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NOTE: This article isn’t about whether the sign gifts are still in operation today, or if they ceased after the first century. That’s a separate discussion. My focus is on the context and meaning of a specific passage of Scripture that has been misinterpreted and erroneously applied. ~ SM
“Greater” Works Than These? 
By Steven Mark
The context in which Yeshua-Jesus was teaching in John 14:12 was referring to the “quantity” of the works His followers would do after His departure — not the “Quality” of the works. The rest of the verse explains why: “Because I go to My Father.”
In other words, when Yeshua returned to His rightful place in Heaven, He would send the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers, to lead and guide them, and to remind them of the truth He had taught them. The Gospel would no longer be limited to the Jewish people within the borders of Israel, but would now be preached throughout the entire world.
To reiterate, when Yeshua was speaking of “greater” works, He meant quantitatively — not Qualitatively.
And when the topic of “greater” works comes up, I don’t pounce on the person who said it and immediately present the context in which Yeshua was speaking. There’s a much simpler way to respond, and it prompts the person to think about what they’re saying, which is always a good thing. I simply ask them, “What greater works has anyone ever done that were ‘greater’ than the works and miracles Yeshua did?” (I’ve asked that question numerous times over the past 30 years and have yet to receive a reasonable answer.)
It’s also important to point out that people who claimed to know Yeshua did perform miracles in His name, but Yeshua told them He didn’t know them, to depart from Him, and called them workers of iniquity (i.e., those who “practice Lawlessness” and live contrary to His teachings.
(Matthew 7:21-29)
Regardless of which theological position you adhere to, one thing that all true followers of Jesus should agree on is that while the gifts of the spirit will eventually fade away, the Fruit of the Spirit will abide forever. And if authentically born again followers of Yeshua were producing the “Fruit of the Spirit” in their lives, the “gifts” would flow naturally and wouldn’t be a divisive issue in the Body.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self-control.
Those attributes lift up and build up one another without drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves.
Someone who manifests the fruit of the Spirit may also have spiritual gifts; but if the spiritual gifts aren’t accompanied by genuine fruit, we should stop and evaluate what’s being produced.
Most importantly, the gifts should always be used in humility before the Lord. (Something that is sorely lacking in the people I know who claim to speak in tongues, prophesy, have the gift of healing or any of the other gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 & 14.)
Theologically speaking, the Pentecostal and Charismatic
movements produce a lot of emotional heat, but very little light. And the gift that is most essential for the Church at large — the one that would produce unity instead of division — is the gift of DISCERNMENT.
Subjective feelings, experiences and personal anecdotes by definition are just that — subjective and experiential. And if personal experiences are contrary to, or go beyond the clear teachings of Scripture (which they often do), they should be rejected.
From a Messianic Jewish perspective, the “signs and wonders” during Shavuot/Pentecost in the first century had a dual purpose. It was a reversal of the curse at Babel; and the fulfillment of God’s promise to write His Law on circumcised hearts. (Ref. Deuteronomy 10:16, and 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4, 9:25-26, and 31:31-34; Ezekiel 11:19-20, and 36:24-27)
The parallels between the first Shavuot at Sinai, and the Shavuot of fulfillment in Jerusalem should not be missed. (Compare Exodus 20:18-21 and 32:28-29, to Acts 2:1-41*)
In a nutshell, God is glorified when we allow Him to produce the Fruit of His Spirit in the lives of His people. That’s a sign and a wonder that no one can deny or refute, and it produces unity — not discord and division.
Unfortunately, there’s a very disturbing movement that has grown exponentially in the past few years that has caused extreme discord and division in the Body of Messiah, and I would be remiss if I failed to mention it. There are influential pastors and teachers who would have us believe that the gifts of the Spirit can be procured by anyone who professes to be a follower of Jesus — as long as they’re willing to pay money to attend their ”School of Supernatural Ministry” in Redding, California; where their ”annointed” instructors claim to be able to teach spiritual techniques that can allegedly train people to prophesy; to heal people of infirmities and diseases, and a host of totally bazaar practices that have no precedent in Scripture whatsoever, and are in fact extremely deceptive and dangerous.
There is, however, a passage of Scripture that addresses something eerily similar to what I’m referring to, so I’ll let the Word speak for itself, and you can draw your own conclusions.
“But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.
A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great. Everyone, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as “the Great One—the Power of God.” They listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic.
