A look at a recent article supporting this known NAR heresy...

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Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. -- Matthew 24:23-24 (ESV)

https://charismamag.com/spirit/spiritual-warfare/43610-reach-for-this-powerful-weapon-when-religious-spirits-invade-your-life

Nestled away within the conglomerate that is the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and the Purpose Driven Industrial Complex are the heresies surrounding false signs and lying wonders. The key identifying feature is that they consist of signs and wonders that are false and often make no practical, let alone biblical sense. Why for example would God leave traces of gold dust and alleged gemstones in a prayer service? Why would alleged angel feathers start falling through bogus glory clouds? To try and pawn this nonsense off is biblical-sounding, Bill Johnson likes to quip that they are "signs that make you wonder." Yes Bill, they make me wonder how anyone would follow someone as ridiculous as you. Included in this genre of heresy are fake healings such as the growing leg trick or the Benny Hinn suit coat wave. The key verses remind us that these are things that must come to pass. Do not therefore be amazed when some one claiming to be from God performs some parlor trick. Open your bible and do the work of a Berean -- does it line up with scripture and does it make sense?

The NAR likes to deflect any justified criticism by claiming those who insist on biblical accuracy are just Pharisees who need a revelation of the Holy Ghost because they operate in what they call a religious spirit. An easy example are the demonic outpourings at Pensacola and Toronto. Anyone with an ounce of discernment can tell that God does not force us through His Spirit to roll around on the ground uncontrollably laughing or making animal sounds. He does not have His Spirit shake us violently and spasmodically as the devil did down in Pensacola. Yet to this day, Charismaniacs swear by these two events as revivals. I say this as a backdrop to the above linked article from Wanda Alger, who makes her living through the NAR purpose driven industrial complex. Let us reason together once more as we dive into her latest attack on us wily religious spirits!

"Many of the battles we are facing today, both personal and corporate, are the result of a limitation of Holy Spirit's presence and power. The politically correct spirit is the world's version of a religious spirit, and it seeks to kill any authentic Spirit-directed initiative or agenda. It uses threats, accusations and twisted truths to try to disqualify any work of God-ordained reformation or supernatural transformation on the earth. The religious spirit in the church seeks to discredit anyone or anything that has the mark of supernatural intervention or inspired revelation. It too uses manipulation of ideas and distorted realities to confuse people and rob them of true spiritual power. If we can see past the smokescreen and understand heaven's purposes, we can stand strong in the face of seeming defeat and remain steadfast when things get tough." -- Wanda Alger

This is the shtick beloved. People like Alger and Bill Johnson are just so much more spiritual than you and I. Jennifer LeClaire is able to see sneaky squids in the spirit realm and marine demons in her swimming pool because she is so in tune with the Holy Spirit. Not satisfied just to draw the false distinction but Alger has to state that any opposition to her heresy is actually designed to kill the authentic spirit agenda. Nonsense. Clawing our way through the hyper-spiritual gobbledygook reveals the truth. The politically correct spirit of the world or the religious spirit of the church just likes to point out her lunacy. The NAR always claims they are working on some global supernatural shifting in the atmosphere somewhere. The people she accuses of having a religious spirit only seeks to discredit that which is not biblical. This scam is easy to spot though. Alger and the NAR will always refute any criticism as an attack upon the spirit but they cannot see that it is not the Holy Spirit they are trafficking in.

