Wow. Let's deal with the obvious. That lady was not being ministered to by the Holy Spirit. The spirit of God does not make you lose control and laugh like an idiot. That was the nonsense from Toronto. Secondly, Burton describes a Sunday church service that was completely out of control for two hours and then presents the pastor as being the villain for daring to bring the Word of God! Is the purpose of church service to laugh, collapse, or sing? No. It is to be edified through the preaching of God's Word. Just read Acts 2! There is no holy laughter or silly manifestations. The verse he quotes from Acts is actually taken from the Prophet Joel and nowhere does it say your young men will babble in incoherent tongues. Nowhere does it say your old men will laugh uncontrollably.
Yet this is what modern charismania has done to church. It has become a personal playground for people to play a super spiritual game. The experiential church that Burton advocates for encourages people to assign anything that comes into their deceitfully wicked hearts as having come from the Lord. The sad thing is that this brings a black eye to the true charismata and drives many people into Cessationism. Burton closes his piece by declaring church should never be boring to which I reply; church should never be demonic. The chaos, self-aggrandizement, and marginalization of the Word are all schemes of the devil. Read the chapter the key verse comes from and see how God specifically outlines a church service. The Holy Spirit would not make you collapse, roll around on the floor, bark like a dog, or laugh uncontrollably. Am I charismatic? Yes I believe the gifts of the spirit are still in operation although grossly misused by the apostate church. Am I Charismaniacal? No because none of what they believe and promote is remotely found in the bible.
Reverend Anthony Wade -- November 7, 2018
