.
The practice (supposed or real) of the sign gifts in any given church proves nothing as to the spirituality of that church.
All of the gifts of 1 Corinthians ch. 12 were being practiced by the Corinthian believers, and yet the church was a CARNAL church, and to such an extent that there were revelations and mysteries that the Apostle could not teach them, because they were too CARNAL to receive them (ch. 3).
There is a rebuke of one error or another of which the Corinthians were guilty in almost every chapter of the book, including the allowance of gross immorality in the church (ch. 5).
Sometimes on the mission field, our folks are lured and deeply impressed by those who claim to be practicing all kinds of gifts. Not trying to deny that what experiences people claim really took place (we allow that EXPERIENCES take place that ARE supernatural in origin), we instruct them to be watchful of certain things:
1. What is actually the core doctrine of the people who claim having had the experiences? How do they identify Jesus Christ and the work of His Spirit from the words of the Scriptures themselves?
2. What is the common life, witness, and testimony (for Christ) of those people when they are not having such experiences?
3. What do they say is the purpose and fruit of those experiences, and can they take you to Scripture to correctly identify them, that doesn't actually break other Scriptures (?), for the Scriptures cannot be broken.
4. Do not assume that people who claim EXPERIENCES are necessarily any less CARNAL than the Corinthian believers were when they practiced the gifts in Corinth in the first century.
5. Are you seeking WISDOM as Gentile believers, or merely seeking SIGNS as the Jewish believers (1 Corinthians 1:22; 14:22). The Nation of Israel was founded upon signs, and therefore they expected signs to prove legitimacy.
We are accustomed to seeing outpourings of the Holy Spirit in the churches among who we fellowship, and we see very unusual things. AND we also recognize that in any meeting there are a certain number of people who attend looking first and foremost to see unusual manifestations, and to the extent that they will accept “WILD FIRE” that can be whipped up by fleshly emotion as being the genuine article.
But one of their problems, which usually shows out to be their error, is that they think the Holy Spirit will always work in an expected manner of which THEY want to see. If they don't see it, they will try to whip it up themselves.
The Holy Spirit is perfectly just as capable of moving in SILENCE, confounding those who are looking for a noise-fest. Those who are genuinely worshiping in Spirit and in Truth will recognize it, and those who are merely looking for a show . . . WON'T (unless they do get right with God in the meeting), and will leave disappointed and even complaining. That's okay, ‘cause they usually don't show up to hinder the next meeting, but go join the fonies instead.
Qx: I would add that often non Penetcostal types will throw rocks AS THOUGH such hideous problems did NOT occur in NON-Pentecostal churches.
THAT'S UTTER NONSENSE. They just have different flavors and white-wash in non-Pentecostal groups. Often, such carnalities are more devastating because they hide better under more polished and kosher RELIGIOUS GARB.
Qx: I would add that often non Penetcostal types will throw rocks AS THOUGH such hideous problems did NOT occur in NON-Pentecostal churches.
THAT'S UTTER NONSENSE. They just have different flavors and white-wash in non-Pentecostal groups. Often, such carnalities are more devastating because they hide better under more polished and kosher RELIGIOUS GARB.
ON TARGET!!