Sonship and Identity in Christ Error (Manifest Sons of God and Joel's Army)

During this long wilderness season the Lord has shown me exaggerations in various aspects of teachings. When God first opened my eyes to these things, I went into panic mode because I was so overwhelmed with "how big" the deceptions were. I did not even know what to do. I felt so grieved in my spirit. Over time, the Lord calmed me a bit and now I am finally able to write (and publicly share) about these deceptions in a more clear, edifying way.

At the end of 2013 God really started to challenge me with what I believed. I've written briefly about this before, but God showed me that I didn't even know the basic tenets of the faith. Sure I could repeat catchphrases and taglines from specific ministries, but beyond that I did not have any foundations on the Word of God. God showed me that I had accepted deceptions in my walk with Him. He gave me an unforgettable warning dream that was a catalyst for me in the spirit.

Two of the things God showed me were:

1) exaggerations found in identity teachings ("Who we are in Christ")

2) exaggerations found in what it means to be "sons of God" on earth.

There are truths in these two teachings that people need to know about. However it seems in people's enthusiasm they have added exaggerations and deceptions. When we get revelation about a scripture and find we have been missing out on an aspect of God's love or grace for us, then we must be very careful with our next steps. We must not overcorrect and then find ourselves in a ditch on the other side of the road. Some examples of this are when a person gets hurt in the Charismatic church and then they become Cessationists. Or when someone gets hurt in a legalistic church where they did not have an accurately understanding of grace and then they go on to adopt "hyper-grace", "once saved always saved" or Universalism.

If you are in a similar season right now with God, you must be very careful with your next steps. We must not exaggerate real biblical principles found in the Word and we must remain balanced in ALL things. Yes even the good things of God can be over-exaggerated to the point where they become error and in some cases even heresy. I have had people vehemently tell me it is impossible to exaggerate the good things of God. I beg to differ! It is becoming increasingly popular for people to say that since God is love, He would not send people to hell, so there is no hell and everyone is already saved and forgiven in Christ. This is just one example of an exaggeration and/or misunderstanding of God's love, which actually becomes heresy.

For those of us who have confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, there are promises that God has made that we can be fully assured of. However some of these promises are things that we will only inherit when Jesus returns and we are made like Him (1 John 3:2-3). Many today are teaching that all of the promises from God are available today. These exaggerations have created many paper tigers in the Church who are seemingly "on fire", but their identity as a son of God is based upon exaggerations and not on the Person of Jesus Christ. They are more interested in what it means to be "a son of God" and knowing their "rights" instead of knowing THE Son of God and surrendering their lives to Him. 

Many have taken bits and pieces of scripture here and there to make it say things that are not truthful. Some groups believe that not only will they see all these promises in this life, but that it is a requirement in order for Jesus to return. 

Yet the truth is the exact opposite. Upon Jesus' 2nd coming is when we will see many of these promises fulfilled. They put the cart before the horse.

First the Errors

Many ministries have gone through the bible and picked out all of the promises that we have in Christ. Ephesians is a particularly popular book where this is done inappropriately.

Many will read through Ephesians and pull out these following promises.

We are in the heavenly realms and have all spiritual blessings.

We are always holy and blameless in His sight.

We were predestined for adoption as sons in Christ Jesus.

We have redemption through Jesus blood, the forgiveness of sins.

We have all wisdom and understanding.

We are citizens of heaven.

We are seated in heaven.

Are all of these true? Yes, but not necessarily today or in this life as we know it. There are many promises in this list that we will only fully inherit on the Last day when Jesus returns to earth. Paul even states that the Holy Spirit is given to us as "a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession"(Ephesians 1:13-14). This is why biblical scholars use the word, “positionally” because while we can be certain of these promises from God, we aren't actually experiencing them now and will not until the end. 

For some people being told this is painful because they truly think they are in heaven right now on the throne with God. They really think they are in charge of bringing heaven to earth. They have been lied to that every promise is now and today and some think they can be immortal on earth. They have been told that God can't see sins and can "only see Jesus". Some have used many of these teachings to justify sin and mysticism in their walks with God. 

This is what they have been taught and they don't know any better. 

The promises themselves are not in question, but it is the time in which we receive all of these promises that is the point of contention.

I'm going to list 2 of the errors and briefly explain it to make this as simple to understand as possible. These are really complex teachings so please understand an entire book could be dedicated to these topics.

