It has come to our attention that Rick Joyner  will visit South Africa in July 2012 , he will be leading and teaching with Oom (Uncle) Angus Buchan from the Mighty Men Revivals and of Faith like Potatoes fame at the The Apostolic Prophetic Conference of Neville Norden’s church Lewende Woord. We  also previously reported on Gretha Wiid from the Worthy Women Revivals,  Buchan’s South African female understudy.

Here below you may read why the teachings of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)  is dangerous. We need to test everything to see if it is from God. It is unloving to not warn others of false teachings. We are also told in Scripture to earnestly contend for the faith. I heard this recent Quote from Justin Peters : It is a sin to be undiscerning .

1John 4:1 

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (ESV)

Romans 1:28-32

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,  wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, ³⁰ backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving  unmerciful; ³² who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:28-32 NKJV)

Jude 1:3-4

Contend for the Faith

³ Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:3-4 NKJV)

If a certain Bible Teacher continually Teaches error (re: Essential Christian Doctrine,etc) after they, the the Bible Teacher or Professing Christian, has been warned by the Body of Christ of this Error— it would be very UNLOVING & BIBLICALLY INCORRECT if we, God’s People, didn’t lovingly WARN other FELLOW BROTHERS & SISTERS in Christ of these BIBLICAL ERRORS. We are to WARN others out of LOVE for the TRUTH (Eph 4:15, Jude 1:1-4) & for the ETERNAL SAFETY of God’s People, His Flock (Acts 20:28-32, 1 Peter 5:2-4, John 10). We Warn others of the DANGERS of these Teachings &/or False Teachers who are PREACHING & TEACHING things that are CONTRARY to God’s Word— those who are keeping people Focused on this Life, on the BROAD PATH leading to Destruction (Hell) with their: Vague Watered-Down-gospel of Half-truths, etc. It does NOT matter what the INTENTIONS or MOTIVES of these Ministers are either— i.e. A False Teacher might be a WELL MEANING PERSON, who’s Agenda might NOT be out to Intentionally hurt God’s People. In fact they might believe 1000% that they are doing God’s Work. But whether they’re out to Deceive people on Purpose or Not, it doesn’t matter— as this False Teacher might be a Victim of Satan’s Lies himself— being that he is DUPED & DECEIVED! See More at this Link: BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHERS. And there are many Ministers who are NOT doing what God’s Word Exhorts them to do and that is to GUARD the SHEEP (God’s People, His Flock) that has been ENTRUSTED to THEM. (Acts 20:28-32, 1 Tim 6:20-21, 1 Peter 5:2-4). Read more about Judging Others – Should Christians Judge? on http://so4j.com/

An important note when viewing the info and links below about Rick Joyner,  Angus Buchan, Neville Norden, Danie Slabert and Pastor/Apostle T.E. Mbedzi. PLEASE READ WITH DISCERNMENT AND THE LINKS ARE PROVIDED, AS PROOF ARE NOT SAFE OR  ENDORSED BY THIS BLOG.

(Info about Rick Joyner  found here - http://www.lewendewoord.co.za/apc_profiles/)

Read this article   RICK JOYNER, TODD BENTLEY, AND THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION  By Apprising Ministries correspondent Chrystal Whitt of Slaughter of the Sheep

Also read Rick Joyner False Teacher – Church of Altered States

Latter Rain – New Apostolic Reformation / Kingdom Now& Kansas City Prophets / Dominion Theology / Manifest Sons of God (Joel’s Army) / Third Wave / Toronto Blessing – is all False Teachings regarding the Modern Day Prophet & Apostle Movement in the Church. Latter Rain brought forth other Unbiblical False Teachings such as the Manifested Sons of God. This whole movement was condemned by the Assemblies of God in 1949. False Teachers in the movement: the late William Branham, C.Peter Wagner (Vineyard), Rick Joyner (above), Bill Hamon, Mike Bickle (IHOP), Paul Cain, Bob Jones, Todd Bentley, Patricia King, Francis Frangipane…(READ MORE HERE : http://so4j.com/false-teachings-latter-rain-new-apostolic-reformation.php )

The Picture below is the pamphlet that is being distributed for advertising in SA  : BEWARE Wolves !!

The advertising video (View with discernment please !) 

I am sure the discerning reader will pick up on the theme used in the picture below : Do we detect Dominionist theology/Kingdom Now theology  ? What is it in short ? 

Please read our article NOT A KINGDOM NOW written by a dear brother and friend Prof Johan Malan.

Angus Buchan from Mighty Men Conferences and Faith Like Potatoes

(Info about Angus Buchan found here – http://www.lewendewoord.co.za/apc_profiles/)

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Some important notes about Angus Buchan and why things are not safe.

1) South African Theologian, IT Consultant, Blogger and former Charismatic Pentecostal Pastor, EJ Hill (1977-), opposed Buchan in an essay, entitled “Angus Buchan (1947-)”.

2) Read this open letter to Angus Buchan written by a dear brother contending for the faith  Alan Lester written in 2008 :

Open letter to Angus – Alan Lester

3) Also read our articles placed with full permission by Prof Johan Malan a dear friend and brother of ours . Thank you Prof Malan.

Spiritual Deception, Revival and Angus Buchan (South Africa’s Charismatic “Hajj”)

and

4) Angus Buchan: Evangelist or Revivalist?

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Who else is taking hands with Rick Joyner  & Angus Buchan at their Apostolic and Prophetic Conference:

(Info about Danie Slabert found here , http://www.lewendewoord.co.za/apc_profiles/)

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Please !  if you watch this video clip about Danie Slabert  , do so with discernment and care.

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Nevil Norden from Lewende Woord (Living Word)

(Info about Neville Norden found here – http://www.lewendewoord.co.za/apc_profiles/ )

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A Note about Neville Norden on his Unbiblical view on speaking in  Tongues.

What is very concerning and an unbiblical teaching  by, Neville Norden ,  what he says about the ability  of the gift of speaking in tongues (gibberish language) . He says  if  one is baptized with the holy spirit and do not speak in tongues it is because of ignorance.  It then means if someone does not speak in tongues (gibberish language) one can therefore not be saved ? He also says it is wrong for someone not to practice the speaking in tongues (gibberish language) if one has been baptized in the holy spirit.  This is not true or Biblical.

Here is the truth about the gift on tongues.

Here below is also the full sermon series done by  Pastor John MacArthur about Speaking in tongues. This is the Biblical truth Not what Neville Norden says and teaches.

The Truth About Tongues, Part 1

The Truth About Tongues, Part 2

The Truth About Tongues, Part 3

The Truth About Tongues, Part 4

Such ecstasies and ecstatic speech is very common in pagan religion. ~ John MacArthur

(Below is an exert in Afrikaans  of what Nevill Norden says about speaking in tongues )- http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/submitted/etd-11102006-164248/unrestricted/03chapter8.pdf

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Pastor/Apostle T.E. Mbedzi

(Info about Apostle T.E. Mbedzi found here http://www.lewendewoord.co.za/apc_profiles/ )

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Justin Peters A Call for Disernment Seminar, Pretoria , South Africa , 1 & 2 June 2012. Do not copy Photo. Thank you !!

We attended the Justin Peters , A Call for Discernment seminar held on the 1st and 2nd June 2012. Justin exposes the unbiblical teachings of the Word of Faith (WOF) /New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)  movement and if you can get to any of the rest of his seminars it is worth it, please get there , the seminars are being held across South Africa until 17 June 2012 Please follow the link here : Justin Peters A Call for Discernment South African Seminar Tour – From: 1 – 17 JUNE 2012 But if you cannot attend the seminar,  you can find the Audio links to the Pretoria seminar here : Justin Peters A Call for Discernment South African Seminar Tour Mp3′s .

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Understanding the Dangers of NAR (New Apostolic Reformation)

To further understand the dangers of this movement below is important information and links that will be helpful in furthering your understanding as to why this movement is dangerous and nothing but cultic doctrines wrapped in Christian Theology.

In the audio clips below , Bob DeWaay and Dick Duffel discusses , The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) , which focuses on the establishment of new apostles and prophets in the church. Bob shows from the scriptures that were only 12 Apostles given in person by Jesus Christ. Therefore, no more apostles are given for today. We still have the ministry of apostles since we have their writings in the new testament. Many of these self appointed false apostles and prophets speaking supposedly great things today,  are leading people astray as they force new revelations and prophecy on their congregates. We do have some first hand experience in this movement as we attended one these apostolic churches in our hometown. Much of what they did looked so much like the truth,  and the justification for such actions were based on new revelations that contradicted scripture.

Below is also the link to the article Bob DeWaay wrote on this matter. I suggest that everyone listening to the audio clips do two things:
1) Get out your Bible .
2) Read Bob Dewaay’s article on this movement Here http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue103.htm

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What Is The New Apostolic Reformation? (And Why Should We Be Concerned About It?)

Posted by Christine Pack

We all know about pandemics, right? The World Health Organization will often track a virus that is in pigs or birds or some other known animal carrier.  The virus being tracked could stay within its animal group for years, not causing problems for humans, but sometimes, for unknown reasons, the virus will unexpectedly “jump” from its animal group……to humans.  That’s what the scientists are always concerned about, and when that happens, they sit up and take notice, and start churning out public service warnings, because they know this previously harmless virus could potentially turn into a very dangerous, and deadly, pandemic.

In somewhat the same way, a new movement – with some pretty strange beliefs – inside of Christian evangelicalism called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) has gathered lethal momentum very unexpectedly.  This movement had up until recently only been taught and believed inside the hyper-charismatic movement (think IHOP, Kansas City Prophets, Mike Bickle, etc.). But now, having somehow “jumped” from its normal carrier, rather than being “contained” as a strange belief system that would only impact a limited number of people, it suddenly began to go viral when big names on the political right began to align themselves with the big names from the charismatic Christian side.

Why exactly has the NAR, which makes alarming use of militant “warfare” language and talks of “taking dominion” over the world “one mountain at a time,” gotten so big, so fast, and with so many big political names attached? In my view, it’s because there are many on the political right, who, despite their moralistic stance, have a tendency to be more invested in political strategy, power and numbers than in sound doctrine and biblical truth. Thus, to the political right without discernment, Numbers = Power. And I suspect this is what happened: they looked out over the landscape of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement (which is an extremely large segment of professing Christians), decided this was representative of “Christianity,” did the math, and then jumped on board.

The 7 Mountain Mandate

But let me back up here and give a little background information about the NAR. The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), as I noted, is a movement that has its roots in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements (Latter Day Rain, Kansas City Prophets, International House of Prayer-IHOP, Joel’s Army). This movement is loaded with self-appointed “apostles” and “prophets” (who take Ephesians 4:11-13 out of context to to defend the idea that the office of apostle and prophet are still valid today). The leaders of this movement believe and teach that Christians have a mandate to reclaim “for Christ” Seven Mountains of influence, which they have designated as:

1 – Business
2 – Government
3 – Family
4 – Religion
5 – Media
6 – Education
7 – Entertainment

This movement and its 7 Mountain Mandate has been very enticing to Christians who hold to a Dominionist view, which is the idea that the church’s role is to “take back” dominion of the earth from Satan. This is based on a faulty understanding of Psalm 8:6 and Genesis 1:26. Dominionists assume (wrongly) that the dominion God gave to Adam and Eve extended to the spiritual realm (not just the physical realm), and that they therefore had the power and ability, when they sinned, to give the world over to Satan. Dominionists think that they are mandated by God, through these misinterpreted Scriptures, to take back all these spheres of influence, thus reclaiming the world spiritually for God, and then Christ will return. This view has also been extremely seductive to the Conservative Right, because hey, the idea of knuckling down and working hard is what America is all about, right? So there you have it: combine the errant “doctrine” of Kingdom Now/Dominionism from the Pentecostal/Charismatic camp with the moralism of the Conservative Right, and you’ve got one dangerous pandemic, because both groups, in their own ways, are tremendously influential and powerful.

Who are the players in the NAR movement? It’s a long list that is growing longer by the day, but below are some of the names currently associated with the NAR. And please note that the presence of a name on this list does NOT mean that the person in question showed up only one time on a random list somewhere or attended one NAR conference, and then disassociated themselves. Each person on this list has had repeated associations and/or dealings with the NAR, and without any record of concern over the heretical theology of the IHOP/New Apostles aspect of the NAR. Now having said that, this doesn’t necessarily mean that all who are on the list are high level movers and shakers in the NAR……I do think that some could be somewhat innocent as to the core theology they’ve become yoked with. So my article is not an attempt to smear or slander anyone, but to highlight some repeated associations that are causing concern:

 Pentecostals/Charismatics/Christians 

C. Peter Wagner

Bill Bright

Mike Bickle 

Rick Joyner 

Chuck Pierce

Pat Robertson 

“Joel’s Army”

“Latter Rain” 

“Manifest Sons of God” 

Cindy Jacobs 

Mike Jacobs 

Lou Engle 

Ché Ahn 

Todd Bentley 

Dutch Sheets 

Jim Garlow

Os Hillman

Paul Cain  

Chuck Colson 

Lance Wallnau

Loren Cunningham 

YWAM 

Bill Johnson 

George Otis, Jr.

Ed Silvoso

Jack Hayford 

Tommy Tenney

Charles Kraft 

John Eckhardt  

Bill Hamon 

Gabe Lyons

 Political Right 

The Tea Party Movement 

Texas Governor Rick Perry 

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell 

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli 

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty 

Senator Jim DeMint

Senator Sam Brownback 

Michele Bachmann 

Mike Huckabee 

Glenn Beck

Jim Garlow 

David Barton 

Newt Gingrich 

Gary Bauer 

Frank Gaffney 

Chuck Norris 

Janet Porter

Friends, the NAR is a dangerous and rapidly growing movement that is, sadly, capturing the hearts and minds of many conservative Christians who have been enticed with the idea of “saving” America though Christian activism. In truth, Christians are not ever, anywhere in Scripture, promised easy lives, or even the “right” to live in freedom. But please note that the siren lure of political activism is nothing new. Do we not remember that even Jesus’s disciples repeatedly jockeyed for position in the earthly kingdom they wished for and desired for Jesus to institute?

“They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.” (Mark 9:33-34)

And even after Jesus’s resurrection, they were still questioning Jesus about the earthly kingdom they hoped for:

“So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’” (Acts 1:6)

The NAR teaches that, through the advancement of medicine, science, technology and the gospel, this world is getting better and better. That through strategically “capturing” each of the designated “mountains,” we will set up Jesus’ earthly kingdom, and that once we have accomplished this, Jesus will return as the glittering jewel in the crown of his earthly kingdom. But is this true? Is this what the Bible teaches? Let us let Scripture lead us on the matter of Jesus’ kingdom:

“Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’” (John 18:36, my emphasis)

The life of a born again Christian is not complicated. Become reconciled to a high and holy God through the shed blood of Jesus, share the gospel, be persecuted, and die. But the seductive lure of an earthly life in which we (the Christians) control the earth and all that is in it, is a dream that dies hard. And now the NAR, with its utopian vision of heaven on earth, has once again showed us that very few people are willing to do as Jesus taught us, and that is to “Count the cost“ (Luke 14:25-35) and “Take up your cross and follow me“(Matthew 16:24). Flee from this movement, my fellow Christians.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Prov 14:12)

A Personal Note: Please send this article to your loved ones so that they can be on the look-out for this dangerous movement sweeping through Christianity. I consider this to be one of the most important articles I have ever written, and I regret not having written it sooner. And please understand that I have only scratched the surface in this article. Unfortunately, the NAR is such a massive movement, with so many tentacles, and so many people involved, that it was almost impossible to talk about it concisely. It is almost unfathomable to me how many people have been affected by this dangerous movement. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear from at least one person who has personally had to flee a once solid church because this teaching has suddenly swept in, or someone who has watched a loved one be seduced by it, or someone who has even been unwittingly swept up in this movement themselves.

 Additional Resources 

Smith Wigglesworth – The Facts

Smith Wigglesworth

We once received a letter from a subscriber:

Dear Terry, Thank you for your effort to assist others in contending seriously for the Faith. Your newsletter is very much appreciated for it’s balance and encouragement to the true believer. Like many others I have come out of the Pentecostal movement, and am testing many of the things we were taught as compared to Scripture. I have begun to research many of the ‘Christian Heroes’ we were encouraged to read about and admire. One such ‘Hero’ was Smith Wigglesworth…I am sadly disappointed with my findings:

1. He believed God promises perfect physical wholeness.

2. He believed Christians can command [speak] things into being.

3. He believed that signs and wonders should always follow the preaching of the Gospel. (He is reported to have raised 19-24 people from the dead).

4. He taught against the use of all medicine and believed sickness was of the devil.

5. He taught that handkerchiefs prayed over would bring life if carried to the sick.

6. He claimed that Jesus Christ increased in the fullness of God and in the power of the Spirit.

7. He taught a form of sinless perfection…

There is much more I could share with you that confirms that this man was not what many of today’s preachers and books are saying he was. Like many others, his reputation as a great man of God has been distorted and exaggerated to create another of today’s church heroes. I would appreciate your comments on this man, and maybe there are a few more like me on your mail list, who once thought this man was great, that would like to know the truth. (R.R. Sth.Qld., Australia)

Most Pentecostal/Charismatics are shocked when they investigate the forerunners of the Pentecostal movement. To find that Charles Parham, A.A. Allen, Maria Woodworth-Etter, Aimee-Semple Mcpherson, Kathryn Kulman, William Branham and others, were false teachers, false prophets, or had tragic lives and deaths,  is a shock to many. It causes discerning Christians to question the very roots of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement. Yet, many still cling to Smith Wigglesworth as a ‘hero of the faith’.

Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947) was a famous Pentecostal evangelist and faith-healer. He was converted in a Methodist church, confirmed as an Anglican, and later associated with the Salvation Army and Plymouth Brethren. In 1907 he claimed that he was ‘baptised in the Holy Spirit’ after hands were laid on him by a Mary Boddy.

Wigglesworth prophesied a mighty restoration of the gifts of the Spirit and revival to start before the end of the twentieth Century. He is reputed to have said: ‘Australia you have been chosen by God for a great move of the Holy Spirit. This move of God will be the greatest move of God ever known in mankind’s history and will start towards the end of the 20th century and move into the 21st century. This move of God will start a great revival in Australia, spread throughout the whole world and usher in the second coming of Jesus. This will be the final revival before the coming of the Lord’.(1)

In 1936 Wigglesworth gave a prophecy to ecumenist David DuPlessis that God would pour out the Pentecostal experience to sweep the world, and that DuPlessis would play a significant role in this movement. The possible fulfilment of this prophecy arguably proves that it was not of  God. The ecumenical/Charismatic ‘renewal’ is a movement with serious heresies and has been the key instrument in building the end-time one-world ecumenical church of the book of Revelation!  Most of what is written of Wigglesworth is typical of the Signs and Wonders Movement today – unsubstantiated and unscriptural stories. For example, Wigglesworth is supposed to have got on a train and before he got off at the end of the journey, all on the train were ‘convinced of sin’ by the presence of Wigglesworth without any word being spoken. The late Lester Summeral is responsible for  many of the stories of the feats of Wigglesworth. Summeral recounts Wigglesworth punching corpses until restored to life or repeatedly punching cancer tumour victims until they died and then raising them from the dead.  Not one account of the raisings from the dead was ever authentically documented. Summeral himself falsely prophesied that he would see the return of Jesus before the end of 1999 and that Jesus spoke this to him in an apparition. When Summeral died he became a false prophet! Summeral was also the subject of a national TV expose for fraud with his ‘Feed The Hungry’ operation.

Despite all the wild unsubstantiated healing claims, Wigglesworth’s daughter, who assisted at his meetings, was never healed of deafness. Wigglesworth also suffered for years with gallstones and later with Sciatica. Much has been written about this man regarding claims of healings and miracles, but what did this man believe?

Wigglesworth believed physical healing is guaranteed in the atonement and is part of the Gospel – a teaching not taught in orthodox historical Christianity. Those who hold this doctrine believe sickness is never a blessing of God but of the devil and that it has been defeated on the cross. However, physical healing is simply not gauranteed for this present time. God may heal in answer to prayer, but He does not  always heal.  The redemption of our bodies is future, (Rom.8:23; Phil.3:21; Eph.1:14; 1Cor.15:53). Some people use Scriptures such as Matthew 8:16,17 to ‘claim’ their healing in regard to the atonement. D.A Carson, observed: ‘The cross is the basis for all the benefits which accrue to believers; but this does not mean that all such benefits can be secured at the present time on demand, any more than we have the right and power to demand our resurrected bodies.’ (2)We have no reason to expect that we can escape from sickness any more than we can expect to escape death! Those who say Jesus conquered sickness for us should explain to us why we still die, since He also conquered death! The fact is we are living in unglorified bodies of flesh in a world that is under the effects of sin and Satan. Any healing allowed by God is only temporary because eventually we die!