But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power. “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”
But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”
“Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!”
(Acts 8:4-24)
Being a musician and an apologist, I’ll leave you with an analogy most people could relate to.
If you’ve been listening to one of your favorite songs for many years without realizing it wasn’t the original version — and then someone comes along and plays the original version by the person who wrote it, it might sound very different to you, because you’ve grown accustomed to the version your ears are used to hearing. You might not even like the original version because it lacks some of the embellishments you associate with the song.
That’s often how it is with Bible teachers who teach false doctrines. You’ve become accustomed to their interpretation of Scripture, which is often far removed from sound, Biblical theology. But you like that particular pastor and teacher, and when you hear someone else teaching sound theology that contradicts what you’ve been taught, it sounds strange to you. You might even become angry and defensive and reject sound doctrine simply because you’ve been taught something else, it’s what you’re used to, and that’s what you prefer.
But that’s a very dangerous position to take, and is clearly in opposition to what the Bible teaches concerning how we should respond to false teachings and the people who promote them.
We are admonished to avoid them and expose them. (Romans 16:17:18; Philippians 3:17-19; 2 Timothy 2:15-18; Titus 3:10-11, 2 Peter 2:1-3)
There is certainly a difference between how we’re to approach primary, essential doctrines; and secondary, peripheral doctrines. The former should always be protected and defended; the latter should be allowed more latitude, and oftentimes aren’t worth arguing or fighting over.
Concerning aberrant teachings, heterodox teachings, heretical teachings, and outright blasphemous teachings (which, tragically, are more prevalent than you might think), we should make every attempt to correct those teachers in the hope that they will see the error in their teaching and publicly renounce it. That’s the Biblical model we are to follow, regardless of how nice the teacher is or how much you may like them personally.
“Let God be true, and every man a liar.” (Romans 3:4)
© 2021 Steven Mark
BSSM Evangelism – Activating The Senses & Strange Spirits.
By Rick Becker 15 November 2018
The Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry relies on subjective and unbiblical practices to “evangelize” the lost. Sadly, it’s a case of the blind leading the blind. One of the resources from the BSSM is a list of “activations” for evangelism. The fact that this resource even exists and that the “activations” are believed and practiced by thousands, is an indictment on the state of churches in the New Apostolic Reformation. When “evangelism” is based on assumptions, imaginations, and doctrines of demons, it has ceased to be evangelical. When supernatural gifts can be taught, they are no longer supernatural. In this article, we examine the BSSM “activations.”
If you believe what the scriptures teach, then you will know that the BSSM “evangelism activations” should be rejected outright as pure heresy.
Introduction to the seven activations taught by the BSSM School Planting Team:
BSSM: “BEFORE YOU START – Teach your students what to be aware of before they interact with people. Have them assess how are they feeling physically, emotionally, and spiritually before entering a room full of people. When they are aware of how they are feeling before interacting with people, they can be aware of when they feel the Holy Spirit moving.”
At the outset, the focus is already on self, and the subjective world of feelings.Christianity by nature is faith based, not feeling based. The Holy Spirit dwells in all believers regardless of how we feel. Can you think of a passage of scripture that instructs us to be aware of how we feel, in order to feel the Holy Spirit moving?
The task of any evangelist is to preach the gospel, regardless of how they are feeling. The power lies not in us or our ability to feel the Holy Spirit moving, but in the gospel – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16
BSSM: “Loving people well is the number one priority when participating in evangelism or outreaches. Remember, it’s not about keeping score and seeing who can
release the most healings. People will remember how you made them feel long after they remember what you did for them. Teach them what real success looks like. While someone being healed or miracles happening are great outcomes, others feeling the love of the Father through your students is real success.”
