False prophet James Goll is out promoting pure evil as Christian doctrine...

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What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. -- 1Corinthians 14:15 (ESV)

https://www.charismanews.com/opinion/75317-why-we-need-this-ancient-christian-practice-now-more-than-ever

One of the fastest growing heresies in the apostate church today is experiential Christianity. This is where our experiences are taken at the same level of scripture. In fact, the bible is relegated to second place and those that insist upon biblical truth are accused of being legalists or needing some deeper revelation of the spirit of God. As part of the false signs and lying wonders phenomenon, experiential Christianity seeks to place a shroud of mysticism over our faith. By mystifying it, the charlatans and hucksters are free to add to the bible what they see fit. It starts with silliness such as gold dust and gemstones but soon moves on to glory clouds and holy laughter. Check YouTube for clips from the alleged Brownsville Revival and see people shaking spasmodically and believing it is God. Check out the Toronto Blessing and you will see them rolling around on the ground and barking like dogs. Search for the Lakeland Revival and see Todd Bentley kicking and punching people to impart healing.

One of the more obvious false teachings within this paradigm is contemplative prayer. This is a widely popular practice in Eastern Mysticism and religions other than Christianity. It uses chants, mantras, repetitive phraseology, centering, and soaking prayers. The idea is to empty your mind and allow an emptying of yourself. They may claim it is to focus on God but the reality is you leave yourself susceptible to demonic influence and without the bible you have left behind, you are ripe for the picking. One example is the testimony of Kim Walker Smith, worship leader for the heretical worship outfit known as Jesus Culture; known for their experiential mysticism. Smith tells of a "waking visitation" where Jesus whisks her away to the throne room where she meets the Father face to face and he rips out a piece of his heart to mold a miniature version of Smith to dance for Him. I kid you not. This is what happens when you empty your mind and cast aside your bible. The Word would have informed Ms. Walker-Smith that she could not possibly meet the Father face to face and still live. Thus she would have realized it was a demonic encounter. The above link is from renowned false prophet James Goll. He calls himself Dr. James Goll but I refuse since he received his doctorate from another False Prophet extraordinaire; C. Peter Wagner. Let us reason together as Goll shills for contemplative prayer!

"Contemplative prayer has too often been relegated to ancient church history. But God is restoring it as a means to develop intimacy with Him. I have found that the most direct road to greater intimacy with God has come through the practice or discipline of an almost-lost art in the fast-paced church of today--something called contemplative prayer. More than a decade ago, this type of prayer came to my attention through some experiences God ordained. Since that time, it has become one of the central features of my walk with God." -- James Goll

God is most definitely not restoring contemplative prayer since it violates His Word! Read the key verses! We are not supposed to abandon our faculties in order to be intimate with God! When Adam and Eve were in the garden before the fall they weren't sitting in a lotus position and chanting. One of the signs of contemplative prayer is the abandonment of self yet self-control is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit! James Goll admitting that such an ungodly and unbiblical practice is central to his walk explains the wackadoodle prophecies he keep spewing. Like Kim Walker-Smith before him he has cast aside the verity and surety of scripture for the gooseflesh of lapping up carnal experiences and the devil is more than happy to keep feeding him.

"When I first began to practice it, I spent one full year reading only the Bible and the writings of the earliest Christian leaders, commonly known as the "desert fathers." The more I read, the more I realized I was on familiar ground. This was a road I was already walking, to some extent.

Contemplative prayer is all about the quest for intimacy with God. The Bible is full of references to this quest:

"But we all, seeing the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18).

"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" (Ps. 46:10).

"Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2).

Contemplative prayer is an ancient Christian practice that has not been widely known or practiced in many evangelical and charismatic ranks, but I believe the Spirit of God is restoring it to the broader body of Christ in our day." -- James Goll

You can believe whatever evil things your wickedly deceitful heart concocts Mr. Goll but that don't make them true. Intimacy with God is not accomplished by disobeying His Word and practicing evil. Beloved if you are truly on a quest for intimacy with God I suggest you read His Word regularly and intently; not use it to excuse what your flesh wants. Goll claims that the bible is full of references for this imaginary quest he is selling. But Psalm 46 has nothing to do with that at all. It is about God being our fortress so when He says be still that means do not worry or fret. Goll and all contemplative prayer advocates mangle this simple scripture to mean we need to be still in prayer, like meditation. Except that is nowhere in Psalm 46. Goll gets no help from Hebrews either:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. -- Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

The word "therefore" ties this chapter back to 11 for context, which is all about faith, not prayer. Even verse one here shows this is about running the race and not being entangled by sin -- not prayer. Does the verse from Second Corinthians help James Goll? Of course not:

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. -- 2Corinthians 3:12-18 (ESV)

In fact, the entire chapter is about being ministers of the New Covenant. As partakers of this New Covenant in Jesus Christ we do not need a veil over our eyes like Moses nor have a veil over our hearts like the Israelites. We are free and because of these great truths we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ as we behold His glory. There is so much powerful theology in these verses but Goll misses the boat by miles because he is trying to use the bible instead of reading it to hear what God has to say. He continues:

"In contemplative prayer, we as Christians do not relate to God primarily as the one who sits on His throne in heaven; we connect with Him instead through the reality of our new birth in Christ, as the one who has taken up residence inside us. We each have a throne in our hearts where He dwells in a very personal way. Richard J. Foster, a Quaker and author of the modern-day Christian classics Celebration of Discipline and Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home, is a longtime student of various forms of prayer. Through his studies and experience, he has encapsulated contemplative prayer into three stages: recollection, the prayer of quiet and spiritual ecstasy." -- James Goll

It is important to not gloss over this thinking because it is at the heart of so many of the heresies we see today. It is not understanding the truth about our relationship with God. He is the Creator and we are the created. He is the Lord and thus we are His servants. It sounds so pious to say we now relate to Him on the throne of our hearts but the problem is in forgetting to relate to Him on His throne in heaven. That is what leads to false worship like "I am a friend of God" instead of realizing I am a servant of God. We need to stop singing about friendship and get back to teaching the truths of Lordship. Let's see now the three stages of this false Christian practice:

"Recollection. Phase one is recollection, which means letting go of all competing distractions. That is the idea behind Psalm 46:10a: "Be still and know that I am God." Some translations reflect a more contemporary focus: "Relax and let go, and know that I am God." There is a correlation here between the inner knowing, in a revelatory way, of God's great love for us, and repentance on our part. "Repentance" means to turn away from sin and turn to God. In recollection, it means turning away from all competing distractions in order to focus on the Lord and His presence. While resting in quietness, we ask the Holy Spirit to make Jesus real to us and close off everything else. Foster teaches that one way to do this is to see Jesus sitting in a chair across from us. He truly is present, but sometimes we need help to visualize that reality. God created our imagination and, like every other faculty we possess, we need to sanctify it, surrender it and use it for God's purposes." -- James Goll

That is most definitely NOT what is behind Psalm 46:10a. Remember Goll is setting up this façade that contemplative prayer is Christian so he must twist the bible to make it appear so. Now I have no issue with shutting out noise when we are praying but Goll wants to go much further than that. If the Holy Spirit is indwelt why do we need to ask to make Jesus real to us? To accomplish this Goll recommends practicing another famous part of Eastern Mysticism -- visualization. Did I miss the chapter in Acts where Paul practiced yoga, meditation and visualization?

"Our ability to flow in the gift of working of miracles, including creative miracles, comes in part from our surrendering to the Lord our imagination, because that is where we begin to believe the impossible. Utilizing our imagination in contemplation is perfectly appropriate and one of the best uses to which we can put it when we ask God to sanctify and fill our senses with His Spirit. This is not the same as New Age imaging but simply what Brother Lawrence called "the practice of the presence of God." If frustrations and distractions press in on us, we need a strategy for shutting them out. Madame Jeanne Guyon, the French Christian mystic of the late 17th and early 18th centuries and a pioneer of contemplative prayer, had a strategy to deal with this problem. She wrote that when competing distractions vie for our attention, we should muse, meditate on, ponder and mutter Scripture. Meditating on Scripture helps us refocus our attention on the Lord." -- James Goll

Arrgghh. We do not "flow in the gift of miracles beloved. The Holy Spirit decides who gets what gifts and when. There is certainly no scriptural basis for the notion that surrendering our imagination will lead to us performing miracles. I would also argue that my belief in the impossible begins with my faith -- not my imagination. My faith is in Christ but my imagination resides in my deceitful heart. This is new age imaging. Do not be fooled.

