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THEOPHOSTIC MINSITRY

VICTIM THEOLOGY

 Theophostic Ministry - Victim Theology

 "It's not my fault, I've been hurt, therefore I sin."

 Theophostic ministry, inner healing, prayer counseling, prayer cleansing, and prayer soaking have found great favor and appeal in modern Christian culture. Though each group works hard at debating their unique distinctives, many modern deliverance ministries share common ideas and find their premise in what I call, "Victim Theology."

 What is Victim Theology?

 It finds its origin in the "Inner Healing" movement. Over the last thirty years or so, a type of "Christian counseling" has emerged and has become a vital part of "altar calls," prayer counseling and personal ministry. It is a popular school of thought which has evolved into several complex doctrines of prayer and deliverance. Furthermore it has spawned several spin-off teachings connected to dealing with "emotional pain," "repressed memories," and "hidden trauma."  However, all these ministries manifest similar notions.

 After being exposed to this teaching, a person might believe that they themselves are not responsible for getting angry, hurting others or they might feel that they are unable to improve their own state of mind. They may be convinced that they lack self-esteem, fortitude, power and mental ability.

 They might say, "I am not responsible for this 'mess-of-a-life-I-live'.  I've been hurt... therefore I sin. Something in my past causes me to hurt people around me. It controls me. It drives me to drink. It makes me smoke, curse, and lash out at others. I am discouraged easily and there is nothing I can do about it. Therefore I need very specialized spiritual counseling. I need a ministry that can offer me the attention to the details of my hidden past. I need prayer. Maybe I need deliverance."

 "I could use some carpet time."

 What is carpet time? It is associated with prayer. "Carpet time is when I find myself on the floor and people gather around me to pray over me."

 Whether this takes place on the floor of a church or in a minister’s office, a person may be convinced that, "during that time of ministry the Holy Spirit will give me a personal revelation. It could be knowledge of my true past... either within my own heart or through the people who are ministering to me. They may give me a word from 'the Father' or I may personally receive a prophetic word that will reveal the truth about any repressed memories or may disclose harmful events that may have affected my life.  These hidden events are sources of emotional pain which affect my life today."

 Why do they need a special revelation?

 New ministries are teaching their disciples that without special ministry the emotional pain, the generational curse, or the source of the "lie" will remain hidden and may be concealed deep within a childhood memory. Most of these ministries will be quick to point out, it is embedded in the memory, and it is not the memory itself. Therefore, even if you can remember the event, it is possible that "the lie" or the negative influence of the traumatic experience to remain hidden for years. But it is manifest in everyday feelings such as worry, discouragement, emotional outbursts and anger.

 The influence of these teachings generates a new approach in facing common problems, "The inner child within me experienced something horrific therefore I am depressed." "I am struggling in life and I have very little self esteem because the devil has taken advantage of my inability to overcome a terrible event hidden deep within my heart."

 In some cases it could be an event which they might remember but usually the focus is on repressed memories. Therefore they need deliverance from demons, prayer cleansing, or recovery counseling. Of course they are very particular about who ministers to them. They seek out certain anointed people who claim to be specialists in this unique method of ministry.

 Some of the more popular teachers are, Dr. Ed Smith of Theophostic Ministry, and Bob Larson of Bob Larson Ministries, but there are many other inner healing specialists who share these common views.

 For instance, the Toronto Blessing movement should be included in this short list with its emphasis on, "prayer soaking". “Soaking,” has been a vital part of the Toronto Blessing culture for about ten years.

 The Toronto Blessing movement was connected to inner healing from the very beginning. The whole premise for the Toronto Blessing is based on their theory of inner healing through personal prayer and spiritual counseling. The idea is not new. It is found in John Arnott's book, “The Father’s Blessing.”¹ He claimed that their counseling services were so taxed that they asked God to do something about it.

 They could not keep up with the hurting people who were coming to their ministry for prayer counseling and ministry. So when the "Father's Blessing" came upon their church in Toronto in January, 1994, they theorized that the solution to their overtaxed ministry came at the same time.

 Instead of spending hours with each person dealing with their deep hidden emotional problems one after another, God was able to minister inner healing to hundreds or even thousands of hurting people at one time. He could do a better job of revealing certain hidden wounds of these suffering Christians and could uncover more of their inner secrets than their individual prayer counselors could.

 The whole premise for the revival was personal ministry. The purpose of the carpet time, the strange spiritual manifestations, and prophetic gestures such as creature noises and animal impersonations was all orchestrated by God to meet the many needs of the wounded people who came for “a touch from God.”

 Thousands of injured souls needed joy; therefore God gave them over to a new blessing; they could overdose on joy and "laugh in the spirit" for hours at a time.

 Many people needed to loosen up, drown their sorrows and leave their problems behind them therefore they could experience being "drunk in the spirit".

 If you listen to the audio tapes or watch footage of the early years you will notice that many of the manifestations and prophecies were linked to special revelations about their "inner child of the past".

 Thus, the Toronto Blessing movement generated great interest in inner healing as a method of ministry. Many new ministries were spawned by the fresh paradigm.

 Though hundreds of new ministries, such as Theophostic Ministry, and Bob Larson Ministries see themselves as distinct from one another, there are many similarities. They are not as different from one another as they think. All claim that they are “cutting edge” specialists in the realm of inner healing. 

They may not be as cutting edge as they claim. These ideas have been around for many years. In fact, in Northwest Bible College, where I attended from '71 to '73, one of our ministry classes was based on the counseling textbook, "The Inner Child of the Past". We were introduced to the same assumptions in 1971 as many of the recent teachers who claim to have discovered this new revelation in the last few years.

 Actually the language is stronger than that. They claim that God has personally revealed to them the key elements of their ministry.

 Many ministries have adapted these teachings as their very own.

 More recently, Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, the founders of the Toronto Blessing, are still keeping pace with the practices of Theophostic ministry, Christian prayer counseling, and deliverance ministries. They are now holding "Prayer Soaking" meetings around the world. The title may be slightly different but the concept is the same.

 Theophostic Ministry

 Dr Ed Smith is the founder of Theophostic Ministry. The notable name, "Theophostic" is designed to represent the meaning of two Greek words. "Theo" - God and "phos" - light. It is in theory a ministry which supplies light to hidden problems. Only God's special light can reveal these things which are enshrouded deep within the dark caverns of our mind. Hidden even from our own understanding.

