July 29, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARlQ4JzILeA  This video shows you the points that false prophets use on the head, face & jaws!  The presenter uses Benny Hinn in this video but you can see Todd Bentley using the same tricks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmUJcBBT38I  This is an excellent presentation exposing Todd Bentley as a false prophet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2XGrLDVg1E

Here you can witness Todd wearing one of his satanic T-shirts advertising the so-called “christian” heavy metal band?!  The bible tells us to abstain from the appearance of all evil!  There is NO such thing as “christian” heavy metal!!!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LTw-TDdEdx&8feature=related

Todd says, “living sacrifice is a Christian heavy metal band”!  At this so-called water baptism, Todd announced that he is a “die-hard fan of living sacrifice”!

http://www.myspace.com/livingsacrifice

Just take a look at this satanic, demonic, hellish site!!!  THESE ARE THE CHARACTERS & THESE ARE THE SOUNDS THAT TODD LOVES TO HEAR!!!  (caps for emphasis only)  Conceived in Fire & The Death Machine are a couple of the titles on this page.  Also, here’s the T-shirts that Todd loves to wear!  I’ve seen him wear the T-shirt w/ the two intertwined snakes & the words Living Sacrifice written in occultic lettering.  One shirt has an image of a scary blue skull & there’s another one pictured that Todd wore w/ skulls & other demonic symbols on it.  An album cover called “Reborn” has this description:  Still metal, Reborn takes more of an American death metal approach with thrash & hardcore influencing.  If you can stand listening to any of the sounds that the members sing???  you’ll hear the gutteral sounds of demons coming right through their voices!!!  Todd claims to have been saved since he was 18 years old & now he’s around 32 years old…where’s the change in all those years w/ something that is OBVIOUSLY of satan!!!  Where’s the fruit of the Holy Spirit?!

If you go to www.youtube.com & type in manifested Todd, you will view an excellent video exposing the ‘Manifested Sons of God’ doctrine (New Breed).  Matt Sorger is the presenter & he has that same “evil, deceived & deceiving” look in his eyes as does Todd Bentley.  I also watched a video of the pastor who is the pastor of the Ignited Church where Todd Bentley began his so-called “revival”.  On that video I discovered that he spent time w/ Rodney Howard Browne & thereafter many “new” experiences started to happen in his life & then at some point in time he invited Todd Bentley to his church…thereafter, we know that the crazies began to happen!  It’s quite a mixture & my prayer is always that those who are sincerely seeking our Lord & His Truth will be rescued in God’s time & learn from the experience & thereby be equipped to help others to see the truth & the light that comes from the Living God.

Discernment Newsletter

What Language Do You Speak?

Jewel Grewe

Our spoken and written language is the most important aspect of our culture and identity as a people. In 1997 The Summer Institute of Linguistics noted that the Bible had been translated into 2,197 languages.  The Ethnologue Institute has a detailed list of 6,809 distinct languages. In the U.S. we recognize what part of the country someone comes from by their accent. As an American traveling overseas, my ears always perk up when an American accent floats across a crowded airport (Americans seem to speak quite loudly, especially overseas). We identify one another by our language. Our knowledge of the spoken and the written word enables us to hear and understand each other. 

Likewise, true knowledge is gained through understanding. Understanding comes through applying oneself to the Truth. Proverbs 24:5 states that:  A man of knowledge increaseth strength.

The Word of God is the very fountain of all knowledge. The study thereof should be of utmost importance in the believer’s life. It will identify us as believers. Our knowledge of the Word will enable us to hear and understand His will for our lives.

The Language of the Redeemed

In I Peter 2:9 we are told that we are a peculiar people: But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

This means that we have been set apart from the world.  We are part of a different world than that which is around us.  We speak a different language; it is the language of the Redeemed. True holiness before God is the daily goal of the true follower of Christ. I Peter 1:13&14 says: Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.

The language of the redeemed binds us together even closer than the language of our native country.

It is because of this understanding that our hearts break over so many dear Christians who are not steeped in God’s Word today. They are not satisfied with the simplicity and beauty of walking by faith daily in the joy and blessings that He gives. This is the reason why Discernment Ministries has plodded along these many years weeping in the dreary dust of the crowds flittering here and there like the Athenians who spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.

Oh, but they say, God is doing a new thing in the earth.  That does not mean to jump ship without a life jacket.  When you hear those words, follow the admonition of Scripture – rather prefer to err on side of caution.  Listen to the language spoken. Oh, yes, websites of many errant teachers can copy a statement of belief that looks genuine. But is this what they really believe? They can make many claims that will suck in the gullible. But what are they really teaching?

After studying these things for so many years, it is hard to know who is deceived the most.  Is it the Leaders who have moved so far away from the knowledge of the Holy and instead, promote the profane and call it holy; or, is it the Followers who blindly run to and fro?

