this is a sermon I had written some time back concerning the issue of being "drunk in the Spirit".....Spiritual Drunkeness: Blessing, Curse Or Judgement?Grace and peace to you, Beloved, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ in the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit; may the Lord speak clearly to your heart in this present dark hour concerning the necessity of walking holy in this life before the return of the soon coming King. Dear reader, today we take our text from Isaiah 29:9-12, which states, “Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.” 1.“Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.” Brethren, here is a clear picture from Holy Scripture allowing for us to see what is taking place in multitudes of churches today as leaders and congregation members get ‘drunk in the Spirit.”… The Word of God is clear that what is being spoken of in the above text is NOT alcoholic drunkenness; notice the words “NOT with wine”, “NOT with strong drink.” What else COULD the prophet Isaiah be referring to here? If you can’t see the plain view of spiritual drunkenness in this verse of the Word of God, then you’re blind and deluded in an extreme measure; “they ARE drunken, but NOT with wine.” Spiritual drunkenness is REAL, Beloved; when you observe entire crowds of church members staggering around the altar and slurring their speech, etc, etc, then don’t you think for one moment that it’s all being faked! God is telling us in no uncertain terms that those who are “drunk in the Spirit” really ARE “drunk in the Spirit!” Possibly some would say spiritual drunkenness is “fake”, that somehow the people are “making it all up”; that view is totally incorrect according to the above verse which states that they “ARE DRUNKEN.” Perhaps you would believe that this drunkenness is of the devil, that satan is causing this spiritual drunkenness to overtake people; that also is a false view, as we shall set out to prove in this article. Again, there may be some who think that being “drunk in the Spirit” is a blessing that comes from the Hand of the Lord; even this view is in error, in that Scripture nowhere calls this drunkenness some kind of a “blessing”, though it IS from God, which this article will also set out to prove, as we move on. You see, dear reader, spiritual drunkenness is something that MUST be addressed by those in the Body of Christ, because this particular manifestation has literally spread to masses upon masses of professing Christians throughout the World, and it has not been hindered by denominational structures, literally crossing into almost every crack and crevice of Christendom. “They stagger, but NOT with strong drink”… What is this that is causing multitudes to STAGGER about as drunkards? What is really taking place in our churches as we approach the closing of the age just before the Return of the Lord for His Bride? To those of you pastors and laypersons who would outright deny the reality of this spiritual drunkenness, I would exhort you to let the words of your mouth be few in this matter, simply because your faulty position does not make it’s boast in Scripture. To those who would suggest that this particular manifestation of drunkenness is of the devil, I would admonish you to search the Holy Word of God, because when you take a proper approach to what the Word teaches, concerning this you will come up quite empty handed in your false view. For those of you readers who would imagine that being “drunk in the Spirit” is some type of blessing from the Lord to His People, I would challenge you here and now to make your case with an abundance of Scriptural examples of instances where Jesus Christ ever ONE SINGLE TIME caused ANYONE during His earthly Ministry to become so drunken spiritually that they staggered around! You can show no example, because it simply did not occur! “They ARE drunken, but NOT with wine”… Entire church services dedicated to having a “party with God”, a “drunken time in the Holy Ghost”! Brethren, what has the Church now come to?! We Pentecostals take pride in our “Baptism in the Holy Ghost with the initial evidence being the Speaking in Tongues,” and yet now many of us have now somehow received MORE than simply the initial evidence of Speaking with other Tongues! We have gone further into the River of God and have become drunken fools for Christ! 2.“For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep…” The Church, instead of being the Light that it SHOULD be, is ASLEEP! But the very frightening thing in all of this is, that it is GOD who hath poured out on the Church the spirit of deep sleep! While the Church is shouting and ranting and raving about the final, last days “revival”, God has told us that He has poured out upon us the “spirit of deep sleep”… While millions of professing Christians are “drunk in the Spirit”, and while they are dancing and singing about the “NEW THING” that the Lord is doing, in reality its SLEEPING, totally unaware and unprepared for what is coming upon the earth because of the wrath of God! At a time when we should be locked away in our secret closets of prayer, travailing for the lost, we are “partying with Jesus”, swimming in the “River”! Friend, this is a disgrace to the Body of Christ, a reproach, as Pastor David Wilkerson put it (Reproach of the Solemn Assembly; Pastor David Wilkerson). The