1). Some ministries exaggerate the Finished Work on the cross and say that once Jesus died that all of the promises made to us are for now on this earth, in these bodies without any delay to those who "know who they are in Christ".

2). Some ministries teach that as believers we have all authority in Christ and that we are in charge of bringing heaven to earth. They say we must pray for "God's will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven". Many use this portion of the Lord's prayer to say whatever is found in heaven, that we should have today, but only to those who know their full potential as sons. They make knowing your identity as a "son of God" out to be a spiritual journey very similar to what is seen in the New Age with Christ Consciousness and their understanding of "At one ment". Their understanding of being "in Christ" is more similar to the New Age idea of Oneness than a Christian viewpoint of salvation.

The main problem with these exaggerations is that they boast in man's abilities and create elitism. They deify man and make Jesus "just a man". They make the cross not a place of surrender to our will, but as a means to obtain power. Proponents of these teachings believe all of heaven is for the taking and we should not settle for anything less "as sons of the most high God". Many point to the miracles that Jesus performed and say that He did all of these things "just as a man in right relationship with God who knew His identity". When you piece all of this together, they are basically saying that those who "know who they are in Christ" should not only be walking in everything that Jesus walked in, but we will do greater. If you ask them who is doing this currently, they will say, "we are still growing in this" meaning that there is no one who is doing it. 

Many in these groups completely downplay or throw away the idea that Jesus while on earth was fully God as well as fully man. Here is a comment on a YouTube video from Bethel church that presented the Manifested sons of God doctrine. 

"Funny. Don't you realize that Jesus although THE Son of God emptied Himself of His deity while on earth? And in so doing, did nothing of His own power, just like Peter? Even Jesus had to use the power of the Holy Spirit just like we as sons of God do." [Emphasis mine]

This is absolutely not biblical and yet it is a common line of thought in many ministries who preach divine healing, Sonship, dominionism and Manifested sons of God. 

When we stop teaching the basic tenets of the faith in our churches this is how people become deceived. 

When we stop reading the bibles for ourselves and allow others to read and interpret it for us, this is how people become deceived. I was once there myself.

Those in the Manifested sons of God movement all agree that the risen Jesus Christ is God with all authority and power. None of them will refute that or even attempt to deny that. However they do not all agree that while Jesus was on earth that He was still fully God capable of using His divine attributes. They will say things like, "Jesus was God, but He did everything he did as a man in right relationship." They use this opportunity to introduce a known heresy called Kenosis theology. 

The Person of Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully Man. You cannot remove 1 aspect of His nature without actually misrepresenting the Son of God and denying the hypostatic union of Jesus Christ. This is not just deception, but this is in fact heresy. 

Unfortunately many in these movements misrepresent Philippians 2:5-8. The reason for this is because they believe Jesus is the man model that shows true sons of God what they are capable of walking in on earth. However when these ministries talk about "walking like Jesus", you will notice it is rarely about surrender, humility, righteousness or obedience to the Lord's will. It is ALWAYS about authority, obtaining power and performing signs, miracles and wonders. If they happen to teach on surrender, obedience and humility, it is only as a means to show people how to obtain greater authority, power and revival. This is toxic!

It is sad to say, but many who are following these ministries just want God-like powers. The thought of having access to infinite power is quite pleasing to our childhood dreams and visions of being a superhero. (You will see many in these groups actually love Superman and other superheros). I can tell you first hand, that the devil knows our desire for power and man's desire to want to feel special. We actually see that was one of the things Jesus was tempted with by Satan while in the wilderness (Luke 4:5-8). We are to resist the devil and all of his schemes, not rewrite scriptures to make room for them. 

Since Jesus was in fact fully God and fully man on earth, we have to recognize that He was special. He is different than you and I. He was not born of man but of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). He had no sin nature (1 John 3:5). God the Father equipped Him specially for His ministry on earth. He was not "just a man" walking in right relationship with God. He did not give up His divinity nor any of His divine attributes. Even before His incarnation, Jesus was and has always been God (John 1:1-2)! Jesus has always existed even before Abraham (John 8:56-58). Jesus was capable of turning the stones into bread in the wilderness (Luke 4:3-4). Jesus was capable of calling down a legion of angels (Matthew 26:53). Jesus was capable of getting Himself down off the cross (Mark 15:30).

