"When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire (to Molech), or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you. The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet (Messiah) like me (Moses) from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear” (Deuteronomy 18:9-16). Years ago, a young man came to my hotel room seeking advice about a troublesome, spiritual "message" he had received. It was this: On a specific, named day of the week, he was told that his wife and baby would be killed in a car wreck. He was even told the city where it would occur. The message further warned him not to tell anyone. When he reluctantly shared that frightening information with me, I immediately explained that he had received a psychic-prophecy. It was not God's "word of knowledge" but a demonic counterfeit, such as fortune-tellers and clairvoyants experience. I explained that genuine "words of knowledge," I Corinthians 12:8, are always in harmony with the Covenant of Grace. No where does the Covenant provide for car wrecks, mangled bodies, and broken homes. Read it for yourself. Jesus came to "heal ... recover ... liberate" (Luke 4:18,19). Such psychic-initiated disasters are the works of Hell (I Peter 5:8,9). Satan came to "kill, steal, and destroy" (John 10:10). Jesus brings life "more abundantly." Since this young man, like many other Christians, was uninformed about the reality of such an experience, his wife and baby were in very real danger. As with most of us, he had probably read horoscopes, played with a Ouigi Board, had his palm read, or done other things that left an occult shadow over him. Without wasting a moments time, I laid hands on him and took total, absolute, unconditional authority over that prophecy in the Name of Jesus Christ. As a believing disciple, empowered by the Holy Spirit and speaking the Word of God from my mouth--and not in any ability of my own--we cancelled the devil's forecast. I declared it null and void, powerless and impotent by the blood of Jesus. Do I actually believe disciples have that power? Absolutely. Jesus taught it, the Apostles confirmed it, you and I had better learn it. (Mark 16:17,18. Luke 10:17-20. James 4:7,8. II Corinthians 10:3-5. Matthew 10:1. Mark 6:13. Revelations 12:10,11). As this young man talked, I remembered my own wife's tragic automobile wreck in which she had 13 broken bones and fractures, a collapsed lung, concussion of the brain, and so many injuries she could not be moved. That disaster followed a month-long psychic foreknowledge I had which was identical to this young husband and father. But, this was before my spiritual “renewal” and unlike him, no one told me how to stop it. I told him of a youthful Baptist pastor in a similar hotel room several years ago who wept out the tragic story of a father in his congregation who dreamed a certain individual would be killed. A short time later the person died tragically. Soon after that, the man dreamed again; this time it was his son who would be killed. He was told to warn the boy about his impending death. The father ignorantly submitted to everything the dream demanded and two weeks later the boy died in a tragic automobile wreck. The church and family were both religiously confused and emotionally devastated. During our visit, I recalled the time in Atlanta when another precious Christian brother was killed in a car wreck within ear-shot of my house a few hours after his wife foolishly obeyed a "message" to make his funeral arrangements. At the time, he was in robust health. Obediently, she carried out every detail of notifying the pall bearers, selecting the soloist and songs, informing the two ministers who spoke--I being one of them--and choosing the Funeral Home. She left nothing unfinished. Without realizing it, she cooperated with Hell and in-effect told the devil, "Go ahead." He quickly did. Another Christian family came to mind; a mother, father, two grandmothers, who were swept away in a flash flood after a relative had a psychic "warning" she ignored. Nothing was done to resist the disaster. As a result, lives were lost and children orphaned. This family was one I had known for many years. Absolutely, their tragic deaths were not the will of God. Such disaster violates every provision of God’s Covenant of Grace. Later, the person, who had the "warning," received another. She dreamed that her daughter called in the night, shouted her husband's name into the telephone and said, "He's dead!" Again, the omen was ignored; no authority was taken in the Name of Jesus. Soon afterward, the mother's phone rang in the night, exactly as she had been fore-warned, her daughter shouted her husband's name into the receiver and said, "He's dead!" The man had just been murdered–shot in his office, behind his own desk. Again, there had been no exercise of Jesus' authority against the psychic prophecy. Later, as I stood at that man's casket, I wondered, "God! What does it take to wake up people to the reality that we are in spiritual war?! How long will the church stumble on in its blindness?!" I am still waiting. But I am not waiting silently. Years