Can Satan Minister Death Through True Gospel Preaching?

I have been considering this matter recently. I remember vaguely a quote about a vision or dream someone had in which the devil was using a Christian's preaching to minister death to the hearers, because the Christian did not have the anointing of the Spirit. Does anyone have that quote? I know that the Lord sometimes uses false ministers to bring salvation to the lost. But I was wondering if satan can use true believers to minister death, even if the true believer is preaching the true gospel; for lack of prayer and fellowship with God, etc. I look forward to any replies and/or Scriptures in answer to the question.

It sounds like chapter three of [url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/2437481/POWER-THROUGH-PRAYER]Power Through Prayer[/url].

III. The Letter Killeth
THE preaching that kills may be, and often is, orthodox -- dogmatically, inviolably orthodox. We love orthodoxy. It is good. It is the best. It is the clean, clear-cut teaching of God's Word, the trophies won by truth in its conflict with error, the levees which faith has raised against the desolating floods of honest or reckless
misbelief or unbelief; but orthodoxy, clear and hard as crystal, suspicious and militant, may be but the letter
well-shaped, well-named, and well-learned, the letter which kills. Nothing is so dead as a dead orthodoxy, too
dead to speculate, too dead to think, to study, or to pray.
The preaching that kills may have insight and grasp of principles, may be scholarly and critical in taste, may
have every minutia of the derivation and grammar of the letter, may be able to trim the letter into its perfect
pattern, and illume it as Plato and Cicero may be illumined, may study it as a lawyer studies his text-books to form his brief or to defend his case, and yet be like a frost, a killing frost. Letter-preaching may be eloquent,
enameled with poetry and rhetoric, sprinkled with prayer spiced with sensation, illumined by genius and yet
these be but the massive or chaste, costly mountings, the rare and beautiful flowers which coffin the corpse.
The preaching which kills may be without scholarship, unmarked by any freshness of thought or feeling,
clothed in tasteless generalities or vapid specialties, with style irregular, slovenly, savoring neither of closet
nor of study, graced neither by thought, expression, or prayer. Under such preaching how wide and utter the
desolation! how profound the spiritual death!
This letter-preaching deals with the surface and shadow of things, and not the things themselves. It does not
penetrate the inner part. It has no deep insight into, no strong grasp of, the hidden life of God's Word. It is true
to the outside, but the outside is the hull which must be broken and penetrated for the kernel. The letter may
be dressed so as to attract and be fashionable, but the attraction is not toward God nor is the fashion for
heaven. The failure is in the preacher. God has not made him. He has never been in the hands of God like
clay in the hands of the potter. He has been busy about the sermon, its thought and finish, its drawing and
impressive forces; but the deep things of God have never been sought, studied, fathomed, experienced by him.
He has never stood before "the throne high and lifted up," never heard the seraphim song, never seen the
vision nor felt the rush of that awful holiness, and cried out in utter abandon and despair under the sense of
weakness and guilt, and had his life renewed, his heart touched, purged, inflamed by the live coal from God's
altar. His ministry may draw people to him, to the Church, to the form and ceremony; but no true drawings to
God, no sweet, holy, divine communion induced. The Church has been frescoed but not edified, pleased but
not sanctified. Life is suppressed; a chill is on the summer air; the soil is baked. The city of our God becomes
the city of the dead; the Church a graveyard, not an embattled army. Praise and prayer are stifled; worship is
dead. The preacher and the preaching have helped sin, not holiness; peopled hell, not heaven.