 This teaching has become very popular among countless pastors and counselors around the world.

 We have also heard from friends who have been affected by these teachings. The results are not always positive. In some cases those who have recently left churches because of this recent trend have asked us if we knew anything about these teachings. Thus we as a ministry were compelled to learn as much as we could about these practices.

 Ed Smith uses certain key phrases as the foundation for much of his teaching.

 "Emotional pain" represents the hidden reasons for our negative reactions to life.

 For instance, Ed Smith claims that if we feel upset about losing our job then we do not have genuine faith that God will meet their needs.² Therefore we are discouraged by the lie, "God will not meet our needs".

 And behaving cheerfully among our friends and in church during these tough times he calls "performance based spirituality".

 Therefore if you feel badly and behave cheerfully you are pretending and you need Theophostic counseling.

 Therefore negative feelings are proof that we have "emotional pain" and we need his special ministry.

 If this is true then how many of us need this particular ministry?

 Once we go through the Theophostic process we can come out the other side totally free. "Theophostic Ministry arrives at complete recovery, memory by memory, lie by lie, with each healing moment", Smith states. "Once a person experiences healing with Theophostic Ministry, he is able to say, "All of my shameful, fearful, helpless, emotions that were in my memories are completely gone."  ...And these painful emotions do not return."³ 

 What a claim... We will be permanently delivered from that emotional pain which is based on our childhood experiences.

 Therefore we will no longer sin against God, we will no longer worry, we will not be discouraged, and we will able to trust God to give us a better job.

 The light or revelation is intended to reveal what he calls "lie-based pain" and "first memory interpretation"

 He teaches that negative emotional responses are caused by memories which have never been exposed, addressed or healed.

 Now while Smith claims to have a special ministry, there is nothing unique about it. Bob Larson teaches the same thing with different titles.

 In Larson's meetings the hidden problems are usually made evident by sudden angry manifestations which are described as demons which have remained hidden from family and friends until the man of God exposed the secretive tenants by his anointing.

 These are usually particular demons, with names such as, “Lust, Murder, and Anger,” who have taken up residence (with a few of their friends) and claim some sort of legal right to dwell in that person. Larson teaches that the demons have attached themselves to hidden emotional pain of that person's childhood.

 Or as I have heard many times on Larson's broadcasts, he teaches that demons of anger, lust, suicide and depression have taken up residence in the "alter personality" of the victim.

 "Feelings"

 Ed Smith's states, " Think over the last few weeks, were there any moments in which you were frustrated, stressed, angered, worried, anxious, taxed, upset, fearful, hateful, argumentative, defeated or pressured? If so, there was probably a lie "Lie-based pain" at the source of these emotions."⁴

 All of us have been hurt in life. There is no doubt about that. And there are some people in this world who have genuine mental and emotional problems. These people need professional help which is readily available. Many years of research have provided the means by which some people can find relief.

 But these modern Christian inner healing counselors and other deliverance ministries are not offering professional help. They are offering spiritual solutions.

 In my view, they are offering an extra-biblical solution to an extra-biblical problem. In most cases, the deliverance is false and the so-called freedom is false, because the diagnosis is false. The diagnosis is not performed by professionals. They are revealed in meetings by the "word of the Lord" and the whole practice is very subjective.

 Most of the religious people who are seeking help from these ministries are finding excuses in these new teachings to act out certain expectations. And thus they are giving themselves over to a culture which promotes an extra-biblical practice.

 But are the true victims of this world being helped or are these people merely claiming to be victims? I believe the latter.

 There are true victims with real mental problems but these ministries are not helping them. They are very specific about that.

 Throughout my life I have been exposed to the Charismatic culture. I was immersed in it for almost thirty years. I was always amazed at the claims of the healing evangelists, prayer counselors, and the leaders of deliverance ministries.

 They always pray for people who claim to have mental anguish.

 The truly mentally handicap do not receive ministry, and if a truly disadvantaged person ended up in their prayer line, they usually offered a short and polite prayer with no results, then the minister would move on to the next person who could hopefully "act out" the expectations and react properly to this type of ministry. The mentally handicap person could not perform or feign the results. He did not know how. Therefore they were bypassed for better performers.

 From my observation of many deliverance sessions, meetings in my own church and others I have attended, the truly mentally tormented people are not sought out.

 These ministers do not go into mental hospitals to help the insane. They stay clear of schools for the mentally handicap, or families with genuine handicapped children, such as down syndrome, (caused by having an extra 21st chromosome) or autism which manifests itself in self absorption in certain skills such as music or numbers and exhibit certain other limitations such as speech or communication.

 By the way, when I was younger, I regularly visited a workshop for mentally disadvantaged children and adults and remember that they were usually very easy to love. They are unaware of what we call torment or pressure. As long as they are involved in a daily routine, they live out busy and happy lives.

 Deliverance preachers do not target people like that. They know their own limitations. They cannot perform the soulish kind of miracles that the crowd is expecting.

 Listen to what Dr. Ed Smith says on this subject. This is from his website in the section called "What are the limits of Theophostic ministry? Theophostic is NOT able to: Heal true mental illness that is not rooted in faulty thinking."

 Therefore if the person truly is mentally unstable, suicidal, has real schizophrenia, or any other true mental disorder, they cannot be helped.

 So what are we dealing with here? Who are they claiming to help?

 These preachers find success within a certain protected culture. For instance, if they tried to minister to people on a street corner or at the shopping mall, they would have little affect.

 These teachings of the inner child, hidden pain and demonic strongholds are imbedded into a religious culture of certain Christian denominations and groups. Those church members already believe in certain key doctrines. Therefore the culture is ripe for these new cutting edge teachings.

 There has already been a preparation and conditioning in these folk for specific responses. The groundwork is done. It is quite possible that these people have already heard similar ideas from the leaders in their own Christian circles and churches.

 In the church I grew up in, we had lots of practice time. We had wild meetings where we dealt with demons in the rafters, evil thoughts that attacked our minds, etc. We had a demon for every negative thought or experience.

 In those days, we were called, “holy rollers.” It was a very closed culture, the rest of the world was hardly aware of our practices and it is likely that they didn't even want to know what went on behind our church doors.

 That is why I am saying that there is a certain culture which has prepared the hearts of people for these new teachings.

