Saturday, March 30, 2013

Word of Faith Teachers: Orgins and Errors of their Teachings


Are you or someone you know a follower of the likes of Joel Osteen, Kenneth Hagin, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, or T. D. Jakes etc? This film takes a responsible look at the major doctrines which separate this movement from historic biblical Christianity. Its origins and errors are documented with evidence and fact. Feel free to upload this film to your channel and please pray for the repentance and salvation of the false teachers critiqued in this film as well as those who follow them.

Introduction
Section 1.) Are we little gods? 6:39
Section 2.) Preaching a Different Jesus 1:06:10
Section 3.) Declaring Health, Wealth, and Happines 1:58:24
Section 4.) Questionable Origins of the Movement 2:45:00
Conclusion

Early Believers vs. Today's Christianity


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Choose Eternity



I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it “ (Romans 7:15-20, NIV)

Those verses written by Paul in Romans chapter 7, to me, are powerful and remind me that, yes, I am human, and I am not perfect. Being a Christian, sometimes I think that I have to be perfect, and if I’m not, then I’m a failure in the eyes of God. This is a thinking error on my part, and I believe a lot of Christians and those investigating whether to follow Christ fall into this error of thought and it turns them from following Christ. This verse reminds me that I’m not perfect but that by grace I’m saved and through Christ -- I’m redeemed, justified and forgiven. 
You see we are of sin because of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis) when they ate the forbidden fruit. Since that event, sin has been part of the human species. Sin is a natural occurrence and to disregard the laws of God is a byproduct of our sin nature. We should not dwell on that we are of sin. We must dwell on the knowledge of grace, salvation, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, and if you think you can earn faith, that is a thinking error also.
For example Ephesians 2:8-9 says, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
I have to remind myself every day that it is by grace and faith that I am a child of God. What is faith and what is grace? Well, faith is belief in the unseen. When Jesus was manifested as a man on the earth, many didn’t recognize him as the Son of God even though they saw Him in the flesh. Since He ascended to heaven, we do not have the luxury of seeing Christ in the flesh. I may not see Christ with my eyes but my heart sees him continuously each day. As for grace, it is God-given through Christ. Grace is empowerment from God that enables us to be who He created us to be and to do that which He has called us to do according to the gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit. Grace gives us the will and desire to follow Christ and do His will according to His plan for each of us.
I don’t dwell on sin too much nowadays. I acknowledge that I’m of sin and that sin is prevalent and that it is always trying to sneak into my life. But I don’t focus my energy on sin. I focus my energy on Christ, grace and salvation.
Look forward, not backward. Look forward, not sideways. Look up. Focus on God and the temptations of sin when it is presented to you, and it will flee from you when you call on Christ. For me, when I’m faced with a temptation to sin I will quickly pray for strength to resist those things I don’t want to do -- but have the urge to do, as Paul stated. I hold fast to my faith and remind myself that temptation of sin only leads to dismal outcomes and moves, me away from my relationship with Christ.
Let’s be honest though, we all sin, even when we try our hardest not to. For most people committing sin it is in minor things every day─not extreme events like robbery or murder. Daily sin occurs in actions and thoughts, like shown in Mathew 5:27-28:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Even thinking about a sinful action is the same as committing the sin. But don’t fear, even the great apostle Paul struggled with this as he stated in Romans 7:15-20.
For my unbelieving brothers and sisters and even my Christian brothers and sisters, I want to assure you that grace is the overshadowing blanket that covers us through faith in Christ. If you don’t have faith in Christ, if you’re not saved, then you are unfortunately left out of grace and ultimately heaven─destined to hell. I know this sound harsh, but the Bible states this numerous times throughout the New Testament.
For example, Romans 5:21 states: “So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
You see, sin is death and grace through Christ is life, eternal life in heaven. If you do not believe in Christ and believe and that he died for your sins (John 3.16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”), you will perish to hell for eternity.
Can you imagine eternity out of the presence of the Holy God, forever? What a horrid thought that forever and ever, you are separated from the love of Christ. Christ does not want this for you, friends. Christ wants all of His children, His redeemed to be with Him in heaven. It is not a hard choice. Either you believe that Christ died for your sins or you don’t. Your salvation is not in the hands of God, for Christ freely offers it to all and has already died for your sins. Your choice is to accept the salvation offered to you or to not accept it.
I hope that this choice scares you. It scared the heck out of me when I learned of Christ and salvation. That is why I choose Christ in my life. I want heaven. I want eternity with my Creator and eternity, with love. Hell is eternity without your Creator close to you and is without love. Satan, whose goal is to steal, kill, and destroy will use all his trickery to try to convince you that you do not need Christ to go to heaven. He will distract you, trick you, and do his best to convince you that Christ is not the way, that Christ is not real, that Christ is, well, not Christ.
Listen, brothers and sisters to that little voice in your heart. That little voice in your heart is God calling you to Him. He wants you. It’s your choice though. God gave us the free will to choose whom to follow: Christ or the world and Satan. I’m not saying that if you don’t believe in Christ that you are a Satanist. I’m saying that if you don’t believe in Christ, who died for your sins, you are not a child of God by default. If you are not with Christ then you are against Christ.
Matthew 12.30:  “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
The choice of believing in Christ or not will ultimately determine if you will spend eternity with Him or eternity in hell with Satan and his minions. Don’t think you are too sinful to come to Christ. He died for the sins you committed. Don’t think that you can’t live a Christian life because you may sin in the future, for Christ died for those sins, too. We have every day grace through Christ. Just believe in Him. Pray. Pray to Jesus that you know you are a sinner and that you want His redemption and blood to cover your sins, past, present, and future. Pray that you want Him in your heart and to guide your life to lead you to heaven.
You don’t know when death will come to you, so make your choice now. You could expire at any moment due to an unknown disease, an accident, or some other action. No one awakens in the morning and says, “You know what? I’m going to get in a car accident today and be killed.”
So make your choice NOW.
Don’t wait.
Your eternal destination is dependent on your choice to serve Christ or not.
When you accept Christ, you will be a changed person. You will be saved and will spend eternity with Him. You will look back at your life as you progress in your growth in Christ and you will be extremely relieved that you accepted Christ into your heart.
 
