Category Archives: False Teachers

“Supernatural Sid” Cartoon Review – Heresy “Grooming?”

Posted by Dan C. on

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Thanks to the “Digging Deeper” FB page I had the opportunity to watch Supernatural Sid: The First 11 Minutes, a sneak preview of an upcoming cartoon based on TV personality Sid Roth’s show It’s Supernatural!, beloved by many ‘itchy eared’ believers and renowned for a wide variety of false teaching mixed with some truth in order to sound legit.

In the first few minutes, Supernatural Sid introduces his new venture describing how children will be able to see cartoon depictions of actual events in the Bible, from Adam and Eve in the Garden to Moses delivering the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, which was a foreshadowing of Jesus the Messiah. Sid will even lead your children in a prayer to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior!.

The sneak preview of Episode 1 is next at the 4:34 mark and is called The Miracle Birth of Jesus.

It begins with a family of four driving through city streets singing Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. The kids in the back seat start talking about visiting New York City with Supernatural Sid (SS) during the previous year’s Christmas season, with all of the exciting Christmas season activity, including the Rockefeller Center tree. They ask if they can go see the tree again and are told that things are different this year.

The city is a mess, largely because of COVID. Stores and shops are shuttered and the streets are filled with the homeless. The streets are also filled with rioting protesters and police. There are many more homes for sale in the suburbs due to job losses and foreclosures. The family finally arrives safely back at their home and settle down in front of the television screen with a huge bowl of popcorn to watch the It’s Supernatural! with a younger looking Sid Roth (SS) as the host.

SS focuses on the difference between the previous and current year Christmas activity in the city, due to COVID. SS is ready for a Christmas miracle because God is ready to send down His “golden globe of glory”, just as He sent Jesus. Cartoon SS asks viewers to send in their prayer requests so they can be prayed over and agreed upon their upcoming Christmas special show.

The kids, Saul and Miriam, with Nosey the pet dog, then go to New York City to visit SS to find out more. SS gives them special glasses so they can go back in time and see that the same sorts of things they saw in New York City (homelessness, lack of jobs, poverty, protesting and riots, plagues, sick and crippled people) were all present in biblical times.

SS explains how the sick and oppressed cried out to God and prayed for a deliverer, a healer, a Messiah. He then quoted John 3:16 to the kids – sort of. Instead of “…whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life”, SS quoted it as “…whosoever would believe in Him would be saved”. The kids and SS then are transported back to the present and are again with SS in his home.

Saul then asks SS about all of the bad things in the world and asks why God doesn’t stop it all. SS tells them to put the special glasses back on. The sneak preview ends at that point (the 16:30 mark).

Sid Roth in the flesh comes back on to tell us how to pre-order our own DVD of Episode 1, as well as a special streaming link to the entire episode so we can watch it with our children and grandchildren. For a gift of $50.00 you can receive the DVD/BluRay and streaming link. If you send the $50.00 you can also receive additional copies for $25.00 each (allow 6-8 weeks for delivery).

The Senior Producer for another animated Bible series for CBN, as well as Supernatural Sid then comes on and talks about how great his animated Blble stories are, especially how the new series is even so much better than the first one because it includes real life issues and teaches us that the same supernatural events that happened in Jesus’ day are also for us to experience (stock Sid Roth).

“Don’t miss out!” Your kids and grandkids can learn how to live and walk in the supernatural! “The Miracle Birth of Jesus is not just a Christmas story, it gives the foundation of why God sent His only begotten Son.” Lastly, it presents testimonials with adults and children telling us how great the first episode is.

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So there you have it. While it was certainly entertaining, and kids might love it, the glaring error, from my point of view, is that it’s an “adventure in missing the gospel”. It teaches (rather subtly) that Jesus came so that we can live supernatural lives filled with miraculous healings, prosperity, and deliverances from the bad things in life (Sid Roth’s stock in trade).

We are told quite clearly in Scripture exactly why Jesus came into our world. Even before Jesus’ birth, an Angel spoke to a troubled Joseph:

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Mat 1:20-21)

The Apostle Paul also tells us exactly why Jesus came:

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. “ (1 Tim 1:15)

Sid Roth, in the name of $ most likely, is now taking the false teaching he sends all over the globe and specifically targeting (grooming?) our children and grandchildren. Don’t fall for it.

