Being "drunk in the spirit"?

Maybe your friend will be referring to Acts 2:

15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!


A lot of thing can seem uncomfortable at first, its always wise to pray about/test new things.

I am good friends with someone, who loves the Lord and is keen never to make a mockery of Him or to just accept any old fad that comes in His name, who claims to have been 'drunk in the spirit'. She is passionate about holiness and reaching out in love to those that need it through His power. Neither of us agree with some of the weirder things we have heard about in charismatic circles - but, then again, just because something is weird, does not mean it is not of God. If anything, most tightly planned, powerless Churches today are distinctly "weird" when one considers the power that is described as being present in the Early Church.

Perhaps it is just an unfortunate phrase to describe a genuine encounter with God's Spirit? Perhaps it is an experience of the Spirit akin to what happened when the glory of the Lord filled the temple in the Old Testament:

2 Chronicles 5: Then the temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.


I mean there's obviously a reason why people thought the apostles were drunk. I've read cessationist arguments that say all sorts of things - but would you really think someone was drunk if they were fluently speaking in lots of languages? I'd just think they're mighty clever.

Perhaps it is just an unfortunate phrase to express an experience of God that is so overpowering that one is unable to do what one can usually do for a period. Some may shout, 'Blasphemy! Everything must be in control!' What is control? Is it so odd that one may react physically to the Creator of the Universe? That one might be knocked out by His glory? When Paul encountered the Lord Jesus, what do you think he looked like? How did he walk; how did he speak afterwards? Was he shaken? What about when the 70 went away in the power of the Spirit to cast out demons, and later returned filled with joy?

When I read materials by those opposed to the Spirit's supernatural moving today, I am reminded of this oft-forgotten section in Luke 19:

36 As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. 37 When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”

I hope you find the truth in this matter! I am not entirely sure myself. But remember Jesus' promise:

Luke 11:11-13

11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

If you ask God for the Holy Spirit, He won't give you a demon. If the people you are talking about honestly asked JESUS for His Father's Spirit, they will not get anything else. Anyone who says otherwise is clearly ignoring Jesus' promise here! There's no two ways about it.

Do not step away from the supernatural gifts and experiences God has planned for you out of fear. The Bible is full of characters who had dreams, visions and who exhibited the miraculous power of God. Of course, repentance is first and foremost, but once we have repented, there is no need to ignore all the other aspects of spiritual life that God wants us to experience.

Slanky08 said:

So my fiancée and I have taken issue with things that are going on in our church and places of worship, some people talking about "being drunk in the spirit". I've felt a major check in my spirit over the concept of this, and the phrase alone bothers me. Whenever I hear that I immediately think of Ephesians 5:18. Where it makes a distinction between being drunk and then being filled with the Holy Spirit.

However, we've encountered a few people who continually mention being drunk in the spirit and it just sounds wrong to me. One of our friends claims he's found scripture supporting this. I haven't talked to him personally about it yet so I don't know which scripture he may be referring too but it sounds like it could possibly be a misinterpretation. The whole topic has led to some heated discussions and arguments between my fiancée and a friend of hers as well as myself and one or two others.

What do you guys think?

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Drunk in the spirit is just about right, drunk in an UNCLEAN spirit. It's FALSE, NON-BIBLICAL, and is a counterfeit.

The same as being SLAIN in the spirit. That is another FALSE, NON_BIBLICAL practice and is a counterfeit.

Whatever you desire, you can be sure the enemy will provide.

Blessings.

Elijah2 said:

Drunk in the spirit is just about right, drunk in an UNCLEAN spirit. It's FALSE, NON-BIBLICAL, and is a counterfeit.

The same as being SLAIN in the spirit. That is another FALSE, NON_BIBLICAL practice and is a counterfeit.

Whatever you desire, you can be sure the enemy will provide.

Blessings.

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Dear brother Elijah, please hear what I have to say. I am not attacking you - for I know you care about people finding truth. But I think you are going too far if you are saying that falling down under God's power is always counterfeit.

