we were created. From the womb, we were given purpose and our purpose will never be realized and fulfilled in a cult or group that defines us and tells us who we are.

I invite you to leave the land of “never enough”
to let your heart cease from striving
and rest in the fact that you are loved
right this moment…at this very place and time in your life
even as you grow, mature and develop into the fullness of what God has created you for.
He has begun a good work in you
and since He is the author and finisher
of our trust, He will carry through to completion what he starts.

Grace and shalom to you!

–A

“The Gift of Tongues” (A question from a reader)

A comment was made on my last post which, after approving and posting, I decided to compose a blog post about. Thank you to those of you who have added comments on my posts. I do read them all and try to reply to them as well where necessary. I’m not sure whether you are notified of my replies or not so if you’ve posted something recently, feel free to go back and read my responses to your questions and the personal insights and testimonies you all have shared. Thank you again for your faithful readership.

Question:
You mentioned the louder things, but what do you think of the doctrine of the “prayer language.” I have prayed in tongues, but it is a doctrine that has always conflicted me. What do you think?

My answer:

“…I believe that the gift of tongues is a true gift of the Holy Spirit and is mentioned throughout the new covenant scriptures…particularly in the writings of Paul.  However, I think that what is often seen today in many congregations, organizations, conferences, etc is a twisting of this gift and an abuse of it…which often affects the way we perceive and understand it.  What often happens is that when man tries to box and put limitations on a gift of God and then re-package it with some extra glitter and add a little of their own ideas to it, it gets muddy and often its meaning and purpose gets lost.

Take a look at the word abuse.  It is the combination of 2 words: abnormal and use.  So the abnormal use of something (or using it for a way other than how it was created and designed to be used) is an abuse of it.  So when someone mis-understands and mis-uses something, they are using it in a way different than what the Lord said it was created for, thus they are abnormally using (abusing) it.  I think this is true of the gift of tongues, prophecy, etc.  If it is based in scripture then we know that in its original use, it was something authored by the Father.  But because it has been abused, it has wounded and hurt people and is not always used in the way that the giver of that gift tells us it is used for.  So the way in which that gift was designed to function and operate, it isn’t…thus it loses it’s original effectiveness.

I would venture to guess that where you feel conflicted is where you see the confusion between what the Bible says about the gift of tongues and the “doctrine” that man has added and propagated along with it.  Mixture brings confusion.  Truth brings clarity and freedom.  So where there is confusion, that is often proof that truth and error have been mixed together.

I would encourage you to really study out what the Word says about the gift of tongues and let the Holy Spirit re-teach you what this gift was created for and how it is to be properly used in both the life of an individual and in the corporate body of believers.  Often scripture is mis-translated and taken out of context so any study you can do going back to the original language is always tremendously helpful in understanding what the Word means by how it was originally written. To truly understand the meanings of words, concepts and ideas of scripture we must understand the culture in which it was written and the meanings of the words in their original language so that they are translated and understood accurately.  

I often recommend the CJB (Complete Jewish Bible) because it translates the OT from Hebrew directly into English and the NT from Greek into English but from a Hebraic mindset (rather than the King James version which is translated through the Latin Vulgate and has many mis-translations in it).  No perfectly accurate translations exists unless one can read directly from Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic which preserves its accuracy…but I try to get as close in English to the original language as possible.

Hopefully this helps to answer your question.  Thank you for your blog comment.

Blessings to you!”

Are Manifestations Really from God?

If you’ve spent much time at all in charismatic circles, you’ve no doubt encountered various forms of manifestations in a service, seminar or big conference. Most involved in this movement have come to a place of comfort where manifestations are concerned and they have simply been explained as being “manifestations of God’s presence when He comes upon or moves on a person.”

Mike Bickle himself makes reference to these manifestations in the Appendix of his book on God’s Manifest Presence: Growing in the Prophetic, (op. cit., pg. 196. 227) In this section, Bickle presents a list of phenomena from contemporary experience such as:

“Shaking, jerking, loss of bodily strength, heavy breathing, eyes fluttering, lips trembling, oil on the body, changes in skin color, weeping, laughing, ‘drunkenness,’ staggering, travailing, dancing, falling, visions, hearing audibly into the spirit realm, inspired utterances (that is, prophecy), tongues, interpretation; angelic visitations and manifestations; jumping, violent rolling, screaming, wind, heat, electricity, coldness, nausea as discernment of evil, smelling or tasting good or evil presences, tingling, pain in the body as discernment of illnesses, feeling heavy weight or lightness, trances (altered physical state while seeing and hearing into the spirit world), inability to speak normally and disruption of the natural realm (for example, electrical circuits blown).” (Growing in the Prophetic, op. cit., pg. 209)

I have attended countless conferences in previous years hosted by IHOP (and by Metro Vineyard Fellowship/Metro Christian Fellowship prior to IHOP’s launch) and have witnessed first hand all of the above. At the time, I also was convinced these were things that happened to people when God’s presence came upon them…and I had been conditioned and told to believe such by leaders. But after leaving IHOP and the entanglements of being there, I spent the following few years researching and delving into IHOP’s teachings, processing what I had come out of, and really questioning what was a fruit of the Spirit of God and what was a manifestation of another kind of spirit altogether.

Since the inspired words of God in scripture are the plumb line and measuring stick that all teachings, manifestations, doctrines and actions should be held up against as a standard, let’s go there to determine whether the many manifestations Bickle lists above are really as they say “movements of God’s spirit”.

In everything I have read, studied and researched in scripture on this subject, I came to the conclusion that the ONLY time I saw anything resembling the above manifestations in scripture was when a demonized person was manifesting demons and when our Lord and Messiah or one of His disciples was casting them out. There was never mention of this bizarre activity or behavior occurring amongst spirit-filled believers including Peter, the apostle Paul and others.

Demonic manifestations in scripture:

Violence, screaming (Matt 8:28-34; Luke 8:29))
Blindness and/or muteness (Matt 9:32, 33; Matt 12:22)
Shaking/seizures, falling into fire & water (Matt 17:14-18)
Demon throws a man down on the ground and then comes out of him at the Lord’s rebuke (Luke 4:35)

Those who manifested demonic activity were loud, drew attention to themselves, were violent, shaking, etc. Those that the Lord touched, ministered to or healed were instantly made whole, put into their right mind and at peace. He even discouraged those who received miracles from telling the people of certain regions who He was. He gave praise and glory only to the Father…never drawing it to himself.

