STAY WITH THE WORD OF GOD ALONE!
It was in Sweden, in 1980. I saw the first really outstanding miracle that the Lord did through my ministry. The Lord healed a young boy who was totally lame and who began to walk and to run.
Immediately after this I was subjected to terrible attacks in my mind. I began to hear voices uttering blasphemies, and terrible and frightening thoughts in my head. In my desperation I went to my spiritual leader, a pastor who I was working under during that time. I remember sitting in his house and telling him about what I was going through. He told me that I had demons living inside me.
I was not offended at this; instead, I bowed my head and asked him to lay his hands upon me and cast the demons out of me. He laid hands on me and prayed. A couple of days later I was back with him again and told him that nothing had changed. He said, "This is because it often takes a very long time to be free from demons because the deliverance comes in steps, in bits and pieces...."
This added yet another layer of torment to my already-tormented mind. Now I was afraid that because I had demons living in me, what if they suddenly decided to speak through me while I was preaching or ministering to people? I could not understand how God could allow demons to live inside of me although I truly loved Jesus with all my heart.
These thoughts tormented me day and night for a very long time. I remember sleepless nights in cold sweat, my soul going through deep terror, not knowing what to do.
Then I remember one night. Britta was fast asleep, and I lay awake in the dark with these terrible thoughts and voices in my head. I was pleading with God to help me ...... when suddenly I saw a large sign made of neon tube-lights appear on the ceiling above me. It said, "1 COR 4:6". I sat up on the bed staring at it. I switched on my bedside lamp and looked at it, rubbing my eyes. It was still there. It was so real that I could have stood up on the bed and touched it.
In those days I used to read the New International Version of the Bible. I quickly opened my Bible to 1 Corinthians 4:6. It was a long verse, and my eyes immediately fell on a short phrase right in the middle of the verse. It said:
"Do not go beyond what is written…"
Suddenly, a miracle happened. In a flash, all the dark clouds lifted off me. The dark thoughts and voices left. It was as if somebody had switched on a bright light inside the dark recesses of my soul. I began to rejoice and praise God. I was free!
Those voices and thoughts have never ever come back again.
Then the Lord began to speak to me. He told me that I had "gone beyond what was written" in the Scripture and believed things that were not in the Bible. I had believed that I had demons just because somebody who I had trusted had told me so. I had also not resisted those thoughts the Biblical way but had buckled under in fear. The Lord told me to always stay with His Word and never go outside of it in what I believed, taught, or preached. He told me to always read the Word, believe it, speak it and act upon it and never to go outside of it!
Soon after that I went to RHEMA. I was taught the same thing there, NEVER to go outside of Scripture, no matter how wonderful or tantalizing "extra-biblical" revelations or experiences may look or sound. I was taught never to build a doctrine or belief on one obscure scripture reference. I was taught never to bend, stretch, or twist a scripture to prove a doctrine I had decided that I liked. I was taught NEVER to base my beliefs upon spiritual experiences but upon Scripture alone. I was taught to "Let Scripture interpret Scripture". I was taught that "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Cor 13:1).
In other words, I was taught to be a stickler for the Word of God and to stay with the Bible at any cost.
I took that advice and instruction and have stayed true to it in all my years of ministry. I have seen many interesting doctrines, teachings and "spiritual experiences" and so-called "revivals and renewals" pass by. I have had well-meaning friends who have tried to draw me into these things, but I have always stayed away from things that do not have a very solid Scriptural basis.
In doing so have I missed anything exciting? No not at all. I have been blessed to have seen millions of people come to Jesus. I have seen up to 30,000 people at a time receive the Baptism with the Holy Ghost and Fire in a single service. I have seen the dead raised, the lame walk, the blind see... No, I have not missed out on anything. In fact, there is nothing as exciting as experiencing the simple Christianity of the Book of Acts.
Staying within the Word of God is the safest and most secure place to be. If we stay with the Word, preach it, believe, and act upon it, we can also see the power of God change people's lives and bring healing and deliverance to multitudes. There is so much life and power in the Word and in what God does to confirm His Word, that we never have to look outside it to find spiritual fulfillment anywhere in any way.
So READ the Word of God, BELIEVE it, SPEAK it and ACT according to it!
Originally posted on Facebook by Pastor Christopher Alam