 Then we must be quick to add the Christian media to the list, particularly those radio and TV stations which support ministries like Bob Larson, John Arnott, and many others.

 There are those who faithfully listen to these sources. The culture of ideas and the vocabulary is parroted by their audience. Soon the tide of support for these new ministries becomes so popular that for some who are standing in the shadows it becomes overwhelming. The peer pressure to follow these new teachings is incredible.

 As an example, Bob Larson teaches something he calls, "Multiple Personality Disorder" He says, "MPD is a mental condition in which the personality becomes fragmented. He goes on to say that this can manifest as "two or more distinct identities, each of which may become dominant... from time to time to the exclusion of others... Each has its own age, name, sex, intelligence, and personal tastes."

 Now this may sound like a real mental disorder as explained by a professional Doctor or psychiatrist. But Bob is not a professional and most of his followers are not suffering from true mental problems as defined in medical or psychological terms. Although this sounds like schizophrenia it is not the same. Schizophrenia is a rare mental disorder which I'm sure Larson would attempt to avoid if he could. The legal ramifications for these ministries are tricky to say the least.

 But once you hear some of Bob Larsons teachings or experience some of his sessions you soon realize that almost everyone he deals with claim to have MPD.

 He goes on to say, "These identities are called "alter personalities" (often simply "alters") and each maintains its own integrity of characteristics and habits."⁵

 And who defined these disorders? Was it professionals, doctors, or research institutes? No, Larson has invented his own professional sounding vocabulary after years and years of progressive ministry.

Then when you listen to his broadcasts and attend his meetings, you will hear the word, "alters" in every broadcast and in every meeting. Clients will talk about their "alters", and these altar personalities are not found in just a few tormented people, it has become common dialogue among those who claim that Bob Larson's teachings are from God.

 The fact that this teaching is absent in Jesus' ministry, is absent in the letters of the Apostles, and is absent in the Bible does not seem to alarm anyone who is immersed in this culture.

 The tide of the acceptance of these extra-biblical practices is overwhelming.

 Anyone who stands against the tide is seen as fringe fanatics, rebellious towards leadership, and in more extreme cases, they are seen as vessels of demonic heresy.

 "Touch Not the Anointed"

 During the years when we were involved in all of this, we had some good friends who had a their own deliverance ministry. Their names were Richard and Cindy Rhorer. They had a ministry, called "Two by Two Ministries" which practiced what they called, "Prayer Cleansing." It was similar to the practices of Bob Larson's and Ed Smith's ministries. I remember Richard and Cindy offered a mixture of prayer counseling, tearing down spiritual strongholds and usually ending with casting out the demons. That was the ultimate climax in many of their meetings. Many members of our church went through their "prayer cleansing" sessions.

 But when I began to question some of our Charismatic practices such as tearing down strongholds, spiritual warfare, and casting out demons, I discovered that many of our specific demons were not named in the Bible. Richard found this out and called me from California. He suggested that I was throwing away my future. He also mentioned that I had great potential to become a respected leader in Charismatic circles. He told me I had great talent and wanted to see me get into the coveted preaching circuit, the inner circle of preachers who were on the cutting edge. He warned me that if I continued to question the anointed ones who taught spiritual warfare, my ministry would be over.

 Since that time I have come to understand that bowing to the fear of men is a path that leads to destruction. You don't want to go there. If there is a conflict between the Bible and the teachings of men. Go with the Bible. Seeking to understand the Word of God is where real wisdom and discernment comes from.

 That is how I have come to understand that these deliverance ministries are offering an extra-biblical solution to an extra-biblical problem through extra-biblical teaching.

It is interesting to watch this take root in the Church.

 What is popular among churchgoers becomes the ultimate standard of what God is presently doing on the earth.

 The Bible is quietly forsaken as the main source of truth and these self appointed leaders are accepted first by their disciples, then their converts, then by the masses. These teachers are exalted as God's spokesmen by acclaim.

 How far into secular society do these teachings reach? I am amazed at where it pops up.

 A serial rapist, who is now serving his sentence, claims that he was motivated by a powerful demon of lust. Even in prison he continues to deny his responsibility or his true intent. This is all too common.

 Criminals have become victims in their own mind. The true victims are not remembered. In fact, some of these rapists believe that they have served a purpose to these "lonely women". Furthermore, they claim that they gave their victims some kind of pleasure. Then blame it on a demonic force that beckoned them to their victims. All of this comes from the spreading culture of extra-biblical teaching.

 Warning, Do Not Try This at Home.

 From his recent newsletter, "Critical Issues Commentary" Pastor Bob DeWaay of Twin City Fellowship in Minneapolis, states: "The point of Theophostic ministry is to have the Holy Spirit cause the memory to come back in a vivid emotional way, and then subjectively reveal to the person what the truth is. For example, the person might hear in his mind, (not from the counselor) "it is not your fault, you are not shameful." That revelation cures the person of "lie-based thinking" and the negative emotions go away instantly and permanently. Though this is supposedly a work of the Holy Spirit, it is evidently dangerous because Smith warns his readers that they need his training before they can be involved with it."5

When it comes to warnings, most of the new prayer counseling ministries say the same thing. They work hard at protecting their unique identities by claiming that their is own brand of ministry is "cutting edge" and proclaim from the rooftops how radically distinctive their teaching is. Then their followers will be sure to echo the idea that they are without equal.

 Each ministry has their own terminology which is specific to their identity.

 That which is called "the source of emotional pain" by Dr. Ed Smith is called, "a generational curse" or "sins of the fathers" by Bob Larson. Their ideas are similar but they are careful not to use each other’s phrases. To do so would give credit to another ministry and would reveal that they are not unique.

 Throughout their published materials, their books, CD's, tapes, and videos, you will hear them vaunt their uniqueness. They work hard at maintaining their identity as "one of a kind." In fact, many of these leaders claim that their particular brand of teaching is a direct revelation from God.

 Dr. Smith claims, "Theophostic Ministry is not a spin-off of any other traditional approach to counseling. It should not be confused with any other form of therapy." and "Theophostic is a unique method of ministry."6

 His disclaimer is, " Those who are using Theophostic Advanced Materials as part of their own Seminar training and calling what they do by another name (such as: Prayer Counseling, Mind Renewal Counseling etc.) are in violation of Copyright Law."7

 Copyright? That is an interesting word. It has always intrigued me how these ministers can copyright something here on earth that is supposedly from heaven. The claim adds to the uniqueness of the ministry. It also suggests that money may be at the core of the phrase "in violation of Copyright Law."

