"The Reproach of the Solemn Assembly" by David Wilkerson (Urgent)

(Transcribed from a audio tape recording of a Message at Times Square Church)

Zephaniah 3:18 - "I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. "

This is a dual prophecy by Zephaniah. It has to do with the children of Israel . . and also with spiritual Zion (which is the church of Jesus Christ of the last day). First of all, he was speaking to Jews - that God was going to gather together the dispersed . . . but He was only going to bring back those who had a broken heart for the sad condition of Israel. . . . . He would remember all who carried the reproach. . . all of the horrible things that were going on in God's House. Those who carried the burden of it, He said, "I am going to gather you". He made great promises to these. . .

This prophecy is also to the Church of Jesus Christ in the Last Day. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were called to their festivals for seven days. On the eighth day - it was called an Solemn Assembly. That was when they met especially together - putting everything aside in focused worship and praise to the Heavenly Father. The scripture says, "On the eighth day you shall have a Solemn Assembly". This Solemn Assembly is all through the Old Testament representing the congregation that is separated unto God needing to meet the Lord.

This is the Church of Jesus Christ in the Last Day. According to Zephaniah, the House of God in the Last Days is going to be under reproach. The Hebrew word hear means "shame and disgrace".

There is going to be shame and disgrace in the House of God. We are not talking about the backslidden, liberal modern church. . . . The Lord said on the Judgment Day, He will deal with that Church. We can pray for them, but we are not spend any of our grief on that which is not really the Church.

God is looking for a people who will sorrow and grieve over the reproach that is being fostered on the Church of Jesus Christ in these last days. I am talking about the Church that was born at Pentecost. I am talking about the Church that was born in the teaching of the Apostle Paul and the Apostles. The Church born in the doctrine of the Godhead of Jesus Christ. That born-again Church is under attack. That Church is suffering reproach.

It has been prophesied that in this day of reproach, shame and disgrace, God is going to raise up a holy remnant who are going grieve and weep over this defilement. . .

God will have a remnant that will not sit idly by while all of these things invade the Church. God says, "I will have a people that are not going to be satisfied to go their merry way and just ignore what is happening as Charlatans and money-mad false prophets are coming into the House of God and destroying everything in sight."

God is going to gather a people who grieve over this. . . . If you truly love the Lord and you love His Church, you can not look honestly at what is happening today (and I am going to name these reproaches this morning). If after you hear what I have to say about this reproach, and you can walk out of this Church and you can say, "I just stand on Matthew 18 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church', I am not going to worry about, God has everything under control".

That is not enough. God uses people. God uses people to perform His work. He does not send angels. Angels weep over it, but God does not use angels to accomplish His purposes. He uses burdened broken-hearted weeping men and women. . . . . Judgment is at the door, Jesus is coming. The Day of the Lord is at hand.

Wake up elders. Wake up pastors. Wake up shepherds. Take a look at the Church. Get the burden. Carry it. Why should we take on the burden of the reproach of the Solemn Assembly? Joel said, "because there is a rotten seed being planted."

A gospel is being preached that is withering everything that is in sight. Everything that is green and Godly and pure is being withered. The seed is rotten . . . . . there is a famine of hearing the pure Word of the Lord. . . . there is no pasture. The flocks are desolate and hungry. The rivers are drying up. A strange fire is devouring the pastors. Ezekiel says that Shepherds are trampling down the good pasture and eating the best for themselves. What are the shameful disgraceful things that are happening in the Church of Jesus Christ today?

First of all it is the rotten seed that is being preached by covetous Shepherds. This is known as the PROSPERITY GOSPEL.

This is one of the greatest reproaches that the Church of Jesus Christ ever perpetrated since Christ.

This perverted gospel is poisoning multitudes - even in China, Africa and all over the world. It is an American gospel invented and spread by rich American evangelists and pastors. Rich!

It alarms me that so many people can hear the tapes and see videos that are coming out of these prosperity conferences and not weep over them. This poison has spread all over the world. Cuba is about to open and they are itching to get in there right now with their Prosperity gospel to tell them, "you have been poor enough now, God wants all Cubans to be rich."

This past week I was given a video tape recently recorded in Kenneth Copeland's meetings. I listened to the speakers and I was dumbfounded.

Folks, you read the New Testament, you will find that Paul the Apostle named those who he believed were false prophets. He warned and he named their names. I am telling you now that if you can listen to what I am about to tell you, and not be grieved, then you are blind. You are spiritually blind. You have a hard heart. A heart with a shield on it so that the pure gospel can not penetrate it. The mind has been so saturated with this unbalanced gospel that you can not come to many of them. You can not preach the truth. You can not show them anything else in the scripture because they have a shield over their hearts. Hard hearted.

Some of you will not receive it. If you have been feeding your soul on Copeland or Hagin's tapes, you are not going to like what you hear. Folks, I am a Shepherd, I've been called by God. I made this church a promise. As long as we are in this pulpit, if we saw wolves in sheep's clothing coming to rob the flock, we would stand up and cry out against it. It is up to you to do something about it.

I sat this week and listened to the speakers at this conference and I was so shocked and hurt. The burden of the Lord came on me. That is why I am preaching this message. Grieve over it.

I quote word for word what was said. All the speakers could hardly get by because all of the people were running up stuffing their pockets with money. The reason they do that is a new doctrine that has just come out that says, "if you want to be blessed, you have to find the most blessed evangelist or pastor you can find because he that has been given much receiveth much, he that has little, even that which he has will be taken from him. If you find the most blessed prosperous preacher and give him money, then you will be blessed. The more blessed he is, if you give you to those that are most blessed. . . ". it is a pyramid scheme. If these men were in the secular world, they would be in jail. Ponzie schemes. Pyramid schemes. The man at the top who appears to be the holiest and speaks the loudest. Hundreds of people were running up until the pockets were bulging. The sinner says, "is this the free gospel? Dollar bills?"