Heresy always rides in on the horseback of truth.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

“Christians need to be on the cutting edge of creativity!”–Kevin Dedmon

Posted by Dan C. on

This morning I was treated to a screenshot of a post from Kevin Dedmon Ministries. The highlighted portions seemed to be the main point of the post – if the church is on the cutting edge of cultural creativity, outsiders (the Queen of Shebas) will covet our (the church’s) wisdom. So says Kevin Dedmon.

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Kevin Dedmon is a player at Bethel Redding, a graduate of Vanguard University (Pentecostal with roots going back to Azuza Street and false prophetess Heidi Baker one of the ‘distinguished’ alumni), and the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM).

While cutting edge entertainment might draw in outsiders to a ‘church’ (but not necessarily Christ), Bethel is a hotbed of heretical teaching and not a genuine church. That makes Mr. Dedmon’s post irrelevant on its face.

Having said that, I found some of the 18 comments interesting, if not illustrative.

A couple of those comments recognized the veiled references to the 7-Mountain Mandate that teaches the erroneous notion that Christians are to ‘take over’ the major areas of culture. Some others were justifiably critical of the need to be creative geniuses for anyone to listen to the church. And as is quite usual on social media, a few very little sense at all.

And while the comments were correct in criticizing Mr. Dedmon (and by extension, Bethel, Redding) I couldn’t help but notice the claim that for us Christians to be invited to speak on news programs (have a voice in secular culture) we need to be as admired by the world as the most popular “musicians, scientists, business leaders and star athletes”. That seems to say that we need to be liked by the world to be listened to by the world.

It was then that I had what I called a ‘Johnny Cash moment’. If you ever listened to the song “Jesus Said”, you might know what I mean. Two passages of scripture flashed in my aging mind:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:18 – 19)

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy.” (James 4:4)

The world might be drawn to our cutting-edge creativity but will it be drawn to Christ? Not according to Jesus:

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44)

“But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” (John 6:44 & 65)

Genuine drawing to Christ for salvation is God’s work. Our part as believers is merely to lovingly share the gospel message that Christ died for the sins of men. God will open hearts to listen and pay attention (See Acts 16 and the story of Lydia). We need to follow the example of the Apostle Paul and “keep it simple”.

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

We share the good news and God saves His people from their sins.

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I did visit Kevin Dedmon’s FB page. I don’t recommend it. Just more similar posts, all of which were followed by lots of “Amens” from his deceived followers. It was also painful for this old guy because I was reminded of a decades old close friend who I believed to be a genuine Christian (we would pray together over the soldiers of our unit in Massachusetts). He has very close ties to Bethel and Bill Johnson, believing him to be a great man of God..

Coronavirus “Spiritual/Prophetic” Garbage Summary

Posted by Dan C. on

This is comparable to a cat’s litter box. Lots of waste matter in one place……….

So far we have, ……..

None of these things are true. May the Lord rebuke them.

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Online Source

“Restoring your Spiritual Alertness“–by Kris Vallotton

Posted by Dan C. on

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A friend of mine messaged me with  the link to a Kris Vallotton sermon from 2018 called “Restoring your Spiritual Alertness “–by Kris Vallotton of Bethe, Redding.. I had previously seen it talked about on Facebook but had not listened to it, not being a big KV fan. My friend actually Neither is my friend, but his messaging me actually encouraged me to go ahead and listen to it.; that and the KV quote accompanying the Facebook ad that said “Sickness is part of the law of the first heavens.”

What follows are parts of the sermon I thought significant tin demonstrated KV’s (and Bethel/Bill Johnson) theology.  If really bad eisegesis (reading into scripture) and scripture twisting offend you, read no further.

At the very beginning KV begins scripture twisting. He reads Ephesians 3 , where Paul is talking about God revealing truth to him (Paul) by revelation and then, out of the blue, starts talking about slavery and how God wants us to move out of slavery and into a relationship of friendship. A mark of friendship, of course, is God giving revelation. So early on, KV starts, making a case for ongoing extra-biblical revelation. His reasoning:

“We are in a season transition from slavery to sonship and the manifestation of that is that we are beginning to get revelation of things never before seen or heard, or even thought of.”

Sorry, Kria, but we transitioned into sonship the moment we believed in Christ for the forgiveness of our sin.

