Mysticism Defined...
Mysticism appears to be one of those many subjects people tend to stay away from. It is avoided because it is misunderstood and wrongly associated with Catholicism. The writer knows people who will reject anything a mystic may say based upon the "mystic status" of the one being rejected. This is a sad habit. As Bishop Ryle states in his "Expository Thoughts on the Gospels", "I have found light where I expected to find darkness and darkness where I expected to find light" [paraphrased]. A good rule to study by is this; All truth belongs to God regardless from whom it comes.
Having written the above, I would like to provide my readers with a series of simple, practical definitions of "mystic". These definitions will be in the form of easily digestable sentences which should help you to "think upon these things". These definitions come from the writer and are not borrowed from no others, but, (he hopes) the Holy Spirit. Let's begin...
#1. Mystics, it seems, are chosen by God for a special communion with Him.
#2. One can be a mystic and not be aware of it because of a misunderstanding of the term.
#3. After reading the Word of God, the mystic walks closely with the God of the Word.
#4. He Who inspired the Scriptures inspires the walk, the thoughts, the feelings of the mystic.
#5. Mysticism is God speaking and being heard.
#6. Mysticism is a constant satisfying awareness of God's constant Presence.
#7. The mystic prays without ceasing.
#8. With the mystic, words are not a needful part of communion with God. In fact, they can hinder his communion.
#9. The spirit of prayer rests upon the mystic. He falls asleep in prayer and when he "awake[s], I am still with Thee" (Psalm 139"18). Note the word "still".
#10. The mystic inhales the holy Presence of God and exhales ceaseless prayer and praise.
#11. The mystic thinks in terms of prayer/communion and this is second nature.
#12. The mystic lives outside and above man's tradition and, therefore, he is offensive to man.
#13. The mystic's great fear is broken fellowship with God.
#14. The mystic loves God.
#15. The mystic practically lives in the "new Heaven" already.
#16. The mystic's great goal is God and God alone.
In closing, mysticism is not "myth-icism" but it is a constant dwelling in the Presence of the Original Mystery. Mysticism is a mystery to the "non-mystic". Mysticism has nothing to do with denominations. Mysticism is a very real and very practical walk with God.
Buried in Christ,
St. Loder, a mystic.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
"Loving Numbers with all Thy Heart"
"...And they said unto him...is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe...? and the priest's heart was glad...and [he] went in the midst of the people." (Judges 18.)
The above is not pulled from a church newspaper (though it could be), but it is a recorded event found in God's Word and it is a reflection of many a pastor today. In our last posting, this writer revealed the motive of some church leaders. In today's posting we'll take a look at the reasons for the number-lusting one finds in some ministries.
In the above passage one may see that a church leader is glad in heart to "minister" to more people. It is not bad to have one's "coasts enlarged" if the motive is the glory of God. However, the glory of God is not the focus of many today; but numerical growth is. Many pastors are like hell..."ever moving and never satisfied". Why is there such a focus on numbers today?
#1. Pride, in its many sinful forms, is the foundational cause.
#2. Seminary teaches this number-lusting. It begins with "how many did you get saved?", and continues later with "How many you running?"
#3. Sometimes money is the motivation- but not as much as one might think.
#4. Many teachers, preachers, and pastors have no confidence in their own unsound teachings, and they need people to affirm their ministry. When a man of God is confident in his teachings, ministry, and fellowship with God he does not need man's affirmations.
#5. God is not enough for them so they need man's acceptance of their person. As the Master stated, "They have their reward."
#6. This falling away from sound doctrine has been prophesied and now is. Scripture truth means nothing to them.
#7. Many of the church leaders are unsaved- as are their "numbers". They are blind leaders of their equally blind followers and parrots.
#8. As Paul stated, they are ministers of Satan and have been outwardly transformed into ministers of light.
Q. What is one to do if in this kind of "church"?
A. "Have no fellowship with works of darkness" (Ephesians 5:11) and also 2Timothy 3:5.
Q. How can one know if they are in a "church" like the above?
A. "Try the spirits." In other word, put their teachings on trial with the Scriptures as Judge.
Trust your spirit to none but God and His inspired Apostles.
Buried in Christ,
St. Loder
The above is not pulled from a church newspaper (though it could be), but it is a recorded event found in God's Word and it is a reflection of many a pastor today. In our last posting, this writer revealed the motive of some church leaders. In today's posting we'll take a look at the reasons for the number-lusting one finds in some ministries.
In the above passage one may see that a church leader is glad in heart to "minister" to more people. It is not bad to have one's "coasts enlarged" if the motive is the glory of God. However, the glory of God is not the focus of many today; but numerical growth is. Many pastors are like hell..."ever moving and never satisfied". Why is there such a focus on numbers today?
#1. Pride, in its many sinful forms, is the foundational cause.
#2. Seminary teaches this number-lusting. It begins with "how many did you get saved?", and continues later with "How many you running?"
#3. Sometimes money is the motivation- but not as much as one might think.
#4. Many teachers, preachers, and pastors have no confidence in their own unsound teachings, and they need people to affirm their ministry. When a man of God is confident in his teachings, ministry, and fellowship with God he does not need man's affirmations.