If somebody prays to God in the name of Jesus Christ for the Holy Spirit, and their experience of Him - the Spirit that hovered above the waters before the Earth was formed - is so overpowering that they fall to the ground, so be it. God is Magnificent and all powerful - a burning fire. We are mere weaklings, trembling in His presence. I have gone to the floor because of His conviction and His grace: I could stand no longer. I wonder how Paul's body reacted to the presence of Jesus, or John as he received His revelation? Or the priests in the temple, who were unable to do their duties because the Lord's presence filled the temple? But I will not ever accept it was a demon anyway, no matter what critics who weren't even there may say. Why? Because this is what Jesus promised:

Luke 11:11-13

11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

If you ask God for the Holy Spirit, He won't give you a demon. How can you sit behind a keyboard, and judge everyone who has encountered the Holy Spirit and fallen under His power as having experienced a demon? I don't see the Bible containing any examples of people reacting to almighty God with cold indifference like many Churches today either, but we're all fine with that.

People don't need to fall, and it shouldn't be encouraged. But if God is doing a powerful work in someone - removing hurts, convicting of Sin, even purging out demons, or giving joy - and that someone falls to the ground, or trembles, or screams, or cries - who are you to call it demonic? Should we stop ministering to people and delivering them because they might fall to the ground, or cry out? Of course our bodies might react to the Holy Spirit. I don't fall myself - I have only lay on the ground once in my life. I usually just weep if the Holy Spirit is doing a work in me. But regardless of how the flesh reacts to the presence of a Holy God, what is important is the FRUIT, the SPIRIT and the HEART behind the ministry. Whether we heal like Jesus did, with spit and saliva, or whether way quietly lay our hands on others - and whether we tremble, stand still in awe, or cry, is irrelevant.

Blessings.

Slanky08 said:

Very true, good word lismore.

Hey you're from Scotland! Right on, my parents and sister are journeying that way this summer (Edinburgh).

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Very nice. Im not too far from Edinburgh. Hope they have a great time!

I think it is a way of describing an encounter with God. I don't like it, I used to get drunk before I met Jesus, I hate the word 'drunk' and I hate using when describing anything to do with Him or God or the Holy Spirit.

But being filled with the Holy Spirit and appearing very is very biblical. Pentecost, after this event the disciples truly turned into world changers for Jesus, people thought they were drunk so they must of been doing something out of regular order....? Yes.

Paul tells us not to get drunk but be filled with the Holy Spirit... why the comparison? why the relationship between the two?

When people encounter the living God something has got to give.

When it happens to me, I prefer to say I was filled with the Holy Spirit. Also I have probably been filled with the Ghost of God 10 or 12 times in the last two months, over this period of time I am more free, more loving and closer to Him. Between me and my freinds we are now more unified than ever before as well.

If this is from the Devil as E2 suggests, then he is not doing his job very well.

Elijah2 said:

Drunk in the spirit is just about right, drunk in an UNCLEAN spirit. It's FALSE, NON-BIBLICAL, and is a counterfeit.

The same as being SLAIN in the spirit. That is another FALSE, NON_BIBLICAL practice and is a counterfeit.

Whatever you desire, you can be sure the enemy will provide.

Blessings.

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I think your God needs to get bigger E2. He has already beaten the Devil.

I have been in the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church for over 40 years.
It has been a good many years since I experienced being "drunk in the Spirit".
However the few times it happened, there was no questioning it.
It really happened.
It would be fine with me if it happened again. I would be glad to pass on fallng under the Spirit, face down in my mashed potatoes.

I am a preacher's kid who fell away into drugs and alcohol in my 20's, and have recently come back to Christ over the past few years in my 30's after encountering a variety of unclean spirits (long story). My cousin is a Vineyard church Pastor in Idaho, and a few year's ago I was coming to him, desperate to be free from a few things happening to me that I could not explain (it has since gotten better through other Christian leadership). I was not familiar with Vineyard at that time, but after researching a few things afiliated with that church, it scared me, and I no longer sought my cousin's council (no offence to solid Vinyard churches in the Lord).

