False Teacher – Benny Hinn

This is my first post in a false teachers series. I will start with Benny Hinn because is one of the most obvious and easy to write about. The church in the United States seems to lack discernment these days. The fact that so many fall for the antics of Benny Hinn should be proof enough. Let’s look at one of his famous quotes; “Don’t tell me you have Jesus. You are everything He was and everything He is and ever He shall be.” However you look at this statement it is heretical. He is either lower Jesus to our level or elevating man to deity. I personally think that he does both. We are not little gods as taught by many Faith teachers, and Jesus is not a little god but God in the flesh.

Many know Benny for his dramatic stage performances. This is where he claims to slay people in the spirit and heal them. After his many years in ministry he lacks medical evidence of his many so called healings. He also has a response to those who were not healed by him. It is their fault because of a lack of faith. This is another common faith movement teaching. People who are disabled or sick are in their situation because they just don’t have enough faith. Hinn even goes so far as to make Job into a bad guy. Job had all the bad things happen to him because he spoke negative confessions. Even though the book of Job makes it clear at the beginning that Job was blameless and upright. These Faith teachers claim to have the very same power of God in their words. Why then does every Word of Faith person eventually die?

That is normal Faith teaching, now let’s look at some of Hinn’s really off the wall beliefs. They are almost funny, if not for the fact people believe him. He once claimed that while in Kenyon, Jesus would show up on the platform at his rally. He also says that since Adam had dominion over the birds, that means Adam could fly. He says that Adam was the first Superman. He could even fly to space if he wanted. He claims he can see the Holy Spirit and what He is wearing.

In the end with all the beliefs that Hinn holds, I doubt that he is even a Christian. Besides not having a correct view of God, Christ or the atonement, he holds to the belief of Tritheism. He believes that God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three separate beings with each having its own spirit body. This puts him far outside the box of orthodox Christianity. A Non-Trinitarian view of the Godhead ultimately leads to the many heretical views he holds. The demotion of God and Christ, and the elevation of man to deity are all a result. Hinn is a snake looking to deceive the less discerning.

Random Thoughts

It’s been awhile since my last post. I have been really busy and just wanted to take some time to share some random thoughts on the last couple of weeks. First, I am really excited about the new vision of our church. After reading the book, I am a huge fan of the Simple Church approach. I already find myself trying to figure out where my ideas would fit into the vision for the church.

The recent nomination by Pres. Obama of David Ogden for Deputy Attorney General also caught my attention this week. What a terrible pick for anyone who values family or even common decency. Mr. Ogden is a leading defender of the pornography industry in this country. He is against parental notification by 14 yr olds having abortions. He is against keeping children from being able to view porn in public libraries. He is against virtually any restriction on pornography claiming the First Amendment. Just what we need a champion of the porn industry as one of our top officials in the Justice Department.

I am also currently reading a book on the Word of Faith movement which I will review when finished. What has really struck me most about this group is where their faith lies. They do not place their faith in God, but in themselves. They believe God is powerless to act unless they speak words of faith. They look down on the sick and handicapped because they believe that they are in that state from lack of faith. I will share some more thoughts on this group in the days to come.

Lastly, I have a prayer request to send out. Many of you who read this know Mr. Richard Recob from the Men’s Fraternity program. Richard will be moving to Louisiana shortly for employment. He will be there for several years as part of a construction project. Richard will be separated from his family for this time as he works to support them. Let’s all keep the Recob family in our prayers during this time. Richard I know you read this, so let me know if there is anything that needs to be done for you or your family while you are gone. Through all things, glorify God in New Orleans. And never lose faith that God will take care of your family.

Knowing God

Do you know the true God or a god of your own making? If you know the true God, is it evident by the way you live your life. Pastor Jason began laying out the vision for our church on Sunday. He stressed the importance of knowing God, not just with your head but with your heart. It is the first step in any church’s discipleship process. I decided to look at many of the verses about knowing God. Let’s look at a few.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

23 This is what the LORD says:
The wise must not boast in his wisdom;
the mighty must not boast in his might;
the rich must not boast in his riches.

24 But the one who boasts should boast in this,
that he understands and knows Me  —
that I am the LORD, showing faithful love,
justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for I delight in these things.
[This is] the LORD’s declaration.

What are we as Christians boasting in? Are we boasting about knowing God, or are we boasting about all the great services our church offers? There are too many churches who are not boasting about God in the community or in the church. They feel the need to put on a show, as if God might need help drawing people to Himself. Quit boasting about how much money you have, or how many people you have. Then start boasting about God, so that others may come to know Him.

1 Corinthians 2:2 – For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

How many times do we forget this simple truth? We are so determined for others to know about feeding the poor and helping the sick, that we forget there is nothing more important to know the truth of Christ and Him crucified. This is a weekly message, but in some churches it is only preached at Easter. No one can truly know God without knowing about Jesus and His crucifixion.

2 Timothy 1:11-12  -  11 For this [gospel] I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher, 12 and that is why I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to me until that day.