He goes on to explain his overarching theology of ‘3  heavens’.

He begins his teaching by saying that we do not ‘inhabit’ this planet, we ‘cohabit’ the earth. Furthermore, he tells us that the Bible teaches that there are three dimensions to spiritual entities that live among us. We all 9believers and non-believers) live in the first heaven. The principalities and powers spoken of in Ephesians 6 live in the second heaven. God of course lives in the third heaven.

Note also, that  there are levels of authority in the first and second heavens.

As ‘believers’ , as opposed to non-believers, we live in the first AND third heavens.  This is based on a misinterpretation of Ephesians 1:3,  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” If Christ has authority in/over all three heavens,so do we. According to KV,we just need to take our ‘rightful’ place in the third heaven.

Also, according to KV, while there are five natural senses, there are many spiritual dimensions/senses  (supernatural spiritual intelligence) that  “enable us to make decisions based on what happens in the second and third heaven. “

A month before this sermon he knew about five levels of spiritual intelligence, but because of receiving more revelation,by the time this sermon rolled around, he knew about  five more. . He said “It’s up to us to police the cosmos.”  He also said the wisdom of man is not evil, it’s just natural, which contradicts what the Bible tells us about human wisdom, being “foolishness to God”.

He then repeated some previous teaching he had given about a month earlier, telling us about spiritual gifts that he has that we can ALL have!

  • Gift of discernment concerning what entity (good or bad) is influencing a city, store, person.
  • Gift of knowledge. (Word of knowledge). He knew a lady sitting next to him on an airplane by name and what her husband was doing that day(having an affair?).We should only use ‘positive’ prophecy.
  • Gift of prophecy. Access to history before it happens – about nations, cities, people. God has a special purpose for EVERYTHING, and we can know it ALL! Using our gifts we can counsel others who come to us regarding their futures. After all, we have access to all of it!

This quite was rather ‘interesting’:

“If you are a believer, you are a mobile home for the Holy Spirit. Everywhere you go, He goes. These gifts are resident in him (the Holy Spirit) so they are resident in you. You just have to believe it and you can operate in it. You just need to move your faith into the right kingdom.”

He goes on, presenting as logical:

  • God does not live in time and space,
  • We have the  mind of God.
  • God thinks outside of time and space, therefore,
  • We can think outside of time and space.

“The way a person gets healed is that a superior ecosystem superimposes itself over an inferior ecosystem.”

He goes on to say that  “God is moving us back into his divine design – to rule the earth”,  referring back to Genesis..

“Bethel uses words of knowledge to heal people. “Vallotton used to use words of knowledge to fix cars, after he heard Bill Johnson’s teaching on it.  He actually said that.

He talked about spiritual gifts & effects. As an example he described hot to do really well in the stock market using the gift of prophecy and the gift of knowledge (we all have them,  remember).  Call it supernatural ‘insider trading’?  The key is having intimacy with God. When you get close with God (intercourse-yada) he will tell you everything!

As believers, we are new creatures (true), both human and totally like Jesus. And according to Bill Johnson’s  kenotic’  view of Jesus, Jesus put his Godhood completely aside and performed all of his miracles, signs and wonders as nothing more than a man in right relationship with God.

Nearing the end of his teaching, he dissed denominational thinking, opinions, thoughts, and divisions. as all BAD. The most brilliant people on the planet keep their minds turned off. Denominationalism doesn’t want you to think for yourself (A common Bill Johnson teaching). He left us with the following, making sure to let us know that HE wrote it (he did that a lot – patted himself on the back.

“The wisdom of God is imprisoned in believers, guarded by the spirit of religion, shackled for generations by the fear of man, and locked away by mediocrity that undermines excellence and kills inspiration. The political spirit has robbed people of the mind of Christ by disarming creativity and marching Christian soldiers to the concentration camp of black and white thinking, This accumulated climax has reduced the most brilliant people on the,planet to echoes of worldly thinking and has undermined the triumph and call of ageless wisdom.”

“Thinking people destroy churches.”. By that he was not speaking of ‘churches’ in a good way, but as representative of ‘stinkin’ thinkin’.

After listening to all of that, I can see why so many young are drawn to Bethel (besides the music). They are taught that they can be just like Jesus!