Preaching which kills is prayerless preaching. Without prayer the preacher creates death, and not life. The
preacher who is feeble in prayer is feeble in life-giving forces. The preacher who has retired prayer as a
conspicuous and largely prevailing element in his own character has shorn his preaching of its distinctive
life-giving power. Professional praying there is and will be, but professional praying helps the preaching to its
deadly work. Professional praying chills and kills both preaching and praying. Much of the lax devotion and
lazy, irreverent attitudes in congregational praying are attributable to professional praying in the pulpit. Long,
discursive, dry, and inane are the prayers in many pulpits. Without unction or heart, they fall like a killing
frost on all the graces of worship. Death-dealing prayers they are. Every vestige of devotion has perished
under their breath. The deader they are the longer they grow. A plea for short praying, live praying, real heart
praying, praying by the Holy Spirit -- direct, specific, ardent, simple, unctuous in the pulpit -- is in order. A
school to teach preachers how to pray, as God counts praying, would be more beneficial to true piety, true
worship, and true preaching than all theological schools.
Stop! Pause! Consider! Where are we? What are we doing? Preaching to kill? Praying to kill? Praying to
God! the great God, the Maker of all worlds, the Judge of all men! What reverence! what simplicity! what
sincerity! what truth in the inward parts is demanded! How real we must be! How hearty! Prayer to God the
noblest exercise, the loftiest effort of man, the most real thing! Shall we not discard forever accursed
preaching that kills and prayer that kills, and do the real thing, the mightiest thing -- prayerful praying,
life-creating preaching, bring the mightiest force to bear on heaven and earth and draw on God's exhaustless
and open treasure for the need and beggary of man?

Thank you wayneman. I'll have to read the whole book after reading this; really speaks to the heart of the issue. It is very similar to the vision/dream i was referring to but not quite. Much appreciated though. Very edifying. May i take it to heart.

I would say not.
Scripture warns of 'wolves in sheeps clothing' and states that even the enemy can parade as an angel of light - so how much more his followers - but that is talking of false apostles - not true preachers. I have heard of God using even the false for His Glory - but never the other way around.
Look at Job - God has the final word - God Himself places the barrier and says 'this far and no further' God himself says 'My words will not return to me void' all we are called to do is sow the seed - it is God that grants the increase.
Even if a preacher is suffering at the time - God can use that word to speak for His Glory - it is not of us - in our weaknesses He is made strong.
Any true believer who preaches the true Gospel will recognise his shortcomings and realise what a responsibility and honour it is to preach God's word.
What is so true is that you never preach to a congregation without first preaching to yourself!
If there is a weakness in a personal relationship with God on the part of the preacher, he will know it and will recognise the lack of anointing, but I do not believe that the enemy will then use this to bring death, the power of life and death are in God's hands.
It is amazing that God has placed His treasure in earthern vessels such as us, He remembers that we are but dust.
For a true believer we can fully trust that God will have the Glory and will also complete the work in us.

I think you may be referring to the vision of Duncan Campbell, where he saw the devil preaching the Gospel on a street corner. Upon asked why he was preaching, the devil told him that one of his most powerful weapons was the proclamation of the Gospel without the anointing of the Spirit. Something like that. I think it is in this sermon:

https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=1000&commentView=itemComments

thanks nearthecross. that's the one.

Ceri, thank you for the encouragement.

Have you considered Paul's perspective on this?

Php 1:13-18
(13) So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
(14) And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
(15) Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
(16) The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
(17) But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
(18) What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

Thanks twayneb. I did consider that passage before. So it would seem according to this Scripture, that the devil cannot use the true gospel to minister death, regardless of who it is that is preaching. So I guess Duncan Campbell may have had it wrong after all.

So what about the need for prayer and the outpouring of the Spirit on us before we preach. How do we reconcile that need with this Scripture?

Can it be that if we do not seek the Lord enough we will not see as much of the power of God as we would had we sought Him more. And that the devil cannot then turn that around and use it for his kingdom. So maybe it's just a matter of the level of God's power being demonstrated. Just thinking out loud here.

Have you considered Paul's perspective on this?

Yes I have. I do not like what you try to imply here. Please don't take scripture out of context to mean something other than it does.

Paul may have said about Christ being preached: "I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice."

But this does NOT excuse insincerity of some who use the name of Jesus at all! And just because Paul said he would rejoice at Jesus being preached, he was obviously feeling grieved by the insincerity of some, can't you see that?

But know this:

Not all that say Lord Lord...Matthew 7:21

...Now if anyone [b]does not[/b] have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. Romans 8:9

Let me ask you a question.

Are most Roman Catholics saved, I mean they hear Jesus preached? How about Mormons, Jehovah's Witness, Liberal Gospels that ordain practicing homosexuals and lesbians, and a host of other false gospels...are these saved that have heard Jesus preached by them? But Christ is being preached, and as long as Jesus is being preached that's okay right? maybe not...(maybe some will be saved, God only knows)

Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ without the anointing and conviction of the Holy Spirit is like eating bread with no water to wash it down.