What I did find were things like 'drunk' in the spirit, and 'slain' in the spirit, and other things foreign to me. In particular, there was a movement coined 'The Toronto Blessing', which first came out of Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship church, which used to be Vineyard. I read about this 'blessing' that swept Canada, the U.S., and other areas of the world, and I couldn't believe what I was reading. People were having spiritual '[bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]' in the aisle, barking like a dog, and other just plain weird stuff. How can this be of the Lord?

Just because a spirit comes over a person and says it is the Holy Spirit means that it is the Holy Spirit without question? Based upon what I've been through in my life, it is folly to just 'go with' any spirit that says it is the Holy Spirit, just because a person is calling upon a 'spiritual' experience.

Just look up 'The Toronto Blessing' on Youtube to see what I mean (my post count is too low to post links, as I've been mostly a lurker on this forum ). The man who led that first movement, John Scotland, has a spirit within him similar to that of what I saw with Todd Bentley (please don't turn this into a 'Todd Bentley' thread). It is foreign to me, and from what I have read in the Bible, it is not a spirit of God at all.

OnMyWaytoFreedom said:

Just look up 'The Toronto Blessing' on Youtube to see what I mean (my post count is too low to post links, as I've been mostly a lurker on this forum ).

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Here you go:

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvSjFZvZLos


I disagree with your assessment of the situation though. As well as with Elijah2. We get to know God through experiencing Him, not just reading stories about how other people experienced Him back in the Bible days. So things will end up being different than what the Bible spells out exactly, because God is still alive and still asking His people to trust and follow Him.

I've found that living the lifestyle of the biblical characters is much different then living according to the religion built off of reading their stories.

Me personally...I don't like being forced to do things at all. If however the atmosphere is non-intrusive in that manner and allows you to seek God in your own way, then I would probably be right at home. It does not bother me at all someone falling out in the Spirit as long as they don't expect me to do it just because they are.


I think what Tobias says is a tremendous insight. We have to seek Him and we have to be open to what He (not people) wants to do in us and through us.

If you can seek God in that atmosphere then that is all you can really ask for in my opinion.


Talk to God about it and do what you believe He is leading you to do. There is no cut and dry right or wrong answer.


You have to be where God is leading you to be, whether it is there or somewhere else and no one here can answer that for you, only He can.

Whatever you do, try your best to do it in the Spirit of love, unity and peace.

I think some people are spiritually fridgid.

Dear brother Elijah, please hear what I have to say. I am not attacking you - for I know you care about people finding truth. But I think you are going too far if you are saying that falling down under God's power is always counterfeit.
My dear brother, when the HOLY SPIRIT comes upon HIS servants, HE doesn’t allow them to be embarrassed by them to rock and roll, and woof like a dog under the pretence they that are slain in the spirit. You don’t have to fall down onto the ground to claim this phenomenon. Rolling around DRUNK in the spirit on the floor or staggering around the stage, as in the case of the many experiences that I have experienced over my years in AOG and Rhema churches.

I have seen many AOG and Rhema services be completely destroyed by these so-called phenomena that in most cases are no more of the fleshly desires that are gladly fulfilled by a false counterfeit spirit.

You test all spirits, and I can assure by dear AA, that I am not talking rubbish.

YES, I agree that our Lord Jesus Christ touches some believers, but they are not embarrassed. HIS WORD doesn’t speak of being “slain in the spirit” or “drunk in the spirit”!

I am speaking about those who continually go up for prayer and continually fall down, even before the pastor gets to them, and they get up off the floor and start staggering around everywhere. DO you honestly believe in your personal experience that this is 100% of our Lord Jesus Christ?

I talk from personal experience, not head knowledge. I say that because I've been around the traps a long time and I've watched all of this come into being over the past few decades.