Once again, feelings are a determining factor in Bethel’s estimation. Evangelism is about spreading the gospel, not making people feel good about themselves. When an unbeliever is confronted with truth in the form of the law and the gospel, they should first of all feel the anguish of being separated from God due to their sins. There is no “good news” unless we acknowledge the bad. A successful evangelistic outreach should be measured by salvations, not healings or feelings. When I say “salvations,” I mean people who have been born again, not people who have been enticed to recite the sinners prayer or “begin a relationship” with Jesus. A great example of evangelism, is Peter’s first sermon on the day of Pentecost:
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus,delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”
Acts 2:22-23
Accusing the crowd of being complicit in the death of Christ is about as far as one could get from a seeker friendly approach to evangelism. Peter was not interested in catering to the felt needs of the crowd, but in proclaiming the truth. What’s interesting about this passage is that some who had witnessed the miracles of Christ, still wanted him crucified. There goes Bill Johnson’s theory that signs and wonders are essential in evangelism. Jesus knew that miracles could capture minds, but not hearts: “ Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people” John 2:23-24
Peter continues:
Finish article HERE
A good article by Rick Becker from
You probably have friends and family caught up in New Apostolic Reformation churches (Bethel, Hillsong etc) and you have found it extremely difficult to persuade them they are being deceived. You may have been accused of having a critical spirit, of being divisive, judgemental, or of being a heresy hunter when warning them of the false doctrines in this movement. Why is it so difficult for those caught up in the New Apostolic Reformation, word of faith and prosperity gospel movements (NAR & CO) to break free?
These movements have characteristics similar to cults, making it almost equally difficult to come out from their grip and deception. There are reasons why it is so difficult for people to escape from these movements and churches that teach false doctrine. Firstly, we will look at some secondary reasons, and then note the two primary reasons why people struggle to break free from this deception.
1 A new priesthood has been established within the NAR & CO. When the likes of Patricia King, Kris Vallotton or Bill Johnson claim to have a revelation for the body of Christ, a new strategy etc, who are you to question when God does not speak to you on such an intimate basis? Like any cult leader, they claim to have special knowledge, immediately placing them on a level that is admired by their followers. Leaders claim to have taken trips to heaven, talked with angels, received new downloads and impartations from an open heaven. Their so called ability to receive new revelation has elevated them above their followers, in clear contradiction of 1 John 2:27: “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.” There is no difference between the manipulative priests and Popes of the Roman Catholic Church and this new breed of apostles, prophets and pastors. They interpret scripture on our behalf, and through eisegesis twist the scriptures to promote their false doctrines. They are rarely challenged by their own followers, and point two reveals why.
2 Submission induced through an unhealthy fear keeps followers in their place.
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An article from:
Anthony Wood on September 14, 2017
Calling today’s world to God’s timeless truth…
I’ve some friends who know the “signs and wonders” movement pretty well. We’ve seen the backstage planning of a “miracle” crusade, the selection of those to be healed, the bravado in the green rooms, the falsified twitter feeds, the manipulation of youthful naïveté, and even the post event cash-money exchanges behind hotel doors in some destitute third world nation… smoke and mirrors… all of it.
So, it poses the question, is this form of miracle-manipulation part of biblical history? Well, Acts 8 indicates it was:
When Simon saw how the Spirit was given through the apostles’ laying their hands upon people he offered them money with the words, “Give me this power too, so that if I were to put my hands on anyone he could receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “To hell with you and your money! How dare you think you could buy the gift of God! You can have no share or place in this ministry, for your heart is not honest before God. All you can do now is to repent of this wickedness of yours and pray earnestly to God that the evil intention of your heart may be forgiven. For I can see inside you, and I see a man bitter with jealousy and bound with his own sin! [Acts 8:18-23]
Once we realize miracle manipulation was part of biblical history a subsequent question asks if extra biblical revelation and miracle manipulation was part of church history? Again the answer is affirmative. Miracle manipulation has always been around. In fact, dating back to A.D. 156 one can research the assault on orthodox Christianity by a charlatan named Montanus. Montanus came from Asia Minor along with two “prophetesses” named Prisca and Maximilla. His sect of followers insisted that opposition to their versions of prophecy was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and caused many churches to split. Sound familiar?
Finish HERE
Unholy Signs & Cash Flows
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| Bethel’s example of Church working with Corporate and State |
By Pastor Rod Page
“I dedicate this book to my children’s children’s children’s children. Though we will not meet until we get to heaven, I wanted you to know that I had you in mind as I wrote every word of this book, and I continue to hold you in my heart. You will become the answer to my prayers and the fulfillment of my prophecies. By the time you read this book, I will be watching you from heaven (see Hebrews 12: 1).”[1]
This quotation above is the opening dedication to Kris Vallotton’s upgraded book called Heavy Rain. Its former title was How Heaven Invades Earth. At the outset it sounds like a way to soften, or even spiritualize, the more militant sounding “invade” language in his book from six years ago. I believe this change is part of a new effort to say the same thing in a more sophisticated, and yet more palatable, way in order to attract a wider audience.
