Coconut
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- Feb 17, 2005
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GUARD YOUR LIFE AND YOUR DOCTRINE CLOSELY!
'Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils'... 1 Timothy 4:1
'Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in My name, saying I am Christ; and the time draweth near; go ye not therefore after them'. Luke 21:8
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ;
I feel heavily burdened by the Spirit of the Lord to write regarding the seducing and demonic spirits that have pervaded, even overtaken the church in this day and age. Consider the constant admonition of the Lord to "hear what the Spirit saith unto the church..." In these last hours of time God has warned us again and again in His Word to be on our guard against these spirits that have invaded the church in countless numbers. These seducing spirits are the very ones who will cause people to gather around them those who will tell them what their 'itching ears' want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Some years ago while on a ministry trip to Guyana, South America; Kathy and I had the opportunity to visit the former residence of Jim Jones as well as Jonestown, where more than 900 people came to the end of their lives in a mass suicide while all of Hell roared with laughter. As I stood there looking at the site of that great tragedy, I found my capacity for compassion could not reach beyond the children who, through no fault of their own, were forcibly brought to this place of demonic activity where they suffered unspeakable torments until the day the Lord delivered them through death.
Having studied the life of Jim Jones, I could summon neither compassion nor pity for one single adult who had willingly followed this demon-possessed maniac into the very pits of Hell. Now, before anyone makes the rush to judgment, accusing me of being cold hearted or of not having any love for those 'poor unfortunate' people; let's look back at their lives and doctrine.
Prior to moving his operation to Guyana, Jim Jones had a church in California where many of these same 'unfortunate' people were regular members of the congregation. This so-called 'church' was in fact, a demonic stronghold of heresy, false doctrine, witchcraft, sexual immorality, homosexuality, greed and idolatry (which is adoration of man). Space does not permit me to go into all of the heresy that was not only taught by Jim Jones, but was readily accepted by his congregation. Allow me to point out what should have been some obvious warning signs that would have marked Jim Jones as being demon possessed rather than the Godly pastor he claimed to be.
Jim Jones, acting as Pastor, put himself forward as the final, absolute and only authority; overriding even the Word of God. (If a Pastor will lie and manipulate in even the smallest of things, he will do so in larger issues as well). During one of Jim Jones' services, which was being recorded, he picked up the Bible, the Holy Scriptures; tore it in half, threw it to the floor, wiped his feet on it and told the congregation they had no need of that 'book'; they had only to listen to him. Not one of those adults who committed suicide at Jonestown got up and left that service. None of them even disputed the matter with him.
On another occasion, (again at a service which was being recorded), Jim Jones said that Mary, the mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was a *****. The actual words he used were far more obscene and I would not repeat them. He then went on to say that 'Jesus was an illegitimate child' therefore He should not be looked at as the Messiah. Again, his actual words were ones I could not repeat either in writing or speaking. Once again, not one person left the church. Instead they just sat there like mindless robots, absorbing all that shameful and slanderous doctrine. I firmly believe it was at this point that God gave them over to a reprobate mind.
At this point allow me to relate some things from my own personal experiences. Approximately a year or so ago, I wrote an article which appeared on this website entitled, 'The Spirit is Alive and Well and Moving Down Under'. This article was primarily about an upright and Godly Pastor and his wife who followed and taught the Word of God. He had his work cut out for him as there were many in his church that were filled with all manner of sin and problems. This Pastor had asked me to come and minister at his church; and to help him counsel with those people who were willing to be set free from the strongholds that Satan had over their lives.
During my first public ministry at this church the Lord revealed to me that there were Elders there that had offenses against other Elders, Elders who had bitterness one against another; there were even Elders and those who were in Leadership positions who had hearts that were filled with hatred and a lust for power. Worst of all, through witchcraft and a demonic desire to overthrow the Senior Pastor and his wife and take control of the church, some of these people were corrupting the hearts and minds of others. Most of these things I prophesied publicly in a Board meeting of the Elders of the church, but some things I spoke to the Senior Pastor privately about, for the church had other problems as well; sexual immorality, fornication, lesbianism, pedophilia, incest, drunkenness, fraud, greed and idolatry. In fact, even though the Senior Pastor and his wife were faithful servants of Jesus Christ, his church had many of the same problems as the church of which Jim Jones was the Pastor. (There the similarity ended).
There was one man in particular I had serious concerns about. The Lord had revealed to me he was unsaved, an adulterer and demon possessed. I later met his wife only to discover she was an adulteress and involved in witchcraft. He was also an ex-convict; something which most of the congregation was not aware of. Both this man and his wife had been previously married to ones who professed Christ (as did they) at the time of the divorces. I shared my concerns about this couple with the Senior Pastor only and he, being a Godly man with a Pastor's heart was determined to 'go the extra mile' with them; doing all he could to get them to see and deal with those areas in their lives which were wrong in Christ. Sadly, this course of action (through no fault or lack of diligence on the part of the Pastor) produced no good results and they continued on in their devious ways.