So, knowing what we know to be true about the character and nature of God as mentioned above, what glory does the Lord receive from barking, shaking, drunk staggering, screaming, etc? Clearly, this is not fruit of the Spirit but manifestations of the activity of the evil one. Satan MUST draw attention to self. He must make loud displays. God is clear about the activity He involves Himself in and what is truly of Him. He says to test the spirits and the outrageous fanfare mentioned above is not the character or nature of the God we serve. Period.

A good rule of thumb to consider: when you see something in a church, a meeting, a conference, a worship service, a prayer time, etc. that there is not a standard set for in scripture, be very cautious about attributing it as being a “movement of God”. More than likely in those cases, it’s just man-concocted doctrines and teachings that have evolved out of deceptions and mis-interpretations of the word of God.

For further info on these said “manifestations” do a Google search on a Buddhist yoga practice called “Kundalini”. Click here for a YouTube video which compares the ancient “serpent force” called Kundalini with what is seen in most charismatic churches today and called “manifestations of God’s presence”. Also visit this blog for more info and videos on the subject.

Click “here” for my follow-up post to this one titled “Does Acts 2 Justify ‘Manifestations’?”

Charisma vs. Character

There is a major difference between charisma and character. While charisma may seem like affluence, charm and having an “anointing” or energetic personality, it is often mistaken as a character trait.

So what is the difference? How can you discern between what is based upon character and what is just some hyped up charisma?

1) Anointing does not increase with volume. This means that the louder or more intense sounding a message is, does not instill it with more truth, more of God’s presence or more accuracy. It might be told in a charismatic manner but the method of delivery must remain separate from the content to accurately discern its validity or error.

2) Someone with a lot of charisma usually requires attention and recognition. When charisma is present but there is a lack of character, the charismatic person must feed off of the praise of others to feel important. The person of character is content to live behind the scenes and be effective without being noticed by others. Character is the substance of the person, charisma is the magnetic appeal or draw of a message.

*Please note that there are those who speak or minister that have tremendous character and can communicate with charisma as well. Having charisma in their presentation or delivery doesn’t necessarily disqualify them as being void of character. However, the point I am making is that all too often being charismatic, for some, replaces the need to have character or teach content that is based on truth. Some hold to the error of : “As long as it sounds true, it must be.”

Dictionary.com states that one of the definitions of charisma is:
“a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people.”

A casual study of the most renown world leaders and speakers throughout history will no doubt reveal a list of charismatic, moving orators who could sway masses with the smallest thing said. From Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech to the Gettysburg Address to even the Preamble of our US constitution demonstrates some pieces of American history that have moved millions with their charismatic and heart gripping words.

The caution I would give is simply this:

Don’t let how moving something sounds, how ear-tickling its delivery is or how much emotional effect it evokes when heard cloud or color the content of the message and the character of the one delivering it. Hitler was a charismatic orator who could move millions when he spoke and many, many “Christians” completely backed and supported him. When you hear a message, a speech, a sermon, a radio broadcast, a tv interview, etc, don’t turn off your discernment filter. Get past the charismatic delivery and really look at the content of the message and the character of the one who is speaking. We cannot afford to become callous or numb and fail to guard our hearts diligently as wisdom commands us to. (“Above everything else, guard your heart; for it is the source of life’s consequences.” Prov. 4:23)

So what are the qualities of character? How can that be seen through the lens of charisma? A person of character possesses the following:

Integrity
Faithfulness
Honor
Upstanding reputation
Deeds/actions that are pure and right
Evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in words and actions (Galatians 5:22)
One who searches Scripture to see if something is true (Acts 17:11)
Those with clean hands and pure hearts, who don’t make vanities the purpose of their lives or swear oaths just to deceive. (Ps 24:4-6)
Those whose word can be trusted (1 Tim 3:8)

When one does not operate with character, they must put on the cloak of charisma to be liked, upheld and regarded as one of importance. Charisma can easily be a cover for a lack of character. That’s why it must be closely examined to determine which is the foundation of the person.

How does one lose their character?

1 Corinthians 15:33 CJB
Don’t be fooled. “Bad company ruins good character.”

What builds character?

Proverbs 27:17 CJB
Just as iron sharpens iron, a person sharpens the character of his friend.

Romans 5:4 CJB
“…endurance produces character, and character produces hope;”

Ephesians 3:14, 15
“…For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character.”

Let us seek to be those whose reputation, worthiness and honor is based upon the character of our lives, not the charisma of our words.

Blessings to you as you continue to seek the will of our heavenly Father!

The Cost of Truth

We must hold to truth and smash the lies.
No matter the cost, we must stand when our knees feel weak
and our wills feeble.  We must not bow to what is convenient
and succumb to just doing what is expected.
We must count the cost.  We must question. 
We must test what we hear and see and are taught. 
All are human and thus, fallible.
None is insured against error or stumbling.
We must cling to truth, hold on to it with every breath, defend it,
stand by it and share it with those who don’t know it.
We must guard ourselves against the control of ear-tickling words.
We must protect our hearts and our minds and be careful what we absorb. We must discern between truth and error.  Our lives literally depend on it.

Lines must be drawn in the sand.  We must cross the points of no return and realize that even when it gets difficult to stand that it’s better to be free in the wilderness of trusting than a slave in the Egypt of comfort.

I challenge you, friends and readers, to guard your heart with all diligence. Ask the Father to fine tune your internal filter to detect between what is truth and what is just sugar coated poison.  The cost of walking a road toward truth, is neither cheap nor easy…but so very, very worth it.  Your friends may change.
Your zip code may change.  Your mindset may change.  It will cost much. But if the truth is not what you are pursuing, in the end, it will cost you everything.

Rest in the truth of God’s Word.  No matter the challenge of your present circumstances, having done all, simply stand and trust that there is no mire so deep that the arm of the Father cannot reach you and victoriously pull you out.

The Secret Code Language of Cults

There are a number of different signs and symptoms or what I call the “red flags” of a cult. Among these is a secret language.

The reason I say it’s a secret is because the commonly used definitions for what a word means are substituted and traded out for meanings that only the inner circle of the group know…thus making it a coded language that members can communicate with.

As the link I sited above illustrates, it’s a careful bait & switch technique of taking an intangible concept or something vague and illusive and altering its meaning to fit with the propaganda of a group.

Let’s take for example the way IHOP uses a glossary of romantic, intensely emotional and spiritual sounding words for which they give their own set of meanings. You won’t find these in a Websters anywhere. They have taken a word that you or I might think we know the meaning of and use it to mean something different. Because what initially comes to mind is the commonly known definition, you might mentally assent and agree with what is being said…but if you knew the underlying definition, you’d probably think differently before nodding in agreement.