 Bob Larson seems to echo the same words, he constantly warns his listeners to not dabble in exorcism without proper training. Of course his "Do What Jesus Did" teams are ready to train all newcomers... for a price. A minimum of $1999.00 and up.8

 I am amazed that they know so little about Jesus. They claim to be doing what Jesus did. But they are misled. They are not doing what Jesus did, they are doing what he didn't.

 Truth

 Many of these ministries quote; John 8:32  "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

 What is their concept of truth?

 Jan Fletcher, a faith correspondent for the Central Kentucky News Journal, did some research on Smith's ministry which is based in that area of Kentucky, and ended up with a 140 page book on the subject.9 Based on her research, she reveals that truth is subject to visions and personal revelations. "People report seeing Jesus carrying a big red ball, seeing Jesus with a lantern, or Jesus showing a picture of the alleged abuser as a puppy dog cowering in a corner." She goes on to say, "Truth is true because it feels true. It is experiential truth."10

 Therefore truth is no longer objective. I checked out my dictionary to define the word, "objective: undistorted by emotion or personal bias; emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings or interpretation".3

 These modern ministries have now made truth subjective. Truth is that which seems beneficial to the client.

 My dictionary describes, "subjective: taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias; (philosophy) of a mental act; occurring entirely within the mind".3

 "Works for me!", "It makes me feel better.", at least in front of the crowd where it really counts.

 From my own experience of being a leader in Charismatic circles this is truly "performance based spirituality", pretending to be healed, and feigning the power of God. We have become anti - Jesus. We have discovered a new salvation. We no longer have to say, I am a sinner. In fact, that confession is viewed as low self-esteem.

 But in reality the Bible never condemns anyone who comes to God and says, "I am a sinner." They are never considered evil. They are considered humble, rescued sheep, who have admitted their true nature.

 Light and Truth

 Larson and Smith are constantly talking about bringing light and truth into the lives of troubled people. But their description of light bypasses the revelation of God in his Word.

 Light is treated more like personal enlightenment. Just about any new information, a thought or a visualization, which is received during prayer or times of ministry, fall into this very open-ended category.

 To them, truth is subjective. If a person believes it is true then it is true. Light and truth can be personalized to suit each situation. It seems that there are no standards by which these experiences can be measured. If you are taught that the Bible is not the only source of revelation then that would be true. But after years of evaluating my own subjective experiences against the Bible, I now believe my visions were nothing but extra-biblical ideas given credibility in my own mind.

 Prior to 1993 I would not have been alarmed to hear people describe their vision of Jesus, "with a big red ball" or "with a lantern". During my former years as a leader in the Charismatic movement, I listened intently as Jesus was described as walking downtown with a business suit. My associates saw visions of "holding out a big black ball", "demons above the fan in the sanctuary", and "running with Jesus in the flowered field." I have heard it all. My own visions included traveling in stormy weather with four very large angels, hordes of demons defeated through spiritual warfare, and countless visions of bring down principalities in the heavens.

 The visualization of the cowering puppy dog reminds me of a vision a man shared with me. It was at the beginning of my journey out of "charismania". I was questioning the biblical validity of many of our practices. A visiting Bible teacher saw me in a vision as a cowering cornered rabbit trying to act like a big wolf. I wasn't quite able to understand what was happening at the time. But after many years of study, I am convinced that his vision was nothing but silliness, empty speculation, and carnal pride.

 Therefore when I watch the visualization process that is a vital part of deliverance ministries, I totally understand how convincing it can be.

 Only through Bible research are these ideas exposed as extra-biblical. Many of these so-called visions do not match the biblical pattern and purpose of visions. They are not even similar.

 If I were to take the years of study and share the single most common purpose of biblical visions, I would quote a portion of Revelation 19:10 "Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

 All prophetic visions in the Bible have one purpose, "to call God's people back to his Word, and worship him according to that Word."

 Theophostic ministry and other inner healing ministries bypass this very simple truth. They offer visions as solutions that transgress the purpose of scripture. The Bible is treated as only one source of truth in a long list of choices rather than the only source.

 It is very a very subtle difference to a young Christian. But the difference becomes profound once a Christian realizes that the Bible is God's written track record. God will not manifest himself in any way that would belittle his written revelation. His Word is his bond. He will not discard it for new methods.

This is where Smith and Larson hold firm. They both claim, "God is doing a new thing."11 With this short phrase they defend their extra-biblical practices as God speaking to his people in this generation.

 God is Doing a New Thing

 Dwight Clough shares his support for this idea in his article, In Defense of Theophostic Ministry, Why this Christian inner healing approach is Biblical, workable, and a good choice for many people.12

 As his first line of defense he poses the question, "Is God allowed to do something new? See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:19a". He continues, "God has the right to do something new. In every generation, there are people who challenge His right to bring new insight, new discovery, new methods, new technology to the people he created." He then compares Theophostic ministry to pioneers such as Galileo, the Wright brothers, Tyndale, Jesus, and Gutenberg.13

Cults have used this logic for centuries. They promote their new theology and claim that God is not only involved but orchestrating all new discoveries on the earth including their own.

 The quote from Isaiah chapter forty-three is a favorite among all preachers who believe they are breaking new ground. I witnessed it a thousand times during my former years in extreme religion.

 This was also the cry of my former peers including myself. We all believed that the former things were God's Old Testament ways. In essence we claimed that God would not deal with the church in the same way as the people in the Old Testament; he would do something new. That meant that we were wide open to anything to take place in our meetings, especially if it was not seen before.

 It would make sense to read the context surrounding this quote. What was Isaiah referring to when he said, "a new thing"?

 Contextually, the idea of the "new thing" is found throughout the book of Isaiah as well as several of the prophetic books of the Old Testament.

 The previous chapter in Isaiah features the concept of "new things" along with some very important clarification.

Isa 42:9  Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they happen, I cause you to hear.

 The rest of the chapter offers some insight into what "new thing" the prophet was referring to. We need to understand the contextual message of the "former thing" compared to the "the new."

 Isa 42:1  Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; My Elect, in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit on Him; He shall bring out judgment to the nations. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He shall not break, and a smoking wick He shall not quench; He shall bring out judgment to truth.