Listen to what was said. The speaker got up and he said, "if a poor widow on welfare hands you $5.00, you better take it. Elijah took the widow's last meal. You are the anointed one, you deserve it, you take it."

The same speaker said, "I live in a 8,000 square foot house. I am going to build a bigger one now. One that King Solomon would be proud of. I just paid $15,000 for a dog. You see this gorgeous ring on my finger, I was in Jamaica and just paid $32,000 for it. I want you know that when the people in my town come past my mansion and they see my Rolls Royce sitting in the driveway, they know there is a God in heaven."

Now, you tell me, that is the gospel? You tell me that you can't weep over that.

One of the speakers got up and said, "We made a covenant along with Brother Copeland that for the next 365 days none of us are going to suffer for a single day. We will not know a moment of discouragement. We will never be sick or in need. We are going to enjoy all the blessings. We reject all suffering, all pain, all financial problems." That is fine if you are on the top of the heap.

Here is what grieves me most. This was preached. "The Holy Spirit can't be poured out upon you until first you are in the money flow. Until you are prospering, the Holy Ghost cannot do His work."

Think of it! How does this affect you? What does it do to your spirit when you see poor people who are living from pay check to pay check and suddenly he says, "run for the money" and people are running wildly everywhere and they say as they run, "they are claiming the riches".

Then I see people withering like snakes out of their seats onto the floor. I see the evangelist going up and hissing like a snake and people falling everywhere. Folks, what is going on?

The Reproach of the Solemn Assembly! The prophet called them "greedy dogs, ungodly watchmen". Folks, if you had the heart of God and the burden of the Lord you would be crying out with Isaiah, "they are blind watchmen, ignorant, dumb dogs, sleeping, loving to slumber, yea, greedy dogs which can never have enough."

"I've got 8,000 square foot but I am going to sell it and I'm going to make one now that King Solomon could live in...." Never getting enough.

He said, "Shepherds that cannot understand, they all look to their own way, every one for his own gain from his quarter". Jeremiah spared no words. He said, "My people are lost sheep. Their Shepherds have caused them to go astray. " You say, "Pastor, you have no right to speak so strongly on this subject." If you think I'm strong, listen to Ezekiel 34:1-10. [read this scripture]

You take $5.00 from the widow and you buy a $15,000 dog. You take the pay check from the widow and the poor and you tell them that they do not have enough faith - that is why they are prospering. You take the very wool from off the back of the sheep. You are not out for souls, you are out for money.


"The Shepherds fed themselves and fed not the flock, therefore O you Shepherds, hear the Word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I am against the Shepherds and I will require my flock at their hand and cause them to cease from feeding the flock. Neither shall the Shepherds feed themselves any more, for I will deliver my flock from mouth that they may not be meat for them anymore".

I am going to deliver my flock from the teeth of these men. My God, help us.

Second, the misrepresentation of the blessed Holy Ghost. This is the worst reproach. It should make us fall on our faces. The way and the manner in which the Holy Ghost is being represented to the whole world.

Sad to say, there is so little discernment left in the church among so many pastors and even church leaders. They don't even know when the Holy Ghost is being misrepresented or blasphemed. There are thousands of Christians that go to crusades and they see things that they think is the Holy Ghost and they don't even know what they are sitting under. They are clapping and praising God while a man stands up there blaspheming and misrepresenting the Holy Ghost and they don't even know it.

Entire Charismatic denominations, including the Assemblies of God, are being torn apart, literally torn apart by pseudo revivals. All kinds of things that are happening - there is something new being introduced almost every week. The leaders don't whether to embrace it or to curse it. They don't know what to do. We get letters from hundreds and hundreds of pastors from all over the world. They say, "what is right and what is wrong?" Where are the leaders? Where is somebody to tell us?

Folks, what we are seeing today in what is called so many revivals and things that are happening attributed to the Holy Ghost can not be found in the Scripture. Anything that can not be found in this Book has to be rejected outright. Totally rejected!

I weep when I see these videos that are sent to me from all over the country. Whole groups of bodies jerking out of control, falling on the floor, laughing hysterically, staggering around like drunkards, writhing like snakes, howling like wild animals. We have evangelists that stand and blow on people to knock them down, as if the breath of the Holy Ghost is now incarnated him. Throws his "designer" jacket at people and says that is the "hand of the Lord".

Now a new Gospel has just hit South America. Folks, it is rude and crude, but I have to tell you. When you get away from the parameters of Scripture, when you get up and say: "Oh, it is a New Thing, God is doing a New Thing? I don't understand it, it is not in the Scripture, but I don't want to stand against the Holy Ghost".

Folks, if it is not in this Book, you must stand up against it. Now the New Thing is that you can't enter the Kingdom of God except you come as a little babe. The people come with diapers under their outer clothing so that they can defecate and urinate in the meetings. This is the New Thing. Folks, where does it end?

A pastor said, "Is it come down to this, that one day some evangelist stands up and says, 'I've got a revelation from the Lord, it is time to add Mary to your worship". That is what it is going to come to.

Another evangelist calls himself the Holy Ghost Bartender. [Rodney Howard Browne] He says, "Belly up to the bar and take a drink of the Holy Ghost." They call that drinking the new wine. I hear ringing in my ears the prophet that said, "The day of the Lord is at hand. Wickedness abounds. Weep between the porch and the altar. Put on sackcloth. Fast and mourn for the backsliding of my people."

Jesus is about to come. The masses are unreached. When I see Christians belly up to what is called the "Holy Ghost Bar", staggering like drunkards, Joel's words come to me loud and clear, "Awake you drunkards and weep all you who drink new wine because the harvest in the field is perished."