In the time I was an intern at IHOP, I lived in a swirl of these very spiritually saturated, emotion-inducing words. Just saying them brought electricity into a conversation and others would immediately nod in identification. But if you step back and look at the conversation objectively, you will realize it made no logical sense and seems to in fact, say nothing. Mike Bickle is a very passionate orator who can stir and rally a crowd with a devoted Messiah-like following. I once, to illustrate a point to someone, pulled up a video of Bickle speaking on YouTube. In the 9 minute video I could cite 1 by 1 the inconsistencies and unbiblical claims he was making. I stopped counting after I reached 12. But the spiritual sounding content contained no truth-based substance, just a lot of really intense terminology.

I am going to give you a paragraph below including some commonly used IHOP verbiage. I will then break down its interpretation below. After that, you can go directly to IHOP’s website to view the way they define these terms.

“I just believe I have an Anna anointing and I’m called to be in the presence. The Spirit is moving in the house and I want to be a part of that. I know I was made for this. I am called to a forefunner ministry and the prayer room has been a womb where I have grown into my destiny. My church back home doesn’t understand or get me. My parents don’t get me. They are part of a different generation and they don’t understand the apostolic intercession I am called to. I am the beloved’s and His desire is for me. He is my bridegroom and he is awakening my heart with a spirit of burning and desire drips from his Word. I want him to kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. I want him to break in like a hammer–to break in like a fire and bring signs and wonders through my life. He has ravished me. I am captivated by the God-man and by His beauty I am undone. I am lovesick for him and I believe we are entering the time of open heaven. I am calling out “COME!” and He will answer. Until then, I will be a 24/7 watchman on the wall.”

If you are unfamiliar with IHOP or their terminology. The above paragraph no doubt confused you entirely. But for those who have had some exposure to the way IHOP uses these words, this is probably vaguely familiar. I have had nothing to do with IHOP since I left but I could walk back in tomorrow and strike up a conversation with a total stranger there using the terms I just wrote into the above paragraph and they would nod in complete agreement and understanding. This is their language I would be speaking. They are drilled with it, indoctrinated with it. It comes with the package.

If you are curious how IHOP themselves define these words, you can click HERE to go to their glossary. Yes, they actually have a glossary of frequently used IHOP-KC words on their website (which they might take down now that I’ve linked to it also). It will give what they want you to think those words all mean. Just to cover the bases though, I’ll copy and paste the article below the line of stars. Let me help a bit in the decoding some of terms used.

“I just believe I have an Anna anointing (a way of saying you are called to be at IHOP) and I’m called to be in the presence (living in the eurphoria of God’s presence constantly by living a life of intercession in IHOP’s prayer room). The Spirit (what spirit is the question though) is moving in the house (the house is another way of saying the prayer room or the missions base of IHOP) and I want to be a part of that. I know I was made for this (I was created to be a part of this movement). I am called to a forefunner ministry (I have a special calling and a secret knowledge of things to come and I am called to lead out ahead of the church and warn and prepare others based upon what I know about the end times. I am making a way for God’s return. I will help usher that in.) and the prayer room has been a womb where I have grown into my destiny (a hyper spiritual way of saying I feel like I belong here, and am growing in the understanding of my real “calling and vocation in God”.) My church back home doesn’t understand or get me (IHOP programming). My parents don’t get me (IHOP programming). They are part of a different generation (young people are given this narcissistic complex of being more special and anointed than their parents or previous generations)and they don’t understand the apostolic intercession (I am called to chant prayers over and over again that were taken from letters Paul wrote in the hopes that praying them will make me apostolic) I am called to. I am the beloved’s and His desire is for me (I have a romantic relationship with God). He is my bridegroom (He is not just a bridegroom to the body of Christ. He’s my personal husband–worth taking a vow of celibacy and not getting married for) and he is awakening my heart (I am experiencing a new emotional surge rushing through me) with a spirit of burning (a feeling of intensity and a constant sense of striving after a spiritual high I can’t seem to touch) and desire drips from his Word (He has romantic feelings about me). I want him to kiss me with the kisses of his mouth (He is awakening romantic feelings in me that makes me see God differently than before). I want him to break in like a hammer–to break in like a fire (do something radical to reach me because He is so far away that He has to struggle to get to where I am. I am out of reach.) and bring signs and wonders (emphasis always given to what gets attention, stirs emotion, and enlists devoted followers) through my life. He has ravished me (back to romantic terminology). I am captivated by the God-man (God man is their 2 gods into one term rather than viewing God as one and the Messiah, Jesus, as an extension of Himself in human form where the Word takes on human flesh.) and by His beauty I am undone (romantic term for the affection felt toward God). I am lovesick for him (I feel an emotional low and need Him to give me another high. I feel empty and need Him to create a stimulating experience so I can feel him again) and I believe we are entering the time of open heaven (fascination with the supernatural–continually chasing after any vision or experience and stamping it as being “of God”.) I am calling out “COME!” and He will answer.(He will return to earth sooner if I pray harder) Until then, I will be a 24/7 watchman on the wall.” (I will be committed to being in the prayer room continually until He does)

Now of course, this isn’t usually what someone is thinking at the moment they are saying these things. But the interjected comments are the byproduct of what happens when you start believing that particular phrase or word. That’s the subliminal message that comes with it.

I went ahead and copied directly from IHOP-KC’s website below so scroll down for IHOP’s definitions of the terms above as how they say they use them.  (Sorry it’s long. My post resumes again below IHOP’s alphabetical glossary)

**********

“We’ve tried to make it easy for you to follow along with IHOP–KC prayers, teachings, and songs by compiling this reference dictionary with the most commonly used phrases and terms at IHOP–KC.

age to come. The epoch after this current historical time frame; the age to come encompasses the millennial kingdom and eternity. See also end times, eternal age, millennial kingdom, and second coming.