Like much false teaching the results speak for themselves. Mary Boddy, the woman who laid hands on Wigglesworth in 1907 when he was allegedly ‘baptized in the Spirit’, spent the last sixteen years of her life as an invalid. According to his own doctrine, Wigglesworth’s daughter should have been healed of deafness and he should have been healed of his own sicknesses. His wife should have been healed of the sickness that took her life (six years after Wigglesworth became a Pentecostal) and when she was but a young woman. His son, who died two years after that, should have been healed of the sickness that took him away in childhood.

In spite of his teaching that God promises perfect physical wholeness and that the Christian can operate in the same sign gifts that Christ exhibited, it is doubtful that any who sought Wigglesworth’s healing ministry were ever healed. Wigglesworth taught against the use of all medicine. He taught that handkerchiefs which are prayed over will bring life if carried in faith to the sick. (3) He believed signs and wonders should always follow the preaching of the Gospel. Yet all major Commentators for 1900 years stated that the miraculous sign gifts were not present at the end of the first century as they were earlier. Many refer to Hebrews 2:3,4 where the writer declares that the message of salvation ‘was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will’. The word ‘confirmed’ (‘bebaioo’) means ‘to make sure, to fix’. In this passage the writer uses the past tense (aorist indicative) meaning a specific time in the past. The English words ‘was confirmed’ and ‘bearing’ show this past tense. The same tense is used in Luke 13:13: ‘immediately she was made straight’. The aorist tense with the indicative mood indicates a specific point in time past as opposed to the imperfect tense which, if used, would indicate continuous action. The writer has also lumped together ‘signs and wonders’ and ‘gifts’ of the Spirit to show clearly that all these things were to prove the Messiahship of Jesus Christ.

When John the Baptist asked for proof of Jesus being the Messiah, the proof given was the gift of healing and signs and wonders, (Matt.11:2-5). The phrase ‘according to His own will’ might also explain why some people in the New Testament were not healed. Epaphroditus was ‘sick nigh unto death’, (Phil.2:27). Trophimus was ‘left at Miletum sick’, (2Tim.4:20). Timothy also took medicine for his sickness, (1Tim.5:23, etc.).

Never since the days of Christ has any period even remotely compared with the miracles of Christ and the apostles. The early church Fathers all agreed that healings and miracles had ceased in the field of evangelism. None of the great revivals featured healing but only the preached Word of ‘the faith which was once delivered unto the saints’, (Jude 3)! Even if one rose from the dead, unbelievers will not believe, (Lk.16:31). Whitefield, Edwards, Spurgeon and Martyn Lloyd Jones never had one healing attributed to them – just collectively millions of sound conversions!

Much is made of the Scripture, Mark 16:17,18: ‘And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover’. Firstly, Jesus was talking to ‘the eleven’ (vs.14) and He spoke ‘unto them’ (vs.15). Secondly, the word ‘believe’ is in the  past (aorist) tense and refers to those who did believe, not those who would believe at that time or in the future. Thirdly, all of the above ‘signs’ in this Scripture occurred in Acts or Corinthians, except the drinking of deadly poison, (which has a concessional ‘if’ clause before it).

Even apart from Scripture and history – this fact remains: Pentecostal/Charismatic leaders, including Wigglesworth, have never been able to do the miracles that Christ performed. The Lord Jesus never conducted a healing crusade yet He could raise the dead and heal every sickness without failure.

Although I believe God heals, can those who claim the ‘gift of healing’ use their ‘gift’ as it was used in the New Testament? In other words, can they heal ‘all’ (Matt.4:23,24; 8:16; 10:1; 12:15, etc.), and ‘every’ sickness (Matt.9:35, etc.), and bring ‘all sick’ people that they would be healed ‘immediately’, (Matt.20:34). If we are honest with the New Testament, this is an accurate description of the true gift of healing! Will they go today to the hospitals just once and heal organic  diseases every time without fail? Will they not heal a Down’s Syndrome person? (4) Will they not heal AIDS victims with proof of blood tests?

Of the 42 occasions of New Testament healing, 32 were by Jesus, 9 through the apostles, and 1 through the seventy. In each case healing was total, permanent and always successful, and included incurable diseases, (Matt.8:3). Compare this with any of today’s faith healers and any ‘healing ministry’!

Wigglesworth claimed that Jesus Christ increased in the fullness of God and in the power of the Holy Spirit: ‘I want you to understand that after the trials, after all the temptations and everything, Jesus comes out more full of  God, more clothed in the Spirit, more ready for the fight.’ (5)  This is a subtle attack on the deity of  Christ! The Lord Jesus could not be ‘more full of God.’ He was always fully God. He was also given the Spirit without measure! (John 3:34).Wigglesworth taught that a Christian can be justified and sanctified but still not have everything necessary from God. He stated: ‘People are never safe until they are baptized with the Holy Ghost.’ (6) This Pentecostal ‘Baptism in the Spirit’ (with the evidence of unknown tongues) is the distinctive teaching of Pentecostalism which is traced to the late nineteenth Century and to Charles Parham, (see see Pentecostal Roots – Amazing Facts also on our website). It effectively does what all of the cults do – it falsely separates ‘Christians’ into two classes.

Wigglesworth claimed that the Christian has the power to speak things into existence: ‘God declares, ‘You have an anointing’. Believe God and you will see this happen. What you say will come to pass’. (7)  This is exactly what the WordFaith teachers and false prophets such as Copeland, Hagin and Hinn have heretically taught for decades! Thus Wigglesworth taught that the Christian can operate in the same omnipotent power that Christ exercised: ‘Dare you come into the place of omnipotence?…He shall bring many sons and daughters unto glory – unto son-likeness, son-perfection.’ (8) This is the false Manifest Sons of God or Latter Rain theology of the perfectibility of certain saints, and a confusion of this present life with that which is to come.

Wigglesworth in fact taught a form of sinless perfection. He stated: ‘…there is a sanctification of the Spirit where the thoughts are holy, where the life is beautiful, with no blemish’. (9)  Yet the Apostle Paul stated: ‘For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not…who shall deliver me from the body of this death’, (Rom.7:18,24); and John said: ‘If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us’, (1Jn.1:8,10). Although we are not to be in habitual sin (1Jn 3: 4,6), the Bible stops short of sinless perfection. Wigglesworth taught the destructive heresy of perfectionism and complete sanctification, which has led multitudes down the road of confusion, despair, demonic delusion and fleshly fanaticism. Popular Bible commentator Harry Ironside sought the sinless perfection experience and at one point thought he ‘had it’. However, he soon realized his old sin nature was still present. He had an emotional breakdown and was committed to a hospital. After receiving literature and teaching on Biblical sanctification he went on to have a fruitful ministry and wrote a book ‘Holiness: The False and the True’.

In summary, the stories of the feats of Wigglesworth are myths. They have deluded many saints into staying in systems of theology that by their fruits have led to extremes and excesses. Further to this, the beliefs of this man were unscriptural and dangerous. ‘To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them’, (Is.8:20).

Terry Arnold

TA Ministries (Australia); Newsletter: Diakrisis (Australia)

http://www.taministries.net

E-mail: taministries@bigpond.com

Source & Recommended reading: Biblical Discernment Ministries  http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/

(1) Letter (on file) from ‘Catch the Fire Ministries’, 2011

(2) ‘The Expositor’s Bible Commentary’, Vol.8, P.267

(3) ‘The Anointing of His Spirit’, P.231

(4) Downes Syndrome cannot be healed by psychosomatic means. No such disease has ever been miraculously healed.

(5) ‘The Place of Power’, 6/16, reprinted in ‘The Anointing of His Spirit’, p.146

(6) Ibid, p. 151

(7) ‘Speak the word and the bound shall be free, the sick shall be healed’ Wigglesworth, ‘Power from on High’, Pentecostal Evangel, 27/5/44

(8) ‘The Privileges of Sonship’, 8/24, reprinted in ‘The Anointing of His Spirit’, p. 221

(9) ‘Count It All Joy’, 8/25, reprinted in ‘The Anointing of His Spirit’, P. 226

HL : http://taministries.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Smith-Wigglesworth-The-Facts-v3.5.pdf

This trend will surely reach our shores soon, if it is not already in South Africa. Beware and run from these type of false teachings, beloved brothers and sisters. This new ludicrous practice is part of the New Apostolic Reformation movement (NAR) as it is typical of their style of teaching. Do not be deceived, there is nothing Biblical about this latest trend from NAR. This latest pagan ritual called “soaking prayer” is nothing but a form of Contemplative spirituality, an eastern form of meditation wrapped in a nice colored paper and disguised under the banner of Christianity. It is pagan Mysticism. Dr John MacArthur says the following about NAR :

“NAR, the New Apostolic Reformation. It is not new, it is not apostolic, and it is not a reformation, by the way. It is like Grape-Nuts, it’s not grapes and it’s not nuts, it’s like Christian Science, it’s not Christian and it’s not scientific. Well the New Apostolic Reformation isn’t new, it isn’t apostolic and it isn’t a reformation. But it is a rapidly expanding movement being generated by some of the same old troubling false teachers and false leaders that have been around in Charismania for decades, always dishonoring the Holy Spirit, always dishonoring the Scripture, always claiming miracle signs, wonders, visions, dreams.”

We previously reported on NAR in an article here: Warning! Rick Joyner to visit South Africa and Join hands with Angus Buchan

Here is how Dr  John MacArthur explains Contemplative spirituality:

Contemplative spirituality is an extremely dangerous practice for any person who desires to live a biblical, God-centered life. It is most commonly associated with the emerging church movement, which is riddled with false teachings. It is also used by many different groups that have little, if any, connection with Christianity.

In practice, contemplative spirituality is primarily centered on meditation, although not meditation with a biblical perspective. Passages such as Joshua 1:8 actually exhort us to meditate: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Notice what the focus of meditation should be—the Word of God. Contemplative spirituality-driven meditation focuses on nothing, literally. A practitioner is exhorted to completely empty his/her mind, to just “be.” Supposedly, this helps one to open up to a greater spiritual experience. However, we are exhorted in Scripture to transform our minds to that of Christ’s, to have His mind. Emptying our minds is contrary to such active, conscious transformation.

Contemplative spirituality also encourages the pursuit of a mystical experience with God. Mysticism is the belief that knowledge of God, spiritual truth, and ultimate reality can be gained through subjective experience. This emphasis on experiential knowledge erodes the authority of Scripture. We know God according to His Word. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God’s Word is complete. There is no reason to believe that God adds additional teachings or truths to His Word through mystical experiences. Instead, our faith and what we know about God is based on fact.

The website for the Center for Contemplative Spirituality sums it up well: “We come from a variety of secular and religious backgrounds and we each seek to enrich our journey through spiritual practice and study of the world’s great spiritual traditions. We desire to draw closer to the loving Spirit which pervades all creation and which inspires our compassion for all beings.” There is absolutely nothing biblical about such goals. Studying the world’s “spiritual traditions” is an exercise in futility because any spiritual tradition other than that which exalts Christ is falsehood. The only way to draw closer to God is through the path He has ordained—Jesus Christ and the Word.

Resource: The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception by John MacArthur.

Here below follows some history and about the lady you will see in the video clips, Marguerite Evans. Interesting to note that she is from South Africa. Please read it and be discerning  about whether her story lines up with Scripture. Keep in mind what Paul teaches us , that women are not to be in any form of leadership in the church. 1 Timothy 2:11-12 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. (12) I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 

She also refers to hearing God speaking to her, read more here. Why is this wong ? Read here : On hearing God’s voice, the dangers of this way of thinking, and the sufficiency of Scripture and also read or listen here : The Modern Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

I have to mention also, that the true believer will recognize  the total abuse and misuse of Scripture clearly. We will address the true meanings of these verses in Psalms below, which she incorrectly applies to justify this soaking prayer trend.

This is used by her  to justify the soaking trend :

IS SOAKING BIBLICAL?

This is what the Bible says:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3

“…Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.” Psalm 4:4

“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” Psalm 37:7

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

First of all now,  note that it says Psalm so and so and not the correct use of the word namely Psalms as it appears in the Bible. The verses used to justify the soaking prayer trend are misquoted in all instances. Lets have a look at how Mathew Henry’s (shorter)  Bible commentary and Gill’s verse by verse commentary explains each verse.

Psalms 23:1-6 (Gill)

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures,…. Or “pastures of tender grass” (t); this is one part of the shepherd’s work, and which is performed by Christ, Eze_34:14; by these “green pastures” may be meant the covenant of grace, its blessings and promises, where there is delicious feeding; likewise the fulness of grace in Christ, from whence grace for grace is received; also the flesh and blood, righteousness and sacrifice, of Christ, which faith is led unto and lives upon, and is refreshed and invigorated by; to which may be added the doctrines of the Gospel, with which Christ’s under-shepherds feed his lambs and sheep, there being in them milk for babes and meat for strong men; and likewise the ordinances of the Gospel, the goodness and fatness of the Lord’s house, the feast of fat things, and breasts of consolation: here Christ’s sheep are made to “lie down”, denoting their satiety and fulness; they having in these green pastures what is satisfying and replenishing; as also their rest and safety, these being sure dwellings and quiet resting places, even in the noon of temptation and persecution; see Son_1:7;

he leadeth me beside the still waters, or “waters of rest and quietness” (u); not to rapid torrents, which by reason of the noise they make, and the swiftness of their motion, the sheep are frightened, and not able to drink of them; but to still waters, pure and clear, and motionless, or that go softly, like the waters of Shiloah, Isa_8:6; and the “leading” to them is in a gentle way, easily, as they are able to bear it; so Jacob led his flock, Gen_33:14; and Christ leads his, Isa_40:11; by these “still waters” may be designed the everlasting love of God, which is like a river, the streams whereof make glad the hearts of his people; these are the waters of the sanctuary, which rise to the ankles, knees, and loins, and are as a broad river to swim in; the pure river of water of life Christ leads his sheep to, and gives them to drink freely of: also communion with God, which the saints pant after, as the hart pants after the water brooks, and Christ gives access unto; moreover he himself is the fountain of gardens, and well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon; and the graces of his Spirit are also as rivers of living water, all which he makes his people partakers of; to which may be added, that the Scriptures, and the truths of the Gospel, are like still, quiet, and refreshing waters to them, and are the waters to which those that are athirst are invited to come, Isa_55:1; and in the immortal state Christ will still be a shepherd, and will feed his people, and lead them to fountains of living water, where they shall solace themselves for ever, and shall know no more sorrow and sighing, Rev_7:17.

Note , nowhere does it say one must lay down physically. Rather, it has this meaning “ by these “green pastures” may be meant the covenant of grace, its blessings and promises, where there is delicious feeding; likewise the fullness of grace in Christ, from whence grace for grace is received; also the flesh and blood, righteousness and sacrifice, of Christ, which faith is led unto and lives upon, and is refreshed and invigorated by; to which may be added the doctrines of the Gospel, with which Christ’s under-shepherds feed his lambs and sheep, there being in them milk for babes and meat for strong men; and likewise the ordinances of the Gospel, the goodness and fatness of the Lord’s house, the feast of fat things, and breasts of consolation: here Christ’s sheep are made to “lie down”, denoting their satiety and fulness; they having in these green pastures what is satisfying and replenishing; as also their rest and safety, these being sure dwellings and quiet resting places, even in the noon of temptation and persecution” 

Psalms 4:4 (Gills)
Stand in awe, and sin not,…. That is, stand in awe of God, and his righteous, judgments; be afraid of him, and tremble before him; make him your fear and your dread, and go on no longer and proceed no further in sinning against him. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, render it, “be ye angry, and sin not”: which are the words of the apostle, Eph_4:26; referring to this place; and which doubtless is the reason of these versions. There is an anger that is sinful, when it is without a cause, or exceeds due bounds, and is not directed to a good end, and is productive of bad effects, by words or deeds; and when it is soon raised, or long continued; and there is an anger that is not sinful; when it arises from a true zeal for God and religion; when it is kindled, not against the persons, but sins, of men; and when it is continued to answer good purposes; as the good of those with whom we are angry, and the glory of God, and the promoting of the kingdom and interest of Christ;

commune with your own heart upon your bed: when retired from men and business, and you are at leisure to think and meditate then reflect upon your actions, seriously consider them; ask your heart some proper and close questions; examine narrowly and thoroughly the principles on which, and the views with which, you act;

and be still; cease from all your rage and fury against me, against the Lord, and against his people; or “say in your own hearts” (q), as follows.

Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa_3:2.

Note nowhere does the verse say we are to lay down and do soaking prayer laying down. In fact Gills says “commune with your own heart upon your bed: when retired from men and business, and you are at leisure to think and meditate then reflect upon your actions, seriously consider them; ask your heart some proper and close questions; examine narrowly and thoroughly the principles on which, and the views with which, you act;” 

Psalms 37:7 (Gills)

Rest in the Lord,…. Or “be silent to the Lord” (p); be still, and know that he is God; quietly submit to his will, and acquiesce in all the dispensations of his providence: it does not design a stupid indolence, or a stoical apathy, that we should be like sticks and stones, without any concern at the hand of God upon us; nor an entire silence under afflictions; we should own that they are of God, and that we are deserving of them; we should pray to him to sanctify them, to support under them, and deliver out of them; we should bless his name that they are no worse, and that they are any ways useful to us; and we should speak to others of the divine goodness experienced under them; but this stands opposed to an arraigning or murmuring at the providence of God, and intends a patient bearing the hand of God, and a resignation of will to his will; for it follows,

and wait patiently for him: for the enjoyment of him, help from him, and deliverance by him;

fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass; this explains the sense of Psa_37:1; it being often an additional uneasiness to the people of God under affliction, when they observe the prosperity of men that go on in a sinful way, and have all or more than heart can wish; and whatever they contrive and devise, though wicked and criminal.

Note nowhere does the verse say , “find a comfortable place to lie down. Allow the busyness of your thoughts to quiet down. Invite the Holy spirit to soak you in His presence. Pray and surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit – mind, body and soul.”  But Gill does explain “Rest in the Lord,…. Or “be silent to the Lord” (p); be still, and know that he is God; quietly submit to his will, and acquiesce in all the dispensations of his providence: it does not design a stupid indolence, or a stoical apathy, that we should be like sticks and stones, without any concern at the hand of God upon us; nor an entire silence under afflictions; we should own that they are of God, and that we are deserving of them; we should pray to him to sanctify them, to support under them, and deliver out of them; we should bless his name that they are no worse, and that they are any ways useful to us; and we should speak to others of the divine goodness experienced under them; but this stands opposed to an arraigning or murmuring at the providence of God, and intends a patient bearing the hand of God, and a resignation of will to his will; for it follows,” 

Psalms 46:6-11 (Mathew Henry)

Come and see the effects of desolating judgments, and stand in awe of God. This shows the perfect security of the church, and is an assurance of lasting peace. Let us pray for the speedy approach of these glorious days, and in silent submission let us worship and trust in our almighty Sovereign. Let all believers triumph in this, that the Lord of hosts, the God of Jacob, has been, is, and will be with us; and will be our Refuge. Mark this, take the comfort, and say, If God be for us, who can be against us? With this, through life and in death, let us answer every fear.

Note it does not say “The aim of soaking prayer is to put oneself in an attitude of stillness, focusing on Jesus without an agenda.”  but Gills explains it, ”be still”; not that they should be like sticks and stones, stupid, indolent, and unconcerned at the commotions that were in the earth, and be unaffected with the judgments of God, and be wholly silent and inactive; but that they should not be fearful, nor fretful and impatient, or restless and tumultuous; but be quiet and easy, resigned to the will of God, and live in an assured expectation of the appearance of divine Providence in their layout. And “know”; own and acknowledge that he is God, a sovereign Being that does whatsoever he pleases; that he is unchangeable in his nature, purposes, promises, and covenant; that he is omnipotent, able to help them and deliver them at the last extremity; that he is omniscient, knows their persons, cases, and troubles, and how and where to hide them till the storm is over; that he is the all wise God, and does all things after the counsel of his own will, and makes all things work together for good to them; and that he is faithful to his word and promise, and will not suffer them to be overpressed and bore down with troubles. Who further says for their encouragement, and is to be hearkened to in it,

Here is the rest of the background  of the ministry of Marguerite Evans (Source quoted below) 

Marguerite Evans is the USA Coordinator for Soaking Prayer Centers.