 These verses clearly refer to Jesus, the servant, the anointed one, who would bring judgment and truth.

 Isa 42:6 I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, and will keep You, and give You for a covenant of the people, for a Light of the nations; 7  to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness out of the prison house. 8 I am Jehovah; that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images. 9  Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they happen, I cause you to hear.

 Several prophetic books share this same idea.

 Jeremiah 31:31 (KJ2000) Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; my covenant which they broke, although I was a husband unto them, says the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, says the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, says the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

 There are many more scriptures which clarify this idea. The New thing that the prophets foretold was the new covenant, the new creation, the new heart, and the new spirit given to a people who were destined to receive salvation through Jesus Christ.

 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV) "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

 Notice the reference to old and new things.

 The new thing is not Theophostic ministry. The new thing is salvation through Christ.14

 Another phrase that is used by cutting edge ministries is:

 Haggai 2:9 (KJ2000) The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, says the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, says the LORD of hosts.

 During my flaky years I was accustomed to this language of “the former and latter house”. We used it to support the idea that the strange things that were happening in our meetings was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the latter house. Of course, we were the latter house.

 The new cutting edge ministries use it the same way. They claim the title "latter house" as their own.   

 In reality, the latter house was the house of the Lord established by Jesus Christ. The latter house is not the house establish by Smith and Larson. It is not the house of prayer counselors, or the church of the 21st century. How vain we are, thinking that these prophecies are about us.

 Our pride always bypasses Christ and focuses on ourselves. We replace him with a new Jesus and declare, "we are God's chosen, God's anointed ones, and God's end-time messengers". We assumed that these biblical phrases in some way applied to us. When in reality these titles referred to Christ. It was always about him. He is the beginning and the end.

 God's Light and Truth

 Since Smith and Larson use the words "light" and "truth" extensively, we need to do some good old-fashioned Bible research regarding the biblical use of these words. The meaning of a word cannot be defined by our preferences, it is defined by its biblical usage. With that in mind, we need to examine the true meaning of “light”.

 1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

 Here is another verse that is used extensively by the inner healing specialists. They claim that "light" includes anything that appears in the mind of the client during ministry sessions. Therefore "light" is being applied to a hidden emotional lie which is exposed and brought out into the open.

 The Bible offers a different idea. Light is presented in the gospel of Christ.

 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

 2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

 True godly light in scripture is not defined as personal revelations or experiences. The light of Scripture is simply the understanding of the written knowledge of the Christ.

 But this idea has been cast down by prayer counselors. Among many of these new ministries "biblical knowledge" is equated with "dry religion". In fact, the Bible is belittled as "the old revelation" or "merely a starting point". Clients are taught to trust their own experiences above written text. In some cases the personal experiences carry as much weight as God’s holy Word.

Since Bible study is dry, then "emotional experiences" and "personal revelations" are equated to jumping into "the river" or receiving the "refreshing". The symbolism suggests that biblical study actually caused them to be "thirsty" in a "dry and thirsty land." But emotional meetings and prayer counseling sessions gave them something more valuable. They were finally allowed to freely "drink" of the Spirit.

 This symbolism soon becomes mixed with their own versions of "truth".

 Truth has evolved into a subjective thing which is highly valued by freedom seekers. A "word from the Lord" or "personal enlightenment" takes place within the mind and is modified by individual bias and proclaimed as truth. But this truth is not universal. What may be revelation to one person is not for another.

 Since the Bible is no longer the only source for the word of the Lord then there is no longer a written standard of what is true or what is not true. If a person claims that God has shown them something previously hidden to them then it must be the Lord. There is no need to question the experience. It has become a very pragmatic approach to prophecy. "Personal prophecy" has become so common a phrase in these circles that no one even notices that the Gospel has been replaced.

 A different "good news" is being declared. It is no longer one message for the whole world, but a different message for each individual.

 The gospel of Christ is no longer "one light" for the masses but a different light for each person. Each client receives his own gospel. One by one, they receive their own individualized version of beneficial "good news."

 Even "darkness" has become a personal thing. A lie is treated as a portion of darkness, a little pocket of deception hidden in the deep inner conscience of each person who is seeking out the "truth."  

 However, the Bible does not address "light" in these terms. As we read the scriptures it becomes apparent that Jesus was the true light.

 John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

 John 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

 The new counseling ministries often associate "God’s light" with their own brand of divine illumination.

 Ed Smith says, "Once light touches the darkness, the darkness (the lie) can never return and overcome the light. You can bring light into the darkness but you cannot bring darkness into the light."

 "Darkness" is presented as one lie in the heart of a one person. Therefore each person has his or her own personal "darkness" which needs special illumination.

 Thus each person needs prayer counselors as spiritual guides. Since the client cannot see that hidden area of darkness on their own, they need trained specialists to guide them through the process of finding the "truth."

 Over the years I have given this idea some thought as to why we were so attracted to “personal prophecy” and “private revelation”. I returned to the Bible to understand how and why we went astray. Darkness is no longer seen as the human condition. We seem to be slow to admit that we have what the Bible calls "flesh". In fact, in much of my research I have yet to read any of Ed Smith's articles, Bob Larson's teachings and their books and articles which mention the biblical concept of flesh.

 How is it possible to miss such a strong biblical idea? The Bible does not casually mention the concept of the "flesh". It is a part of our human nature. Neither is it a small subject throughout the pages of Scripture. It is the major message of both Old and New Testaments. And yet, it is hardly mentioned among prayer counselors and supporters of Theophostic ministry.

 Once again, we have become "biblically illiterate". Therefore true discernment is robbed from us. The modern church has heard the cry of their leaders, "don’t try and understand what is happening here, put your Bibles down and open your hearts to the moving of the Spirit." Our spiritual leaders have proclaimed.” God is doing a new thing, we must hear what God is saying to this generation."

 Listen to the paradigm presented by the Theophostic Ministry Website. "Theophostic Ministry is not a new concept in that it is merely God doing what He has always done throughout the ages. God desires that we know the truth and walk in it. God has used and continues to use daily situations; people and life in general to test us, expose us and eventually renew our thinking through these experiences. Theophostic Ministry is about moving people to the place where they can receive truth at an experiential level."1

 I can't help but notice that the Bible is missing from his list. It is alarming to me.