Souls are dying by the thousands, what are you laughing about? Anything of the Holy Ghost has to work anywhere on the face of the earth. You have to be able to take it into the most vile wicked places. You have to take it into poverty nations. You have to take it to the dregs of humanity and it has to work there. It can't work just in prosperous America. It has to work everywhere on the face of the earth.

I dare these men take this gospel, the laughing gospel into the Balkans now. Go into the refugee camps where wives are crying because they saw their husbands shot. Their daughters have been raped. Their children are hungry. They have lost their homes and go in there and ask them to "belly up to the bar" - the Holy Ghost wants you to laugh. This so-called revival is coming to Madison Square Gardens this summer. Knowing what you know about the Scripture, carrying the grief and the burden for the Solemn Assembly, how can you even conceive of embracing such a doctrine?

Let me tell you who is laughing. The world. The ungodly, the heathen. It has become a spectacle. In a time so close to the coming of the Lord when the Church of Jesus Christ ought to be shut away in a secret closet of prayer. Where it ought to be weeping for the lost. Where it ought to have the desire to forsake all and follow Jesus. Where there should never be a mention of the dollar bill. The American god. The American idolatry. We have the world looking at this foolishness and do you know what they are thinking now - that the Holy Ghost is a Ringmaster. It is a Charismatic Circus.

I don't care what anybody thinks any more. I don't care if people drop off the mailing list. I care for their souls and the fact that many are into this blindness. I have a duty before God to stand before the congregation that He has called me to minister to and warn you and tell you that these are reproaches of the Solemn Assembly and the Bible says that you are to be sorrowful about it. The elders are to be sorrowful. The congregation, the Pastors, the Ministers, the Evangelists, We should be praying down these strongholds.

Finally, the reproach of downgrading depravity in the Church. Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil - that put darkness for light and light for darkness. They put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. (Jer. 23:15).


I've seen in the prophets a horrible thing. They commit adultery, they walk in lies, they strengthen also the hands of evil doer and non returns from his wickedness."

I received a letter this past week from an irate Christian woman. She said, "My husband, who is supposed to be a Christian, is a big time gambler, in the millions." She said, "I've been so concerned with the crowd and the danger he is in". I thought, "I'll urge him to go to the pastor."

She said, "Brother Wilkerson, you will not believe what happened. I am so angry, hurt and confused. I sent my multi-million dollar gambling husband to my pastor."

He said, "I have searched the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and I can't find one thing in the scripture against gambling. I see no sin in it, enjoy yourself." She was dumbfounded, "How can a man of God say such a thing to my husband?"

This is exactly what Jeremiah meant, "the pastors strengthen the hands of evildoers that none doth return from his wickedness." He explains why they have downgraded depravity in their congregation and why they are calling evil good and good evil and bitter sweet and sweet bitter.

He said, "The prophets have committed adultery and are walking in lies." Any man that has sin in his life is not going to get up and talk about sin in the camp. He is convicted by his own adultery, his own sin and his own evil mind.

I am not painting every minister in the country with this brush. The majority of ministers are on fire for God. There young ministers so clean and so pure in this wicked day and age. I've met many of them and I thank God for them. Even in this City I've met some of the most righteous preachers I've ever met in my lifetime.

Multitudes of ministers feel just like I feel this morning and they are looking and waiting for voices to expose that which is evil. "If they had stood in my council and had caused my people to heard my words. . if they were speaking what I really have in my heart. If they were speaking the mind of God, they should have turned the people away from their evil ways and from the evil of their doings"

You can tell if a man knows the Lord. God says of the others, "I didn't send them, I didn't speak to them. They speak their own mind out of their own imagination. Out of the evil of their own hearts."


"They speak of vision of their own heart, I sent them not. I have not spoken to them. They say unto them that despise me, 'the Lord said, you shall have peace' and they say unto every one that walks after the imagination of his own heart, 'no evil shall come upon there.'"

The reproach upon the Solemn Assembly should be the greatest sorrow to every one who loves Christ and His Church. This should be the greatest sorrow in our heart - these reproaches on His name and on His Church. Weep over the condition of the Church.

When you take your stand and when you take on the burden of the Lord, by fasting and prayer. Every child of God needs to be praying that everyone in this snare will be delivered. Don't touch it, don't go near it, if you go in just out of curiosity it will grab you because it appeals to everything of the flesh.

Until you know how to deal with the flesh with the power of the Holy Ghost, stay away from it. Jeremiah said, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is Mighty. He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing."

Why? Because He has found a people who are sorrowful over the things that sorrow His heart. Who carry the burden that He carries, the Reproach of the Solemn Assembly.

This is going to become a "love-trap" . You will hear this: "We love everybody. It doesn't matter what you preach. It doesn't matter if you are in prosperity. It doesn't matter what your gospel is - or anything else. God is love. Let us all just get together and embrace one another."

How can two walk together unless they be agreed. How can you walk with those when you don't agree with the unscriptural practices, you can not. That is a love trap. They say, "Don't condemn anybody. Don't judge anybody."

That is not what the Bible says. It says that we are to judge righteous judgement. Reprove and rebuke with all longsuffering. I am not on a soapbox, I am on a Rock. God is trying to save you, Church.

What are the riches of God in Christ Jesus? The peace of God, the wisdom of God, the nearness of Christ, all that is in Christ is ours. . . . .

Folks, beware! Beware! Have I scared you? Are you ready to take on the burden of the Lord.
You can't do that in your own flesh. Get alone with God!

The time has come to call a Solemn Assembly. If you have any of these tapes or books, get them out of your house. Don't give them away, burn them. If somebody invites you to go to these things, say, "I'm sorry, I don't want a famine of the Word and I don't my heart to whither and dry. I want the pure Word of the Lord that will cause me to grow. I don't want any message that is going to appeal to my flesh or to foster covetousness in my spirit."