Those who have left Bethel have something in common. They all seem to have read some of the Bible for themselves!  Yet Bethel continues to attract thousands of young people, first through their music., followed by a gradual diet of false teaching. the Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry (BSSM) has a few thousand continuously enrolled. If you want to know what is taught at BSSM, you can start here.

So there it is……..Dan’s take on an entire Kris Valloton sermon. I did listen to the entire thing and took a lot of notes, all of which are not in this short post. Do with it what you will.

Turning Romans 8:28 into a Ball of Spaghetti

Posted by Dan C. on

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I saw a Facebook post this morning that contained a short video clip, apparently taken from a Joel Osteen sermon, advertising Joel’s Podcast (available from iTunes). The above quotation is what he told anyone listening to the clip.

“On the other side of the difficulty is a new level of your destiny. If you keep the right attitude, all things will work for your good. Not some things, the good breaks, the promotion, but even the loss, the disappointment. The person that walked away, it wasn’t random, it was ordained by God.” – Joel Osteen

Although he didn’t quote any actual scripture passage, the obvious reference is to Romans 8:28, which claim that “all things work together for good.” Joel would have you believe that “If you keep the right attitude, all things will work for your good.”  Now that’s a nice thought, and a positive attitude (what Joel is teaching) helps, but is that what is actually taught in the Roman text? Let’s take a look, shall we?

 “28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Rom 8:28 – 30, ESV)

Joel maintains that:

1.  ALL things will work for your good and “the next level of your destiny” is the “good” (goal) for which all things work.

2.  All things are ordained by God, even the bad things.

What is true in the above? That all things work together for good and that God ordains all things.

What is NOT true? Well, just a couple of things.

1.  Joel is speaking to a very large audience, to every individual sitting in the former basketball arena turned into a ‘church’ (I use the term loosely), outlying ‘campuses’, as well as television/digital media viewers. The author of the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul, was speaking to a particular group of people, the Christians in Rome. He also spoke about a specific group of people, those who “love God and are the called according to His purpose.”  2. Joel defined the “good” in the “all things that work together for good”, as the next level of your destiny, even implying that since God ordains all things, He has ordained for you some sort of divine destiny, a concept NOWHERE taught in scripture.

He has a lot of company in that regard. There are countless faux preachers and teachers who make the Christian life all about us, and our personal aspirations and dreams for life in the here and now.

Scripture, however, tells us it is those who would give up their lives for His sake would find eternal life (Matthew 16:24–25; Mark 8:34–35), that the whole life of the Christian as a dying to self and living for and in Him who died for us (Galatians 2:20), and that if we want to be Jesus’ disciples we must DIE to self (Luke 14:27). Dear friends, these passages teach the exact opposite of searching for some personal ‘divine destiny’!

Sadly, the ‘divine destiny’ lie might be the most dangerous cancer eating away at today’s church. And it’s really not a new teaching at all. I think the journey to where we are now on began over 15 years ago with a book by a portly West Coast Pastor that was about finding your unique purpose in the world. That book began by saying “It’s not all about you,” but then talked ALL about you for the rest of the book! The mantra for much of American evangelicalism.

So what’s Romans 8:28-30 really about? I’m so glad you asked! Let’s look at it again.

“28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Rom 8:28 – 30, ESV)

These passages are about God’s eternal purpose, NOT our temporal destinies! And anyone who teaches or preaches this dream destiny lie turns God’s eternal purpose on its head and has tricked thousands, if not millions of professing believers into dedicating their lives as Christians to pursuing their earthly ‘destinies’, and remaining trapped in this world, even as they are already citizens of a heavenly Kingdom and recipients of countless heavenly blessings!

Pray for all those who have been deceived. Prey also for Joel Osteen and all prosperity gospel preachers. They WILL be held accountable.

California Wildfires and Bethel’s ‘Miracle Workers’

Posted by Dan C. on

The catastrophic fires raging in California have resulted in Christians all over the world to pray for God’s sovereign intervention and protection for everyone affected, both victims and responders.