As a young girl, I grew up in Minnesota . The Voice of Healing had just started. Evangelists visited Minneapolis on a regular basis and my father, an Assembly of God pastor, supported every campaign that came through. My eldest sister was born with spinal bifida and was paralyzed from the waist down.  Naturally, the greatest desire for our family was that she be healed. We attended meetings by: William Branham, Oral Roberts, AA Allen, the Cerullo brothers, Raymond Richey, Velmer Gardner, Kathryn Kuhlman, and I could go on and on. My sister was usually relegated to a back corner somewhere as she was considered a “difficult case.” I wondered about that. William Branham told my father that “it wasn’t God’s will to heal her.” I wondered about that. In some meetings I would observe “set-ups” where people would walk in a side door, sit in a wheelchair and when the healing lines would form, they would be wheeled up and be proclaimed “healed” and walk off the stage. I wondered about that.

At 12 years of age we moved to Zion , Illinois where there was a lot of fascinating history.  My father had known John G. Lake personally when he had lived in Zion in his younger days.  My piano teacher would relegate us with stories of John Alexander Dowie. During this time the Charismatic movement started, and my father and I visited many Full Gospel Business Men’s Conventions as he was active in the local chapter. A whole new set of individuals became known to my father as he would drive speakers to their next engagement, and I would sit in the back seat drinking in every word. Derek Prince, Don Bashan, Nicholas Bhengu and many others passed our way. 

Latter Rain

Stanley Frodsham, a dear man of God and the Editor of the Pentecostal Evangel for many years, became part of the Latter Rain Movement that started in 1948. He and many others left the fold of the Assemblies of God and joined the with those who were part of the “new thing” that came out of that particular time. Stanley Frodsham and his wife moved to Zion and attended our church. Mrs. Frodsham became my Sunday School teacher. Rev. Frodsham was the biographer for Smith Wigglesworth. He and his wife had traveled extensively with him and I was fascinated with the many stories they told. When I went to Central Bible College , the Frodshams had moved there and they introduced me to the Latter Rain group called The House of Prayer. At CBC attending Brother Kessel’s class I learned one side of the story of the split in the Assemblies of God http://www.discernment-ministries.org/NL_January1997.pdf. After attending this particular group for awhile, I learned the Latter Rain side of the story.  I now realize all of this was part of God’s teaching process in my own life, even attempting such a ministry as Discernment Ministries.  (Many years later I questioned Stanley Frodsham’s daughter about his involvement in the Latter Rain. Her answer was: “My father was a glutton for the supernatural”).

Yes, there are wonderful sincere people who are genuine in their love of the Lord but are always looking for “supernatural experiences and revelations,” but in doing so cause division and harm to the body of Christ.  Yet, God in His infinite mercy has a way a working in the lives of His children who are humble and remain low at the Master’s feet, which I know was true of the Frodshams. 

After several years of processing and growing in my Christian walk, I left for South Africa as young eager missionary to work with a 75-year-old lady with a genuine “apostolic ministry gift.” I say that because Ruth established many churches along with other wonderful  missionaries, and the work of God in the Northern Province in South Africa is a testimony to their lives and sacrifices.  Those people truly laid down their lives for the Gospel.  They gave their all! Many times Ruth would go out and spend her last mite to fill up the little pick-up truck with vegetables that she could pass out to the hungry. They gave unstintingly of their time and resources for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   It distressed me greatly when new innovative thinkers came on the scene and denigrated the work of these pioneers with a “new way of doing missions.”  They then would maneuver to get rid of those who had gone before.

Marriage in 1971 and arrival of a family took our lives into a different set of circumstances and new ventures in our ministry – even to then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ). Ultimately we came to the U.S. where many things already had changed in the church.  While pastoring in the States, we quickly became aware that Christian television was changing the whole direction of the church. A language was being spoken that somehow sounded foreign to our ears. Thankfully we realized that what at stake was the preaching of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Language of the Apostasy

It is grieving to me to write this as there are so many sincere people involved.   It is so hard for me to understand why so many get caught up in these things. My heart cries with Paul who said, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”  (I Cor. 2:1-2). 

Please don’t dismiss me as a heresy hunter and shut up your mind to anything but your preconceived notions.  This is about Truth.  Whether you are Todd Bentley, C. Peter Wagner, Bob Jones, Paul Cain or a pastor of a church, you can be deceived.  None of us escape Satan’s devices. As simply as I possibly can, I will attempt to lay out some of the unscriptural language of the apostasy.