Too many today are ashamed of the Gospel. But this verse shows we should not be ashamed because we know in whom we have believed and what He is able to do. I can’t understand how anyone who knows God and knows what Jesus did on the cross could ever be ashamed to declare they know Him. It makes me angry when I see pastors ashamed to proclaim the truth. I know Him. Do you know Him? If so, it is time to stop being ashamed that you know Him. If you don’t know Him, nothing is more important to know. If you don’t know Him, you are enslaved by the sin in your life. The only way to be freed is by knowing Jesus and believing in Him. He died on a cross for our sins. He took the punishment we deserved. He was buried and three days later rose again. How could we ever be ashamed to know Him?

When Being Relevant Becomes Irreverent

How far do we go as a church to be relevant? Do we go as far as Westwoods Community Church in Jackson, Michigan? This church uses Twitter during its Sunday service. During the sermon you will see people texting on their phones using Twitter, and the messages appearing on the big screen. So instead of listening to the Word of God, attenders are busy reading and posting messages to the screen. This was the idea of teaching pastor John Voelz, who is a self-proclaimed early adopter of technology. He even spent weeks teaching the members how to use Twitter. Is this truly considered building up of the body?

When a church is using time that is to be devoted to God’s Word, and uses it for meaningless comment time that is irreverent. It is crossing the line when you lessen the Gospel in order to be relevant. Voelz says it has helped to build community among the members, and people have become more involved. Great, I am all for community building and getting people involved. But if these people are as creative and innovative as they claim, come up with a different way to implement it. The sermon needs to be reserved for proclaiming the truth of God’s Word, not for social networking. As I read through the statement of beliefs of the church, I found what I was looking for quickly. 1 Corinthians 9:21-23  is often quoted be churches wanting to be relevant. It is easy to turn Paul being all things to all people into free reign to do anything. While Paul was all things to all people, he never compromised on the message of Christ.

Sunday service across this country has become a show to entertain the crowd. I also looked at the song list being used for worship at Westwoods. It includes The Who, Radiohead, Pat Benatar, Don Healy, George Harrison and more. This is not music for worship of God. It is music meant to entertain, and as they put it on their website, music to rock the house. It is not just Westwoods, it is happening across the country and I know of a church where it is happening in my town. Let’s get rid of all the junk from our services that are not honoring to God. I am all for being cutting edge and think we should always be looking for new ways to spread the Gospel. But we should never  do so by compromising the message. Change the method, but never change the Gospel.

The Gift Of Psalms

The Gift Of Psalms – Devotional Wisdom From 50 of the Best Loved  Psalms is a nice product that includes both the printed version of the devotional as well as complete audio. Not normally a fan of audio books, I did enjoy this book. Hearing the Word of God in spoken form helped me to pick up on things I missed when reading through the Psalms. The Scripture is printed and read in the New King James translation. For the many people who fall in love with the book of Psalms, this is a book you will want to add to your library. I am also not a huge fan of devotionals, but the devotions were good as well. Many devotionals today are nothing more than self help, but that is not the case with this book. These devotions are well put together with ample time given to the background and meaning of each psalm in the book. I also liked the reading of Psalm 119. I believe it was the first time that I had heard this psalm read in its entirety. You will find many of your favorite psalms in this book. Whether taken in its written or audio form, it is an enjoyable book. You will find comfort and encouragement in this book of psalms.

Offering Our Best To God

I am back after taking some time off for the holidays. I have used the time off to read, study and refresh my batteries. I just recently read the book Simple Church by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger ( Thanks to pastors Jason & Jake for the recommendation ). The book is an excellent resource for implementing a process of intentional discipleship. It keeps focus on the ministries and programs that contribute to that process. One of the things that stuck with me was at the end of the book. At the beginning of the book of Malachi it talks about the disobedience of the priests. They were offering defiled animals for sacrifice. Instead of offering the best animals, they were offering animals that were blind, sick and lame. The book compares that to the programs we offer as a church. Instead of offering a multitude of programs that are mediocre, offer fewer programs that are excellent. That really made me think. Most churches I have been to are always looking to add new relevant programs. But are we offering our best to God? God has always cared more about quality than quantity. Our programs need to serve a purpose within the church. If we have a program because it draws many people, but those people never advance in the discipleship process. Then that program is useless. Popularity and attendance is not the benchmark of a good program. We are only offering the best to God if the program is changing lives or is making us better disciples. Let’s stop offering programs that are mediocre and useless. Here is what the Lord of Hosts told the priests who were offering less than the best to God.

Malachi 1:10 – “I wish one of you would shut the [temple] doors, so you would no longer kindle a useless [fire on] My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.

We would be better off to shut the church doors, than to offer programs that do not edify the body. Are you offering your best to the program or ministry in which you serve? Don’t serve just to punch your spiritual time card. Serve where you are willing to be committed to give your best. I will leave you with God’s warning to the priests about what would happen if they didn’t listen to what He said in Malachi 1.  Make sure to enjoy the imagery of these verses.

