The Heresification Of Pentecostalism

The Pentecostal movement is experiencing accelerated heresification due to the introduction of non-Pentecostal influences, both in the pulpit, in its leadership positions, and in its general membership.

(Heresification: the permeation of heresy into a belief-system.)
Christianity is being defined today, not by Holy Ghost-filled men of God, but by "Christian" corporate trainers and leadership gurus who do not believe in or practice the Pentecostal experience. The larger part of them actually refute Pentecostal doctrines. That cannot possibly be good for Pentecostalism.

The pulpits and platforms of Pentecostal Churches are being hijacked by messages and methods that were not hewn out of the Word of God, but which were easily cut-and-pasted from non-Pentecostal resources. We have become self-indicting suckers for sound-and-light shows, high-tech multi-media, and state-of-the-art gadgets and methods. NONE of these things can possibly improve upon the supernatural power and presence of Almighty God. It is a great delusion and a great deception, and despite my passionate desire to prevent people from being seduced into it, what I say here is unlikely to stop anyone from being destroyed by it - unless they have a very sensitive heart that genuinely does not want to be deceived.

We also kid ourselves to believe that ANYTHING produced by the carnal mind can help God save the world.

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 6:63.

THE FLESH PROFITETH NOTHING!

In the Early Church, even the DEACONS had to be men "full of the Holy Ghost," (Acts 6:3). NOW, we have national and international leaders in the Church who do NOT have the Holy Ghost, and many who actually refute the Baptism of the Holy Ghost!

If you want to see God work majestic things in a Church, then focus on attaining to a majestic relationship with God through prayer, fasting and study of the Word of God. Do NOT turn to the beggarly elements of the world in an effort to improve the Church. It simply does not and cannot work that way.

Any time you incorporate the world, the flesh, and the devil into the work of God, it can only be counterproductive, no matter how stunning the visual and aural effects are. Fabulous music and award-winning oratory can never replace the authentic anointing and blessing of God upon the uncompromised preaching of His Holy Word.

It is high time for Apostolic Pentecostal Holiness preachers and believers to slam the door in the face of non-Pentecostal, non-Holiness influences that are with lightning-speed taking over the forums and venues of Pentecostalism - and DISPLACING authentic Pentecostal preaching as it does.

Unless we shut out the non-Pentecostal voices with haste, the Pentecostal Church as we know it will soon be a much larger NON-Pentecostal Church.

If Pentecostalism cannot survive on its own merits, it certainly will be no more pleasing to God by introducing non-Pentecostal elements to put it on life-support.

We have been duped into believing that we need a catalyst from the outside to accelerate our growth. The more the Church depends on non-Pentecostal methods and messages, the less influence the Pentecostal message has. It is only a matter of time before the Pentecostal Church will think it has no need at all for true Apostolic doctrine, the Pentecostal experience or Holiness living.

The so-called catalyst is actually not a catalyst. It is a deadly poison.

The Pentecostal Church of the Book of Acts was entirely supported by the preaching of the Word of God with the power and anointing of the Holy Ghost. It is unthinkable that God would, in these last days, abandon anointed preaching and supernatural ministry for academic, corporate, or institutional processes. The Church is only legitimate when its message is pure, holy and doctrinally correct. God consigns NO MANDATE for wrong doctrine, false doctrine or doctrine-less preaching.

We do not need smoke and mirrors. We do not need executive-run Churches. We do not need more highly-trained leaders who are ignorant of God's Word, who do not have a divine call into ministry, or who do not live with conviction holy, godly lives. We need spiritual ministry that only comes from God.

I KNOW I am not wrong about this. I have, in my 45+ years of ministry, run the entire gamut of religious fads and fashions, and have consequently witnessed the complete transformation of Christianity from something that was holy, sacred and supernatural into something that is industrial, mechanical and entertaining.

It is time right now to stop the heresification of Pentecostalism.

Go back to the Bible. Get back on your knees. Fast and pray for a fresh visitation of the supernatural power of God. It will come.

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The Pied Piper in the Church

In Hamelin, Germany, every Sunday during the summer, local villagers act out the folk tale of "The Pied Piper," which dates back to 1284.

Nobody knows with any certainty how the story began, but it is presumed that the old city suffered in those days from a rat infestation. As the story goes, a man dressed in red and yellow clothing presented himself to the townsmen, offering to rid the city of its rats. The men of the city gladly promised to pay him a large sum of money for his service.

The Pied Piper played an enchanting melody on his pipe, and immediately all the rats in town began to follow him. He led them out to the edge of town and into a river, where they all drowned.

When the Pied Piper came to the townsmen to collect, they felt that his task had been far too easy, and that they should not have to pay him the large sum they had promised.

In anger, the Pied Piper promised to punish them for reneging on their promise.

He went into the streets and began again to play his enchanting pipe. This time, the children of the town began to follow him. He led them far outside the town, and into a mysterious cave, where they were never seen again.