spirit of deep sleep! Wake up Church! You are dreaming, and I believe soon this “dream” will become a nightmare to those who are caught sleeping when the Lord Jesus Christ calls His Church home to Glory before the 7 Year Great Tribulation. Do you honestly believe that a bunch of spiritual alcoholics, “drunk in the spirit”, are going to be caught up in the air to meet the Lord?! Just imagine it! Too drunk for Jesus, at least the Jesus of the Bible! Oh, that that Great Sleeping Giant called the Church would arise to do great and mighty exploits for the King of Kings and for the Lord of Lords! Oh, that the Church would repent of her backslidings that God would grant that the spirit of deep sleep be removed! The Church as a corporate whole cries out in prayer and in song for “revival”, and yet does she truly mean it? That the Lord God would grant Revival is what I and every true Child of God longs for; yet, are we ready to receive the Spirit of Conviction and Godly sorrow that we might be awakened to truth and to the Righteousness of God? I would dare think not! We seem to be too busy “drinking at the bar of the Holy Ghost”, with little time for diligent prayer and fasting, the kind of prayer and fasting that would revive the Church into the inspired truth of God’s Word! Awake! Awake! Awake! Oh Sleeping Giant! Awake from your deep sleep and be ye converted BACK to the truth of Scripture, which COMMANDS that we all be SOBER (1 Thess 5:6), “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” Beloved LET US NOT SLEEP! LET US WATCH AND BE SOBER! The above verse also is a “slap in the face” to the spiritual drunkard! While staggering around, drunken and spiritually asleep, the Word of God is calling for soberness and alertness! The Lord has POURED OUT upon you the spirit of deep sleep! While those that are involved in this spiritual drunkenness are claiming that the Lord is pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh as in Acts chapter 2, God is in reality pouring out the Spirit of deep sleep upon a heretical people who have willingly turned their ears from Truth. You cannot see because God will not allow it. You will not wake up because you love slumber and sleep; God has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep! Oh, that the Lord God Most High would save but SOME from this spirit of deep sleep! That His hand would but snatch a few from this slumber ness! Brethren, those who sleep, as the Church now is, cannot see what is taking place around them! The Church is dreaming. Beloved! Awake and arise out of your deep sleep, in the Name of Jesus, and turn your hearts to Calvary once more! Perilous and terrible times are now upon us; Jesus is about to return! Why are you yet sleeping, Church? Why is it and how can it be that you are not watching, not sober? We, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up! Not we, which are drunken and asleep! (1Thess 4:6-18) Millions right now are dying and are immediately cast into hell, and the Church is having a “Holy Ghost party”, complete with drunkenness! What shame it is for me to have to sit with pen and paper to rebuke the Church I love so dearly because of Her slumbering! I would rather that my pen and my thoughts and my words be given over in full surrender to the Preaching of the Gospel (1 Cor 15:1-4) that some would be saved, yet my heart is vexed at what the Church and my true Brethren are involving themselves in! Awake from out of thy sleep, Oh Sleeping Giant, and be ye converted unto the LORD who hath both wrought signs and wonders and miracles before your eyes! Arise from out of the dust of the earth and walk not in the flesh any longer! Matthew 25:5-6 “While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” Awake, dearly Beloved, and be ye not in slumbering state! Arise and see what you have become while you were sleeping and dreaming; you are become as a drunkard, and the lost of this world are scoffing at you! 3.“The prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered”… Go no more to the so-called “prophets” of the Church; God hath covered their eyes! They cannot see! They cannot see! The prophets of the modern Charismatic Church, and some even of the Pentecostal vein, are spewing out lies to the congregation of the LORD, such as the following: a) God is doing a “ New Thing.” b) God is Bigger than His Word. c) Only those with a spirit of religion do not accept this “New Thing.” d) We cannot get drunk on wine, but we sure can get drunk on the Holy Ghost. Do these terms and statements sound at all familiar to you, Beloved? If so, it is because your prophets and leaders are false and under a spirit of deep sleep! The “New Thing” that these prophets are making reference to is the “New Thing” of being drunk in the Spirit and laughing hysterically for hours on end in some cases! The “New Thing” is staggering around claiming that “the Holy Ghost is on me”! One Thing is certain; hear me you false prophet of the people’s making, and not of God’s calling: the Holy ghost IS causing you to become spiritually drunken, but it is clear and in plain view that God is exposing you to His True Church as false, and at the same time He is judging you for your back slidings! False Prophet, hireling Shepherd, why do you lie to the Church and tell them that this “New Thing” is a blessing God?! Can it be because you are deceived