God does supply needs and He is a miracle working God, but He does it only His way. Not by misappropriating and not mis-using the scripture.

Abraham was not looking at things on earth, He was looking for a City whose Builder and Maker is God.


The late David Wilkerson's sermons can be heard and downloaded here: http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?cid=27

Malaysian Plane MH 17 Crashed - Tragic Day for Malaysia, Netherlands & Australia

City Harvest Church trial to resume Monday

The trial involving the City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee and his five deputies resumes on Monday.



SINGAPORE: The trial involving the City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee and his five deputies resumes on Monday (July 14).

The fourth leg of the trial will stretch for a week, and the first of the six church leaders is expected to take the stand.

The City Harvest Church trial is shaping up to be one of the longest-running criminal trials.

In 2012, Kong Hee and his five deputies were charged with misusing S$24 million of church funds to finance his wife Sun Ho's music career.

Four of them were also accused of misappropriating S$26 million to cover up the first sum.

The trial began in May last year, and the prosecution wrapped up its case after 42 days over a nine-month period.

In May this year, Presiding Judge of the State Courts See Kee Oon decided that the six church leaders have a case to answer after hearing the prosecution's evidence.

The Judge accepted there was a plan to move money from the church's Building Fund to Xtron Productions and glassware firm Firna (PT The First National Glassware) for the purpose of funding Ms Ho's singing career.

The court also accepted there was evidence to show the monies were moved from the church to the various firms to generate a false appearance that the church's investments were redeemed.

The Judge said the six had been dishonest in the use of the money.

The trial's fourth leg will likely see former church board member John Lam take the stand. The other five have also indicated they will testify in their defence.

Channel NewsAsia understands defence lawyers are likely to argue that the six accused never acted with dishonest intent, and there was no intent to mislead or conceal information.

Another point they will likely make is that the bonds entered into were genuine investments and transactions with no monetary loss to the church, and that the transactions had been checked with lawyers and auditors to ensure their legitimacy.

After this week, the trial will be adjourned till August, when it will resume for most of the month and carry on into September.

It is understood that among the witnesses the defence intends to call are staff of the City Harvest Church as well as Kong's wife, Ms Ho.

- CNA/nd

Is This the Biggest Deception in the Last 100 Years? by OS HILLMAN

"The greatest lie of the last 100 years is the redefining of what separation of church and state means," said an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom organization. I agree with that statement. It is amazing how many think that separation of church and state means keeping God out of government and the public discourse. That is simply false.

Many people think the separation of church and state is part of the First Amendment, but it is not. The First Amendment reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishing of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Many seem to forget the second part of that statement—"or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

What the founders did not want was any one denomination of the Christian religion to run the nation. They wanted to stay away from what they had left in England, where the King was the head of the Church. However, the Founding Fathers and the Supreme Court were quite clear that Judeo-Christian principles made up the established religion of America, and WAS to be involved in the way government would function. This is evident in the Supreme Court decision of 1796, and many other writings."

Following is a copy of a letter from Thomas Jefferson that further explained his reasoning behind the separation of church and state reference.

Thomas Jefferson's Famous Letter
On Jan. 1, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to Danbury Baptist Church of Connecticut. In 1801 the Danbury Baptist Church heard a rumor that the Congregationalist Denomination was going to be made the National Denomination. This disturbed them as it well should. Jefferson answered in his letter:

"To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

"Gentlemen,

"The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. My duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, and in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.

"I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association, assurances of my high respect and esteem."

Many have wrongfully tried to build a case that Jefferson's intent was a wall of separation between God, religion and government, which was not his intent. In fact, church services were regularly held in the capitol building and Jefferson attended those services.

David Barton explains the history of these church services: "Many people are surprised to learn that the United States Capitol regularly served as a church building; a practice that began even before Congress officially moved into the building and lasted until well after the Civil War.

"The cornerstone of the Capitol was laid by President George Washington in 1793, but it was not until the end of 1800 that Congress actually moved into the building. According to the congressional records for late November of 1800, Congress spent the first few weeks organizing the Capitol rooms, committees, locations, etc. Then, on Dec. 4, 1800, Congress approved the use of the Capitol building as a church building.

"The approval of the Capitol for church was given by both the House and the Senate, with House approval being given by Speaker of the House, Theodore Sedgwick, and Senate approval being given by the President of the Senate, Thomas Jefferson. Interestingly, Jefferson's approval came while he was still officially the vice president but after he had just been elected president.

"Significantly, the Capitol building had been used as a church even for years before it was occupied by Congress. The cornerstone for the Capitol had been laid on September 18, 1793; two years later while still under construction, the July 2, 1795, Federal Orrery newspaper of Boston reported:

"City of Washington, June 19. It is with much pleasure that we discover the rising consequence of our infant city. Public worship is now regularly administered at the Capitol, every Sunday morning, at 11 o'clock by the Reverend Mr. Ralph."

In God We Trust

I don't know about you, but I get tired of hearing people say they cannot pray or make a public statement about their faith because of the separation of church and state. There is no other issue that has been more hijacked than that statement. Our founders never intended for God not to be a part of our nation's founding and operation.

Alarmed by the concerted effort to remove God from every vestige of government and to silence the voice of millions, the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation is at the center of a growing network of national, state and local leaders who are working together to restore, upgrade and popularize America's founding spirit and the principles related to faith and morality that shaped this Great Republic. CPCF is mobilizing leaders and citizens who are committed to promoting prayer, preserving our Judeo-Christian heritage and protecting religious freedom for all.

Our nation's national motto is "In God We Trust." The United States Congress passed in 1956 H.J. Resolution 396, adopting "In God We Trust" as the official motto. However, the seeds of the nation moving toward the adoption of this motto began much earlier and was a result of the Christian influence from the Civil War. "In God We Trust" first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin. In 1865 gold and silver coins also had the inscription added to them.

The Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation has just launched a new initiative, which allows Christians to be proactive in affirming our national motto of our nation—"In God We Trust." This statement can be displayed in public places without fear of any reprisal from the anti-God camp.

The U.S. Congress passed Resolution 13 with an overwhelming 396/9 vote in November 2011, reaffirming our national motto and encouraging its public display. Elected leaders and citizens have taken action to display "In God We Trust" in government buildings, courtrooms, schools and businesses.

One of the ways Christians can support this campaign is by ordering "In God We Trust" decals to display on cars, businesses, schools, restaurants, retail businesses—virtually any public place. Click here to learn more.

School kids can make posters. Businesses can freely display the decals. Let's be proactive by affirming our motto as a nation. It becomes a great conversation piece to educate people on what was really meant by the separation of church and state. If anyone argues with you, show them the resolution of the U.S. Congress!

Please join me in participating in this exciting campaign. Let us support this campaign to affirm our nation's motto, "In God We Trust." Who knows, by proclaiming it, perhaps it will become true again.

Os Hillman is president of Marketplace Leaders and author of Change Agent and the TGIF Today God Is First free daily email devotional.

7 Ways to Escape the Great Falling Away by JENNIFER LECLAIRE

There is much talk about Christ's soon Second Coming. But we know that Jesus will not return for a church without spot or wrinkle unless the falling away comes first...

I wrote those words about 18 months ago in an article in which I asked the question: "Is the Great Falling Away Already Underway?" I was deeply concerned then that we could be witnessing the first fruits of the Great Falling Away about which the apostle Paul prophesies in 1 Thess. 2:3. I was concerned that we were at least seeing a shadow of the Great Apostasy.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article called "Apostasy Rising: 4 Denominations in Less Than a Week Defy God's Word" that went massively viral. All this has stirred my heart and the Lord has mantled me to pray—and inspire others to pray—for a Third Great Awakening in America. In yet another column on our Prophetic Insight blog, I shared what the Lord told me in 2007 about a Great Awakening coming to this nation.

With all that said, I want also want to equip folks—or open their eyes to any level of deception in which they may already be walking—so they can avoid the Great Falling Away. As I read 2 Peter I found what I believe are keys and safety nets that will guard our hearts from any and all deceptions in the days ahead. Although you can find these same concepts throughout Scripture, Peter outlines what looks like a road map to working out our salvation with fear and trembling (see Phil. 2:12).

"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:2-4).

1. Pursuing Virtue

Peter writes, "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue" (2 Peter 2:5). The word virtue in that verse comes from the Greek word arête. The New Testament Greek Lexicon defines it as: "a virtuous course of thought, feeling and action, virtue, moral goodness, any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity."

How do you pursue virtue? It starts in your thought life: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things" (Phil. 4:8).

2. Increasing Knowledge

Peter exhorts us to add knowledge to our virtue. The word "knowledge" in that verse comes from the Greek word gnosis, which means, "signifies in general intelligence, understanding the general knowledge of Christian religion, the deeper, more perfect and enlarged knowledge of this religion, such as belongs to the more advanced, especially of things lawful and unlawful for Christians moral wisdom, such as is seen in right living."

Peter exhorts us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (see 2 Peter 3:18) and Paul intercedes over the Ephesians that the Father of glory "may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places..." (Eph. 1:17-20). This is something we should be praying over ourselves as we pursue the knowledge of God.

3. Practicing Self-Control

Next, Peter admonishes us to add self-control to the mix. This is important as Paul warned the church at Corinth that Satan could tempt them because of their lack of self-control (see 1 Cor. 7:5). We know that in the last days, Paul prophesied, men would be "without self-control" (see 1 Tim. 3:3). Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you manifest self-control. It is fruit of His Spirit deposited within you—but you have to work it out (see Gal. 5:23).

4. Practice Perseverance

Peter then warns us to add perseverance to our goals. This word, also translated "patience" in the King James Version, comes from the Greek word hupomone. It means, "steadfastness, constancy, endurance in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings patiently, and steadfastly a patient, steadfast waiting for a patient enduring, sustaining, perseverance."

I'm reminded of Jesus words in Matthew 24, where He's talking about the signs of the times an the end of the age. He warns not to let anyone deceive us and prophesies that many will come in His name to deceive many, that there will be wars and rumors of wars, that nation would rise against nation and there would be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. He said false prophets would rise up and deceive many, lawlessness would abound and the love of many would grow cold. Then He said, "He who endures to the end shall be saved" (Matt. 24:12).

5. Go After Godliness

Next on Peter's list of self-protections is the pursuit of godliness. This word godliness comes from the Greek eusebeia, which simply means "reverence, respect piety towards God, godliness." The writer of Hebrews echoes this thought: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).

6. Breeding Brotherly Kindness

Peter wants us to add brotherly kindness to the list above. The concept of brotherly kindness comes from the Greek word adelphotes, which means, "brotherhood, brotherly kindness, a family of brothers, the brotherhood." Jesus says those who do the will of His Father are His brothers and sister and mother (Matt. 12:50). God's will toward us is kind (see Eph. 1:5) and our will toward one another should also be kind. Kindness is also a fruit of the spirit.

7. Love Above All

Finally, Peter wants us to add love—and not just any love. The Greek word used in this verse is agape. God wants us to love one another the way He loves Jesus. Jesus said, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). This will be a notable sign of Jesus' disciples when the love of many grows cold.

Peter wraps up his exhortation this way:

"For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble" (2 Peter 1:8-10). And you will never fall for the Great Apostasy. Amen.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also director of IHOP Fort Lauderdale and author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet and The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

A Final Appeal to Pastor John MacArthur on the Eve of His 'Strange Fire' Conference by MICHAEL BROWN

As I write these words, the Holy Spirit is moving mightily around the earth, saving lost sinners, bringing rebels to repentance, healing sick bodies, setting captives free and, above all, glorifying the name of Jesus. According to pastor John MacArthur, however, this is actually “a farce and a scam.”