I am not saying anything against the work of the Holy Spirit, but I've been in many AOG churches and even Bible colleges and I've seen the false doctrine of insisting that people get slain and drunk in spirit. You got to be kidding; this isn’t of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you really believe that our Lord Jesus Christ wants HIS servants falling down and wandering around "drunk"?

As I've said, I've seen all the trapping of this stuff, the same as all the false revivals over the past two decades.

If somebody prays to God in the name of Jesus Christ for the Holy Spirit, and their experience of Him - the Spirit that hovered above the waters before the Earth was formed - is so overpowering that they fall to the ground, so be it. God is Magnificent and all powerful - a burning fire.
If that happens then I wouldn’t call that being “slain in the spirit” or “drunk in the spirit”.

I’ve seen that many times, and it has happened to me many times. BUT, I wasn’t slain in the spirit or drunk in the spirit, I was touched by our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are mere weaklings, trembling in His presence. I have gone to the floor because of His conviction and His grace: I could stand no longer.
Well, that’s great mate, but I wouldn’t call that being “slain in the spirit” or being “drunk in the spirit”. I would say that our Lord Jesus Christ was touching you and HE caressed you with HIS SPIRIT, and that’s a blessing.

I wonder how Paul's body reacted to the presence of Jesus, or John as he received His revelation? Or the priests in the temple, who were unable to do their duties because the Lord's presence filled the temple?
Mate, I came to our Lord in 1957, and I never saw any of this sort of stuff until 35 years later.

But I will not ever accept it was a demon anyway, no matter what critics who weren't even there may say. Why? Because this is what Jesus promised:
Who said it was demon as far as you are concerned, but I see people going up all the time, just so they could fall on the ground, and next week they are back again, being deceived.

DO you really believe in your 21 years of life that all churches are true-blue and there isn’t any loveless, persecuted, compromising, corrupt, dead, or lukewarm church around that couldn’t be seduced and deceived by counterfeit spirits and the doctrine of demons, or false teachers?

Luke 11:11-13

11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

And how many of those children whose “house is empty, swept, and put in order” and there desires are fulfilled by “the roaring lion who roams around to devour them” and when they find the “house empty, swept, and put in order” they enter (see Luke 11:24-26), and fall over like seduced and deceived.

If you ask God for the Holy Spirit, He won't give you a demon. How can you sit behind a keyboard, and judge everyone who has encountered the Holy Spirit and fallen under His power as having experienced a demon?
My dear brother I am sitting behind keyboard speaking truth, and not judging. Many judged me when Todd Bentley was around, and all that stuff was going on at his sessions, which were false. You know the end results there.

Keep your ears and eyes open, my dear brother.

I don't see the Bible containing any examples of people reacting to almighty God with cold indifference like many Churches today either, but we're all fine with that.
Mate, don’t ever accuse me of JUDGING every again. If you consider that I am JUDGING, then consider you are JUDGING me.

People don't need to fall, and it shouldn't be encouraged.
You encourage it and I can assure you that the “roaring lion” will gladly assist and fulfil your desires.

But if God is doing a powerful work in someone - removing hurts, convicting of Sin, even purging out demons, or giving joy - and that someone falls to the ground, or trembles, or screams, or cries - who are you to call it demonic?
Mate, that is so, but were does the “SLAIN” and being “DRUNK” come in on these releases. Yes, I’ve screaming, and I’ve had them yelling out that they will not leave, and guess they never left, because there was no authority in that church.

Yes, many fall to the floor, and yes the Holy Spirit ministers to them removing all their hurts, and casting out demons, but are you sure that ALL THEIR HURTS are being dealt with? Are you sure that those demons that left them will not return the next or a day later, and re-enter?. What positive proof have you that they have been set free?

My dear brother, I’ve seen it all before, and as I said before that speak from experience not a closed-mind, judgemental observer. So, be careful when you accuse another of JUDGING, when in fact you are JUDGING!

If you have been were I’ve been you wouldn’t challenge me and accuse me of such.