Let us examine the foundation for what we are now witnessing – from a 1993 Discernment newsletter,

www.discernment-ministries.org/NL_JanFeb1993.pdf

In the newsletter there is a review of a book by William DeArteaga entitled Quenching the Spirit.   DeArteaga makes the assertion that “God brings new truth to the church by first revealing it to cults and occult groups.”  He already had written a book in 1983 entitled Past Life Visions in which he lauds Agnes Sandford’s incredibly heretical The Healing Light and defends her belief in a pre-earth human existence (pp 145-6); seems to embrace evolution of man from a lower species (p. 126); declares the “ghosts” are “earthbound souls” (p 187) who may legitimately communicate with the living (p 182) and that the dead should be ministered to by the church (p 183). He argues that reincarnation is Biblical and was “validated by Jesus” (pp 197-209) and that such a gospel is helpful for India because it allows “the Hindu to maintain… the concept of Karma-reincarnation” (p 215); and he recommends regression into past lives as a standard method of spiritual healing for the church to adopt (pp. 151-163). [The Berean Call, Nov. ’92.]

The language of the occult

At the time this Discernment newsletter was written (1993), DeArteaga’s book was legitimized by the TBN, obviously to back up many of the teachings being promoted. There are ministries active today who have no problem introducing occult practices and call it “truth,” and claim we can use these experiences for a deeper “relationship” with God.

Satan’s language

I heard about one ministry that boasted, when invited to a Luciferian Initiation, that really Lucifer just means “angel of light” and after all, we all want “light”! Do you wonder why there is no mention of sin any longer?  Has it grieved you that the cross is a subject avoided like poison? 

Patricia King (Extreme Prophetic) influenced Todd Bentley after his conversion.  I personally do not think he had any opportunity to sit under sound doctrine and learn the first principles. He was “channeled” into the supernatural realm to hook up with what taught him as getting “connected.””.

Her itinerant pastor, who doubles as a travelling DJ, calls the show “Club Mysterio”  on an online video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2i5k6WuwX4 Please compare this to the New Age version  at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxDebb9dLKY&NR=1

This newsletter could actually be a large book to do justice to this vast subject. However, if it just makes one person stop, think and repent, it is worth the effort.   It is about souls for whom Jesus died that our hearts grieve.  The days for “playing church” are over, folk.

Revival Language

“Well, revivals can be messy you know”.  This is the way the weirdness is excused.  After all, we want to “move higher” into God.  We hear sincere folk saying things like: We have to move into a ‘higher place’ – a place of intimacy with God.  Jesus did the things the Father told Him to do. WE MUST MOVE INTO THAT PLACE. A place of the knowledge of the Lord that the Lord yearns us to come into. Teachings on “intimacy with God” have sold many books.  But just stop here a moment. Isn’t that what any “religion” requires? Always striving after something? Bringing offerings to the many gods in Hinduism, faithfully bowing low in the mosques, dancing into a frenzy to obtain “oneness”?

Let us take a breath and rest in the Scriptures a moment.  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: Which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.  (I Peter 2:9&10)

The language of the Scripture tells us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.  It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is the power of God unto salvation. This is what this is all about.  The perversion of language is the ploy of the enemy to subvert the body of Christ to follow another gospel. 

Matthew 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 

II Thess. 2:9  Him, whose coming after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders.

Language of Angels

Dear ones, nowhere in Scripture do we find angels appearing out of nowhere to just keep in communication with us.  The culture right now is crazy about angels and Hollywood is churning out movies to satisfy that desire.  To read and listen to the stories about Todd Bentley’s angels really denigrates the truth of Scripture. On his website in 2002 he talks about a particular rock on Rick Joyner’s property at Moravian Falls . This rock supposedly has some power, and as they approach it there are three young angels “horsing around, wrestling, getting each other in head-locks and giving noogies.” He learned from others that these were the worship angels who oversee the worship center.

Sorry, but this isn’t biblical. The worship angels are before the throne of God… and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. They give glory to God night and day without rest. We serve a Holy God.  His holiness NEVER CHANGES.  Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.  And some cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts:  the whole earth is full of his glory.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kSlt0_8HwMk

Yet Todd Bentley says, “they [the angels] have nothing in heaven to do but waiting to serve God’s purpose in you!”

Language of the Lie

Bob Jones, who obviously has had a huge influence in Todd Bentley’s life, even introducing him to his angel in 1988, said, “the children will possess the Spirit without measure – for these are the best of all generations that have ever been upon the face of the earth. And the best of all generations are those ELECTED SEEDS that will glorify Christ in the last days… they will move into things of the supernatural that no one has ever moved in before. Every miracle, sign and wonder they’ll move in the power that Christ did…. They themselves will be that generation that’s raised up to put death itself underneath their feet and to glorify Christ in every way and the church that is raising up in the government will be the head and the covering for them… the chosen generation of history that will go beyond all the others in power.”  He goes on to say, “This generation of the young people that are coming are going to see the beginning of this World-wide New Order… it is going to change the expression of Christianity in the earth in a generation.”

From a Discernment newsletter in 1990, www.discernment-ministries.org/NL_Sept1990.pdf you will read that Gnosticism has again entrenched itself in the thinking of Christendom.  Mystical knowledge is replacing the truth of the Word of God.   And they are talking of taking over the WORLD?