An article at Pulpit & Pen had this to say concerning the California wildfires and the leader of Beth, Redding, Bill Johnson:

Bill Johnson, the leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California, claims that God has given complete power regarding what happens on Earth to man. Charismatics, like Johnson – especially those who teach Word-Faith theology, believe that they can exercise control over disease, sickness, and even weather. Bethel Church is the leading proponent of “teaching the miraculous” in the world. With the Carr fire consuming land near their headquarters and in their home county and outskirts of the city, Bethel leaders and members have been decreeing and declaring their power over the fire, calling down rain and demanding that wind stop. Unsurprisingly, their ability to control that which is controlled by God alone has proven futile, and 25 Bethel leaders have lost homes in the fire.

Bill Johnson has even told his congregation/followers that God is in charge, but not in control:

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The article continues:

The Bible likens prophets and supposed miracle-workers who claim to perform feats that they cannot and false teachers as being like “clouds without water,” an analogy that is fitting as Bethel pastors call down rain that doesn’t come.

They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted – Jude 1:12

The proven track record of being incapable of performing miracles did not stop Bethel Church from crying out to the weather, like Jesus in places like Mark 4:35-41. The Internet has abounded with examples of misled charismatics feeling they control the weather. While we all should rightly understand that God both controls the weather and does answer prayers, it is different than individuals claiming authority over the wind and tempests under the assumption that they are little gods.

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Obviously, the decrees and declarations have not worked. Several homes of Bethel staffers have been destroyed, as well as the homes of dozens of members.

Certainly, God can bring beauty out of the ashes. Some at Bethel are predicting and hoping for a great move of God, the likes of which have never been seen. Such revival would indeed be a wonderful thing.

What we have not seen are articles expressing doubt concerning the validity of Bethel teachings concerning the miraculous and how believers are supposed to operate in the ‘supernatural’ as a normal part of their Christian walk. How will this effect the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM)?

One might think that the failure of all the decreeing & declaring that the wind and fire cease would cause a bit of reflection on the part of those attending BSSM, as well as those trying to get up enough money to attend and become miracle workers. Perhaps some will be driven to really study their Bibles and come to realize they have been hoodwinked into drinking the poisonous Kool-Aid served up regularly by Bill Johnson and the other leaders at Bethel. One can only hope and pray. Time will tell.

In the meantime, continue to pray for the situation in California, all those affected by the fires, all of the first responders and firefighters. Pray also that God would remove a great cancer from the professing church, as the true children of God who have been deceived by all that is Bethel (including the Pied Piper that is Jesus Culture) are awakened by the Holy Spirit and flee from the flames of heresy.

The ‘Breakthrough’ Gospel?

Posted by Dan C. on

Is there a new ‘gospel’ on the street? Listening to much of evangelical Protestantism one might think so. ‘Breakthrough’ teaching/preaching is all the rage these days, and has been for a couple of years now. But is it new? This blogger would give you an emphatic “NO!” answer. It’s been around for decades, first in a relatively small charismatic/Pentecostal sector of Christianity but now all over the evangelical landscape.

This post mentions a specific ministry only because this ministry promotes the ‘breakthrough’ gospel. There are many more ministries teaching the same thing as this one does. I won’t give you a list of the others – it’s too long and would distract from the purpose of this post – to inform the reader and promote further individual Berean style research.

Read on. . . .

While on Facebook the other day I received a “Suggested Post” from Nina Keegan Ministries that said this:

“IT’S TIME FOR A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH! GOD IS AT WORK.. WATCH NOW AND LEARN MORE… GOD BLESS YOU!”

As I am prone to do, especially with the veritable plethora of ‘Christian’ posts promoting what can rightly be called the “Breakthrough Gospel”, I went all ‘Columbo’ (think short cigar smoking detective in a rumpled trench coat), and asked a question even before listening to the podcast:

Me:

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Nina Keegan Ministries reply:

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I found the above response to my question very interesting because neither passage teaches receiving personal ‘breakthroughs’, however I suppose you can superimpose that thought over the text (this is called eisegesis), and itching ears will perk up and applauding comments abound.

In our 1 John passage, John is stating the purpose of his writing ‘that we may know we have eternal life (the believer’s assurance). He then counsels his readers that if they pray ‘according to God’s will’ God will respond.

Proverbs 16 is a collection of moral, ethical and spiritual precepts, one of which tells us simply that when we are committed to the Lord and doing his will, our thoughts and plans will find success.

There is nothing in either passage that promises personal breakthroughs in every area of our lives. We are promised a measure of God given success in our endeavors when we are committed to his will and ask according to his will, not our desires.