If you have worked in the healing ministry, then you would know. Have you worked in the healing ministry, have you ever had demons manifest in front of you that want to kill you?

Should we stop ministering to people and delivering them because they might fall to the ground, or cry out?
Are you delivering them, are they free, have they confessed and repented their sins? Have they forgiven those who have hurt them? You know mate, if they haven’t, then I can assure you that the “roaring lion” will be on their case over the next few days.

NO, you don’t stop ministering, but you need to first TEST THE SPIRITS, and make sure that their “soul” is cleansed and purified and filled with the Holy Spirit!

Of course our bodies might react to the Holy Spirit. I don't fall myself - I have only lay on the ground once in my life. I usually just weep if the Holy Spirit is doing a work in me. But regardless of how the flesh reacts to the presence of a Holy God, what is important is the FRUIT, the SPIRIT and the HEART behind the ministry.
Mate, the so-called churches I’ve travelled through my fifty years I would say that there are many churches as listed in Revelation 2 & 3.

My church is a great church, and many go up for healing, and we pray the prayer of faith, and some are healed, but nobody goes falling down and screaming, because our people are tended and fed.

Whether we heal like Jesus did, with spit and saliva, or whether way quietly lay our hands on others - and whether we tremble, stand still in awe, or cry, is irrelevant.
Mate, I agree with you, but be very careful how you use the word “SLAIN” and “DRUNK”, because I have seen far too many struggling Christians destroyed by such doctrine of demons.

There are far too many churches that insist on being “slain”, “drunk”, “laughing” and “speaking in tongues”.

As I have said many times to BE AWARE, BEWARE, and don’t be UNAWARE, because I can assure you that the “roaring lion” will gladly devour the members of a loveless, persecuted, compromising, corrupt, dead, and lukewarm church.

By the way, I thank your for your response, but please meditate on what I have said.

Oh, by the way, have you ever read any good books on the healing and deliverance ministry?

Blessings, Love in Christ.
Blessings.

Tobias said:

Here you go:

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvSjFZvZLos


I disagree with your assessment of the situation though. As well as with Elijah2. We get to know God through experiencing Him, not just reading stories about how other people experienced Him back in the Bible days. So things will end up being different than what the Bible spells out exactly, because God is still alive and still asking His people to trust and follow Him.

I've found that living the lifestyle of the biblical characters is much different then living according to the religion built off of reading their stories.

Click to expand...

Mate there is no difference here to "prayer soaking" and "contemplative prayer". There are many dangers in that so-called ministry of God, which is mysticism.

You have your views and it doesn't make any difference to my discernment what is right and what is wrong.

But, always remember that you never allow any of HIS lambs and sheep stumble from false teaching.

Blessings.

[SIZE=+1]Drunk In The Spirit? [/SIZE]Drunk In The Spirit?