Language of Heresy

The greatest sorrow of all is that the deity of Jesus Christ is undermined by this teaching.   The divine purpose of the Holy Scriptures is the revelation of Jesus Christ – the Lamb of God.  Gnosticism gives way to “higher knowledge”.  It brings about disinterest in the Bible and Bible teaching.  The “anointed seed” is now said to be connecting with the supernatural realm, and this heresy draws the masses with its instant gratification.

The door is being opened, Eat this fruit and ye will be as god.  Accept this lie and you will find yourself at the altar of mysticism where all of the religions of the world worship based on subjectivity, humanism and brotherhood.

What Language do you Speak?

It is time to examine ourselves – whether we are in the faith or not.  Have we been led astray by “strange fire”? Has the siren’s sweet song lulled your senses and caused shipwreck to your walk with God? Repent and return to your first love that you may be found worthy to stand in His Presence.

The following are two recent podcasts that I did on the subject of The “revival” and The New Apostolic Reformation. http://sliceoflaodicea.com/slicecast/

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, …For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God…. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (I Cor. 1:10a, 2-3)

“CHEW THE MEAT;
SPIT OUT THE BONES….”

Lynn & Sarah Leslie

We were astonished when we first heard this statement. In all of our 50-plus years we had never encountered this phrase before. It immediately conjured up graphic images of sharp teeth roughly biting off and devouring a tough piece of meat, and rudely spewing out pieces of bone. Surely there were better table manners than this!

We first heard this retort when we had expressed a concern about a curriculum. Ostensibly this curriculum was a book that would embody the teachings of our local church, and it was written by a man highly esteemed and respected – a man who held many positions of leadership in parachurch groups. Yet embedded throughout his curriculum were heresies. We worried that teaching these heresies could adversely affect families in our church.

Like most material in the evangelical world today, this particular curriculum didn’t teach flagrant and obvious heresies. Rather, it subtly introduced new terms, new understandings, and new ways of thinking about traditional biblical concepts. When we read the curriculum we immediately recognized that it had integrated the teachings of an evangelical leader who is noted for his controversial teachings and cult-like practices. When we looked in the bibliography, sure enough, we found references to this leader – and worse! The writer was clearly influenced by these outside teachings and importing them into our group.

But “chew the meat, spit out the bones”? We were being told that this is the method by which the church members should read this man’s book. Where did this phrase originate and how did it become a catchphrase that so easily dismisses concerns about biblical error? A quick Internet search does not reveal the origination of this expression. But it always seems to be used in the context of justifying the inclusion of error in otherwise biblical-sounding teachings.

Is chewing meat and spitting out the bones a sensible plan for eating meat in everyday life? Is it a biblical concept? We’ll get to the answers later…. First, let us look at how truth gets mixed with error.

The Off-Center Bullseye

One analogy that helps to visualize the trouble with slightly off-base teachings is the shooting of an arrow at a target. A bullseye is in the center of a target. It seems like some leaders purposefully aim their arrows just a little bit off to the side of the bullseye. What they are teaching isn’t quite biblical truth. It contains just a tiny glimmer of untruth, a somewhat off-kilter idea, or a novel interpretation of Scripture that runs a little askew of traditional doctrine. Most of these little “off” statements go unchallenged, as we would like to give the writer or speaker the benefit of the doubt. It could be that we just misunderstood.

But if the slightly off-target statement is repeated, included throughout, or a foundational error, it becomes a matter of doctrinal concern. Below we explain why it is so subtle and hard to identify at first:

TRUTH (THESIS) . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ANTITHESIS

\                   /

SYNTHESIS

Here is what happens: The opposite of Truth (Thesis) is Anti-Truth (Antithesis). A small-appearing lie forms in opposition to the Truth of God’s Word (1 Tim. 6:20). To create a Synthesis, this initial lie must be accepted instead of rejected. To justify the error, man will attempt to merge it into biblical Truth. It usually feels like just a tiny compromise, no big deal. What results, however, is a new “truth” – a synthesized “truth” in which a bit of error has been mixed in. This process is called dialectics; it has been around ever since Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan’s temptation in the Garden of Eden.

Once a Synthesis is established, more syntheses can come about by adding in a New Antithesis to the Synthesis. This creates a New Synthesis, which is even further from the original Truth. It works like this:

NEW TRUTH (SYNTHESIS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . ANTITHESIS

\                    /

NEW SYNTHESIS

The sequential process of adding Antithesis to truth, and creating new Syntheses can go on and on to create progressive “new revelation.” After a while, the original Truth becomes lost. In fact, we sometimes get letters at Discernment Ministries from people who believe we are seriously deluded because we hold to the old biblical Truth. They have only been taught the New Truth (Synthesis) to the point where it is a total Antithesis to the Gospel of Salvation. They believe their false gospel is the true Gospel and that we are the ones who are deceived.