ago, God took me from pastoral work, sent me into the field, and said, "Go wake up my church!" Before her death in the Paris car-crash, Princess Diana was told by her psychic that "Happiness will always be snatched away from you." In submitting to that horribly-oppressed Medium instead of God, Princess Diana surrendered to Hell's agenda. The night of the crash, her new engagement ring lay beside her on the floor of the bloodied car. It was not even on her hand when she died. Instead, "happiness had been snatched away" from her. "Life and death are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21). Jesus also said, “I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). Whom are we going to believe? Jesus or the warlock?” Soon after my “Spiritual Renewal” and return to Delray Beach, Florida, a friend and I went to a Psychic Fair at the local Mall and passed out tracts entitled Is It Dangerous To Consult Psychics? The tract contained Scripture quotations expressing God's warning against those who practice and those who receive divination (Deuteronomy 18:10-12. II Kings 17:17,18. Isaiah 47:12-15. Ezekiel 12:24. I Samuel 15:23. II Chronicles 33:6. Exodus 22:18. Galatians 5:19-21. Acts 16:16). Understandably, the psychics were outraged, the police were called, reporters and photographers from the local newspaper came on the scene. At one point, the woman in charge of the Fair called the Police Officer to where we stood and shrieked at me, “Tell him your name!” “You’re a psychic!,” I replied, “You tell him my name.” Our legal complaint to which the Officer listened, was that the Psychics were selling self-hypnosis tapes to children. Even so, my friend and I were portrayed by the newspaper the next day (with our photographs) as the real villains. Later, the man in charge of the Fair approached me privately. He had read the tract, was genuinely concerned, but defensive for the fortune tellers. "I've worked with these psychics for eighteen years," He said, "and I know that what they say frequently comes to pass." I agreed. Pointing to the parking lot, he explained, "Suppose that a psychic tells you that tomorrow at this same time there will be a green car in that spot, a white one next to it, and a red truck speeding by." I listened. "They tell you that a child runs out from between those cars and is killed. You come here tomorrow and it happens exactly like they said ..." I stopped him. "I know what you are saying is true. Psychics frequently tell things that actually happen," I said, "But you don't understand--the psychics are not merely predicting them--they are causing them. Through their evil prophecies, they fulfill the devil's will." When I said that, truth shot through him like a bullet. He slumped, turned slowly toward me, wide-eyed, mouth open. I will never forget his stare or the terror in his eyes. “How do I get out of this?!," He asked. "You need to be saved," I answered. "How?!" "Ask Jesus to forgive you. Tell Him you want to be born-again," I explained, "Commit your life to Him." I then led him through the Apostle Paul’s explanation in Romans chapter ten, of believing in his heart, confessing with his mouth, and being saved. Standing there in the Mall he did exactly that, humbly, sincerely praying the salvation-prayer. I never heard from him again; hopefully, his wife also became a believer and was rescued from her work with demons. Someone asks, "How can sincere Christians, such as the young man who was told to expect the deaths of his wife and baby, experience such devilish dreams and messages?" The answer is that we have not yet been through the Resurrection. Our "corruptible has not put on incorruption, nor has our mortal put on immortality"(I Corinthians 15:53,54). Until that happens, we are engaged in constant, unending spiritual war (Ephesians 6:10-18). Our regenerate spirit is immune to demons, yes, but soul and body, mind and flesh, remain their battleground. If unprotected, these areas can be penetrated by powers of darkness. Scripture and common sense confirm this fact (Luke 9:55. II Corinthians 11:4). People with histories of psychic premonitions need deliverance. Such patterns frequently exist for generations in a family. If you ever receive a dream or message such as those I described, do not accept it. It may destroy you or someone else. God gave you the authority to crush its effect in your life (Romans 16:20. Luke 10:17-19. Mark 16:17-20. I Peter 5:9. Revelation 12:10,11). Be alert! Be informed! Most importantly of all, be victorious! Know the difference between God's "words of knowledge" and the devil's "psychic deceptions." Life depends on it. Don't become another statistic of Hell's delusion. Other Bible References: Old Testament: Deuteronomy 18:10-12. II Kings 17:17,18. Isaiah 47:12-15. Ezekiel 12:24. I Samuel 15:23. II Chronicles 33:6. Exodus 22:18. New Testament: Mark 16:17,18. Luke 10:17-20. James 4:7,8. II Corinthians 10:3-5. Matthew 10:1. Mark 6:13. Galatians 5:19-21. Acts 16:16. Authority over demons: Romans 16:20. Luke 10:17-19. Mark 16:17-20. I Peter 5:9. Revelation 12:10,11. CC
MORE FROM MY NEW BOOK HOORAY AND HALLELUJAH!