In this day and age where everything is seen from a marketing standpoint, as far as publishers and agents and business in general, it is no surprise that this would happen from within the headquarters of a now worldwide movement—Bethel Church in Redding, California.
I am writing this from Redding as it is the closest city to where we live for groceries and doctors. It is also where I lived for several years. It’s a pretty typical town in most aspects, with a Costco and an old converted theater downtown, and a mix of working people and retired folks looking for the sun…. It is even sunnier in Redding than Phoenix!
But Redding is actually quite special in regard to what is happening in Christendom. A phenomenon has grown up here. There is something almost “magical” about the effect that Bethel has had on this community. The city has fallen in love with this “church”. Is this even possible in our day of hysteria over “separation of church and state”? It is not separate in Redding. Bethel bailed out the Civic Auditorium and is running it well from all indications. Bethel is also becoming a major property owner. They have bought and improved several commercial properties and hope to increase their School of Supernatural Ministry to 3000 students in the next few years. (It is currently around 1400.) They want to build a museum of revival in Americana and have spent around $40,000 to purchase one man’s memorabilia collection of articles from major “moves of God” going back into the 1950s.
Bethel is growing while the city of Redding has endured a decline in many facets. Crime is up. The housing market is flat at best. Homelessness is rampant. But Bethel is doing really well. I believe they know why. I think they have discovered a secret to moving forward at this time in their history. Before I get back to this subject let met tell you why I am writing this report.
| The Bethel “cash flow” agenda, cited HERE |
Why I Write
Before becoming a full time pastor in 2011 I spent over 30 years being a regular Christian, with a regular secular job, raising a family with my wife of 37 years. Before we moved to Redding we attended a church for 10 years beginning in 1994 in Yuba City, California. We noticed after almost 7 years in that church that the teaching was changing. We heard things that shocked us, but because of intense loyalty to the leadership we tried to justify things we should have checked out immediately. We were told that spiritual warfare was calling out demons by name and defeating them in the atmosphere, and thus allowing our city to have a mass revival. We were told it was always God’s will for us to be physically well. We were told our children were a chosen seed to bring in the great harvest of all time—that they would do miracles greater than Jesus or the Apostles. These things came in slowly, like a steady drip. We were told that Christians have demons that need to be cast out. We were to go on “prayer walks” that would run the devil out of neighborhoods and out of families as we took dominion over our city.
The problem is it didn’t work, and we could not find a good Biblical reason to swallow all of this new teaching. Young people would go to the church’s new “discipleship” school and come out on the other end bewildered by a lack of power, not blaming the leaders who taught them but God, who they thought did not keep up His end of the bargain. We looked at our Bibles and saw texts that were clearly meant for the next world being brought into ours, with no concept for context or proper Biblical interpretation.
It took us almost 3 years to realize we needed to get back to the Bible. Then we found the Discernment Ministries’ Herescope blog (www.herescope.net). God led us to this small cadre of folks who had been writing for years about different new teachings, that were really old things wrapped up in new and upgraded lingo. As Solomon says, there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9).
Then, because of a job, and a ministry opportunity to take what we were finding about Satan’s schemes and warn younger believers, we moved to Redding to start a new job and work with a couple we thought truly were wanting to warn others. Sadly, within a year we found out we were not on the same page with the very people we were supposed to serve with. Shortly after this we began to attend a church where the Bible was taught verse by verse. God put us away in His waiting room where we could get our thoughts and hearts in line with His precious Word.
We began to serve the Lord in humble but useful ways. We helped clean the church each week, emptying waste cans and vacuuming the carpet. Later we taught Sunday School. We truly had many glorious times with our 4th grade class teaching through the entire Bible line upon line. Eventually I was asked to teach in place of the pastor when he was out of town. We were asked to shepherd a part of the congregation and had a “home group” of over 40 people in our home each month. What I found in those days was that God is gracious. When we seek Him and His ways for His glory, He provides all we need. His Word has the answers we need to communicate. We don’t need to make up anything fancy to attract attention to it.