I was a witness to this couple attempting to undermine the Senior Pastor and his wife by making accusations against them and propagating rumors in an effort to get others to join with them. This man went so far as to swear an oath before God so the Senior Pastor would think he was doing what he was supposed to be doing, but he went back on his oath, lying to God, the Board of Elders and the congregation, and by doing so he and his wife gained control of the church. Many of those in the church who had some of the problems I mentioned earlier had earnestly repented before God for their sin and were delivered and set gloriously free by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Many of these people ended up leaving the church while, sadly, others refused to acknowledge their sin and break the bonds with the Devil. To this day they remain enslaved to him and these people have remained also in the church. This is largely due to the fact that this couple that are presently the Senior Pastors do not believe in dealing out rightly with sin, thereby enabling their own sin to remain covered. They are of the opinion that some Biblical teachings are "too hard".
Now, do I feel sorry for those who have chosen to stay and sit under this ministry, receiving within themselves false doctrine and thereby never being able to have a right relationship with the Lord; rather allowing themselves to be led down the broad road to destruction? The answer to that is: No, no more than I did for those adults who followed Jim Jones to Jonestown and straight into Hell. For these people, most of whom had been taught the way of the Lord for many years by the previous Senior Pastor, have elected by their own free will to remain under the false teaching of the present headship, finding it easier and more comfortable to be lulled into a false sense of security by those who never preach any message that might bring conviction of sin.
Absurd as this whole thing sounds, I can assure you this is not fiction, but all too real and one I myself am very familiar with, for I have paid the price for trying to tell the truth to these people. Indeed, the very gates of Hell have come against us (although they have not prevailed). For from these same people came a viscous campaign of malicious rumors, lies and false accusations against my family and I the likes of which I have never before experienced in all my years in the ministry.
At the time of this particular attack (which has never really ceased and has actually gotten worse), God spoke to my family and I and told us not to defend ourselves but to remain silent and allow Him to deal with the situation, which we did. For the Lord has said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay". When you truly undertake to serve the Living and Almighty God, you will suffer persecution, but He will be your counsel and defense.
It is important when undergoing these kinds of trials and tribulations that you keep your mind on things above and remain in one accord with the Word of God. If you do, He will be the only defense you will ever need; for His Spirit will go before you and His Glory will be your rear guard. It is only those who in their lust for power willingly become the devil's advocates who need fear the Judgment of God. For they will do or say anything against anyone who they fear might get in their way, or bring forth the truth about them. Even though they will insist that they believe they are 'doing the will of God' in these matters, they will be the ones spoken about in Matthew; when Jesus Himself says to them, "Away from Me, I never knew you".
Blessedly, the former Senior Pastor and his wife, along with many other saints have escaped the manipulative clutches of these people and are continuing to worship and serve the Lord, as are we. If you find that you are involved with a church where there is more gossip than ministry, more slander than praise and more division than fellowship; or if the leadership of that church refuses to teach both the goodness and the severity of God; which is the whole truth, and instead picks and chooses scriptures to fit their own purposes as if the Bible were some sort of buffet where you only eat what you want-find yourself another church, or if the church you attend has Pastors or Elders who are afraid to have anyone look too deeply into their backgrounds, or who refuse to give their testimonies; beware. If the Eldership of your church are a bunch of 'yes' men who care more about making points with the Pastor than they do about pleasing the Lord; or if there are secret things going on and the entire truth about all the activities of the church are not being revealed, you need to get yourself free from that organization. For did not Jesus say, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."
You're not supposed to be hurt, manipulated, controlled or maligned by the church. The church is supposed to be a place where you can go and worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. In the church you should be taught what your gifts and callings are so you might be able to fulfill your place in the Body of Christ. You should find the peace, joy and love of Christ abounding in your church, especially in the leadership. You should be finding an example of Christ-like obedience to follow in your Pastor and Elders. If these things are not happening you need to ask the Lord where you should be.
Remember, the Bible says, (speaking of the Lord), 'all who seek Me shall find Me'. If you're looking for someplace to go for a religious social gathering, or a place to have your ears tickled, there are churches aplenty that fit the bill, but if you truly desire to serve Christ and Him only, without having to listen to a whitewashed Gospel, then ask, and the One who is the Author and Finisher of your faith will 'lead you into green pastures'.
Blessings and love in Christ.
In His service, for His glory...