Because of the Pied Piper, the town's children were lost.

Of course, the fable is not true, but there are certain valuable morals in this story.

From that story, a famous idiom eventually came into being, namely,

"You'll have to pay the Piper someday."

There is a price to pay for enchantments, for quick fixes.

In the Church today, a similar story is unfolding.

As the Townsmen of Hamelin recruited the services of the Pied Piper, so now have the Preachers of the Gospel solicited the services of the Singers.

In Churches across America and around the world, an infestation of unbelief, atheism, agnosticism and cynicism plagued the Church. The Preachers no longer preached the pure word of God that could have rid the people of the scourge of unbelief. But instead, they called in the Singers and Musicians to fascinate and enchant their congregations.

The people were happy to be entertained by the Singers and the Musicians, so much so that they lost their desire to hear the Preacher. Instead of following the Preacher, the people began to follow the Singers and the Musicians.

The Singers demanded handsome fees for their services, and eventually discovered that they could earn more money OUTSIDE the Church. Many of them CROSSED-OVER to the world. They would sing for anybody who would pay them, in just about any kind of venue, and God, the Bible, and everything holy vanished from their lives. In their exodus, they lured the people of the Church away from the Preacher.

Now, multitudes who were once in the Church, following the Preacher, have been lured away from the Church, and their pseudo-religion is being led by the Singers and the Musicians. The Singers have no doctrine, so the Church is perishing.

Preacher, Pastor. God called you and anointed you to preach the Gospel. Your job is to preach the pure, unadulterated Word of God to the people. This is not a job for the Pied Piper.

The Pied Piper has no doctrine. He has not been called to do your job. The Pied Piper cannot and will not save the people. The Pied Piper will lure the people away from the Truth, away from the pure Gospel, and back into the world, where they will finally be lost.






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The Blackbird and the French fry

I was sitting in my car on a restaurant parking lot, waiting to meet up with some friends for lunch.

Several blackbirds were hopping around the parking lot, looking for something to eat. One of them found something that actually looked like a cigarette butt, but he grabbed it up, and quickly ran underneath an automobile to evaluate his find.

The other birds nearby suddenly noticed that their buddy had found something, and, thinking it was real food, they came running after him, unabashedly intending to steal it away from him.

I moralized about that scene as I watched.
The first blackbird must have instinctively known that if and when he did find some food, he had better quickly get away from everybody else, lest they take it away from him.

"Then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved," Luke 8:12.

That is when it dawned on me how deliberately he had run underneath the automobile. He knew what the others would do. His was an act of self-preservation, and an act to keep what he thought was food.

Then, I surmised that there is so much hunger among blackbirds, and such a scarcity of food, that one morsel of ANYTHING could immediately become a commodity worth fighting for.

That little scene made quite an impression on me at the moment, but it was not until a few weeks later that I learned an even more important lesson from the blackbirds.

I came out of Walmart one day, and got into my car. I saw that in front of me, a blackbird had found a French fry. Immediately, I remembered the previous scene from weeks before. I thought to myself, "He had better get out of sight fast with that French fry, or another bird will steal it away from him."

Before I finished my thought, that exact thing happened. Several other blackbirds swooped down as from out of nowhere, and launched a hungry assault on the guy with the French fry. He ran a few steps, and then flew off as fast as he could with his French fry - all of his buddies in hot pursuit.

The aerial combat only lasted a few seconds, but the biggest part of the French fry was torn from his beak, and only a small portion remained for him to eat. Seconds later, the stolen piece was again severed in combat. In the end, three birds had their share of that French fry.

Since I am forever trying to learn everything I can about life, I again moralized, "The guy with the French fry is always going to be hunted down."

That is actually good news to a preacher of truth, or to any true Christian believer.

In a world where TRUTH (i.e., a French fry) has fallen in the streets, and where LIES (i.e., cigarette butts) seemingly rule the day, sooner or later, people are going to get tired of chasing cigarette butts, and chase furiously after a French fry.

Actually, I believe that most men ARE hungry for truth, but truth is being trampled on the right, and on the left. Nevertheless, if YOU are the guy who holds the truth in your mouth, men will eventually come looking for you.

If you have sacred, divine TRUTH, the day will come when men will fight over themselves to get what you have.

You may not believe what I am saying, but you just wait and see. As this world grows darker and darker and darker, the day is going to soon come that men will risk their lives for one morsel of truth.

Men who make lies their commodity will eventually try to kill the guys who hold the truth.

But men who will tenaciously seek after and cling to the truth about God, the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, are soon going to become the most sought-after men on earth.

Just remember what I am saying.
You can learn the very same lesson when you watch bugs swarm around a night light. Bugs are not the only creatures who are attracted to a light. Men are attracted to a light. Drive through ANY community late at night and see where people congregate. Watch the kids congregate under the lights on the grocery store parking lot.