I had heard the Lord calling me to ministry when I was 12 years old. I had, because of fear, chosen not to follow His call for many years. Finally at 50 years of age I answered that call. I began to seek the Lord, and asked others to pray with me about going into full time work. I assumed it would be in a ministry to young people, as that was the reason I moved to Redding. I wanted to warn them of what the enemy was trying to do, both within the church and without it. After another year of waiting, just when I began to give up, an opportunity came as the Lord opened up a door for ministry. I have been serving as pastor at a small community church in Lewiston, California, ever since. I live within 35 miles of Redding in the mountains. God is gracious indeed. It is the hardest, and yet most fulfilling job, I have ever had.
But Bethel is still a thorn. I suppose it reminds me of what happened to us in Yuba City. But it is far worse. It is a leader, a worldwide and dominant leader, in a movement rife with error. This is grievous to me personally because it goes after, and actually targets, young people in a huge way. This is why I write. These young people (and old people, too) are precious to our Savior. This movement is swallowing them in ways I never could have imagined even 6 years ago when I lived within a mile of Bethel Church. This church is more sophisticated and more “excellent” in an alarming way.
Finish Article HERE
What Are Bill Johnson’s Heresies?
In the past few weeks, Bill Johnson has been the center of a lot of controversy. With Montanist apologists like Michael Brown defending his errors and whitewashing his heresies and others falling prey to his exploitation, the fact that he is a heretic at all is being questioned. Bill Johnson seriously needs to be tested against the Scripture.
Kenosis
The Kenosis heresy teaches that Jesus set aside His divinity while on Earth. According to this doctrine, Jesus was no longer divine from His birth to His ascension. Bill Johnson has promoted this heresy in Face to Face with God on page 108. He said,
“Jesus set aside His divinity, choosing instead to live as a man completely dependent on God.”
Truth is, if Jesus set aside His divinity and became a man, Jesus would have been nothing more than a man. This is not the only time that Johnson promoted Kenosis. In chapter 7 of When Heaven Meets Earth, Johnson claimed,
“[Jesus] laid His divinity aside as He sought to fulfill the assignment given to Him by the Father.”
To claim that Jesus put His divinity aside while on Earth brings another Gospel. If Jesus was not divine when He died on the Cross, then He would not have been a sufficient sacrifice. In that case His death would be in vain and so would our faith. Instead, Jesus is treated like God while He is on Earth. He received worship (John 20:28, Matthew 2:2, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 28:9), claimed to be God (John 5:18, John 8:24, John 8:58), and did things only God could do all while on Earth (Matthew 9:2, Mark 2:5, 1 Peter 2:22).
Osteenism
Johnson has also taught the false gospel of Osteenism, more commonly called the Prosperity Gospel. The Prosperity Gospel teaches that health, wealth, and prosperity are promises of salvation or obedience. In a 2013 article entitled Courage to Leave a Legacy, Johnson wrote,
“Our connection with God is obviously the source of all blessing, prosperity and goodness in our lives. We make our way prosperous through obedience because when we do what He asks us to do, we strengthen our connection with the source of life.”
I would remind Bill that the most obedient person of the Bible was a poor carpenter who was brutally crucified, and someone who was called the greatest person born of a normal birth (Matthew 11:11) was a nomad who lived in the desert, wore camel hair for clothing, ate locusts and honey, and had his head cut off for his obedience.
Throughout the Bible, we see James get beheaded, Stephen get stoned, and the number of people who have gotten sick appear to pile up: Timothy, Epaphroditus, Trophimus, and even possibly Paul himself. However, that does not stop Johnson from saying Jesus died for our physical healing. In an article entitled Is It Always God’s Will to Heal Someone?, Johnson claims,
“When He bore stripes in His body He made a payment for our miracle.”
Retanism
There is another false teaching out there pushed by people such as Kenneth Copeland and Joyce Meyer that teaches that Jesus was born again. I called this teaching “Retanism”, and if it was a civil crime to preach it then Bill Johnson would be found guilty. In one sermon (Which has been reviewed on Chris Rosebrough’s Fighting for the Faith), Johnson can be quoted as saying,
“So [Jesus] was born through Mary, the Virgin, and then he was born again in the resurrection.”
Jesus was not born again because He did not need to be Born Again. He did not have a sinful nature and He, though tempted, did not desire to rebel against God. He was not dead in trespasses and sins, so He did not need to be made alive. However, Bill Johnson says Jesus was born again in many places, including this video, where he asks,
“Did you know that Jesus was born again?”