Chewing Meat With the Bones Still In It

How does this Synthesis process happen to the local church today? Very cleverly, deceptively and subtly. New doctrines, practices, and concepts are “sold” to the church as a promising new way to build the kingdom of God, reach the lost, attain personal satisfaction in your Christian life, reach a higher level of spirituality, engage in a deeper walk, acquire psychological health, and even grow in prosperity!

The “sales” routine appeals to the five senses. Here is how it goes: You will “feel” better if you adopt this new theology. It will “meet your needs.” There is an easier way, a bypass that will save you that uncomfortable conviction of heart and dying to self. In fact, the old Truth is dead tradition. It is hindering you; it stifles your self-expression. It is too rigid and restrictive. You don’t need a bunch of dry, dead formulas for dos and don’ts. You can select which theologies meet your needs and discard the ones that seem too legalistic. This teaches you to mix and match doctrines. You can create your own Synthesis to establish your own comfort zone in the faith.

Churches and mission groups are susceptible to this Synthesis process, too. New programs and plans promise more effectiveness through networking, partnering, coalitions, ecumenical councils, joint efforts, etc. Your group must set aside a few of its principles, convictions or beliefs. The ends will justify the means. The other groups can hold to their own beliefs, you can practice yours – this has the appearance of separation. The two of you might even find common ground through aligning your basic core beliefs. This Synthesis particularly appeals to those who are mission minded. You are promised that fewer people will be in poverty, more people will be aided, and you would heighten your evangelistic impact – if only you would overlook a few minor doctrinal discrepancies in your partner’s theology – Synthesis.

Many evangelical leaders today have actually been trained to publicly present solid statements of faith, but in their writings and teachings you can catch a glimmer of another gospel. This is deceptive, but the evangelical world worships its leaders. Some men are placed on pedestals, exalted to icon status. It is not unlike the fervor over rock & roll stars or Hollywood celebrities. These men are so exalted that people flock after them en masse. Their popularity serves as a measure of protection from scrutiny. Who would dare to criticize this man? If you find fault with their teachings, you quickly learn that you are not popular. We get letters daily at Discernment Ministries from people who have been told – He’s such a wonderful man! If everyone else likes him, why are you finding fault with his teachings? He might be off on a few points, but everything else seems just fine. You are just being too picky. What is the matter with you? Perhaps you are just too “fundamentalist.” You are paying too much attention to doctrine. C’mon go with the flow!

What’s the Matter With A Little Bit of Leaven?

In our modern age of Christian bookstores and media, it is outside leaven that begins to weaken good local churches at the foundation. New “truths” come in like leaven. The whole lump becomes permeated with a perverse teaching. It is very insidious. This is also Synthesis. New doctrines can be so integrated and infused throughout a book, teaching or sermon that it is difficult to separate truth from error. One sentence could contain both truth and error! Just as one cannot take yeast out of a lump of dough, one cannot easily extricate the yeast out of a leaven-saturated teaching. We have often been asked, “What is the matter with a little bit of leaven?” as if it were a harmless little annoyance which could be easily discarded.

Several years ago in the Fall of 2004 Sarah performed a “science” experiment for several Discernment conferences. First she tried it in our warm kitchen at home. She mixed up a small recipe of bread dough but left out the yeast. She picked out a walnut-sized lump of dough and added a tiny bit of yeast to it. She carefully set this little lump off to the side of a big bowl. On the other side of this bowl was the big lump of unleavened dough. Soon that little lump began growing. In only a few minutes it got so big that it touched the side of the big lump. Just a short while later it was pressing in on the other lump, forming it into a crescent shape. Within an hour the two lumps had begun to mingle, and by 1½ hours the two lumps were virtually indistinguishable.

When we tried this experiment at the first conference in Niagara Falls , a chilly air conditioner was blowing from overhead in the room. The yeasty lump just didn’t grow. So we tried it again at the Albany conference a month later. Once again, there was a chilly duct above so we took steps to try to keep the dough more protected. An hour later, although the smaller lump had grown large enough to contact the larger lump, there appeared to be no intermingling of the doughs. We thought our object lesson had failed again. But later that night when we went to dump out the bowl we were shocked to discover that underneath the surface, which had become somewhat encrusted and dry, there was a seething, bubbling mass of leavenous dough. Although it appeared to be “separate” on the top layer, underneath the leaven had thoroughly penetrated the entire lump. The Lord had given us a great object lesson!

Likewise, new “truths” often come into churches under the surface, sometimes hijacking a ride on a good-sounding book, idea or program. Increasingly we are hearing reports from people that even the most conservative groups are bringing in these new teachings. New “truths” have been re-packaged in their own denominational garb, piggy-backing on familiar terminologies that are given new meanings. We have even heard reports that churches that wouldn’t have gone “purpose-driven” with Rick Warren’s programs are receiving training in the exact same concepts. This, too, is intentional, deceptive Synthesis.