If YOU have LIGHT in you, men will eventually be drawn to you. As the world gets darker and darker, the light you possess will have even more appeal to those who are in darkness.

Men are attracted to food. Men are attracted to light.
When the world tires of chasing cigarette butts, they are going to increasingly pursue any guy with a French fry.

Herein is a tragedy. Most men cannot initially tell the difference between a cigarette butt and a French fry. That is why so much phony religion is thriving right now. People are buying into phony religion because they cannot find the real thing. But the day will come - mark my word - when people are going to revolt against cigarette butts, because they will still be empty and hungry. Right now, people will follow anybody who can sing a song, or put on a nice show. But the day will come when somebody is going to scream, “PREACH THE WORD!”

THEN, a guy with a French fry is going to be the most-wanted guy in town.

This all reminds me of Jesus' parable about the ten virgins. The five who were WISE took oil in their vessels for their lamps. The five who were foolish "took no oil with them." At midnight, the call came for them to go out and meet the bridegroom, but those who were foolish had no oil in their lamps.

"And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut." Matthew 25:8-10.

If you find a French fry, hold on to it - tightly. You may be the only bird in town who has something to eat when things get tough.


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Preach The Gospel To Every Creature

Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned," Mark 16:15-16.

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come," Matthew 24:14.

I got my first taste of mass-media Ministry at the age of 18. While attending Bible College, I was a singer and soloist in the "Revivaltime" Choir - which sang weekly on 650 radio stations around the world on the ABC Radio Network. I sat behind the legendary C.M. Ward during that year of college, as he preached to an audience of many millions, live every Sunday night. Having personal contact with the "Revivaltime" staff, I was privy to the thousands of letters that came in the mail each week from listeners all over the world. That was both an exciting and a sobering experience to see the hunger in the souls of men and women from every walk of life, asking for more of God.

Returning to Beaumont, Texas in 1971, I joined the staff of a church with a national radio and television ministry. I became the editor of a Christian magazine with a circulation of 35,000 per month, and I traveled around the United States holding gospel crusades with my Pastor, B.H. Clendennen, as the crusade pianist and soloist, meeting with our television viewers in major cities from Spokane, Washington to Rochester, New York, and scores of other cities in between.

I made the connection between the media and the people. I saw, at that young age, the vast potential of the media - print and broadcasting - for delivering the gospel message to the masses.

For more than forty years since then, I have been engaged in the ministry - the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As an Evangelist and as a Pastor, I have ministered in hundreds of Churches in about forty states in the US, and in several countries. As a writer, I have been the editor of three Christian magazines, and written hundreds of articles for several major publications. As a broadcaster, I have produced hundreds of live and recorded radio programs, and dozens of television and video programs.

But today, the potential for ministry via the Internet surpasses anything I have ever experienced. Whereas print and broadcast media require vast outlays of cash, and are generally labor intensive, the Internet levels the playing field, and opens the door for virtually anyone with a computer to enter into world-wide Missionary Evangelism.

I published my first Christian website in 1996, and for several years, most of my articles had first-page listings on Yahoo on a wide variety of Biblical keywords. Literally many millions of people have visited my website and a multi-generational ministry has followed. Articles that began as a Sunday morning sermon have circled the globe, and in many cases, been translated into other languages and republished in the form of tracts, Bible Study handouts, and articles in newspapers and magazines in dozens of languages.

What began as a (very) part-time endeavor is now the heart and soul of my ministry. My Daily Bible Studies (four mini-lessons per day) now circulate to subscribers in at least 211 nations. The letters I receive by email each day are more than I can answer.

At the present time, I am in the fourth year of a self-imposed Sabbatical, having returned to my home church in Texas and to my Pastor since 1983, Rev. John W. Harrell. The death of my wife, Dixie, to cancer in 2003 precipitated several major changes in my direction. I am currently writing six books, and producing a 26-week video teaching series that will constitute a complete Pentecostal Bible curriculum - teaching the entire Bible, with special emphasis on Prayer, Doctrine, Holiness and Bible Prophecies about the Last Days. I am also working on a musical project to record an album of songs I have written.

All these, with God's help, will go to every nook and cranny in the world. I have prayed since my youth that God would enable me to produce a comprehensive Bible curriculum that will be used by Pastors, Evangelists and Missionaries in every nation on earth.

My biggest enemy is time. Jesus is coming, and time is running out. I know of no other endeavor that is more needful than the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God never told me to save the world. But He did tell me to preach to the whole world. What THEY do with what they hear is between them and God.

"For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel," 1 Corinthians 9:16-18.

"Not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved," 1 Corinthians 10:33.

Preach the Word!

And, please. Would you pray for me and this ministry?
Thank You. God bless you.

Sincerely,
Ken Raggio

PS: Be sure to visit my main website and subscribe to the free Daily Bible Studies.
http://kenraggio.com