A Warning of our need for Discernment!

“Do the Pentecostals look back with shame as they remember when they dwelt across the theological tracks, but with the Glory of The LORD in their midst?

When they had a normal Church life, which meant nights of prayers, followed b y signs and wonders, and diverse miracles, and genuine Gifts of The Hold Ghost?

When they were not clock watchers, and their meetings lasted for hours, saturated with Holy Power?

Have we no tears for these memories, or shame that out children know nothing of such power?

— Leonard Ravenhill

We’ve been in London for the last week, with family visiting from USA.

A great time was had visiting places and things I often hadn’t seen since I was a child — but occasionally visiting an ‘attraction’ I’ve never seen before.

One such place has stuck in my mind and I think maybe The LORD has something to say about it.

The British Museum is, to millions of visitors, a place of astonishing revelation and interest.

We joined the crowds, and I mean there were probably 3-5,000 people, on an apparently typical day in the Spring/ Summer season.

Security was reassuringly tight as we were checked two or three times before being set free to roam the hallowed halls of learning and knowledge on display across several thousand square feet of floor space — probably close to 100,000 square feet [9,290sm] actually.

Oddly enough, as we passed the final bag check point and started to roam, I found myself praying in tongues.

Why? I didn’t know. I just was praying quietly, but audibly, in tongues.

So much history — so many civilisations displayed for all to see. We came across one small display of a cave throughout which were scattered human bones.

I heard my first whisper which surprised me — “Ezekiel’s Dry Bones!” It wasn’t!

What it was, I think, was a representation of a sacrificial place, but I heard “Ezekiel’s Dry Bones!” — meaning the dry bones of a dry and dead religion.

We moved on. We saw countless mummified things — many sarcophagi — many ossuaries – and even more coffins.

As we left that section for the next one, I heard myself saying to my wife, “The stench of death is so strong here — it’s almost suffocating!”

It was true, the stench of death was on everything in there and, importantly, it stayed with us wherever we went.

Death, or the history of death, was everywhere!

Later, as we reviewed the day, looked once more at the various photos, we came to a realisation.

We had not seen anything relevant to our own lives, only a peep at a Godless existence some 3-5,000 years ago.

Then we had another realisation — very little of what we had seen was the real thing — most of the exhibits were facsimiles, copies or reconstructions of the real things.

Only a very few things, mostly inanimate objects like pottery, or stone slabs engraved with cuneiform and hieroglyphics writing, were the real things.

Obviously, the other real things were too fragile to display, or were already so decrepit to be of any real value.

That’s when we realised that most of what we were seeing as ‘history’, was in fact deception, even though based on proven fact.

The religious artifacts were false. The death masks, the coffins, mummies, and so on — they were all false!

Yet the underlying current of the spirit of death was as real as can be, and my praying in tongues and pleading the Blood of Jesus was The Holy Spirit in me sounding the alarm to protect all of us.

Satan is the master deceiver! He uses anything and almost everything he can use to deceive us, put fear in us, or otherwise lead us into error and sin.

I’m just grateful He used this visit to alert me to such subtle and not so subtle deception. It was as though Satan deliberately tried to blind me to the reality of what we were seeing presented as ‘historic artifacts’ when they were only replicas of the real thing.

But God gave us the discernment to tell the difference between the real and the almost real — a vital lesson for the times we are in.

Today, we went to Westminster Abbey where we saw a different view of death — or was it so different.

Certainly, many of the many British monarchs are buried there, along with many of the ‘great and good’, and not so good, of the monarchs’ people.

Many famous people are remembered there, most giving glory to God for the lives now long since gone.

Gloriously carved memorials of stone or marble; beautifully carved memorial stones; tributes without any anointing; even pedestals of idolatry set up as loving memories — all without the presence of God on display for all to gaze upon, and maybe love a little, but still cold and empty!

Yet, despite Public Prayer being offered while we were there, there seemed to be only a ‘nodding acquaintance’ and acknowledgement of God — even less of His Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

It was all very commercial with little to indicate the presence of our creator God!

Hmmm…

Religion, whether past, present, or future is a well rehearsed imitation of the real thing.

But then, religion isn’t quite the real thing — whereas faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is, and it’s demonstrable.

The gifts of Holy Spirit are tangible, full of power — religion isn’t.

Deception and pretence have no power, except to deceive the unwary.

I have no doubt that many have a very real, honest faith but devoid of the power that Holy Spirit brings.

CGB – still learning and grateful for it!

 

~ Chris G. Bennett

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Chris Bennett came to salvation in 1962 but didn’t begin ministry until 2007 — a late-comer! Now mandated by The LORD to prophesy and open old wells of revival in the U.K., but especially in Wales. He has also operated Healing Rooms, and worked with deliverance teams, all with his wife, Linda. Happily now doing whatever The LORD asks of them! Founder, with wife Linda, of their ministry The Upper Room Encounter.

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