I think it is more dangerous for a person to hear a skewed Gospel of Jesus Christ, and for it to not change you and give you repentance, and to cause you to walk before God, then it is for a person to have never heard the gospel at all. It would be better to have never been born at all then to hear the words of Jesus and then not be saved. Take the gospel of Jesus Christ in the context and in the Spirit in which is was written please, and don't contort scripture to say something it does not.

by osandoval on 2010/3/30 12:30:15

I have been considering this matter recently. I remember vaguely a quote about a vision or dream someone had in which the devil was using a Christian's preaching to minister death to the hearers, because the Christian did not have the anointing of the Spirit. Does anyone have that quote? I know that the Lord sometimes uses false ministers to bring salvation to the lost. But I was wondering if satan can use true believers to minister death, even if the true believer is preaching the true gospel; for lack of prayer and fellowship with God, etc. I look forward to any replies and/or Scriptures in answer to the question.

It would not be the true gospel if souls are not being saved.

Your title is an oxymoron of terms. The true gospel will only bring life and not death. True believers to minister death? another oxymoron!

a person can hear the gospel and whether they respond is up to them.

Erendel, there seems to be a misunderstanding. We are not saying it is great to see insincere preachers preach Christ. I do not see how the title to the Post is an oxymoron of terms. There are some, like Duncan Campbell, who seem to believe that Satan can use the preaching of a true Christian to minister death, if the Christian does not have the dew of the Spirit upon him and his preaching. And there are others who disagree with that, according to the Philipians passage quoted below. I just wasn't sure where I stood on that. But I don't think this should be a matter of contention. We can respectfully share our thoughts on the matter, without being contentious.

Does the unbeliever have ears to hear?

Who must open the ears of those that hear and believe?

Acts 28:25-27 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

These are those that have ears to hear, but only the speaking of their father the devil.

Acts 28:28-31 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves. And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

These are those that our New Father have opened the ears of, that they will hear and be saved.

So, it does not matter who the preaching is by, but those that have been given ears to hear will know the true gospel, and be able to allow the Word of God to accomplish what it is intended to do.

Colossians 1:25-29 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

These are those that the mystery has been revealed to and have ears to hear given by our new Father, who has rebirthed the Incorruptable seed of Christ in us. We hear and know that the Christ in us is the only hope of Glory.

Then we know the Holy Spirit that is also in our soulish part, that is our rational mind will and emotions, that we might know the Christ that is in us and know the love of our New Father, for we were instructed to pray in this way, "our Father". The Father of Christ is our Father also, now that we are born again by the Word of God, which is Christ in you the Hope if Glory.

Joh 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Amazing Love, The Father loves His birthed children spiritually by Faith, just as The Father loves His only begotten Son.

Ro 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

In Christ: Phillip

One reason why I started this thread was this; I was trying to see whether or not we should be challenged to pray more fervently and diligently by the thought that our preaching can be used by Satan, if we do not pray as such. In particular I had in mind those of us who preach the gospel to the lost regularly. But I have not found any biblical precedence for that type of a challenge or thought, or view(that Satan can use the true gospel).

Dear brothers,

there is a big difference between preaching at your own choosing and being sent by the Spirit of God.

You can do all kinds of stuff, you can preach, teach, give out tracts, witness, go out and be active and yet there is no operation of the Law of the Spirit of Life! One day the Lord will zero down all human activities in the name of God and only that which has been in Christ will remain. A lot of christian activity is hubble and straw that will be burned up in the day of judgement. Only when a vessel has been totally emptied and broken, made nothing can it become a fit vessel for the glory of God, only then God Himself can minister life. The Son can do nothing of Himself, and we are called to learn of Jesus and take His yoke upon us for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Only in total dependancy on God can He do anything through us, everything else is absolutely void of life, even though God uses religious christian activities all the time simply because He loves people.

Daniel

...that our preaching can be used by Satan

I don't think it's right to say that our preaching in itself is used by Satan, but I think it would be right to say that our lack of anointing is.

If theologically correct preaching is the only option on the menu, Satan would much prefer the "prayer-free, anointing-free" flavour.

I was trying to see whether or not we should be challenged to pray more fervently and diligently

Acts 6:4 But we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word.

PassingThru

It sounds like chapter three of Power Through Prayer.