“We’ve got two kinds of events that I’m working on. One is ‘Introduction to Soaking Meetings’ where people can come for an evening, hear what soaking is, and then have a time of doing it,” she says. “We also do ‘Soaking in His Presence Weekends’ where we teach the core values of hearing God’s voice, the heart of the Father, dealing with the issues of the heart and flowing in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TACF) has been known as being the center of what has been called “The Toronto Blessing.” TACF is also responsible for developing the concept of ‘soaking prayer,’ which is quiet time spent with God either by sitting or lying in silence – while soft worship music plays in the background.

“A lot of people come to Toronto for the power, but they don’t realize the foundation is intimacy and dealing with the issues of the heart and from that, power flows,” Marguerite says.

The aim of soaking prayer is to put oneself in an attitude of stillness, focusing on Jesus without an agenda.

“It’s a time where all your prayer requests and all the things on your mind are put to the side,” she says. “It’s a time when you say, ‘Lord, I come to You for Your heart and not for Your hand.’ Soaking is really about resting in the Father’s love.”

HOW TO SOAK

Find a comfortable place to lie down. Allow the busyness of your thoughts to quiet down. Invite the Holy spirit to soak you in His presence. Pray and surrender yourself to the Holy Spirit – mind, body and soul.

FROM SOUTH AFRICA TO MINISTRY

Marguerite is originally from Pretoria, South Africa where she owned and operated her own business in the fashion industry and coordinated corporate functions. In January of 2000, her life took on a new direction as she felt
the call of God to leave South Africa for the first time to attend the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship School of Ministry.

“One night, I was lying on my bed, minding my own business, and I felt the Lord say, ‘Go to Toronto, now!’ Two hours after lying on my bed, I had an application form; I completed it and I sent it in,” she says.

As Marguerite followed God’s leading, she left South Africa to attend school in Toronto and soon realized that her life would change drastically from then on.

“The Lord obviously had other plans because I never went back to South Africa. I visit, but it was never on my mind that I would ever live in North America,” she says.

After graduating from the Toronto School of Ministry, Marguerite was asked to stay on as staff at the school, then later moved on to work in the Revival Department of TACF and then the Counseling department.

“The program at Toronto focuses on getting from head knowledge to heart revelation as to who God the Father is,” she says. “They really go deep into dealing with the issues of the heart.”

Her experiences in Toronto led to a deep hunger to see people’s lives transformed by God. Marguerite has a heart for people to know that as children of God, we are carrying His presence and through cultivating intimacy with Him, His power can flow freely from us, touching people’s lives and changing the spiritual climate.

A REVELATION OF GOD

Marguerite grew up in a small town and in a very conservative church.

“I did not know that I had to give my life to the Lord,” she says.“Growing up was just really, really hard with my family situation; my parents got divorced, my father died – there are a lot of details there, but in a nutshell, I was very rebellious. I did not know who I was, and I was very insecure.”

After leaving home to attend school in a neighboring city, Marguerite somehow found herself sitting in church every Sunday.

“I started going to Hatfield Christian Church, and I would just end up there on a Sunday evening. I know now that it was the Holy Spirit that got my attention at some point, and I went there,” she says. “I would not even think of church during the week, but on a Sunday for some reason, I just thought of it.”

After while, Marguerite asked a lady for prayer at her church, which led to Marguerite accepting Christ as her personal Lord and Savior.

“I got filled with the Holy Spirit, I made a commitment to the Lord, and my life turned around. That was a key turning point in my life,” she says. (Source used http://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/marguerite_evans061308.aspx )

Here below is an article and video clips from Stand Up For The Truth placed with permission from Amy Spreeman. Thank you !!

SOAKING: THE TRENDY APPROACH TO A HOLY GOD. 

By Amy Spreeman

Put the bath salts away; this is a different kind of soaking. The “Soaking Prayer” isn’t found in the Bible, but it was designed to empty your mind and experience the Holy Spirit. It was developed by the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, now known as Catch the Fire Toronto. This group also gave rise to the “Toronto Blessing” and many aberrant practices such as holy laughter, making animal sounds, and being drunk or paralyzed in the Spirit.

CBN frequently promotes this style of experiential contemplative prayer:

Watch this short video clip Here !!

Here is an article about Soaking Prayer titled, Soaking: the Trendy Approach to a Holy God, posted today by  Kevin Kleint over at  Honor of Kings, and reprinted with permission:

We Need Quiet Time

Before I get into this too deep, let me state that I am an avid believer in spending quiet time with God. We live in a world full of chaos and distraction. Anxiety and ”eye candy” continually compete for our attention and we constantly have to re-focus our attention on heaven. Without this precious time with the Master, we’re prone to wander aimlessly, and listen to every voice BUT His.

Personally, I have to get up early in the morning before anyone wakes up, otherwise “quiet time” just doesn’t happen. I’m sure those of you with young kids know what I mean.

What is “Soaking”?

In it’s most basic form, “soaking” is the practice of finding a quiet place to spend time with God, emptying your mind of all distraction and attempting to get into contact with the Holy Spirit.

For most, it rarely remains at this basic level.

During my stint at the Elijah List (2001-2008), the practice of “soaking” grew immensely in popularity among the “prophetic” church, and continues to grow now.  Usually, the “soaker” has a “soaking” CD playing in the background that is conducive to the “soaking” experience. Most of the time, these CD’s have music playing, with a “prophet” or “prophetic person” either speaking, “prophesying” or singing with the music. Elijah List contributors such as Todd Bentley, Stacey Campbell and the Kansas City prophets (Mike Bickle, Bob Jones, Paul Cain, etc.) have released entire “worship” CD series created for this very purpose.

To the spiritually young and immature, the practice of  “soaking” seems SO RIGHT. They think: “Who wouldn’t want to get in contact with God’s Holy Spirit? What better way to experience the Presence of God? The people who practice it prophesy a LOT and they seem so ‘spiritual’, this MUST be the right way to do things …… Right?”

Unfortunately, Wrong.

The Marketing of Deception

Soaking has been marketed as a ‘shortcut’ into the presence of God, delivered a la carte without the need for personal prayer time or study in His word. Let’s take a look at a recent article by Gary Oates and I’ll show you what I mean …

The key is where your focus is – on the things of God or on things of this world.

Bible reading and prayer are not enough. We must take time alone with Him, not asking for anything but more of Him, more of His fullness, more of His Presence in our everyday lives.

God releases power through us as we dwell in intimacy with Him. The natural outworking of His Presence is miracles.

How do we “soak”? We soak like a sponge. Put a dry sponge in a bucket of water and slowly the water permeates the sponge. This is the same as soaking in God’s Presence. The more we soak, the more we become filled with His Spirit.

I’m often asked, “What do you do in your time of seeking His Presence?” I don’t have a set formula. In my life, it varies from time to time, but the basic components are as follows:

First, I go into a private room, lock the door, and get on the floor before the Lord. It doesn’t matter whether you sit or lie down. What’s most important is the attitude of your heart.

Second, I repent of any sin in my life and I receive God’s forgiveness.

Third, I worship the Lord in both my native language (English) and in the language of the Holy Spirit.

Fourth, I do the vital prayer of Romans 6:13 that has transformed my life: “…present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

Fifth, I begin to recall experiences with the Lord (i.e., healings, miracles, provision) where He has manifested Himself in wonderful ways. This creates more of an expectancy and awareness of His Presence as I relive these times.

I tell the Lord: “God, I want more of You, more of Your Presence, more of Your fullness in my life. Fill me with more of You.” I may repeat this statement many times as I wait on the Lord and focus on Him.

Then, I get quiet and that’s when I begin to hear His voice. Many times, I begin to have visions and supernatural experiences.

The key here is learning to wait in solitude. I cannot overemphasize the importance of waiting on the Lord until I experience His manifest Presence daily. I don’t come out of that private room until I have experienced His Presence.

During our soaking times, we position ourselves to receive impressions, nudges, quiet whispers, pictures, angelic visitations, and supernatural revelations. Here is a partial list of what to expect:

• Dreams (Job 33:14-16; Genesis 28:10-16)
• Visions (Daniel 7:1-3,9; Acts 16:9-10)
• Trances (Acts 10:9-17, 11:5)
• Out of body experiences (2 Corinthians 12:2-4)
• Angelic visitations (Luke 1:57,11-17; Acts 12:7-10)
• Being transported in the Spirit (Acts 8:39-40)

Experiencing the true intimate Presence of the living God will radically change your life. People describe His manifest Presence in different ways. To some, it is heat, electricity, or shaking. To others, it is lightness, peace, or weeping.

Experiencing the manifest Presence is not the goal but the gateway to the supernatural realm. It’s the beginning. We go into the spirit realm where we can see Him, hear His voice, walk with Him, and be empowered by Him.

Isaiah 64:4 says God “acts for the one who waits for Him.” The Amplified Bible states,“God…who works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who [earnestly] waits for Him.” He’s waiting on us to wait on Him.

(Posted this year on the Elijah List: “Soaking: The Key to Intimacy with God”)

The Supernatural IS Real

I am NOT a non-spiritual, close-minded person and I am NOT a cessationist … not at all! Nor do I believe in a “distant” God that ONLY speaks through the written Word (although that IS our primary source). He is very willing to speak to His Children. But God is a purposeful God, and when He speaks, there is a reason behind it, and it will ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS line up with His written Word.

Having said that, I find a very serious danger in Gary Oates’ (and the prophetic movement’s) approach to spending time (or “soaking”) in the Presence of God, here’s why:

First and foremost, it is NOT the supernatural byproducts of  “soaking” that Gary has listed above that are a danger to the young christian.

Read through the article again.

How much of it emphasized the Word and Prayer? Not much … in fact, the Word and Prayer are “not enough” according to Gary.

Now, compare that to the amount of space dedicated to promoting the supernatural and the “touchy-feely”, experiential possibilities that might happen during a person’s time with God.

Clearly something is out of balance here.

To say things like “Bible reading and prayer are not enough” belittles the very elements that are needed to safeguard your communication and experience with  God.

We must realize that we have an entire generation of youth (and older) who are desperately, and recklessly, seeking supernatural encounters from ANY source (just watch the news and look at your TV guide). Additionally, new converts often have an extreme hunger to experience God in a very “real” way.

Personally, I think hunger for God is a BEAUTIFUL thing. But we cannot assume that, just because they go to church (even a “prophetic” church), that their foundation in the Word and Prayer is strong. In fact, of the 7 years that I spent working for the Elijah List and going to the Vineyard, very, VERY few had a strong knowledge of the Word.

I need to ask, if a person doesn’t know the Word, how is he/she going to recognize the Voice of the Almighty? How is he/she going to differentiate between the “Touch” of the Holy Spirit and the touch of another spirit?

It’s simple …. They won’t.

A Soaker’s Defense

Most of the time, if they have any scriptural knowledge at all, advocates of “soaking” will bring up scriptures having to do with “waiting on God” to defend their practice. For example, they have used the following:

Psalm 59:9 “I will wait for You, O You his Strength; For God [is] my defense.”

Psalm 62:5 “My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation [is] from Him.”

Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”

Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew [their] strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

When they use these scriptures, they are blatantly taking the Word of God out of context. Go back and read the surrounding verses (or the entire chapter), almost every time the writer is telling people to wait for God to defend them against their enemies. And we SHOULD wait on God to defend us … He is our Salvation!

We MUST understand this: waiting on God, at least from a scriptural perspective, has nothing to do with your prayer life. It has to do with God and His willingness to fight for us!

Let me reiterate, there is GREAT value in spending quiet time with God, but the “soaking” approach and “scriptural” defense of those who practice “soaking” is weak at best.

Who Am I to Judge?

First … before you throw up the “Judge Not” scriptures as a (flimsy) defense, read my series entitled “Judge Not … Or Just Do It”.  After you read the series, I hope you will understand that you have been duped (we all have) … now continue reading.

We are to judge fruit. In fact, Jesus told us:

Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by [its] fruit.”

Matthew 7:20 “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

I’ve seen this fruit time and again.

Because people desire a “have-it-your-way” supernatural experience, they are prone to seek supernatural fulfillment through carnal (sensual) means. Trained by the world (and from the pulpit) to pay attention to, and feed, our “senses”, they feel they’ve encountered “the Spirit of God” when their senses are tickled by ANY supernatural force.  Because it makes there senses “feel” good, they are very reluctant to even remotely consider that they have been deceived.

It never fails. Every time, those who try to empty their minds and have little or no foundation in the Word will open themselves up wide for deceiving spirits. Convinced that they are more “spiritual” because they are hearing voices, “manifesting” and feeling things, they leave behind the tools that are their very lifeline to God …. the Word and Prayer. Those “prophets” who promote soaking should know that only those with a solid foundation in the Word of God and prayer will be able to discern between the Voice of the Good Shepherd and the voice of another.

Remember This:

If you market an experience-driven method of reaching out to the supernatural, promising supernatural encounters at the expense of a solid foundation in the Word (and calling it “intimacy with God”), you will destroy whoever acts out your method.

It’s always best to stick with what works. Supernatural things MAY happen, but they will always be a result of spending the time with the Lord in the methods He gave us long ago … the Word and Prayer.

 SOURCE: Honor Of Kings

Thoughts? You can email the author, Kevin Kleint at kevin@honorofkings.org

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Please also visit Stand up For the Truth 

By Voddie Baucham

Are there many races, or just one? What role does or belief about Darwinian evolution play in our understanding of race? Is Darwinian evolution inherently racist? These are just a few of the questions addressed in this message.

Racism has a variety of root causes. However, none of these causes is more sinister than the misuse of Genesis. Not only does a proper understanding of this text disprove racist assertions made by some biblical exegetes, it also cuts straight to the heart of the Darwinian brand of racism that gave rise to such atrocities as the Holocaust. Though there are many ethnicities, this message argues that all human beings actually form a single race.

Listen to the Audio sermon !!  

Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and  Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim.

infidels or idolaters, neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked by marrying with such as are wicked in their life or maintain damnable heresy.

1689. The understood what the Bible taught. What did the Bible teach?  The Bible taught we are one in Adam, we are one in Noah, we are one in Christ.

When you are looking for somebody to marry, don’t be like man who looks on the outside. You be like God who judges the heart.

[?] my son or daughter to come home with somebody who is deep, dark, chocolate brown, but doesn’t know Jesus from the man in the moon or somebody who hails from somewhere like Hong Kong or Singapore or Brazil or England who loves God and has a multi generational vision for seeing to it that my children’s children are raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Which one is it?

Christ came to redeem his people in Adam, in Noah and he has but one people. We are but one Church.  We are but one race. There has always been but one race.  All of us has been marred by the racism in our culture, every last one of us. Don’t think for a minute that you have gotten away from it unscathed. You haven’t. You have bathed in it for years and years and years. And when you look at people you make snap judgments. You do.  You do.

Somebody walks in the door and immediately we look at that individual and if that individual has brown skin we find one of our brown skinned families in the church to introduce that individual to. Why?  Because we think brown skinned people are going to have more in common with brown skinned people and we want that brown skin person to know, hey, we got brown skinned people in our church, too.

If you can’t say amen, you ought to say ouch. Because we do it all the time. Why? Because a fish doesn’t know he is wet, that’s why. That’s why. A fish doesn’t know he is wet.

And you and I have no idea that though we are followers of Christ and have been redeemed, that the area of racism and prejudice is something that needs to be scrubbed from our souls, from every last one of us.

My prayer is that this church would always be a church that holds up high the banner of Christ, period, end of discussion. And if you can unite around Christ you can unite with us. I don’t care if you are pink, green or purple. If you can unite around Christ you can unite with us. But if you have a problem with accepting other people as one race, you are not welcome here. Repent. Fall on your face before our Jewish, middle brown Savior and beg him to cleanse you with his blood that looks just like yours.

HL : http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=525091133123

The following article BELOW appeared in the Sowetan Live news paper today. 

I received the following message via email from a sister with the link to the anonymous authors article  decided to place this as an article :

Praise the Lord for such a timely warning! This link takes you to a write-up in the Sowetan newspaper that gives a clear warning against false prophets who are deceiving many.

Please share liberally, so that the flock of the Lord can be protected against these wolves in sheep’s clothing.

These false prophets are changing the grace of God into a licence for immorality (Jude 1:4).

Screenshot of article:

MAR 28, 2013 | READER CONTRIBUTION 

These false prophets are changing the grace of God into a licence for immorality (Jude 1:4). Now let me tell you what these false teachers or pastors do to deceive people.

Don’t fall in love with miracles because (Mathew 24:24 For there will be false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones,)

(Romans 16:17 Now I beg you, brothers, look out for those who are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and turn away from them.:18 For those who are such don’t serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own Belly: and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the innocent)

The false prophets tell you to come to Christ Jesus and you will receive anything you want, like success, business, good life  and miracles. Some of these contradict the bible because they are earthly desires and not spiritual (1 John 4 They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them).

When you are praying in their crusade they tell you to ask Jesus anything you want including cars, buses, businesses, good life and Jesus will give you them.

This is a destruction because, (James 4:3 You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures) all of these things are not part of salvation. My friends wake up from your dreams and follow the real Jesus who’s the Son of God. (Romans 3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways.)

Lets see an example of this licence for morality which they had changed:

They preach prosperity, material things and worldly things.

Colossians 3: if then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.2: Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.:

3 Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved  passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry.:5for which things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience…James 4:4 You adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

They sell blessed products for profit

 (Mathew 21:12 Jesus entered in to the temple of God, and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold the doves.

So nowadays we have ignorant people who disobey our Lord Jesus by buying products in the church. And this means you buyers are participating in the evil act this pastors are doing.

My friend, God is not pleased so turn away from your wickedness and use your faith to help you ask God anything you want but in a right motive and you must prove yourself to Him that you really need Him and you trust Him. He loves you and that is Why as your Father He can help you in trials and tribulations. Fight for righteousness ( 1 Timothy 6: 12 Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the confession in the sight of many witnesses.: 14 That you keep the commandment, without spot, blameless, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.:)

God told us to give to the needy so if this pastors are so righteous why do they sell to you and not give you because you are in need of those products?

Yet Jesus want His disciples to Give. (Mathew 10: 7 As you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’ : 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give. 9: Don’t take any gold, nor silver, nor brass in your money belts.

So nowadays preachers are asking money and in their crusade they give you buckets to pay tithes which of course we should pay but why do they ask you to pay money even when you are not at church. They give you their bank details. You false prophets and pastors are giving Christianity a bad name!

I urge those who follow this category of  false teachers/ pastors or prophets to repent and confess with their mouths that Jesus is The Lord and that God raised Him from the dead. And don’t forget to renounce the false holly spirit you received from the false prophets. Including you who were touching your idol god screen of television to receive the healing(Hebrews 6: and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance: seeing  they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame.)

BLESSED PRODUCTS

The false prophets prays for products and sells them to congregation right inside their church.

They tell people that they have fire in them. Buying the blessed items is like buying the gift of the Holly Spirit which we receive freely when we are baptized and you who are buying such products are guilty of buying God’s power besides it shows that you lack faith because you need protection from an object being prayed for. There is no use for you to pray since you don’t have faith. A person with faith put trust in God for protection. Don’t be deceived my friends God answers our prayers and that is why these false prophets are distracting us by idolising blessed items and blinding us by their miracles. They are hiding the truth. It is a conspiracy of the devil to create false religion.

(Ephesians 6:12 for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s of the darkness of this age and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places).

This false prophets deceive you by making you fight a physical fight which  will distract you and lead you to eternal punishment.

(Acts 8:9 But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city, and amazed the people of Samaria, making Himself out to be some great one.: 10 to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying “This man is that great power of God” 18 Now when Simon saw that the Holly Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands , he offered them money.:19saying, “Give me also this power, that whoever I lay my hands on may receive the Holly Spirit.”20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver parish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!