“Foreign Body in Throat”

At http://www.ncemi.org/cse/cse0313.htm one can read about the medical procedures that must be followed to extricate a fish or chicken bone from someone’s throat. It is not a pleasant description! The patient must endure a series of painful and intricate examinations that can cause gagging. If the bone is not located and fully extracted, pain, fever, bleeding, and breathing and swallowing difficulties will commence. The esophagus can be punctured, and bones could become embedded in the tonsils, the pharynx, and the tongue. Complicated and invasive surgical procedures are the only way to remove the bone.

Why, then, would anyone suggest that we can “chew the meat, spit out the bones”? Do you eat this way? No one should do this in real life! Especially, no one in their right mind would ever give a child a piece of chicken or fish with small bones in it. How cruel to even think of such a thing! So why would it ever be acceptable to give a young believer in Christ, or a youth, a book that contains heresy? Yet, daily we hear reports from concerned Christian believers that this practice is widespread in the churches.

Hebrews 5:11-14 explains how to eat meat in a biblical fashion. It uses a real life analogy and applies it to spiritual principles:

¹²For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. ¹³For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the Word of righteousness: for he is a babe. ¹⁴But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

A baby will put anything in its mouth, both hurtful and nutritious. Similarly, a spiritual babe is unable to distinguish between sound and unsound doctrine and is more vulnerable to being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine”(Eph. 4:14). Solid biblical instruction is an antidote to this. But, negligence and idleness, or apathy towards the Word of God, especially by those entrusted with teaching “the Word of righteousness,” means that even longtime believers can be immature in understanding the most rudimentary doctrines. A babe in Christ is acknowledged to be “unskillful in the Word of righteousness,” but this should not be the case with “them that are of full age.” So what it the matter here?

Just as adults separate meat from bones before putting meat in their mouths, mature believers should be able to discriminate truth from error and separate themselves away from heretical doctrines. But many who should be mature believers by now have not exercised their spiritual senses “to discern both good and evil.” The word “exercised” is connected with the training of athletes. Christians should be well instructed, practiced, prepared and ready for a defense of the Gospel. They should be able to “rightly divide the Word of Truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Sadly, in the evangelical world fulfilling your physical senses has supplanted the “exercise” of your spiritual “senses.”

Hebrews 6:1-2 goes on to say that it is important to understand the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. It is these foundational doctrines which are subtly being twisted and synthesized with new “truths.” Daily we hear reports of how churches and families are being corrupted by an influx of new “truths,” eroding the Gospel of Salvation. Unless one has had “their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” they could easily fall prey to “seducing spirits and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:1). The “Word of righteoushness” offers daily assistance with the task of exercising your spiritual senses so that you are able to discern error when it comes in. You do not need to be an expert at understanding heresies. If you know the Bible, and study it intimately, you will recognize error.

Beloved children of the Lord

Do hear this trumpet call

It sounds to you

Of truth . . . in its pervading light

And roars to you in strength.

The voice of truth—it calls and leads

At times will bring you humbly low

For as the curtains dark are rent

By shafts of light that penetrate

You see the spells of night run to their flight.

O hear the hoof-beat and the heart-beat

Emerging ever strong

To break and crash through all the lies

To set the captives free from . . .

The HARLOT AND HER DAUGHTERS!

The truth in you, with fiery love

Will set the prisoner free

So heed the call

And compromise no more . . .

COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE!

O wear the truth and never stray

For constant truth will serve you well

‘Tis your unbroken chain in life

To lead, to teach, to point the way

With urgent messages that pierce.

The Holy One bids you come

Ever deeper . . . closer still

Be filled, possessed and love His truth

Bond servant to your King,

Your Treasure, and your Prize.

The narrow way is still before you

Set you heart, your eyes as flint

And forward march in urgent strides

Let no one—nothing–charm you from

Your holy passion for His truth.

Follow Him, in love . . . THIS Jesus Christ

Uncreated, Undefeated, Mighty Lamb of God

Overcomer, Boundless One, Faithful, Emmanuel,

Unchanging, Alpha and Omega . . . Triumphant over all!

HE is your very Truth . . . Always . . . forevermore!

3/12/04

I was praying and saw in a vision the Lord’s large tears dropping on the land.  This is a song of lament and tears. 

This cry for the Holy Spirit & for true reviving as the Lord intends has nothing to do with the same cries for the ‘Holy
Spirit ‘or for ‘revival’ that is coming from the false revival or falling away.   Nor do I personally believe in a worldwide or nationwide revival…this is a cry from an individual’s heart in Christ , joined with other individual cries in the Lord’s heart …a sharing of the Lord’s burdens…a cry for His mercies as well as His justice, His will and His judgment to be served.

SEND FORTH YOUR HOLY SPIRIT        song

Send forth your Holy Spirit—All over this land

Send out your Holy Spirit—All over this earth

And pour out your mercies—Your heart of compassion

To those who are held—In chains of sin.

O Lord, your tears drop—For those who are in sorrow

And those who in darkness—Slaughter the unborn

To those who are tormented—With sins of prostitution

And the poison of alcohol—And the drugs that stupefy.