Rev. Ron and Kathy Bernier
Into the Light ministries
'Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils'... 1 Timothy 4:1
'Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in My name, saying I am Christ; and the time draweth near; go ye not therefore after them'. Luke 21:8
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ;
I feel heavily burdened by the Spirit of the Lord to write regarding the seducing and demonic spirits that have pervaded, even overtaken the church in this day and age. Consider the constant admonition of the Lord to "hear what the Spirit saith unto the church..." In these last hours of time God has warned us again and again in His Word to be on our guard against these spirits that have invaded the church in countless numbers. These seducing spirits are the very ones who will cause people to gather around them those who will tell them what their 'itching ears' want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Some years ago while on a ministry trip to Guyana, South America; Kathy and I had the opportunity to visit the former residence of Jim Jones as well as Jonestown, where more than 900 people came to the end of their lives in a mass suicide while all of Hell roared with laughter. As I stood there looking at the site of that great tragedy, I found my capacity for compassion could not reach beyond the children who, through no fault of their own, were forcibly brought to this place of demonic activity where they suffered unspeakable torments until the day the Lord delivered them through death.
Having studied the life of Jim Jones, I could summon neither compassion nor pity for one single adult who had willingly followed this demon-possessed maniac into the very pits of Hell. Now, before anyone makes the rush to judgment, accusing me of being cold hearted or of not having any love for those 'poor unfortunate' people; let's look back at their lives and doctrine.
Prior to moving his operation to Guyana, Jim Jones had a church in California where many of these same 'unfortunate' people were regular members of the congregation. This so-called 'church' was in fact, a demonic stronghold of heresy, false doctrine, witchcraft, sexual immorality, homosexuality, greed and idolatry (which is adoration of man). Space does not permit me to go into all of the heresy that was not only taught by Jim Jones, but was readily accepted by his congregation. Allow me to point out what should have been some obvious warning signs that would have marked Jim Jones as being demon possessed rather than the Godly pastor he claimed to be.
Jim Jones, acting as Pastor, put himself forward as the final, absolute and only authority; overriding even the Word of God. (If a Pastor will lie and manipulate in even the smallest of things, he will do so in larger issues as well). During one of Jim Jones' services, which was being recorded, he picked up the Bible, the Holy Scriptures; tore it in half, threw it to the floor, wiped his feet on it and told the congregation they had no need of that 'book'; they had only to listen to him. Not one of those adults who committed suicide at Jonestown got up and left that service. None of them even disputed the matter with him.
On another occasion, (again at a service which was being recorded), Jim Jones said that Mary, the mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was a *****. The actual words he used were far more obscene and I would not repeat them. He then went on to say that 'Jesus was an illegitimate child' therefore He should not be looked at as the Messiah. Again, his actual words were ones I could not repeat either in writing or speaking. Once again, not one person left the church. Instead they just sat there like mindless robots, absorbing all that shameful and slanderous doctrine. I firmly believe it was at this point that God gave them over to a reprobate mind.
At this point allow me to relate some things from my own personal experiences. Approximately a year or so ago, I wrote an article which appeared on this website entitled, 'The Spirit is Alive and Well and Moving Down Under'. This article was primarily about an upright and Godly Pastor and his wife who followed and taught the Word of God. He had his work cut out for him as there were many in his church that were filled with all manner of sin and problems. This Pastor had asked me to come and minister at his church; and to help him counsel with those people who were willing to be set free from the strongholds that Satan had over their lives.
During my first public ministry at this church the Lord revealed to me that there were Elders there that had offenses against other Elders, Elders who had bitterness one against another; there were even Elders and those who were in Leadership positions who had hearts that were filled with hatred and a lust for power. Worst of all, through witchcraft and a demonic desire to overthrow the Senior Pastor and his wife and take control of the church, some of these people were corrupting the hearts and minds of others. Most of these things I prophesied publicly in a Board meeting of the Elders of the church, but some things I spoke to the Senior Pastor privately about, for the church had other problems as well; sexual immorality, fornication, lesbianism, pedophilia, incest, drunkenness, fraud, greed and idolatry. In fact, even though the Senior Pastor and his wife were faithful servants of Jesus Christ, his church had many of the same problems as the church of which Jim Jones was the Pastor. (There the similarity ended).
There was one man in particular I had serious concerns about. The Lord had revealed to me he was unsaved, an adulterer and demon possessed. I later met his wife only to discover she was an adulteress and involved in witchcraft. He was also an ex-convict; something which most of the congregation was not aware of. Both this man and his wife had been previously married to ones who professed Christ (as did they) at the time of the divorces. I shared my concerns about this couple with the Senior Pastor only and he, being a Godly man with a Pastor's heart was determined to 'go the extra mile' with them; doing all he could to get them to see and deal with those areas in their lives which were wrong in Christ. Sadly, this course of action (through no fault or lack of diligence on the part of the Pastor) produced no good results and they continued on in their devious ways.