 To understand this statement in context, we must also admit that it has become a common idea in the modern church that "God speaks to each generation in a different way. Every move of God in human history has progressed and has kept up with technology and scientific discovery".

 Modern education and twenty-first century pride has blinded us to the statement, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." Hebrews 13:8 (KJV) In fact, I believe this verse has been assigned a new meaning by prayer counselors, one that bypasses the original intention of the writer.

 The logic that God has revealed this new type of ministry to this generation is based on the idea that the early church was not ready for progressive methods of counseling like Theophostic Ministry.

 Ed Smith proclaims, "Just because the early church did not understand the concept of gravity (as in physical science) did not mean that it did not exist..." He obviously believes that his ministry is a special "gift from God" which the modern enlightened church can handle. But the early church missed out on this blessing because of their simple approach to Scripture and their lack of education.

 I find this logic is common among many twenty-first century Christians. In fact, I have heard it preached in pulpits everywhere I go. It is evident in phrases like, “Peter the dumb fisherman, John, the writer of Revelation, did not understand what he saw in the first century, and the early church did not have the same problems that we experience from day to day.”

 Our own pride has belittled the teachings of the early church. Thus the affect is obvious. Since the New Testament was written to the early church we have distanced ourselves from it. We no longer accept it as a valid source of information to us. We are a more complex society than the early believers therefore we need a new approach to ministry. We don't realize how dangerous this thinking is. We have lessened the authority of Scripture and are hardly aware of our dilemma.

God's preferred source of truth has been displaced. We now seek a new word as its substitute.

 Yet in reference to truth, these prayer counselors all quote John 8:32 as their foundation scripture.

 John 8:32 and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

 They quote this verse in reference to their own brand of truth and their own soulish concept of freedom. The full context of John chapter eight is cast aside like a candy wrapper. They want what's inside but they view the rest of the chapter as frivolous trappings; unimportant information that might hinder their pursuit of freedom.

 But I believe the context of the whole chapter impacts the meaning of the thirty-second verse.

 John 8:31  Then Jesus said to the Jews who believed on Him, If you continue in My Word, you are My disciples indeed.

 We are faced with a dilemma. What word is he talking about; the word of the Lord that comes to us during times of prayer or the written testimony of scripture regarding Christ?

 I believe the latter. The context of the chapter makes it clear.

 Jesus said to the Jews:

 John 8:47  He who is of God hears God's Words. Therefore you do not hear them because you are not of God.

 Jesus was speaking to the Jews, the Pharisees, and the Scribes who claimed to possess knowledge of the scriptures. However, their rejection of Christ was a clear rejection of the scriptures.

 Throughout the chapter Jesus mentions his "Word" which is clearly in reference to the written word.

 The prayer counseling movement would have us believe that the word of Christ represents personal words spoken to people during times of personal ministry.

 To them the "word of Christ" is manifest as Jesus offers timely words or visions which appear in their minds as "recovered memories". These are most often forgotten or hidden lies embedded in memories that expose horrific childhood experiences.

 Now before we go any further with this, consider how many hurting people and downright sinners Jesus faced during his ministry.

 The harlot who was thrown at his feet.15 The sinners and publicans who came to dine with him.16 The woman who was sinner, she anointed Jesus with perfume and washed his feet with her tears.17

 Did Jesus use prayer counseling on these people? Did he reveal their hidden childhood traumatic experiences? Do you think they had any undesirable experiences?  It is very possible that they did. Is there any proof that Jesus took these hurting people through the Theophostic process? Is the Jesus of prayer counseling the same Jesus who was manifest in the New Testament?

 Hebrews 13:8 (KJV) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

 Supporters of these modern methods may be quick to point out, "Yes, but Jesus set the captives free."

 From what? Did he set them free from childhood trauma? Did he set them free from their Roman oppressors? Did he set them free from slavery? Yet, he came to set the captives free. So, how did he minister his brand of freedom?

He did not come to reveal the truth about your inner child of the past. The Jesus of Scripture came to reveal the truth about God.

 We miss this vital truth and digress from the true focus of Christianity.

 The Bible is not about searching for the hidden reasons why men sin. The reason for sin is obvious. The blame lands squarely on our nature. We inherited it from Adam.

 Adam was convinced that he could partake of the hidden knowledge of the forbidden fruit.18 He was wrong. He was given God's promise, therefore, he needed nothing else. Yet, he believed there was something missing. So he sought the knowledge of good and evil.

 These prayer ministries are also seeking the same hidden knowledge of good and evil. Here we are in the 21st Century seeking knowledge that steps beyond the promise of God. We are following the example of our father Adam.

 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.19 It make us feel good to acknowledge that outside the church you find carnal people, But Paul made it clear that all young Christians are carnal. They all seek personal goals, their own riches, their own pleasures, and their own happiness at the expense of others. We are not just deceived by sinners. We are also deceived by our spiritual leaders. Carnality is found everywhere, especially in the Church.

 What about the Pharisees? Were they deceived? Would we be able to say that they were affected by "lie based thinking?" Practically everything they believed was a lie. They were the leaders of God people at the time and yet they could not accept Jesus as the truth.

 Jesus did not suggest that they needed “prayer counseling” to discover their hidden emotional pain. He did not offer them soulish solutions. He held them accountable to their interpretation of Scripture.

 We need the keep the pattern of Jesus ministry in mind as we consider modern ministries who claim to be doing what he did.

 The pattern is obvious. We have bypassed the revelation of Christ and have fashioned a new Jesus according to our preferences.

We need to return to the Jesus of Scripture and realize that some of us have fashioned for ourselves a false image of him.

 Peter stood on the Mount of Transfiguration and saw physical light and heard the voice of God. He saw Moses and Elijah. Even with all that experiential knowledge he didn't get it right. He had it all wrong. But later on in his epistle he said, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:” 2 Peter 1:19 

 His words warn us of what will happen when we bypass the prophetic scriptures and claim personal revelations as the "Word of the Lord." We will get it wrong just as he did.

 “Continue in my Word and you will know the truth and truth will make you free.” (author’s paraphrase, John 8:31, 32)

 That’s all there is to it. It is not as complicated as we’ve been led to believe. The Bible is all we need to acquire the kind of freedom that Jesus intended.

 Victim or Fall Guy

 What is the true condition of man? Is he a victim? Adam claimed to be a victim. He blamed others for his fall, "The woman you gave me."