Then I listened to the podcast and it was even more interesting. The above passages were not even mentioned in the podcast! Here’s the gist of the podcast’s teaching:

That ‘Jesus IS the ‘breakthrough’ was made clear from the beginning of the podcast, in those exact words. I have no issue with that statement, but we need to know what ‘breakthrough’ means. The ladies are quick to tell us:

 According to the Nina and Michelle, it can mean addictions, finances, jobs, relationships – whatever you can think of. Your experiences are ‘proof’? They provided lots of experiences.

If we need a breakthrough, we need only pray the promise then declare and decree it into existence. According to the ladies, that’s what God wants us to do. On our way to receiving the breakthrough concerning the aforementioned addictions, finances, jobs, relationships, etc., we also need to break free from any bad thoughts, or a ‘slave mentality’ like the Israelites had as a result of their bondage in Egypt. It’s only when you are free from a slave mentality that you can declare and decree in faith.

Passages taken out of context:

Php 4:13  I can do all things through him who strengthens me (achieve a desired breakthrough).

That was Paul speaking to the Christians at Philippi, reminding them he had learned to be content in any situation, during hard times and good times. It’s NOT about obtaining personal breakthroughs, as implied by these ladies.

The ladies also trotted out Proverbs 29:18 “Without a vision, the people perish.” quoting the first half a KJV passage that actually says : “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

The ESV, and other translations render it more understandable to our non-KJV minds:

Pro 29:18  Where there is no ‘prophetic’ vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

In other words, where God’s prophets aren’t among God’s people to remind them of the law, they tend to sin more. This passage has absolutely NOTHING to do with needing to have a vision of the ‘breakthroughs’ we desire in order to see them realized!

And of course, according to the ladies, God will supply everything you need for your breakthrough. But you need to also ask yourself “What has God said you are going to do and you haven’t done it?” This seemed to be about small steps God is telling you to climb on the way to your big breakthrough.

That brings us to their real reason we should all be experiencing breakthroughs in our lives………..wait for it………. Are you ready?

Jesus went to the Cross, and gave up his life for OUR breakthroughs! That’s right! It’s right there in Isaiah 53, and here’s the ‘irrefutable’ logic:

1. Jesus received 39 stripes/lashes.

2. There are 39 major diseases/disease categories.

3. Physical healing is therefore available for every believer as part of the atonement.

4. Since we need all sorts of healing (from addictions, poor finances, bad jobs, bad relationships, etc.), our breakthroughs were ALSO part of the atonement!

First of all, the 39 stripes = 39 diseases theory has no basis in scripture, although it’s been trotted out for years to prove we could have perpetual divine health in this life. In fact, we are not told in scripture how many lashes Jesus received. We can surmise that it was either 39 or 40 because 40 was the maximum allowed by Roman law. Sometimes the counting stopped at 39 to make sure the law was not broken due to miscounting.

Furthermore, that there are 39 major diseases/disease categories has no basis in science other than a single mention in an AMA journal by one doctor. I was able (with the help of Goggle) to find estimates of 10, 17, and 22 disease categories, with 22 being preeminent in medical journals.

So let’s take a look at the passage in Isaiah that tells us “by his stripes we are healed”:

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5 (NKJV)

The obvious referent for the ‘stripes’ mentioned at the end of the passage is ‘our transgressions’, or sins. Physical healing and personal breakthroughs are NOT reasons Christ died.

As the Apostle Paul stated:

“3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures…” (emphasis mine).

Physical healing from all diseases in this life was never part of the atonement, and neither are personal ‘breakthroughs’. The teaching that they are is pure poppycock, balderdash, rubbish (take your pick).

The ladies concluded their podcast by declaring and decreeing breakthroughs for everyone watching, no matter what the need. The comments section was full of ‘Amens’ from those whose itching ears were satisfactorily scratched. If they decreed it for you and it doesn’t happen it’s your fault h for not having a vision, not taking the little steps God is telling you to take, or for not declaring decreeing it yourself, with sufficient faith of course. This is classic Word of Faith heresy.

So what? What’s wrong with people feeling good about the possibility of ‘breaking through’ – of having hope for the future? Nothing at all, unless of course it’s false hope.

