Three weeks ago I started teaching a long-term class on God to my own development staff.All but one of my staff now profess a faith in Christ, but several have little understanding.While a few are searching, they are struggling.There is little teaching at church.I've told Pastor Sok my concerns, but he says if they love God, the Spirit will lead them to the truth.So last month, I told the pastor I planned to begin teaching my own staff every Thursday morning.I knew he might not like it.But he politely acknowledged my plans without protest.Then a few weeks later, he said to me in sharp terms that he was unhappy with me because I did not have permission from the government to teach anyone about God - that only he did.I explained that I believed I did and that central government authorities had said such activities were not illegal or improper.He said "but local authorities had not given me permission and there could be trouble."I interpreted the pastor's comments as a quiet threat that he might stir up trouble with local authorities.He repeated this threat via Debbie in even stronger terms a couple weeks later.

Today we are praising God because as of yesterday I have talked to all the local authorities and told them exactly what I was doing, when, and where. All said okay!The district governor, the most powerful local official, responded, "there's nothing wrong with that.It's certainly not against the law."

Debbie had a cry a few weeks ago and said she wanted to go home, "that we are not accomplishing anything here at all."She wasn't quite ready to quit but was very discouraged.And then soon after that, I sunk to the lowest I'd felt in months.Yet God has been good, and graciously faithful.That night I woke up early and kneeled on my bed (a mat on the floor) and asked God to hear my prayer.I got up about 4:00 am and headed for the office in the dark.The lesson that day in my scripture study turned out to be on prayer.The scriptures it referred me to were overwhelmingly comforting and instructive (Lamentations 3:57 "Do not fear.", Psalm 138:3 "When I called, you answered me", and I Peter 5:7).And then I read John 16:23-24, "...ask and you will receive,...".I got on my knees and asked God to not forget his promise.

The next morning during Deb's own devotions she came to Ezekiel 34 (she's been reading through Ezekiel).She cried a long time, but this time with tears of joy and comfort.She believed God had spoken very clearly to her to not be anxious about the church and God's sheep.That God himself would make sure that one way or another the sheep here would be shepherded, whether through Pastor Sok or through someone else.

We praised God for his encouragement to us.We had hope again that God has not forgotten this church and his sheep.

Then came last week.

I attended a 2-day Holy Spirit Seminar in the capital; led by a Singaporean man I'll call Ray.Sok has heard him speak frequently and he thinks highly of him.I went because I was concerned with Ray's influence on Sok, and I myself had not heard Ray before.Nearly half of the church congregation attended, including many of my staff.It was an eye-opener, and a shock.

Ray is a powerful and dramatic speaker and appears he may have a gift or some kind of power of healing.

Ray brought with him several of "his disciples."Each of them spoke, focusing on Ray.He was described repeatedly as "the only true servant of God.""The Servant had come from heaven - the Servant hears and sees God - we cannot understand God's Word or Light unless only the Servant teaches us."

At first, Ray's preaching seemed sound and insightful, though a bit harsh. It addressed some real problems of the Cambodian church.But then his teaching took a scary turn.He taught: "Every one of us in the room was unsaved and did not eternal life.That he could see that none of us had God's Spirit.That all our fruit was bad.We had no power.If we had God's Spirit, we'd have power (he'd yell "power" into the mike a bit like a rock star).Anyone who has God's Spirit has power, the power to heal, the power to do miracles.That anyone who was sick was not loving God nor had his Spirit.He said Billy Graham was currently sick and thus was a shame to God.That Ray had met over 30,000 pastors and missionaries and not one was seeking God.None had God's spirit, none had power.Anyone reading the Bible was not seeking God nor had the Spirit.That he himself had never studied the Bible, that God's Spirit reveals everything to him.That he never prepares his talks because the Spirit leads him directly.That Jesus himself never studied Scripture."

He walked up and down the aisle, often selecting people to blast.I was the only foreigner in the room (besides the speakers).As the seminar progressed, he directed more and more comments toward me.At one point, he pointed to me and my Bible and said, "you do not have God's Spirit, that's why you read the Bible."I raised my hand and started to say, "I don't understand."He turned away immediately, walked up the aisle and became quite angry.He said that anyone who doesn't want to listen to him could just leave, that they had not been invited anyway.He went up to the sponsor/translator of the event and said "I didn't invite anyone here to come.Anyone who wants to leave can get lost."

I didn't leave.

When he returned down the aisle and came close to me a few minutes later, I said to him, "I wasn't arguing with you, I said I didn't understand."He walked up to me, leaned over and put his face right in front of mine, and said, "I don't want you to understand.I don't want you to understand.I did not come here for you to understand."Walking back up the aisle, he continued, "I don't even care if the translator can translate for me or not (he often did not wait for the translator before continuing).I've only come to speak what the Spirit has told me to say."

As time went on, more comments were made to me: "you foolish missionary, God never sent any missionary, you have no right to teach the Bible, you have never seen a miracle, I see them every day, I have God's Spirit, you do not."

Not once in the entire seminar did anyone pray.Though we were all told repeatedly we were all unsaved and lost, not once was Christ's death and resurrection mentioned.Listening to this for 2 full days was pretty overwhelming.I felt exhausted.I talked to my staff.All were very deflated, yet the "new Christians" were in awe of this great man of God.

Now comes the hard part.What to do about the influence of this cult on Sok and the church?Sok's behavior and speech is much like Ray's.I just told Pastor Sok yesterday evening I wanted to speak with him and the assistant pastor about the Holy Spirit seminar.He asked why.I told him I didn't believe everything the speaker had said was true.He immediately let me know that he had been attending Ray's seminars for years, and he had never heard any truer Word of God.No other teaching he had heard had come from God.He would do anything to attend the next seminar.He said he knew the teaching was too hard for most people, especially foreigners.

Today, I learned that Sok has recently instructed many of my staff that they cannot hear God's Word through me.So things are moving fast.The meeting with Pastor Sok and the assistant pastor, Mr. Bot, is Friday, 2 pm (that's about 2 am, US Central time).I think this will be a biggie.I ask that many of you please pray seriously for this meeting and this situation.