God bless you.
John Lysaught

Friday, March 22, 2013

Pope's Push for a One World Religion

One of the greatest dangers to Christianity today is the deliberate suppression of biblical truth for the sake of unity. The danger intensifies as we see many highly visible and influential Christians are jumping on the Vatican's ecumenical bandwagon. Instead of warning believers that this false unity is the emergence of the "last days" apostate church, evangelicals are embracing and applauding those who are engineering it. Instead of obeying biblical exhortations and examples to:



keep the gospel pure, we are tolerating those who preach another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9) be sanctified by the truth, they are joining hands with unbelievers (John 17:17). hate everything false, they are tolerating doctrines of demons and counterfeit gospels (Psalm 119:104, 128). expose and name the agents of compromise, they are enduring them (Eph. 5:11, 2 Tim. 1-4).



The Church Must Be Warned



Amazingly, we seldom hear warnings against apostasy from our pulpits. Rarely are false teachers, who seductively lead people away from the true faith, exposed. These apostates are appearing as ministers of righteousness and are facing very little opposition. They successfully deceive the undiscerning because pastors and church leaders are not speaking out against them. Very few Christians are warning the church of these ferocious wolves dressed in sheep's clothing. The twenty-first century church needs strong leaders like the apostle Paul. He warned the early church, "even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears" (Acts 20:30-31). Throughout the Scriptures we are exhorted to test every spirit, every teacher and every doctrine because men are so easily deceived.