Yet it was in His obedience to the Father and the Father's will, that He refrained from doing certain actions. It was not that He was incapable of doing it or that He ceased having those attributes. I do not believe we can look at the Scriptures and to Jesus' earthly ministry and make the argument that He did everything as a man with the Holy Spirit. They diminish the divinity of Jesus Christ in order to exalt man! 

The example and model we should take away from Jesus' ministry on earth is not that we can have power and walk like Him, but that we have the pleasure of walking in humility and obedience to the Father's will regardless of what that might look like. 

For me and my husband being obedient to the Lord meant walking through a long wilderness of chronic sickness. It meant being repeatedly broken mentally and emotionally. It meant extreme pressure put on our families and finances. 

For Jesus being obedient to God's will meant He had to suffer a horribly painful death on a cross. 

For some people the allure of having power and being seen as someone who "does miracles" is exciting. Not everyone in these movements have good intentions. It's not that they want to do evil with this power, but it is not from a place of surrender to the Lord's will. Many think they can "use the power of the Holy Spirit" as they please, but this is not true. The Holy Spirit is not just a power, but a Person in the Trinity who is God and also has a will that will not contradict the will of God the Father. 

The Truth Can Be Unappealing

Unfortunately when someone is told the truth, it can be quite unappealing. Perhaps even reading this today, some feel like Eve in the garden when the serpent tempted her to eat from the tree. The sin looked appealing to her and the truth spoken by God seemed less appealing than the lie spoken by the serpent. The lie was more fun and more thrilling than what God said to her and she sinned. I truly believe this whole movement is simply a sweet tasting lie from the devil that questions God's authority. His old tricks in the garden still work today.

In addition it is extremely untruthful and damaging for these ministries to teach that every single promise from God is what we should be seeing in this lifetime. Of course they all have disclaimers and excuses as to why we aren't seeing it. In my eyes it just further shows their insincerity. Even pointing out to them that the earth is still cursed by God and there is still sin, sickness, death and pains on this earth, does not work. They actually see the suffering on this earth to say it proves more people need to be activated and become manifested sons of God in order to bring revival and the Kingdom on earth. They have reasons for everything, which keeps their followers from asking questions and digging into the Word of God on their own. 

I'm Not Cessationist

The difficulty in writing a post like this is that many people will immediately label me as a Cessastionist or someone who does not believe in the supernatural. Yet I most definitely believe that the gifts are in operation today. I most definitely believe in healing, prophecy, words of knowledge, words of wisdom and discerning of spirits etc (1 Corinthians 12). I believe in the roles stated in Ephesians 4:11-12. One does not have to believe that Jesus was "just a man" or other manifested sons of God errors in order to believe in healing or in the gifts of the Spirit. One does not have to diminish the deity of Jesus Christ to believe in the rest of scripture.

I believe we can always pray and ask God for our needs (Philippians 4:6). The bible tells us the Holy Spirit equips us with gifts that He gives as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). 

However we must always know that in the same way Jesus "emptied Himself", we too must come before God in humility and surrender to His will on earth. I believe Scripture proves that God's will for earth is in fact different than His will for heaven (Daniel 4:35). We see in Revelation this earth will ultimately be destroyed and replaced with a new heaven and new earth. The Lord's prayer was meant to be a prayer of surrender to God's will, but in these groups they actually make it about their authority and power. They will twist even the Lord's prayer to create unbiblical teachings. 

The truth is God has the final say in all matters and His ways are not always going to line up with our ways and our will. We are to confirm to Him and renew our mind to His ways, not the other way around. 

Repackaged Heresies of the 80's and 90's

The phrase "manifested sons of God" comes from Romans 8:19. "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." (KJV). 

When read in context, Paul is clearly talking about when the Lord returns and not some time prior to that date. We see that clearly in Romans 8:23-25. When the Lord returns, that is when we are officially adopted as sons of God and we obtain the redemption of our bodies. Right now being adopted as a son of God is one of those positional promises that we can count on, but we do not know the full extent of what that means or looks like. That is what Paul was talking about when he says we are eagerly waiting and groaning in Romans 8. He was not talking about eagerly waiting and groaning for a super class of Sons of God or end times army who will subdue the earth and restore the Kingdom on earth. When read in context, the Manifest sons of God teachings are an obvious misunderstanding and misrepresentation of Paul's writings.