Thank you for posting this - I'm reading it for the first time and it really speaks to me.

PassingThru.

I have seen it at work. Dead orthodoxy. Your hear it, it sounds right, but it is sterile. It leaves your eye dry. You cannot even find much fault which it. I pondered over this mystery. They preach ABOUT Christ, but they do not preach Christ. The man has never been in the furnace of Christ's affliction. He does not die daily. His mind is sharp his cold logic makes your bone marrow freeze. Factual truth, nothing more. It creates no tug in your soul to urge you into the prayer closet. He is a master of rhetoric, a skillful mechanic. He can crack jokes and bring even anecdotes. You come out of it with bigger head knowledge, your spirit is not uplifted, your thirst for living water not quenched. No embarrassing weakness displayed.

Lord save us from these men!

by narrowpath on 2010/4/2 11:15:58

I have seen it at work. Dead orthodoxy. Your hear it, it sounds right, but it is sterile. It leaves your eye dry. You cannot even find much fault which it. I pondered over this mystery. They preach ABOUT Christ, but they do not preach Christ. The man has never been in the furnace of Christ's affliction. He does not die daily. His mind is sharp his cold logic makes your bone marrow freeze. Factual truth, nothing more. It creates no tug in your soul to urge you into the prayer closet. He is a master of rhetoric, a skillful mechanic. He can crack jokes and bring even anecdotes. You come out of it with bigger head knowledge, your spirit is not uplifted, your thirst for living water not quenched. No embarrassing weakness displayed.

Lord save us from these men!

Then it is NOT the true gospel being preached by these men now is it? A gospel without the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ present is not the gospel at all, but an allegory, an anecdote if you will, but not the true gospel.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45

If the gospel being preached by men does not bring life to the listener, then it is not the true gospel of Jesus Christ, especially if the men preaching have NOT received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And yes you can be a believer and have not received the Holy Spirit

I guess the key to all of this is, is the Holy Spirit present? And how do you know the Holy Spirit is present?

I guess this is a great mystery to all of Christianity, but not to all. A question to be asked is: Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?

I will speak then by experience. I know His presence! I know when He is near! I feel His presence, His anointing in my spirit! Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? Have you received the life-giving Spirit of Jesus Christ since you believed?

But know this:

Not all that say Lord Lord...Matthew 7:21

...Now if anyone [b]does not have the Spirit of Christ[/b], he is not His. Romans 8:9

To ask again this question...

Are most Roman Catholics saved, I mean they hear Jesus preached? How about Mormons, Jehovah's Witness, Liberal Gospels that ordain practicing homosexuals and lesbians, and a host of other false gospels...are these saved that have heard Jesus preached by them? But Christ is being preached, and as long as Jesus is being preached that's okay right? maybe not...(maybe some will be saved, God only knows)

Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ without the anointing and conviction of the Holy Spirit is like eating bread with no water to wash it down.

I think it is more dangerous for a person to hear a skewed Gospel of Jesus Christ (which is NOT the true gospel), and for it to not change you and give you repentance, and to cause you to walk before God, then it is for a person to have never heard the gospel at all. It would be better to have never been born at all then to hear the words of Jesus and then not be saved.

A person can be a believer in Jesus and have been baptized in water and still have NOT received the Holy Spirit.

...let's look at what the bible says:

Acts 8:14-17 states:

14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

There you have it, you can be a water baptized believer in Jesus and NOT have received the Holy Spirit. There is an infilling of the Holy Spirit that happens AFTER conversion and water baptism, and sometimes before water baptism as in the case of Cornelius and those that were with him. At least according the bible that I read.

So much for the false doctrine of cessationism.

Having said that, I do not believe that every one will speak in tongues as evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul points this out:

1 Corinthians 12:29-31 states:

29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.

A person will absolutely KNOW when they have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit...this is an experience like no other.

The Apostle Paul writes (pay attention to verse 16):

Romans 8:14-16 (New King James Version)

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

He bears witness to our spirit that we are His...this witness I know and hereby testify that this is a very real and tangible experience of the Power of God.

The true gospel of Jesus Christ brings life and NOT death.

Then it is NOT the true gospel being preached by these men now is it?

