"And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer,
and put fire therein, and put incense thereon,
and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not."
and put fire therein, and put incense thereon,
and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not."
(Leviticus 10:1))
And in modern times there can be few if any examples of "strange fire" more blatant and far-reaching in effect than what became known as the Toronto Blessing, which was in reality a curse of gargantuan proportions, the toxic smouldering of which continues to chronically affect us to this day.
The unrestrained drunken revelry which characterized this supposed "revival" should have been ample proof that the phenomenon had nothing whatsoever to do with the Holy Spirit and everything to do with an alien one, but wisdom and discernment were the two spiritual gifts that hardly anyone seemed to have any interest in exercising. It was party time, and the only thing that was unacceptable to the writhing masses was anyone daring to rain on their parade by telling them the truth about their demonic delusion.
Which brings us to Steve Long, and his imminent visit to City Church Cardiff (which until June this year was known as City Temple). So who exactly is Steve Long? Well, he and wife Sandra have been pastors at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, now re-branded as 'Catch The Fire,' since 1994, when they arrived at John Arnott's church where the Toronto Blessing's "strange fire" had broken out in January of that year. They were then commissioned by the Arnotts in 2006 as the Senior Pastors. Mr. and Mrs. Long also serve as Vice-Presidents of Catch The Fire (World) and Directors of Catch The Fire (Canada).
It must be emphasized that Steve Long came to prominence precisely because of his deep participation in and global promotion of the "strange fire" of the Toronto Blessing, for which he was rewarded by John Arnott personally by being given the leadership of his Toronto church when he stepped down from that position a decade ago. Steve Long is absolutely inseparable from the so-called Toronto Blessing, and this has to be clearly understood when evaluating his ministry.
The Longs' profile (http://catchthefire.com/media/profiles/steve-sandra-long) informs us that they specialize in inner healing, deliverance and physical healing. In this context, it will be more than relevant to here take a little look at a book that Steve Long has written on the subject of healing, entitled 'My Healing Belongs To Me' with a foreword unsurprisingly penned by John Arnott. Most tellingly, it is endorsed by some of the most well-known and utterly unsound ear-tickling "Christian" renegades on the planet, like Bill Johnson, James Goll, Wesley and Stacey Campbell, Rolland and Heidi Baker, and Che Ahn amongst others - of whom we might particularly note two British individuals, namely David Campbell and Kevin Peat, who we'll return to shortly.
With so many false teachers and prophets on board to boost sales - you need to note the major New Apostolic Reformation connections! - it should really come as no shock to the system to find that the premise of Long's book is quite simply a lie. The ear-tickling pitch is this:
"GOD WANTS TO SEE EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, BECOME HEALTHY."
The very title of the book is itself an untruth! When Long asserts that "my healing belongs to me" he is simply regurgitating the old Word of Faith deception. Our healing DOES NOT belong to US - it very firmly belongs to GOD, and to Him alone! Period. He is Sovereign, and it is He who decides on such matters, not us. He will grant, or NOT grant healing, as it pleases Him. He alone has ownership of such things, and while we can meekly ask for a dispensation of a measure of His healing grace, the answer is far from guaranteed to be a "Yes!" Even the Apostle Paul met with a firm "No!" when he asked three times for his "thorn" to be removed. Hard as it may be for us to understand, illness and weakness can indeed form an integral part of God's plan and purpose for our lives. And like Trophimus, we too can be left sick (2 Tim. 4:20) or like Timothy have stomach trouble and frequent illnesses (1 Tim. 5:23). Here is the Lord's answer to Paul's request and the Apostle's response to it, words that should really make us stop and think long and hard about these issues:
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
A little more reading and digestion of the Word will completely blow apart Long's claim that "God wants to see everyone, everywhere, become healthy." John 5 records an incident in Jesus's ministry, when he healed a disabled man at the pool of Bethesda. It should be well noted that this man was the only one in "a great multitude" so healed; all his fellows went home in the same condition in which they had arrived.
I have no doubt personally that God can and will accomplish miraculous physical healing if He wishes to. But it is not the norm, and definitely not His focus. His priority is not physical but spiritual healing, through our coming into a restored relationship with Him by honest repentance of sin and our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. This is the most important and fundamental healing of all, compared to which all other types of healing become only of the palest significance. Physical healing is temporal, whereas spiritual healing is eternal.
Let us remember that when by His grace we are saved, the spirit is redeemed but the flesh remains in a state of corruption. We remain subject in the body to the same ravages of disease, decay and death as everyone else in this fallen world. What is corruptible has yet to put on incorruption; what is mortal has yet to put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:53-4). And for such glorious and permanent transformation, we have to patiently wait.
Friends, we are not to be fooled by fables, and we are to firmly resist the seduction of what has but an appearance of righteousness. So many, even when they know in their heart of hearts that something is not right, go along with it anyway, rather than make a stand. So many simply have no desire to see the reality, preferring the illusion. There are none so blind as they who have poked out their own eyes, and lead the similarly sightless into the ditch.
Most regrettably, Elim have long had such leaders, men who should have known so much better. Men like Colin Dye and Wynne Lewis of the Kensington Temple, who dizzily danced to the Toronto tune and caused others to delightedly partner with them in the whole unfolding horror story. Men of the moment like the aforementioned David Campbell and Kevin Peat, both of whom are Regional Leaders in the Elim denomination and unashamed and determined error pedlars. For more information on this particular angle, please refer to: http://watchman4wales.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/rivercamp-2015-elims-accord-with.html
To the list of undiscerning Elim (mis)leaders can sadly be added Steve Ball, the current Senior Pastor at City Church Cardiff, for bringing Steve Long to his church, and also his predecessor Chris Cartwright, who during his tenure hosted Bill Johnson at the City Temple. Johnson - who as we've noted commends Long's 'My Healing Belongs To Me' - was Campbell and Peat's star guest at their Rivercamp Leadership Conference last year, and is one of the unsoundest "Christian" leaders in the world today! Please see: http://watchman4wales.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/rivercamp-leadership-conference-may.html
City Church Cardiff is playing with fire. And it is "strange fire" that they are playing with. The visit of Steve Long is not to be missed, they enthuse. But the truth of the matter is that anyone who has risen to prominence and power as a direct result of their very active participation in and promotion of the demonic delirium that was the Toronto "Blessing," should be marked and studiously avoided, not courted and connected with!
Dear reader, my hope and my prayer is that Thursday 13th. October will not find you anywhere near City Church Cardiff, supporting this travesty!
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty."
(2 Corinthians 6:17-18)
