Charismatic/WOF. Why I'm No Longer One.

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 (NKJV)

"Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.

Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"

Denominations is not the will of God. There's One Lord. One Faith. One Baptism.

Ephesians 4:4-6 (NKJV)

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

In the late 70's early 80's, I was exposed to the teachings of the WOF (Word Of Faith) movement which reached its apex. It primarily comprised of faith or believing God for material things, confessions of Scripture for money, prosperity and healing, signs, wonders, miracles, and gifts of the Spirit.

Where did WOF come from?

Romans 10:8 (NKJV)

"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach)..."

So Word Of Faith is the teaching that you can speak words of faith from the Bible based on Mark 11:23-24, Romans 4:17, and Hebrews 10:23, and the things that you confess are to manifest in Jesus' name. That you could call those things which be not as though they were.

But when you apply the hermeneutical (science of interpretation) rule of "Scripture interprets Scripture" and context-"considered together with the surrounding words or circumstances which could be fully understood or assessed," you begin to see that it's a false teaching.

You begin to examine the teaching based on the correct teaching of the Word of God. You begin to test the teaching against the Word of God.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 (NKJV)

"Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil."

"The word of faith which we preach" has everything to do with the gospel of Christ and not to get things that we want from God. The Lord covers our needs in Matthew chapter 6 and Philppians chapter 4.

After years of teaching what they've taught, I came to my own conclusion that what they were teaching is another gospel (see Galatians 1:6-9). When you want to prove a doctrine, you take it to the real world.

Years ago, we went to a hospital to prove the healing power of God. It was one of the worst hospitals in New York called Kings County Hospital in the East New York section of Brooklyn NY. We've prayed for people on several floors but we've never seen someone that we've prayed for rise up and walked out of the hospital that day.

There was a woman that was laying in her bed with her mouth wide open. We prayed for her, but nothing happened.

Each week, we would come to pray for her, but nothing happened.

All through the Scriptures, we see the Lord and His disciples heal people and cast out devils.

There was one place (see Matthew 17:14-21) where a man had a son that was possessed by demons and the disciples couldn't cast it out. So the man told the Lord Jesus and the Lord cast the devil out.

Later, the disciples asked the Lord. "Why couldn't we cast it out." The Lord said, "Because of your unbelief.... however, this kind doesn't come out but by prayer and fasting."

Years ago, we've seen the Lord heal a person with stomach cancer after a group of us prayed for her. She lasted 15 years but the thing we must concede is that she was still taking medicine. What we've learned is that most patients respond better to the combination of prayer and medicine.

Now when the Lord healed in the Scriptures, no medicine was further needed. That's the difference.

There was also a healing of a man with AIDS. We all know that HIV/AIDS is an STD for the sin of homosexuality. After prayer, he lasted well over 15 years. Again, he was taking medicine during his recovery to remain alive. Remember. The immune system is compromised. So he had to take a series of medicine to fight off any disease that the immune system would normally and naturally fight off.

I say these things because the Lord heals when He wants to. Not because we say or do certain things to make a healing happen.

There's been many persons that were prayed for and the Lord never responded the way that we've wanted Him to. The answer is simple. He's God. Ecclesiates 8:8 and Hebrews 9:27 is unavoidable.

Many people want a Hezekiah kind of healing for everyone (see Isaiah chapter 38), and sometimes the Lord does permit the request.

It never meant that the Lord doesn't heal anymore. It only means that the Lord makes the final decision and we have no choice but to accept it.

My sister had cancer and her days were shortened. We've prayed for her constantly but sadly, she had went home to be with the Lord. Sadly because she died, but no doubt, she was glad because Paul said, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."

The Lord comforted us with this Scripture.

Isaiah 57:1-2 (NKJV)

"The righteous perishes,

And no man takes it to heart;

Merciful men are taken away,

While no one considers

That the righteous is taken away from evil.

He shall enter into peace;

They shall rest in their beds,

Each one walking in his uprightness."

We're all disappointed when we don't get what we've wanted from the Lord, but we must be prepared for when the Lord denies the request.

We also have these Words to comfort us.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NKJV)

"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.

And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."

We have a resurrection of the righteous to look forward to if you're in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:1-6 (NKJV)

"For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.

For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord."

Romans 8:22-23 (NKJV)

"For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body."

The "redemption of our body" is when we're raised from the dead by the Lord.

1 John 3:2-3 (NKJV)

"Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

The first rule is that God is God. He makes the final call for our own good whether we like it or not.

All we need to look at is Job.

It doesn't mean that we don't ask Him in faith (see Philippians 4:4-7). It only means that He makes the final decision for what's best. We're not mad at God because He didn't respond the way we've wanted Him to. We just learn to accept His sovereign will and keep it moving.

There's things that the Lord knew before hand that we will never know until we're before Him.

My sister passed in 2013. Six years before Covid 19. I can't imagine the restrictions that were imposed had she lived through Covid 19.

Most hospitals mandated that family members must be vaccinated and wear masks to see their loved ones in the hospital. It would have been unbearable.

During COVID 19, my wife had a blood clot in her leg and had she not gotten to the hospital in time, it would have been certain death. The resident had a case that most interns never see. It was rare. I couldn't go to see her because the restriction was clear. If you're not vaccinated, you can't go to see her.

The vaccine wasn't properly vetted and so I had to make the difficult decision not to be vaccinated to see my wife.

Fortunately, the Lord had mercy and grace, and she recovered with prayer to the Lord and medicine, and she came home.

The Lord honored the request.

The doctors offered to give her the vaccine, but she also turned down their offer because we knew that the vaccine wasn't properly vetted.

It takes years for any vaccine to be vetted because everyone reacts differently to vaccines.

Nonetheless, the Lord had mercy and grace during this difficult time.

Which leads me to my final point.

Covid 19 was a perfect time to prove the power of faith and to my knowledge, and I could be wrong.

We have had not one report of a person sovereignly healed by God's power as a result of someone laying on of hands and healing them. Or as a result of a "confession of faith."

"Test all things..."

It has to work 100% of the time. No exceptions. When it comes to the earthly ministry of the Lord, He didn’t lose not one case and no one went away not fully healed.

But eventually, they all died.

Notice this about the patriarchs or elders in the faith.

Hebrews 11:35-40 (NKJV)

“Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.

They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy.

They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”

This isn't to say that the Lord didn't heal a person of Covid 19 during this time but it's to say that many proponents and faith healers never went to the difficult places to prove the healing power of God. A missed opportunity? Nah.

It was clearly a misuse of Scripture.

Well what about James 5:14-18 (NKJV)

"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit."

Make no mistake about it. God's Word is God's Word. We would do well to simply do as God has said in His Word and leave the results to the Lord.

Well what about 1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV)

"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

I've never said not to pray in faith and anoint with oil. We do these things in obedience to the Scriptures but we leave the results with the Lord.