Is it a true gospel that they teach? Hmm. True can be true but be void of authenticity. Truth can be cruel and unloving. This is the letter that killeth. The letter is very scripture itself, but void of the spirit. Satan uses scripture, too.

I heard the story of a man who had memorized the whole bible and still was not saved. He later came under conviction and got saved.

A preacher of the gospel has to carry the life and death of Christ in himself. The man must be the message himself and filled with the Spirit of God.

Are you guys kidding about this topic? lol Do you know that mystical means "having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither [b]apparent[/b] to the senses nor [b]obvious[/b] to the intelligence."

This whole thread sounds like something mystical, God is not mystical.

[i]I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.[/i]
Rev 1.18

I find it hard to believe that Satan can use any "true believer." If Christ has the keys to hell and death, what does satan have? Zilch! but that's just me!!

[i]And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.[/i]
Matt 28.18

Let's extract the precious from the worthless and believe the Word of God not some man's so called vision or dream.

God bless you all,

Lysa

All power is given to Christ, and God and can tie up the old serpent whenever he chooses to, but human choices still have a bearing on how they fair against him. Satan can still get at true believers if they give him the space.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

1 Timothy 5:15 For already some have turned aside after Satan.

If a 'true believer' lies, he is being used by (or at least being useful to) Satan, the father of all lies.

Or perhaps you are refuting the the word 'used' in the sense of a true believer being 'possessed'?

PassingThru

Then it is NOT the true gospel being preached by these men now is it? A gospel without the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ present is not the gospel at all, but an allegory, an anecdote if you will, but not the true gospel.

If the gospel being preached by men does not bring life to the listener, then it is not the true gospel of Jesus Christ, especially if the men preaching have NOT received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And yes you can be a believer and have not received the Holy Spirit

Earendel, Lysa,
A true believer can preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ(Christ crucified and resurrected, repentance toward God, faith in Christ, Heaven and Hell, Judgment Day), yet he can do it in his own strength, if lacking in his prayer life.
A true believer can do this even if he has been filled with the Spirit in the past. You can lose the filling or anointing of the Spirit, if you quench or grieve the Spirit.
The filling is an ongoing thing, not a once and for all thing. It's a day by day crucifying of the flesh and fervently seeking the Lord in prayer and the Word.
Are you going to say that a true believer who has been filled with the Spirit cannot grieve or quench the Spirit and then go and preach in his own strength?

So what about the need for prayer and the outpouring of the Spirit on us before we preach. How do we reconcile that need with this Scripture? Can it be that if we do not seek the Lord enough we will not see as much of the power of God as we would had we sought Him more. And that the devil cannot then turn that around and use it for his kingdom. So maybe it's just a matter of the level of God's power being demonstrated. Just thinking out loud here.

Think you have it right. Paul never said the ones who preached of contention were effective and bore much fruit. He just praised God that the gospel was getting out and people were hearing the message. I believe in much prayer and fasting and being an anointed vessel when I teach. I have found though that the Word had its own anointing and it is much more worth my time to seek relationship with God and prepare the messenger. He can then speak clearly to me and the message seems to take care of itself to a certain extent. (Study and preparation still required.)

Travis

My comment is, mainly, that while this is bound to bring more power to the message, and thus to its impact upon the hearers, the hearer has to take full responsibility for his or her response to what God has spoken to his or her heart. It cannot be the speaker's fault if there are misunderstandings on the part of hearers, because of the preconceptions or ignorances they bring to the mix.

Absolutely! The fact that the teacher is held to high account before God does not absolve the hearer from responsibility as well.

Scripture does not say: The "PREACHER is quick and powerful".

What preacher is EVER "prepared enough" to handle the "WORD OF GOD"???

GOD HONORS HIS WORD!!! 1Corinthians 1:27-29.

Yes, there are religious charlatans and God will hold them responsible... but, GOD honors HIS WORD.

If a starving neighbor is desperate for food and you send your VERY crippled son over to the neighbor with a loaf of bread ... will the neighbor be looking at the crippled son OR the loaf of bread???

I want to express much thanks to everyone for their replies on this thread. They have been very helpful to me.

Just to clarify, by "minister death" I meant causing more harm than good. I totally understand that the hearers are responsible for how they respond to the true gospel. Yet it also seems clear from Scripture that the preaching believer is also responsible for making sure that he/she has an intimate relationship with God in order to be effective in the Master's use. Both are true.