I wonder how many have believed for their breakthroughs, decreeing and declaring until they were blue in the face, never saw them realized and gave up on their faith. How many have thought their personal desires were also God’s specific desire their lives? No doubt, some are, and some are legitimate needs. Some are nothing more than wants.

Are we to ignore the examples in scripture that seem to tell us we don’t always get what we want? Paul and his thorn in the flesh comes to mind. He prayed three times to have it removed but God taught him that His grace is sufficient.

At the end of the day, Christ’s death was all about our sin. If we experience blessing in our lives as a result of believing in Christ for forgiveness of our sin, it’s an outcome. The ‘breakthrough’ gospel is NO gospel at all. The same Apostle that clearly defined the gospel also had something rather harsh concerning those who would preach a different gospel:

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8 (Paul)

Perhaps someone you know has been enticed by this ‘breakthrough’ gospel that has flooded evangelicalism. Perhaps you have at one time, maybe under another name. I know I did. Let this post be an encouragement to you and if it is, pass it on.

I rest my case. . . .

Eight Symptoms of False Teaching – J.C. Ryle

Posted by Dan C. on

False-Prophets-in-the-Bible-Wolf-in-Sheeps-Clothing

Over 100years ago, J.C. Ryle shared a similar list that focused on symptoms of false teaching that still has tremendous relevance for the church today.

Here are Bishop J.C. Ryle’s 8 symptoms of false teaching:

1. There is an undeniable zeal in some teachers of error–their “earnestness” makes many people think they must be right.

2. There is a great appearance of learning and theological knowledge–many think that such clever and intellectual men must surely be safe to listen to.

3. There is a general tendency to completely free and independent thinking today–many like to prove their independence of judgment by believing the newest ideas, which are nothing but novelties.

4. There is a wide-spread desire to appear kind, loving, and open-minded–many seem half-ashamed to say that anybody can be wrong or is a false teacher.

5. There is always a portion of half-truth taught by modern false teachers–they are always using scriptural words and phrases, but with unscriptural meaning.

6. There is a public craving for a more sensational and entertaining worship–people are impatient with the more inward and invisible work of God within the hearts of men.

7. There is a superficial readiness all around to believe anyone who talks cleverly, lovingly and earnestly, forgetting that Satan often masquerades himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).

8. There is a wide-spread ignorance among professing Christians–every heretic who speaks well is surely believed, and anyone who doubts him is called narrow-minded and unloving.

All these are especially symptoms of our times. I challenge any honest and observant person to deny them. These tend to make the assaults of false doctrine today especially dangerous and make it even more important to say loudly, “Do not be carried away with strange doctrine!”

Source: UnlockingTheBible.org

Repackaged Lies – ‘Christian’ Meditation, Part II

Posted by Dan C. on

As I promised in Part I, this post will contain the transcript of the audio from Introductory Session1, which was 10 minutes long.

Before the text, you need to know about the background audio, which was continuous throughout. I’ll try and describe it for you. There were essentially three parts to the audio.

  • A low-pitched tone in the background was constantly ‘humming’. Sometimes you couldn’t really notice it because the other two parts were often louder I heard the same tone in the background of worship music in the chapel we attend; that is until the then lead Chaplain moved on and took his synthesizer playing son with him.
  • A set of higher tones with a lot of ups and downs; sort of a melody, but not a real melody. Something you might hear in a lot of ‘New Age’ music.
  • A constant breeze, or wind dominated the background and was the most ‘important’ of the three parts. I think it was symbolize the ‘breath of God’. Think of the ‘Holy Spirit’.

These tips for success are offered:

1. The meditations are quick and easy, but they do require a commitment. Our most successful beginners set aside 10 minutes/day

2. It’s best that you meditate at the same time and place if possible.

3. Find a place that you won’t easily get interrupted for 10-15 minutes and somewhere you can relax in a chair.

4. Do the meditations with headphones if you have them. Noise cancelling are great, but you can just use the ear buds that come with your phone or iPod.  But remember: It’s better to do it, than to not do it!

As promised, here is the speaker. (I might toss in a few short comments that look like this.)

He begins:

“Welcome to Meditate On Christ, Day 1. Over the next seven days you’re going to begin a meditative journey that’s both easy and powerful. All we’re going to do is follow the example of Jesus and withdraw from our daily life to pray and meditate for a few minutes a day.”

(Did Christ really practice this sort of meditation?)

