Dear Dr. MacArthur,

I have admired you as an able writer and speaker for years. I have not only read your book Strange Fire but listened to your talks as well as the panel discussions at your recent conference. I am as Reformed theologically as you are and can say we are on the same page when it comes to many issues you address.

I was not prepared, however, for some of the things you said. I had to reread some parts to be sure you said what I thought you said.

First, if your book purports the danger of offending the Holy Spirit with counterfeit worship, I fear you are in greater danger of offending the Holy Spirit by attributing His work to Satan. Does this not worry you? You are risking an awful lot by counting on cessationism to be totally true. You have tried to turn the hypothetical teaching of cessationism into dogma.

Second, surprisingly, you imply that my predecessor Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones would agree with you. A major portion of my own book Holy Fire is devoted to what he believed regarding the gifts, the baptism and the immediate witness of the Holy Spirit. He was no cessationist; he loathed cessationism. Nearly every Pentecostal and charismatic in Britain knew he was their friend. Not only that, but he turned more of them into Reformed thinkers than anybody in the 20th century. He would be horrified that you dismiss as demonic all contemporary testimonies of experiencing the direct work of the Spirit. According to you, my own baptism with the Spirit was demonic even though it led me to Reformed theology without reading a single word of John Calvin.

Third, to be consistent, if you have got it right, we should counsel new Christians to disregard many Scriptures, such as those that encourage us to believe Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8), that He still shows us when we are on the wrong track (Phil. 3:15), that the Holy Spirit cannot speak today as He did to Philip (Acts 8:29) or that we should covet earnestly the best gifts (1 Cor. 12:31).

I hope you will consider reading my book. It will do you no harm and, just maybe, you might hear God speak to you in a way you never thought possible. I only pray with all my heart that you have not gone too far already. In the second panel discussion at your conference you actually said, “I know I am wrong somewhere.” If so, who would you listen to? Would you not want to know as soon as possible if you have got it wrong on those matters you are so dogmatic about?

If I knew for sure it would be honoring to God, for the sake of sincere Christians who are fence-straddling on cessationism, I would ask that you and I have a civil debate (presidential style) on the issue of cessationism. Could we pray about this?

R.T. Kendall

R.T. Kendall was the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London from 1977 to 2002. He now lives in Nashville, TN. He is a well-known speaker and the author of many books. 

Last week I penned a column that exposed a sinister plot to deceive the saints. In “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing Actively Working in Pentecostal Church,” I revealed that unbelievers pretending to be Christians are integrating themselves into Pentecostal churches only to feign falling away from the faith—just to see your reaction. Indeed, they are doing that and more.

My column uncovers that “Wolf” (that’s what I call him because he won’t reveal his true identity) and a friend are fully participating as conservative believers in a Oneness Pentecostal church. The overarching goal is to develop close relationships with members of the congregation and to begin ministering and speaking and doing ministerial projects for the church—all to see how the pastors and members react in a year or so “when [their] planned apostasy takes place.”

It turns out wolves don’t like to be exposed before their time—and this one is biting back. Wolf wrote two responses to my expose on his false plot: “So I Thought You Could Discern the Spirits? (A Response to Charisma News)” and “How the Church Brainwashes You With Threats (Continuing Response to Jennifer LeClaire).”

In one of his letters to me, Wolf discusses some of his findings to date in his self-described “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing Project.” Wolf says he’s amazed at how much the threat of apostasy is mentioned, directly or indirectly, in church. He asks us to “imagine an authority figure who you love and trust constantly repeating to you: YOU SUCK, I HATE YOU, YOU SUCK, I HATE YOU, YOU SUCK, I HATE YOU.”

“Whatever hurtful things someone we love and/or who has authority over us says over and over again will begin to echo and create insecurities even long after the abuse has stopped if it is not dealt with properly,” he argues. “And this is my experience, not only in this project, but in my years attending churches (many, many kinds of churches). The threat of punishment as the consequence of not believing or doing certain things is drilled into the heads of the faithful.” He claims preachers don’t care—that they are abusing people in the name of God.