Pour out your Holy Spirit—To those who are struggling

In confusion of their gender—O rise up Holy Spirit

Upon all the babies and children—Who are sold for the evil deeds

Of satan’s own tormentors—And bring forth your justice.

Impart your Holy Spirit—To those who are lost

And blind and deaf, Our Light—Release your Holy Spirit

To those who are lukewarm—O may they repent

Before it is too late—To those who cry for truth.

To the ones caught in their sorceries—Unrealities…enticements

And for those in their delusions—Bring light and truth, Yahweh

Cause our hearts to blend with yours—And wash o’er this terror and war

With your merciful love, my King—Wash o’er our hearts.

Wake up your sleeping church—Show them true revival

To awaken our hearts to serve—With you in love

To weep with you, Messiah—For those held captive

Cause our tears to blend with yours—Intercede with all our hearts.

Send forth your Holy Spirit—All over this land

Send forth your Holy Spirit—All over this earth

412/04…4/23/04=melody   song 

taken from the book, Alone with God, copyright, 1981

My God, I thank Thee for Thy Word  That comes like medicine or a sword,

To change my life that I may be,  In greater likeness unto Thee.

Speak how Thou wilt, that is Thy choice,  In thunders peal or still small voice,

Thy Word is truth, Thy Word is light  To show me how to love aright.

Reveal Thyself that is my plea  Reveal Thyself O God to me,

Show me Thy will, show me Thy ways,  That I may serve Thee all my days.

‘Let there be light’ you once did cry,  And brilliant radiance filled the sky,

Command again that light to me,  That I may more Thy glory see.

Thou Living Word, I praise Thy Namer  Thou art forevermore the same,

You spoke to prophet, priest and king  Then speak to me, Thy word to bring.

I thirst for Thee My God, My Lord  And Open up Thy sacred Word,

I come to drink, I come to feed,  Then meet my very deepest need.

Come Holy Ghost, come heavenly dove,  Show me my Lord, the One I love

And speak to me that I may say,  Yes…God spoke to me today.

Give me Lord Thy revelation  Through Thy Word in meditation,

And let it ever to me bring,  Thy knowledge of my Lord and King.

Everything is about FEELINGS!  There is so much emphasis on the tangible & what one sees & hears & feels in the body!  For sure, God IS fulfilling His Word & sending His judgments & delusions on those who do not have a love of the truth!  May God have mercy on those who are truly seeking the Lord & His truth & rescue them soon!  Hiding in Him & in His Truth, Donna

Todd Bentley Fires Blanks in Texas

07/22/2008

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By Danny Gallagher

DENTON, Tex.–The University of North Texas “Super Pit” indoor stadium is packed to the nosebleed seats with people hoping to see a knee to the stomach, a poke check to the ribs, or the classic swift kick to the cojones–because they all know that mega-evangelist demon stomper Todd Bentley is IN THE HOUSE for one night only.

As the crowd gets lathered up for the event, there are long slow lines snaking out of the ladies rooms that could rival the wait times at Disney World. Overpriced bags of potato chips and canned soda wait behind counters for families who don’t stop to think about things like food budgets or their children’s blood sugar levels. And almost every seat has a butt planted firmly in it, including the handicapped and disabled sections that are filled with people in wheelchairs.

They want God and they want Todd, not necessarily in that order.

Bentley doesn’t wear $2,000 custom made suits or exotic Italian shoes to show how God helped him attain his empire. He wears blue jeans with holes in the knees and Jesus-themed T-shirts that look like they came off the rack of an evangelical chopper shop. His arms are filled with a gaggle of tattoos that are a mesh of mutating gangrene through eyes from 20 rows away, and his face has an assortment of metal piercings and barbells, which are reminiscent of his early days as a hard-partying, drug-snorting, whiskey-soaked juvenile criminal who has a colored criminal rap sheet of assaults, burglaries and even sexual molestations, according to an investigative report conducted by the news magazine Report in Bentley’s native Canada.

A native of British Columbia, Bentley became famous overnight after just four months of tent revivals in a Lakeland, Florida, RV park that are picked up and re-broadcast by an internet network called GOD TV. Bentley breaks the mold for itinerant healing acts, using street cred and biker lingo instead of the usual light shows and altar calls, but his supernatural story-spinning is truly inspired: messages from angels, out-of-body trips up to heaven, fantastic healings that are not only instantaneous but backed up by “documented medical evidence” that, according to the Associated Press, doesn’t get widely produced.

His revivals resemble Pantera shows. He doesn’t just speak in tongues and scream into microphones. Bentley rids people of their emotional and physical demons by beating, slamming or kicking them out of their bodies because a) God commands him to, and b) “Sometimes when you’re dealing with a demon spirit, it’s done with great force.”