However it's important to understand that most who believe in these errors today do not use the labels I have used in this post! There are some who do, but it has mostly blended in with the teachings of “Bringing Heaven to Earth”, Dominionism, Spiritual warfare teachings, 7 Mountain Mandate, Sonship, "Knowing your identity", the Finished Work of the Cross and Hyper-grace. Many of the names used for these teachings in the 80's and 90's have been abandoned such as Kingdom Now, Manifest Sons of God and Joel's Army, but have been replaced with new names and new ministries like Spiritual Air Force Academy (SAFA), Sonship, Lifestyle Christianity, Azusa Now, Appeal to Heaven and New Breed. Any ministry that has a view that an elite end times army or movement is rising up should be looked at with discernment. 

Many of the same leaders from the 80's and 90's are still a part of these newly named movements in some capacity or another. They are becoming older in age and have begun to pass the torch to their younger spiritual children. Because of this, there are many new names  that are not well known, but are becoming more popular as the years go on. 

Understand though, despite the change of names or the leader speaking the message, the foundational errors are still there and need to be resisted. They still preach a message that an army is rising, which creates elitism. They still believe in exaggerations about Sonship and our authority. They exaggerate what the work on the Cross accomplished. They still teach dominionist ideals. We must recognize the actual teachings instead of relying on specific labels or names of leaders, so that we can identify them for years and generations to come. The banners of old have been picked up by aging spiritual fathers which are now being passed on to their young spiritual children to carry to the next generations. This is how deception is carried from one generation to the next. 

There is much more that could be said on this topic because it is so complex and so in depth. I hope to be able to write more about this in the future.  I hope it is a blessing to those who have read it and makes people begin to question and look into some of the well known names and teachings in these movements. 

Revised Oct 2016

Bring Heaven to Earth? Sonship and Manifested Sons of God

One of the foundational teachings of the Manifested Sons of God and Sonship Movement is this idea that we as believers are charged with bringing heaven to earth. This is taken from a misunderstanding of the Lord's prayer, which was meant to be a prayer of surrender to the Lord's will.

This idea of taking charge sounds appealing to our flesh. It sounds appealing to those who are in generally good times. It is also quite appealing to those who are looking for a way to obtain power and purpose in life. Yet it causes believers to chase after men (either for prayer or for their teachings) instead of looking to and trusting in God Himself. The thought that a believer is in charge of making God's will come to pass is unsettling when you are the one sick, out of work, having marital problems, facing an abusive situation or simply got into a car accident. It is in those difficult times where we realize that we don't want to be the ones in charge of making things better. We learn we really want God to be working all things together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28) and that He also works all things after the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). 

I don't believe that every single thing that happens to us was God's doing, but I do recognize that in life things don't always turn out the way we wanted, had hoped, had prayed and had asked of God. We must trust Him regardless of what is going on at the current time. In the Sonship Movement I do not see this submitting and instead see a lot of finger pointing going around to those hurting or I see a lot of excuses from their leaders like "we are growing in this". 

The Manifested Sons of God and Sonship Movement insist what they believe is the truth. However their beliefs wrongly put our will, our desires and our limited view and understandings of things as the main focus instead of submitting and surrendering those very things to the Lord. When you surrender to the Lord, you are telling Him you no longer want to be the one who always has the answer. You are telling him that you trust Him no matter where life takes you. Sometimes life may take you to places you don't like. 

Maturity in Christ isn't about having all of the answers or having secret revelations. It is about knowing that Jesus is Lord of all and willingly submitting to that. It's really about learning that you don't have the answers. There is freedom and maturity in letting go.

The Unstable Foundations of Hyper-Grace and "Finished Work" Doctrines

Over the past 3 years, I became aware (and deceived) by the “hyper-grace” teachings while seeking God for healing. I truly believe the only thing that kept me from fully embracing hyper-grace is the fact that I am sick and have a real need. I've had chronic illness for over 14 years and doctors cannot help me. I need to see the reality of what Jesus did on the cross in my life, so catch phrases, slogans and simply believing things differently will not cut it for me. I need the real supernatural power of God to hit my body.

The hyper-grace message became very popular because many people live with a lot of condemnation and do not have a basic understanding of the true message of God's grace.