 He believed that God had limited his knowledge. He was convinced that God was not really trying to protect them. He truly thought that God was holding back something vital and important.

 The similarity between modern prayer counselors and Adam and Eve is astounding.  These new ministries are seeking extra-biblical revelation to justify the curiosity of each person who believes they are victims.

Adam and Eve were convinced there was something favorable and good about the forbidden knowledge of good and evil. In the end, they did not gain anything beneficial in their quest for knowledge. All they acquired was shame.20

 Forgiveness or Justice

 "The Theophostic process is all about forgiveness.", says Dwight Clough, "My wife was horribly abused by someone outside her core family. She always wanted to forgive her perpetrator. But only through Theophostic has she been able to release this man. This forgiveness came about not through her own effort, but through the healing presence of Christ."21

 I find this statement intriguing. Where did we get the idea that forgiveness is a free gift we are obligated to pass out to perverts?

 Ed Smith says the same thing on his website, “ Theophostic ministry is not about accusation or prosecution of abusers but rather mercy, forgiveness and grace.”1

 When it comes to the topic of forgiveness the Christian religion has gone off the rails. The religious pressure to forgive offenders has somehow bypassed the teachings of Scripture.

 "She wanted… to forgive..." Kim Clough was most likely taught to think this way by the current doctrine of "forgiveness" found in religious teachings in the present-day church.

 I have always wondered why the modern Church has been taken up with this idea? We have twisted the concept of forgiveness and turned it into "the great cover up."

 We are not dealing with offenses as Jesus did, we are hiding them. We are supporting the perverts, hiding violence, and concealing illegal actions in the name of compassion. We have developed a doctrine which allows perpetrators to get away with assault.

 Luke 17:3 (ASV) Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

 We have rendered it like this, "If your brother sin, forgive him". We have missed the point. It actually says, "if thy brother sin, rebuke him".

 Which is it? Did Jesus rebuke or forgive the Pharisees? He forgave those who acknowledged that they were sinners. But He held the Pharisees accountable to their ungodly practices. Forgiveness was not complimentary, it had to be earned.

 Jesus added the phrase, "If he repent, forgive him." This may be the most critical point of the verse. Jesus was teaching the disciples when to forgive and when to hold people accountable. Justice and fairness are the real issues here.

 Leviticus 19:17  “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.”

 As I read this verse, I admit that I struggle to understand it. “You shall not hate… you shall surely rebuke.” Which is it? Why do I have trouble with this concept? I have been affected by modern church teachers and counselors who have equated hate with rebuke. We have been taught that love will not rebuke.

 I now realized that real love will always rebuke. True godly love will on every occasion protect the innocent and charge the guilty.

 "How can we expose the guilty, after all God is love"?

 We need to redefine love based on the true nature of God's character. This may bring us to another question, “can we truly know God?” Part of the answer is found on Mt. Sinai when God revealed himself to Moses.

 Exodus 34:7 (KJV) Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

 Based on my formal training in Bible school, I automatically say, "Well which is it"? Forgiving iniquity or by no means clearing the guilty. Based on my religious training it is hard for me to grasp; it is both. God does not offer forgiveness to the guilty. He offers it to those who are willing to turn back to Him. That is the true nature of God.

 That same nature was revealed in its fullness in Jesus Christ. He forgave the sinners, when they came to him. But he did not forgive the guilty Pharisees who refused to listen to him. He straightforwardly challenged them.

 The sinners who received mercy from him were the people who came to hear his intriguing teachings.

 Then why do prayer counselors teach a different version of forgiveness? Why force a burden of absolution on true victims. This is more than they can bear.

 Not to mention the many pretenders who claim that the personal revelations acquired in prayer sessions has made them realize that they are victims. They are also instructed not to publicize the sins of their abusers. Under the guise of false forgiveness, this strange mixture of real and unreal abuse is all covered over in the name of love and compassion.

 Clearly, we have a little trouble understanding the biblical teaching of forgiveness. Forgiveness is not offered to the guilty. God has made this very clear throughout the Bible. If God does not freely distribute forgiveness to those who do not earn it, then why do we teach Christians to forgive the offender without him publicly confessing his offence?

 Joshua 24:19 (ASV) And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve Jehovah; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgression nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake Jehovah, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve Jehovah.

 In other words forgiveness is only for those who would forsake that which is false and worship God in truth as the true and living God.

 Jesus did not forgive the Pharisees for their ignorance. He held them accountable to the Scriptures. The Pharisees demanded respect but Jesus did not give it to them. It was required of them to turn from their false image of God and accept Jesus as the true representative of the Heavenly Father before he could embrace them.

 It is very clear from Scripture, without repentance forgiveness cannot be attained.

 Psalms 86:5 (ASV) For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness unto all them that call upon thee.

 God is ready to forgive but it is extended to those who are willing to forsake all false teachings and call upon him.

 Psalms 86:8 (ASV) There is none like unto thee among the gods, O Lord; Neither are there any works like unto thy works.

 Watch what happens when the people will not call upon the Lord.

 Isaiah 2:8 “Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And man bows down, (to the idol) and the great man humbles himself: therefore forgive them not.”

 God does not forgive men when they intentionally go astray.

 Then why are we required to offer forgiveness to those who do not earn it?

 How do we deal with these false teachings among God's people? James the Apostle offers us some insight.

 Jam 5:19 “Brothers, if anyone among you err from the truth, and if anyone turns him back, (converts) 20:  know that he who turns back the sinner (converts) from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide (cover) a multitude of sins.” (Author’s emphasis)

 We cannot cover offence without confrontation.

 This should lead to a vital question, “how do you know the former offender is converted”? He will readily confess his offenses to those who need to hear it. An lifelong open testimony should confirm his change of heart. In fact, a testimony usually accompanies a genuine conversion.

 Paul is a good example of a man who formerly offended believers. Think of the individuals and the families who were affected by his actions as a militant Pharisee. He was committed to an aggressive plan to arrest and persecute all those who followed Christ.

 He was then converted to Christ and his story became his testimony to them. It is obvious that his former victims forgave Paul for his actions. However, forgiveness was not manifest as a religious ritual such as prayer counseling or through a formal declaration of clemency. Forgiveness was unspoken. Paul was simply brought into fellowship with his former enemies and they embraced him. That was all there was to it.