“If you haven’t been able to consistently pray and meditate before, don’t worry. I’ll walk you through it, step by step. As we begin, take a moment to get comfortable in your chair. It’s a good time to quiet the body in preparation for meditation. It’s nice to use a posture that won’t cause any discomfort or distraction in the next little while. So uncross your arms and legs, and rest your hands in your lap, with your feet on the floor. If you haven’t already, you can close your eyes. Just begin by giving in to God right now.”

He offers this prayer:

“Father, we thank you for this time we can take from the business of our lives to acknowledge you. Amen”

He then speaks to you as you learn to meditate:

“Know that you are in his hands and that you are completely safe right now. Release all of your cares and worries and concerns and attention to him, because he cares for you. This is your time with the almighty God, so take it, relax into it, enjoy it.”

(There’s the mention of God! It must be a good thing)

The meditation exercises:

“In the next few moments take a few breathes with me, loud enough that someone nearby could hear you. With each breath remember that it is God himself who gives us our breath. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God. God is present with us and one way that we will remember this is to ‘notice our breath’.

(You’ll hear a LOT about your breath from here on out.)

“Let’s try it now. Breathe in then breathe out slowly. Notice how the body relaxes as you breath out.”

. . .Try it again. . .

. . .One last time. . .

Remember that you can do this anytime of the day and you can experience his presence when you remember he gives you each and every breath.”

(Did you catch it…’experience’ his presence?)

“Let your breathing return to normal and notice that God is with you right now. Whether or not you are consciously aware of it, you don’t have to do anything or feel anything or make anything up. The Bible teaches us that God is always present with us

He is here, right now. He is present in the space around you filling this room, this area. He is here, flooding into your life

If it’s helpful, you can imagine his presence like a color filling in every space in the vicinity; or like breathable water filling up the room, covering you and everything around you.

He is here…he is here.”

(And there I thought God lives IN us through the Holy Spirit…who knew?)

You can talk to God:

“I’m grateful for your presence here with me. Thank you, God, that you have never abandoned me and that all I need o do is recognize that you are here with me. All I need to do is turn my attention to you. So often my attention is distracted by the things around me; by my own worries, concerns, thoughts, and even by fun, entertainment, or work. Yet through all these things you are with me.”

(Is this where we empty our minds, like good little Hindus?)

Our instruction continues:

“Take a few moments now to notice that God is with you in every moment of your life, including this one.”

(Are we ever going to ‘notice’ anything from scripture?)

“As thoughts or distractions come into your mind right now, don’t try and ignore them, or to suppress them, or to anything at all about them. Simple let them be. They will pass away as you turn your attention to God’s presence with you again.

And don’t be discouraged or frustrated, as it’s completely normal to have thoughts continually bubbling up, especially when you begin to focus on God’s presence.”

(Nope. “God” is mentioned, but no actual Bible verses. . .yet)

In case it’s hard to get those distracting thought out of your head:

“If it’s helpful, you can always return to ‘noticing your breath’. There is no need to breathe differently or change your breath; simple ‘notice it’. ‘Notice’ how regular it is or how one breath differs from the last. And as you do, remember that it’s a gift from God.”

(Who knew breathing could be so fascinating?)

. . .Just tones for about 10 seconds. . .

“As you continue breathing you may notice that different thoughts come up, but as before, don’t worry about them. As soon as you recognize that you have been distracted just go back to ‘noticing your breath’.

Notice the breath of God in your life and you gratefulness for that breath.

. . .Just tones for another 10 seconds. . .

The grand finale:

“As we come to the end of this session, allow yourself to lowly come back into the rest of your senses. As you gently open your eyes. Remember that all it takes in any given moment today to remember that God is with you, is to ‘notice it’.

From time to time, try briefly turning your attention to God throughout the day and simply ‘notice’ what effect that has.

(‘Notice’ enough yet?)

“That’s all for today, God be with you, Amen”

______________

So that was the first session. Day 2 was pretty much a regurgitation of Day 1 (I listened to it), with pauses for ‘just tones’ that were a bit longer. That, and they added imagining the room being filled with smoke (like in the OT presence of God before the Israelites). You are encouraged to ‘feel’ the smoke in your nostrils. And of course, lots more ‘noticing’ of this and that.

Now you tell me, is there ANYTHING “Christian” about all that?