Unfortunately, Todd is making a rare venture out of Lakeland just as his tent meetings are starting to burn out. A recent “Nightline” story painted his church in a very unflattering light both from the perspective of a father who brought his sick child all the way from Seattle to the local townspeople who feel his presence has put a blight on their small Southern city. Eventually Bentley announced he was leaving Lakeland “to reflect and to rest.”

Apparently he’s about to find out that skipping town is the best thing he can do for his credibility anyway. The nearest parking space tonight is on the other side of Fouts Field and takes more than a half an hour to find, so I know the crowd is going to be a large one. Families trudge through the cement-steaming heat with their Bibles in one hand and children in the other. The most popular themed T-shirts are a Reese’s Pieces wrapper parody and the eye-grabbing “Under the Influence…of Christ!” Bentley also draws more than his share of actual bikers, complete with the jackets, the vests and the colorsas well as a noticeable number of biker jackets and leather vests on the backs of bikers for Christ.

The pre-show features a soft rock band, the same band that seems to pop up at every revival, singing the same religious phrases 30 or 40 times through cheap-sounding concert equipment to whip the crowd into the kind of spirit-shaking frenzy that only an epileptic seizure could replicate. Just off to the side stands Bentley, psyching himself up, changing positions from lying on his stomach (ground meditation?) to pumping his fist to the blaring beat of the drums.

On this night Bentley shares a double bill with preacher Keith Miller of the Denton-based Stand World Firm Ministries who tells the assembled 8,000 that “Tonight, we’re going to have an early Fourth of July” (minus, of course, the fireworks, free hot dogs and constant replaying of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” until your ears bleed). Then finally, Miller asks the crowd to give Bentley “a great big God bless you” as he steps up to the mike and fulfills the crowd’s insatiable appetite for some serious UFC-style demon ass-kicking.

Bentley knows how to work the crowd. He doesn’t immediately launch into a barrage of BAMs or let the Holy Spirit ragdoll him into the “Curly Shuffle.” Instead he starts with the revival equivalent of “Hello, Cleveland, are you ready to rock?”

“There was only two other times that I would go into another city and He was there,” Bentley said, “but I didn’t feel it the way I feel it now in Texas. This is the place where the fire of God will fall. It’s already falling!”

The crowd feeds into his enthusiasm and Bentley launches into a rapid-fire repetition of “Holy Glory!” until the entire stadium can hear his vocal chords crack.

“Do you want the glory?!?” Bentley screams. “The smoking holy glory?!?”

He falls to both knees, shaking his head from side to side, as muffled screams reverberate through his rubbery lips.

“Let the outpouring come here tonight!” he shouts. “Let the coals fall tonight!”

Then he brings it down. Bentley talks about the early days of his ministry, visions of heavenly bodies and settings and divine prophecies as told through the mouths of angels. He talks about his legion of 10,000 “harvesters” who roam the streets of Lakeland looking to spread the word of his miracles and God’s capacity to work through him. He even talks about his pilgrimages to cities and nations who are “hungry” for the word of God in a calm and registered tone–and all that lasts about eight seconds.

“I’ve come here to help spread the fire,” Bentley says. “BAM! BAM!”

Four or five BAMs later Bentley utters an ear-shattering KABOOM in Miller’s direction and the Denton preacher falls over backwards, shaking and twitching like a slab of bacon that’s been thrown on a hot griddle.

Bentley goes on for another two hours about his divine medical miracles, supernatural surgeries, religious root canals and raising of 30 people from the dead, including one poor soul who asked his family to play his revival at the funeral and started knocking on the inside of the coffin. Unfortunately, there won’t be any such miracles performed this night. No one in a wheelchair is pushed to the stage. No cancer survivors walk up the stairs to thank Bentley for kicking the carcinoma right out of them or a recently departed zombie for returning him to the land of the living. Not one crutch-clutching crowd member hobbles to the stage to get the holy head-butt from Bentley himself. Truth be told, I was a little disappointed.

So were a lot of other people who frankly had more of a right to be than I did. William Dembski, a research professor of philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, attended Bentley’s Denton revival with his wife and their twin 7-year-old boys, one of whom is autistic, at the behest of his friends who told him Bentley had the healing touch. He couldn’t even get his family down to the main floor to pray.

“Ushers twice prevented that from happening,” Dembski said in the Baptist Press. “They noted that he was not in a wheelchair. . . . People with needs were shortchanged. It seemed that power, prestige and money (in that order) were dominating motives behind the meeting. Minimal time was given to healing, though plenty was devoted to assaulting our senses with blaring insipid music and even to Bentley promoting and selling his own products (books and CDs).”

Just before the revival reaches its third hour, Bentley asks for an offering. Badge-clad volunteers roam up and down the aisles with white plastic buckets while parents and adults whip out their checkbooks or pull some big bills out of their wallets, all of which would go to Miller’s ministry, Bentley claimed. By that time it’s obvious there’s gonna be no carcinoma-kicking, so most of the contributors were probably just showing their gratitude for the absence of Lee Greenwood music.