Wolf also offers an angry, sarcastic howl concerning praying in the Spirit, prophesying and miracles. In effort to prove that gifts of the Spirit are questionable, he charges that “if people were really close to God at the very least they would not fall for my anthropologically and existentially driven shenanigans.”

“Not only that, but God could inspire a prophesy or a tongues and interpretation that reveals the whole situation for what it is,” he continues. “If this happened and I was sure that it was divine then I would certainly come to the altar on bent knee and worship the God who performs miracles and knows my heart.”

Thanks for the prayer request, Wolf. You can count on many thousands of people praying that you come to experience the love of God, which passes head knowledge (Eph. 3:19). I’m concerned for your soul, and I’m not trying to scare you out of apostasy. Your words suggest that you’ve experienced spiritual abuse in the church. I understand how that leaves a wound that needs healing. Please check out my article on “Spiritual Abuse, Christian Cults and Controlling Ministries.” I get it.

Wolf, I agree with you that some churches are emotionally abusive and use fear to control people. And again, it sounds like you’ve experienced this firsthand. But that doesn’t make Jesus any less Lord. What if, instead of going into church fighting against God, you went into church simply seeking the truth? And maybe try a denomination different than the one in which you suffered abuse?

Wolf, the Lion of the tribe of Judah will set you free from your doubts, your fears and your pain. The Great Shepherd wants to transform you from a self-proclaimed wolf in sheep’s clothing that seeks to devour the faith of others into a blameless sheep with faith to prophesy and move in the gifts of the spirits you’ve shunned.

I don’t know who you really are, Wolf. But God knows your real name, and He loves you passionately. It’s not His fault some church leaders are abusive. So I pray—and I call on everyone reading this column—to pray for Wolf. Intercede for his soul fervently. I pray that whether it’s through a prophecy that reveals your “anthropologically and existentially driven shenanigans” or through some other experience, you come to the saving grace of the living God, one who would never tell you, “YOU SUCK, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, YOU SUCK, I HATE YOU.”

God is love. And He’s waiting on you, Wolf.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at [email protected] or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

With mainline religious congregations dwindling across America, a smattering of churches are trying to attract new members by creating a different sort of Christian community, according to an NPR report this week. They are coming together to sip craft beer.

“Some church groups are brewing it themselves, while others are bring[ing] the Holy Mysteries to a taproom. The result is not sloshed congregants; rather, it’s an exploratory approach to do church differently,” NPR reports.

As the story goes, 30 to 40 people flood Zio Carlo brewpub in Fort Worth, Texas, to nosh on pizzas, kick back pints of beer and fellowship. This so-called Church-in-a-Pub also has a worship service complete with Communion.

Irreverent? Sacrilegious? Even Christians who aren’t teetotalers may have a problem with washing down their Holy Communion with beer their pastor brewed in his backyard. But it seems quite popular with the 20-somethings.

“I find the love, I find the support, I find the non-judgmental eyes when I come here,” Leah Stanfield, a 28-year-old who occasionally leads worship at the pub, told NPR. “And I find friends that love God, love craft beer.”

Some Lutherans are willing to put down on that. The regional council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America last month officially named Church-in-a-Pub a “synodically authorized worshipping community.” And get this—in true missional style, the church plans to anoint a pastor to take the beer-and-Bible concept into other pubs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Meanwhile, in Houston, St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church kicks it up a notch with a weekly Sunday afternoon party with beer, boudin, and red beans and rice from the church’s kitchen, NPR also reports. Most of the Creole Catholics at the service hail from Louisiana.

“We dance and we praise God and it does talk about dancing in the Bible! It’s just great,” parishioner Bennie Allen Brooks told NPR.

These aren’t isolated events. I wrote a few weeks ago about a pastor who drinks beer in the name of Jesus at a bar-based Bible study. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported members from Valley Church in Allendale, Mich., gather in a bar under the banner “What Would Jesus Brew?”

“My name is Darin,” the Methodist congregation’s 37-year-old music director said, grinning, according to the Journal. “And I like me a 30-pack of Busch Light!”

Really? A 30-pack of Busch Light? I hope he was kidding, but even still, I find it shocking that a worship leader would quip about drinking enough to intoxicate an elephant, or at least a large horse.