Anna anointing. Referring to Anna who “did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Lk. 2:36–38). In application, this refers to the grace to spend long hours in prayer with fasting and to sustain it for many years. “Annas” are men and women, old and young, whose primary ministry is fasting and prayer aimed at changing the spiritual atmosphere of a city or nation. This is not necessarily their only ministry—Anna did the work of an evangelist and was a prophetess; she is recorded as the first evangelist in the New Testament.

anointing. A special grace, blessing or extreme unction from God.

antiphonal singing. Alternate singing between two or more singers or groups of singers. Examples of antiphonal singing include the seraphim who sing “holy” (Isa. 6:3) as well the Levitical choirs (Ezra 3:11; Neh. 12:24). The idea of “responsive” singing comes from Ezra 3:11: “And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord: ‘For He is good, For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.’ Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.” The concept of “alternate” singing comes from Nehemiah 12:24: “And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, to praise and give thanks, group alternating with group, according to the command of David the man of God.”

apostolic intercession. Intercessory prayer to God on behalf of others derived from the apostles’ prayers written in the New Testament, which reflect the desires of God’s heart for the people. Common examples of apostolic prayers are Ephesians 1:17–19, Philippians 1:9–11 and Matthew 6:9–13. A small collection of key apostolic prayers can be found in our Resources >> Foundational Teachings section. Because of the divine and positive nature of the apostolic prayers, IHOP–KC uses these portions of Scripture daily in intercession.

awaken love. A prayer, asking to be filled with God’s love (see Eph. 3:16–19); to cause love or passion for God to be stirred up; to come alive to God in the deepest part of your life (Song 2:7).

awakened heart. A state of living and being in God in such a way that your spirit and emotions are alive and responsive to Him (Isa. 61:1; Song 2:10).

beloved. Seen regularly in the Song of Songs and in the gospel of John, this term initially refers to how God views human beings—they are His beloved. Secondarily, it refers to how human beings grow to view God—He becomes their beloved. This emotional exchange between God and His creation carries the most weight when it is birthed from the bridal paradigm.

break in like a fire and like a hammer. A prayer sung at IHOP–KC prayer sessions, asking the Lord to break into people’s lives with His Word (Jer. 23:29).

bridal paradigm. A term used to describe a view of God presented in Scripture which reveals God as passionate and emotional, and filled with gladness, affection, and beauty. Whether Jew or Gentile, the redeemed are described in the Bible as the Bride of Christ, while Jesus is presented as a passionate Bridegroom who loves the redeemed and laid down His life for them. By the Father’s design and the Son’s passionate work on the cross, the Holy Spirit is bringing forth a remnant out of the human race to be voluntary lovers of God. These redeemed, the Bride of Christ, will co-rule in intimate relationship forever with Jesus, the Bridegroom God.

Bridegroom, King, and Judge. Three specific faces of God that are currently being emphasized, and will be increasingly emphasized as this age draws to an end.

bridegroom fasting. Another dimension of glory that Jesus added to the doctrine of fasting (Mt. 9:15). In this way, fasting is not simply abstaining; instead it becomes the expression of longing and mourning for the presence of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

Bridegroom God. This refers to Jesus Christ when He spoke of Himself as the Bridegroom (Mk. 2:19–20).

burning heart. A person who is filled with the love and passion of God (see Isa. 64:1–2); a heart in fellowship with Jesus in prayer (Jn. 5:35).

captivated/fascinated/ravished heart. In the context of the bridal paradigm, this refers to someone who is wholeheartedly in love with God. In the natural, this refers to a heart moved with deep emotion and love, due to the actions of their lover (Song 4:9).

Daniel anointing. A special grace to enter into extended periods of fasting and prayer, specifically seeking revelation as to the meaning and implications of dreams, visions, or other divine communications regarding the end times (Dan. 1:1–12:13).

David(ic) anointing. Generally refers to the combining of the kingly and priestly anointing; a person after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14).

divine escort. Overarching phrase describing some of the attributes of the Holy Spirit as He accompanies the redeemed through life. Other common terms include helper, comforter, and guide (Jn. 14:15–27, 16:5–14).

end times. Also known as the end of the age; this is the generation in which the Lord will return—the final decades of this current era of human history in which many major events occur: “the birth pains” begin, the temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem; the Antichrist is revealed; the abomination that causes desolation is set up in the temple; the seals, trumpets, and bowls are released; a worldwide revival is led by the Church, etc. The end times will culminate with Jesus’ physical second coming as He establishes His literal millennial reign on earth, followed by the eternal age.

eternal age. The final time frame spoken of in the Bible, also called eternity. The redeemed and the triune God are continually in each other’s presence forever, while those rejecting Jesus will spend their eternity in the lake of fire.

fasted lifestyle. Voluntarily choosing a lifestyle of simplicity which limits various things in life: food, money, or accumulation of things, status, recognition, etc. While the rewards are primarily internal and spiritual, they are eternal (Isa. 58:1–14; Mt. 6:18, 9:14–17; 1 Cor. 2:10).

fire of God. God’s presence sent as a judge to burn away everything that hinders His love, thus enabling individuals to follow the first and second great commandments.

first and great commandment. “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Mt. 22:37–40). Also referred to as making God your first love (Rev. 2:4) or the one thing necessary (Lk. 10:42).

forerunner. A person who goes ahead of the Lord and prepares people for His coming (Isa. 40:1–31; Lk. 1:76). John the Baptist and the prophet Isaiah are two biblical examples of the forerunner ministry. See also see John the Baptist.

forerunner ministry. The purpose of this ministry is to announce the unprecedented activities of the Lord that are soon to come, in order to make sense of what is happening and what is about to happen. The forerunner ministry has three main activities at the end of the age: restoring the first and great commandment to first place, releasing miracles to bring in the great harvest, and releasing the temporal judgments of God.

friend of the Bridegroom. Jesus Christ referred to Himself as the Bridegroom. John the Baptist referred to himself as a friend of the Bridegroom who stands and hears the Bridegroom’s voice and is glad (Jn. 3:29, 15:14–15); this is the primary identity of a forerunner.

God-man. Referring to the divine and human origin of Jesus Christ; He is fully God and fully man.

governmental intercession. Intercessory prayer to God on behalf of a people by a representative of the people (Neh. 1:3–11; Dan. 9:4–20).

harp and bowl model. An IHOP–KC term derived from Revelation 5:8, describing the elders before the throne with harps (representing worship with music) and a bowl of incense (representing the prayers of God’s people). It is the basic model of IHOP–KC’s prayer meetings—combining worship (led by worship teams) and prayer (both personal and corporate). IHOP–KC utilizes two harp and bowl formats: worship with the Word and intercessory worship.

intercessory worship. One of two prayer formats used at IHOP–KC: a worship team provides an anointed atmosphere for people to intercede for various corporate prayer concerns. See also harp and bowl model.

John the Baptist. One who announced the unprecedented activities of the Lord that were soon to happen. John described himself as a friend of the Bridegroom, which is the fundamental identity of a forerunner (Jn. 3:29). John is the chief representation of the forerunner ministry. Jesus described John as “a burning and shining lamp” (Jn. 5:35).