I mainly started this thread so that I and others might be exhorted to seek the Lord diligently in our service to Him. He says He is a rewarder of them that seek Him diligently(Heb. 11:6). And Jesus said, "this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting."(Matt.17:21)

It seems that in these days many are trying to serve the Lord in their own strength. There are many who have started to preach the true gospel in the open air, and that's a good thing. But much stress needs to be made on more prayer and wholehearted seeking after God. I have been guilty of serving Christ in my own strength. And I have known others also who try evangelize while holding on to many idols, such as sports and entertainment, etc., without seeing the need to truly seek God with all their heart. I am realizing more and more that God is not pleased with that type of service to Him. It is hypocrisy.

Nearthecross:

I think you may be referring to the vision of Duncan Campbell, where he saw the devil preaching the Gospel on a street corner. Upon asked why he was preaching, the devil told him that one of his most powerful weapons was the proclamation of the Gospel without the anointing of the Spirit.

That's what the devil fears more then anything else, preachers with pentecostal power and with tongues of fire (i dont mean nescessary tongues) burning with the holy zeal and consumed with a passion for Christ and the lost.

Paul rejoiced even when the gosple was preached from a wrong motive because he knew that God in his sovereignty can use his ploclaimed Word to save sinners despite the unsanctified instrument. God may permit this but does not command it, and thats the difference.

The disciples of Jesus were commanded to tarry in Jerusalem till they were baptized in the Holy Ghost, imagin what whould have happend if they went out to preach the gosple without being filled with the Spirit and endued with power from on high? How weak the presentation of the gosple would have been without the indwelling and the power of the Holy Spirit. It would have been impossible for them to go and make disciples of all the nations and obey the Lord's great commission.

Preaching the gosple without the anointing of the Holy Spirit is preaching the gosple without the Holy Spirit, for every genuine believer is indwelled by the holy Spirit and has the anointing in him, if he has not greived or quenched the fire and lapsed from faith in the Lord.

John said to the early christians, "you have the anointing in you". One symbol of the Holy Spirit is oil, and if we run out of oil there will be no more light to shine out thru us. We will be like the foolish virgins slumbering at the comming of the Lord and not ready to meet the master.

Of all the religious groups in the time of Jesus, the pharises were the one most sharply rebuked by Him for their hypocrisy and unbelief. The pharises were the most orthodox sect of the day but they were the most self-righteous too who considered themselves in no need for a doctor (Jesus) to heal their spiritual blindness.

Its not different today, the most dangerous enimies of the gosple are not those outside the church but those inside the church, "the wolves in sheeps clothings" who have the appearance of godliness but void of its power. And our churches are filled with this kind of professing christians. The tares are among the wheat and the tares outnumber way to much the wheat. The proffessing preacher with the outward garment of orthodoxy preaches the gosple without being sent or called from the Lord. He's got his commission and licence to preach from the leaders of his almost dead denomination, and by his preaching he adds to the deadness and lethargy of the congregation. Who's will is he doing, not that of God for sure, for he does not know the life of God in his own soul, he does not bare the cross to follow his Lord. He preaches about the gosple but he does not live the gosple. He preaches about Christ and justification but does not live in vital union with Him. He preaches about sanctification but he does not have victory over sin. He preaches about the cross but does not identify himself with the cross of the Saviour and his sufferings.

Whom is this preacher serving, without no doubt the devil and he is an intrument of the devil who appears as an angel of light to deceive many. Im talking about an unregenerated proffessing christian.

Someone can lay the sacrifice on the altar for God but if the fire does not fall down from heaven to consume it, his socalled faith will count for nothing. Fire from heaven makes all the difference. The demonstration of the power of the Holy Ghost makes all the difference in the preaching of the gosple. The sign of pentecost is the tongue of fire. A preacher without holy Ghost fire is like a torch without fire good for nothing.

A preacher will either minister death or life, if he has the life giving Spirit of Christ he will minister life and be a poured out wine to others, if he is only a scribe skilled in the letter of the law he will minister death and be an instrument of darkness. There is no neutrality here, you are either for God or against God.

Blessings,

Redi

***edited***

elected wrote

Whom is this preacher serving, without no doubt the devil and he is an intrument of the devil who appears as an angel of light to deceive many. Im talking about an unregenerated proffessing christian.