Since I've been sick most of my adolescent and adult life, I used to struggle with a lot of condemnation. I've never been able to meet up to anyone's expectations in life.

In the church, most of the condemnation that people feel, stems from the fact that ministries are driven by teaching people a method instead of getting people to know Jesus Christ in a personal way. When we try to sell Jesus as a 10 step method, it only makes a person feel condemned and feel as if they are never doing enough. You will always find someone who prays more, reads the bible more, prays in tongues more (or maybe you don't pray in tongues at all!?), sees more people healed or does more street ministry. It's an easy place for people to self-condemn themselves. These checklists and methods also turn into weapons used against people too.

I think it's important to recognize that the main theme of the hyper-grace movement is their disgust and rejection of all methods that have been created in the church. Many of them have been hurt in an abusive church situation. I am not faulting them for wanting to move away from controlling types and it's one of the reasons why I gravitated towards their message too. The problem though is instead of simply rejecting the bad they have indeed over-corrected into error.

They believe that once Jesus died on the cross, that doing anything at all for God is considered works. They believe if you try to obey the teachings of Jesus, then you are pushing “works salvation”. Sadly if you teach on things like service and obedience of any kind that you are “legalistic” and “religious”. Some of them say praying is a work. Some of them say reading the bible is a work. Some of them say turning from sin is a work. Some of them say fasting is a work.

There are variations of exaggerations in these groups. Not all of them believe in the same exaggerations and it makes it difficult to succinctly point out all of the errors. A person is basically forced to use minister names because otherwise you might be using a broad brush on another group who doesn't believe in what the other group within hyper-grace believes.

They have gone from one extreme which is a long list of things “to do” to the other extreme where they say, “there's nothing left to do. Jesus did everything. Just rest”. They have confused the free gift of salvation with the costs of serving the God who gave us that free gift. 

First, it's important to understand that from what I've seen, no one on either side is preaching the idea of doing works in order to be justified (saved). Of course salvation is only found in believing in what Jesus did on the cross, but we should also obey God's will for our life.

But this is where the conflicts and disagreements begin.

Many will say that grace cannot be exaggerated. They say that God's grace is too good and I agree that God's grace is too good. The fact that God sent us His Son Jesus, to die for us, to redeem us even while we were still enemies of God, is amazing! But once we come to believe in Jesus, our life and actions do in fact need to change and this is where hyper-grace disagrees. They say, “It's already done in Christ”. “you are already holy and sanctified”. And yet there is a renewing that God must take us through in our lives to begin to react as Jesus would not as our flesh would. Unfortunately many in the hyper-grace groups do not believe that God can do a work in each of our lives. They do not believe in wilderness seasons. They do not believe that trials can be used to conform a person into the image of His son.

I suspect many people who come across the hyper-grace teachings are in fact temporarily set free! This happens because they realize that the man-made methods that they put themselves under were not of God. I myself had this realization in 2013. I stopped trying to fulfill some man made healing method and started to look directly towards Jesus. But this is where I differ from the hyper-grace camp... Looking directly towards Jesus and pursuing Him involves having to pay a price of some sort. We will have to pray and read the bible. It involves spending time with God. It involves having to turn your back to the things you once did and learn to live the life that he wants for you. It involves sacrifice at times. It's not an effortless journey. It actually is quite painful to die to oneself.

When a person does not have this real connection to God and trials come, many who believe in the hyper-grace, finished-work teachings walk away from the faith. I've seen at least 3 "leaders" in this movement shut down their blogs and FB pages. When the trials and struggles of life come, many of them are not built on the rock that is Jesus. While they reject the "methods of men", they have also done away with any personal relationship and intimacy with God too. When a group of people considers turning from sin and obeying the Lord as works, then how as a church can we restore such people back to the true gospel message? When a group of people think God is no longer doing works in His children, then how will they ever be prepared when storms come?

In my few years, I have seen more walk away from God in these groups than in any other group. I have a few Cessationist friends who are sick and do not believe in healing, but trust God no matter what. They are on stable grounds. I have hyper-grace friends who are sick and were believing God for healing, but when it did not come; They left the faith. The general attitude and mindset of those in hyper-grace is this. "Either God is good and He heals me now or God is not real” There is no room for long term struggles in their walks with God. There was no trust built in God, but simply they trusted in their doctrines and catchphrases. Underneath the catchphrases and slogans, when their life spoke louder than them, they had nothing at all to lean back on.