Joseph anointing. Referring to those called to prosper in the marketplace so that they might make provision to “preserve life” (Gen. 45:5) in the time when God releases His end-time judgments on the earth. These “Josephs” will have the anointing to release the prophetic, strategic thinking, and mercy deeds to the nations, impacting leaders and building “cities of habitation” (Ex. 1:11). King Cyrus is another example of this, but with the emphasis placed on building the Lord’s house (the temple) by releasing incredible wealth into the kingdom (Isa. 44:24–28, 45:1–13, and the many references throughout the book of Daniel; 2 Chron. 36:22–23; Ezra 1:1–2:70.) For deeper discussion of this topic, see the October 2005 JoCo Journal).

kiss me with the kisses of your Word. A prayer, taken from Song of Songs 1:2, asking that, as people read the Scripture, God would reveal His love, affections, and beauty so as to empower holiness and love for Him (Song 1:2–4; Jn. 17:17; Eph. 1:17).

lovesick. Overwhelmed by love for God (Song 2:5, 5:8).

the love song of your heart. The special song that no one else but you can sing to God because of your uniqueness in God and your love for Him (Ps. 139:13–18); it is accompanied by being filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18–19).

Mary of Bethany. A friend and follower of Jesus Christ; Mary was representative of one who follows the first and great commandment; she lived a fasted lifestyle of pure and simple devotion to Jesus Christ; she sat at the feet of Jesus (Lk. 10:38–42); Jesus spent His final days before His crucifixion in Bethany with Mary and Martha, and their brother Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead (Jn. 12:1–3).

millennial kingdom or millennial reign of Christ. At the culmination of human history, Jesus Christ will return to earth and set up His literal, physical 1,000-year reign from the global capital city of Jerusalem; a theocratic government under Jesus Christ, with Jews and redeemed martyrs in positions of authority.

night and day prayer/intercession. In Isaiah 62:6–7, Isaiah prophesied that intercession would continue twenty-four hours a day; this is part of God’s answer to Satan who accuses the Church night and day (Rev. 12:10).

one thing necessary. Jesus’ validation of Mary’s choice to sit at His feet and hear His words: “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Lk. 10:42).

open heaven. A pronounced increase, in a particular season, of the supernatural invading the natural; examples throughout Scripture include Genesis 28:12, Exodus 24:9–11, Ezekiel 1:1–3:27, John 1:51; Revelation 1:1–20.

prophecy. Any God-inspired testimony of Jesus (Rev. 19:10), including (but not exclusive to) the written Scriptures; the key to understanding God’s voice is to know His heart.

prophetic anointing. A supernatural skill or gift given to a person by God in order to receive and understand divine information.

prophetic worship. Used within the harp and bowl model of worship and intercession. During worship, discerned themes that the Holy Spirit is emphasizing (holiness, healing, deliverance, etc.) are expressed, with opportunities for ministry (Zech. 4:6; Jn. 3:1–8; Jas. 5:13–16).

prophetic singing. The spontaneous singing of phrases that develop different themes (love, holiness, justice, etc.) found in a passage of Scripture. This occurs during all the IHOP–KC prayer meetings.

second coming. The literal, physical return of Christ to earth, specifically to Jerusalem, to begin His millennial reign.

second (and great) commandment. “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Mt. 22:37–40).

Simeon Company. IHOP–KC internship program; refers to a group of people in the 50+ age group who come to IHOP–KC for a three-month training program (Mal. 4:6).

sing to the Lord. One of the most reiterated commands in the Bible (Ex. 15:21; 2 Sam. 22:50; 1 Chr. 16:9, 23; 2 Chr. 20:21; Ps. 7:17, 9:2, 18:49, 30:4, 33:3, 47:6, 67:4, 81:1, 89:1, 95:1, 98:1; 1 Cor. 14:15; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).

spirit of burning. IHOP–KC phrase; this is a cycle of maintaining a passionate desire for Jesus so that you are in a place of emotional pain whenever He is absent; hope and excited expectancy because of the knowledge that He loves to come to the hungry and thirsty heart; real experiential encounters with His beauty and presence causing you to have an even greater desire to be close to Jesus (Mt. 22:37; Lk. 24:13–32).

tabernacle of David. David established a worship ministry in which he set 4,000 musicians and 288 prophetic singers before the ark of the covenant (1 Chr. 15:1, 16:1–6, 23:5, 25:7, 37–42). The “restoration of the tabernacle of David” refers to Jesus establishing His throne in Jerusalem at the second coming and ruling the earth in the context of prayer and worship (Isa. 56:7; Amos 9:11–15).

theocracy. A form of government based on God’s direct guidance and His righteous laws.

urgency of the hour. The understanding that time is short before Jesus’ second coming; Jesus’ return is inevitable and will happen very soon. Therefore, this time in human history is like no other. Each person is being invited to “repent, for the Kingdom of God is near” (Mt. 3:2; 4:17; Mk. 1:15; Lk. 13:1–5).

unveiled. Unashamed, corporate and individual interaction between the Bride and the Bridegroom God (Song 1:7; 2 Cor. 3:18).

watchman/watchmen. Refers to the requirement for us to watch over the Body of Christ while having a discerning, biblical understanding of end-time events. Our privileged calling is to intercede for God’s people and to co-partner with God’s unfolding plans in this final hour of human history, hastening the day of Jesus’ coming, our Savior and Bridegroom (Isa. 62:6–7).

watch and pray. This is a requirement that we live as wise sons and daughters, understanding the times and seasons in which we live, interceding accordingly, that we might not misunderstand what He is doing, but remain focused on His will and His affections (Rom. 13:11–14; Col. 4:2). The sons of Issachar (also called the men of Issachar) are examples of this (1 Chr. 12:32; Mt. 26:41; Mk. 14:38; Lk. 21:36).

worship with the Word. One of two prayer formats used at IHOP–KC: a worship team provides an anointed atmosphere for people to meditate on the Word in a focused time of study; the worship team selects a passage to sing through antiphonally as they expound on the themes within each verse, thus “worshiping with the Word.” See also harp and bowl model.

Zechariah 3. Referring to the exchange between Joshua the high priest and the Angel of the Lord. The removal of the filthy garments in exchange for “a clean turban on his head” refers to the renewal of the mind, a clean and pure thought life, and holiness before the Lord.

24/7. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; unceasing or continuous.”