The Vatican's Strategy



It is indeed disturbing to see so many evangelicals unaware of the Vatican's strategy for bringing the world under the dominion of the papacy. The Vatican has made a concerted effort since 1965 to bring their "separated brothers' back home to "holy mother the church." In his 1995 encyclical Et Unum Sint, Pope John Paul II said he intends "to promote every suitable initiative...to increase the unity of all Christians until they reach full communion" and "to encourage the efforts of all who work for the cause of unity." The pope's stated desire is "to gather all people and all things into Christ, so as to be for all-an inseparable sacrament of unity... expressed in the common celebration of the Eucharist." During a week of prayer for Christian unity Pope John Paul II said, "I gladly take this opportunity to call the attention of all believers to the ecumenical commitment that marked VC II. The council rightly defined the division among Christians as a scandal. The council Fathers felt the need to beg pardon of God and of their brethren for the sins committed against unity." He asked Catholics "to cultivate an authentic spiritual ecumenism" through the Virgin Mary [not through the Lord Jesus]. The success of the pope's push for unity can be seen by the announcement made last year by the Archbishop of Canterbury. He urged all Christians to recognize the Pope as the supreme authority of a new global church (6/99 CRN News). In a document called The Gift of Authority, he describes the Pope as a "gift to be received by all the churches." It would do us all well to heed the words of C.H. Spurgeon, "Ignorance has been one of the grand agents of Popery ever since her establishment; by it, the eyes of men have been so blinded that they can scarcely discern between good and evil, and follow implicitly any guide even until they fall into the ditch of perdition."



Catholic priest Tom Forrest, who is head of Evangelization 2000 said, "Our job is to make people as richly and as fully Christian as we can make them by bringing them into the Catholic Church. So evangelization is never fully successful, it's only partial until the convert is made a member of Christ's body by being led into the Catholic Church."



The Vatican's ecumenical movement goes beyond the unity of all professing Christians. Their strategy is to bring all religions under the power and influence of the papacy. Pope John Paul II has been traveling the world to build bridges to all non-Christian religions. In a recent speech he said, "Christians and Muslims, we meet one another in faith in the one God...and strive to put into practice...the teaching of our respective holy books. Today, dialogue between our two religions [Roman Catholicism and Islam] is more necessary than ever. There remains a spiritual bond which unites us and which we must strive to recognize and develop." Even Mother Theresa had the ecumenical spirit as noted from her book Servants of Love. She stated, "we went every day to pray in some temple or church. The Archbishop gave us permission to do so. We prayed with the Jews, the Armenians, the Anglicans, the Jains, the Sikhs, the Buddhists, and the Hindus. It was extraordinary. All hearts united in prayer to the one true God."



As we watch the Vatican we can see a seductive strategy for uniting all Christians. They masterfully and deliberately redefine biblical terms to make them more vague, ambiguous and acceptable to both Catholics and Protestants. An example of this is the 1999 Lutheran-Roman Catholic "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification." In the declaration, Rome uses equivocal and indefinite words to affirm the doctrine of "justification by faith alone" but, at the same time, continues to affirm the anathema's that condemn all who believe this doctrine. We must not be misled. Rome has not changed its position on things that really matter! Instead they take advantage of professing Christians who lack discernment or who are unwilling to contend for "the faith."



Two Kinds of Unity



Tragically, the evangelical community continues to move away from sound doctrine for the cause of unity. This only fuels the fires of ecumenism. When church leaders are willing to suppress doctrinal truth they are allowing the walls that separate the church from the world to come down. Doctrine is what divides believers from unbelievers. While unity and brotherhood sound wonderful to a hostile world full of fighting and killing, the Bible condemns any unity that is not founded in God's truth. False unity is based upon man's ambitions and is independent of God (Gen. 11:1-9). Religious unity is the false unity of the Antichrist (Rev. 17-18) and should be resisted by God's people. Biblical unity is based on apostolic truth (Eph. 4:3,13) and is a work of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). Biblical unity is not man-made, but man is exhorted to keep it. Biblical unity is impossible apart from the one true and settled faith taught by the Apostles. God's people are called upon to "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). There is no spiritual unity whatsoever between those who believe the Gospel and those who do not. True Christian unity is modeled when believers are united together in mind, faith and purpose to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, while submitting to the authority of His Word.



Contending for the Faith



As the ecumenical movement gathers momentum, we must be strong and continue to contend for the faith, no matter what others might do or say. Let us pray for our evangelical leaders to return to the authority of Scripture for every issue of faith. Let us use God's Word to lovingly admonish any church leader who encourages unity with apostates or unbelievers. And finally, let us resist the pressure to participate in any activity or event that will deliberately suppress or compromise biblical truth for the sake of unity. We must return to the infallible, inerrant and inspired Word of God to heed its warnings and obey its commands. The Bible exhorts us to test all teachers and spirits (1 John 4:1,6). We are to expose false teachings and the evil deeds of darkness (Eph. 5:11). Christians are to lovingly confront and rebuke false teachers (Titus 1:9, 13). We are to separate from those who persist in teaching error (Romans 16:17; Titus 3:10). If we ignore these exhortations we may be disqualified for service (2 Timothy 2:20), or worse yet, be identified with the false teachers themselves (2 John 10-11).

