05 January 2013

Visions and words from Jeremiah 23

Jeremiah 23:16
This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the Lord.

Many popular and 'hip' evangelical speakers use words flippantly. Kind of like the Princess Bride when Fezek says "I don't think that word means what you think it means."

These pastors and pastorettes (women who unbiblically take this title, too like Judah Smith and his co-pastor wife Chelsea for the City Church in Seattle) use word and phrases like:

1- God came to me and told me...
2- Jesus walked through the door and...
3- I had a vision where God...
4- God gave me a special word to...
5- Open your mind and...
6- What did Jesus say to you...

In and of themselves, these are innocuous statements. But WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THEM? The band Jesus Culture is a dangerous group because of this. What do they mean when they/we sing the popular praise song 'God works all things together for MY good!'. I am sorry, what do you mean? Romans 8:28 does not end there! Paul did not pen that verse to build up our self-esteem or remove some emotional teen-angst.

Do some research! Jesus Culture is part of the New Apostolic Movement. Yes, these are the people who abuse the name of the Holy Spirit when they have Holy moments such as clucking like chickens, barking like dogs. The also pray over dead members of their church for the dead-person's spirit to impart their spirit to them.

Bill Redding is their pastor (Bethel Church) and is a false teacher because he teaches this stuff to his young, naive congregation. He has smoke and dust blown through his sanctuary and says it is a sign from God that He is in their presence and equates it to God's presence with Moses and the Israelites coming out of Egypt.

Jesus Culture is his praise band. One of their band members is Kim Walker-Smith and she will preach during their concerts. One time she says Jesus came to her and 'cuddled with her' during one of her 'down times'.

Really? Their songs are now mainstream in our churches. People need to know that this is subtle because we do not define the terms. What is the first rule of any debate or discussion? DEFINE THE TERMS.

God has spoken to us through His Word, the Bible. There is no more revelation or prophecies. When Jesus said 'It is Finished'. The redemptive work was done. Period. He is the Alpha and the Omega. The sufficiency of Scripture. There are no more Revelations or Prophecies. The Holy Spirit will help us rightly decide the Word of God.

Jesus WILL NEVER come down off the Throne of Almighty God to 'cuddle'.

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