If those who have accepted hyper-grace were honest with themselves I believe they would see there's a lot of healing that needs to take place within their hearts. They are insecure of God's love and therefore have had to then say that God is always loving and there is no wrath. They are insecure about their salvation and therefore have had to say that you cannot fall away from the faith. They need black and white answers to legalistic questions about God and it has forced them to have to rewrite scriptures like Ananias and Sapphira. For example, some are now saying that Peter in his great power received from God, murdered them. They cannot accept that God may have judged them, but they will gladly turn Peter into a murderer. Wow!

Unfortunately sometimes we need to examine ourselves to see why we are believing the things we are believing. God put me in a situation that forced me to do it. It came down to humbling myself and realizing that what I had believed about God was not true.

The bottom line is that those believing hyper-grace have been deceived into thinking that service, obedience, prayer and reading the bible is works. They have been deceived that trials and struggles in life are strange things we should never experience. If you type in trial, struggles or wilderness into the hyper-grace blogs and you get almost no keyword hits. They have absolutely nothing at all for those in hard times. It is a teaching that attracts people with generally good lives, but gives them zero tools to endure when the wind begins to blow. It's not supposed to be that way! The gospel is supposed to get us through the good times and the bad times.

If we have lost our hunger for God, then more than ever we need to be alone with God and seek him! Unfortunately though, it is nearly impossible to talk to many in the hyper-grace/exaggerated Finished work groups. For having such an amazing revelation of God's grace, I do not see this same love and grace extended towards those who want to have simple discussions with them. They see the inconsistencies with everyone else, but are totally blind when they do it themselves. We can all get our feathers ruffled at times, so I understand and can relate. However I don't see the great revelation of righteousness, grace and forgiveness they all claim to have. If I don't see it in their life, then what and why are they even talking about this as if it's having any transformative effect? Do as I say, not as I do? Isn't this exactly what they were against in the first place? The hypocrisy that's in the Church and the pastor or church that hurt them? Have they simply become what they preached against? In many ways, yes I do believe so and they don't even see it.

We rest in knowing what Jesus did for us, but that doesn't mean we don't pray, read the word or turn from sin. It does not mean we do not commit our lives to God and serve Him in whatever capacity He wants for us. In fact because of what Jesus did, we have a hunger to do all of those things even more so because we see what He took for us. We should not arrogantly look at the cross and then think we are owed something from God.... Jesus gave us more than enough and we should have a joy in our hearts while following Him. No matter what life brings and sometimes it will bring tough situations.

How Deception Became a Part of My Walk with God

I was raised Catholic by my family, but truthfully I knew nothing about God. On my mother's side my uncle was a Catholic priest. One of her sisters was a nun and so was her aunt. Yet somehow in this family who was very "devout" and spiritual, I did not understand how Jesus and God fit together in the equation. As I got older, I didn't want anything to do with it. I avoided all things of God and did not talk about Him at all. If someone brought up their faith I was extremely uncomfortable and usually changed the topic.

The first non-Catholic minister I ever saw preach was Dan Mohler in 2012. Some people would be absolutely amazed because they respect this man of God, but for me it meant nothing. We made the journey to this unknown church. We got there and I wasn't used to this kind of service at all. The music was too loud and it sent my body into a sensory overload fit. My heart rate was ridiculously high just sitting there due to my health problems.

Finally he started to preach. He sure was lively and happy, but I had no idea what Pastor Dan was talking about. It was so far above my level of understanding of God that I basically gave up trying to listen to him. Sad but true!! At the end of the meeting I made my way up to the front to get prayer and a woman came up to pray for me. I thanked her. Then my husband came back over to me and he said, "I want to get baptized".

That night I was confused by the message. I knew nothing about Jesus. I did not know what He did for me at all and yet somehow I got baptized. I can blame my husband for that! haha I was baptised at Harvest Chapel on June 16, 2012.

About a month later I had an impression to quit all of the health stuff. It felt forceful and painful to me at the time because all I had ever known was doctors, science, researching supplements, genetic stuff and chronic illness FB groups and forums.

That was when my real journey began. That is when I started watching videos and reading about healing theology. This was the most dangerous time for me because I had no foundation whatsoever and yet I was like a dry sponge ready to soak up anything I could find.