[end of article]

It’s one thing to just mis-define a word. But if you give it your own definition and then use it in a new context than it’s original definition required, you can develop a whole allusively vague language that only a select few can understand. I have literally listened to people from IHOP who can sit and carry on an entire conversation using the words I mentioned above and an eavesdropper in a coffee shop would think they were speaking Chinese. It is a poetic language which is intentionally made to be vague so that the definitions can be altered at any time it is necessary and because it’s using a word already introduced, it will feel familiar and through the power of suggestion, the words will be put together and given new definitions will be adopted without question. See how dangerous this is?

Charismatic speakers and leaders who can use emotionally stirring words and speeches, sermons and monologues to move a crowd or lead a movement, you hold the power to persuade people to do just about anything you suggest.

Here’s a few you have heard more frequently from someone that’s not Mike Bickle.

“Yes We Can”
“It’s Time for Change”
“Hope is now”

Every time I asked someone who quoted one of these phrases during the last campaign to please explain to me what they meant, I never got an answer. But read the words. They are rallying words. They are emotionally stimulating and move people to engage. I’m not intending to take this post a political direction. That isn’t the purpose or the subject I’m highlighting. I simply want to illustrate how simple it is to tack a new meaning to a word and create a catchy, yet vague phrase and then sell it to the masses.

So now take some that I mentioned above:

Kiss me with your word
Let your spirit of burning come
I am lovesick for you
Awaken divine desire

Same sense of vague emotional sensationalism…but no real content to the message. You can make it mean anything you want. “Let your spirit of burning come” might sound really intense and spiritual and like a good thing but I want to interject a word of caution here. These are not just things being talked about, they are terms being daily prayed for people…spoken over their lives. Leaders lay hands on a 16 year old and pray for a spirit of burning to come upon them. Now stop and ask yourself: do we really know what spirit that is imparting when it doesn’t line up with the name of any spirit God says to ask for or pray for. Jesus didn’t lay hands on His disciples and pray that a spirit of burning would come upon them. Sometimes you just have to stop and take off the hyper spiritualized glasses we are sometimes told to look through and just evaluate very plainly and logically whether this is something you want to have imparted when there isn’t a Biblical instruction or support to pray such a think over someone.

A quick word study reveals that scripture uses the word burning in a quite different way than the definition IHOP gives to it. The following ways are just the main themes that repeated themselves throughout the Bible:

Burning coal
Burning fire on an altar
Burning a city
Burning with anger
Burning sulfur
Burning fire in hell
Burning incense
Burning bush
Burning zeal
Burning like an oven
Burning stick
Burning with jealousy

The majority of uses in scripture of the word burning were either in regards to God burning with righteous anger or jealousy or the burning of judgement and destruction. Yes, I’ve certainly prayed that God would help me to make choices which guarded my heart from the things that would hinder my walk with Him, my sensitivity to be able to hear from Him, etc. But that is not the same thing as praying for an impartation of a spirit called Burning. Do you see the difference?

I could take these apart word by word but I think this is a start to begin to highlight the differences between the commonly used definition of a word based upon a dictionary and the way a spiritual sub-culture redefines those same words to put their own propaganda on them. It’s all about selling a different message. If we don’t guard carefully the things we buy into because we think we know what something means then we can fall prey to some very dangerous ideas and ways of thinking.

Remember that deception is deceptive and those that think they can’t be deceived already are.

Feel free to post comments of some words with twisted meanings you have come across as well. I’m mostly familiar with IHOP’s terminology but if you have experienced something similar whether from IHOP or another organization, feel free to share. Blessings to you!

Contemplative Prayer, Continued

It was brought to my attention today that in my April 5, 2009 post titled: Heresies: Re-cycled. Re-packaged. Re-named, that the direct link I included to IHOP’s website where they explained and defined contemplative prayer had been removed.

HERE is where the link was. As you can see in the top of the internet tool bar the title of the article was on Contemplative Prayer. I guess it got some negative attention so it was taken down so as to not be able to be linked back to the new age practice I explained in detail in this post if you’d like to read it for more information.

I figured that eventually word would get out and IHOP leadership would see it was not in their best interest to broadcast the article on Contemplative Prayer directly from their website. So the text from the article was saved in a Word document and I am including it in this post for those of you who tried to visit their website after the link was removed.

(*note: this is a direct copy and paste of IHOP’s article. It has not been edited or altered in any way from its original format)

IHOP’s article described and taught contemplative prayer in this way:

Contemplative Prayer
Communing with the Holy Spirit who lives within you

I. Know He Lives Inside of You
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:24–27

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes…
— Ezekiel 36:26–27

But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.
— John 4:14

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
— Romans 8:9–1

Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive.
— John 7:37–39, KJV

II. Pray the Scripture

The goal is to search for the Spirit of Jesus in the Word and have depth, not necessarily length, in understanding the passage. Jesus is the Word (John 1) and we want to know Him, the Truth. In Him is life; it is His Spirit who gives life. The words of Scripture are Spirit and they are life (John 6:63). The entrance of the Word gives light and life (Psalm 119:130). As the Word of God enters your heart, the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal body (Romans 8:11).

Make sure you are searching for the Spirit of Jesus, not just searching for knowledge. Just pray the Scriptures. In simple terms, prayer is turning your heart toward God. In John 5:39, Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You do not have His Word abiding in you … you search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”

Method #1

• Choose a short phrase in Scripture.

• Begin slowly praying the Scripture in silence.

• Focus your prayer toward the Spirit who lives inside you (John 7:38).

• Remain on the phrase as long as you feel the Lord’s presence on it. Then move with Him, slowly praying through the passage phrase by phrase.

Method #2

• Choose a short story in Scripture.

• Read through the story several times silently.

• Close your eyes and acknowledge the Spirit who lives in you.

• Use your imagination to imagine yourself as one of the story characters or as an onlooker.

• Play out the story in your mind applying all five of your senses.

Method #3

• We call this “Beholding the Spirit Within.”

• The goal is to search for and feel God’s presence inside you, not necessarily to gain more understanding in God’s Word as with the first two methods.

• Begin by gently praying a short passage of Scripture in silence while focusing on the indwelling Spirit. The Scripture is used to quiet the clamoring of your soul and draw you to God. It is the connection point, the springboard into the spiritual realm.

• Once you feel God’s presence, focus on it in a concentrated way.

• You will be able to notice His presence now; He has always been there, but now your attention is on Him within you. The outward senses are quiet and your surface thoughts are gone. You are beginning to be consumed by the Spirit.

• In this time, feel the freedom to stay quiet. Silently ask the Spirit to show you a vision, or slowly and silently say to Him, “I love You. I love You. I love You.”