yourself?! Can it be because you lack true power with God and are simply desperate for power in and of itself? Tell me, false prophet, where is your loyalty and integrity to Holy Scripture. Tell me, hireling Pastor, why is it that you have fallen from Grace to accept that which is shameful and disgraceful to the true Church of Jesus Christ? I speak to the shame of those within my own camp. The prophets deceive Gods people and do cause them to err! “The prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered”… God hath closed your eyes, oh prophet of the Church! You have become blind and dumb to the things of God! Your eyes are opened instead to that which is not blessing, but cursing; your mouth has been opened not for the Word, but instead for the gain of your own selves! Why is it that you cannot see? It is because you are blind! Beloved, if God has covered the eyes of the PROPHETS then we are in BIG TROUBLE! Think about it! THE PROPHETS the eyes of the Church (Amos 3:7), are now COVERED. Oh yes, Beloved, the prophets still prophesy, yet not that which the Lord Himself has commanded! The Prophets of the Church speak one to the other of the vain imaginations of their own hearts, causing the Church as a whole to err from the Faith! Heed to none of the words of the prophets who speak “Thus saith the Lord” and then stagger around like drunkards! “But”, you object, “What of the prophet who staggers around like as a drunkard and yet this prophet’s word comes to pass? Surely then we shall know that the prophet is of God!” Not so according to Deuteronomy 13:1-3, “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Here we have a beautifully painted picture of a false prophet whose sign or wonder DOES come to pass, and yet the prophet himself is not at all of God! Why is this prophet’s word come to pass? It is a test to see whether you love signs and wonders and all manner of deception rather than the Holy God of Scripture. Prophets for profit! Their words may come to pass, but that is no safeguard from Holy Writ in which to test the prophet! The test, dear reader, is in the prophet’s DOCTRINE. Jeremiah 23:21-22 “ I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” The Prophets are to cause the Church to “HEAR MY WORDS!” What word? Of course the Holy Word of God! What verses of Scripture do the prophets and rulers and seers have when they proclaim and declare to the people “God wants you drunk”? What Scriptural justification do the leaders of this “New Thing” have when they stagger around like drunkards in church, all the while claiming to speak truth? Beloved, be not deceived by them! Let not your heart be overtaken by the lies and deceptive heresies of their mouths! These “prophets” and “leaders” are false, the Ministers of unrighteousness only outwardly APPEARING as the Ministers of Righteousness: 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 4)“And the Vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed….” Regardless of how many Scriptural warnings are given to even the GREATEST of learned and educated men in the Church today, they CANNOT understand the clear and plain teaching of Holy Scripture, because the Word is sealed to their eyes and therefore CANNOT read of the many warnings in the Holy Writ concerning the many dangers of drunkenness, spiritual or otherwise! Scholars and Theologians, the LEARNED of the Church, cannot read the writing on the wall concerning this manifestation of Spiritual Drunkenness! No matter what you show them from the inspired word of God, they CANNOT read of the truth of what I am presently writing of here, because the Word of God is SHUT TO THEM because their hearts have chased after false gods and manifestations that the Early Church would NEVER have participated in! Praise God for men of the Pentecostal faith such as Pastor David Wilkerson and Pastor Joseph Chambers,as well as that wonderful Man of God Pastor Bill Randles, men whose hearts have remained fixed and steadfast in the Truth of the Word of God! These learned men of the Lord are of international recognition and have not had their eyes closed by the Spirit of God, but rather have had their hearts opened and enlightened to the truth concerning this being “drunk in the spirit”, thank God these Men of God have cried out AGAINST this movement of spiritual alcoholics! Men who have known the Scriptures much better than I EVER will are now yielding themselves over to this spiritual drunkenness as though there were no tomorrow, sipping on every poisonous well that comes their way! Men and women who held firmly to the Cross of Calvary are now staggering their way through Church after Church looking for their next “drink”! Learned men! Learned women! Those who should know better! When I hear of those who at one time were sold out to Truth, but are now taking a high dive into this drunken river, my heart can only be broken and crushed at what is happening even to those whom I once had fellowship with! No one, not even the BEST OF THE BEST, the LEARNED, shall be able to escape this spiritual drunkenness that is now upon the Church, if there be hidden sin, a lust for power and prestige, in the heart! 