Finish Article HERE
A good link to other articles
The Theological Errors of Bethel Church and Jesus Culture
By Tony Wood
Source HERE
I am approached often regarding the ministry of Bethel Church in Redding, California (and subsequently, music that outflows through their musicians “Jesus Culture”). For weeks, I’ve prayed about how best to respond, not desiring to present a statement out of context, gossip, assault the true body of Christ, nor give any further attention to a ministry that is frighteningly far from biblical truth. An opportunity presented itself recently when a friend provided me with a Bethel website post “God, Bad, & the Ugly” from Kris Vallotton who is considered, along with Bill Johnson, the chief leader/prophet for the church. Thus, instead of providing thoughts out of context, I will simply provide biblical response to his publicly made statements regarding Bethel’s ministry philosophy.
After reading over his comments, I do not laugh nor mock, but shed tears. It appears that Bethel desperately desires to “mainstream” their church but cannot synthesize Scripture with their ministry. Their words display a desire to be spiritual but it is quite apparent they have no systematic interpretation process for the Scriptures they attempt to use. Thus, not only are the positions false, they are theologically immature. This is sad for the leaders and their families, but much more so, for those that follow such behavior blindly. We cannot call what these men say or do “church”. In it’s best form, it may be considered immature confusion, a youth ministry gone mad. In it’s worse form, it is demonic. And, I pray God enlighten them to truth and call them to repentance. I also recommend that people avoid the church and any platform of media, music or otherwise, that comes from it’s dark center.
Mr Vallotton’s reflections will be found in bold. I’ve noted vital biblical references in blue, and my brief thoughts following. For sake of time, I’ve only highlighted the most evident errors while leaving dozens on the sideline.
CHURCH INVENTIONS
“…a small, yet influential coalition of people has shared negative reports about us. These reports often include words such as “controversial,” “unbalanced,” or even the word “cult” to describe us. To be frank, I can understand why certain religious leaders or unbelievers might view us through these perspectives. We certainly have made our share of mistakes, both as a leadership team and those who follow us. And we have such a high value for freedom and risk that it has created a kind-of research and development culture where people are encouraged to take risks. I think this stems from the fact that we view ourselves much more as pioneers than settlers. Therefore, we celebrate creativity, revelation, invention and innovation above comfort, safety and security.” – Vallotton
Finish article HERE
This testimony reminds me so much of the undeceiving period I went through. I did not want to give up the special revelations that I thought were from God. Years back I began to receive dreams and open visions. I did not know at the time that the anti-depressant the doctor gave me for menopause was the culprit. Then I started receiving “words” because I asked for them. When you open yourself up by any method a lying spirit will gladly accommodate you. Believe me…it created much joy at first and I often wept with happiness. I was soooo spiritually elite. The oppression came later. Had to give it ALL up to be free. It comes at a price. Read Acts 18-19. The people gathered and burned their magic books. I burned all my notes and revelations that I had channeled. There was nothing magic by the action itself of burning these papers, it was the repentance in my mind and life and turning totally away from the seduction.
Source: http://standupforthetruth.com/2013/07/deceiving-signs-and-wonders-corissas-story/
Deceiving signs and wonders: Corissa’s Story
The following is a testimony of one of our listeners, Corissa, who was deeply steeped in the Signs and Wonders movement infecting many churches. She has given us permission to share her story, in hopes that others caught up in this beautiful deception will be willing to consider the spiritual danger that they are in, and be open to investigating this movement for themselves.This, what I am about to share with you is only a small part of that testimony. As you read, consider that everything I am telling you comes from a person who was on the inside, experienced everything, and saw great things. Before you dismiss me as a nay-sayer, you need to know that, despite, what you may think, I know exactly what it is that I am talking about. I experienced it, felt it, heard it, and saw it.
I’ve seen this gold dust. It always happened during “praise and worship.” I remember the first time I was being encouraged to pray for it. I was told to pray for it and receive it, and I opened my eyes to see my hands sparkling as if gold glitter was on them. There was no one walking around sprinkling this stuff on people. It was real! That is why so many are attributing it to God just because it really does happen. The problem is that it is 100% a sign and wonder, but it is not one of God. I experienced this in my quiet time at home, and anywhere I prayed. In fact, I first witnessed this when a girl at my school invited me to youth group. She was holding out her hand, and you could see it just shimmering. I asked her what it was and she said, “You get this when you have Jesus.” Mind you, I was not saved at the time, but the Lord was already drawing me, and apparently Satan was hot on my heels, too.
