We live in a time when the church is surrounded by noise: religious noise, cultural noise, emotional noise. And if we’re not careful, that noise can drown out the gentle voice of our Shepherd.
Scripture tells us: “Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2)
But many believers today are being taught—sometimes subtly, sometimes directly—to fix their eyes on something else: an experience, a manifestation, a feeling, or a spiritual performance. And when that happens, the heart of the Gospel is overshadowed.
Today, I want to call us back to the simplicity of devotion to Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ). To remember what Scripture says believers are truly called to do, and to recognize the distractions that can pull us away from that calling.
Believers Are Called to Christ
Our calling is not first to a gift, a denomination, or an experience. Our calling is to Christ.
Yeshua said: “Come to Me.” (Matthew 11:28) Not “Come to a spiritual experience.” Not “Come to a spiritual performance.”
The apostle Paul said: “I consider everything a loss… that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8)
The early church wasn’t built on emotional displays. It was built on devotion to Yeshua, obedience to His Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit working through transformed lives.
Scripture Warns Us About Misplaced Spiritual Emphasis
The Bible warns of the fact that spiritual gifts can be misunderstood, misused, or even counterfeited.
Paul wrote to Corinth because they were obsessed with certain manifestations. They equated spiritual noise with spiritual maturity.
There are some denominations today that mirror Corinth’s problem.
Paul said: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am a noisy gong…” (1 Corinthians 13:1)
Notice: tongues without love become noise.
John 14:15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.
Love is obedience. Noise is not the evidence of the Holy Spirit. Obedience is.
Yeshua Himself warned that people would perform signs in His name and yet not know Him.
Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
So Scripture tells us: Not every spiritual‑looking experience is from the Holy Spirit. The way to grow closer to YHWH is by living in obedience to His commandments, not having “spiritual” experiences.
Matthew 19:16-17 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”
When the Gift Becomes the Goal, We Lose Sight of the Giver
Here is the heart of the issue:
Any time a church teaches that a certain experience proves the Holy Spirit’s presence, or that a believer must demonstrate a particular manifestation of the Holy Spirit to be accepted, we have stepped outside the Word of God and into the word of men.
Many sincere believers, longing to belong, longing to be seen as spiritual, will try to imitate what they see around them. Not because they’re rebellious, but because they’re hungry.
But hunger for acceptance can lead us into imitation rather than transformation.
When the spotlight moves from Yeshua to the believer’s performance, the enemy is happy to offer distractions that feel spiritual but don’t transform the heart.
Spiritual Growth is Measured by Fruit, Not Frenzy
Paul gives us the true markers of the Holy Spirit:
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
YHWH’s Law is not against, rather it teaches:
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self‑control
These are not loud. These are not showy. These do not draw attention to self.
They draw attention to Christ.
The Holy Spirit’s ministry is not to glorify Himself, and certainly not to glorify us. Yeshua said: “He will glorify Me.” (John 16:14)
So any teaching, any practice, any emphasis that shifts our gaze away from Yeshua—even unintentionally—is pulling us away from our calling.
The Subtle Drift: From Worship to Self-Focus
In some church denominations, the emphasis has shifted from:
- Holiness to hype
- Obedience to emotion
- Christ to self
But the Holy Spirit doesn’t lead us into self‑focus. He leads us into Christ‑focus.
Here’s an example: when you pray, you’re sharing your gratitude, concerns, and love, with YHWH. If you can’t think of the words, then you sit quietly with God, there’s nothing wrong with that. He already knows what’s in your heart.
When you babble away in gibberish, believing that you’re “praying in the tongues of angels”, just understand that what you’re doing is self-focused, not Christ-focused. It’s all about how you feel, not about communicating with YHWH. It’s all about you. It’s emotionalism. It’s spiritualism. It’s performative, not transformative. And it’s entirely self-focused.
The Consequence of a Self-Focused Church
Here’s why this is so important. Why this gentle loving correction is so vital as we move closer to Yeshua’s return.
Yeshua tells us in the Parable of the Ten Virgins that there will be two groups of believers on the earth when He returns: the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins. They’re all virgins because they’ve all been declared innocent through the blood of the Lamb. They’re all waiting for Messiah’s return. Five have lamps full of pure olive oil, the oil is love created through obedience (the fruit). Five have lamps that are empty, meaning they’re not living in obedience. Only the five wise virgins are taken to the marriage supper of the Lamb (this means raptured or redeemed), the five foolish virgins are left behind to face the Refiner’s fire.
Through John we’re reminded of who the remnant to be raptured will be, in the Revelation of Yeshua Messiah:
Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.… those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. (Revelation 14:1-12)
Those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Yeshua Messiah will be raptured (redeemed).
Through Isaiah we’re told who will be left behind to face the Refiner’s fire:
Isaiah 66:15-17 For behold, YHWH will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will YHWH enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by YHWH shall be many. Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares YHWH.
Those who do not keep the commandments of God and their faith in Yeshua Messiah will not be raptured (redeemed).
If you have ears to hear, hear this: there will be two groups of Christians when Yeshua returns:
- Those who obey YHWH and focus on Yeshua Messiah (spreading the Gospel and edifying the church).
- Those who disobey YHWH and focus on self (spiritualism and edifying self).
Which group will your church denomination be in? Are you following the doctrine of those who eat pig’s flesh and promote self-focused behaviours?
Which group do you want to be in when Yeshua returns?
Because His remnant will be focused on loving God by obeying His commandments, not distractions like speaking in tongues. They’ll be focused on spreading the whole Gospel, not babbling gibberish to make themselves feel closer to God.
Speaking in tongues (which means languages) has a very specific purpose, and that was the purpose on Pentecost, in Jerusalem. To spread the Gospel to unbelievers. But just like the later Church at Corinth, certain denominations today are twisting the gift of languages into a useless noisy distraction that makes YHWH a mockery to unbelievers.
The gift of languages is for spreading the Gospel, denominations promoting “tongues” today are making a mockery of the Gospel. Taking YHWH’s Name in vain.
Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of YHWH your God in vain, for YHWH will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Returning to Our True Calling
What are believers called to do? To live in obedience and spread the gospel. These other things are nothing but crafty distractions for the church, sent by the enemy.
Being Christ-focused means:
- To love God with all our heart
- To love others sacrificially
- To walk in holiness
- To obey His Word
- To proclaim the gospel
- To persevere in faith
- To serve with humility
- To live as lights in the world
These are the things Scripture emphasizes. These are the things that shape a mature disciple. These are the things that glorify Yeshua.
And none of them require a platform. None of them require a microphone. None of them require a dramatic experience.
They require a heart surrendered to Messiah.
A Call Back to the Center
Let us lay down every distraction: every pressure to perform, every fear of not measuring up, every pursuit of spiritual experiences that Scripture does not command.
Let us return to the One who said, “Follow Me.”
Let us seek the Giver—YHWH—not the gift. Let us desire the Fruit—obedience—not the feeling. Let us fix our eyes on Yeshua, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
May the Holy Spirit lead us not into noise, but into holiness. Not into self‑focus, but into Christ‑focus.
And may our lives, quietly and consistently, reflect the beauty of the One who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.
YHWH bless you and keep you; YHWH make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; YHWH lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26