When christians make a show out of supernatural stuff

xdisciplex, here are a couple of longish threads that probably cover most of what you are asking

Being slain in the Spirit?

Being Slain in the Spirit? Part Two

 

Question to ask...

When doing "Showy Stuff" who gets the Glory?

Jesus or the "Healer"?

Nuff Said?

Mike Sr.

Of course if a *real* verifiable miracle does take place it may be hard to hide it...

But, I have a *very* dim view of people seeking noteriety based on God's Power...

 

I would have to ask if that "really was" the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

'Tongues,' shaking, dropping [or "slain by the spirit"].... yeah, yeah... Let's see somebody with nothing but a stump of an arm or leg grow a new one, then we may talk about the works of the Spirit.

 

Let me encourage you with this, disciple-- Just because someone "says" it is God does not invoke the "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" scenario. For one thing, one does not ignorantly blaspheme the Holy Spirit; He witnesses to our hearts, and no one can hide from that through an honest mistake, but an intentional mistake.

But let me show you what I believe is the scriptural example of the ludicrious stuff you were describing...

Exodus 32:2 And Aaron said unto them: 'Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.'
3 And all the people broke off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4 And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf; and they said: 'This is thy god, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'
5 And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said: 'To-morrow shall be a feast to the LORD.'
6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to make merry.
7 And the LORD spoke unto Moses: 'Go, get thee down; for thy people, that thou broughtest up out of the land of Egypt, have dealt corruptly;
8 they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed unto it, and said: This is thy god, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'

I think the passage speaks for itself in this instance.

Blessings,
SpyHunter

 

One of my NT Favorites:

1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

of course without this:

Acts 17:11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

It's really hard to Try or Test whether something is from God or not...

Lastly, no amount of "Head Knowledge" Is enough because:

1 Corinthians 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

So, the First Step is to Know Christ Personally not just know about Christ...

Mike Sr.

 

First of all, IMHO, the Azusa Street revival was a unique sovreign work of God...

I don not think you can equate The Toronto Blessing with Azusa Street. That is like comparing Apples to Oranges...

And, IMHO, shows a level of prideful arrogance that is rivaled only by satan himself...

I believe that the Toronto Blessing started out as a genuine move of God's Spirit...

But, in typical Pentecostal naivete they couldn't handle things quieting down so they tried to keep it going and started accepting "strange fire"...

Heres a quote from a sermon I delivered:

If I am not mistakes some of the best meals are those that you bring to a boil them simmer 'til done? Not to mention some confections?

The fighting is because people are involved and they believe that by challenging something you are Quenching the Holy Spirit...

(Actually it has nothing to do with Quenching the Holy Spirit and everything to do with whose Ox they believe is being gored.)

On the contrary we are specifically told to Test the Spirits to see if they are of God or not...

And, for Prophets to Judge Prophecy...

(I believe this is a hint that *all* manifestations purported to be in the Spirit are to be 'Judged' by those who operate in them.)

If questioning and challenging that which seems out of order were so bad? Why would we be specifically told to do so?

Mike Sr.

 

I whole-heartedly agree, SpiritualMadMan. Paul commended the Bereans for putting his message to the light of Scripture; I believe God would expect nothing less from us.
Due to my past, from time to time I have spirits come to me (I don't see apparitions or other manifestations anymore like in my childhood) and attempt to deceive me. They try to immitate the Holy Spirit. How does one test this? God does not contradict Himself-- if it goes against the meaning of Scripture, then it is false. The devil will try to twist Scripture, so it is important to know the heart of the Word and not just the letter. Become aquainted in that way, and you will not be seduced by Christian-pagan revelry.

Blessings,
SpyHunter

 

Wholesale?

I have a problem with the wholesale distribution of such 'manifestations'.

Now, I have been in meetings and something has struck me as 'funny' and I've started laughing and couldn't stop...

Laughter being as contagious as it is, would add participants to it's peer group.

But, I can't say that such a thing **IS THE HOLY SPIRIT**...

I am sure God has a sense of humor and I believe laughter doeth good like a medicine...

So, it's "Possible" that God *could* do such a thing...

I have never understood "Holy Rolling"...

Heard about it growing up...

Never seen it...

Not sure if I even want to believe it's Scriptural...

I sure can't think of a Scripture to support it...

I guess my key suspician is this:

1 Corinthians 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

This would seem to, in my view, say that God is disinclined to give a particular 'manifestation' to everyone at the same time.

So, I think this is where my strong concern is based when it comes to the "wholesale" distribution of 'manifestations'...

Are we seeking Jesus...

Or, are we seeking the manifestations...

The signs are supposed to follow believers...

NOT, believers following signs!

Mike Sr.

 

disciple, the Bible doesn't mention cloning; do you think it's impossible to determine the moral veracity or spiritual acceptability of such an attempt? Principle is principle, it doesn't matter what time or place it is, a principle still takes effect. That is the purpose of a principle.
What you mention there-- "Don't put God in a box, how can you determine what He can or cannot do," is a pathetic justification of fleshly glorification and is based chiefly in an argument from silence ("The Bible doesn't specifically say NOT to..").
I don't want you to think I'm dumping on you; I just want to be clear, as it seems your doubts have been muddling the matter that should otherwise be clear.
Perhaps a passage from Scripture would help:

Philippians 3:17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

Pray and meditate on that and see where you end up.

Blessings,
SpyHunter