A preacher will either minister death or life, if he has the life giving Spirit of Christ he will minister life and be a poured out wine to others, if he is only a scribe skilled in the letter of the law he will minister death and be an instrument of darkness. There is no neutrality here, you are either for God or against God.

Redi, first of all I want to say I was edified by your post and agree with most of it. The only concern was in the above quotes. It seemed to me that you were stating you can't be a true believer and lack the power of the Spirit in your preaching.
I totally understand that there are multitudes of false converts and false preachers within the church today and that is a sad reality. And it is obvious that the devil can use these individuals to do more harm than good with their hypocrisy.
But my main concern was in regard to true believers who may not go all out for Christ and endeavor to serve Him in the preaching of the gospel. I know from personal experience that you can be a true believer and lack the power of the Spirit in your preaching. And this can be due to a number of reasons, such as laziness in seeking God, holding on to certain idols or hindrances in our walk with Him.
I have been there, and I know some who are there right now. They seem to be true believers who show much love for Christ and for His Church and the kingdom of God and for the lost. Yet there are certain distractions or idols they hold on to which hinder them from being used by God more effectively.
I have seen how the devil can whisper things like, "it's ok to have a little fun with these things; it's not a sin; you are free to have a little leisure; you don't want to be too legalistic or pharisaic; you don't want to be a sour Christian; you don't want to be too strict with yourself and others; etc."

Blessings,
Oracio

Correction, I meant to include the following quote in my last post

elected wrote

A preacher will either minister death or life, if he has the life giving Spirit of Christ he will minister life and be a poured out wine to others, if he is only a scribe skilled in the letter of the law he will minister death and be an instrument of darkness. There is no neutrality here, you are either for God or against God.

Hi Oracio,

You Wrote:
"Redi, first of all I want to say I was edified by your post and agree with most of it. The only concern was in the above quotes. It seemed to me that you were stating you can't be a true believer and lack the power of the Spirit in your preaching.
I totally understand that there are multitudes of false converts and false preachers within the church today and that is a sad reality. And it is obvious that the devil can use these individuals to do more harm than good with their hypocrisy".

I want to apologize for the misundestanding. What i wrote in my thread was somehow not accurate.I myself am in the category of poweless christians in desperate need for a pure heart and holy walk with the Lord.

What i have discovered from my experience as a christian is that sanctification is a lifelong process and that we need the carry our cross in our daily life and reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. I confess that i have been in the past a spiritual and moral failer most of the time and if i examing myself and all the years since i was saved, my conclusion is that i have lived most of the time backsliding, than living in daily fellowship with Christ and for God.

Sin brings deadness of heart to the believers and if we dont bring it to the cross and deal with it, we give place to the devil in our lives. Thats why we are in a spiritual war agaist the powers of darkness and evils spirits, to protect the ground of our heart which belongs to the Lord. We have been brought with the blood of the Lamb, but if we dont deal with personal sin in our life, we our playing with fire and will be overcome by the sin, the flesh and the world.

If someone backslides he will not be a minister of the life of Christ, because his heart is 'dead' in sin and he does not has an intimate relatioship with Jesus. The source of Life is Jesus Himself, He is our daily Bread and Word to nourish our souls. The question is can a backsliding christian minister life to others if he has no intimate relationship with Jesus? No. Thats impossible. He will minister to others the deadness and empitness of the heart. He probably will speak from past experiences with God or from the Manna he ate in the wilderness, but if he does not drink in the present time from the Source the living water of life, he will share our of the biterness of his spirit.

We often are blind to the reality of things, and often believe our poor theologies and theories than the Word of God. Many christians are saved and will go to heaven someday thanks to the grace of God but many dont live in present with Christ and in Christ. Believe in Christ is a vital union with the Savior. Believe is a present tense word, the scriptures dont say you believed once that's enough or you will believe but believe in Christ. Faith is a journey, and that journey starts at the cross when we are born again and ends when we pass away from this life. Its a life of faith in Christ we are called to. The branch cant bear fruit unless its one with the Vine. Oneness and unity in Christ is a daily matter, not once and for all experience of past.

P.S. Oracio i hope that i made things a little bit clearer.

Blessings,

Redi