I've got to be honest that I find many of these a rather mixed bunch and I am often inclined to think that many of these are not necessarily genuine, or committed in what they have to say at all. Some of the seem to serve up a mixture of truth, mixed with things which sort sound quite convincing, but as you think about it you are much less convinced.
Very many of these people seem to be appearing on various different, so called Christian shows where the object seems to be to sell books and tapes to a wide audience. Books, tapes and broadcasts seem to be pushing various modern day prophecies and even promoting one particular presidential candidate as God's choice.
It very often seems to fit with the scriptures which they quote and kind of make some sense and even sounds right, but is any of this truely of God, or not. Some of these people seem very confident and polished in their performances, but there's something which is just too well polised and well presented to feel right.
God's own people are not usually well polished, larger than life people and they are not usually putting on a performance.
Opinions?
There are varied temperaments. Some of these people would be successful in anything they undertook. Some are so obviously charlatans and so unbiblical that I wonder how anyone can stomach them. As the Bible says, Charm is deceitful. That applies to men as well as women.
Just as there are fake preachers, there will always be people who fall for their deceits. It's sad but plainly true.
Some of these people started out well. The great trap for the successful is spiritual pride. They seem to think that they are above everyone else. They make the dictator's mistake and close out anyone who dares to disagree with them. So they can easily go into error and no one will challenge them.
When I was a very young Christian, I went to every meeting and conference that I could. I heard a lot of preachers, usually someone of great repute. Every now and then, one would stand out. There was something indefinable about them. They preached from the same Bible yet their message always seemed too short. Others seemed way too long.
I asked the Lord to make me one of the different ones. I called them the "shining ones" because that's how they seemed to me. Years later, a complete stranger asked me if I was a pastor. At the time, my marriage had folded and I was a mess. I said no. She said, "You shine." I mumbled something incoherent and went home.
I now know the difference between the forgettable and those you long to hear more from. It's so simple that most people miss it. It is Jesus. Let me explain.
When we are born again, it is as if we go back to the garden of Eden. You will recall that there were two trees. For brevity I will call them knowledge and Life. Most Christians are drawn to knowledge. Starting out, I got into God's word with great enthusiasm. I studied different versions, followed the cross references until I lost track of where I started and enjoyed every moment. I've always had great curiosity and a thirst for knowledge - as long as it had nothing to do with school work. I applied that zeal to the Bible.
The problem for me was that it wasn't working. I knew a whole lot but I was not showing any fruit. I needed something else, or so I thought. The Bible says that knowledge puffs up and I was becoming a bag of air. How did that change? Answer: failure.
I managed to mess up most things that I touched. Work, friendships, ministry and eventually marriage, all fell apart. I was crying out for breakthrough. I knew something was missing but I could not figure it out. And that was exactly the problem. Christianity is not a matter of logic, reason and deep learning. Christianity is Christ in us and us in Christ.
Some Christians bypass Knowledge and head for Life. Some have tried the knowledge route and been disillusioned. I met someone who was not an intellectual. He sought life above knowledge. He knew his Bible inside out, but he was one of the shining ones. He knew Lord Jesus as if they'd been to school together and were best of mates. He led me to the realisation that there was nothing wrong with me. I did not need a breakthrough. Lord Jesus secured the perfect salvation for us, so good that even I could not mess it up.
At that point I realised that Lord Jesus is really my life. He had been living in me for decades, but I had not been living in Him. The woman saw me so broken that Lord Jesus could shine through me. But there was still a long way to go. I did not know why He shone through me.
So now I know that it is no longer I but Christ. I read it countless times but I never knew what it meant. Now I do. Does that make me special? Not at all. If anything, I regret that it took me so long to come to my senses. God's word could not be clearer. I found countless ways to nullify God's word and at great cost to myself and others.
I have come to the place that the Bible calls "the knowledge of the truth". It's what God wants for everyone. If we seek him, we will find Him. God answered my prayer of decades before. What He did for me He can do for anyone.