In his new book Strange Fire, he claims that this work of the Spirit actually represents “the explosive growth of a false church, as dangerous as any cult or heresy that has ever assaulted Christianity,” and he calls for a “collective war” against these alleged “pervasive abuses on the Spirit of God.”

Yes, Pastor MacArthur has branded the charismatic movement a “false church” and is calling for an all-out war against it.

For a man of his stature, a man who has done so much good for the body of Christ, this is a tragic error, a decided step in the wrong direction and a rejection of both the testimony of the written Word and the work of the Spirit today.

For the last several months, I have requested a face-to-face meeting with Pastor MacArthur to discuss our differences, but that request has been denied (either by him or by his team). Tomorrow, Oct. 16, he will begin a three-day “Strange Fire” conference, preparing the way for the release of his book next month. (I received an advanced review copy from the publisher; all quotes here are from the introduction and should be checked against the final text of the book.)

In this book, Pastor MacArthur argues, “The ‘Holy Spirit’ found in the vast majority of charismatic teaching and practice bears no resemblance to the true Spirit of God as revealed in Scripture,” even accusing the modern charismatic movement of “attributing the work of the devil to the Holy Spirit.”

In fact, he claims that leaders of the movement are “Satan’s false teachers, marching to the beat of their own illicit desires, gladly propagat[ing] his errors. They are spiritual swindlers, con men, crooks, and charlatans.”

This is divisive and destructive language based on misinformation and exaggeration, as Pastor MacArthur attributes the extreme errors of a tiny minority to countless hundreds of thousands of godly leaders worldwide.

I have worked side by side with some of these fine men and women myself, precious saints who have risked their lives for the name of Jesus, giving themselves sacrificially to touch a hurting and dying world with the gospel, literally shedding their blood rather than compromise their testimonies—yet an internationally recognized pastor calls many of them “Satan’s false teachers ... spiritual swindlers, con men, crooks, and charlatans.”

May the Lord forgive him for these rash words.

He claims, “As a movement, they have persistently ignored the truth about the Holy Spirit and with reckless license set up an idol spirit in the house of God, blaspheming the third member of the Trinity in His own name.”

So Pastor MacArthur, in writing and obviously with much forethought, is accusing hundreds of millions of believers of blaspheming the Spirit, thereby pronouncing them to be sinners damned to hell, since blasphemy of the Spirit is an unforgivable sin (Mark 3:29).

Words fail to express how grievous this is.

He claims, “In recent history, no other movement has done more to damage the cause of the gospel, to distort the truth, and to smother the articulation of sound doctrine,” going as far as to say that “charismatic theology has made no contribution to true biblical theology or interpretation; rather, it represents a deviant mutation of truth.”

Aside from the sweeping inaccuracy of these charges—just a reading of one book, like Dr. Gordon Fee’s 992-page volume God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul, demolishes his position—what is truly painful is the knowledge that Pastor MacArthur's conference and book will do far more harm than good, driving hungry believers away from the Spirit’s work today and failing to bring needed correction to the real abuses that do exist because he has so overstated his case.

Although it would take a short book to respond to Pastor MacArthur’s Strange Fire, here are five rebuttals that need to be made:

1) Pastor MacArthur draws attention to bizarre practices like “toking the Ghost” (as in “getting high on the Holy Ghost”) or barking like dogs, things I have never seen in 42 years in charismatic-Pentecostal circles around the world and, in reality, practices that are no more representative of charismatics than Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church and his “God Hates Fags” signs are representative of Baptists.

Those reading MacArthur's book, however, would come to the completely erroneous conclusion that such bizarre, virtually unheard-of practices were the norm.

2) Pastor MacArthur points to some of the shameful, inexcusable scandals that have taken place among charismatic leaders, using this as proof that the Holy Spirit is not at work in our midst. Aside from the fact that Paul knew better than to do with this the Corinthians—he recognized what the Spirit was doing while correcting their errors and fleshly sins—Pastor MacArthur fails to realize these scandals are connected to celebrity and pride more than charismatic doctrines and practices.

He also fails to realize that charismatic and Pentecostal leaders have addressed these issues for decades (until this day)—he wrongly claims that virtually no one dares to correct these abuses—and, more importantly, he downplays the many scandals that have plagued cessationist leaders as well. (There is even a website devoted to exposing Southern Baptist sexual predators.)

3) While attributing gross doctrinal error to charismatics—in a pre-conference video, pastor Steve Lawson claims the fundamental problem with charismatics is their lack of serious engagement with the Word—Pastor MacArthur himself is guilty of poor exegesis of the scriptural passages that point to the ongoing, miraculous work of the Spirit today.

He also ignores the fact that the great majority of those opposing his message on “lordship salvation” are cessationists, many of them preaching a very loose “once saved, always saved” doctrine that Pastor MacArthur himself opposes.

4) In his own pre-conference video, Pastor MacArthur makes the absolutely false claim that 90 percent of charismatics worldwide are Word of Faith—it is actually a fairly small percentage, one which includes almost none of the major Pentecostal denominations. And so he mistakenly attributes an extreme prosperity doctrine to the vast majority of charismatics worldwide (meaning, the false belief that Jesus died to make us rich, as opposed to the true belief that God meets the needs of His people and blesses us to be a blessing to others).

Pastor MacArthur also takes the poorly chosen (or downright erroneous) words of a few Word of Faith leaders regarding the deity of Jesus and claims that this represents most (or all) charismatics. Again, nothing could be further from the truth.