#5. God is not enough for them so they need man's acceptance of their person. As the Master stated, "They have their reward."
#6. This falling away from sound doctrine has been prophesied and now is. Scripture truth means nothing to them.
#7. Many of the church leaders are unsaved- as are their "numbers". They are blind leaders of their equally blind followers and parrots.
#8. As Paul stated, they are ministers of Satan and have been outwardly transformed into ministers of light.
Q. What is one to do if in this kind of "church"?
A. "Have no fellowship with works of darkness" (Ephesians 5:11) and also 2Timothy 3:5.
Q. How can one know if they are in a "church" like the above?
A. "Try the spirits." In other word, put their teachings on trial with the Scriptures as Judge.
Trust your spirit to none but God and His inspired Apostles.
Buried in Christ,
St. Loder
Sunday, March 2, 2008
A god of the " 'Church' " Acts 2:47b
....And the Lord added to the church....
When the writer reads this he understands that it is Christ that adds to His church daily such as should be saved. A debate on this verse would focus on the "should be saved" portion. The debate should, however, be upon "the Lord" portion of this verse. The writer (and majority of his readers) understand that God sovereignly and irresistably adds to His church those for whom Christ died. We understand that the term "church" refers to the mystical body of the "called". Those who are added to the church are ushered in by the Spirit's irresistable work of regeneration and subsequent conversion. The Spirit uses the applied Word of God to bring about this new life. The writer understands that the above can be expanded, but he presents merely the gist.
While the above could certainly be a point of debate, the above is not the point of this posting. The point of this posting is to assault those who worship and lust after numbers. The average preacher today is a luster of numbers. The world accuses preachers of greed. As is usually the case, the world is wrong. Most preachers are not greedy of financial gain. They are greedy of church growth for pride's sake. They sacrifice scripture truth to the alter of the god that is church growth. They use code words like "soul winning", "outreach", and "being burdened for the lost" in order to grow their "business". I call it "business" because they use worldy business methods and ignore the scriptures' injunction to "love not the world" and "the friend of the world is the enemy of God." Number-lusting preachers tell their starving flocks that "the blood of the lost will be on their hands!" This is the heresy that many missionaries are happy to use. While the false preacher will defend the heresy, he will reject the God-honoring preachers who can truly feed the flock.
These preachers use "VBS" and gifts/awards in order to bribe kids to come to church. The whole purpose in bringing the children to church is in the hopes of blackmailing the parents to come and hear their deceived kids sing unscriptural songs by unqualified teachers and hear a false gospel message.
When the writer reads this he understands that it is Christ that adds to His church daily such as should be saved. A debate on this verse would focus on the "should be saved" portion. The debate should, however, be upon "the Lord" portion of this verse. The writer (and majority of his readers) understand that God sovereignly and irresistably adds to His church those for whom Christ died. We understand that the term "church" refers to the mystical body of the "called". Those who are added to the church are ushered in by the Spirit's irresistable work of regeneration and subsequent conversion. The Spirit uses the applied Word of God to bring about this new life. The writer understands that the above can be expanded, but he presents merely the gist.
While the above could certainly be a point of debate, the above is not the point of this posting. The point of this posting is to assault those who worship and lust after numbers. The average preacher today is a luster of numbers. The world accuses preachers of greed. As is usually the case, the world is wrong. Most preachers are not greedy of financial gain. They are greedy of church growth for pride's sake. They sacrifice scripture truth to the alter of the god that is church growth. They use code words like "soul winning", "outreach", and "being burdened for the lost" in order to grow their "business". I call it "business" because they use worldy business methods and ignore the scriptures' injunction to "love not the world" and "the friend of the world is the enemy of God." Number-lusting preachers tell their starving flocks that "the blood of the lost will be on their hands!" This is the heresy that many missionaries are happy to use. While the false preacher will defend the heresy, he will reject the God-honoring preachers who can truly feed the flock.
These preachers use "VBS" and gifts/awards in order to bribe kids to come to church. The whole purpose in bringing the children to church is in the hopes of blackmailing the parents to come and hear their deceived kids sing unscriptural songs by unqualified teachers and hear a false gospel message.
Preachers are willing to forsake God's teaching on repentance and sanctification to "get people saved". They will redefine "belief" to be an acknowledging of a series of (misrepresented) facts by bowed heads and raised hands. If no one raises their hand, the "minister of light" will falsely say, "I see that hand," which will cause a whirlwind of hands being raised by the unregenerate (to the excitement of the number-lusting preacher.) The preacher then will brag on the number of people he has "brought to the Lord" while neglecting to acknowledge his denial of biblical truth.
If you are a pastor, preach the truth and let God add to your number as He sees fit. This writer left a church a couple years ago because of the above. He now teaches sound, historical Christianity to a handful of people in his home, and is willing and able to defend his teaching. He would rather teach the handful of people who love the Lord and His Word than a churchful of carnal number-loving tares. Growth of the individual is a sign of God's blessings and not the growth of a church through the denial of God, His demands, and His truths.
Buried in Christ,
St. Loder
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