Recently, I watched a videotape containing footage from churches participating in the "Toronto Blessing". I was sickened and disturbed by the occultic and animal-like manifestations which I witnessed. I would like to examine a behavior which I witnessed over and over on this video, in videos from the Brownsville Assembly of God and which I have also seen from time to time in Spirit-filled services in which I have participated. This behavior is commonly labeled 'being drunk in the Spirit'. Those in this state exhibit certain signs; staggering, falling down, slurred speech, impaired mental functioning, and bizarre behavior. People leaving 'renewal' meetings have been reportedly pulled over by police for drunk driving.(1)
Pastor Randy Clark shares that it was hard for him to enter into this experience because of his non-drinking background, and then says "…but my worship leader's a recovering alcoholic. Man, he can get right in there."(2) So being a recovering alcoholic enables you to enter more deeply into the power of the Holy Spirit? Hmmm…. Let us begin our examination by looking for examples of Scriptural precedent.
Acts chapter 2, of course, is the logical starting place. After all, the Spirit-empowered believers there were accused of being drunk. Read chapter 2, and then let us consider these points:
* No drunken behavior mentioned--only the works of God being praised in the varied languages of the crowd.
* Only a small minority--the mockers--accused them of being drunk. It was not a legitimate charge, and Peter flatly denies it.
* The prediction of Joel contains no reference to drunken behavior.
* Peter, under the power of the Spirit is not at a loss for words. He preaches a clear and powerful call to repentance.
* The crowd was orderly enough that thousands could hear Peter without the benefit of a PA system.
Our next stop is Ephesians 5:18, which tells us not to be drunk with wine, which leads to ruin, but to be filled with the Spirit. Again, let us observe:
* This is not comparing the effects of an alcoholic stupor with being drunk in the Spirit. It is a contrast of opposites! Drunkenness removes self-control. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of self-control (Galatians 5:23).
* Verse 19 lists the results of being filled with the Spirit; praising lips, a praising heart, and a thankful attitude.
What an insult to a Holy God, to attribute drunken behavior to His Holy Spirit! While the Bible never refers to being 'drunk in the Spirit', it contains numerous condemnations of drunkenness, and it does refer to spiritual drunkenness as a judgment from God. Consider the following passages:
I continued my search by computer, through the writings of the Church Fathers. Again, much condemnation of drunkenness, but no examples of being 'drunk in the Spirit'. Which leads to the $1,000,000 question -- If no precedent is found in Scripture (indeed if the opposite is found), and if no examples are found in the writings of the Early Church, then what in the world are we permitting and perpetuating? If we open the door to the Flesh, or demonic deception, then all sorts of things will come through. We ignore Scripture at our own peril. We cannot afford to follow the traditions of men, and ignore God. 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 tells how God will send a strong delusion upon those who do not believe the truth, so we cannot afford to let things slide.
One of the most serious things about this experience of being 'drunk in the Spirit', I believe, is that it makes a mockery of our holy God. It reduces Him to the level of Bacchus , the Greek and Roman god of wine and merrymaking. He is the divine bartender, handing out drinks, encouraging riotous behavior, playing to the laughing, staggering crowds. The ideal 'worship' service resembles a frat party beer bust. What a novel idea; come to Christ, not for forgiveness and cleansing, but for a buzz. Get your heavenly high! Fall down, not in holy fear and adoration, but in a spiritual intoxication. God must be deeply grieved at how easily we drag His name through the mud. How quickly we forsake the truth and chase after illusory experiences. If we can engage in carnival sideshow behavior in the name of worship, do we really understand our God at all?
"This is the pastor of a church? Lord, don't tickle him, just bless him. Drunk on the new wine. Drunk. (8 times)… That's one pastor between the pews. Hallelujah. Have another drink, here sister…. What about you? Are you on vacation or something? Have a double dose… Have another round sister cocktailer, in the good sense of the word. Ha ha… Filled. Filled… More. More… Drunk, I said drunk. I said drunk. I said drunk…"
Evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne transcribed from The Coming Revival videotape.
New Winos Drinking Song Number One
Kathryn Riss
(Kathryn is the wife of Toronto revival historian Richard Riss)
The Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship recently held their "Have Another Drink" conference. I include some of their own description of the conference so that you can get a feel for the ungodly and profane nature of their 'worship':
Have Another Drink -
Never a Sober Moment
"If anyone had any concern that the Have Another Drink conference this week would get off to a slow start, those fears were quickly squelched. Not five minutes into the week-long festivities, you could see the main speakers stumbling toward the front of the auditorium in a drunken stupor! Darrel Stott, John Scotland, Peter Jackson and Georgian Banov spent most of the morning session in a pile at the foot of the front row. About 1,500 worshippers flooded into the main sanctuary for the 10:30 a.m. meeting. As TACF celebrated its 43rd month of renewal, the festivities got off to a resounding start. Worship leader Jeremy Sinnott kicked off the morning with several of the renewal favorites as well as some new 'drinking songs' like Intoxicated by Chris Roe - a fitting theme for the conference. It was clear that worship, as usual, was going to be a highlight of the conference.
Ian Ross led the meeting in his typical fashion as he plodded along in a daze, trying to put together his thoughts enough to get his welcoming message across. "John asked that we give thought to uh…..something….." was about all the thought he could muster. "I'm so drunk, Janice (his wife) and I got the wrong teeth in this morning!" Trying to collect his thoughts wasn't working too well as Banov, Scotland and Stott were praying for him from their more-or-less prostrate position on the floor in front of him. It was clear from the first session that this was not going to be an average conference at TACF.
Before Darrel Stott came up to speak, John Scotland, from Liverpool, England, was introduced. When asked what his thoughts were on what he expected of the week, he immediately grabbed the microphone and yelled "OOOOOOHHHH" a few times before wobbling off to the side for prayer. We're still checking, but we think he may have actually said something in the five minutes he spent on the stage, but we're not too sure yet!
Darrel Stott, from Seattle, Washington, was an Assemblies of God pastor who innocently took a trip, paid for by his father, to Toronto in early '95 and has never been the same. The intriguing part about Darrel was that although he was in a drunken daze, babbling aimlessly and sounding a lot like George of the Jungle in his sleep, between all of this, he would preach like a Southern Baptist Minister. He would come out with fiery charges to the audience, reminding them of the calling and the power that God is ready to anoint them with, but then returning to his dizzy state of babbling while holding on to the glass podium for dear life. A truly fascinating sight to watch, but the display also reminded us that although what God is doing on the outside may look funny, what He is doing on the inside is quite powerful. He also made a serious comment to the general audience: "If you're pretending to be drunk, knock it off," a good point to make to start the conference off right and a reminder to those who may have come to take advantage of a rather - shall we say - 'loose' week."
http://www.tacf.org/confs/anotherdrink1.html (underlining added for emphasis)
Many more examples could be given of the attitude which prevails in these meetings. There appears to be no fear of God. After all, who fears a jolly bartender? Supposedly the presence of God is at these meetings in a mighty way. Strangely lacking however, is the biblical response to the awesome presence of almighty God. Consider these things before the Lord. Search the Scriptures, and if you find what I'm saying to be true, then take action. Don't place yourself under the influence of those who promote such practices. Rebuke this behavior if you see it occurring. Speak out against this desecration of the character and name of God. Love the truth and honor Christ. Maranatha.
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This article may be copied for free distribution only. John Green azgreens@jhotmail.com
1. Vineyard newsletter March 1994 Vol. 1
2. Randy Clark, Let The Fire Fall Conference, Anaheim Vineyard, July 1994