By Mike Gendron

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

They Claim to Speak for God

 
A very large part of Christendom in the United States is enamored with those who claim to speak for God. If you think that’s an overstatement, simply tune into some of the programing on Trinity Broadcasting Network or some of the other cable religious networks. What you will see are churches filled with thousands of Christians hanging on to every word of a man or a woman who is declaring what God has just revealed to him or her. The content ranges from the mundane to the bizarre. To some observers who are fairly well versed in the Scriptures, what they are hearing and seeing is laughable. But that’s a tragic reaction by some who are forgetting that many of those being led astray by the so-called new prophets and apostles are their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Most North American believers are wonderfully and prayerfully sympathetic to the plight of fellow Christians who are undergoing terrible persecutions for their faith in foreign lands, yet too few have a real concern for fellow believers here in the West who are being spiritually seduced and whose biblical faith is being critically undermined. The tendency is to write off most false preachers and teachers as religious kooks and to think no more about their captive audience. All true believers, whether or not they have been led into false teaching, make up the body of Christ. When one part of the body is seduced and suffers, it affects the entire body (1 Corinthians:12:25-27).
Not only is such a cavalier attitude wrong biblically, but it is extremely shortsighted and therefore blinds a person to the seductions and ultimate deceptions that are involved. In this series of articles we want to present a wider view of what’s involved with those who “claim to speak for God,” demonstrating that it’s far more than a few delusional zealots but rather a host of men and women, ministries, and movements that have an agenda and methodologies, all of which are contrary to the Word of God. In that endeavor, they have captured the hearts and minds of multitudes of Christians, mostly those among the Pentecostals and Charismatics, as well as staggering numbers of young adults, many from conservative evangelical backgrounds.
Dave Hunt and I have addressed this subject in bits and pieces in our books and in many articles in  The Berean Call  newsletters, but we haven’t communicated in a comprehensive way the extent of the spiritually destructive teachings and practices involved in this movement nor the scope of this development and its agenda. Now, however, there is a book available that covers the topic more extensively than anything yet in print.  Wandering Stars: Contending for the Faith with the New Apostles and Prophets , authored by Keith Gibson, not only explains the methods of this movement from beginning to end, but it also exposes its satanically inspired contribution to the progressive development of the kingdom and religion of the Antichrist. Gibson’s observations need to be heeded: “The majority of the church has not taken seriously the claims of the modern apostles and prophets [that they are] introducing a new paradigm into the Body of Christ. These claims are far more than idle boasts. Indeed the paradigm shifts have already begun in many segments of Christianity. To say that the movement has grown rapidly would be a gross understatement” (p. 10).
The root fallacy of the movement is the view of how one receives communication from God. Most if not all of the leaders subscribe to the teaching that the Greek terms  rhema  and  logos  found in the Bible describe different ways of hearing from God. This has been a fundamental teaching among historic religious movements such as The Latter Rain, Manifest Sons of God, and the prosperity-and-healing-promoting Word/Faith teachers. They conclude that  logos  refers to the written word and  rhema  refers to the spoken word. Although the Bible uses the terms interchangeably, making no distinction, in practice this false teaching elevates what (supposedly) God has spoken to them as  equal to  or  above  what is written in the Scriptures. It goes far beyond someone stating that he “believes” that the Lord has impressed something upon his heart. Gibson comments: “It is far different to claim an impression than it is to loudly pronounce, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ The former is the hesitant expression of a thought, something that may or may not be completely true. The latter is a claim to divine revelation that by definition cannot contain anything but truth and which carries divine authority and must be obeyed.” Whether implied or declared, Gibson adds, “The words ‘Thus saith the Lord’ change everything. A higher level of authority is being claimed. One should be extremely careful before one puts words in the mouth of God” (p. 8).