Call me conservative, but isn’t promoting brewsky on tap for the sake of being nonreligious to attract more people to your church a prime example of being of the world rather than just in the world? (See John 15:19.) Whatever happened to separating the profane from the holy (Ezek. 22:26). Having church or doing evangelism is one thing, but basing your church-growth strategy on beer is quite another. Have evangelism and church-growth strategies really come down to compromising with the spirit of the world? God forbid!

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at  [email protected] or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

Jesus warned us of wolves in sheep’s clothing, and there’s been plenty of speculation about who these false prophets are in the modern-day church.

As it turns out, it’s not just preachers who may fit the bill. It seems unbelievers pretending to be Christians are integrating themselves into Pentecostal churches only to feign falling away from the faith—just to see your reaction.

Indeed, that’s the stated goal of the Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing Project. Its mastermind, who goes unnamed on his blog FindingDoubt.com, describes it as a “social and psychological experiment where myself and a friend integrate ourselves into a highly conservative religious community without informing the community that we are skeptics. In fact, not only is that information left out, but during our time there we worship, discuss the truth of the Bible with congregants, and otherwise fully participate as conservative believers.”

According to “Wolf,” as we’ll call him since even his domain registration ownership is cloaked, all over the world there are atheists, agnostics, skeptics, secularists and the liberally religious who attend conservative churches for the purpose of social coherence.

“These are people who don’t want to rock the boat, so when their opinions have changed their fellow believers are none the wiser,” Wolf says. “The only difference is that this project is intentional, has specific goals, and we are there to present ourselves as radical men of faith.”

Wolf and his friend reportedly have already infiltrated an unnamed Pentecostal church. Why the Pentecostal church? Wolf was an atheist-turned-Oneness Pentecostal in his teenage years. By his own admission, he preached, taught, ministered, evangelized, counseled, danced and rolled on the floor in the United Pentecostal Church Incorporated—until he started doubting doctrines involving salvation and Christology.

Wolf then became what he calls a “charismatic fundamentalist” who started studying biblical languages and going to as many as seven Christian groups and services a week. Over time, he says he “gained a more critical eye” for the Bible and adopted a more skeptical philosophy.

Wolf claims he and his friend are active members of a Oneness Pentecostal church. He says they worship during the service, speak in tongues loudly during prayer times, and discuss the Bible with conviction. One of the project’s goals is to “truly feel like believers” and “observe as insights when we are actually outsiders.”

Even now, Wolf is actively working to develop close relationships with members of the congregation, to begin ministering, and speaking and doing ministerial projects for the church—all to see how they react in a year or so “when our planned apostasy takes place.”

This is wicked. I wonder if they’ll prophesy over people as part of their “ministering, speaking and ministerial projects.” I wonder how much false doctrine they will insert into this community of believers. I wonder how many seeds of doubt they will plant in the congregation. I wonder how many people will be shocked and hurt when they find out these people, whom they came to know and care about, have turned their backs on Christ, not realizing that in reality, they turned their backs on Christ long ago and are merely pretenders seeking to wreak havoc in the church.

No, these may not be the false prophets that come dressed in sheep’s clothing that Jesus warned us about in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:15). But they are nevertheless behaving like ravenous wolves. If they infiltrated your church, would you know them by their fruit? I pray that the body of Christ rises up in greater discernment in this hour, where pretenders are making sport of us in our own churches for their own amusement. And, moreover, I pray that Wolf and his friend—in the midst of their evil experiment—come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ for real so they can shed the disguise and embrace their loving Shepherd.  

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at  [email protected] or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

On the proverbial eve of releasing his new book, Strange Fire, Pastor John MacArthur hosted a conference at his church by the same name. The Strange Fire Conference was Oct. 16-18, 2013 and was dedicated to attacking Pentecostal and charismatic Christians.

Before I continue, I would like to state unequivocally that I have a great deal of respect for what Pastor MacArthur has accomplished. He serves in a thriving congregation that has done much for the Kingdom of God. Many lost have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ under his leadership and ministry. There is a lot he is doing that I believe is – as Philippians 4 says – “true, noble, right, and pure”.