God blesses people and not objects and for you to be protected you need to believe ( Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved: but he who disbeliefs will be condemned.:18 they will take up serpents: and if they drink any deadly thing, it will in no way hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”

The confession prayer you confess as it is written in (Romans 10:9 that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.:11 For the scripture says, “whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame [Isaiah 28:16] and  (2 Timothy 3: 5 holding a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof. Turn away from these)

(Ephesians 6:13 Therefore, put on the whole  armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.:14 Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breast plate of righteousness,

:15 and having fitted your feet with preparation of the Good News of peace.:16 above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the spoken word of God “(bible) :18 with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints.

The armor of God is

• belt of [truth], around your waist
• breast plate of[righteousness]
• fitted your feet with [Good News of peace]
• shield of [faith] to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one
• helmet of [salvation]
• sword of the Spirit which is [spoken word of God]
• praying all time in The Spirit
• being [watchful]

I know two of the televangelists in south Africa who sells the products.

The lists of the products are

• Pen
• Ruler
• Dvd’s
• Stickers
• Key holders
• T-shirts
• Newspapers etc

Someone gave a testimony that he bought the dvd of (Pastor Irene) and played it in his taxi and he testified that a certain person said there is fire in the taxi just by playing dvd. So now we don’t need faith or armor of God to protect  our cars or houses. We need televangelists dvd’s to release the power of God. (This is a deception and it will lead you to hell. What you believe will lead you to hell or Heaven. I put a red flag on this practice of false Christianity.)

And I ask pastor Irene not to tell people to have hope on dvd’s because it lead them astray ..

and Im not saying you are a false prophet but if you really are of God direct people to put hope in Christ Jesus and not your dvd’s.

Pastor Mukhuba this goes to you as well if you are a true woman man of God please don’t sell blessed items to God’s Children and if you love God you will give them for free.

Pastor Zondo stop preaching about material things, smart clothes because you told your congregation that you love smart things, smart clothes like Nigerians clothes etc. preach salvation and not materialism.

God is watching you and if you stumble, you are going to fall under the same judgement with the devil,(1 timothy 3: 1 This is a faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer he desire a good work.: 2 The overseer therefore must be without reproach, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching: 3 not a drinker, not violent, not quarrelsome, not covetous: ( and since you zondo you said you desire good things,smart attire, big houses etc. then you need to stop coveting, ) 6: not a new covert, lest being puffed up he fall in to the same condemnation as the devil.) I heard you preaching so you need to be an example to your congregation.

Mboro stop telling your congregation to call your name when you cast out demons! You are not the messiah! God’s will, will be done here on earth no matter what you people are trying to do by hindering God’s plans but know that vengeance is God’s! you shall all pay trust me!

No matter what I is in the dark the light will shine on the darkness.  (Mathew 10: 27 What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the house tops.:28 Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.[or Hell] ( 1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong:28 and God choose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are:29 that no flesh should boast before God.

Pastor Irene on your Channel you said “ This ministry according to Jesus is to take this world, the space, the rivers to His peace, because the devil is abusing them’. This is unbiblical please teach what Jesus came here to do for! Salvation/repentance. You encourage people to buy decoders so that they can see the work of God. The kingdom of God comes without observation. Please teach sound doctrine and be careful because (1 Timothy 2:12 But I don’t permit a woman to teach, nor to exercise authority over a man, but to be quietness.13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 Adam wasn’t deceived, but the woman, being deceived, has fallen into disobedience:  another deception is putting your hands on the screen of television to receive healing from pastors.

Is the pastor a healer? There are different kinds of machines inside the tv and you put your hands on it to receive the healing from which god? Is God inside the tv? Again pastor Irene told people that every family should have the decoders so that they can see the work of the Lord.

(Luke 17:20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come with observation.:21 neither will they say, look, here!’ or “look, there!’ for behold the Kingdom of God is within you)’  and not on tv

Putting your hand on tv is idolatry and you worship your tv to release power to heal you.

(Exodus 20:4 You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that  is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth :5 you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the  iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,

My friends this is the deception of the devil to gather himself poor souls so that they can parish with him.

The pastor told people to pray to Jesus so that they can receive money to go to Israel to walk where Jesus walked. She told children to pray to Jesus so that He can make their parents understand and gives them money to go to Israel.

(James 4:3 You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures.)

This will end up producing covetousness from friends. We come from a different background and if a child  from a successful family receives the money to go to Israel, how will a child from a poor family feel? She’s going to covert his/her friend. I don’t see this as a part of salvation because it doesn’t glorify God but desires of the flesh and it does more harm than good. And this distract us to look at the things that are seen (2 Corinthians 4:18 while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not. For the things that which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.)

That money they paid to go to Israel should be used to feed the street kids or the orphans for they are children of God who can not feed themselves while people are having a lavish life to tour to Israel. This ministry has been proclaiming world peace but no good fruits has been reaped from it. There is too much rapes in south Africa and around the world and people are murdered everyday yet we have a ministry which proclaiming peace

What does partnering with the ministry have to do with saving people’s lost souls? …..

Read all the bible chapters and listen to them when they tell you how to serve the Lord Jesus. Pray for the Holly Spirit to guide and to give you strength and to increase your faith and knowledge. Don’t doubt when you ask. And pray for others as well. And thank God at all times. STAY AWAY FROM THOSE WHO CLAIM TO DO SIGNS AND WONDERS BECAUSE THEY MAKES YOU WONDER. There are genuine miracles of God and they need you to discern if you know the word of God. Please be safe and use THIS OPPORTUNITY TO REPENT ALL YOUR SINS WHILE GOD IS STILL GIVING YOU A CHANCE ON EARTH (Hebrews 9:27 Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this judgment.!!!!!!!!!!!

  – a reader contribution. This reader wishes to remain anonymous.

HL - http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/columnists/2013/03/28/false-prophets-and-pastors-deceiving-people

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Pastor Tshifhiwa Irene is the leader of Divine Truth World Restoration Services for World you can research her if you google her name. ALSO read here : http://www.myzimbabwe.co.zw/news/2174-south-african-popular-televangelist-pastor-irene-tshifhiwa-performs-miracles-in-mbare.html

Tattooed preacher who ‘cures’ cancer by kicking people in the face banned from entering the UK, August 2012.

It has come to our attention that Todd Bentley will be in South Africa from April 5 to April 28 , 2013.  The reason for his visit is to lead many astray onto the wide road leading to destruction.  His visit follows  closely on the heels of Rick Joyner last year, who joined hands with Angus Buchan read more here Warning! Rick Joyner to visit South Africa and Join hands with Angus Buchan. Also see here Angus Buchan: Evangelist or Revivalist?

Further please read Oom (Uncle) Angus Buchan from the Mighty Men Revivals and of Faith like Potatoes fame at the The Apostolic Prophetic Conference of Neville Norden’s church Lewende Woord. We  also previously reported on Gretha Wiid from the Worthy Women Revivals,  Buchan’s South African female understudy.

South African authorities should take an example from the UK, by banning this man from my beloved South Africa.

What does the Bible say about false “profits”  like Bentley and the likes ?

Matthew 7:15-20 KJV Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (19) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

The Bible also teaches it is impossible to  renew these type of men back to repentance.

Hebrews 6:4-8 KJV For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, (5) And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, (6) If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (7) For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: (8) But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

Hebrews 6:3-6

“If They Shall Fall Away…”

Salvation is by God’s free and sovereign grace alone. The sinner’s only hope before God is the blood atonement and imputed righteousness of Christ. That salvation which God gives to and works in his people is eternal salvation. All true faith is permanent, persevering faith. However, there is a faith, which is a satanic delusion.

Carnal Security

Here is a terribly sobering fact plainly revealed in Holy Scripture. We will be wise to lay it to heart. — It is quite possible for men and women to have an undisturbed peace, unshaken assurance, and unquestioned security with regard to their eternal destiny, and yet have no saving interest in Christ. If that fact is not alarming to you, it should be. The Lord God sounds this blaring warning by his prophet Obadiah: – “Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion!”

Satan is a crafty, subtle foe. He knows that the surest way to keep sinners from the saving knowledge of Christ is to give them some satisfying, conscience soothing substitute, some religious experience, or feelings, or gifts, or knowledge by which they may convince themselves that the grace of God is surely theirs.

Do not be deceived. Many have gifts who have no grace. Multitudes profess faith they do not possess. Countless thousands enjoy peace who do not have pardon. Hoards of men and women, orthodox to the core, are yet without life before God. There is a form of godliness possessed by men who deny the power of it. Many have a name that they live who are yet dead in trespasses and in sins. Hell is bulging with eternally damned souls who went to that place of torment assured that they were on the road to heaven, with a Bible in their hands, a song in their hearts, and a profession on their lips. At the time when Lot’s wife felt most secure, she went to hell! When all the other apostles were fearful, saying, “Lord, is it I?” Judas was perfectly confident.

Examine Yourself

There is nothing on this earth more fearful than the carnal security of religion without Christ. Let us bring our faith to the Word of God and examine it. May it please God to search our hearts and let us see if we have the faith of God’s elect (2Co_13:5; 2Pe_1:10; Psa_139:23-24). If our faith is the faith of God’s elect, if it is sound, if it is a God given faith, examination will only strengthen it, and cause us to cling more firmly to Christ. If our faith is false, examination may expose it. If we have built for ourselves a refuge of lies, in which we are trying to hide from God, may he graciously destroy our false refuge and hide us in Christ by his almighty grace.

Hebrews 6:4-6

A Mere Form of Godliness

In these verses the Spirit of God shows us plainly that there are some people who have what appears to be heavenly gifts who have no grace in their hearts. Multitudes have religion who do not have Christ. Many there are who enjoy great experiences who have never experienced grace. Many have a form of godliness who know nothing of the power of God by which sinners are born again. These verses speak of people who have experienced much, professed much, and demonstrated much in religion. Yet, they have no saving union with Christ. They have faith; but it is a false faith. They have repentance; but it is a repentance that needs to be repented of. They have experienced religion; but they have not experienced the grace of God. Beware of resting your soul upon experiences, gifts, and outward works of religion. To build your house upon these things is to build upon sand. It is possible to be ranked with the most spiritual, most gifted, most zealous men and women in the world, and yet go to hell in the end (Mat_7:21-23). Is your faith the faith of God’s elect; or is it a false faith?

• False faith may be greatly enlightened and knowledgeable of gospel truth. Judas was. True faith receives the love of the Truth (2Th_2:10).
• False faith excites the affections, like the stony ground hearers of the parable, and causes people to spring up like shooting stars, only to fade quickly. True faith is the abiding, growing gift of God.
• False faith reforms the outward life and causes people to live better before men. True faith arises from a regenerate heart and causes people to seek the will and glory of God.
• False faith may speak well of Christ, as the Jews did. True faith loves Christ.
• False faith confesses sins, like King Saul. True faith confesses sin, like David.
• False faith may humble itself in sackcloth and ashes, like Ahab. True faith humbles itself before God.
• False faith may repent in terror, like Esau and Judas. True faith repents in contrition, being convinced of God’s way of salvation in Christ (Joh_16:8-11).
• False faith often performs religious works very diligently. Saul of Tarsus did. True faith is a faith, which “worketh by love.”
• False faith is sometimes very generous and charitable (Ananias and Sapphira). True faith causes ransomed sinners to be generous, willingly, constrained only by love and gratitude.
• False faith may tremble at the Word of God, like Felix. True faith trembles and bows.
• False faith often experiences much in religion. True faith trusts no experience, no matter how great, and looks to Christ alone.
• False faith often enjoys great religious privileges, like Lot’s wife. True faith places no confidence in the flesh.
• False faith may preach, perform miracles, and cast out demons, like Judas. True faith rejoices in having one’s name written in heaven.
• False faith often attains high office in the church, like Diotrephes, and walks with great preachers, as Demas walked with Paul. True faith is honored to keep the doors of God’s house and walk with Christ.
• False faith may be peaceful and carnally secure, like the five foolish virgins. True faith presumes nothing, but looks constantly to Christ.

Hebrews 6:4-6

Religious But Lost

Men and women often feel, experience, and do much in religion who never experience God’s saving grace. Neither emotional experience, nor orthodoxy of creed, nor reformation of life is necessarily a token of grace. Heb_6:4-6 speaks of such people. Look at what these people have experienced.

Enlightened

They were once enlightened to an understanding of Gospel truth. These were heretics. These are not Arminians, free-willers, papists, or Hindus. These people know the truth, at least mentally. They intellectually perceive and submit to the doctrinal truths of the gospel. To them, the doctrines of the gospel are logical and reasonable. They accept them as facts plainly revealed in the Word of God.

The fact is – The natural man can see and understand any doctrine taught in Holy Scripture. He cannot see the glory of God in the face of Christ; but he can see and glory in doctrine. He cannot love Christ; but he can love doctrine. The unsaved man may be a better theologian than the believer. But the poor, uneducated believer knows and loves what the unregenerate man never can. The believer knows, loves, trusts, and rejoices in Christ.

Tasted Heavenly Gifts

Multitudes have tasted the heavenly gifts who have never tasted the Gift of heaven. During the Apostolic age, miraculous gifts were given to men. Some could heal diseases, speak in tongues, and prophesy. But miraculous gifts, which appear to be gifts of the Spirit, are by no means an evidence of grace, salvation, and eternal life. Gifts of the Spirit can be, and often are, counterfeited by Satan (2Th_2:7-10).

Tasting the heavenly gifts and powers of the world to come is not salvation. Salvation is eating the Bread of Life. Salvation is not in miraculous gifts, but in immutable grace. Salvation is not in feelings, emotions, and experiences, no matter how great and life changing they may be. Salvation is in Christ! A man can preach with power and eloquence, and yet not know Christ. – Judas did. A man can perform miracles, and not know God. – Pharaoh’s magicians did. A man can cast out demons, and yet be the messenger of Satan (Mat_7:21-23). A person can speak in tongues, and yet speak by the power of the devil. A man can preach, promote, and defend righteousness, and yet speak by him who transforms his ministers into angels of light and preachers of righteousness. Spiritual gifts and usefulness must not be looked upon as evidences of grace and salvation.

Partakers of the Holy Ghost

This passage even speaks of lost men and women who have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost. Many people look at that and say, “Without question, these were once saved people.” But that is not the case at all. We read of wicked King Saul that, “The Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied,” but the Spirit of God was not in him. Balaam spoke by the Spirit and prophesied of Christ’s coming, but never knew the Christ of whom he spoke. In fact, Balaam’s ass even spoke a word from God by the power of his Spirit; but neither Balaam, nor his ass, were born of God.  Caiaphas, the high priest, spoke by the Spirit of God, declaring the gospel as plainly as any man ever did. Yet, he was a lost man.

It is possible for men to say and do things which, considered by themselves, make it appear that they are partakers of the Holy Spirit, though they are not born of the Spirit. There were many in our Lord’s day, as there are today, who believed; but the Master did not commit himself to them, because he knew what was in them (Joh_2:23-24).

Tasted the Word of God

We are told in Heb_6:5 that these people have even tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come. They love good preaching, and are moved by it. You find them at every Bible conference. Their emotions are stirred by the preaching of the Word; but it never reaches their hearts.

This is what the Holy Spirit teaches us in this passage: — It is quite possible for men and women to enjoy rare, unusual gifts and experiences, without experiencing God’s saving grace in Christ. Outward gifts and heartfelt emotions impress and deceive. We must have something more. We must have Christ (1Co_13:1-3).

Here below you will find  information gathered by others who have closely followed the false teachings of Todd Bentley. Take your time working through these links.

BEWARE OF THE DECEPTION AND LIES OF TODD BENTLEY AND HIS ANGELS OF LIGHT. THIS IS WINNING of SOULS FOR SATAN’S  REVIVAL !!! THIS IS NOT CHRISTIAN IN ANY WAY !!!!

Email me if you want the link to this image from the website of Todd Bentley

Shocking video about Tod Bentley’s Violent mininstry !!! 

To the Reader: This page contains selected articles, information, and news releases on Todd Bentley and his associates within the Word-Faith movement and the New Apostolic Reformation. This page will be updated as new information is made available.

The Elijah List  4/22/08

Todd Bentley’s Angels 4/26/08 

Todd Bentley and Contemplative Meditation 4/26/08

Todd Bentley Taught Contemplative Prayer and Silence 4/29/08

Bentley’s Lakeland Revival Keeps Moving Spirits… 5/20/08

Todd Bentley or Jesus Christ? 5/20/08

Todd Bentley: “Will We Get Fooled Again?” (Part 1) May 2008

To be Forewarned is to be Forearmed (Part 2) May 2008

A Story of Earth and Heaven (Part 3) May 2008

When the Angel came: The Branham connection (Part 4) May 2008

The fire-Fresh Fire (Part 5) May 2008

The Fire as an ANOINTING (Part 6) June 2008

Angels We have Heard and Seen (Part 7) June 2008

Wendy Alec: Prophet of God?

To the Sheepfold or the Luau? 5/21/08

Todd Bentley: The New Simon Magus 5/23/08

Tracking Bentley back to Benny 5/9/08

Todd Bentley Kicks ‘Older Lady’ with his ‘Biker-Boot’ 5/28/08

Todd Bentley’s Highway to Heaven 6/8/08

Fools for Christ–or just fools? June 2008

Is the Anointing Tangible and Transferable? June 2008T

odd Bentley: Miraculous Healings? 6/18/08

Same old scam? Even some Pentecostals are skeptical of Todd Bentley’s tent revival 6/20/08

‘Is this the healing hand of God?’ 6/21/08 (This two-page article from Belfast, Ireland highlights a Todd Bentley associate, Bobby Sullivan, and his on-stage healing antics)

Todd Bentley’s Commissioning, ATM Machines, Etc. 6/25/08

Todd Bentley’s Knighting 6/26/08

Stairway To Heaven: Celebrity Revivals Fleeting 6/26/08

Todd Bentley: George Banov’s Blasphemous ProphecyCanadian evangelist’s ministry draws kudos and criticism 7/3/08

Revival Drawing Criticism 7/10/08

ABC News ’Nightline’ Report (Part 1) 7/9/08

ABC News ‘Nightline’ Report (Part 2) 7/10/08

First Person Account: Neither faith nor healing 7/11/08

Todd Bentley and the ’13th Resurrection’ 7/23/08

POINTS to PONDER 8/10/08

Faith healer abandons pulpit (The Vancouver Province reports that “Christian bloggers across Canada and the U.S. are questioning Bentley’s authenticity”) 8/14/08

Todd Bentley and the Hotel Fire in Seattle 8/15/08

And the Prophets Prophesied Falsely… (“Bentley had more supernatural experiences than all the apostles put together. Like immature children being tucked into bed modern day charismatics accepted his supernatural tales.”) 8/22/08

BENTLEY AND BIGFOOT (“When it comes right down to it – it doesn’t matter if it’s real, as long as it’s believable; because in the end, it’s really not about truth – it’s about experiencing euphoria – finding something, anything or anyone that can make us feel good or feel better fast.”) 8/22/08

WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF FALSE PROPHETS! 8/30/08

Stacey Campbell Issues Statement About Todd Bentley 8/31/08

Patricia King and Internet Censorship 9/15/08

BONNIE JONES and HER B-MOVIE ‘DREAM’  9/20/08

Todd Bentley: An Angel Named ‘Mary’ 10/24/08

Patricia King: Feathers or Fiddlesticks? 11/10/08

Letter to Pastor David Jones 11/28/08

Benny Hinn Speaks Out Against the Florida Revival 11/28/08 (Benny Hinn is not only a hyper-heretic, he is a hyper-hypocrite)

Benny Hinn: ”Methinks thou protest too loudly” 12/5/08

Wendy Alec and Her Fantasy Series 12/13/08

Charlie Robinson and his ‘Pillow Fight with Jesus’ 12/29/08

Patricia King’s Hermetics Examined 1/15/09

Feathers from Heaven? 1/19/09

Questions on ’Angel Feathers’ 1/19/09

Signs & Wonders 1/20/09

DIAMONDS FROM HEAVEN? 1/20/09

Todd Bentley and his Muscle-Bound Jesus 2/6/09 (There is a huge difference between Todd Bentley’s “Jesus” and the Jesus of the Bible)