"The Prayer of Quiet. As we grow accustomed to the unifying grace of recollection, we are ushered into the second phase of contemplative prayer--what St. Teresa of Avila and many others called "the center of quiet," or the prayer of quiet. Through recollection, we have put away all obstacles of the heart, all distractions of the mind and all vacillations of the will. Divine graces of love and adoration wash over us like ocean waves, and at the center of our being, we are hushed. There is a stillness, to be sure, but it is a listening stillness. Something deep inside us has been awakened and brought to attention, and our spirit is now on tiptoe, alert and listening. Then comes an inward steady gaze of the heart, sometimes called "beholding the Lord." Now we bask in the warmth of His dear embrace. As we wait before God, He graciously gives us a teachable spirit. Our goal, of course, is to bring this contentment into our everyday expressions of life, but this does not normally come quickly. However, as we experience more and more of the inward attentiveness to His divine whisper, we will begin to carry His presence throughout our day. Just as smoke is absorbed into our clothing and we carry its smell with us, so the aroma of God's presence seeps into our being, and we become carriers of His fragrance wherever we go." -- James Goll

Step one was visualization and step two is what new age mystics call centering. Once again abandoning reasoning and rationale is not "spiritual" in the way we think. What Goll and supporters of this false doctrine forget is we battle against powers, rulers of this present darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Not a good mix when you are exposed through the false stillness of visualization and centering. Do not lose sight of this beloved. We need our wits about us to resist the devil and know his schemes. We need to be able to pull scripture out from inside of us to combat his wicked schemes. How did Kim Walker Smith not realize she was being lied to by demons? Because while centered in her visualizations she left her bible and common sense far far behind. How does false prophetess Jennifer Leclaire see imaginary sneaky squid spirits that seem so real to her? Because she is in a spiritual battle against wickedness in high places and she is unarmed. Keep your nonsense about visualizing and centering! Give me the surety and scripture! Goll concludes:

"Spiritual Ecstasy. The third phase of contemplative prayer is spiritual ecstasy. Anyone who has ever been around prophetic, seer-type people knows they tend to be quiet in nature. They calm themselves, many times even closing their eyes, and wait in an almost passive repose. In that place of quiet detachment from the reality around them, illumination--the spirit of revelation--is granted, and their being becomes filled with God's pictures, thoughts and heart. This is the way it works with me. I apply the blood of Christ to my life and quiet my external being. Then I worship the Lord and bask in the beauty of His presence. He next takes me into rooms permeated with the light of His love and fills my being with visions He desires me to see. At times, I am so captured by His love that He leads me up higher into a heavenly place where my spirit seems to soar." -- James Goll

What an unbiblical mess. While it may be spiritual ecstasy it is not the Holy Spirit. This is the same garbage taught at Bethel and IHOP and other centers for mysticism disguised as Christianity. At Bethel they teach all of their worship leaders that they are prophetic, no need for the Holy Spirit to give out the gifts. They teach them this same dangerous practice of emptying themselves and listening for whatever wicked thought or picture pops into their heads and ascribing it to God. Remember that Walker-Smith claimed what she experienced as a "waking visitation" meaning she was awake and not dreaming. By leaving the bible behind, emptying his sense of being and looking for pictures or thoughts, James Goll opens himself up to all sorts of demonic assault and deception. What is worse is he is trying to teach it as doctrine. Did Jesus teach spiritual ecstasy? How about Paul or any of the apostles? Of course not. Mercifully, Goll concludes:

"Spiritual ecstasy, the final step in contemplative prayer, is not an activity we undertake but a work God does in us. Ecstasy is contemplative prayer taken to the nth degree. Even recognized authorities in the contemplative prayer life acknowledge that it is generally a fleeting experience rather than a staple diet. Another way to describe the ecstatic state is to say someone is "inebriated" with God's presence. To an outside observer, a person caught up into the realm of the Spirit and taken to a rapturous place may appear drunk. The essence of this experience is to be overwhelmed with God's presence, whether or not we see any pictures or hear any words. Ultimately, the goal of our passionate pursuit is not an experience at all, but Christ Himself. As we learn to be still and know that He is God and commune with Him in our inner being, we will realize we were created for fellowship with Him--and our inward life will provide the power for us to go forth to do His works." -- James Goll

Inebriated with God's presence. Really. After all the biblical warnings against drunkenness. After knowing that self-control is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Beloved do not fall for this nonsense. Spiritual ecstasy is the latter Rain movement. Spiritual ecstasy holy laughter and the Brownsville deception. Spiritual ecstasy is the holy ghost bartender, toking in the spirit, and Heidi baker's silly "shabba" rants. False teachers used to be more careful than this. They used to disguise their heresies better but today they know they do not have to because the church just laps it up. Contemplative prayer is not a Christian practice. Christians do not need to visualize, center themselves, repeat chant, mantras or chakras. If you want to draw closer in intimacy with God do not abandon the one thing that can bring you there -- His Word. Leave the inebriated James Goll to roll around on the floor until Jesus comes. As the key verse says -- pray with your mind too beloved.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- February 27, 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.