Slain In The Spirit

Francis MacNutt addresses many of the dangers and misconceptions associated with being slain in the Spirit that some of you mention in this discussion.

The power of suggestion – there are a percentage of people who respond to suggestion strongly, but he doesn’t think that accounts for the majority of people who are knocked out by the Power of God. “… resting in the Spirit cannot be due altogether to the power of suggestion, since people so often fall without ever having heard of it before.” Francis reports that many ministers and some priests, too, were surprised when they saw this happening to people in their prayer gatherings.

Some ministers who need proof of their holiness probably give off that message to folks who comply by falling down. Also, people feel falling is a sign of their holiness and may be tempted by this pride issue to fake fall. Francis recognizes this but concludes:

“…I believe that if the minister of prayer is a committed Christian, with reasonably pure motives, and if the people seeking healing have a basically pure motivation, most of what we see take place will be under the influence of the Holy Spirit—accompanied by the mixture of psychological phenomena that we will always find in our fallen human condition.” p. 26

What is the fruit of being slain by the Spirit?

Francis has received hundreds of letters and personal testimonies of people sharing about the great blessings they felt they received by being overcome by the Spirit. Many report great peace and love and communion with God. Many report receiving instant healings or important revelations. A young woman told me she realized that she should forgive her father and felt graced to do so during the few moments she was resting in the Spirit. She was near tears just telling this story as it was obviously a deeply transforming experience for her.