Malachi 2:1-3 – 1 “Therefore, this decree is for you priests: 2 If you don’t listen, and if you don’t take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. In fact, I have already begun to curse them because you are not taking it to heart.    3 “Look, I am going to rebuke your descendants, and I will spread animal waste over your faces, the waste from your festival sacrifices, and you will be taken away with it.

For These Tough Times By Max Lucado

For These Tough Times is a short book of about 80 pages by Max Lucado.  The book is a helpful reminder for Christians when everything that is good seems to fall apart. It reminds one to remember that even when something bad happens God is still in control. God has not deserted us and He is working everything for good. The book also points to the love of God and the fact that we need to turn our eyes to Him when we are hurting. We need to take our focus off  of ourselves. We also need to remember what seems troublesome to us, is nothing for God to handle. There will be times to pray and times to be silent. In the end, we know that good is triumphant.

In our world today, this book is an excellent resource. With the economy, wars, sickness and natural disasters, many are in a constant state of worry. Where do we turn when we lose a job, a home or a child? This book will give Godly yet practical advice. God is working in all of these situations. This book, like most of Lucado’s, is encouraging and easy to read. If you are looking for something meaty and deep, this is not the book. However, this is the book for you if you are wanting a quick reminder of God’s presence in bad times.

Prayer For The Sick And Hurting

There is always the question of why God allows people to suffer, especially children. We can never fully know what God has planned in those situations. We can however be assured that He is using the situation for a greater cause. We also know that He provides comfort to the families involved. With that being said, I want to offer some local situations where we need to pray. The reason I have gathered these names, began because of little Garett Chanley. His family used to attend First Baptist and are now attending Fellowship Baptist. In April it was discovered that he had a brain tumor. He is currently 3 yrs old and has recently had some setbacks. It continues to amaze me what great faith and courage his family shows on a daily basis. I have put a permanent link on the blog that details his progess. CaringBridge is a site that allows for the families to post updates and for others to leave messages to the family. Please pray for Garett and all the other local children listed below. If you have any others feel free to post them on the blog or to email them to me.

Garett Chanley from Otwell, IN  – http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/garettchanley

Brice King from Huntingburg, IN – http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/briceking. Brice was diagnosed in July 2007 with stage 4  neuroblastoma.

Laken Parsons from Huntingburg, IN – http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lakenparsons. On April 25, 2005, Laken was diagnosed with infant leukemia at 3 mos. of age.

Gabriel Martin from Santa Claus, IN – http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/gabrielmartin. Gabriel has had a stroke, cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, seizures, and now a diagnosis of optical gliomas (tumors) behind both of his eyes, secondary to neurofibromatosis.

Courtney Blackgrove from Huntingburg, IN – http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/courtneyblackgrove. In May 2007 she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ganglioneuroblastoma.

Jack Wolfe from Jasper, IN – http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jackwolfe. On December 31, 2007 Jack was diagnosed with an Ependymoma (brain tumor).

The Unseen By T.L. Hines

Do you like a book that keeps you guessing until the end? Then The Unseen by T.L. Hines is for you. This is one of those books where every time you think that you have figured it out, an abrupt turn happens. The story follows the exploits of a man named Lucas, who was raised in an orphanage. Lucas likes to hide behind walls and in the ceilings of buildings to secretly watch the workers. He is a wander who has no permanent place to live. He has never watched anyone in their home, until he meets a member of the Creep Club. This move forces him down a path that includes secret agents, bombs and murder. Lucas in an attempt  to be the Good Samaritan, finds out much about himself and where he comes from. It is the classic tale where everyone is something other than they appear. This can be a down side to this book for anyone who enjoys much character development. One never really gets to fully understand the characters until the last few chapters of the book.  Being the first book I have read by Hines, I found the book to be a good read. I would definitely say it is good, but not great.

Comments On The Christmas Story

Think of the Christmas story in your head.  How much of it is according to the Bible? We have a song sang at Christmas called We Three Kings. It was most definitely not kings who visited Jesus. It was magi or wise men who came. They would have been magicians, astrologers and other counsel of the king. While we do not know exactly where they came from, we do know that they came from the East. Interesting side note, Daniel was chief of the magi while in Babylon. So some scholars believe they may have come from that area. The number of magi is also never mentioned in the Bible. No where is it stated that there were three.  The number was more likely higher than that. If you think about the distance they had to travel, they would have had more than 3 for security purposes. They also didn’t visit Jesus in the manger as normally depicted. By the time they visited Him he was in a home.

Lastly, I want to look at one verse in Matthew that usually gets overlooked in the story. Matthew 1:21 – “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” I love this verse. Already before the birth pointing to the cross. He will save His people from their sins. Even the Christmas story is about the cross. We should celebrate his birth not because of the birth, but because of what He did with His death. This Christmas celebrate His birth, but remember the big picture. Jesus was born in order to die, to die for us. He died to save us, His people, from our sins. Take time to read the story of His birth this year from the Bible.