Many do not realize the dire consequences of being seduced by the “hearing from God” teachings. First of all, they completely undermine the objective nature of the Scriptures. In other words, when the Word of God is mixed with what some  believe  they’ve heard from God, it is difficult to objectively determine what is truly  from  God. That fundamentally destroys the value of the Bible in the lives of those who buy into the so-called new prophets of God. God’s written word is no longer relied upon as a determiner of truth, especially regarding the new doctrines presented, which those who are “hearing from God” promote in abundance. Unfortunately, that’s fine with such false teachers because their “new thing that God is doing” cannot then be challenged by the “old written words” found in Scripture.
Gibson notes with great concern: “No doctrine is under more regular assault from within the prophetic community than the doctrines relating to the Scriptures” (pp. 67-68). He adds, “Today’s prophets, and consequently their followers as well, are consistently sloppy in their approach to Scripture, frequently ignoring context, history, and grammar. They can even be seen redefining words when necessary to force verses to fit their preconceived ideas. The intent of the author of the text is rarely considered. The Bible is left to mean whatever the prophets say it means today” (p. 71).
If conservative evangelicals think that this drift away from God’s Word is a problem unique to Charismatics, they need to consider their own churches. Is  discipleship  a significant part of your fellowship? How about  apologetics ? In your Bible studies, are you actually studying books of the Bible or books by contemporary authors? Is the term  hermeneutics  a foreign word to most members of your fellowship? If that’s the case, you also have something to be very concerned about.
In  Wandering Stars , Keith Gibson underscores the critical necessity of hermeneutics for every believer. “Hermeneutics has been described as the art and science of biblical interpretation. In handling the Bible properly, one should consider such things as context, history, grammar, and the genre of the literature among other things. The goal of hermeneutics is to understand the passage according to the original intent of the author, as inspired by the Holy Spirit.” Simply stated, “The Bible should be studied in its historical and grammatical context and with the normal understanding of the words used. The intent is to discover the meaning intended by the author of the particular passage….It is essentially a belief that God meant the Bible to be understood by the normal believer within the community of faith. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘plain sense’ principle of interpretation” (p. 70).
Simplifying it further, it involves not much more than what happens when two people have a normal conversation. Both are aware of the context of what they are communicating, know enough grammar to converse in sentences, and understand the meaning of the words used. We all do this every day, so it’s mystifying that most misunderstandings of Scripture stem from not following the simple rules of hermeneutics.
Following such “plain sense” rules would eliminate the “prophetic hermeneutic” (i.e., believing what a dynamic preacher says just because he claims to be a prophet) that has caught many believers in the web of blindly following those who claim to be speaking for God. Gibson has seen the damage this has done to many believers’ trust in God’s Word. He writes, “The impact of this ‘prophetic hermeneutic’ is serious indeed. In the first place, as has already been stated, this type of approach to Scripture causes the Bible to lose its ability to provide boundaries for doctrine and practice because the Bible simply has no objective meaning. The Scripture means whatever any particular prophetic teacher declares that the Spirit has told him it means today. This style of teaching also serves to remove any definite understanding of Scripture from the common man who realizes that he simply cannot see all the things in Scripture that these teachers are seeing. This makes the average church person dependent on these ‘inspired teachers’ in order to know what the Lord has said” (p. 78). Once that happens, the individual is vulnerable to whatever such a teacher dishes out and whatever direction the teacher wants to lead him.