Today plenty of teachers focus solely on the "Finished work" and the Book of Acts. They say healing is always flowing and always right now and they have plenty of scriptures to promote this idea. Well as someone who was sick for 12 years at that point, I fell for it. I wanted healed now. I wanted healed today. I wanted MY life back now. Hook, line and sinker, I wanted it!

Since I came in by way of Dan Mohler and Todd White, I immediately gravitated towards these ministries and those who preached a similar message. I was feeding on their teachings and thought I was growing in faith. I was able to repeat what they said and it all sounded really good! But honestly beneath the surface, I had nothing...

I went down this path for months. I got prayer from anyone who came to the general area. I believed! I wanted healed! I was told by another minister that "God wants you healed more than you do!"... YES Sign me up!

But then nothing was changing and I started to question things. This is when I realized that there was more to this than what these guys were preaching. I started noticing a general disdain for the sick in the Church despite so many ministries focusing on healing.

I finally learned that although Jesus is a healer and "paid the price", that God also wanted to do a work in me. I didn't really know what that meant at the time. However I was told repeatedly in these circles that was not true. Many people will neatly try to separate suffering, tribulation and trials away from sickness. They may agree that a trial can be a car accident or a loss of a job, but could NEVER be sickness. Sickness is MUCH scarier to think of as a trial because it's out of our control. We can't just snap our fingers and make it ok overnight.

At that time, I agreed that sickness was not a trial because I certainly did not want to be sick anymore. Trials are for other people, not for me.

I was repeatedly told that God's work in me was "already done" in Christ and that we no longer have to go through periods like that. I was repeatedly told that we are already perfect and our healing has already happened in the Spirit because of what Jesus has done on the Cross. I was also told that, as far as God is concerned, "you are already healed".

That sounds great and easy, but it made me confused, frustrated and eventually angry as life got harder physically, emotionally and financially. My life is an absolutely disaster. haha

I was repeatedly told "You're already healed" meeting after meeting after meeting. I was tired of hearing it! I was tired of the talk.

Others said that I needed to find someone who could "represent Jesus to me in the way I needed" and once I did that, then I would be healed.

Unknowingly this caused me to chase MEN instead of Jesus Christ.

Looking back now for a long time I was fighting not against the devil, but against God wanting to do something much larger in my heart and in my life.

There is a deception in the church that says everything is already done. Some call it hyper-grace, some call it greasy grace, I personally believe it's an exaggeration of the Finished Work of the Cross. Those who believe in this message claim everything is already completed and done.

Am I saying that Jesus needs to come back and die on the cross again? NO
Am I saying that Jesus did not accomplish what He came to do? NO
Am I saying that I am justified by my works? NO!
Am I saying that there aren't some truths in the "finished work"? NO there are some great truths!!

However what I am saying is that we need to be balanced with what the Finished Work truly accomplished and what we are expected to do now that we are in a relationship with Him.

Deception came into my walk with God because of the unbalanced healing theologies I was following.

Some say you do not need to sacrifice anything for God, Jesus sacrificed it all.
Some say you don't have to go through wilderness seasons, Jesus went through the wilderness.
Some say you have everything now, today. Healing is now, not tomorrow.
Some say if you think God heals in His timing, that is unbelief.
Some say there is no journey.
Some say you are already perfected (mature).
Some say you have all the spiritual gifts now.
Some say everything is now.

And it was these messages which made me nearly walk away from God.

It was these messages that had me walking around in despair because I thought I had missed it. I thought that God was mad at me for not saying my prayers with enough "faith". It was these messages which had me screaming at God in my head for an entire week. It was these messages that almost made me give up and tell God I was done with Him. It was these messages which made me question God's love for me.

And somehow in that pain and in that brokenness, I finally found God and finally found balance. God was finally able to build a strong foundation in me where I had to abandon everything I thought I knew.

In life bad stuff is going to happen and when someone is IN Christ, it does not mean bad things do not happen. In the Finished Work crowd, there tends to be an emphasis that trials won't come or will be immediately overcome to those who really believe "it is finished" or really "know who they are in Christ". This is deception and an imbalanced view of what Jesus accomplished. It leads those who have generally good lives to be exalted as better "sons of God" than those who are struggling with trials, sickness and other things. This is clearly not true.