Overcoming Distractions

Your mind will have to be trained in practial ways to not wander and think on other things. To overcome a wandering mind, simply begin thinking on the Scripture you have been meditating on, and focus your prayer to the Spirit within you. The Lord sees your heart as it searches for Him, and He is smiling upon you. You may become sleepy during prayer. To overcome, sit up straight instead of slouching and do not lie down. You can also begin speaking the Scripture you are meditating on under your breath until you feel the drowsiness subside, then return to the silent prayer.
Diligence in Prayer

In time these methods of praying will become easy. You will find the Spirit who lives in you if you search for Him with all your heart, but it will require time and your whole heart.
Keys to Progress

• Humility—the high and lofty One dwells with the lowly in heart (Isaiah 57)

• Disciplined life of prayer, fasting, giving and loving your enemies (Matthew 6)

• Total abandonment in love to Jesus and loving nothing of this life (Matthew 7:14)

[End of IHOP article]

If you take the detailed instructions above and compare them against a Hindu or Buddhist “how to” on transcendental meditation, you’ll find the same format minus the word God.  This is an ancient occult practice which has been re-packaged to appear “Christian” but IHOP certainly didn’t create it.  They are borrowing it from eastern religions and Catholic mystics and marketing it as a new way to connect with God.  The one who participates in TM will certainly connect into the spirit world…but the “spirit” they will be connecting with is not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

After the damage is already done, how does the heart heal?

Some recent healing in my own life lately over some issues from my childhood has caused me to look at this whole subject of dealing with pain and overcoming its grip on my soul. For the purpose of this blog I have talked mostly about the pains of going through spiritual abuse suffered from cults, abusive & controlling church leadership and dangerous religious groups. However, in this particular post I will share these realizations in light of how to repair and mend from the after-affect of pain from more personal, day to day events. Although the concepts still apply to dealing with all forms of pain and are certainly applicable to dealing with spiritual pain upon coming out of those places. Pain is pain and can be dealt with the same regardless of the type of pain or what caused it.

Most believers have at some time or another heard the truth that Jesus died to carry our sin and pain. He bore our sicknesses (of both body and heart) and disease (emotional and physical). He died to purchase healing and wholeness for our entire being…and for the whole of humanity–past, present and future. This is 100% true, yet I’ve heard those who have said “Well, if He died to carry my hurts why am I still feeling them? Why do I still experience abuse? Why am I carrying around pain I have carried since childhood?” This is where the rubber meets the road. For many that healing is embraced mentally but never fully applied. The pain doesn’t get released and therefore the solution isn’t activated.

Jesus’s death was the down payment on freedom. He did 100% of His part. Why do we not fully walk in freedom? Because we have to release the pain to Him and give it to Him from our heart (not our head) or we continue to walk in the bondage of it. He doesn’t violate human will. Yes, He died for sin, pain, abuse, etc but He won’t come storming into your soul and take it all from you. He simply waits on us to offer the pain to Him so that the freedom can come full circle and He can have all that He died to pay for.

Perhaps you’ve been in a situation where you suffered spiritual abuse, rejection, abandonment of a parent or spouse, emotional or psychological abuse or a variety of pain in other forms. How do you repair after the trauma? Let’s talk about that.

The first step is FEELING it. Pain is scary. It hurts (obviously). No one likes hurt or wants to feel it so we bury it, stuff it, hide from it, medicate it, escape from it, get busier, project it onto others, anything BUT feel it. Why is allowing ourselves to feel it important? Because we know in our minds that we feel pain and that we hurt. But we don’t hold the pain in our minds. We carry it in our souls, our hearts, whatever term you prefer to use there. We can’t release pain mentally and expect to stay free. That’s like a 6-year old stuffing all of the toys and dirty laundry under the bed and calling the room clean. It’s not dealing with the actual root of where the pain resides.

“Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

Scripture doesn’t say “blessed are they that stuff” or “blessed are they that run, hide and avoid.” Mourning requires feeling the pain.

For many of us who have suffered some form of abuse as children, we were not given permission to own or feel emotions growing up. It’s a radical paradigm shift when you start giving yourself the right to feel things as an adult. It feels new, uncomfortable and even scary to start acknowledging how something makes you feel–to put words to pain. There is an ownership and responsibility once you can identify it and feel it. Many have been told that if you “don’t confess it you won’t give power to it and it will just go away over time.” This is one of the greatest deceptions I’ve ever heard about how to deal with pain. It does the opposite of bringing freedom. It locks the heart into deeper bondage. Here’s why:

1) You’ve probably heard the very over-spiritualized (and false) “If you confess it out loud, you’re agreeing with the enemy and making it come true.” This is the same school of thought that says “If you say you’re sick, you’re making yourself sick. You should say ‘I’m on my way to feeling healed’ or ‘God is good and I feel great’”. Ladies and gentlemen, this is nothing more than old fashioned denial. Denying pain or abuse or sickness doesn’t make it go away. It prolongs the healing process because we aren’t allowed the freedom to feel and get beneath the cause or root of that pain. Why do you think Jesus said “If you confess your sin, God is faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and cleanse you from ALL unrighteousness?” Because the Father designed us in such a way that confession from the heart releases something. Acknowledging sin brings freedom. Identifying pain and abuse or sickness is step 1 to being free from it. If you never admit that your kitchen is dirty you’ll never take the next step to clean it. You’ll keep using dishes and pile them into the sink and say “No, the kitchen isn’t dirty. It’s fine.” Now this sounds absurd in the natural and we all clean our kitchens when they need it. We will acknowledge needs in the physical world but deny them on a spiritual level. Denial is the gatekeeper of abuse. If you deny something, you hold it outside of reality and don’t ever have to deal with it. The sad thing is that this never makes it go away. It stuffs it and delays the healing process.

2) When pain or hurt that is hidden is brought to the light and felt, confessed and released, it loses its power. It loses its sting. As long as it remains inside it is a deadly poison that eats away at the soul over time and causes very real damage. It’s like having a wrecking ball swinging around inside of us. When we give ourselves the permission to FEEL the hurt and the pain we’ve stuffed, we open the door to the internal prison where we have stored it and only then can we begin to find true and lasting freedom.

Maybe you’re thinking “Okay, I’ve felt pain before and acknowledged it but it didn’t go away.” Not knowing your particular situation or how you define “feeling your pain” I can only speak from my own experience. So let me explain how I define “feeling the pain.”