Gibson spells out the tragic consequences of which few of us are aware: “Because these prophetic teachers do not approach God’s Word properly, they reach false conclusions. These false conclusions then support aberrant doctrines and unbiblical practices. These unbiblical practices and false doctrines undermine the historic truths of the church and distract Christians from the pure faith and the true work of the ministry” (p. 80).
It isn’t only ignorance of the Scriptures or mishandling them on the part of many of the leaders of the prophetic movement. Some seemingly distort them for their own purposes. Gibson quotes Wendy Alec, from her very popular book  Journal of the Unknown Prophet . This is what she claims she has received from Jesus: “For the Word alone is yesterday’s manna and even they [prophetic teachers] have seen deep in their hearts that it is no longer enough to feed my people” (quoted in  Wandering Stars , p. 86).
So the written Word of God is not only “no longer enough,” but it’s also “yesterday’s manna.” Scripture tells us that leftover manna “bred worms and stank” (Exodus16:20). Who would believe that Jesus, who is the living Word, the same yesterday, today, and forever, the One who said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew:24:35; Mark:13:31; Luke:21:33), would have anything to do with such a blasphemous statement? Yet thousands accept it unquestioningly. We can’t judge Alec’s heart in this, but it is obvious that she has relegated the written Word at least to an inferior position in comparison to what she and others are supposedly hearing from God today. Again, tragically, this is infecting our brothers and sisters who are part of the body of Christ.
The Scriptures give us a sober warning that I believe is most applicable to the day in which we live: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away  their  ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Again, sound doctrine is simply the teachings of the Word of God, which every believer is to read, heed, and obey. Yet, according to these teachers, since biblical doctrine stands in the way of the “new things God is doing,” it must be downgraded.
Gibson quotes prophetic movement leader Francis Frangipane: “We have instructed the church in nearly everything but becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. We have filled the people with doctrines instead of Deity; we have given them manuals instead of Emmanuel” (p. 122).
Frangipane and his cohorts have in fact done none of that. Gibson notes: “Frangipane seems oblivious to the fact that teaching people to become disciples of Jesus Christ would necessitate doctrinal instruction if for no other reason than because to teach them who Jesus is necessitates a doctrinal discussion. Additionally, how else is the church to follow the words of Christ given in the great commission and ‘teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you’ without instruction in doctrine?” (p. 114). Gibson’s response is stunning in its simplicity, yet what is even more amazing is that so many are not thinking through what they are accepting. He adds, “It is simply neither possible nor profitable to attempt to bypass doctrinal instruction. Discipleship may certainly involve more than merely doctrinal instruction but it cannot involve less” (p. 114).
The leaders of the prophetic movement of necessity must make it “involve less.” Rick Joyner, for example, declares: “We must first understand that our unity is not based on doctrines. Such unity is superficial at best. Our unity can only be found in Jesus. To focus our attention on Him and learn to love and cover one another is far more important than agreeing on all doctrines. Having like doctrines is not a basis for unity...it is a basis for division!” (p. 115). Although “doctrine divides” is the mantra of the new prophets and apostles, they are correct in a way with which they would not agree. Romans:16:17-18 sets the matter straight: “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences  contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned ; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” It is false doctrine, i.e., that which is “contrary to the doctrine” taught by the biblical apostles, that “cause[s] divisions.”
Of necessity and hopefully for edification, this first article majored on the fundamental erroneous teachings of the New Apostles and Prophets movement, i.e., its own false doctrines. With that understanding, it should come as no surprise as to how bizarre their beliefs and practices could and have become. In the next part of this series, the Lord willing, we will glean (primarily from  Wandering Stars ) who the leaders are and what is involved in their global dominionist agenda.   TBC
http://www.thebereancall.org/content/they-claim-speak-god-part-one 