 We must return to a Scriptural of understanding of forgiveness.

 The modern prayer counselors have saddled their clients with great burdens they were not meant to bear.

 They assume that they are trying to release the victim from a burden. But in reality they are placing a greater unbiblical responsibility on their shoulders. The heavy burden is the backbreaking teaching of unbiblical forgiveness. In each prayer session they are compelled to carry the teaching to its desired end.

 The true victims are those who are subjected to these doctrines. They are expected to fulfill the instructions of their prayer counselors, and their inner healing specialists.

 Passing the Buck

 All of these extra-biblical teachings have brought great deception into the modern church.

 We no longer hold ourselves responsible for our actions.

 We no longer teach Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (King James 2000)

 In fact, according to Smith, to admit being a "sinner" would be proof of low self-esteem. Thus the admission is rooted in what he calls, "lie based pain."

 We are in danger of dismissing the biblical concept of “the flesh” and the Adamic nature. People are attracted to the "victim theology" idea. They are thus released from dealing with their own carnal nature.

 Handily, they can blame someone else's actions, someone else's sin, or someone else's presumed attack on their innocence. They can attribute their actions to a hidden demon which causes them to behave badly or make them feel negatively about themselves.

 I am Innocent

 I have noticed a subtle idea that this prayer counseling teaching puts forth. It suggests that we are sinless when we are young. It assumes that we are born innocent of human nature. But as we grow we can be infected by another person's sin. Something can happen to us to rob us of our godly attributes. It is a very appealing idea.

 However, the Bible teaches a different point of view.

 Romans 5:12 (KJV) "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"

 We all need one Savior. We do not need "special revelations of truth" that are fashioned for our unique problems which are only specific to us. This idea exalts us as special sinners. Our emotional problems are specific to us. No one else has the same frustrations. No one has the same thoughts and struggles as we do. We are uncommon sinners. Our struggles are unique. Therefore we need specific ministry to expose the root of each and every negative experience.

 That is an extra-biblical concept which is easily challenged by the teachings of the Apostle Paul.

 1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJ2000) "There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it."

 Everything we face is “common to man.” We are all equal sinners with indistinguishable struggles. We all need the same thing. The way of escape is the same for every Christian. Paul reveals one path to freedom for all tormented souls: "Therefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry." 1 Corinthians 10:14 (KJ2000)

 We don't need special ministries to help us escape our temptations. We only need to find one path. "Flee idolatry." This means to leave our false concepts of God behind us and press on into the Word of God to discover the true nature of God.

 The whole idea of being a Christian is to know God. Yet we spend much of time talking about ourselves. We presume we already know God. We have convinced ourselves that we are now free to press on into more important things. "I want to talk about me, my feelings, my problems, my world."

 That is a path that leads us back to the fall of mankind. We have missed the point. It isn't about us. It is about trusting God's promise and realizing that his written promise (the Bible) is all we need.

 One path has been promised to all of us. Since the foundation of the world it has been that way. Adam had one command to keep. But he suspected God of hiding certain knowledge from him. Adam stepped beyond the promise of God and ended up with nothing.

 Via these new ministries we are offered a similar scenario. Thus we are like Adam, reaching for hidden knowledge just beyond the Word of God. We believe that through prayer and personal ministry the Holy Spirit will reveal this knowledge to us. We are not fleeing idolatry, we are embracing it.

 God has provided us only one path, one way of escape. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6

 We are still echoing the words of Philip, "Lord show us the Father." John 14:8

 Somehow, people want God to come into their counseling sessions and personally reveal himself to them. They are bypassing the original revelation as Jesus declared it: "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." John 14:7

Jesus is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We won’t discover truth if we look beyond him.

Credits:

 1. John Arnott, The Father’s Blessing, 1996, Word Publishing

 2. Critical Issues Commentary, November/December 2003 quoting Dr. Edward Smith, The Performance Driven Church; audio tape, Crystal Evangelical Free Church; New Hope, MN; preached 11/09/2003

 3. Theophostic Ministry Results http://www.theophostic.com/faq.html

 4. http://www.theophostic.com/answers/question3.htm under the title, "Is Theophostic Ministry in the Bible."

 5. http://www.boblarson.org/HOTTOPICS/MPD/mpd.html  Bob Larson Ministries Website, Hot Topics, MPD.

 2. Critical Issues Commentary, November/December 2003 quoting Dr. Edward Smith, Healing Life's Deepest Hurts, (Vine Books: Ann Arbor, 2002

 3. WordWeb 2.2 dictionary, freeware version, copyright Antony Lewis 2003

 5. Critical Issues Commentary, November/December 2003 quoting Dr. Edward Smith, Healing Life's Deepest Hurts, (Vine Books: Ann Arbor, 2002)

 6. http://www.theophostic.com/faq.html Theophostic Ministry Results, What are the benefits of receiving Theophostic training?

 7.  http://www.theophostic.com/faq.html Theophostic Ministry Results, Disclaimer for us of the materials, training and the name Theophostic.

 8. http://store.yahoo.com/blmonlinestore/dwjd.html Bob Larson Ministries Online Store, DWJD, How Can You Join?

 9. Lying Spirits, A Christian journalist's report on Theophostic Ministry, Jan Fletcher, 2004, published by Jan Fletcher, Columbia, KY

 10. Chapter Four: Spiritual Concerns with Theophostic Ministry, Lying Spirits, A Christian journalist's report on Theophostic Ministry, Jan Fletcher, 2004, published by Jan Fletcher, Columbia, KY

 11. Isaiah 43:19 (NKJV) Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.

 12. http://www.dwightclough.com/theophostic_defense.html In Defense of Theophostic Ministry, Why this Christian inner healing approach is Biblical, workable, and a good choice for many people.

 13.  http://www.dwightclough.com/theophostic_defense.html In Defense of Theophostic Ministry

 14. More scripture references that clarify the "new thing" as the new creation covenant in Christ.

Galatians 6:15 (KJV) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

Hebrews 8:8 For finding fault with them, he says, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, says the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

 15. John 8:3 (KJV) And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

 16. Matthew 9:10 (KJV) And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

 17. Luke 7:37 (KJV) And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

 18. Genesis 2:15 (KJV) And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 19. Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

 20. Genesis 3:7 (KJV) And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

 21.  http://www.dwightclough.com/theophostic_defense.html In Defense of Theophostic Ministry

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