Today’s post is by Dr. David Ryser.
Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. (Psalm 127:1a)
I watched it die a slow death. What I perceived to be a genuine move of God in this little church was waning. It was fading and would soon be gone. When it finally died, it did not die of natural causes. It was killed.
How do you kill a move of God?
I’ve had a lot of time to ponder this question. Moves of God are birthed in unexpected ways. And they have a life cycle. They are birthed, grow, mature, and morph into what God is doing next with everyone aboard…ideally. Unfortunately, most of them die an untimely death, and the people who were impacted the most powerfully by the last move of God too often become the most vocal critics of the next move.
How do you kill a move of God? And why would you want to?
It’s hard enough to get God to come to church to begin with since the institutional Church shouldn’t even exist. It’s like the ancient Israelite monarchy. God never intended for Israel to have a king. He even warned them about what would happen if they opted for a king. But when Israel chose to reject God’s lordship in favor of a human king, God did not abandon them. Even though the monarchy was not of God, He worked within that system by blessing the reigns of godly kings.
So, it is with the institutional Church.
My friend, Tim, says God comes to church because that’s where the people are; if they were somewhere else, He would go where they were. As a result, a move of God typically begins in the institutional Church setting. And dies there. The causes of this demise are usually specific …and predictable.
I call them the three M’s.
The first way to kill a move of God is to manufacture it. When the move becomes widely known, people will be drawn to it. Over time, there can be pressure on the leadership to come up with new ways to keep the move fresh lest the people tire of it. Too many times when this happens, the leader(s) of the move will manufacture supernatural manifestations to keep people engaged in the move. Some such methods I’ve experienced, or heard about from reliable sources, include…but are by no means limited to…“angel” feathers appearing on the floor of the meeting area, semi-precious gems littering the floor after the meeting, ministers pushing people in prayer lines causing them to fall seemingly under the power of God, and spurious personal prophecy. Sometimes it’s something as seemingly innocuous as adding just a bit of human contribution to what God is doing.
Jesus did not do this.
Jesus summed up His earthly ministry in two sentences: “I only do what I see the Father doing” (John 5:19) and “I only say what I hear the Father saying” (John 12:49-50). He did not manufacture the works of God by performing spiritual tricks for His followers, the religious leaders, or Herod outside of the Father’s will and direction although He was asked to do so by all these groups of people at one time or another during His ministry.
This is our model, and we would be well-advised to follow it.
The second way to kill a move of God is to manipulate it. Typically, this manipulation is justified under the guise of the need to “pastor” the move, so it doesn’t get out of control. Out of control? Whose control? Is God incapable of controlling His move? And have any of these religious control freaks ever read the Book of Acts? The early days of Christianity were marked by what Tim calls “Holy Ghost chaos” with the apostles and other leaders scrambling to keep up with what the Holy Spirit was doing. Artificially manipulating a move of God by human effort, masquerading as protecting the people from excess, is often done with the goal of diverting the flow of the Spirit into a different…and more controllable…direction, thus defeating the purpose of the move.
The purpose of any move of God is to bring the hearts of people closer to God and to advance His kingdom. Manipulating the move of God to achieve any other purpose contaminates/poisons the move. When the purpose of a move of God becomes about glorifying man instead of glorifying God, it has been manipulated…assuming it was genuine to begin with.
And we would also do well to remember that using spiritual means to manipulate people and events is the definition of witchcraft. Mentor the move, yes, but don’t manipulate it.
The third way to kill a move of God is to merchandise it. As soon as a move of God becomes about making money and/or becoming famous, the move is doomed. The move is no longer about God; it is about establishing the brand of the leader(s) and their ministry. In my experience, when a move of God advances to this stage its demise is imminent. Scripture and personal experience teach us that God allows some impurities and excesses in a move for the sake of the people being impacted by it, but nothing will cut off the flow of the Holy Spirit as when a genuine move of God becomes a business.
Many years ago, I attended graduate school with a classmate who was a well-known minister in a particular region of Latin America. His ministry was renowned for miraculous works and healings when He would pray for people and administer the power of God to them. These supernatural works were genuine. He was gifted and anointed by God to perform these feats. And he was happy to dispense these gifts to you…for a price. You see, he would only pray with you, and administer God’s power to you, if you would make a monetary donation to his ministry. I forget now which scripture verse he used to justify this behavior, but I do recall thinking that this course of action would end badly.
It’s a mess. And worse, even when a genuine move of God is manufactured, manipulated, and merchandised until God is compelled to turn off the tap of the Spirit’s flow, people still will flock to it. The leader(s) of the move will be idolized, their churches and ministries…while outwardly appearing to be blessed by God…becoming little more than personality cults driven by human effort and personal charisma.
Why? Why do people fall for this?
Because of the supernatural manifestations. The miracles, the healings, the prophecies. The fake ones are bad enough, though they are usually debunked in the end with little long-term damage done. It’s the genuine works of God’s power, performed outside of His will and authority, that are the most dangerous and difficult to discern. Jesus speaks to this in Matthew 7:22-23. In this passage, Jesus is speaking of a time, during the final judgment, when some will come to Him seeking entry into His kingdom based upon the supernatural works they’ve done in His name. And Jesus does not dispute the genuineness of the mighty works performed. He does, however, reject these “ministers” based on His lack of intimate relationship and fellowship with them.
We should never mistake God’s blessing for His approval.
God blesses because He loves. He loves, and wants to provide for the needs of, the people He is blessing. The one who ministers His blessing is irrelevant. And this person may be deeply flawed, sinful, or even an outright charlatan like the ones in Matthew 7:22-23. This is why we should be discerning, to test by the scriptures and sense the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, concerning these things. If something violates scripture or feels wrong in our spirits, it’s most likely because something is wrong. We don’t need to judge the minister, or the ministry, or the works performed. If God tells us to stay away from it, we should stay away from it. We don’t need to know why.
So, we rejoice when we experience a genuine move of God. We bask in God’s presence, gratefully receive His blessings, and are drawn closer to Him. We allow ourselves to be immersed in the flow of the Spirit and be carried to wherever He is taking us next on our journey with God until He desires to take us somewhere else.
How do you kill a move of God? Why would you want to?
Responses to this article are welcomed. You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com
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