I can remember seeing an aurora all around me everything time it happened to me. It almost always followed praying a mantra type of prayer. I’ve never seen the kind of gold that you can cash in, but I did experience seeing big chunks of it on my hand. Everyone would walk around in the congregation showing everyone their hands. Everyone had it! It wasn’t until God showed me the truth behind this phenomenon that I began to realize that I was actually in a trance, hence the aurora.
I first witnessed the falsehood of this “sign and wonder” at a youth meeting one night back in 2006/2007. I was not a youth at this time, but was encouraged to come sit in with the youth to discuss topics that were going to be covered. Anyway, so we were on the topic of gold dust. My husband’s curiosity on the subject had peaked and I began to share some of my experiences (which are many), and so the youth pastor’s wife shared hers. Interestingly enough, she held out her hand and told him to look at all the gold dust that covered it. To my surprise, I saw nothing! I told her this, and she insisted that it was there all over. (Now, I know she would not lie about this as I witnessed it being on her hand in the past.) This baffled me for months as to why I could not see it! In fact, I never saw it again. What I didn’t realize is that God was already leading me away from it as I began doubting so many of my experiences and began questioning the sources. I was no longer practicing contemplative type of prayer nor was entering into a presence. Notice that I said presence, not HIS presence. Gold dust is of the devil.
I used to follow the likes of Todd Bentley, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Paul and Jan Crouch, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Marlyn Hickey, Jesse Duplantis, TD Jakes, Crystal Cathedral, Paula White, and so on. How did God get me to see the cold-hard truth? First, He showed me that Joel Osteen was twisting Scripture. That was a hard pill to swallow, but even though, it was bitter tasting in my mouth, I digested it with humility. I then began to question teachers for the first time in all the years that I was saved. Pride was being chiseled away and I was actually becoming teachable!
I found a Christian forum, which God used to show me the truth about the signs and wonders movement also known as the hyper-charismatic movement. I fought it tooth and nail; debated with the Moderators of the forum and was really defensive in the apostasy sub-forum. During this time, my church was holding services which were being influenced by Todd Bentley’s Lakeland Revival. I knew something wasn’t right, but couldn’t put my finger on it. I believe the forum debates had planted seeds in my stubborn heart and I was finally given just enough discernment to detect something very off.
I remember one day, my husband was watching GodTV and Todd Bentley was running his marathon. If I remember correctly, that was all that was on for 24 hours a day. I may be wrong. Anyway, I felt a really familiar and unsettling presence filling the room. I immediately went to the computer room. What was that, and why did I feel the need to leave the room in a hurry? If it was of God, then the presence would not have been so oppressive.
I decided that I would actually research about Todd Bentley. I went back to the Christian forum and dug up the thread where they were discussing the revival. I watched the videos exposing the movement and became convinced that this man was either a con-artist, or he was an escapee from the mental institution. I mean, his idea of healing was to punch, kick and body slam the people he laid hands on. On top of that, he liked to say the word “Bam!” when laying his hands on people as if he had some type of anointing from a fight-happy spirit. Crazy!
One video led to another, and finally, a video exposing the Kundalini practice in Todd Bentley’s “revival.” It was at least 7 to 12 videos long. I sat there for hours with my mouth gaping, wondering what to make of it because the very things that were being exposed were, coincidentally, were what I experienced, accepted, and participated in.
I’ll admit, I didn’t want to believe it at first. I prayed to God. I kicked and screamed and cried, “do I have to give up my precious experiences?” I pleaded with God. I didn’t want to let go, but the truth was cracking the foundation upon which this lie stood on. It took weeks for this all to sink in. I read the Bible more, I sought out teachings, and inside felt like a part of me was dying with each blow of truth. It was like someone picked up a rock and threw it at the mirror which shattered the reflection that I had been staring at. It was all just an illusion.
I was not highly favored, as I had been told. I did not have supernatural abilities. My dreams, as spiritual as they were, are subjective. I was spiritually stunted. I was an idolater who got wooed away from the truth through the lips of those who profess to preach “new revelations.” I got saved in a church built on lies and I was spiritually starved. I had to go back to the milk of the Word. God used this time of despair to show me the truth. I was ripe to receive it and was ready to surrender my experiences for the truth. God opened door after door once I gave up those experiences. They were like carved images that I worshiped. They were my chronicles of truth built on sand!