"1 Corinthians 2:14 states that the flesh cannot access the things of the Spirit because they are foolishness to the natural man. Apart from the Spirit of God, nothing that originates from His kingdom will make sense. The enemy knows that if we access the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, he will be exposed for what he is--a fraud, a liar and a charlatan. If he can get us to focus on what we see and hear in the natural, he can stir up doubt, unbelief and even cynicism against the things of God. If he can keep us from operating and walking in the power of Holy Spirit, he can continue his assault on heaven's agenda and limit our influence and authority." -- Wanda Alger

Yes Wanda and it is because of 1Corinthians 2:14 that you are stumbling around in the dark making up theology that God never stated. Your flesh cannot access the things of God through the Holy Spirit. You can however be susceptible to the evil spirits of this age Wanda. They will lie to you and convince you that your way of experiential Christianity is the right way and those who insist on the bible are fake. The word of God exposes the enemy as a fraud and liar, not your goosebumps and liver shivers. If you could understand it, you would realize that you have no real authority and your influence is only in the realm of leading others astray.

"I believe our greatest strategy in overcoming this attack against the work of Holy Spirit is to pray in the Spirit. This is the best way to bypass our human reasoning and any demonic interference and go directly to the throne with God's will. "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit always with all kinds of prayer and supplication. To that end be alert with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Eph. 6:17-18). We are being told that the sword is of the Spirit; therefore, we must pray in the Spirit when we hold it. The Word of God is not of the flesh. It was born of the Spirit. Therefore, we must put on our spiritual armor and pray in the Spirit in order to disable the demonic assault on the King's advance." -- Wanda Alger

Ashondamababalabadabadoo? That is your answer? Sorry Wanda but speaking in gibberish is not the solution. It is interesting that Wanda gives up the ghost here when she admits that the main goal of the NAR false signs and lying wonders is to have you give up your human reasoning. Nowhere does the bible remotely suggest that we have to stop reasoning in order to partner with the Holy Spirit. Her tortured logic of holding the sword and therefore you must speak in the spirit is simply asinine. God is both Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus has already told us He is His word. You are not marching on a King's advance Wanda. If you were, you would at least adhere to what He has said in His word.

"Notice, too, the goal of our prayers--one another. Rather than warring against the devil, we are supposed to be praying for each other to stand strong and not give up. Rather than getting distracted by all the brush fires he keeps starting, we are supposed to lift one another up to the throne of grace to receive strength, courage and the boldness needed to not retreat. I am being personally tested in this like never before. My oldest son just recently "came out," declaring he no longer believes in God. My son, who had a visitation from Holy Spirit when he was 7, has preached, prophesied and led worship, gone to ministry school for three years and was raised as a preacher's kid in the church. Why? Because the religious spirit has warred against his soul, convincing him not to trust the Spirit within. Yes, it breaks my heart. But God's not done! I believe I am like many other parent warring for their children and many other believers warring for this nation. The enemy is hitting below the belt and stirring up a zeal within the house of the Lord." -- Wanda Alger

This is so sad. I would not normally comment but she has brought this matter into the conversation. In all likelihood her son was never saved because Wanda follows a false gospel and a false christ. When you abuse your young child with wild and fanciful tales of spiritual magic wrapped up in pseudo-piety it is no wonder that a seven-year old's imagination kicks in. Her son sounds like any number of thousands of churched kids, raised by well-intended parents, who learned how to do church but never met Christ. So a "religious spirit" is not what did him in Wanda -- you did. I do stand with you that he will return searching for the Savior he never knew. You may think you are warring but you are warring against God. Zeal in and of itself is useless and without doctrine it is like a sword in the hands of a lunatic (Calvin). This is the truly frightening thing beloved. There are many fraudsters in this movement. People who are simply making a buck who know they are lying. Jennifer LeClaire strikes me that way. There are others who have drunk the Kool-Aid and pushed all their chips in. Wanda Alger is so deceived herself and as Christ warns, if you have convinced yourself that your darkness is light, how deep is that darkness. Her son was raised in this mess. He went to school based on this mess. He eventually realized it was a mess. Instead of looking at the mess, Wanda has been taught to blame the strawman of the religious spirit. As I said, this is so sad.