God will use the trials and the bad things that happen to us for His Good. He will use them to test and purify our faith to make us a more mature Christian. Sometimes these obstacles if they are large enough, they can be used by God as a wilderness season before He decides to fulfill His promises.

But this idea completely goes against what many healing ministers teach.

The diet industry makes something like 60 BILLION dollars a year on diet pills and gimmicky exercise machines. This industry is fueled by people who want to lose weight, but don't want to do it "the hard way" and there is a captive audience too. A 60 billion dollar audience.

Well I fell for the spiritual equivalent of the diet pill. I wanted to be healed now, but I did not want it to be hard. I wanted it to be easy and not cost me anything. There is a very captive, desperate audience who will buy the books, watch the teachings and exalt teachers into leadership positions.

So in the diet industry we see, 
"Just take this pill and you will lose fat fast!".
"Just buy this abs machine and you will be ripped in no time".

In the exaggerated Finished Work healing ministries we see,
"It is finished. It is already done. Just receive what God already did, today".
"God wants you healed more than you do!"
"You have all dominion!"

And just like all of those people who want to lose weight easy, I did not want my spiritual walk with God to be tough. I didn't want to wait and have to walk through the fire to get what He had promised to me in Christ. I completely ignored the Old Testament and tried to somehow separate the God who wrote that with the God who wrote the New Testament.

So I collected for myself teachers who agreed that everything is now and is easy.
I followed the Todd Whites, the Dan Mohlers, the Curry Blakes, the Pete Cabreras, the Andrew Wommacks, the Art Thomases.

I repeated the mantras and chants. 
"I'm a daughter of God, I have all authority given unto me in Christ".
"By His stripes I WAS healed"
"Today is the day of salvation!"

Many of these things by themselves are biblical truths, but in the ways they are used become deception.

Desperation and persistence are bad words to the "Finished work" ministers. Everything is always about today and if you go to sleep sick, then YOU failed today. That is how these ministers preach it. They believe God's hands are tied and it is up to receive what "God has already done", so there is very little room for long term battles without condemnation setting in.

These distorted views of God are absolutely devastating to a person's walk with Him.
 
I was a baby Christian who knew nothing at all. I was a completely blank slate. I was a dry sponge ready to soak up anything I could find and in that was the problem. I did not soak up the pure living water of Jesus, but dirtied water along with the living water.

The underlying deception that I fell for actually prevents and stunts our maturity in Christ.

• It is lifting up immature believers in the Lord who are simply repeating catchphrases from other ministers.
• It is lifting up believers in the Lord who think everyone who is struggling "just don't know who they are in Christ".
• It is lifting up an army of narcissistic people who are in spiritual pride and have no grace whatsoever for people.

If I had been healed at the first meeting at Harvest Chapel, I would have been a horrible person. I would have been a complete arrogant, prideful monster. I would have been a prideful healed person who went around and abused those who were not healed. I would have thought that I "did it right"and that was why I got healed. I would have taken credit for my healing.

And God knew it and so I believe He delayed my healing in order to show me the condition of my heart. He delayed my healing to do a larger work in me that needed to be done, so He could use me later on. Instead of just wanting to be healed to move on with my life, now I want healed to do the work that God has called me to do. I gain my life to lose my life to be a servant of God.

These groups whether they realize it or not, but they have rejected the means that God our Father in heaven prepares us for leadership, for ministry and for a life that bears good fruit. When they say everything is now and today, they deny God's Sovereignty and the specific plans He has for each one of us.  They claim everything that Jesus did is past tense and now we have all authority and all dominion. They continually emphasize that Jesus was "just a man in right relationship with God who knew His identity" and that we are just like Him. They elevate the deity of man and diminish the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Let the Lord mature us in His time as we seek Him for healing, for life and for the promises He has made to all of us in Christ. Yes it does not always feel good, but just like having to lose weight the hard way, it can be a tough journey, one with ups and downs. However thankfully we are putting ourselves in the hands of a good God. We can trust in His ways and in His methods and in His timing.

And this is how I fell into deception and I praise God for His grace that He knew better and that He had a more perfect plan in store for my life.

Today I continue to believe God for a complete healing of everything in my life and now when that day comes, I will truly understand the magnitude of what God did in my life. I will understand the grace that He poured out on me and I will truly give all Glory to Him and not to my faith and not that I finally just believed "right". I will know that I did nothing to deserve healing and it is all God's grace.