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Gun Control





By Ron Graham





“O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the righteous, thou who triest the minds and hearts, thou righteous God.” Psalm 7:9. I love my brethren and care deeply for them, and I have a burden on my heart for the lost of this world. The strangeness and lateness of the hour compels me to write about a very distressing subject. Bible prophecy foretold the world, in the last days, would accept a world leader who will usher in a one world everything. To accomplish this agenda, there must first be control.
Here in the US our leaders are doing their part in this grand scheme of control by enacting regulations that will ultimately result in the authoritarian power over the masses. A major fine tuning is underway by those who wish to push their agenda of control upon Americans; they call it “Gun Control”. 
Murder by any other name is still murder, but the government seems to be confused on this point. Although our government is attempting to control guns supposedly so people won’t kill people, they conversely support the murder of babies, and call it abortion. “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us wantonly ambush the innocent;” Proverbs 1:11. These bureaucrats claim that the rash of mass murders across our land is the reason they need to control the distribution of guns and ammo. They neglect to mention anything about the millions of murders that occur yearly by the hands of paid American assassins.
Sixty million unborn babies have been murdered in their mother’s womb over the last 40 years. Not one gun was used in these legally sanctioned murders; when the guns are taken away from the citizenry we the people of the US will have about as much defense as the unborn in their mother’s womb. Perhaps it’s only fitting we die like the ones we would not stand up for. “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” Psalm 127:3. As a nation, America has turned her back on God, and by murdering the heritage of the Lord we’ve spit in His eye. What’s He got in store for America? Watch out America, God will not be mocked.
Murdering babies while still in their mother’s womb has now become commonplace in America and around the world. There is little resistance these days to the evil agenda of the power elite that has now been exposed to the light of day. These communist “progressive” elitists’ with their vested powers are boldly moving into other “control” arenas. Yes, abortion is a control mechanism as is the confiscation of guns. Now they’ve prepared and passed legislation (Obamacare) which effectively expands those murders to include other segments of society and to do so with complete impunity. Who will be next on their agenda to be eliminated? The aged, the infirm, the physically disabled, other handicapped, the mentally challenged? Anyone who is deemed to be a blight on society by these elitists and evil people will be targeted. Anyone who is not a productive member of society will be eliminated. Realizing there must be something more to their agenda than simply gun control is easy when we consider the many “controls” that have been, and are being, placed on our society today.
From what is being reported concerning all the gun and ammo sales across this land, there seems to be a lot of people, patriots of all sorts, ready and willing to stand up for their rights and for the rights of others. How many of those people will be as determined when forced to face overwhelming odds is unclear. There are many loyal Obamaites (followers of the Marxist messiah), which means that a good many people are now fully intent on capitulating to the government’s demands. At this point in America, gun control is only one aspect of controlling the citizenry. There are many more controls which ultimately must be firmly in place to finally usher in a one world everything.
The arming of the people was a good idea in the days when this country first strived to become an independent nation. But, in the eyes of these liberal socialist Marxist, the liberty of owning guns for the purpose of “self-defense” must be eliminated. The attack on our sovereignty didn’t begin with the mass murder of those innocent children in Connecticut. No indeed, we’ve been under attack for many decades. But what we see today is that their agenda is now coming to fruition.  
Why must all guns be confiscated (It is being reported that anything with a pistol grip is to be illegal)? Just as Japan wouldn’t attack America’s mainland when they had set their sights on world domination, the same holds true today for Marxist socialist liberals. In the mind of the Marxist sitting in the Oval office, everybody has guns and they will fire back when attacked – so for “control”, disarm them.
There are those who say gun control is only about control and has little or nothing to do with guns. If it weren’t for the guns the control would already be complete. My friends, we are living in a time that can only be deduced as the extreme last days. Evil abounds in every sector of society. Morality has lost its savor. People no longer desire a peaceful coexistence. Aggression and malice have replaced civility. These days It seems that hatred is power, the more power one exhibits the more hatred is exposed. Power and control are the necessities behind the agenda of these morally deranged Marxists. There is no other way to explain what we see occurring in the US. Those who have the power over the people today are forcing their wanton, evil agenda on the rest of us. Sadly, there just doesn’t seem to be many observers of the times who still have the fortitude to raise the banner of protest against this current blitzkrieg of attacks. 
The destruction of America is well on its way. In order for a one world government to become established, control over the populace is necessary. This means every nation on earth must comply so that the enemy can move in with minimal resistance. Obviously, no leadership bent on establishing such controls would want any nation to be as heavily armed as are individual Americans. As soon as gun control measures become law, many law abiding Americans will become lawbreakers. But control is control and the enemy will have control, for a while at least. Yes, I’m referring to a supernatural enemy. Satan can’t have his delusional human followers being gunned down, that would mean more training of more people and he’s running out of time. So, get ready for what’s looming on the horizon – a massive takeaway program.