5) The subtitle of Pastor MacArthur’s book is “The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit With Counterfeit Worship,” yet it is the charismatic movement worldwide that is frequently the most devoted to worship, producing a steady flow of powerful new hymns and songs and hosting gatherings that last for hours or days, just devoted to worship and adoration of the Lord.

But because these gatherings are marked by biblically based displays of emotion and joy and passion, Pastor MacArthur writes them off as aberrant.

In the end, what saddens me the most is that this servant of the Lord fails to recognize what the Spirit is doing today. And so, rather than joining with his charismatic brothers and sisters to help spark renewal in the many dead and dying churches (many of them cessationist!) and to help reclaim the younger generation with the realities of a risen Savior, Pastor MacArthur has placed himself in opposition to much of the Spirit’s work, thereby hindering the spread of the gospel more than helping it.

This also means he will not be able to help us rebuke error and deception and abuse, since he will turn off his intended audience with his inaccurate claims and extreme rhetoric.

And so, even though it seems futile at this point, once again, on the eve of the "Strange Fire" conference, I appeal to Pastor MacArthur to reconsider his ways, to re-examine what the Word really says about these issues, to travel to the nations and see firsthand what the Spirit is doing, and to sit with charismatic leaders to seek the Lord together for His best for the church and the world.

It’s not too late, sir, to humble yourself under God’s mighty hand, and I humble myself before you as I write these words, reaching out to you once more in the name of Jesus and urging you to recognize and embrace the Spirit’s true fire today.

Michael Brown is author of The Real Kosher Jesus and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.

Cessationist John MacArthur Can't Put the Real Holy Spirit Fire Out by R. LOREN SANDFORD

Author's Note: Recently I became aware of the buzz surrounding a new book, soon to be released, by a prominent cessationist who has been around for a long time. I was asked by the Pneuma Foundation to write a review of this book for its Pneuma Review publication. I thought it important enough to share with all of you. Here it is.

Strange Fire by John MacArthur is basically an attack on anything and everything related to the charismatic movement and the various movements descended from it, as if the whole of it were composed of one monolithic set of doctrines and practices that all of us espouse. It invalidates anything that smacks of the supernatural or of emotion freely expressed in God's presence.

MacArthur pours his vitriol—and I mean vitriol—through the filter of his own prejudices and theological presuppositions in a way that blinds him to the differences between the various movements within the charismatic stream and causes him to deny the existence of the majority of us who do not agree with or practice the abuses he objects to. In doing so, he ignores or reinterprets, through very poor exegesis, the clear teaching of much of the Scripture as well.

Ironically, as he formulates his attack, he builds upon concerns that many of us in the movement share. I share his concern over abuses in prophetic ministry, aberrant doctrines, fallen leaders, manipulative fundraising, acting out in fleshly ways that are not of the Spirit and fakery on the part of some associated with the movement. As an insider, I confront these things as well, seeking what is genuine and calling for biblical grounding. MacArthur commits grievous error, however, in claiming that these abuses characterize the movement as a whole. They do not.

For example, I am a charismatic and have been from my childhood in the 1950s. I am also a 1976 graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary. Consequently, I have been steeped in exegetical principle and the doctrines of the historic faith from a time when Fuller described itself as "reformed" in its theology. Consequently, I do not embrace aberrant theologies.

Reading MacArthur, you'd think all charismatics espouse prosperity teaching. We do not. You’d think we are all Word of Faith adherents when, in fact, they constitute a small minority and promote a doctrine many of us oppose. I actually wrote a rebuttal of those two doctrines in my own book Purifying the Prophetic.

On a side note, in his introduction, MacArthur asserts that Fuller Theological Seminary abandoned the doctrine of biblical inerrancy in the early 1970s. I was there from 1973 until my graduation in 1976, and I can state categorically that Fuller at that time held to inerrancy. MacArthur is wrong on many fronts and should be held accountable for what is either blatant intellectual dishonesty or just inexcusably sloppy research.

In reading MacArthur uncritically, you'd think that all charismatics focus in unbalanced ways on manifestations and behavioral aberrations like barking and animal sounds. We do not. Over the years, I've spent at least a cumulative five months in meetings at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, now known as Catch the Fire, serving for 14 years in leadership as a regional coordinator and international council member. Never in all that time did I hear an animal sound. I think MacArthur must be reacting to what he has heard from other revival critics rather than his own eyewitness experience. This, again, constitutes intellectual dishonesty and sloppy research.

MacArthur states, "I'll start believing that the truth prevails in the charismatic movement when I see the leaders, who are the people who are most exposed to its principles, looking more like Jesus Christ."

Yes, some very few of us have been guilty of seeking or walking in anointing without character. Our exercise of church discipline in response to their failings has often been deficient. Tragically, some of those failures have been seen in people with prominent ministries, and as a result we have all had to wear the mud we didn't deserve.

The truth is that the foundation of the Toronto Blessing, for instance, was and is the kind of transformation of character to conform to the image of Jesus (Rom. 8:29) that has produced people like Rolland and Heidi Baker. In their ministry in Mozambique, not only are many thousands of orphans given homes and countless thousands of hungry fed, but thousands of churches are planted, hundreds of thousands come to Jesus, the dead are raised, the sick are healed and the lame walk. The vast majority of lesser-known leaders in the renewal go quietly about the business of doing those same things in the places where they labor all over the world. The fallen leaders and those operating with less than the character of Jesus to whom John MacArthur actually objects are not my leaders and never were for a majority of us.

In bashing spiritual gifts, MacArthur characterizes the gift of tongues, for instance, as "babble," relegating it to the flames of "strange fire," seemingly ignoring the clear teaching of Scripture on the various uses of it. It was evangelistic on the Day of Pentecost, but Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 clearly defines its use in corporate prayer (with interpretation) and for private personal edification, saying, "I wish that you all spoke in tongues." The 120 did, in fact, speak in tongues on the Day of Pentecost. Paul did, in fact, franchise its disciplined use in gatherings in Corinth and clearly described it as praying with an unfruitful mind for personal edification. Nowhere does the Scripture say that any of the supernatural gifts would cease.

