New Age Christianity
Vanity, Vanity
I thought in my heart,
“Come now, I will test you to find out what is spiritually good.”
I tried cheering myself with Holy laughter, and embraced the folly of being drunk in the spirit, my mind still guiding me with wisdom.
I undertook great projects: I built church buildings and sowed to reap in the vineyards of religion.
I attempted to apply the fruit of the Spirit and transferred reservoirs of spiritual power to help the church flourish.
I made myself a student of tradition and ritual and led others in the same way.
I amassed great spiritual experience and sacrificed family and friends to know my god.
I acquired titles and prestige among the religious.
I joined in with worshipers, with men and women singers, and a choir of prophetic intercessors.
I denied myself nothing my spiritual eyes could see; I refused my heart no spiritual power.
My heart took delight in all my Christian work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve; everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his Christian neighbor and this too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Of all things most grievous to me, Jesus did not have to be present for any of this.
Can anybody tell me how to get back home?
New age philosophy attempts to either bring people into spiritual realms or invite spiritual realms into people. The desired result is to become enlightened and self-empowered. Yet at the foundation of this practice is a trust in humanities strength and creations many resources. Basically man’s goal here is to add spiritual meaning to all his natural endeavors.
Now we maybe able to sympathize; having once lost oneness with God in the garden left man empty and void of fellowship with God’s Spirit. In the beginning the glory of God encompassed around man and he found a suitable spiritual covering.
Could it be that the goal for natural man is still looking for a spiritual embrace; or maybe it’s an attempt to cover his spiritual nakedness?
The thought is not far from unreasonable. After all if we give thought to the relationship that once existed between God and man the Old Covenant provided some indications that the glory of God could manifest outwardly.
At one time this caused the very flesh of man to be empowered.
Elijah ran ahead of the chariot 1 Kings 18:46, Joshua defeating the giants Joshua 14:1–15, David’s 30 fighting men 2 Samuel 23:8–38, and Samson’s source of strength Judges 14,15.
Yet if such remarkable feats were never documented humanity would still crave what was once lost. The pervading goal for humanity then has been to embrace any and all things that fill the senses: enter the serpent.
A world empire was also born that day in the garden. As Adam and Eve stood before the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil the Serpent spoke about the advantages of partaking of its fruit.
Genesis 3:4-6 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
From that day forward humanity would measure success by what they see, think and feel. They would also come to rely upon the god of this world as a surrogate savior offering all things counterfeit. Within this union man would gain power and position within earthly kingdoms, and the Devil would receive worship every time humanity says “yes” to his own brand of fruit. But even here the man is thinking about that lost connection with the glory of God.
For this reason the Tower of Babel showed us an unrelenting drive in man to make something happen. However within a unity of misguided purpose they attempted to enter heaven on their own terms.
Man went to work and gathered to himself a gaggle of like minded individuals who started piling up rocks, earth, wood, and stubble in order to build a tower. Yet if there is an analogy to be realized, we can come to the conclusion that man is still propping up wood, hay and stubble in an attempt to satisfy a craving. Consider God’s early reply to such a delusion;
Deuteronomy 4:15-19 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
In another place we read that idols of wood and rock do not contain a spiritual presence, yet mankind’s idol worship does feed the flame. Misplaced fervor calls upon creation to satisfy man’s physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual hunger. The world calls it “gaining consciousness”; the joining together of natural elements with spiritual desire.
Spiritual powers can then be made in the image of;
• Animals. (The bull, the raven, the dragon, the eagle) “animism.”
• The earth’s seasons. (Winter, summer, spring or fall)
• Celestial bodies (Sun, moon or constellations.)
• Spiritual powers (Angels or Demons)
• The elements (Water, fire, wind and earth.)
• Examples of daily human exchange. (Mother, father, fertility, war, man, woman, feasting, and health.)
• The Human body or parts thereof. (The eye, the hand, the blood, human organs, or human actions as an example of worship.)
Likewise from a religious point of view powers have been known to manifest within;
• Christian amulets (Crosses, pendants, prayer shawls, etc.)
• Dedication of a city, a building, a sacred site or sacred statue.
• Through rituals proclaiming within religious service and practice.
• Doctrines born of one of forty thousand different denominations.
The later suggests that something spiritual has been added to the simple gospel message.
Belief and faith in the things of creation = a new age spirit and religion.
New Age Motives
When other powers get added to Christianity we attribute them to being the work of God. However this all comes into play because we believe that natural strength and the animate can save our souls. A false deity comes alive due to the people’s own misapplied belief and faith in natural strength and performance. Thus religion strives to make a connection with a god that we can touch, feel, or hold in our hands.
Hooked on a feeling
Jude 1:17-21 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
If the religious man measures success based on natural instincts, then he also attempts to discern his god through the senses. Thus every good feeling will more than likely be classified as an example of God’s favor, and every unpleasant or empty feeling, is an example of His displeasure. Spiritual seduction is what touches man’s senses and seeks to add proof of authenticity. Let me tell you a story about spiritual seduction.
I personally started out in a very conservative church setting. For the most part there was a strong emphasis on the word and traditional worship. Though it remained subtle, man’s attempts to interject his own ideas, insights and agendas into the message, began to affect me in a negative way. This was as slight as making humanity the focus of any church service. When the message is religious we endeavor to discover in the flesh;
• How to do for God.
• How to not do for God.
• How to be like the saints of old.
• How to not be like the saints of old.
