Many people are starting to hybrid they’re Christian faith with other religions, mysticisms, and spiritism. The most common is adopting Tai-Chi or Yoga, the former is part of Taoism, and the latter is a chief aspect of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. However, the eastern philosophies aren’t the only ones being hybridized in, many in the UK are turning to Occultism and Tarot to comfort themselves in the midst of Covid losses.
I want to say that our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted to hybridize, the devil offered him the kingdoms of world, “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:8-9). The devil was asking God Incarnate fo hybridize, to worship him. Jesus response must be our own response, “Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and only serve him.” (Matthew 4:10).
This must be our answer when tempted to mingle pagan (non-Christian) beliefs, rituals, customs, mediations, philosophies, mysticisms, and etc with our pure faith. Paul the apostle even warned Christians would drift into mixed religion, when he said, “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ,” (2 Corinthians 11:3), and, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3).
But why is this happening? Why are Christians, especially Millennials and Gen Z practicing tarot, Yoga, and occultism. CBN News had the best answer, “Irlam explained several people have reached out to their group for help. These individuals had been involved in spiritualism or even Satanism and said they found "a greater sense of belonging (in spiritualism) than they would feel from the established Church.” (https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2021/may/brits-turn-to-occult-to-contact-the-dead-as-they-grieve-pandemic-losses-invariably-leads-to-bondage-and-suffering). There is merit in what the person said to Pastor Iram, most churches feel like yacht clubs where you have to dress to impress and behave a certain way, rather than delve deep into the faith and be vulnerable: being allowed to be your authentic self. In addition to a lack of belonging , the Church sadly has become cerebral, teaching oriented, while the eastern mysticisms seem more spiritual. What happened is our churches have become businesses, focus on money rather than God. A real church meeting is suppose to look like this, “Orderly Worship. What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.” (1 Corinthians 14:26-32). This format of service has major spiritual manifestations and experiances, with people getting revelations, prophecies and etc. the problem is that most churches forbid the gifts of the Holy Spirit to move in a service, so what happens is most church services are a pastor giving a teaching, like academia, and worship, when these newer generations crave spiritual exercises and experiences, which if the church did what the Bible says and let the Holy Spirit gifts happen, then there wouldn’t be a void or vacuum for eastern and western pagan spiritisms to enter; the new generations would be so intoxicates on the True God and the powers and revelations that the pagan stuff would be oppressive feeling due to one of gifts called discerning of spirits (), and it would feel like a step down, a demotion from what they already are experiencing in God.
We are losing the new generations not because of teaching, but because of a lack of God. God isn’t allowed to manifest and his powers arn’t present in services, so the younger gens perceive God as an Oxford Professor diety who you serve by giving great essays too, but what they want is experiances (visions, revelation, heaven visits), and manifestations, which they don’t know was the norm of the Early Church, and is how Church is suppose to be!
If we are to fight the tide of eastern & western philosophies, and mysticisms we have to let God show up! We must let the spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 to move in services! We arnt gonna win via prohibition, forbidding wine, but by offering the better wine of Christ which is far more intoxicating and greater than the pagan wines; but if that is to happen, we have to let God back in church and let Him manifest via the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7. Otherwise we will lose these generations to the devil. What saved all the Hippies who had been deep into drugs and new age and eastern mysticism was a radical movement of God’s Spirit and the Gifts in a revival called The Jesus Revolution or Movement. During that time the New Wine of Christ and his presence and the Gifts of Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-7) flowed, making pagans drop they’re Tarot cards to bask in presence and power of the Holy Trinity! That is how to answer the dark tide upon us, not with more sermons, but with God’s Spirit. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment