If you question any mainline Christian church today about the New Age movement in the U.S. you will immediately receive an emotionally explosive reaction denouncing the movement. However, if you evaluate the operations of many churches today regarding the centrality of money, power and fame, it becomes more obvious that the New Age gospel is actively invading many churches today.

The more I learn about the New Age gospel, the more God is dethroned, Jesus is kicked to the sideline, and man’s desire places him on the throne. The New Age movement appears to be a religion not centered on God but on human emotions and desires. Man therefore replaces God on the throne. One of the key differences between Christianity and New Age, is God’s spirituality is different from man’s spirituality. Many times, people will be in human spirit, and communicate other people within human spirit, and will confuse this with God spirituality. They tend to confuse human spirituality with God spirituality. Even some Christians sometimes confuse human spirituality with God’s spirituality. Just because it feels good and it touches your human spirituality does not mean it is God’s spirituality. Human spirituality caters and nourishes human soul desires based on selfishness. God spirituality caters and nourishes the Holy Spirit desires. We should always remember that the human soul was already contaminated by the desires of the devil in the Garden of Eden. Man is born with a sinful nature. This was why Jesus said, "Unless a man is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter in the kingdom of God" (St. John 3:5).

If the New Age religion embraces self, and many churches are preaching about "God wants to bless you," what is the difference between Christianity today and the New Age? How can we convince the secular world to come to Jesus while preaching the homeless Jesus from a private jet, or while living on a $5 million mansion? How can we preach Jesus who said, "Deny yourself take your cross and follow me" when our gospel message is primarily based on coming to get something from Jesus? How can we preach the suffering Jesus when we are constantly in pursuit of earthly riches and lost the concept of a contented life? How can we preach the Jesus of fairness and justice when we are making the old ladies with limited income feel guilty for not sending their social security checks as donation?

I was talking to a preacher this week about how Christianity is being used as an effective tool to scam people of their money by telling them, "Delayed obedience is disobedience before God." Another guy who stopped going to church said, "Instead of the house of prayer, the church has become a place for professional fundraisers." The preacher told me that people would be surprised on the Day of Judgment that many well-known preachers would be lined up heading straight to hell if they do not repent! I’m not against asking people to send money for overseas ministry or to feed the hungry or to help the homeless. However, when our concentration is on how much money we want to raise and enrich the pocket of the preachers, we have lost the Christian doctrine on the altar of selfishness. What then is the difference between the New Age movement and Christianity when both of them advocate for a life centralized on selfishness of human soul?

Jesus said, "If you want to follow me, deny yourself, take your cross and follow me" (St. Matthew 16:24). Either Jesus is right, or today’s Christianity has lost its direction.

Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (St. John 15:13). True love hurts! Did Jesus ask you to rob a friend?

"What values is it for a man to win the whole world, and ended up losing his soul?" (St. Matthew 16:26). You cannot have it both ways, preachers!

Why do we blame those involved with unlimited hedonistic desires when as Christians our faith is degraded by selfish desires? We want to preach it, but we are not willing to live it! May the Lord help us!

Bottom line; be prepared to ship your mansion to Heaven! Otherwise, settle for a stable in Heaven. If you can retain mansions on both sides of existence, Jesus would never have told the rich young man to exchange his earthly riches that are worthless in Heaven, for heavenly riches. I saw a scary vision of this very popular person in Heaven. He was a very important person in the nation. He was one of the Presidents of the U.S. I saw him at an abandoned bus stop. He was still dressed in a suit, but nobody recognized him, and there were no members of the security around him. I was afraid in that vision for his safety. With sadness all over his face, he told me not to worry. He was left in an abandoned bus stop where the street was deserted. He happened to be one of my most favorite Presidents. I do not believe there is a bus stop in Heaven. This vision-dream is a parable for people who think that their popularity on earth will grant them a special place in Heaven. He used to be a President on earth, but I saw him at an abandoned bus stop in Heaven. Nobody recognized him.

By Yinka Vidal, Author, Closer Walk With Jesus