5)“And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned…” What a picture, Beloved! The most learned men in the Church, the great “intellectuals”, cannot read the Book (the Bible) because it is sealed! Now, the Book is delivered over to the novice, the unlearned! (1 Tim 3:16). What a picture of utter confusion and helplessness by a group of spiritual drunkards who are now so “out of it” that they have lost all sense of Scriptural truth and understanding! When truth is attempted to be interpreted by the unlearned. Then only disaster and spiritual shipwreck can be the result! Where do you think the cry of “Judge NOT!” came from, Beloved? It came from the UNLEARNED, because the LEARNED of the Church could not themselves read the clear teachings of Scripture! Now we have an entire movement of spiritual drunkards marching to the tune of “Judge not lest we be judged!” The UNLEARNED have written this demonic “song”, and as a result we presently have multitudes of professing Believers too afraid to test (1John4:1) and Judge (1 Cor 5:12-13; 1 Cor 6:1-5)! Where have all of the Bereans gone? Where are those who will search the scriptures DAILY to see if the truth of God is being presented (Acts 17: 10-12)? Have you, Beloved, ever heard a statement that goes something like this; “Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm”? This of course is a constant statement used against anyone who opposes this “New Thing” that “God” is doing now among his people! This is a cry uttered by the lips of the UNLEARNED, because it is they who now have that Holy Book in their greedy hands who use it only to their own personal gain and advantage! Remember this, Brethren, that BEFORE you quote the “Touch not mine Anointed” verse of Holy Scripture (Ps 105:15), you must FIRST determine, by doctrinal study and proper exegetical research, exactly WHAT the Anointing IS and exactly what the Anointing DOES! There are simply and absolutely NO Scriptures in conjunction with the verses of Holy Writ that speak even a single HINT at spiritual drunkenness! Beloved, the UNLEARNED are now parading themselves about as though they know the Mind and Will of God!. The will of God, dear friend, is His written Word, and for any man or woman to stand in the Holy Sanctuary of God (the Pulpit as I call it) and declare that “God spoke to me and told me that this is of Him” is pure and certain blasphemy! Some of you will deride as “done away with” the Gift of Tongues (Mark 16:17-20; 1 Corinthians 12:10) but when the next spiritual “bartender” arrives in one of your highly emotional and sensational church services, you are the FIRST to take a drink of the “spirit”! Unlearned and ignorant in the Word of God! Beloved, the unlearned are the main leaders, yea, the ONLY leaders, of this so-called “Revival”! Their crippled gospels have produced crippled Christians! Unlearned and ignorant, leading the people astray! Can you see it now, Beloved? Do you now understand that this “being drunk in the spirit” is meant to CLOSE YOUR EYES? If you cannot see this, you have already fallen asleep, and when the Lord comes again to catch His People away in than Rapture PRIOR to the Great 7 Year Tribulation, you will be found drunken and asleep, and I fear that you may not be a partaker of that Glorious Hope of the Church; remember, Beloved, you must be SOBER (1Thess 5:1-9)! Jesus Christ is NOT returning for a DRUNKEN Bride, but only for a Bride WITHOUT spot or wrinkle or blemish or ANY such thing! (Eph 5:27). Does the “spot” of drunkenness “in the Spirit” mark YOUR life? Repent in the Name of Jesus and you shall be free! Does YOUR church assembly have the “blemish” of staggering around in great spiritual drunknness and hysterical laughter? Run for your life, Beloved! Don’t look back! Turn NOT from the commandment of the Word in this matter, which says, “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) Has YOUR denomination taken an official position of agreement with the spiritual drunkenness movement? If so, cut ties with them; if you’re a Pastor of a denomination that gives it’s hand of blessing over to the spiritual drunkards of the Church, then I would exhort you this day, as a Pentecostal Brother in the Lord, to send in your resignation and RUN! Spiritual drunkenness, Beloved, IS from God, but this manifestation is a JUDGEMENT from God on an erring people who have turned their ears from TRUTH unto IDOLS and FALSE brethren and their damnable doctrines and heresies! In closing, let us now see what the FINAL outcome will be for these spiritual alcoholics: Jeremiah 13:12-15 “Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.” Beloved read and re-read the above Scriptures; this drunkenness is meant to DESTROY! Did you see that? This drunkenness is meant to DESTROY! Beloved, after reading all of this, having an abundance of Scriptures to clearly present only truth to you, will you yet continue on in this manifestation of spiritual drunkenness, whereby the Lord is JUDGING His People because of their backsliding? Will you yet remain silent on this issue, or will you humbly rend your heart before your God? “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”(Joel 2:12-13) Beloved, turn to the Lord now with all that you are and cry out to Him by the Precious Blood of His glorious Son, the Lord Jesus, and God will remove the spiritual blinders from your eyes that you have allowed to come onto you through deception and error! Brethren, may God have mercy on each of us as our hearts remain open only to Him and to His Word. Maranatha! Even so, come Lord Jesus!