Todd Bentley: Sultan of Slap 2/10/09

Todd Bentley Time Traveler? 2/11/09

Joshua Mills: A Whale of a Fish Story 3/23/09

Faith Setzer and her Bleeding ‘Jesus’ 3/25/09

Todd Bentley Claimed but Not Ordained 4/7/09

Todd Bentley The Art of the Non-Apologetic Apology 4/18/09

Todd Bentley: Preaching the Gospel ‘Won’t Win Souls’ 4/28/09

Todd Bentley Heal or heel? 5/8/09

Comments on Todd Bentley and the article, “Heal or Heel” 5/9/09

Two People “Healed”at the Lakeland Revival Die 5/10/09

Some Dare Call It ‘Christian’ 5/5/09

Six Simple Questions for Todd Bentley 10/22/09

Todd Bentley’s Tweets on Twitter not Twitterrific 11/18/09

Bob Jones Says Christians Have Put A Curse on Todd Bentley 1/12/10

Todd Bentley Crowing for Dollars 4/14/10

Articles on the Brownsville and Toronto Revivals

The Green River of Brownsville: Lifestyles of the Rich and Not-So Famous 1998

The Raging River of Brownsville: PFO Responds to Michael L. Brown’s Attack of the Critics of the Pensacola Revival 1998

Newspaper Challenges Revival’s Claims 1998

Confronting the Superstitious Church of the 21st Century 1998

Christian Fortune-Tellers Never Get It Right, Either 1999

The Wandering River of Brownsville 1999

Rod Parsley: The Raging Prophet 1999

All That Glitters…Gold Fillings and Truth Decay Toronto 1999

The Remarkable Exploits of David Hogan: Astonishing Miracles or Incredible Hype? 2000

Can You Be Deceived? Why People Are Duped and How Not To Be 2000

Supernatural Messages From The Mundane? (James Ryle, Bob Jones, Rick Joyner) 2001

And the Prophets Prophesied Falsely… (“Bentley had more supernatural experiences than all the apostles put together. Like immature children being tucked into bed modern day charismatics accepted his supernatural tales.”) 8/22/08

BENTLEY AND BIGFOOT (“When it comes right down to it – it doesn’t matter if it’s real, as long as it’s believable; because in the end, it’s really not about truth – it’s about experiencing euphoria – finding something, anything or anyone that can make us feel good or feel better fast.”) 8/22/08

CRS Statement: Todd Bentley’s ‘Special Commissioning Service’<<

A special test for false preachers

1Jn_4:1-6

In this chapter, the apostle warns against evil seducing spirits, advises us to examine and try the spirits, gives rules by which evil spirits are recognized and then returns to his favorite subject — brotherly love!

v.1. ‘Beloved, believe not every spirit.’ The word ‘spirit’ signifies to a man who claims to be endowed with the gift of the Spirit to perform the office of prophet, preacher, or teacher. God’s word is received from the mouth of man, but some who claim to speak for God are false preachers and are sent by Satan to deceive and disturb the church. There were false teachers among Israel, there were false teachers in the days of the apostles and there are false teachers today (2Pe_2:1-3; 2Co_11:13-15). Let this fact be fixed in our minds that, from the time the gospel began to be preached, false prophets immediately appeared, and we must not be dazzled by everybody who claims to be holy, to speak for God, to work wonders and to be a minister of righteousness. We must try these spirits (these preachers and religious leaders).

v.2. Let all preachers and religious leaders be tried by the word of God first (Act_17:11; Isa_8:19-20). This will expose most of them, for they do not preach the word of truth at all. Their messages are full of free will, human righteousness, life by law and works, the advocacy of Mary and saints, God’s weakness and inability, sabbath keeping, rituals and holy days, infant salvation and all manner of tradition and open error. But John lays down a special mark by which we can easily distinguish between true and false prophets. Christ Jesus is the object of true faith and the whole foundation of acceptance with God. Therefore, he is also the stone at which all heretics stumble, and his person and work will be the place where error will be most evident. (Mahan, Henry – Commentary on John and Romans through Jude (22 books)

In case any of Tod Bentley’ or any of his body guards decides to kick you in the gut !! Please call the EMERGENCY SERVICES !!!

by Amy Spreeman

Have you heard about the latest Bible “translation?” This one comes from the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) camp, from the brain of one man, a human-appointed “Apostle.” It’s called “The Passion Translation,” written by Brian Simmons of Stairway Ministries.

Simmons has actually released four installments of his new translation:

• Psalms: Poetry on Fire
• Song of Solomon: Most Amazing Song of All
• Luke: To the Lovers of God
• Letters From Heaven by the Apostle Paul

Coming this fall he is releasing Proverbs, Wisdom From Above.

Let’s do a side-by-side comparison of Proverbs 8. Just for fun, I’ll use the NIV to compare what the Bible says, vs. what Simmons thinks it should say. First, the real deal:

Now here’s Simmons’ Passion version of Proverbs 8, in which he claims lots of secret are being unveiled:

More spiritual manipulation

Simmons says our standard translations of the Bible, transcribed by hundreds of scholars from the original scrolls, are just head knowledge and don’t adequately capture God’s passion. (He apparently missed the part in 2 Timothy 3:16 that says that every word is breathed-out by the Holy Spirit.) From his website:

The Passion Translation Project is a groundbreaking attempt to re-introduce the passion and fire of the Bible to the English reader. God longs to have His Word expressed in every language in a way that would unlock the ‘passion’ of His heart. The goal of this work is to trigger inside of every English speaker an overwhelming response to the truth of the Bible as it is unfiltered by religious jargon – unfolding the deep mysteries of the Scriptures in the language of love, the language of the heart. Accurate to the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts, but passionately powerful in a contemporary form.

Holly Pivec over at Spirit of Error blog points out that Simmons is manipulating Scriptures to make it appear that heretical NAR teachings and practices such as “prophetic singing,” the “transference of an anointing,” and the issuing of “apostolic decrees,” are actually supported by the Bible – which of course is false. But to the biblically illiterate, it will sound so right:

This translation is potentially one of the most disturbing developments in the NARmovement. Simmons is following in the footsteps of the major cults of Christianity who have released their own translations of the Bible, including the New World Translationused by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Joseph Smith Translation used by some groups of Mormons.

By creating a new NAR translation of the Bible, Simmons is shaping the way a generation of NAR followers will read and understand Scripture–and also creating a divide between those who use the NAR translation and those who don’t.

It remains to be seen how many NAR people will make the switch to this NARtranslation of the Bible. If a lot of them do switch Bibles, then The Passion Translation could truly–as its advertisements say–”impact the Church for years to come.” Source:

Hat Tip: Bart McCurdy

Related articles on this blog:

Warning! Rick Joyner to visit South Africa and Join hands with Angus Buchan

Angus Buchan: Evangelist or Revivalist?

New Apostolic Nuttiness.

Soaking Prayer? The New NAR Pagan Approach, Beware !

WARNING ! WARNING !! Todd Bentley is coming to serve Satan in South Africa

Also Related over at Stand Up For The Truth  :

• Not in my church (standupforthetruth.com)
• NAR is another name for Dominionism | Stand Up for the Truth
• The Dominion Mandate (slaughteringthesheep.wordpress.com)
• What Is The New Apostolic Reformation? (And Why Should We Be Concerned About It?)(solasisters.blogspot.com)
• C. Peter Wagner (herescope.blogspot.com)
• IHOP: International House of Political Action (herescope.blogspot.com)
• New Apostolic Reformation Heresy
• New Apostolic Reformation – Deception In The Church

Men who are changing the Word of God better take heed to these words from Scripture : 

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
(Revelation 22:18-19 KJV)

Thank you to my dear sister Amy Spreeman from Stand Up for the Truth informing us of this.  Also read here WARNING ! WARNING !! Todd Bentley is coming to serve Satan in South Africa

By Amy Spreeman 

TODD BENTLEY’S FALSE TEACHINGS COMING BACK TO S. AFRICA

The Signs and Wonders and the Word Faith prosperity heresy is sweeping through third-world nations, especially in Africa where many Christians need your prayers right now to stand strong against this heresy.

Todd Bentley is not the only false teacher preying on the lambs, but is certainly the most popular. And organizations like FreshFire (Which Todd founded) and GodTV, have no problem promoting him to ensure the highest audience numbers (and naturally, tithers and contributors).

Remember, this is the charlatan who was banned from Great Britain last year for his dangerous and philanderous teachings. Here is the most blasphemous teaching from a wolf you will ever hear, from Todd Bentley’s most recent visit to South Africa at the end of April:

Here is the excerpt from GodTV’s website:

Related articles

• Prove It: Todd Bentley Claims ‘First Resurrection in Great Awakening’ Event(donotbesurprised.com)

In case of Tod Bentley’ or any of his body guards decides to kick you in the gut !! Please call the EMERGENCY SERVICES !!!

We have all heard the news of the Australian man,  Alan John Miller claiming to be Jesus and a week or two  later,  two other South African men claimed the same,  that they are Jesus Christ.

Our  question, to these men should be, why do these men not read the Bible before making such false claims ?

Do they not know that the second coming of Jesus will be a glorious event for all the eyes to see ?

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(Matthew 24:30 KJV)

Do they not know that Jesus warns himself of false Christs, who will say they are Him?

Jesus said :  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:23-24 KJV)

Why do men and women believe follow and believe these things ? The Bible is clear :

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.  (1 Corinthians 2:14-15 KJV)

Who are these men who are making such false claims ?

False Jesus 1 

Moses says it’s the second coming (Note below Moses claimed this back in 2012) 

Moses Hlongwane, a man who claims to be Jesus Christ who has come back to the land of the living, is looking for a wife.
He doesn’t care if she is young or old, rich or poor, but there are a few conditions.

For one, she must give up everything she has ever had and that includes her children, her family and all her possessions – and she must also be prepared to make a death sacrifice for him!

Unlike Jesus in the Bible, Moses from KwaKhoza in Eshowe, KZN, has already had two wives. The first wife died and the second wife left him. “To fulfil the end of times, I must get married. My disciples are searching for a wife for me,” he said. Zanele Ntuli, who is the main searcher for Moses, said he found somebody a few weeks ago but Moses said God told him she wasn’t the right one.

See video clip from Etvnews Here

Moses doesn’t want to have anything to do with his relatives, as they don’t believe him. But there are men, women and children living in his house who have decided to be part of this journey. “No one is permitted to work or go to school or leave the house,” he said.
Pastor Sifiso Khuzwayo from the Methodist Church said: “This is just foolish.” Colonel Vincent Mdunge said Moses is dangerous and wants to brainwash women. Moses Hlongwaneclaims he is Jesus.

(Source :http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dailysun/2012/10/29/DK/6/DK%20JESUS.html )

False Jesus 2

From South Africa Phetole Selepe

A 48-year-old man claims to be Jesus and that he came back to save the world.

Phetole Selepe, from Dan village, South Africa, claims he is Jesus Christ and was sent by his ancestors to save the world.

Selepe has been living on the banks of the Letaba River which is located in the Eastern Limpopo Province of South Africa, since 2004, where he performed his rituals.

Although he was arrested more than eight times, the local municipality was unable to evict him. He seems to be “untouchable,” as he claims to be protected by a large water snake.

He thinks he can bring people back from the dead and that one day he will lead his people to Canaan and wash their sins. Selepe, who goes by many different identities, said he used one of his names, Molalatladi, to control the world.

“He is not the first to make that claim. In the past, many people have claimed, either by themselves or by their followers, to be Jesus or the Second Coming of Christ. If he is really Jesus why does he have a rap sheet?” Rebecca McNeil, 63, of Kent, England told YourJewishNews.com after hearing about Selepe’s Jesus claim. Selepe claims he realized he was Jesus in 1999!

“I was told to leave my family and come here to help the poor and those who are suffering,” Selepe said. “I’m not allowed to be with a woman and I can only eat bread, fish and bananas,” he added.

(Source - http://www.411vibes.com/south-african-man-claims-to-be-jesus/ )

False Jesus 3 

Australian claims to be Jesus

– A former IT specialist from Australia is claiming to be the reincarnation of Jesus and is amassing followers from as far afield as Britain, say reports.

One of Alan John Miller’s followers is a British woman Louise “Luli” Faver, aged 39, a former neuroscientist who gave up her career to be closer to Miller’s home near the small town of Kingaroy in the state of Queensland, SkyNewsreported on Wednesday. Miller runs the religious movement, which he calls Divine Truth, from the home.

“It’s just nice to instead of being surrounded by people who think you are nuts, to be surrounded by people who understand what you are going through and the difficulties of trying to deal with all the emotional stuff,” Faver told the broadcaster.

Dozens of other people have reportedly bought properties in the area to be closer to Miller.

According to the report, Miller denies he started the movement to make money, saying instead that “donations are welcome but not mandatory”.

In a 2011 report, the divorced father of two said his first marriage broke down because he started having memories of his ‘incarnation’.

The MailOnline report cited a recording in which Miller reportedly says:”There’s probably a million people who say they’re Jesus and most of them are in asylums. But one of us has to be. How do I know I am? Because I remember everything about my life.”

Miller also claims that his partner, Mary Luck, is Mary Magdalene, who is considered by some as the second most important woman in the New Testament after Mary, the mother of Jesus.

(Source : http://www.news24.com/World/News/Australian-claims-to-be-Jesus-20130530)

Lets have a look what the Bible says about the glorious coming of our Lord Jesus. 

When Jesus Comes…

Revelation 1:7

When I have stated all that I know about the second coming of Christ and prophetic events, I will not have said much. The glory that awaits God’s elect when time shall be no more is indescribably greater than any mortal mind can comprehend. But some things are clearly revealed about our Lord’s second coming. Let me remind you of a few of those things which are most obvious in Holy Scripture.

1^st, We must recognize the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ may come at any moment (Rev. 1:7). There is nothing necessary to prepare for the coming of Christ. The time is at hand. “Lift up your heads, your redemption draweth nigh.” Indeed, the sense of Scripture is that our glorious Redeemer is presently coming; he is on his way now. We should live, moment by moment, upon the tiptoe of faith in anticipation of his glorious appearance. Everything he has done since his ascension and exaltation has been and is just the movement of his feet in his return. Every work of providence is another step toward his bride, whom he is preparing for himself.

2^nd, Our Lord is coming in power and great glory (2 Thess. 1:7-10). The Bible nowhere speaks of our Lord coming in secret to rapture the church and then coming again (a third time) in judgment seven years later. The second advent of Christ will be a climatic thing. Suddenly, he shall appear in power and in great glory.

3^rd, Our Lord will come in a real body (Rev. 1:7). I will not attempt to say what the glory of his body will be; or how every eye shall see him at once, but two things are sure: (1) Christ will come in a physical body, the same body in which he hung upon the cross; and (2) His body will be so glorious, so bright, so dazzling, that every living creature shall see him, and the earth shall melt before him.

4^th, When Christ comes a mighty resurrection shall take place (John 5:28-29). There will be a resurrection of the just. – The people of God shall be raised to immortality, life, and eternal glory. The body of flesh shall be gathered from the dust and united to our souls in the perfection of righteousness, blamelessness, and glory; and in those bodies we shall see the Lord, our Redeemer (Job 19:25-27). Eternal life, in all its fulness and bliss, shall be our portion! There will also be a resurrection of the wicked. – The ungodly, the unbelieving, shall also be raised, their bodies shall become immortal and united to their souls, so that they may endure everlasting damnation in hell. This is the second death. Eternal death, in all its horror, shall be their portion forever!

5^th, At the second coming of Christ, this world shall be destroyed and our God and Savior will create new heavens and a new earth (2 Pet. 3:10-14; Rom. 8:18-23). The people of God will not spend eternity floating around like ghosts in the air. In these very bodies, we shall live for ever upon the new earth. Heaven shall be brought to the earth. Righteousness shall reign here. The Paradise of God, the Heavenly City, shall be with men.

Don Fortner

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
(1 John 4:1 KJV)

A special test for false preachers
1Jn_4:1-6

In this chapter, the apostle warns against evil seducing spirits, advises us to examine and try the spirits, gives rules by which evil spirits are recognized and then returns to his favorite subject — brotherly love!

v.1. ‘Beloved, believe not every spirit.’ The word ‘spirit’ signifies to a man who claims to be endowed with the gift of the Spirit to perform the office of prophet, preacher, or teacher. God’s word is received from the mouth of man, but some who claim to speak for God are false preachers and are sent by Satan to deceive and disturb the church. There were false teachers among Israel, there were false teachers in the days of the apostles and there are false teachers today (2Pe_2:1-3; 2Co_11:13-15). Let this fact be fixed in our minds that, from the time the gospel began to be preached, false prophets immediately appeared, and we must not be dazzled by everybody who claims to be holy, to speak for God, to work wonders and to be a minister of righteousness. We must try these spirits (these preachers and religious leaders).

v.2. Let all preachers and religious leaders be tried by the word of God first (Act_17:11; Isa_8:19-20). This will expose most of them, for they do not preach the word of truth at all. Their messages are full of free will, human righteousness, life by law and works, the advocacy of Mary and saints, God’s weakness and inability, sabbath keeping, rituals and holy days, infant salvation and all manner of tradition and open error. But John lays down a special mark by which we can easily distinguish between true and false prophets. Christ Jesus is the object of true faith and the whole foundation of acceptance with God. Therefore, he is also the stone at which all heretics stumble, and his person and work will be the place where error will be most evident.

1. When the apostle says Jesus Christ ‘is come’ we conclude that he was, before he came, with the Father, co-equal, co-eternal. He is very God of very God (Isa_9:6).

2. By saying he came ‘in the flesh,’ he means that Christ, by putting on flesh, became a real man, of the same nature with us, that he might become our Brother, except that he was free from every sin and corruption (Heb_2:14-18; Joh_1:14).

3. And lastly, by saying that he came, the cause of his coming must be declared, for the Father did not send him here for nothing (Mat_1:21; Luk_19:10; Isa_53:10-12; Rom_3:25-26; Gal_4:4-5). As some heretics depart from the faith, denying the divine nature of Christ, and others depart from the faith denying the effectual, sufficient and substitutionary work of Christ, leaving the final redemption of men’s souls up to their own free will, works, or co-operative efforts (Heb_10:11-18).

v.3. This attack on the person and work of Christ, whatever direction it may take, is satanically inspired, for it robs Christ of his merit and glory! It is the spirit which motivated Cain to reject the blood atonement, the Galatian heretics to preach circumcision, the Catholics to enthrone Mary and fundamentalist of today to say, ‘Christ has done all that he can do; now salvation is up to you’ (Rom_8:28-34). This spirit is not anti-religion, not anti-morality, not even anti-good works; it is anti-Christ! (Col_1:14-20).

v.4. ‘Ye are of God. You are born of God (Joh_1:12-13), and by the power of God ye shall discern error and overcome false preachers.’ The Spirit of God in us is greater than the spirit of evil and error in the false prophets.

v.5. There is no reason for us to be disturbed. These heretics are of the world system of which Satan is the prince, and it is not unusual that those under his direction should listen to him.

v.6. ‘We are of God’ — true preachers, true believers and the true gospel of Christ. All who are of God know God, are chosen of God and will hear God’s word (Joh_10:24-28; Acts 12:48). ‘Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error,’ by the answer to this question: ‘What think ye of Christ?’

Henry Mahan (Bible commentaries)

H L : http://www.news24.com/Multimedia/South-Africa/SA-man-claims-to-be-Jesus-20130606

IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Video (time framed) By Pastor Mark Penrith 

Maybe you’ve watched a YouTube video of Angus Buchan, at Ein Gedi, which claims to show a miracle of Acts 2 importance? It is a Hollywood fabrication. This is footage of the night with comments and notations.

You can find this ministry (The 5 Minute Theologian) on Facebook :https://www.facebook.com/The5minutetheologian~ Mark Penrith (We thank Mark for his efforts and hard work to get this video  done for publication)

Last year when Angus Buchan visited Ein Gedi, he made claims to miracles. It seems he claimed a miracle likened to Pentecost. This cannot be true as you will see in the video, as Pastor Mark explains in the time framed video. Pentecost was a once off miracle never to be repeated again. We suggest you also read Angus’s  Facebook Page post (below) and Discern if what he claim is true or false. It becomes clear that it would be the latter for the Discerning believer. As Mark states in the video “Pentecost was supernatural NOT meteorological. It happened suddenly. The events on  this night takes a longtime. “. Mark does a excellent job in debunking this lie.

Also see these article here on this blog;

Spiritual Deception, Revival and Angus Buchan (South Africa’s Charismatic “Hajj”)

Santa Claus, Antichrist and Angus Buchan: more interesting than the Book of Proverbs?

