Is it worth it all to watch God crash in and transform people's lives forever? Ask John and Carol Arnott, pastors of the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship during the Toronto Blessing. Ask John Kilpatrick as he pastored the Brownsville Revival. Ask Steve and Kathy Gray, leaders of Smithton Community Church. Ask Randy Clark and Heidi Baker. Ask Bill Johnson and Leif Hetland. Ask Dr. Michael Brown and R.T. Kendall. The answer is yes. To pay the price of risk and experience the move of God in exchange is always worth it. - Larry Sparks
That's right beloved. The Toronto demonic visitation. The Brownsville demonic revival. Even Bill Johnson and Heidi Baker. The clips linked above are what people like Larry Sparks believe in. These false manifestations of the spirit are not of God. They are demonic. God would not possess a girl so she could not stop twitching and convulsing. He would not instruct someone to kick and old lady in the face with a biker boot. He would not have you get on all fours and bark like a dog. Are there gifts of the Spirit? Absolutely. Yet look at the key verses and remember that without decency and order they are not from God. God is not the author of confusion and chaos, despite what Mr. Sparks might believe about gentlemanly behavior:
Have you ever heard someone say, The Holy Spirit wouldn't do that ... remember, He's a gentleman. That's the lie right there. "He's a gentleman." We've taken this to mean that the Spirit of God will not move with unusual power or force. He won't make us uncomfortable. That's a lie. You know how I know? Because God's chief concern is not mankind's comfort; it's His kingdom. - Larry Sparks
Not at all Larry. I have always heard this expression used to stop people like you from pretending that you flesh is driven by the holiness of God. The unusual power and force the spirit moves under is not the power to disobey His own Word. To create a sideshow at church that takes people's eyes off of Jesus. Remember the true role of the Holy Spirit is to lead us into the truths contained in His Word - not our wicked hearts:
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. - John 14: 26 (ESV)
All I have said to you. His words. His teachings. Not this mumbo-jumbo of pure carnality. This display of fleshly and demonic activity being blamed on the Spirit of Truth is absurd. Sparks was far from done:
Jesus never seemed to consider comfort when he healed the sick or drove out demons. These kingdom-advancing activities always brought great freedom, while simultaneously attracting significant reproach from the religious community. - Larry Sparks
Yes, the Holy Spirit comes to faithfully represent King Jesus who is kind, compassionate, gentle and caring. Yet, this Jesus is also a King, Warrior and Conqueror. He is Lamb, yes, but also Lion. He blesses little children one moment and casts out devils in the next. - Larry Sparks
More poor theology and hermeneutics. Jesus is the Lamb as our sacrifice but is the Lion upon His second coming. Not now. This is still the age of grace beloved where people have the opportunity to meet Jesus as the Lamb before they will have no choice but to meet Him as the Lion. Secondly, I do not recall the story where Jesus cast out devils by kicking them in the face while shouting "shabba!" I must have missed the demon driving out story where Jesus first barked like a dog or twitched uncontrollably. Are we getting the point yet? You cannot portray yourself in the Jesus role when your teachings are so violently against His Word. Nor do you get to portray your critics as the reproachful Pharisees when all they are saying is you should obey the Bible. Unfortunately, Mr. Sparks makes it abundantly clear that he feels the Bible is too restrictive:
I don't want a containable, in-a-box Jesus. Likewise, why should we place the same expectation on Holy Spirit? - Larry Sparks
Sorry to break it to you Larry but Jesus is the box. The restraint you keep trying to cast off is doctrine and without that you are simply making it up as you go along. That is exactly how we ended up with the Toronto debacle and the false revivals at Brownsville and Lakeland. We hear this "God in a box" argument from these folks all the time. We heard it throughout the heretical Holy Ghost movies. Why should we want an "in the box" Holy Spirit Larry? So we can be sure that it actually is from the Holy Spirit. So we can be sure that it is not actually our flesh driving our agenda. Without doctrine, you end up way out of the box Larry.
I'm most concerned about the definition we've assigned to "gentleman." While I don't believe the Holy Spirit forcibly causes us to experience something we don't want to, my concern is how we have lowered our expectations of what He can do, will do, or wants to do. Even Charismatic communities tremble at the prospect of "opening the service up" to the Spirit, in fear of what He might do. - Larry Sparks
Demanding that the manifestations you claim are from God actually line up with His Word is not "lowering expectations." I have higher expectations of what the Holy Spirit can do because my expectations are tempered by God Himself through His written Word. The reason why responsible pastors are hesitant to open up their services to the spirit is not in fear of what the true Spirit of God might do but rather what deceived people like Larry Sparks might do through the spirits they traffic in but clearly do not understand.
Reverend Anthony Wade - February 28, 2016