I was a witness to this couple attempting to undermine the Senior Pastor and his wife by making accusations against them and propagating rumors in an effort to get others to join with them. This man went so far as to swear an oath before God so the Senior Pastor would think he was doing what he was supposed to be doing, but he went back on his oath, lying to God, the Board of Elders and the congregation, and by doing so he and his wife gained control of the church. Many of those in the church who had some of the problems I mentioned earlier had earnestly repented before God for their sin and were delivered and set gloriously free by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Many of these people ended up leaving the church while, sadly, others refused to acknowledge their sin and break the bonds with the Devil. To this day they remain enslaved to him and these people have remained also in the church. This is largely due to the fact that this couple that are presently the Senior Pastors do not believe in dealing out rightly with sin, thereby enabling their own sin to remain covered. They are of the opinion that some Biblical teachings are "too hard".
Now, do I feel sorry for those who have chosen to stay and sit under this ministry, receiving within themselves false doctrine and thereby never being able to have a right relationship with the Lord; rather allowing themselves to be led down the broad road to destruction? The answer to that is: No, no more than I did for those adults who followed Jim Jones to Jonestown and straight into Hell. For these people, most of whom had been taught the way of the Lord for many years by the previous Senior Pastor, have elected by their own free will to remain under the false teaching of the present headship, finding it easier and more comfortable to be lulled into a false sense of security by those who never preach any message that might bring conviction of sin.
Absurd as this whole thing sounds, I can assure you this is not fiction, but all too real and one I myself am very familiar with, for I have paid the price for trying to tell the truth to these people. Indeed, the very gates of Hell have come against us (although they have not prevailed). For from these same people came a viscous campaign of malicious rumors, lies and false accusations against my family and I the likes of which I have never before experienced in all my years in the ministry.
At the time of this particular attack (which has never really ceased and has actually gotten worse), God spoke to my family and I and told us not to defend ourselves but to remain silent and allow Him to deal with the situation, which we did. For the Lord has said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay". When you truly undertake to serve the Living and Almighty God, you will suffer persecution, but He will be your counsel and defense.
It is important when undergoing these kinds of trials and tribulations that you keep your mind on things above and remain in one accord with the Word of God. If you do, He will be the only defense you will ever need; for His Spirit will go before you and His Glory will be your rear guard. It is only those who in their lust for power willingly become the devil's advocates who need fear the Judgment of God. For they will do or say anything against anyone who they fear might get in their way, or bring forth the truth about them. Even though they will insist that they believe they are 'doing the will of God' in these matters, they will be the ones spoken about in Matthew; when Jesus Himself says to them, "Away from Me, I never knew you".
Blessedly, the former Senior Pastor and his wife, along with many other saints have escaped the manipulative clutches of these people and are continuing to worship and serve the Lord, as are we. If you find that you are involved with a church where there is more gossip than ministry, more slander than praise and more division than fellowship; or if the leadership of that church refuses to teach both the goodness and the severity of God; which is the whole truth, and instead picks and chooses scriptures to fit their own purposes as if the Bible were some sort of buffet where you only eat what you want-find yourself another church, or if the church you attend has Pastors or Elders who are afraid to have anyone look too deeply into their backgrounds, or who refuse to give their testimonies; beware. If the Eldership of your church are a bunch of 'yes' men who care more about making points with the Pastor than they do about pleasing the Lord; or if there are secret things going on and the entire truth about all the activities of the church are not being revealed, you need to get yourself free from that organization. For did not Jesus say, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."
You're not supposed to be hurt, manipulated, controlled or maligned by the church. The church is supposed to be a place where you can go and worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. In the church you should be taught what your gifts and callings are so you might be able to fulfill your place in the Body of Christ. You should find the peace, joy and love of Christ abounding in your church, especially in the leadership. You should be finding an example of Christ-like obedience to follow in your Pastor and Elders. If these things are not happening you need to ask the Lord where you should be.
Remember, the Bible says, (speaking of the Lord), 'all who seek Me shall find Me'. If you're looking for someplace to go for a religious social gathering, or a place to have your ears tickled, there are churches aplenty that fit the bill, but if you truly desire to serve Christ and Him only, without having to listen to a whitewashed Gospel, then ask, and the One who is the Author and Finisher of your faith will 'lead you into green pastures'.
Blessings and love in Christ.
In His service, for His glory...
Rev. Ron and Kathy Bernier
Into the Light ministries
