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Sign of the Times - Christian Yoga in the Church
by Steve Wittmann
Apostasy & Christian Yoga in the Church
Click the play button to begin video lesson and follow along with the lesson notes below the video window.Rev 3:15 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. Rev 3:16 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. While no one wants to say their church is lukewarm, the fact remains that many are. Lukewarm churches aim to please man instead of God. Apostasy – The Great Rebellion 2 Th 2:3 (NASB) Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, (NLT) Don't be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. Apostasy is a progressive conditioning and it’s happening all around us. CoExist Before the man of lawlessness is revealed, the world must be prepared or progressively conditioned to accept the idea of a single world religion. The likelihood is a one-world religion will be introduced alongside ideas of tolerance and coexistence. Harry Potter’s Lightning Bolt How does progressive conditioning work? Coming from a prophecy-aware background, should someone propose wearing a mark on my forehead, the alarm bells would be ringing. However, at the opening of the final Potter movie in Sydney, AU, fans arrived wearing Potter garb including lightning bolts painted onto their foreheads to honor Potter’s forehead scar that represents a killing curse. Other Potter scars include a marking on the back of Potter’s right hand. While it’s easy to dismiss these occurrences as fan enthusiasm, progressive conditioning says it’s okay to wear a symbol of an organization you support on your forehead or hand. Such a person is conditioned and is more likely to be receptive to the idea of wearing a mark on their forehead or hand. Is Apostasy Here? Has the prophetic time of apostasy arrived? As we saw in 2Th 2:3, the great rebellion is a time foretold in prophecy in which the nations will fall away in the faith and turn to the lawlessness of the world. Has that time arrived? Timothy describes the world’s turning to lawlessness in 2Ti 3:1-5. 2Ti 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2Ti 3:2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 2Ti 3:3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 2Ti 3:4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 2Ti 3:5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; The Barna Group Survey The baseline of their study was something they called a “biblical world-view.” a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.
- 66% of all adults do not believe in an absolute moral truth that is not affected by one’s circumstances
- 54% of born-again Christians do not believe in an absolute moral truth
- 50% of all adults do not believe the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches.
- 75% of all adults do not believe Satan is a real force. 60% of born-again Christians do not believe Satan is a real force.
- 75% of all adults believe you can earn your way to heaven through good behavior. 53% of born-again Christians believe good works earns their way to heaven.
- 60% of American adults do not believe Jesus Christ led a sinless life while He was on Earth. 38% of born-again Christians do not believe Jesus Christ’s live on Earth was sinless.
- 70% of adults say God is the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe who still rules it today. 93% of born-again Christians support this belief.
- Well known Bible teachers have mistakenly taught contemplative prayer giving it credibility in the church.
- Contemplative prayer uses visualization combined with meditation.
- The practice of visualization meditation is a Yoga technique purposed with awakening the serpent spirit Kundalini.
- A "Breath Prayer" is a primarily a short prayer (lit. a prayer phrase) that captures our deep yearning for intimacy, wholeness and a sense of peace with God. When spoken out-loud, a breath prayer has a rhythm allowing us to be increasingly conscious of our breathing - inhaling as we pray a short phrase, and then exhaling as we pray a short phrase. This increased consciousness of our breathing is a reminder of our physical and spiritual dependence on God.
- A breath prayer is prayed slowly using our natural rhythm of breathing to set the pace of our prayer, often as a way of entering into silence and solitude. As a centering prayer, a breath-prayer can bring our mind back to a God-focus when it wanders, help focus our full attention on God. And a frequently used breath prayer can become an unconsciously prayed prayer throughout our day.
- So a breath prayer actually has multiple purposes: it slows us down; it reminds us of our dependence (we become conscious of our need for breath); it focuses us on God (and keeps us focused on God); it leads us into deeper prayer (praise, confession, lament, petition, intercession, listening, etc.); and it is, itself, a genuine prayer.
- The best-known "Breath Prayer" is the "Jesus Prayer:" "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. So, as you consciously inhale, pray, "Lord Jesus Christ." As you exhale, pray "Son of God." As you inhale again, pray, "Have mercy on me." And as you exhale, conclude the prayer with "A sinner." The full version of the Jesus prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner" covers two breath cycles. A shorter version, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me" covers one breath cycle. (http://www2.crcna.org/pages/crhm_breath_prayer.cfm)
- Yoga first became popular in West during the 1970s as “TM” or Transcendental Meditation.
- In the 1980s it was at the heart of the New Age Movement claiming its roots in science.
- Now, Yoga has been repackaged again. This time bearing Christian names like Holy Yoga and ChrisToga.
- Yoga cannot become holy simply because someone declares it so.
- Yoga cannot be separated from its spiritual roots just as communion cannot be separated from its spiritual meaning.
- What is Communion? Define it. Now, apart from that definition, what does it mean? Yoga is the same way – apart from being yoked with the Hindu gods like Brahma, Shiva, via Kundilini it means nothing.
- Apostasy is a falling away of faith
- The Co-Exist movement teaches there are many paths to god – Jesus says He is the only way.
- Through progressive conditioning society gradually accepts new ideas like wearing a mark on one’s forehead.
- Contemplative prayer teaches one to visualize Jesus in order to “experience” Him.
- Breath prayers are Prana Yoga breathing and meditation techniques dressed up in Christian names.
- Monotheism is the theology of one God. Polytheism is the theology of more than one god.
- Yoga cannot be separated from its spiritual roots just as communion cannot be separated from its spiritual meaning.
- Yoga literally means “to be yoked” or joined in union.
- Yoga teaches you’re ignorant of your own divinity. That through Yoga discipline, the serpent spirit Kundalini is awakened to bring wisdom, power, and knowledge through enlightenment.
- Yoga poses or asanas are worship to each poses’ respective god.
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