Mixture

How many churches do you know that are flooded with the awesome presence of Jesus Christ? Where believers are so awed and reverent, they gather in holy silence. Where no one dares be flippant or silly. Where the singing is so filled with Christ's presence, sinners weep. Where the backslider and the wicked sinner become so miserable they either run to the altar, or out the door. Where the preacher is so anointed his face seems to shine with supernatural glory, and his words have convicting power.

How many Christians do you know who live in the glorious victory that comes from spending much time in the presence of Jesus? Who do you know that is exciting to be around, because you can sense victory and peace in them? Where are those who rejoice in pulling down strongholds — casting down evil imaginations — victorious over lust and passion — who have found and appropriated the strong arm of the Lord to all their hurts, problems, and anxieties?

How few churches, how few pastors, and how few Christians there are who are alive and vibrant with the power of Christ's presence!

Why? Because this generation of Christians is guilty of the sin of mixture! We have been shutting out the actual presence of Christ because we no longer want to be a separated people. We want to mix. We do not want to be different.

Mixture means "to combine or blend into one mass so that individual characteristics are gone." 

It is the intermingling of two elements causing them to lose their separate uniqueness, and take on a new, singular character.

Doesn't this describe exactly what is happening in Christianity today? God's people want to blend and intermingle — and soon they lose their unique, different, special character. They lose their godly character, and take on the character of the world.

From the Beginning, God Chose to Reveal His Presence Only Through a Special, Separated People.

He chose to reveal Himself through Israel — if they would avoid the sin of mixture:

"For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special (called out) people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth…" (Deuteronomy 7:6)

1 John 4:1 says “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God.”  The Bible also tells us to “test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). 

With these admonitions, it is clear that discernment is needed.  I have been in meetings where it seemed that everyone was expected to simply accept every manifestation without question.  A meeting (or a movement) should not object to manifestations being questioned or tested.  In some circles, anyone who questions a manifestation is deemed “religious.”  I am certainly against the religious spirit, but we need not blindly accept everything without proper testing.

The Danger of Mixture

“You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together.” Deuteronomy 22:9-11

One of the most dangerous things that can happen in the church is mixture; mixing worldly philosophy with the Word of God, mixing fleshly demonstrations with the genuine power of God, and mixing false teaching with true.  Mixture creates confusion.  It muddies the waters and makes it harder to determine the source of a teaching, ministry, or movement.  In the Old Testament, the children of Israel were constantly getting in trouble by mixing with pagan philosophies and idols.  They tried to worship the Lord and worship idols as well.  They wanted to mix the rituals and practices of the gentiles with their own worship.  This always brought the judgment of God.

Today, the same thing is happening in many of our churches. Some are teaching self-help methods along with biblical principles.  Some are espousing New Age practices along with genuine gifts of the Spirit.  Some are allowing for demonic counterfeits along with the genuine manifestation of the Holy Spirit.  The result of this mixture is seen in the passage quoted above: “lest the yield of the seed you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled.”

We need to separate the “precious from the vile” (see Jeremiah 15:19).  Let’s pray for the discernment to recognize the true from the false, and uproot the mixture that is among us.  We must have the cleansing fire of the Word of God wash us from all defilement that has come through mixture!

When observing the passover, the Jews were commanded to remove all leaven - because a “little lump” will spread through the whole.