MacArthur cries out against people falling into senseless trances but seems to miss that this very same thing happened to Daniel, who broke into physical trembling when the angel touched him after he awakened from what was clearly a trance state. MacArthur seems to miss that the priests at the dedication of Solomon's temple couldn't stand up under the weight of the presence of the glory of God. And didn't the disciples appear to be drunk on the Day of Pentecost? Speaking in foreign languages would have attracted little attention in a city where many thousands of Jews from different regions of the world had gathered for the feast, so it had to be their drunken behavior under the power of the Spirit that drew the comments. Through the filter of his cessationist theology, when these things happen today, McArthur calls them "strange fire."

This book isn't about strange fire. It's about putting the fire out.

This review by R. Loren Sandford is reprinted with permission from PneumaReview.com, the journal of ministry resources for Pentecostal and charismatic ministries and leaders, as part of their conversation about MacArthur's book, "Are Pentecostals Offering Strange Fire?"

R. Loren Sandford is the founder and senior pastor of New Song Church and Ministries in Denver, Colo. He is a songwriter, recording artist and worship leader, as well as the author of several books, including Understanding Prophetic People, The Prophetic Church and his latest, Visions of the Coming Days: What to Look For and How to Prepare, which are available with other resources at the church's website. 

Hypergrace Movement Leaves Follower Questioning God's Existence by JENNIFER LECLAIRE

A man named Roy recently asked me those questions in a private message via my Facebook page.

I get hundreds of messages every week from people looking for prophetic words, wise counsel or just a little encouragement as they walk by faith one day at a time. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to respond to everyone, but this struggling soul’s message so struck my heart that I immediately sought the Lord for help to answer Roy’s absolute anguish. Here’s the body of his entire message to me:

“I’m in desperate need of advice. I recently disassociated with the hypergrace movement and it has left me in a spiritual struggle, from anxiety and depression to straight up confusion and other mental symptoms. Unbelief has eroded me pretty well. I have questioned my salvation and even God’s existence and I can barely even read the Word without being critical and doubtful. Have I crossed the unforgivable line? Is there still hope for me? This has been going on about 4 months. I feel as if my heart has hardened. I really want my sincerity for God and spiritual things to return! Thanks for any help.”

What a heartbreaking testimony! You can hear the desperation. You can see the struggle. I understand all too well how disassociating with a movement the Holy Spirit shows you is riddled with errors and extremes can cause a faith crisis. I’ve been there with the extreme apostolic movement that values building one’s own personal kingdom before family—and ultimately even God. For a deeper discussion of what the hypergrace movement is, click here.

Breaking Away From Deception

When I broke away from that movement, I struggled with confusion over whether or not I made the right choice—even though a cloud of seasoned ministers showed me Scripture that clearly exposed the extreme errors. It took me more than a year to shake that dust off my feet, and it was, indeed, a spiritual struggle. I know others who escaped that same extreme apostolic movement who wound up depressed and with other mental symptoms like the ones Roy described. That’s because the enemy is angry that you’ve stopped buying into his deception, and he wants to torment you (John 10:10).

When you turn your back on deception, you often turn your back on friends who are flowing in that same deception—or, I should rightly say, they often turn their back on you. It can be a painful process to remove the tentacles of error from your soul, especially if you’ve believed the error for a long while. We tend to read the Bible through the lens of the camp we call home, whether that’s apostolic, prophetic, spiritual warfare, word of faith or some other doctrine. Roy was reading the Word with a hypergrace filter, and once he saw the error, it caused a crisis of faith in the Word.

Once error is exposed, it can be difficult to believe anything you read because you lose confidence in your ability to rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). After all, you were deceived once, right? That’s the way I thought, and I thank God that I had mature saints around me to help me wade through that recovery stage quickly. Others I know are still struggling with the aftermath of believing lies. Like Roy said, he can “barely even read the Word without being critical and doubtful.”

The Rotten Fruit of Hypergrace

How can a movement based on grace leave one in such a spiritual struggle, from anxiety and depression to straight-up confusion and other mental symptoms? How can it drive unbelief into your soul? How can it cause you to question your salvation and even God’s existence? How can it lead you to question if you’ve crossed the unforgivable line or if there’s still hope for you? Again, it’s the enemy tormenting you because you discovered the truth. The Holy Spirit doesn’t talk to you in those terms (John 14:26). If you were in error for leaving a movement, the Holy Spirit wouldn’t reveal it by flooding you with condemnation, confusion, unbelief and the like. Here’s some of what I told Roy:

“Rest assured that you have not crossed any line or committed any unpardonable sin by disassociating with the hypergrace movement. I believe the issue is that you have seen the light of truth and the enemy is tormenting you because you have broken free from the deception you were under. He wants to steal, kill and destroy your faith and paralyze you. ... You need to shore up your foundations in the faith. You are very brave and you do have faith; evidenced by your willingness to follow the Holy Spirit out of deception. You can get your footing back. Surround yourself with books, and solid teaching. Get back to basics and you’ll walk completely free of this torment. I am praying for you.”

Maybe you can relate to Roy’s struggle—or maybe you can’t. I hope you can’t. But if you can, I pray that you’ll take the advice I offered him for yourself. And if you are currently part of the hypergrace movement, extreme apostolic movement or some other movement on the fringes of Christianity that clouds Scripture with personal experiences and full-blown error, I pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of your heart, break in with light and set you free. In fact, I encourage you to pray for God to break any deception off your mind even if you think you’ve got it all right. None of us have it all right, and little errors can lead to big deceptions—and even heresy. Amen.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at  jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.