"Rather than giving in to hearsay and deceptive reports, I choose to stay in the Spirit and not yield him any ground. I'm not going to yell because he's not worth my energy. But I will raise my voice to heaven and speak the language of the Spirit so that the presence and power of the King will be felt! This is my watch, and I will not let this low-level demon rob me of my inheritance or cheat me out of my legacy. I will not back down! Perhaps things are intense because the enemy is on his last leg. Perhaps it gets the darkest before the morning light." -- Wanda Alger

Wanda, the language of the spirit is the word of God, not you babbling incoherently. You have been lied to. I am not saying this out of any sense of religion, just based on what God's word says. You are basing everything on your feelings. Your own confirmation bias alone robs you of any ability to truly discern if it is God speaking to you or the devil. That is why He gave us His word. Now she rattles off some declarative statements I will address one by one:

"All I know is that we have no other choice but to stand, not give in and yield continually to the Spirit of God."

That is not the spirit of God you are yielding to. We have to be very careful beloved. There are many other spirits in this world besides the Holy Spirit. Kim Walker-Smith of Jesus Culture believes as Wanda does. She tells a tale of a waking visitation she claims to have received from Jesus who whisked her away to the throne room of God after flirting with her. She then claims to have met the Father face to face, who then ripped out a piece of His own heart to mold a miniature version of Kim to dance for Him while He laughing maniacally. Now since the bible assures us no one can see the father and live, we can trust that she received a demonic visitation and could not discern the difference. There is a simple solution. Yield to the word and you will be yielding to the spirit of God.

"We must contend for those who are lost. We must be steadfast in our prayers for this nation."

The national nonsense is just straight up NAR dominionism. We pray for people who are lost not some collective sense of an amorphous nation. I might add that unless your doctrine is right, it does not matter how much you travail to the devil.

"We must not give up when the forecast looks cloudy. We must encourage one another and stir one another's faith for greater things."

No Wanda. We must encourage one another in the faith for the will of God in our lives. Sometimes those things may even seem mundane. This notion of always pursuing greater is another NAR false teaching.

"And we must pursue the presence and power of the Holy Spirit as if our very lives depended on it. Stand strong on the promises of God."

The promises of God are only found in His word. If you are seeking the power of the spirit, it is also found in His word. What Wanda is pushing here is the eastern Mysticism side of the false signs and lying wonders. This is the contemplative prayer side. It is to be avoided.

"Take hold of any prophetic word spoken over you, your family and this nation, and don't back down."

Alger fancies herself a prophet but she is not. She traffics in the realm of false prophets. This schtick works by the false prophet "speaking something over you" that is intentionally vague and always positive. The Charismaniac then proceeds to seek out chance and happenstance to "confirm" the spoken word. Our internal and confirmation bias takes over and lo and behold we find confirmation everywhere! If not, we file it away as simply not materializing yet. Take hold of the written word and stop listening to hucksters and charlatans!

"Worship and build up your spirit so that your spirit-man remains immovable in the face of adversity."

From a false religion that views worship as being for us, this makes sense. True worship is for God beloved. It can build our faith in who He is. This is a very self-centered narcissistic theology.

"Nothing is impossible with God. His Kingdom will never end, and it will be established. The enemy may think he is taking ground through his threats and manipulating schemes, but little does he realize how it is stirring up a zeal of the Lord within the saints to secure our inheritance and take the victor's spoils. It's time to evict the devil from our homes, our communities and this nation and claim ownership for the King's domain. Regardless of how he came in, he is trespassing, and it's up to us to throw him out the door." -- Wanda Alger

Says no biblical passage anywhere. I know this is meant as a rah-rah speech but it sets people up to fail and believe in the wrong things. She was fine when citing scripture and speaking about God but like all NAR adherents she just can't help pretending it is about her. She openly admits that she is in this for the victor's spoils and this vague notion of an inheritance. Hear me very clearly. The bible says to resist the devil. It does not say to evict him or throw him out the door. Get over yourself. Don't fall for signs and wonders that are outside of the biblical realm. They are not from God.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- December 13, 2019

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.