Avoid Pentecostal Heresies

This is why the Pentecostal church is led by the devil; they preach prosperity, seeking after self, and denying the pain of this world. Our physical illnesses are treated with disdain as though we are weak in faith because we have them. It causes distress when those who do not get healed do not thank God in the midst of their trials, but rather blame themselves for a lack of faith. The focus is on self, not on Christ.

 
Some of the people with the greatest faith loved God through all their trials, as Job did. It is not a lack of faith that admits the trials, just the opposite; it is faith that is demonstrated when we praise God in the middle of our discomfort. Nothing the devil does to us can deter us from trusting Christ.

God promised to heal our inner soul, not our physical being. When Christ said;
"Isaiah 53:5
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed."

He was saying we were healed of our sinful nature, not our physical maladies. Those who use this passage to claim no one has to be sick are using it completely out of context, causing fear and doubt in those who have lifelong illnesses. Not only does this deny the sovereignty of God, it lacks empathy and love.

Isaiah 53:6 "6 We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.…"

This is all about Spiritual healing. Everyone dies, everyone grows old as a condition of the fall of man. No one is exempt from illness or trials. To admit to them and trust Christ to go through with us is far more valuable than healing our physical bodies.

 
1 Peter 2:24
"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”

2 Corinthians 5:21
"God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

Christ healed people while He was on this earth to demonstrate Who He is, that is, God's Son. He didn't heal everyone, and illness has as much a purpose in our lives as physical healing would have. A life of ease without trials is one that does not come to wisdom or training in righteousness. It is the difficulties that bring us closer to Christ, more dependent on Him.

 
I have been ill a lot in my life, and each time the Lord healed me through the use of doctors, I praised Him more. It took years before I learned to thank Him for His purposes in the illness, knowing He goes through it all with me in everything.
Never allow prosperity thinking influence you to be ashamed of your illness, your trials or your loss of friends because you follow Christ. Those who blame you for being ill, claiming you lack faith, are themselves the ones who lack faith.

 
1 John 3:5
"But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin."
Christ healed our sin-sick nature on the cross when we trusted in Him, not our bodies that are dying. Everyone dies, everyone becomes ill before they die, to accomplish God's will that we will be going home.

 
Would we ever curse the illness God gave us that was going to send us home to be with Him? Not me!

Choose Your Companions Wisely

Our closest companions must be those who are walking the same path that we are walking, that is the narrow way with Christ.

 
1 Thessalonians 5:4-8
"4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief;
5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;
6 so then, let’s not sleep as others do, but let’s be alert and sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night.
8 But since we are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation."

Ephesians 5:8
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,"

Colossians 1:13
"He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,"

1 Peter 2:9
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

2 Corinthians 6:14
"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?"

What Bible Believers Say but do not Do!

Many "Bible believers" say they are such, but do not obey much of what is in it.

When we believe God's Word, we want to obey all of it, not just the parts we like. And, when we become dedicated to Christ, we love all that He told us, not just some to be able to claim they love Christ while negating Him through denial of His Word. Our love of Christ translates into loving His Word, His ways and thinking with His mind. This is only offensive to those who want to appear religious but do not care if they please God.

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "… 15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment. 16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ."

John 14:15 "15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."

Those who say they are Bible believers but negate the permanency of marriage are denying Jesus Christ because He is the very essence of His own word.

1 John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,"

1 John 3:22-24 "and we will receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us. Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us."

Luke 16:17-18 "17But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. 18Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery"

There have been several people in my life who have become angry at me and even gossiped because I came against divorce and remarriage. They hold their friends, families, and the culture above God's word while accusing me of being rude or mean for quoting the Bible.

 
You too, will meet with opposition and rejection when you desire to obey Christ in all things, actually acting out what you believe will bring about anger in others against you for merely speaking what God said.

 
Believing Jesus Christ is not just something to say to sound spiritual, it is a lifestyle of loving all His Word, confessing when we fail and desiring to be cleansed by Christ. This means there will be Spiritual growth and maturity with each passing day.

Philippians 2:5
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:"