Angus Buchan: Evangelist or Revivalist?

Warning! Rick Joyner to visit South Africa and Join hands with Angus Buchan

A critical analysis of Gretha Wiid’s sex ideology and her biblical hermeneutics (with references to Angus Buchan)

WARNING ! WARNING !! Todd Bentley is coming to serve Satan in South Africa

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
(1 John 4:1 KJV)

The following was posted by Angus on His Facebook page:

Angus Buchan · 248,552 like this.

4 October 2012 at 15:29 ·

______________________________________________________________________

A sermon by Don Fortner teaches us about these type of false miracles and signs of wonders. 

“…The plain fact is, there are many false Christs, many antichrists, by whom the souls of men are deceived and damned. I want to be as charitable, kind, and gracious as I can; but charity, kindness, and grace will not allow me to be silent while immortal souls are deceived and God’s glory is trampled beneath the feet of men. If you trust a false Christ you cannot be saved any more than you could be saved by trusting a tadpole. We are called of God to trust, love, follow, and obey the true Christ and him only. Salvation is promised to none but those who trust the true Christ. Therefore, we are warned in our text to Take heed that no man deceive you.” We must take heed to the teachings of Holy Scripture, lest we be deceived by some false Christ.

We know about the Christ of the liberals. He was a social do-gooder. “Of course,” we are told, “he is not God.” The virgin birth, the incarnation, the resurrection, are all things that must be understood allegorically. In fact, the Christ of the liberals is considered by many to be a man of very questionable moral character. Any who are deceived by liberal theology and the Christ of the liberals are willingly deceived. We are not deceived by the Christ of the liberals. Only a prating fool would pretend to be a Christian while teaching what liberals do concerning Christ. The Christ of the liberals is a false Christ. All who trust the Christ of the liberals are lost.

We also know about the Christ of the various cults. He is represented to us as a good man, a prophet, a teacher of morality, the first and greatest creation of God, or even a sort of secondary god. But the Christ of the cults is never represented as the true and eternal God. Their Christ receives his existence from another god, one who is greater than he is. This, of course, is not the Christ of the Bible. We are not deceived by him. The Christ of the cults is a false Christ. All who trust the Christ of the cults are lost.

We know about the Christ of Roman Catholicism. The papists profess that Jesus Christ is God, that he came into the world as a man, that he suffered the wrath of God as a substitute for sinners, that he died, was buried, rose again the third day, ascended back to heaven, and that he is coming again. But the Christ of Romanism is not a complete Savior. The Christ of Rome cannot save sinners without their own good works, the intercessions of priests, and the sacraments of the church. The Christ of Rome is not the Christ of the Bible. We are not deceived by him. Though many are damned by the darkness of Roman Catholic idolatry, that is not a danger and deception by which any who read these lines are likely to be deceived. The Christ of the papists, we know, is a false Christ. All who trust the Christ of Rome are lost.

However, there is a false Christ much more dangerous than the antichrists of the liberals, the cults, and the papists. There is a false Christ by whom the souls of men have been deceived for years, by whom millions are being deceived today. In fact, I am compelled to say, the vast majority of those who profess faith in Christ are followers of this false Christ who will ultimately lead them to eternal ruin. This Christ, this antichrist, is such a dangerous and deceptive Christ, that our Lord tells us he would deceive the very elect, were it not impossible for God’s elect to be deceived (Matt. 24:24). He must be identified. The Christ I speak of is the Christ of Arminian, freewill, works religion.

Few think that I am uncharitable when I denounce the false Christs of liberals, cults, and papists as antichrists and warn men that following those false Christs will result in everlasting damnation. Yet, whenever I boldly assert that the Christ of Arminian, freewill, works religion is a false Christ and that all who trust him are lost, I am castigated as an evil man. Be that as it may, as a watchman upon the walls of Zion, I am responsible to warn you of the danger of this antichrist.

The Christ of Arminian, freewill, works religion is extremely dangerous because in many ways he appears to be the true Christ. The freewillers and workmongers of this age tell us that Christ is the true God, in every way equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. They even assert that he saves by grace alone, without the works of man. They insist vehemently that good works play no part in their salvation. The devotees of this Christ will have nothing to do with the Christ of the liberals, the cults, or the papists. But “take heed that no man deceive you!” Do not be fooled. The Christ of Arminian, freewill, works religion is not the Christ of the Bible. He is a false Christ. All who trust this false Christ are lost, too.

Be sure you understand the issue. The issue is not what or how much does a person have to know to be saved. The issue is who. Who must I know? The answer to that question is plainly stated in John 17:3. We must know the true God and the true Christ. Let me make five comparisons of the false Christ of modern religion, the Christ of Arminian, freewill, works religion, with the Christ of the Bible. When you have considered these five comparisons in the light of Holy Scripture, I have no doubt that you will see the obvious distinctions between The False Christs and the True.

I. The Christ of modern, freewill, works religion loves everyone in the universe and wants to save them. We are told that Christ loves all men alike, desires the salvation of all men alike, and is gracious to all men alike. That makes the love, will, and grace of Christ helpless and useless. But that language cannot be applied to the Christ of the Bible. The true Christ, the Christ of the Bible, the saving Christ loves his people, wills and prays for the salvation of his people, and is gracious to his people, the people unconditionally chosen unto salvation from eternity, whom he came to save (Ps. 5:5;7:11; 11:5; Matt. 1:21; 11:27; John 10:16; John 17:9-10; Acts 13:48; Rom. 9:21-24;Eph. 1:3-6).

II. The Christ of modern, freewill, works religion tries to save everyone. We are told that he offers salvation to every sinner and does everything he can to save them all; but that his offer is rejected and his work is frustrated by the will of those who refuse to come to him and be saved. The Christ of the Bible does not merely offer salvation. He performs it! Grace is not an offer. It is an operation! The Son of God effectually calls to himself all his elect, his sheep, and sovereignly works salvation in them by the irresistible power and grace of his Holy Spirit. Not one of them will be lost. Is this, or is it not the teaching of Holy Scripture? (Psa. 65:4; 110:3; Isa. 55:11; John 5:21; 6:37-40; 10:3, 25-30; 17:2; Phil. 2:13)

III. The false Christ of Arminianism cannot regenerate and save anyone who does not first choose to be saved by him. We are told that man has a freewill, but that Christ’s will is bound by and must wait upon man’s will because it would not be right for him to violate man’s will! The true, saving Christ does violate man’s imaginary freewill; and I am very thankful that he does. Had he not violated my freewill, I would be lost or in hell now! The same is true of you. He sovereignly regenerates and saves every chosen, redeemed sinner. His operations of grace are totally independent of the will and choice of the sinner. Apart from his work of grace in us, spiritually dead sinners never would or could believe on him and come to him in faith. Faith is not our contribution to the work of salvation. Our faith in him is the result, not the cause of God’s saving operations. “Let God be true, but every man a liar” (John 3:3-7; 6:44, 65;15:16; Acts 11:18; Rom. 2:4; 9:16; Eph. 2:1-4, 8-10; Phil. 1:6, 29; Col. 2:12; Heb. 12:2).

IV. The false Christ of modern, Arminian, freewill, works, man-centered religion died on the cross for everyone in the world, to make it possible for everyone in the world to be saved, but actually secured no one’s salvation by his death. We are told that Christ by his death made it possible for all men to be redeemed, justified, and saved, but that his death has no efficacy and saving power for anyone until they believe on him. Thus, we are informed that the Son of God died in vain for all who perish in unbelief. Though he tried to save them, he failed! The Christ of God is not a frustrated failure! He died for God’s elect and effectually put away our sins by the sacrifice of himself. Having satisfied the justice of God for us, he obtained eternal salvation for us. We were and are forever pardoned, justified, and sanctified by his blood (Isa. 42:4;53:8; Matt. 20:28; John 10:14-15, 26; Acts 20:28; Rom. 5:9-10; Eph. 5:25; Heb. 9:12;10:10-14; I Peter 3:18; Rev. 5:9-10).

V. The false Christ of Arminianism loses many who have been saved by him because they do not hang on, hold out, or persevere to the end. Among the heretical Baptists of our day, some do grant that the sinner has what has come to be called “eternal security.” But it is not security based upon the will, work, and purpose of God in Christ. It is not security based upon the blood of Christ, or the operations of his Spirit. According to the freewiller, all these things are done for all people alike. So their doctrine of “eternal security” is a declaration of security based upon the choice and will of man, not the choice and will of God. The true Christ, the saving Christ, the Christ of the Bible preserves his chosen, redeemed, called ones by his almighty grace, so that they cannot fall away and perish at last. We are kept in life, grace, and faith by the immutability of his will, the power of his blood, the efficacy of his grace, the seal of his Spirit, and the perfection of his intercession (Mal.3:6;John 5:24;10:26-29;Rom.8:28-39;I Pet.1:2-5;Jude 24-25).

At first glance, the Christ of modern, Arminian, freewill, works religion may seem to closely resemble the true Christ, the Christ of Scripture. But he does not. The one is a false Christ, antichrist. The other is true, the Christ of God. One is weak and helpless, waiting upon and bowing to the will of man. The other is the sovereign Lord, who wills what he pleases and does what he will! The one is supposed to be able to save with your cooperation. The other is able to save without any cooperation on your part. His salvation produces your cooperation!

Those who believe on and serve the false Christ of freewill, works religion do not believe on and serve the Christ of the Bible. They are deceived. They are lost. And they shall forever perish under the wrath of God, unless they come to know and trust the Christ of God, who saves his people from their sins by himself. We must, as we fear God and care for the souls of men, have no fellowship with and give no credibility to Arminian, freewill, works religion (II Cor. 6:14-7:1; Rev. 18:4). We must, in these days of darkness, deception, and delusion, proclaim the Christ of God in all his saving fullness, grace, and glory. He alone is able to save (Rom. 1:15-17). Let us ever adore, praise, and extol the Lord Jesus Christ alone and completely as our great Savior (Isa. 59:16)

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
(Matthew 7:15 KJV)

By Dr. Paul M. Elliott

Give No Access to False Teachers

Part four of a five-part series. 

2nd John verse 10 has a dual focus: False teachers must have no access to the church, or to the believer’s home and family – and by clear implication, to our minds anywhere, any time.

In our last article, we focused on three particular elements of the imperative to act decisively against false teachers, as we find it in Second John.

First, when dealing with false teachers, it is vital for Christians to have a complete and well-balanced understanding of agape love. If Christians focus only on certain aspects of the Bible’s teachings concerning love and ignore others, we will develop an unbalanced and harmful view of Christian love that will expose us to spiritual danger.

Secondly, we saw that acting in agape love toward our true fellow Christians requires us to act toward false teachers in a way that some would mistakenly label as “unloving.” This false accusation stems from a myopic, unbalanced view of the Bible’s imperatives.

Thirdly, we saw that agape love, which is always rooted in truth, demands that Christians act decisively to block the deadly influence of false teachers upon themselves, their homes, and their churches. That is the basis of the command we are given in verse ten: “[D]o not receive [the false teacher] into your house nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.”

The agape love that is central to genuine Christian unity recognizes the fact that every believer in Christ is precious to God. Therefore, every one of your fellow believers in Christ should be precious to you. The climactic point of John’s second epistle, found in verses nine and ten, is this: Agape love may require that you do the difficult thing by utterly rejecting false teachers, in order to maintain a church unity that is genuine, and not a counterfeit – but a Christian must never hesitate to do it, because God commands it.

The Climactic Point of John’s Second Epistle

And so John gives clear instruction to the lady to whom his epistle is addressed, and to believers throughout all the subsequent history of the church:

Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. (2 John 9-11)

Earlier in his epistle, John has made it clear that he is not speaking of people who may disagree over minor matters but are still brethren in Christ. He is speaking of false teachers and their adherents who reject the fundamentals of the faith. Such individuals thus demonstrate that they are not regenerated, not true believers in Christ. They are engaged in an effort to undermine the church’s hold upon essential truth concerning the person and work of Christ. Failure to reject such people has been one of the greatest sins, and one of the greatest perils, of the church over the centuries.

What Is “Your House”?

These considerations bring us back to the question many have asked us: Is John giving instruction concerning false teachers to the local church as a body of believers, or is his focus on an individual or perhaps a family unit? Three factors in the text bear upon the answer.

First, it is significant that John under divine inspiration shifts from the use of “you” in the singular in verses 4-5 to “you” in the plural for the rest of the letter, until the very last sentence in which he once again addresses “the elect lady” specifically. The instruction of verses 9-10 is a general instruction to all believers, not only to a specific individual.

Secondly, John’s inspired use of the word oikia rather than oikos places the emphasis upon the house as a building. The primary consideration in the commandment of verse nine is to prevent the admission of false teachers to a physical place, and thereby giving them access to precious souls.

Thirdly, we understand from other passages in which both oikos and oikia are used, that the early church normally met in someone’s home.

Conclusion: Give False Teachers No Access – Anywhere, Anytime

What, then, are we to learn from this? John’s use of oikia in verse nine gives this force to the commandment: If a false teacher comes to your church or to your home, do not even let him cross the threshold. The danger of false teachers is so great, and the unity of the body of Christ in love grounded in truth is so urgent, that you must not allow false teachers to have any access to your home or your church.

“Do not receive him,” God commands through John. The word in the original language has the force of “do not admit the false teacher; do not give him access.”

How does this apply to the home? It means give the false teacher no access to your hospitality. Give the false teacher no access to your family – your spouse, your children. Give the false teacher no access to saved individuals in your household who might be led astray, or to unsaved individuals within household that they might prevent from receiving Christ.

The same holds true for the church. Give the false teacher no access to the members of the body of Christ, to their fellowship, to their worship. There is no fellowship between righteousness and lawlessness; no communion between light and darkness; no accord between Christ and Satan; no common spiritual ground between the believer and the unbeliever; no agreement between believers who are the temple of the living God and those who are, in fact, devoted to idols of their own making (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).

God’s command is unequivocal: Do not let false teachers cross the physical threshold of your home or your church. And, by clear implication, Second John verse nine further commands us not to allow false teachers to cross the threshold of our minds, any time or any place - not only through direct personal contact, but also through radio, television, books, magazines, the Internet, and so on.

In our time, many individuals and churches are being led away from the truth because they refuse to hold the line against false teachers. Far too often Christians are giving false teachers access to their homes, their churches, and their minds. The Holy Spirit through John clearly commands us not to grant any manner of access to false teachers, because the one who does so “shares in his evil deeds” (2nd John verse 11). The word translated “shares” is a form of the Greek koinoneo, the primary New Testament word for fellowship and communion.

Those who grant any manner of access to false teachers open themselves to spiritual ruin, because they put friendship or feelings above God’s command to “have no fellowship (koinoneo) with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). The Greek word translated “expose” is elencho, which includes the element of bringing shame, dishonor, and discredit upon the works of darkness.

How are we to implement these imperatives in our homes, churches, and minds day by day? That will be the subject of our final article in this series.

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Give No Encouragement to False Teachers

2nd John tells us that granting a false teacher access to your church, home, or mind is to become an accessory to his spiritual crimes. The time may come when you as a Christian must do the difficult thing: put your personal reputation on the line by taking a public stand against a false teacher.

Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. (2 John 9-11)

In the fourth article of this series, we began to see the full impact of these climactic verses of John’s epistle. The Holy Spirit through John gives Christians an unequivocal command: Do not let the false teacher cross the physical threshold of your home or your church. Give him no access.

We also saw the further clear implication: We are not to allow false teachers to cross the threshold of our minds, any time or any place – not only through direct personal contact, but also through radio, television, books, magazines, the Internet, and other means. Just as we must not give the false teacher physical access, we must not give him mental access.

Unthinkable In Much of Today’s Church

To the postmodern mind that dominates much of the evangelical church today, such an attitude seems unthinkable. In large segments of the church, the only intolerable thing is intolerance itself. But God’s Word marks the false teacher as one who “does not have God” and commands no toleration of the false teacher anywhere, anytime – and God issues this righteous demand on the basis of a proper view of agape love.

We are to give no quarter to the false teacher and his errors because God’s self-sacrificial love in sending His only Son to die our death in atonement for our sins, and to give us newness of life by the Spirit so that we may walk in the truth, demands this. The false teacher must be utterly unwelcome in our homes, our churches, and our minds because we are to love Christ, His truth, and our fellow believers – and seek, in love, to protect His true Church from spiritual calamity.

Because of the muddled thinking that dominates much of the present-day church, obedience to the command of 2nd John 9-11 often comes at a cost. This exercise ofagape love within the body of Christ can often involve the sacrifice of the faithful believer’s reputation in the eyes of men. But it will never involve the sacrifice of your reputation in the eyes of God.

Doing the Difficult Thing

There may come a time when you have to do a very difficult thing in the body of Christ because of the imperative of agape love. We live in a time when false teaching about the most fundamental, foundational doctrines of the faith is in some places creeping into the church, and in other places rushing in. We live in a time when people within the church – both members and leaders – are decreasingly submitting to the Word of God, increasingly submitting to the word of man, and increasingly driven by their varying feelings rather than Biblical facts.

The time may come when you will need to point out that there is false teaching within your own church – the word of man substituted for the Word of God; a false gospel supplanting the one true Gospel. This is the dangerous situation in growing segments of nominal evangelicalism. The problem may be in a home Bible study, a Sunday school classroom, an educational institution of the church, or the pulpit itself. The problem may be in your home; the time may come when you must tell a friend or relative who insists on bringing false teaching into your home that he is no longer welcome unless he desists.

The Christian who recognizes false teaching has an obligation, on the authority of the Word of God, to stand up and point out the problem because of the imperative ofagape love. You must do it if Jesus Christ is indeed precious to you. You must do it if your fellow believers are precious to you because they are precious to God. Based on that motivation, you may be called upon to demonstrate your agape love by making the self-sacrifice of putting your reputation on the line by pointing out and rejecting false teachers. You must do that in a respectful, Christ-honoring, Bible-focused way – but never in a way that compromises God’s truth.

Silence Is Acceptance

It is a lie to say that the loving thing to do in such a situation is to keep quiet. That is the unloving thing to do. To keep silent in the presence of error is the opposite of genuine Christian love. It is not an expression of genuine love for Christ or for the brethren. Indeed, it is a counterfeit of agape love. It is disobedience to Christ. Silence puts your fellow brethren – the people who are supposed to be precious to you in Christ in the bonds of love – in grave spiritual danger.

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good” (Romans 12:9). Silence in the face of error is hypocrisy. Accommodation of false teachers is hypocrisy. It is not love for God’s people, it is love for the world. “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). Let me remind you once again of the admonition we find later in John’s first epistle: “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him” (1 John 3:18-19). Agape love says that God’s truth matters. The truth of God, not persons or personalities, is the issue in confronting false teachers and their errors. We must maintain that focus.

As we conclude this series, let me take up two related practical questions that readers and listeners have asked us.

Dealing With the Cultists

How should a Christian deal with the representatives of cults such as the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses who come to your door? Based on the force of the commandment of 2 John 9-11, I believe that their presence on your threshold is such a serious matter that any interaction you may have with them should take place outside the door of your home.

Do not even admit them across the physical threshold of your house, because once they enter they may soon cross the threshold of an unsuspecting mind – perhaps not yours, but perhaps the mind of someone else within your household. You owe it to the members of your household to protect them from the very physical presence of false teachers. Clearly, they are at your door on a mission to subvert your family from the truth. Dallying with cultists is dangerous business.

Give cultic missionaries the Gospel as an ambassador and herald of Christ, but do not allow them a foot in the door of your home.

Testing the Spirits

Does the commandment of 2nd John 9-11 mean that a Christian should not examine and understand a false teaching for the purpose of refuting it? No, but we must act with great care. When we point out false teaching to our fellow church members or to our household, someone may well ask the question, “What is wrong with it?” Sometimes deadly error is extremely subtle, and it may be couched in seemingly Biblical terms so that it appears sound and harmless. We may need to more fully understand a false teaching in order to properly answer that honest question, and to help others understand that the false teachers are twisting the words of Scripture to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16).

We must always undertake such a task not with an “open mind” but with an open Bible and a submissive spirit; praying for the protection of the Holy Spirit from falling into error ourselves; praying for the Spirit’s illumination of His truth and the strength to obey it; and, praying for discernment between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Our attitude must ever be, “The Bible is the sole standard by which I will prayerfully and carefully evaluate and expose this falsehood.”

