Something Terrifying is Happening in Tons of Churches... | Voddie Baucham

Slain in the Spirit and Biblical Testing of Experiences

Now I want us to look at a practice known as being slain in the Spirit glory to God. You're not bound to this chair the day will come you'll walk out of it in the name of Jesus. Probably all of you have seen this either on television possibly even in person.

Oh God bless your bishop. I pray right now that you will continue to do everything you're doing. I pray his anointing will stay upon you. I pray the power of God all over you. I pray his favor, I pray the blood of Jesus will come upon you right now.

God I thank you for your blessing.

May the strength and the power of the Almighty God rest upon you Rest upon your life rest upon your life.

This practice called being slain in the spirit is extremely common among supposed Christian faith healers. And they are happy to perform this practice at their very public Crusades where it seems the entire audience is completely cooperative in being slain in the spirit.

Falling down every time the faith healer communicates in some way that it is time for them to fall down. Touch the squabble. But there's something very odd about this practice of being slain in the spirit.

This is your brain touch from the hand of pastor Benny Hinn. And believers are overcome by the presence of the Lord. So strong is the feeling they fall even if he just blows into the microphone. It's known as slaying in the spirit in prefers to call it falling under the power of God.

His critics even those who believe in faith healing say it's not the power of God. But the power of suggestion that makes people swoon. The people are worked up into a frenzy. They know what's expected of them and they do it.

I think it is theatrical and I think it is a gimmick.

Witness now how unclean spirits flee when the Reverend Hinn approaches.

Somebody says Why do you blow on people? I don't know. I just know that the Holy Spirit says do it and you know what it was.

Benny Hinn says he does not know why he does what he does and that the Holy Spirit simply tells him to do these Things. But is this really true? There is simply no way to verify that the Holy Spirit has actually spoken to Benny Hinn or these other faith healers to do These things.

Scripture Does Not Support Slain in the Spirit

To answer the question of whether this practice of being slain in the spirit is legitimate We ultimately need to look in Scripture.

Well as with Holy Ghost laughter, the question that needs to be asked is is this a biblical practice? Is there any scriptural support for it?

Of course these supposed Christian faith healers will try to argue that this practice is indeed found in the Bible. Let's take a look at some of the texts they try to use first in Matthew chapter 17 Jesus's disciples fell when they saw Jesus.

Transfigured. And the faith preachers would say yes. There is and they would appeal to a couple of texts in particular and I would like us to look at these. One of them. Is Matthew chapter 17? This is when Jesus was being transfigured and while Jesus yet spake a bright cloud Overshadowed them and behold a voice out of the cloud said this is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased Listen to him.

And when the disciples heard this they fell face down to the ground and were sore afraid. And the faith preachers would say see here were the disciples they were in the presence of God and they fell. Well, they did but there's a couple of points I think we need to make here.

Number one in all likelihood the disciples were not knocked down. They voluntarily lowered themselves down. And number two, which direction did the disciples go down face forward? Which direction do we see people fall when they're slain in the spirit backwards?

Well, that one won't work in this passage. People are voluntarily falling down on their knees before God not Involuntarily falling backwards because a preacher laid his hands on them. It really seems that falling backwards upon a preacher laying hands on someone is simply something that looks very good on stage.

A Performance that is designed to impress people and manipulate their emotions. It's starting to open up yeah. Another passage these supposed faith healers use is when the Roman soldiers fell down when they try to arrest Jesus.

But of course, this is an absolutely ridiculous passage to use to justify this absurd practice.

Well, they'll say what about John chapter 18? This is when Jesus was being arrested. So Jesus knowing all the things that were coming upon him went forth and said to them whom do you seek? They answered him Jesus of Nazareth.

He said to them I am so when he said to them I am that he is not really in the Greek. It's just a plot. They drew back and fell to the ground and the faith preachers would say see here were these men.

And they were. In the presence of God, not only did they fall but they even fell backwards and they did. But let's be intellectually honest here. Who were these people that were doing the falling. Were these believers?

No. These were the Roman soldiers coming to arrest Jesus. So this passage can hardly be taken as biblical support for a normative practice for us today.

Why Falling Backward Is Usually a Bad Sign in Scripture

It's extremely common throughout scripture for believers to fall to their knees in the presence of God. Because God is infinitely holy and majestic. What we do not find in scriptures is Pastors knocking people down when they lay hands on them.

In fact falling backwards is pretty much always a bad thing when it happens in Scripture.

In fact. It's interesting. You can look through the Bible and find a number of examples of people who are in the presence of God and they fell. In worship. David did so of the disciples here in Matthew 17 did so.

John did so in Revelation. But without exception they always fall forwards. They always lower themselves for any time somebody in Scripture finds themselves in the presence of God and they fall backwards.

It's always in judgment. This is not an experience after which I would be seeking the key to this practice of being slain in the spirit. Is that it's all about experience. Not at all about the Bible. People want to experience something powerful not to simply believe the words God has revealed through his holy scripture.

Even though scripture teaches in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 that it is completely sufficient for believers to live lives pleasing to God this book of truth.

Complete divine truth can produce an altogether righteous person. You don't need anything else this produces. Comprehensive righteousness, this is it. That's why it ends by saying do not add to this book Revelation 22 18 or 19.

If you do shall be added to you the plagues that are written in it. It's sufficient. It is the power of God to transform to make wise to give joy complete understanding. It is eternally relevant. It is absolute truth.

What a gift is one of the fundamental problems of the faith movement is that those who teach it and those who follow it? Interpret the Bible by what they experience rather than interpreting their experiences by the Bible.

Experience, Anti-Intellectualism, and Demonic Counterfeits

Which is how it should be friends. No matter how real an experience may seem to us if that experience does not belong with God's Word.

Then it's an illegitimate experience when we open ourselves up to anything that feels good anything that gives us adrenaline. Any experience that simply looks powerful. We open ourselves up to completely unbiblical even demonic practices that are utterly Antithetical to what scripture actually teaches and what the gospel actually is.

We talk about head knowledge as though it's a disease that needs to be cured right and so this idea of being a creed or confessional this idea of having Structure around our faith. My faith is all about my experience.

It's all about what I feel. It's all about what I know on the inside. We're more like Mormons to be honest. I bear you witness because of my own burning in the bosom. These things are true because of my internal witness to these things and in this mysticism and this anti-intellectualism.

We don't often gauge the rightness or wrongness of things by the facts that are presented. But instead we tend to gauge the rightness and wrongness of things based on the emotions that we experience. When they're presented that was powerful.

That was awesome. Did you recognize it? It was heretical. You're so judgmental.

Make no mistake. What these supposed faith healers are doing is absolutely unbiblical and it is far more demonic and evil than it is.

Christian we've exceeded what is written. We've exceeded biblical parameters and in so doing we open ourselves up to demonic influence and demonic suggestion. I believe the vast majority of people who are slain in the spirit.

It's just pure pressure. It's group dynamics mind over body that having been said. However I do believe that at times there are spiritual forces at work, but they are not of God. I think a lot of these especially the more extreme examples that was going on in Todd Bentley's meetings and people barking and I mean I saw all kinds of things.

I believe a lot of that vast majority of them probably demonic.

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