With that being said, I believe that his stance on the gifts of the Spirit, support of cessationism, and his related and unrelenting attacks upon his brothers and sisters who believe and walk in the fullness of the Spirit are – quite simply – wrong.

With real threats like militant Islam, creeping socialism, moral breakdown, government meltdown, crime and violence, it would seem that there are other targets of greater importance in the battle against the enemy of our souls than those who reside within the walls of the church. Yet, in his new book Strange Fire, MacArthur “opens fire” on fellow Christians. The famed pastor and teacher, who (it appears) has become the resident theologian for Southern Baptists and many evangelists, is continuing his attack on Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians with the publication of his book, as well as last week’s conference.

As the modern arbiter of cessationism, MacArthur is of the belief that the miraculous gifts ceased with the death of the last apostle or at the closing of the Biblical canon (around 100A.D.).

The problem is that this approach has no Biblical support and very little historical validation. His views are simply a regurgitation of the late B. B. Warfield’s views. The teachings of Warfield were a reaction to the events surrounding “Azusa Street” and the mighty Pentecostal awakening in the early 20th century!

I have absolutely no doubt that there are extremists, heretics, and hypocrites among us in every belief circle and corner of Christendom. However, Pentecostal Christianity is the fastest growing part of God’s Kingdom worldwide. It is obvious from what I read, have heard reported by witnesses, and have observed with my own eyes that miracles, signs, wonders, and gifts have not ceased. I have personally witnessed miraculous events, not just within the walls of Abba’s House, but in other churches throughout America, and foreign countries as well.

Cessationism (birthed by Calvinism) is killing both the spirit and the mission heart of Evangelicals. I wish this blog gave me adequate space for a full answer, but it does not. However, in my Essential Guide series of books on the Holy Spirit, I deal Biblically, historically, clearly, and spiritually with all of MacArthur’s attacks.

For more than 30 years, Ron Phillips has been the pastor of Abba’s House (formerly Central Baptist Church) in Hixson, Tenn. As a lifelong Southern Baptist, a dramatic encounter with the Holy Spirit in 1989 changed his life and ministry to one that grasps who we really are in Christ and the gifts and fullness that are available to us through a Spirit-filled life. His television program, Abba’s House With Pastor Ron Phillips, blends solid biblical exposition with a simplicity anyone can understand. In addition, for 14 years, Phillips hosted the daily 15-minute radio program CenterPoint across the nation via radio and throughout the world via the Internet. He has now authored more than 20 books, including Awakened by the Spirit, Our Invisible Allies, Everyone’s Guide to Demons and Spiritual Warfare, The Foundations on the Holy Spirit series and his latest release from Charisma House, A God-Sized Future.

The Bible teaches us to “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7), and in another place it tells us to flee lusts (1 Tim. 6).

Many great people in God have fallen into various fleshly temptations and potentially ruined their lives and ministries. One person has said, “It takes a lifetime to build integrity and a minute to lose it.” This is a true saying!

I believe one of the most important reasons is because most have never intentionally set up mental and emotional firewalls—by firewall, I mean something that acts as a barrier so that the temptation does not easily penetrate the heart. Proverbs 4:23 instructs us to guard our heart because out of it flows the issues of life.

Most people have no firewalls set up; thus, as soon as a strong temptation comes their way, the only thing stopping them from sinning is their own will power, which is based upon the spiritual and emotional condition they are in during the moment of said test. However, in order for the enemy to trip me up and get me to fall into adultery, he would have to get through not only my will power but five layers of firewalls I have set up to protect my soul. (I would  include pornography in this category of adultery because it can eventually lead to full-blown experiential adultery if there is no repentance.)

No firewall is foolproof; of course, the only primary way to resist temptation is to be in the strength of the Lord, as Ephesians 6:10-13 teaches. However, there are times we may not be at a high level of spiritual and emotional strength or times when we are caught off guard; thus, firewalls are something the Holy Spirit can use to further strengthen our resolve.

The following are some of the firewalls I have set up:

1. Not losing my intimate fellowship with the Lord. By far, the most important relationship I have in my life is my friendship and covenant with the Lord. I told the Lord when I first started in the ministry that I will never allow the ministry to be so consuming that I do not have time to pray and walk in His manifest presence. Growing and knowing the presence and person of the Lord is the main reason we were born, and I never want to exchange this walk with the Lord for any earthly pleasure. (Read Eph. 4:30.)