This is the clear implication of the command of 2nd John verse 10 for the believer living in our spiritually confused time: Do not fall into the postmodern, Satanic trap of looking at false teaching with an “open mind” – which is, in fact, an undiscerning mind. Do not even psychologically “receive” the false teacher in that way, or effectively “greet” him in your mind by having an attitude that could give false teaching the slightest credence, and thus even the most subtle foothold.

In his first epistle, John gives this exhortation, which must always govern the Christian’s approach to false teachers and their evil message:

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh [i.e., confesses the truth concerning the full deity and full humanity of Christ and all that this means] is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 3:24-4:6)

Here John reminds us that spirits other than the Holy Spirit exist – demonic spirits, who are the force behind false teachers and their message. As Christians are the heralds of their Lord, false teachers are the spokesmen for Antichrist. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

The test that must be applied to all teaching is, in fact, a test of the spirit behind it. Only the truth will conform to Holy Scripture authored by the Spirit of God. Anything else has its origin in the spirit of Antichrist. The word “test” in this passage is the term used for examining and appraising metals to determine their purity and value – whether they are real or counterfeit, whether they are pure or riddled with impurities. Christians must test every teaching by rigorous comparison with our only infallible standard, the Word of God.

tq0406

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Also read these article placed on our blog :  Warning! Rick Joyner to visit South Africa and Join hands with Angus Buchan. Also see here Angus Buchan: Evangelist or Revivalist?, Oom (Uncle) Angus Buchan from the Mighty Men Revivals and of Faith like Potatoes fame and The Apostolic Prophetic Conference of Neville Norden’s church Lewende Woord. We  also previously reported on Gretha Wiid from the Worthy Women Revivals,  Buchan’s South African female understudy. And also WARNING ! WARNING !! Todd Bentley is coming to serve Satan in South Africa .

By Conrad Mbewe

Conrad Mbewe is the pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia, Africa. He is one of the keynote speakers at the Strange Fire conference in October offered by Grace to You the church of John MacArthur. 

Many explanations have been given for the explosion of the Charismatic movement in Africa. Many have seen this as a powerful visitation of the Holy Spirit. Whereas there is probably more than one reason, I want to add my own observation to this for what it is worth. In this blog post, I do not refer to the old conservative form of Pentecostalism once represented by the Assemblies of God churches. I have in mind the current extreme form that is mushrooming literally under every shrub and tree in Africa. How can one explain this phenomenon?

“STRANGE FIRE” 

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
(Leviticus 10:1-3 KJV)

I want to talk to you today about the “STRANGE FIRE” these two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, offered before the Lord.

Divisions: I want to call your attention to three things in these three verses. Let be show you three things about Nadab and Abihu.
1. Their Sin
2. Their Judgment
3. Their Lesson

I. THEIR SIN (v. 1)

What was the failure of these two men? What was their crime? What was their sin? Were they spurious priests? Were they mere pretenders? By no means! Nadab and Abihu were genuine sons of Aaron—true members of the priestly family—duly appointed priests. Their vessels of ministry and their priestly garments were exactly such as God required.

What, then, was their sin? Did they stain the curtains of the tabernacle with human blood, or pollute the sacred precincts with some crime that shocks moral decency? No.

Their sin was just this: “They offered strange fire before the Lord which he commanded them not.”

A. Nadab and Abihu offered fire of their own making before the Lord.

They offered that which the Lord “commanded them not,” that which the Lord God had expressly forbidden. Like the sacrifice of Cain, like the prayer of the Pharisee (Luke 18:11), their worship was nothing but will worship, an act of contempt for God, a trampling under foot the blood of Christ. Their strange fire was a manifestation of self-righteousness, conceit, and rebellion.

B. In offering the fire of their own making, Nadab and Abihu displayed an abhorrence of the gift of God.

The fire that burned on the altar was God’s gift, God’s provision, God’s work (Lev. 16:12). As such, it was a picture and type of Christ (Rom. 6:23; 2 Cor. 9:15; John 3:16).

(John 3:16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

(Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

(2 Corinthians 9:15) “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

God required the fire he provided (Lev. 16:12). Nadab and Abihu thought their own fire was good enough. God requires Christ, only Christ; but they despised Christ and said, “Who needs a Substitute? Who needs blood atonement? Who needs an Intercessor? Who needs forgiveness, justification, pardon, reconciliation, and imputed righteousness? Like the Jews of Paul’s day and the vast majority of men and women in every age, like many of you, Nadab and Abihu followed after righteousness, but did not obtain righteousness, because they went about to establish their own righteousness, and refused to submit themselves to the righteousness of God in Christ (Rom. 9:31-10:4).

(Romans 9:31-33) “But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

(Romans 10:1-4) “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. 2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

C. Nadab and Abihu went into the great harlot, Babylon[2], presuming that they could come to God and worship him as they pleased.

(Proverbs 9:17-18) “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. 18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.”

(Proverbs 7:24-27) “Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. 25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. 26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. 27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.”

II. THEIR JUDGMENT (v. 2)

(Leviticus 10:2) “And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.”

How deeply solemn! The Lord God dwelt in the midst of His people, to govern, to judge, and to act, according to the claims of his nature, in mercy and truth, in grace and righteousness, in love and justice.

At the end of Leviticus 9 we read, “And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat.” That was God’s acceptance of the true sacrifice. But, here, that same fire is the fire of his wrath and judgment upon two self-righteous priests who despised his sacrifice.

The burnt offering went up as a sweet odor; their “strange fire” was rejected as an abomination. God was glorified in the burnt offering, but was despised in their “strange fire.”

Holiness and justice, righteousness and truth accepted and delighted in that which was a type of Christ and his sacrifice; but that which was the fruit of man’s corrupt will—a will never more hideous and abominable than when engaged in the pretense of worshiping and serving God—was rejected.

A. Nadab and Abihu perished at the hand of him whom they professed to serve.

Like Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5), they perished, not because they were consumed by zeal without knowledge, but because they came before God in presumption without fear.

B. Nadab and Abihu were killed and sent to hell by the very thing they despised!

(Luke 20:17-18) “And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”

That very same Christ, who was offered upon God’s altar as the sacrifice for sin, shall sit in judgment upon God’s throne. He who was the Sacrifice consumed by the fire of God’s wrath will be a consuming fire to destroy all who despise him in that great day.

C. Nadab and Abihu “died before the LORD”.

We read in Revelation 14, “Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord.” – In Christ. – In Grace! – In Faith! But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord, without Christ, without grace, without faith, without a sacrifice, without hope!

They were carried out from the presence of God, carried out from the camp of Israel (v. 4), and cast away in the place of darkness! – They were made to eat the fruit of their own way. They were filled with their own devices!

(Proverbs 29:1) “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

God will deal with you on the ground you choose.

(Proverbs 1:23-33) “Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.”

Now, be sure you don’t miss this. – Nadab and Abihu were carried out from the presence of the holy Lord God in their priestly coats (v5). Their priestly garments could not protect them any more than your religious profession and refuge of lies will protect you from the wrath of God.

(Ecclesiastes 8:10) “And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.”

III. THEIR LESSON (v. 3)

The lesson God the Holy Spirit here teaches us is written in bold, blazing letters in verse 3. – If we would come to God and be accepted of him, if we would live and not die, we must come to God through the merits of Christ’s blood and righteousness alone, we must come to him in a way that sanctifies and glorifies him in all his holy attributes.

(Leviticus 10:3) “Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.”

If any man were permitted to defile the sanctuary of the divine presence by “strange fire,” of his own works the very throne of God would be toppled, his honor destroyed, and his righteousness defiled. – Freewill, works religion is nothing less than the attempt of fallen man to creep into God’s presence is impressive clothes, rape his righteousness, topple his throne, and stab him to death!

We cannot be allowed to introduce our own devices into the worship of God. All such efforts are nothing but “strange fire”—the incense of abomination—false worship. Man’s very best attempts at righteousness and atonement by the works of his own hands and the exercise of his own will are an absolute abomination in the sight of God.

Every sinner saved by the grace of God, knowing the free and full forgiveness of his sins, through the precious, sin-atoning blood of Christ, worships God in spirit and in truth. He rejoices in Christ Jesus and has no confidence in the flesh!

Come, O weary, helpless, needy sinner, come now to God by Christ! Come, seeking mercy, grace, and eternal life by the merits of Christ alone. – “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!”

(Psalms 34:1-8) “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”

Blessed be God, The time is rapidly approaching when the “strange fire” of freewill works religion will be quenched for ever! The throne of God shall soon cease to be insulted by the incense self-righteousness ascending from the altar of freewill! Soon, all that is spurious shall be abolished, and the whole universe shall be as one great, magnificent temple, in which the only true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, shall be worshipped throughout the endless ages of eternity.

(Philippians 2:9-11) “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Grateful incense this, ascending
Ever to the Father’s throne;
Every knee to Jesus bending,
And Christ confessed with every tongue!

All the glory God receiving!
Equal honors to the Son!
In the Son all glory beaming,
Makes the Godhead’s glory known.

By the Spirit’s gracious calling,
Sinners ransomed by the Lamb,
Crowned with light and joy unfading
Hail Him as the great “I AM.”

How our hearts long for that day! How we pant for the day when God our Savior is honored and worshipped everywhere! Blessed be his name, soon our longing hearts shall have their desire! In that day, we shall confess with Sheba’s queen, “the half was not told me.”

Come now. Join me at the throne of grace, as a sinner seeking mercy by the blood and righteousness of Christ, and join me tomorrow at the throne of glory, singing his everlasting praise.

(Psalms 115:1) “Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”

(Revelation 4:11) “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

(Revelation 5:9-14) “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.”

AMEN!
________________________________________________________
[1] What a great miracle these two men had experienced! What great privileges they had enjoyed! These sons of Aaron were present when the glory of the Lord was revealed, when the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice upon the altar! They had worshipped God on that momentous day with Moses and Aaron! – Yet, they perished under the wrath of God! – Now, learn from them this lesson, this lesson that needs to be sounded around the world in this day of charismatic tomfoolery. – Miracles will never produce grace, not even true miracles, let alone the pretense miracles of Satan’s ambassadors who flood our land! Miracles do not produce faith! Miracles cannot convince men of sin, of righteousness, and judgment. Only the Spirit of God can do that; and he does it by the preaching of the gospel.
[2] Babylon is all free will, works religion, all false religion.

Don Fortner

Title: “STRANGE FIRE”
Text: Leviticus 10:1-3
Subject: The Strange Fire Offered by Nadab and Abihu
Date: Sunday Morning – April 10, 2002
Tape # W-84a
Reading: Revelation 20:1-15

Listen to sermon : 

Many years ago J. C. Ryle wrote, “There are two ways a man may lose his own soul. [1] He may lose his soul by living and dying without any religion at all. He may live and die like a beast, prayerless, godless, graceless, and faithless. This is a sure way to hell. [2] He may lose his soul by taking up some useless kind of religion. He may live and die contenting himself with a false Christianity, resting on a baseless hope. This is the most common way to hell that there is.”

I want to talk to you about USELESS RELIGION. You may ask, “Pastor, What is useless religion. Surely, any religion is better than no religion.” Not so! — Useless religion is far worse than no religion, because useless religion convinces unregenerate men and women that all is well with their souls when nothing is well. In the practice of useless religion, men, women, and children eat and drink damnation to themselves, not discerning the Lord’s body, not knowing who Christ is, what He came into this world in human flesh to do, what He actually accomplished by His obedience unto death as the sinners’ Substitute (Most people do not know what He did or why He did it.), where He is now, or how He saves sinners by His grace and righteousness, through His blood.

• All false religion is useless religion.
• All useless religion is idolatry.

Open your Bible to Habakkuk 2:18-19, and you will see that God’s prophet Habakkuk, writing by Divine inspiration, denounced the useless religion of Babylon as soul-damning idolatry.

(Habakkuk 2:18-19) “What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? 19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it [is] laid over with gold and silver, and [there is] no breath at all in the midst of it.”

USELESS RELIGION

Let me be crystal clear. I want no one to mistake me, misunderstand me, or fail to hear clearly what I have to say.

• Useless religion is any religion in which the Lord Jesus Christ is not the sole object of faith.
• Useless religion is any religion that denies the merit and efficacy of Christ’s precious, sin-atoning blood.
• Useless religion is any religion that teaches sinners to produce righteousness. — The Gospel of Christ proclaims righteousness accomplished. — The Ready to Wear Garment of Salvation is the Righteousness of Christ.
• Useless religion is any religion that offers salvation by robbing God of His perfect holiness and forgiveness by the compromise of His inflexible justice. — The advocates of useless religion have no clue as to the necessity of the incarnation, obedience, and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. — They have no idea of how God can be just and justify the ungodly. — Their religion is filled with sentimentality and void of truth. — As Paul put it, they eat and drink damnation to themselves, not discerning the Lord’s body, not knowing Christ!
• Useless religion speaks much of the love of God, but makes the love of God universal and thereby useless and meaningless.
• Useless religion talks much about the blood of Christ, but makes the blood of Christ a universal sacrifice for all men and thereby useless and meaningless.
• Useless religion says much about the work of God the Holy Spirit, but makes the work of the Holy Spirit a work, an influence upon all men alike and thereby useless and meaningless.
• Useless religion makes the Triune God a failure and thereby no God at all![1]
• Useless religion rests on the footing of man’s works, not upon the grace and power of the God.
• Useless religion is any religion which suggests or implies that the Lord our God is unable to fulfill His will toward men unless they give Him permission.
• Useless religion puts the creature in the place of the Creator, — making the will of the Creator subject to the will of the creature, — making the power of God subject to the power of man, — making the purpose of God subject to the permission of man!
• Useless religion is any religion that makes salvation dependent upon man’s will, not God’s will.
• Useless religion is any religion that makes a sinner feel good about himself, look to himself, or trust in himself.
• Useless religion is any religion established upon the traditions of men, the creeds of men, and the inventions of men. — God’s Church is built upon the Foundation of Jesus Christ crucified, the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, — the Word of the living God!
• Useless religion may look good in the eyes of men, and it may feel good to those who practice it, butreligion without Christ will do the deceived one no good in the day of death and judgment.
• Useless religion will never result in the salvation of the soul.
• Useless religion can never meet the approval of the thrice holy God who demands “it must be perfect to be accepted.”
• Any religion without Christ is damning! — Any religion that adds anything to Christ is damning! — Any religion that takes anything away from Christ is damning!

IF EVER

If ever the God of Glory is pleased to reveal His Son in you, if the Lord God is pleased to save you, if He gives you life and faith in Christ, if God the Holy Spirit comes to you in mercy and sprinkles your heart with the blood of Christ, if King Jesus ever comes to take possession of your heart, if ever He casts Satan out and sets up His throne in your heart, your useless religion, your refuge of lies will be destroyed (Isaiah 28:14-20).

(Habakkuk 2:19) “Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it [is] laid over with gold and silver, and [there is] no breath at all in the midst of it.”

(Isaiah 28:14-20) “Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which [is] in Jerusalem. 15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner [stone], a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”

“17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only [to] understand the report. 20 For the bed is shorter than that [a man] can stretch himself [on it]: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself [in it].”

(Habakkuk 2:19) “Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it [is] laid over with gold and silver, and [there is] no breath at all in the midst of it.”

ISAIAH 45

Turn to Isaiah 45. Hear the God of Heaven speak. In Isaiah 45 the Lord God is, throughout the chapter, describing Himself, distinguishing Himself from all the imaginary gods of men, distinguishing Himself from all the gods men make. Let’s look at Isaiah 45:20-22 for just a few minutes.

(Isaiah 45:20-22 ) “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. (21) Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. (22) Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

In these verses of Scripture, the Lord our God, the great, almighty, sovereign, eternal God, calls before Him the people of the nations of the earth. He calls you who hear the Gospel, by the voice of this preacher and the message you now hear, to assemble before Him. Then He speaks. God Himself condescends to speak to men, fallen, sinful, hell-bent, hell-deserving men and women. What mercy! God against whom we have sinned, God whose name we have cursed and blasphemed, God whose wrath we deserve, speaks us by the Gospel. He speaks not in angry words of wrath, but in tender words of mercy and grace.

Proposition: In these three verses the Lord God graciously reasons with us, calling sinners to salvation, life, and faith in His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. — “Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart.”

Divisions: Hold your Bibles open on your laps. I want you to see for yourselves the things that are here spoken by the God of Glory. These are not my words, the words of another man, or the words of a religious creed. These are the words of God Himself. In these three verses, God Almighty speaks from heaven to sinners upon the earth about three things.

1.    Lost, Unregenerate, Religious People (v. 20).

2.    His Own Glorious, Saving Character (v. 21).

3.    The Salvation He Performs. (v. 22).

LOST RELIGIONISTS

First, in verse twenty, He speaks to and describes lost, unregenerate, religious people.

(Isaiah 45:20) “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.”

These are the very same people Habakkuk describes in our text, doing the very same thing (Habakkuk 2:19).

(Habakkuk 2:19) “Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it [is] laid over with gold and silver, and [there is] no breath at all in the midst of it.”

All men and women are religious. Everyone has some kind of religion, some kind of god, and some kind of refuge. Everyone has some concept of God, and some form of religious faith and hope. The fact is most people are very religious. I do not suggest for a moment that they are spiritual, or that they are saved; but most people are quite religious. The vast majority of the people we meet and do business with, most of our friends, and most of our relatives are described by our Lord as people who have entered the wide gate and walk in the broad waythat leads to destruction. They have entered into and walk in “a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25). In this twentieth verse, God tells us THREE THINGSabout all lost, unregenerate, religious people.

1.    “They have no knowledge.”

We are not told that they have a little knowledge or misguided knowledge; but that “they have no knowledge.” Lost, unregenerate, religious people have absolutely no spiritual knowledge. Their ignorance is blatantly manifest almost every time they open their mouths. In order for a person to know anything spiritual, he must be born again (John 3:3-7). He must be taught of God. He must have the mind of Christ imparted to him in regeneration (1 Corinthians 2:14-16).

(1 Corinthians 2:14-16) “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (15) But he that is spiritual judgeth (discerns) all things, yet he himself is judged (discerned) of no man. (16) For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

It does not matter how religious people are. It does not matter how long they have studied the Bible and what men say about the Bible. It does not matter how much experience they have, or how phenomenal their experience is.Natural, unregenerate people have no knowledge of…

• Themselves.
• God.
• Sin.
• Righteousness.
• Salvation.

2.    They “set up the wood of their graven image.”

They all worship a god that they have whittled out of the dark forests of their own depraved minds (Romans 1:21-23).

(Romans 1:21-23) “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (23) And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.”

I realize that the refined, civilized, educated people I peach to around the country do not worship images carved from tree stumps, chiseled from granite, or molded even from gold and silver. Yet, most of the people in Baptist churches (as well as all other churches, without exception) in America worship a little god which they have whittled from their own little minds, a god that no more resembles the God of the Bible than an ant resembles an angel. He is described in the next line of our text.

3.    They worship, serve, and “pray unto a god that cannot save.”

Turn to 2 Timothy 3. Here the Apostle Paul tells us that in these last days “perilous times shall come.” Now notice in verse five how he describes the men and women of this age. Remember, he is describing religious people.

(2 Timothy 3:5) “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

Our Lord Jesus said to the Jews and religious leaders of His day, — “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). That is exactly what is wrong with the religious world in which we live. The Apostle Paul describes all legalistic, Arminian free-will, works religion as “another gospel,” preaching another god, another Jesus, another spirit, and another salvation. He here calls it a religion that is a mere “form of godliness;” and he declares that it is a mere form of godliness because it denies the power of God.

Bro. Henry Mahan had an article in his bulletin many years ago with this very issue. He listed five areas in which the religion of our day is but a mere form of godliness.

1.  A FORM of godliness says, “God wills to save all men;” denying His POWER adds, “but He cannot save unless men open their hearts to Him.”

2. A FORM of godliness says, “God has a wonderful plan for men and women;” denying His POWERadds, “but you must allow Him to have His will and way.”

3. A FORM of godliness says, “Christ died on the cross for all the sins of all the sons of Adam that all might be saved;” denying the POWER of His blood adds, “but His blood has no power or efficacy to save anyone until man releases it to work.”

4. A FORM of godliness says, “The Holy Spirit knocks at everyone’s heart with a desire to enter and work repentance and faith;” denying the POWER adds, “but you must open the door.”