When something occurs (an argument with your boss at work, a fight with your spouse, a hurtful phone call from a parent you don’t have a good relationship with, a hurtful word said by one of your children) whatever the incident, it causes pain and while that event is certainly painful in and of itself, it’s actually triggering the pain from a root that goes back further than that moment. For example, if a boss snaps at your at your job and says “your performance is pathetic and your work ethic is worthless. I knew we shouldn’t have hired you in the first place but people higher up than me made that call. You’d better get these numbers up and get your act together or you’re out.” This response is of course a very harsh, hurtful and abusive way to speak to another person. More than likely however, the hurt of this event will be compounded. It will often un-cover the hurt of perhaps another time, much longer ago when Dad or Mom or someone else in an authority position in your life said something that made you feel the same way. At that time you were probably a child with fragile self-esteem and with a deep desire to trust that those who had an authority in your life would only say something to you if it was true. So you internalized those feelings of hurt, rejection, unworthiness, and not measuring up. So now this experience at work has emotionally connected you to another memory far more hurtful.

If you blow up at your boss or go run at the gym after work to deal with the hurt and anger, you might think you have felt the pain and dealt with this event. You might then go into work the next day ready to start fresh on improving your performance and working harder to prove that you can be a team player and an employee worth keeping around. What has happened instead is that the pain of this event which triggered the same pain of a different event as a child are now linked to each other and creating a more compounded pain which was stuffed into the same drawer and not dealt with.

When I talk about feeling the pain I am referring to letting yourself feel it at its root. That’s where the pain started, it’s where the healing also starts. When you allow yourself to feel the pain, you’ll start to honestly look at where that pain came from and be able to trace it back to when you felt that way at other times. For example, in the case of this hypothetical work situation I created for the purpose of this illustration (we’ll call him Jim). Let’s say Jim got home from work and felt awful. Instead of turning on a football game or yelling at his wife for something petty or telling his kids to stop talking so loud because he’d already had a long and stressful day, let’s freeze frame that moment. Let’s say Jim goes somewhere to be alone and instead of escaping from the pain, he lets himself really acknowledge it and feel it. He remembers in that moment that his Dad used to talk to him the same way. His performance was never good enough. He tried so hard to “do better” to win Dad’s approval but it was never enough and now he and Dad didn’t have a relationship anymore because Jim’s way of dealing with the pain he couldn’t allow himself to feel, was just to eliminate the one who caused it in the first place. Each situation is different and I’m not going to say whether that was right or wrong in this case. Everyone is different and there are certainly times when abuse is present that distance from the abuser is extremely healthy and right in trying to find our own healing. However, it doesn’t in and of itself HEAL our pain. It just stops future pain from occurring from the same source that caused it the first time.

In continuing with our story, let’s say Jim remembers being 7 years old and having a particular memory where Dad yelled horrible, degrading things at him that made him feel worthless. He’s now finding the root of this pain that his boss’s yelling only triggered and un-earthed. Now here is the moment when most people bail. They find the place that hurts but are afraid of their own hurt. It feels so big (because it felt so big to them as that child that first felt it). That little boy or girl had no ability to deal with the pain. They were being attacked by the person that God put into their lives to protect them. At this moment of identifying that place of pain, holding there is crucial. Staying in that moment and feeling the pain instead of stuffing it or running from it is vitally important to being freed from it.

So let’s say Jim does stay there. He doesn’t fight back the tears or push back the memories and call them childish. If He stays in that pain and feels the fullness of it, he’s unlocking the prison and cutting the power of the pain. Then as the pain is being felt, it must be released to Jesus. He died to the purchase the pain and He is the only one who can carry it for us, so we must give it back to Him. He is the rightful owner because His death purchased our freedom from our pain. Now we can complete the circle and freedom can become permanent as we allow Him to take our pain when we are feeling it, acknowledging it and giving it to Him. It’s very simple. In owning it, we tell Jesus out loud that it hurts, that we don’t want to keep carrying it so we are offering it back to Him. We ask Him to take all of it out and to go to the root of that memory where that pain occurred and remove the root of it. Whatever you have to say in that moment to release how much it hurts and how it feels is important–it disarms the strength of that pain. If perhaps you recognize a lie that you believed about yourself in that moment, confess that too. Ask Jesus to replace it with the truth of who He says you are. Stay in that place and feel that pain until it’s all gone…until the internal ache and throb of it ends. Cry until you don’t have pain prompting the tears. Feel it, even though it hurts. It will start to taper off and hurt less as you pray it to Adonai and release it through tears, words, or whatever that needs to be for your own heart.

When there is no feeling of pain left attached to that memory, you might just feel drained emotionally and empty. Then ask God to pour His love into your heart, soul, mind, every part of you. Ask Him to fill you up inside with His peace. If you wait there a minute, you will notice a peace and perhaps a warmth settle upon your heart. You will notice a change. Your heart will feel different when you’ve released the pain. Jesus is the one who conducts the healing process inside. It’s not something we do in our minds or try to force with emotions. We allow Him to be the healer and just let Him do the navigating. All we do is show up, feel the pain, acknowledge it and give it to Him.

I cannot even begin to articulate accurately and strongly enough with words how much walking through this process has brought tremendous healing in my own life. Yes, I do believe in blowing the whistle on abuse in spiritual places and “ministries”. However, people can run around all day saying “this place is wrong. that place is wrong.” And while there may be truth in that, acknowledging the places as being bad, wrong, in error, teaching erroneous things, etc. doesn’t HEAL the abuse or pain that was caused. It’s the other missing piece.

I hope to continue walking with you on the journey toward pursuing truth but my desire is that we all get free along the way. If healing from past congregations doesn’t happen we will eventually walk back into a situation just like it or worse because we didn’t heal. It’s the same with abusive relationships, if we don’t heal from the abuse and recognize what drove us to it then we will eventually go back to another abuser. The same wounds get dragged into the next situation or place. We then add that new damage to the old and become the walking wounded. God desires us to be healed and whole, free and vibrantly alive in Him so that we can fulfill all that He called us to do in our time on this earth. Do you want to finish the race dragging a broken body and wounded heart over the finish line or do you want to run triumphantly over it jumping with joy over the victory of winning the race? Something to think about there…

Let’s finish the race together pursuing wholeness, freedom and healing in Jesus!

If you are interested in more information about the process of walking out of pain, I will attach a link at the bottom of this post for Family Foundations International. This is a ministry I have received a lot of personal healing through and have had key experiences of walking out of my own pain in a biblical (non-new age creepy) way unlike much of the “inner healing” I hear endorsed in some circles. Feel free to peruse the website and check out FFI seminars in your area.

http://www.familyfoundations.com/

Blessings!