2. Not destroying the trust my spouse and children have in me. Besides the Lord, the greatest call and joy of my life is the family God has entrusted to me. Before I fall into temptation, I will think about the commitment I have to my wife and how I would not want to devastate her. Worse yet, I would never want to do anything that would destroy the way my children view me and possibly hurt their own view of the Lord and His church. Our greatest legacy will be the life we lead, which is the inheritance we pass on to our children’s children. (Read Prov. 13:22.)

I want my legacy to include leaving a generational blessing to my biological family that will continue to speak after I am long gone. (Read Heb. 11:4.)

3. Not compromising the purpose and call of God upon my life. I believe a person can derail their purpose and call of God upon their life with the choices they make. I have worked more than 35 years to fulfill the call of God upon my life, and I do not want to blow it for momentary pleasure. 

4. Not discouraging my spiritual sons and daughters. I have only five biological children, but I have many close spiritual sons and daughters. I have seen and read about the faith of many church members and/or spiritual children of leaders disillusioned with the things of God because of leadership failure. Of course, I have also seen incredible restoration and transformation in the lives of fallen leaders because they repented and climbed back up the mountain of their great calling for God.

The bottom line is people need to put their eyes upon Jesus more than their leader. But, I do not want to allow foolishness in fleshly pursuit to place a stumbling block in their life. 

5. Not bringing shame to the gospel before the world. The last (but not least) firewall in my life is not wanting to bring shame to the gospel before the world. The more influence I have, the more temptation and tests I will experience, so I need to always have these firewalls up and continually inspect them to make sure there are no cracks in them. The flesh-driven scandals of the 1980s set back the reputation of the evangelical church in this nation for many decades, and I do not want to set back the gospel in my family, community or city. 

In conclusion, I speak about the need to have these five firewalls in my life because I know that, like all other humans, I am fragile, born with a wicked, sinful nature, and have to watch and pray lest I fall into temptations (Matt. 26:41). Part of way I “watch” is the construction and maintenance of these firewalls. But unless I pray and walk in the presence and power of the Spirit, no amount of firewalls will be able to protect me from my wicked flesh.

Joseph Mattera is overseeing bishop of Resurrection Church, Christ Covenant Coalition, in Brooklyn, N.Y. You can read more on josephmattera.org or connect with him on Facebook or Twitter.

– See more at: http://ministrytodaymag.com/index.php/ministry-leadership/ethics/20482-the-five-firewalls-needed-to-resist-sexual-sin#sthash.ILdIobS6.dpuf

Pastor Jack Hayford presided over the remarriage of Benny and Suzanne Hinn earlier this year. But fewer know how much Hayford helped the Hinns after their marriage fell apart.

Hinn doesn’t mince words: “Jack Hayford saved my life. He saved my life, no doubt. I love that man with depth. I mean, I love him, like, beyond words. Pastor Jack saved my life. I can actually say that with absolute honestly. He not only saved my life; he saved Suzanne’s life and saved our marriage. Pastor Jack Hayford is the loveliest, sweetest man. I really, really, truly, big-time love him.”

Hinn told Charisma News how angry he was when he went to visit Hayford, about once a month. He was angry with his ex-wife, angry with the situation—just angry. But Hinn says, “he loved on me—and that’s what I think began to break me. He was not condemning me. He was loving me.”

During the restoration process, Hayford told Hinn to take his ex-wife to a movie.

“I said, ‘OK, Pastor, which movie?’ He said, “Les Miserables. You take her and spend time with her.” And I said, “OK.” So we did. Man, they sang every line in that movie. They sang and sang and sang. It’s a beautiful story,” Hinn says.

“But since we’ve been remarried, I’ve watched at least 20 movies with her alone. I’ve spent more time with her probably in the last few months than I did in 30 years. We watch movies together at home, and we hold each other. She’ll say to me, ‘Why didn’t you do this when we were married?’ I say, ‘I don’t know’.”