5. A FORM of godliness says, “Salvation is of the Lord;” denying the POWER adds, “but those whom He saves may fall away and perish.”

How are we to treat such religion? How are we to deal with those who preach it and promote it to the everlasting ruin of men’s souls? Paul tells us plainly, — “from such turn away!”

GOD’S CHARACTER

Now look at Isaiah 45:21. Here the Lord God contrasts himself with the gods of men who cannot save. He tells us that He is a God who can save; and in this verse He asserts His own glorious, saving character.

(Isaiah 45:21) “Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.”

Look at his verse closely. Too often we read a familiar text too quickly and miss the full scope of its teaching. In this verse of Scripture the Lord God declares five things about Himself, five things which identify Him as God. Listen to what the text says. If the god you worship, if the god to which you pray, if your idea and concept of God lacks any of these five characteristics, then your god is but a graven image, a useless, imaginary god. This is God’s description of God.

1.    He who is God has an absolute, unalterable, sure purpose, by which all things are governed.

In the opening part of verse twenty-one, the Lord God challenges men to bring all their peanut gods and let them all take counsel together. I challenge you to do the same. Gather up all the gods of men, the Baptist gods, the Mormon gods, the Catholic gods, the Anglican gods, the Russellite gods, Hindu gods, Islam gods, Jewish gods, and all the other gods of men. Let them all take counsel together. Find me one in the whole bunch who has declared absolutely, from ancient times, from eternity, all things that are, have been, and shall hereafter be. Our God has!

(Isaiah 46:9-11) “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, andthere is none like me, (10) Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: (11) Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.”

He who is God has an absolute, unalterable purpose; and He “worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.”

2.    He who is truly God truly is God, He declares Himself to be “I the LORD.”

Do you see that? He is not a lord. Our God is “the LORD.” He is the only LORD. He is LORD everywhere, at all times, over everything. He controls the universe absolutely. He has His way in the whirlwind. The clouds are the dust of His feet. The thoughts of men’s hearts, the roll of the dice, and the paths of the fish in the sea are all under His total rule. I am talking to you about God, not some peanut, imaginary god, but God!

(Isaiah 45:7) “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all thesethings.”

(Psalms 115:3) “Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”

(Psalms 135:6) “Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.”

3.    He who is God is God alone.

He declares there is none with Him, none like Him, and none but Him. Most people are really pantheists[2] and polytheists. They believe God is in everything and everybody. They believe that just about every man’s notion of God really is God: Buddhists, Mohammedans, Jews, Papists, Mormons, Barbarians, and Baptists; but most people are wrong. There is but one God.

4.    He who is God is a just God.

Much could and should be said about God’s justice; but I will say just three things regarding it here. These three things simply must be understood.

• A just God must and shall punish all sin.
• A just God cannot save sinners apart from the satisfaction of His justice. — “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged” (Proverbs 16:6), but not by any other means.
• A just God cannot punish any for sin for whom Christ died. — A just God cannot punish the same offense twice.

Blessed be His name, the justice of God has been satisfied for sinners by the obedience and death of the Lord Jesus Christ His dear Son! In Him mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Therefore, upon the grounds of Christ’s obedience and death as the sinner’s Substitute, the Lord God declares this fifth thing about himself.

5.    He who is God indeed is both “a just God and a Savior.”

That is exactly what the Lord God told Moses about Himself back in Exodus when He showed him His glory; and that is exactly what Paul tells us in the third chapter of Romans (Exodus 33:19; 34:5-7; Romans 3:24-26).

GOD’S SALVATION

In the last place, I want you to look at Isaiah 45:22 and hear this great and glorious Lord God, who is both a just God and a Savior, declare the salvation He performs. If you would be saved, hear and obey this word from God our Savior.

(Isaiah 45:22) “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

• Look to Christ.
• Look only to Christ.
• Look to Christ for everything (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).
• Look to Christ always.

As the children of Israel looked to that brazen serpent in the wilderness and lived, so every sinner who looks away to Christ shall be saved by the grace and power of this great God, who is our Savior(Colossians 2:9-15).

GRACE

“Naught have I gotten, but what I received;

Grace hath bestowed it since I have believed!

Boasting excluded, pride I abase -

I’m only a sinner, saved by grace!

Suffer a sinner whose heart overflows,

Loving his Savior to tell what he knows,

Once more to tell it would I embrace, —

I’m only a sinner, saved by grace!”

Salvation is the work of God’s grace alone. And the grace of God by which we have been saved is…

• Sovereign Grace!
• Eternal Grace!
• Unconditional Grace!
• Immutable Grace!
• Effectual Grace!
• In Christ, by Christ, from Christ, and for the praise of the glory of the Triune God in Christ.

(Colossians 2:9-15) “In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (11) In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:(12) Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (14) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (15) And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Any mixture of works with grace is a total denial of grace (Galatians 5:1-4; Romans 11:6).

(Romans 11:6) “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Galatians 5:1-4 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (2) Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. (3) For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.(4) Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”

Salvation is “Christ in you” (Colossians 1:27). It is being “made partakers of the Divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Christ must be formed in you (Galatians 4:19). You must be created anew in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). That takes the power and grace of God. Salvation by grace is a miraculous work which only God can perform. The new birth is a resurrection from the dead; and a resurrection is a miraculous thing!

“It took a miracle to put the stars in place,

It took a miracle to hang the world in space,

But when God saved my soul,

Cleansed and made me whole,

It took a miracle of love and grace!”

FAITH

You’ve got that don’t you? Salvation is by grace alone, in Christ alone, the work of God alone. You’ve got that don’t you? — Now, be sure you get this too: — Isaiah 45:22 calls for sinners to do something. He says, “Look unto me!” Looking is trusting. Looking is an act of faith. Our Lord Jesus tells us that we are saved by faith.

• Faith is not the cause of salvation.
• That is the grace of God.
• Faith is not the basis of salvation. That is the obedience of Christ.
• Faith is not the power by which salvation is performed. That is the call of the Spirit.

Faith is not our Savior. Christ is our Savior; but faith is the means by which salvation is received and enjoyed; and personal faith in Christ is vital. Without it, you will never be saved.

Look at Luke 7:50 — “And he said to the woman, thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace.” — You know the story of this woman. It is one of the most touching and instructive stories in the Bible. The object of her faith was Christ. Her tears washed His feet. Her hair was the towel with which she dried His feet. Her lips tenderly kissed His feet. What does this story teach us about faith?

• Saving faith looks to Christ. She came to Him.
• Saving faith grieves over sin. She wept.
• Saving faith is humble. It takes its place “at His feet.”
• Saving faith loves Christ. She kissed His feet.
• Saving faith is submissive, self-denying and sacrificial. — “Costly ointment!” (Mark 14:4-5).
• Saving faith serves Christ. — “She hath done what she could” (Mark 14).

Now look at Luke 18:42. Our Lord spoke these same words to blind Bartemaeus. — “Receive thy sight, thy faith hath saved thee.” The experiences of Bartemaeus and the woman in Luke 7 were not at all alike. Their faith was the same. It had the same object — Christ; and it had the same characteristics — humility and repentance, love and submission; but they experienced different things.

• The woman’s faith acted like a woman. She showed tenderness and affection. The man’s faith acted like a man. He showed determination and strength, crying, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!”
• The woman did not speak. As a woman should be in public, she was silent. The man continued to cry aloud. He could not be silenced.
• The woman wept much. The man pleaded for mercy.
• The woman’s faith gave quiet service to the honor of Christ. The man’s faith gave public praise to the honor of Christ.

The important thing to note is the fact that though their experiences differed greatly; their faith was the same. They both believed Christ. That simply means this: — There is no need for you to try to match your experience of grace with mine. Do not look to your own experience or to mine. Look to Christ alone. — “Look unto Me!”

“My faith looks up to Thee,

Thou Lamb of Calvary,

Savior divine!

Now hear me while I pray,

Take all my sin away,

Oh let me from this day

Be wholly Thine!”

God save us from useless religion; and save us from its influence! May God the Holy Spirit give you faith in Christ! Oh, may it please our God graciously to enable you to obey the call He has given. — “Look unto Me!”

It is a useless thing to call upon a useless god. But looking to Christ is Salvation, free, everlasting salvation! — He alone is God who is God “mighty to save!”

(Habakkuk 2:18-19) “What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? 19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it [is] laid over with gold and silver, and [there is] no breath at all in the midst of it.”

(Isaiah 45:20-22) “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye [that are] escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god [that] cannot save. 21 Tell ye, and bring [them] near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? [who] hath told it from that time? [have] not I the LORD? And [there is] no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; [there is] none beside me. 22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else.”

Amen.

Don Fortner

Listen to sermons at FreeGraceRadio.com

Pastor Lesego Daniel, who is based in Garankuwa, north of Pretoria, told dozens of followers to eat grass because “it will bring them closer to God”.

SA “pastor” under fire over grass-eating followers

2014-01-13 09:46

Pretoria – A South African church leader has come under fire after reports that he made members of his congregation eat grass.

Pastor Lesego Daniel, who is based in Garankuwa, north of Pretoria, told dozens of followers to eat grass because “it will bring them closer to God”.

Daniel made headlines globally after images were shown of his followers laying down in a field and furiously munching grass. Further images were then shown of some followers vomiting.

The news has been carried by UK media and many South African organisations.

People were apparently been drawn to the pastor’s church, Rabboni Centre Ministries, after it was claimed that he performed miracles.

One of Daniel’s followers, Doreen Kgatle, says she had a stroke two years ago and could not walk but since eating the grass she regained the strength in her legs.

But many people have started questioning Daniel’s credentials and complained on the ministry’s Facebook page.

(PHOTO: FACEBOOK/RABBONI CENTRE MINISTRIES)

A woman eats grass at the Rabboni Centre Ministries Church in South Africa.

(PHOTO: FACEBOOK/RABBONI CENTRE MINISTRIES)

Pastor Lesego Daniel (with mic) of South Africa’s Rabboni Centre Ministries walks on congregants he commanded to go to sleep.

“No man of God would tell the people of his flock to eat grass… this man is not of God, run away as far as you can from him and his teachings,” said one user.

“Did you yourself taste that grass? Why feed it to your congregation? This is purely abuse of power and betraying God’s word!” says another.

Daniel has not responded to the complaints or queries but some of his followers have come to his defence.

“I don’t care wat peaple say even my family members come nd intimidate me but i stand firm in the word of God nd tell them this is my pastor sent to me nd the nations by God to God be the Glory [sic],” said one church member.

(PHOTO: FACEBOOK/RABBONI CENTRE MINISTRIES)

Congregants of the Rabboni Centre Ministries in South Africa react to eating ‘healing’ grass.

(PHOTO: FACEBOOK/RABBONI CENTRE MINISTRIES)

Above Photo with this written “This will give you wings of a giant eagle, so you will be taken out brought to God Himself. When that happens, you are with God inheriting the earth. Seeing what is happening with your life, shall be a testament, as you came not ordinary but with eagles wings.”

(PHOTO: FACEBOOK/RABBONI CENTRE MINISTRIES) Daniel bending down and touching the People attending his Synagogue of Satan

Here is an extract from the Rabboni Centre Ministries from a sermon by Daniel, and note,  the discerning believer will clearly pick up on how Scripture is twisted and contorted to tickle the ears of the hearers .

Rabboni Centre Ministries

4 January

Tonight’s Word
(Let this month of fasting be the development of our Spirit where we are even prepared for the year. Fast in Spirit and in truth not with your mind)

If you keep the law, you don’t experience Christ and fullness of Him
Colossians 2:6-15 (beware here meaning, they came and preached a different gospel. You start well then along the way, tradition of man *bad company corrupts* and now you don’t experience Christ. It is difficult to change a man doctrinated by a man. There’s law that comes from man and becomes his tradition. Do not be slaves of men.
We need the fullness of God as Christians, as we might find ourselves not having the fullness of Him and principalities dealing with you. You might find yourself doing Isaiah 28 – plough, level and at the end having no seed. This means you fast but receiving nothing, no results.)
Reference Scriptures:
John 1:16 so, out of His fullness we receive, imagine if you make it a lifestyle, you will always receive. John 10 –“I’ve come that you may have life in abundance” so out of that abundance, you receive. Ephesians 3 – He is able to do exceedingly above all that we ask or think abundantly according to the power that works in us.” Here, thieves have no chance to intervene because you receive in His fullness.
Ephesians 1:18-20 – in His fullness, you get to experience, touch that which you understand, your eyes flooded with light. It’s painful to serve without eyes flooded with light because it’s easy for you to follow tradition. And you cannot correct and lead others while you have your own speck.

Back to Colossians 2: 10 (In His fullness, you are able to please God in all things. Even you too, they must be afraid of your name though you make yourself low *humble yourself* you are lifted. It is good to be circumcised by Christ. He says; “I’ve come to blind those who claim to see and open the eyes of those who don’t see” The blind man was saved (circumcised) by his confession when he said Jesus opened my eyes, I was blind. Just like Zechariah, “Oh Lord, I don’t know, You know.” That’s a confession.
If someone doesn’t believe in the work of God, where then is the spiritual circumcision? Many are struggling with breakthrough because there’s something against you – law. Tablets of stones = Law. When the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus said; “Men cannot live on bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God” meaning, the food – the Word.

Galatians 6:11-18 (Most people want to be accepted by people. They run away from persecution (God’s fullness) but Paul said, “I delight in persecution…”
Circumcision of the flesh is pleasing people, making impressions.
Never please any man and don’t be afraid to be persecuted. Don’t depend on anyone to connect you, depend on Christ and they will come to you because of the power of God. Be connected from above, the glory of Jesus Christ.
Verse 17 – this is extreme, you touch me, is like you touch Christ. This is more than; “touch not the oil and the wine”. Here, we find the marks of Jesus Christ. So, the brand marks of Jesus Christ are in you after those persecutions and God cannot release you without those brand marks.

What does the Bible say about wolves such as Lesego Daniel infiltrating the Church ?

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Jude 1:4 KJV)

False prophets are cunning infiltrators. Jude identifies apostate preachers as men who slither into churches “in unawares.” Their plan is to subtly infiltrate the kingdom of Christ. The Greek verb translated “crept” is never used anywhere else in the New Testament. It is a very rare word that has to do with cunning speech and clever debaters.

For instance, the word is used in extrabiblical literature in a legal sense to speak of someone who pleads a case very cleverly, with guile. It is used to represent a lawyer who plants a thought in the minds of a judge or a jury by trickery. It is used to describe a criminal who secretly slips back into the country after being exiled from it.

The word “crept’ means “entered in secretly.” That is precisely what false prophets do. Deceivers have a real problem with truthfulness, openness, and honesty. They never come in announcing, “I am a messenger of Satan, and I would like to join your church.” This word “crept” literally means, “to go down into and alongside.” False prophets go down into the church and get alongside believers. They pretend to believe; but they are Satan’s counterfeit prophets. As his servants, it is their determination to destroy the work of God. Such infiltration had already begun in Jude’s day. False prophets had moved into the church and were beginning to sow lies about who Christ is, what he has accomplished, and how he saves sinners. That form of attack is nothing new. It has gone on through the centuries, is still going on today, and will continue to go on until Christ comes again. The Puritan Thomas Manton wrote…

“When the Christian church began…there were adverse powers without ready to crush it, and Libertines who, like worms bred within the body, sought to devour the entrails and eat the very bowels of it. The first ringleader was Simon Magus, and there followed many…who, being once turned aside from the truth and the fellowship of the faithful, lost all awe of God, and were given up to a sottish judgment to believe all kinds of fables and fancies….In succeeding ages the devil hath often played over the old game, sometimes oppressing the church by the tyranny of pseudo-Christians…at other times corrupting the truth by error, or rendering it suspicious by the divisions about it. Heresies revolve as fashions, and in the course of a few years antiquated errors revive again.”

They are like those adversaries of Israel described in Ezra 4:2, who came to Zerubbabel saying, “Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him,” though it was their intent to disrupt the work. They are like Simon Magus in Acts 8, who wanted to be baptized and acknowledged as a follower of Christ, though he was an enemy to Christ. Peter’s words have come to pass. — “There were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). ~ Don Fortner

Read the whole of Jude and see how these Wolves will be judged by our Almighty God.

Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
(Jude 1:1-25 KJV)

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
(Jude 1:21 KJV)

The Quoted article in News found here : http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/SA-pastor-under-fire-over-grass-eating-followers-20140113

We last reported on the Grass-eating pastor on January 15, 2014see here :“We Eat Grass To Be Closer To God”, Says A High Profile False Preacher From South Africa

It seems now he is having his folowers drink Petrol !! * Watch the video in the gallery above and scroll to 07:15 min in the video to see the action. 

The folowing in headline news reported today.

SOUTH AFRICA

Wednesday 24 September 2014 – 9:36am
Nonkululeko Ngqola

Watch Video below  

GA-RANKUWA - Pastor Lesego Daniel of Rabboni Centre Ministries, infamous for making his congregation eat grass, has struck again.

He now has his congregation drinking petrol and saying it tastes ‘sweet’.

It tastes like pineapple juice.

In scenes that will leave you open-mouthed, his congregation clamours desperately to have a drink of the petrol as the pastor preaches and encourages them.

Members of the church exclaim how “sweet” and “nice” it tastes, comparing it to “Iron Brew” and “pineapple juice”.

A couple of them beg the pastor to “please give us some more”.

According to healthline.com, petrol is poisonous to the body and ingesting it causes symptoms which include breathing difficulties, throat pain, burning in the esophagus, abdominal pain, vision loss, vomiting (with blood) and bloody stools.

It also causes dizziness, extreme fatigue, convulsions, body weakness and unconsciousness, which members of the congregation appear to display in the video.

A few of the followers who consumed the alleged petrol, end up collapsing on the floor, displaying symptoms similar to those listed above.

* Watch the video in the gallery above and scroll to 07:15 min in the video to see the action. 

- eNCA

What does the Bible say about wolves such as Lesego Daniel infiltrating the Church ?

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Jude 1:4 KJV)

False prophets are cunning infiltrators. Jude identifies apostate preachers as men who slither into churches “in unawares.” Their plan is to subtly infiltrate the kingdom of Christ. The Greek verb translated “crept” is never used anywhere else in the New Testament. It is a very rare word that has to do with cunning speech and clever debaters.

For instance, the word is used in extrabiblical literature in a legal sense to speak of someone who pleads a case very cleverly, with guile. It is used to represent a lawyer who plants a thought in the minds of a judge or a jury by trickery. It is used to describe a criminal who secretly slips back into the country after being exiled from it.

The word “crept’ means “entered in secretly.” That is precisely what false prophets do. Deceivers have a real problem with truthfulness, openness, and honesty. They never come in announcing, “I am a messenger of Satan, and I would like to join your church.” This word “crept” literally means, “to go down into and alongside.” False prophets go down into the church and get alongside believers. They pretend to believe; but they are Satan’s counterfeit prophets. As his servants, it is their determination to destroy the work of God. Such infiltration had already begun in Jude’s day. False prophets had moved into the church and were beginning to sow lies about who Christ is, what he has accomplished, and how he saves sinners. That form of attack is nothing new. It has gone on through the centuries, is still going on today, and will continue to go on until Christ comes again. The Puritan Thomas Manton wrote…

“When the Christian church began…there were adverse powers without ready to crush it, and Libertines who, like worms bred within the body, sought to devour the entrails and eat the very bowels of it. The first ringleader was Simon Magus, and there followed many…who, being once turned aside from the truth and the fellowship of the faithful, lost all awe of God, and were given up to a sottish judgment to believe all kinds of fables and fancies….In succeeding ages the devil hath often played over the old game, sometimes oppressing the church by the tyranny of pseudo-Christians…at other times corrupting the truth by error, or rendering it suspicious by the divisions about it. Heresies revolve as fashions, and in the course of a few years antiquated errors revive again.”

They are like those adversaries of Israel described in Ezra 4:2, who came to Zerubbabel saying, “Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him,” though it was their intent to disrupt the work. They are like Simon Magus in Acts 8, who wanted to be baptized and acknowledged as a follower of Christ, though he was an enemy to Christ. Peter’s words have come to pass. — “There were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). ~ Don Fortner

Read the whole of Jude and see how these Wolves will be judged by our Almighty God.

Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
(Jude 1:1-25 KJV)

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
(Jude 1:21 KJV)

Original news clip found here : http://www.enca.com/shock-scenes-grass-pastor-giving-his-congregation-petrol-drink

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