A wolf in sheep’s clothing is on the move again. Todd Bentley. While he was “preaching” in the past, he was drinking and having an affair. This is not a man of God… he is of the devil, a liar. There is no proof of the claims he makes. A wolf feeds on those who are unsuspecting…wanting to be cared for. Flee from him. Run for your lives. He passes on a false spirit anointing, which is dangerous to your soul if you open up yourself to it.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/287652/-Beware-of-the-tattoo-preacher
Sunday December 4,2011
By James Murray and Adam Smith A TORY MP has warned Britons to be wary of claims made by a Canadian preacher who says he can cure cancer and raise the dead.
Thousands have been flocking to hear tattooed former Hell’s Angel Todd Bentley speak at a church in Cwmbran in South Wales, where he is holding revivalist meetings until Thursday.
Last Thursday night he told his audience he had brought 33 people back from the dead and cured more than 100 deaf mutes of their handicap.
Tory MP David Davies, whose Monmouth constituency covers part of Cwmbran, said: “I go to church and respect Christian beliefs, but I am concerned that some of the claims made by Mr Bentley are far fetched and should be treated cautiously.”
Evangelist Bentley, 35, says he had a “miraculous conversion” which saved him from “youth prisons, drugs, sex, satanic music and bondage”.
He told his audience: “In 13 years of preaching we’ve had 33 stories of resurrections from the dead – 20 of them medically verified.
“Everywhere we go we get testimony from someone who has been close to death, had stage four cancer or some incurable terminal condition and received a miracle.
“There would be nights where 30 people would get out of wheelchairs, incredible miracles, thousands of people would be saved every day.
“I prayed for 139 deaf mutes and we had 139 deaf and mute people hear and speak for the first time.
“Some people say miracles are not possible but for me it’s impossible that someone is not healed.”
After his performance at Two Locks Church, Bentley told the Sunday Express: “When we had people raised from the dead doctors called them resuscitations. They were miraculously resuscitated, the doctors didn’t say they were, because they don’t have the terminology for divine
miracles.
I believe in healing whether I have medical verification or not.”
Bentley, who is in Wales with his second wife Jessa, said: “People get cynical because of my background and my appearance and they have an idea of how they think a minister should look.
“I’ve had a lot of public things in my life, I’ve not been perfect and I haven’t done this perfectly either, but I acknowledge my failures and I use my failures to give people strength and hope because really we are all failures in one sense or another.”
He has claimed he can cure cancer by kicking tumours out of bodies with his biker boots. He said: “It’s not something I do regularly but I do have some stories where I’ve been preaching and the faith will come on me.
“I’ve been in a meeting and a woman has a tumour on her face and I heard a voice inside of me, I knew it was the Lord and he said, ‘Pull it off’.”
People travelled from as far away as Germany and Norway to see Bentley on Thursday. Those with conditions ranging from stomach cancer and heart disease to broken bones and arthritic knees queued to be “healed”.
Lucinda Rodregis, 68, has angina. She said: “I can’t climb the hill near my home because it’s too strenuous, but tomorrow I’m going to try and if I can do that then I’ve been healed.
“But I didn’t come here to be cured I came to see Todd Bentley, I just love what God does through him.”
Bill Johnson’s ‘Born Again’ Jesus, Part II
[It will probably be best to read or review part I before reading this article. In addition, it is important to view The Kingdom of God is at Hand, Part II as this provides more insight into Bill Johnson’s theology and its possible New Age implications. Once again, I’m indebted to all those who’ve assisted. Thank you!]
In part I, we discussed the Christology of Bill Johnson based on his words from a portion of his sermon series titled Jesus Is Our Model as well as quotes from other sources. In part II, we will look further into Johnson’s doctrine and compare it to some other aberrant theology. Here’s the same part of his sermon which was referenced in the first part:
“…Did you know that Jesus was born again? I asked… the first service and they said, “No.” But I will show it. It’s in the Bible. He had to be. He became sin.
In Hebrews 1 it says this, “For to which of the angels did he ever say, ‘You are my son. Today I have begotten you’?” And Acts 13 explains that: “God has fulfilled this for us, their children, in that he has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are my Son, Today I have begotten You.’ And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption.” He was born through Mary the first time and through the Resurrection the second time. He was ‘born again.’” [1]
Read Entire Article HERE
I am looking forward to Part III
DiscernIt 
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