Either the devil isn’t fleeing or one demon is lined up right after the other to take the last one’s place—at least that’s the thought that crosses my mind in seasons of heavy spiritual warfare. I’m resisting the devil all right, but it sure doesn’t seem like he’s fleeing—much less fleeing seven ways (Deut. 28:7).

Despite resisting with all my might, sometimes the enemy continues raging against me like he’s deaf or oblivious to the power in the name of Jesus. Yet I know God is not a man that He should lie (Num. 23:19). The Word is absolutely 100 percent true all the time, without fail. And God’s Word says every knee must bow to the name of Jesus (Phil. 2:10). So what gives?

When God’s Word doesn’t seem to be working, this I know: It’s not God’s Word that’s not working. Usually, we’re either missing some revelation or doing something wrong somewhere—whether we realize it or not. Either way, we need a revelation!

With that in mind, let’s look at this “resist the devil” Scripture in context. The Bible actually says, “He gives more grace. Therefore He says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:6-8).

Isn’t that a far cry from what you hear in some spiritual warfare circles?

Who’s Resisting Whom?

First of all, that word resist is from the Greek word anthístēmi, which means to “take a complete stand against” or a “contrary position” and “refusing to be moved.” Well, we can’t take a complete stand against an enemy with whom we are standing in some measure of agreement. When you keep this Scripture in context, then, it offers a clue about why the devil may not flee: We aren’t fully submitted to God. That’s why it’s a good idea to repent and glorify God before engaging the enemy.

Here’s one example. We may be flowing in pride that’s causing God to resist us even while we’re trying to resist the devil. Indeed, we can actually take pride in our spiritual warfare skills—and many do. I came out of a spiritual warfare camp some years ago that was especially proud of its brute battle force. We considered ourselves the Navy Seals of spiritual warfare. Yet the devil rarely fled. It seemed like there was never any lasting breakthrough. Even David has seasons of rest from war (2 Sam. 7:1).

Again, pride in our spiritual warfare skills can cause us to stumble before our enemies because God resists the proud and give grace to the humble. We need the grace of God to overcome our enemies. Flaunting our spiritual warfare skills like a boastful five-star general will most certainly lead to some measure of defeat at some point.  

King Ahab, Jezebel’s husband and a mighty warrior who posted many victories, was certainly full of pride. God’s prophet Micaiah clearly told him what no other false prophet on his payroll dared: that he would lose if he went to battle in Ramoth Gilead (1 Kings 22:17-23). Instead of heeding the voice of God’s prophet, proud Ahab arrested the man of God and ran to the battle line anyway. He was killed in battle.

Jesus Is Not a Magic Word

By the same token, you can’t toss around the name of Jesus like it’s some magic word. True and lasting victory comes not only through faith in the name of Jesus but also intimate relationship with Him. You can’t have consistent warfare-winning faith in a God you don’t really know because when the pressure is on, you need to truly know He’s got your back. Our revelation of Jesus as warrior and our submission to Him as king play a role in sending the devil packing.

Remember the itinerant Jewish exorcists who took it upon themselves to use the name of Jesus to cast out demons? They proclaimed, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches” (Acts 19:13). No intimacy there. Also, there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who took that same approach (v. 14). The devil wasn’t buying: “And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (vv. 15-16). How embarrassing!

See, these Jewish exorcists didn’t have a relationship with Jesus, so they really didn’t have faith in His name. They had faith in Paul’s ability to use His name, but you can’t cast out devils in the authority of your pastor. God has given us victory in warfare, but we need faith firmly rooted in Him before we can truly stand in our authority in Christ and enforce that victory in the face of our enemies.

Of course, there can be other reasons why the devil doesn’t flee. I don’t have all the answers—not by a long shot. Sometimes I really do think there’s just an onslaught of demons that come one after another. You command one to flee, and there’s another right there to take its place. But what I do know is this: If we worship God in the midst of the battle, He will war against our enemies. So while we shouldn’t hesitate to go on the offensive against our enemies with revelation from the Holy Spirit, I believe worshipping God generates the intimacy with His heart, the faith in His name and the humility we need to remain victorious in warfare no matter how many devils come rushing our way.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at   [email protected] or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.