• How to perfect the flesh in physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual ways.
This was not limited to just one church connection, but each time I moved on and entered another congregation, man somehow always became the center of attention. Not surprisingly, this corrosive pattern of making man the focus taught me a means of discernment through self awareness and my senses became the chief barometer for defining success. However feelings can lie to us and when supported by another spirit, misplaced belief and faith, become a stronghold.
As an example look at the matter of sin; if we didn’t feel good about our sin or addiction, then it is likely we wouldn’t keep sinning; we would actually get bored with it.
Remarkably, I had never thought to question whether my religious experiences where any less a stronghold. These attempts at “feeling” weren’t about God, they were about me. As sensory validation became more important to my walk, I jokingly called myself an “anointing junky”, but the joke was on me, the clarity of Christ was gone. My search led me away from truth in the Spirit of God, and conditioned me to always be looking for that ultimate sensory high. How do I now know this wasn’t from God?
• The Word warned me about this type of trouble. (1 Tim 4:1)
• The spiritual effect ministered to my flesh both outwardly and inwardly at times, but did not edify my new man in Christ.
• It didn’t produce lasting change in my walk with God.
• It made me dependent on others for more power and experience.
• It didn’t curb sensual desire in me, but added to the fire. (Very common)
• It wasn’t producing in me a righteous life, but only offered unique spiritual and fleshly encounters.
• It made me pay a price for gaining more spiritual power, presence and purpose.
• It made me arrogant; believing I had received greater reward because I had paid the price.
• It bound me to the will of others who ministered with their own perceived brand of good spiritual seduction.
• Last but not least; I began to test all these feelings at the Cross, and surprisingly many of them went away.
Belief and faith in feelings = a false god and spiritual veil.
Does God provide a level of sensory validation?
Certainly God made Adam with this capacity to feel and to enjoy the senses, yet any search for God that focuses on these human qualities quickly forgets that we were born of the Spirit. If we are wise we should not expect there to be a validation of the senses where our skin tingles or our head wants to pop.
First and foremost the presence of God manifests as a confidence and peace within, rather than an ecstatic feeling. We remain filled with the assurance that we belong to Jesus and He is our supply of faith, hope and love. Thus as we dwell in Him, and Him in us, we are immersed in all the advantages that His nature and character and Spirit have to offer.
(Let me add, I am not suggesting that this invalidates our right to be moved in our emotions. When we are suddenly overwhelmed by the reality of who God is, we will naturally respond with our emotions. Yet in Christ, our emotional response is more readily the result of a heart connection with the Savior, rather than the senses.)
I finally lost a significant amount of spiritual presence in my life as I challenged the sensory issue. These alluring and seductive powers were very committed to keeping me bound to religious performance. After all they displayed the most wonderful and powerful warm fuzzy feelings at times and who could compete with that? The trouble was this was nothing more than a seducing power backing up my attempts at religious perfection. Each power delivered its own brand of reward, but it also led me away from real stability in Christ.
The delusion to the body of Christ is actually wide spread. It is the basis for why we keep serving and sacrificing for the prize. It also explains why we keep adding new religious agendas and contracts to our walk. This counterfeit sensory blessing inappropriately gets defined as “the anointing of God”. We often hear people validate it by saying; “did you feel the anointing on that worship, on that music, on that person, on that performance or on that message?” However the danger in making the Christian life all about feelings is we never really know who’s answering us. By inappropriately adding fleshly expectations to the Kingdom we run the risk of serving a sensory god and a New Age Christian religion.
How do we lay down any counterfeit attempt at seeing, thinking or feeling?
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Biblical deliverance comes about by the work of Jesus on the Cross. Through death He severed the Devils ownership of humanity. As He was resurrected He became the first born Son from among the dead. But this moment in time was also the place of our own death, burial and resurrection. By sharing in Jesus’ death the strongholds present within poor physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual choices get severed. The resurrection life of our Savior then offers us new direction in life. So if we want freedom it amounts to an agreement with the Biblical message. Paul the Apostle says it like this:
Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
He is even clearer as to how we put to death our many misdeeds:
Romans 8:11-13 … if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live
Freedom is a request of God, just as it was on the day of salvation. That’s right; we are still partaking of salvation and gaining greater freedoms.
As for gaining freedom from inappropriate sights, thoughts and feelings; keep in mind we don’t decide what is or what is not acceptable sensory interactions within true faith. Our confession simply lets the Holy Spirit decide what needs to be changed on the outside or on the inside. The end result is then intended to glorify Him and we come to know true edification.
Application
Jesus based on what you did on the Cross and by the Holy Spirit;
• Test by the Cross where I have sought to heighten my Christian experience through sensory powers that fall short of being from You.
• Test by the Cross where my sight, thought and feelings remain owned by other powers that want to blind me with a counterfeit faith, practice and devotion.
• Test by the Cross where I have followed in the footsteps of religious people and organizations that have also added improper sensory ministry and doctrine to my walk of faith. (Name them)
• Test by the Cross where I hold in common with the world and with new age proponents every attempt to be spiritually seduce in body, soul, spirit, mind, will, emotions, conscience and subconscious, sexuality, Christianity, communication and gender by the influence of demonic powers.
• Test by the Cross where I also get pulled into other realms of spiritual sensory support that lie to me about true faith and relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
• Judge by the Cross the spiritual realm associated with these issues.
Jesus, You are the resurrection power that now saves me and makes my salvation new.
