this is true yet, many Pentecostal churches are becoming less pentacostel. the only reason for sign and wonder to happen today is to testify that Jesus is alive and risen from the Dead. Acts 1:8 and Acts 4:33 Mark 16:16-20 MATTHEW 28
If you are in street ministry you will see and experience many things that most well-educated people who think they can analyze a demon possess a person and explain medially why they are doing what they are doing, yet the medical term will not set them free, Jesus does. Califonia has almost 40 % of the nation's homeless and it is a great demonic attack on people carried out by those who are demonized like the leaders of the Democratic Party and GOP in Califonia.
IF you do not have the power of God while ministering in CA you are trying to do it yourself. You will just another state plan giving out free food. The State of California has singled out the Christian church and was sued for doing so.
You try battling addiction where the State leadership does this:
- force closes churches ( only Christian) mosques were left open.
- give out money and free weed to the homeless and needles
- put up in 4-star hotels
- provided food and open street living meaning you can go to the public park or city street and make a little tent or cardboard HOME AND LIVE THERE
- prevent Christian from leading those to christ with laws against " Conversion therapy ".
- make illegal to call sin "sin"
- shut down many Christian daycare/preschool centers because the state now offers free daycare in the Preschool and what they call TK's programs. mom
The state of California has made the church obsolete and is doing what the church used to do BUT removed the Jesus Christ-centered program out of it.
Please try battling that with just a good sermon, or Bible study or a deeper understanding of the Book of Romans.
A devil does not care about your deeper meaning of scriptures They only listen to those who have the authority to use the name of Jesus. Those covered in the Blood, those empowered by the Holy Spirit. Those who stand up against ungodly leadership not follow in line and place the mask on and close church doors but Walmart can stay open.
One can have a form of godliness yet still deny the power of God. That was then not for today Well good luck.
The difference between a state ran "plan" and the church was Christ and the power of God and The Word of God. Without them, you are just giving out happy meals.
Pentecostal churches becoming less Pentecostal is just history repeating itself just as many churches were leaving their first love by the end of the First Century, and some almost taken over by false doctrine, as demonstrated by Jesus' message to the seven churches late in the First Century.
The Ephesian church, one of the most powerful churches of the First Century, planted by Paul and administered by Timothy, had, by the end of the First Century had become just a shadow of its former self.
The Methodist church under John Wesley was a powerful soul-winning movement, with healing miracles, but its power had largely declined within 100 years, and presently it is steeped in liberalism and preaches a social gospel, devoid of Christ.
The Salvation Army was very powerful in its time, leading tens of thousands to Christ. Less than 100 years later, it is now just an organisation offering social assistance to the underprivileged with little emphasis on the importance of receiving Christ as Saviour.
Similarly, the AOG churches are discouraging the manifestation of the spiritual gifts, and many have stopped manifesting tongues and interpretation of tongues in their public services. In fact, many AOG services are no different to non-Charismatic Baptist services.
If we study the revivals that have taken place over the last 200 years (The great awakenings in New England, the Welsh revival, the Indonesian revival, as examples,) we see that less than 100 years after, there is no sign that a revival ever took place.
Similarly, just over 100 years since the Pentecostal revival, when we visit the principal churches and organisations where the revival took place, we see no evidence of it at all. All we see are services with three hymns and a sermon, just like the non-Pentecostal churches around them. In fact, if you went to Azusa Street you would see no evidence of the building where the revival happened even existed.
I was a leader of Teen Challenge in Palmerston North, New Zealand. In 1970 when I first joined it, it was a powerful, soul-winning organisation, with a strong leadership. In six years, the leadership had changed (second generation), and it lost its interdominational nature and became the "evangelistic arm" of a local Charismatic church. Two years later, it folded, and now there is no evidence that a Teen Challenge in Wellington, Auckland, or Palmerston North ever existed. This is what happens when the leaders of an organisation, who had the vision for it, leave and new leaders without the same vision take over.
It is the same with the Pentecostal movement. The first generation of leaders had the vision, power, and faith to see God do mighty things in the area of transformed lives, deliverance from demonic bondage, and miracle healing. It took just two generations for the original Holy Spirit power to be diluted into just words, claiming miracles "by faith" that never took place. Just like Sampson, many thought they still had the power, but in reality they became just like the powerless churches around them.
I would not say that the problem is not false signs and wonders, it is more like false claims of "signs and wonders" that don't actually happen. It is one thing for a church to say, "We have signs and wonders happening here", and quite another thing to have the actual signs and wonders occurring. In my view, most of the advertising that some mega-churches have about signs and wonders happening in their midst, is just false advertising and fruitless promises.
For most "signs and wonders" churches, it is the same as the story about the Emperor's New Clothes", where his new clothes were imaginary, and in reality he was walking around in his underwear. It took a child to cry out, "The Emperor has no clothes on!" These churches are just pretending to have signs and wonders, when in fact, they are just like any other "three hymns and sermon" type churches.
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Maybe God tolerated a little good humor??