In the afternoon, I met Oliver and Joanne McEachern and went to their mobile home where he prayed for me. As I knelt beside an ottoman, he started to pray, then began “prophesying” over me, saying flattering things about my future. I became very suspicious. He was too complimentary and too confident. According to him, God was going to use me mightily, I would meet great leaders, travel with them, preach to thousands with signs and wonders. Kneeling there, I said to myself, “I’ll bet this Joker says that about everyone he prays for!” Oliver concluded the prayer, and I started to get up, but---to my terror--I could not move. My eyes would not open; I could not raise my arms, nor could I feel myself breathing. I was frozen to the ottoman like a piece of stone. Terror gripped me. After a moment the Lord spoke, quietly asking, “What was it you said about this Joker?” I got the point, repented for scorning Oliver; and immediately I could move again. That was in 1978. Today, more than 40 years later, I have experienced every detail of which Oliver prophesied. What I thought was flattery, was the plan of God for my life. Derek Prince, whom Oliver mentioned would be one who impacted my life and ministry immeasurably. After that prayer-time, I was destined for another huge surprise that afternoon: I attended a “Group Deliverance” Ministry directed by Frank Hammond. For the first time, I saw others experiencing Deliverance exactly as it had happened to me in my bedroom. Little did I know that “Deliverance Ministry” would become a major feature of my new life and work. Late in the day, Laurie and I went back to Atlanta and began making preparations for our return to Florida. That Autumn in 1978, we moved to Delray Beach, and I resumed the pastoral role at the Delray Beach Church. Moving back into our former house, it was like being home again. We loved it! This time, I emphasized to the congregation what our Articles of Faith claimed: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is the only rule of faith and practice.” I promised God and the people that I would never again ignore certain Scriptures because the denomination disapproved, nor would I support the claim that First Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 were invalid. Unknown to me, that decision would ultimately create a firestorm that would destroy my traditional ministry and push me into a totally new world. CC
BE INFORMED, BE ALERT, BE PROTECTED!
The spirit which poses the greatest danger to the church is a "religious" spirit. Undetected, it attempts to join the church and travel with it. This spirit is not denominational; it can as easily be Moslem or Hindu, Pentecostal, Baptist, or atheist. It's aim is to prevent people from discovering the authentic truth of God. Consequently, its' damage usually goes undetected until too late. It can be in a sweet-looking deacon's wife or pleasant--but domineering--pastor. Both see their motive as being best for the church. To some probable degree, every congregation is infected with this spirit. Its' presence can best be recognized through the Holy Spirit's gift of discerning of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10; Hebrews 5:14). This "exposure by the Spirit" is what happened in Jesus' visit to the Synagogue in Capernaum. A man whose demon had probably never before been challenged, suddenly started shouting abuses (Mark 1:21-28). Do not assume that this man was an unshaven bum whom everyone knew was demonized. He may have been a sophisticated leader in the community. In this case, the demon manifested himself only because he was threatened by the presence of Jesus. Likewise today, demons may reveal themselves involuntarily when confronted by Spiritually-anointed believers or an empowered congregation. This explains a mystery: Churches can continue peacefully in a spiritually dead state until the Holy Spirit begins to expose their darkness and hidden sin. Instead of churches getting blessed by the Holy Spirit's presence, all Hell may break loose. Sometimes there is a mad scramble to return the church to its original darkness. I have known of cases where the anointed ones were forced out of the congregation. A demon who is in control of a church or person and becomes exposed will always fight viciously to protect his "house". Such a spirit can sometimes quote more Scripture, pray more fervently, and preach louder than a legitimate pastor. He will intimidate, ridicule, and slander his opponent--usually, a God-appointed leader. Such a demon, working through another vessel, can convince many that his is the legitimate ministry. If intimidation fails, he will resort to accusations about persecution. Some churches have been dominated by these spirits for generations. What is the solution? Jesus explained it in Matthew 17:21: Prayer and Fasting! CC