Deliverance from Evil Spirits – “Most extraordinary of all is when we find evil spirits departing as someone is overcome in the Spirit. As I said earlier, resting in the Spirit is ordinarily quiet and peaceful, but occasionally we see an eruption of demonic resistance.” There is often crying out and convulsions as in Mark 1:26: The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. …When we pray briefly for people in a healing line, perhaps one in fifty will exhibit such manifestations. Afterward, however, twice that many will report that they felt something “lift off” or “depart” at the moment of prayer, even though there were no outwardly observable signs. p. 64

I witnessed this one time during a Mahesh Chavda meeting in which he had invited Chris Harvey to pray for us. I was standing in a long line with about 3 dozen others. I went down like a ton of bricks when Chris came near me (I don’t even think he touched me). The man immediately to my right fell down beside me and then, to everyone’s surprise (even horror), he began wailing and wailing in the strangest way I’ve ever heard, a mix of wailing and roaring. It was like a deep, supernatural cry, not merely a human cry. Oh my God, it sends chills through me just remembering it. He was clearly being delivered, it felt to me, of some deep torment. I wanted to talk with that man, but he never returned for the rest of the conference. That night, I tell you the truth, I slept in the Spirit for the entire 6 hours of sleep. There is nothing like it…being literally asleep but aware of floating in heaven at the same time. And I felt an incredible peace for a few weeks after that.

Francis writes: “In summary, I find that resting in the Spirit is a marvelous ministry gift that often leads people to experience the love of Jesus, lasting healing and deliverance. Evangelists Charles and Frances Hunter reached a similar conclusion…

“We do not pretend to understand this supernatural manifestation of God’s power…The first time it ever happened to us was shocking! While we were praying for a woman at the alter…she had been touched by the power of God and was lying on the floor. A short time later, this recurred. Again, only once during a service. Then a few months later it happened again. Each time it came as a complete surprise to us. Neither of us felt any special anointing…nothing. Then came February 27, 1973, El Paso, Texas. The power of God fell in a mighty way. The power could be almost heard crackling as a Southern Baptist church had its own day of Pentecost. Somewhere around 100 people fell under the power of God. Probably the most surprised of all the people there were the Hunters. We had never seen anything like this happen in our ministry and certainly couldn’t understand it, but we discovered an interesting fact. God often does a supernatural work in healing, delivering or cleansing while a person is under the power.” p. 73.

One of the most serious things about this experience of being 'drunk in the Spirit', I believe, is that it makes a mockery of our holy God. It reduces Him to the level of Bacchus , the Greek and Roman god of wine and merrymaking. He is the divine bartender, handing out drinks, encouraging riotous behavior, playing to the laughing, staggering crowds. The ideal 'worship' service resembles a frat party beer bust. What a novel idea; come to Christ, not for forgiveness and cleansing, but for a buzz. Get your heavenly high! Fall down, not in holy fear and adoration, but in a spiritual intoxication. God must be deeply grieved at how easily we drag His name through the mud. How quickly we forsake the truth and chase after illusory experiences. If we can engage in carnival sideshow behavior in the name of worship, do we really understand our God at all?

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Dionysus is the Greek god of wine and merrymaking... But let's consider this kind of logic for a moment. Just because there is a pagan deity that represents something, then we must avoid this particular "thing" forever? What do we say then about another Greek god, Athena, the goddess of wisdom?

If we must avoid all drunkenness (even in the Spirit), and merrymaking, because some people worship Dionysus in that manner, then by that logic we must also avoid using wisdom because of Athena. Yet in James 1:5 we clearly see:

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.



We can also see in Ecclesiastes 3 that there is a time for everything under the sun. In vs. 4 it even mentions that there is a time for laughter and a time to dance!

If every church service is the same; ie they try to get "drunk" in the Spirit and do foolish things, then yes, I can see a problem. But with the Lord God, there is a time for wisdom and laughter and even for things that may appear as foolishness to those who don't know the end of the story just yet; because He is the God of All, and knows when to use whatever is necessary and available to get the job done.