The following examples are in essence control measures used to establish the agenda of the enemy: Climate change aka global warming, creating a dummbed down citizenry through public education, even an overweight citizenry completely dependent on government handouts can be seen as part of their agenda, all major news media in the hands of the progressives. Eliminating the patriarchal head of the family and introducing the abomination of homosexuality as a normal and accepted lifestyle is part of their scheme to bring down the moral society we once knew.  These and many more extreme evils are all part of the agenda of the Luciferian elite. To give thought to all this evil boggles the mind of the sane; many simply refuse to believe such overwhelming evil could have infiltrated our hallowed halls of government. They have, quite successfully, infiltrated many of our Christian congregations as well. Their agenda is control and they are quite adept when it comes to technique.
Are these followers of Satan out to kill us all? We The People now consume genetically modified (GM) crops and animals fed with GM food, which many believe is causing untold health problems in America. Something evil is rousing, yet not many have a clue. The leadership in our government is talking about taking over all the water rights in our land, even on our farms. We will soon be forced to turn over the rights to our own personal drilled water wells to the government bureaucrats. This way the water can be doled out as they see fit. Full and severe control is at the doorstep of mankind.
Everything our current leadership is involved in is a precursor to establishing the one world leader that every true follower of Jesus Christ knows is coming, yet dreads the idea. The word of God and current observed events around our nation and around the globe align perfectly. All will come to pass just as is written in the Holy Scriptures. 
I’m as aghast as anyone at what I see approaching. The fact is we’ve grown accustomed to living in this world, and we’ve grown accustomed to our customs. All the signs point to our federal government preparing to eliminate scores of its citizens. This can be easily validated by searching the web for information on the HLS and its purchase of large amounts of ammo. Billions of rounds of hollow point ammunition for practice purposes? If that be the case it’s an unprecedented move, thus suspect. I believe there is an alternative motive behind the purchase of such a huge mass of rounds of hollow point ammunition. If I’m correct, then my suspicions will soon be proven true. “…For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14. There is a time to live and a time to die and no one will live past their God ordained lifespan.
Controlling the populace is the current goal of the elected leadership in America. Gun control is a major hurdle, but it must occur because the god of this world is pursuing for that end to his agenda. History details for us that many times in the past, in other nations around the globe, the leadership of those nations enacted the same controlling measures as we see occurring in the US today, always with extreme negative affects to the inhabitants of those nations. Millions were slaughtered in the 20th Century alone by the leadership of those nations as “control” became established. There will be the same in the US. Why? Because the citizenry of the US has forgotten their history books. When people forget history they are doomed to repeat it.
When the sheep fall asleep the wolf pack takes the heap. We The People have ceded what we once had to the Federal government. The leadership in America has determined that the sheep are nothing more than just that - sheep. When the people’s votes can be bought by simply giving them a free cell phone, you can be sure that those people have lost their senses. The American people have become so very delusional that lies are now seen as truth. The few that are not under the delusion, who see the lies for what they are, and who will make a stand with their new rifles, will no doubt be hounded until they are destroyed by the very same leaders they placed in elected office. The end is in sight. We are being transformed into a world which the antichrist can manipulate with ease. Where is our hope?
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13. We who have placed our lives in the hands of God by believing in His only begotten Son, our blessed hope is Jesus, and in His hands we are secure. I’m sorry to say we are in the minority. Many of our family members and our dear friends who have rejected God’s free gift for their salvation are in for a horrible future, especially after Christ relocates His Ekklesia to Heaven.
The phenomenon unfolding before us is like watching a woman in travail – birth pangs. There is an agenda being pushed upon us which will ultimately establish a position of such power over the rest of humanity that mankind will no longer have a sense of any control over their own lives. Certainly we are dwelling in the time spoken of as the “…beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:8.
Lest we, the body of Christ, forget “…God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7. Jesus is coming soon! Hallelujah! Amen!
God bless you all,
Ron Graham

Source: http://raptureready.com/featured/graham/g272.html

Friday, March 8, 2013

Marks of an Excellent Shepherd: Faithfulness


By John MacArthur
Based on the enormous volume of available material, pastoral ministry would seem to be very complicated. Pastors face a bewildering number of choices as they seek to lead their people. They read books, attend seminars, follow programs promoted by church-growth gurus, and pattern their leadership style after successful pastors. But all too often, the programs, methods, and gimmicks fail to achieve spiritual results, cheating both pastors and congregations of the true blessings of God.
In actuality, however, pastoral work is confoundingly simple. The principles and directions for successful ministry that are laid out in Scripture are sufficient to fully equip the man of God (2 Corinthians 3:5-6, cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Instead of studying demographics and marketing techniques, or searching for cultural hot buttons to push, church leaders need to understand and obey biblical truth. Methods and trends come and go, and today’s sensational new programs will be tomorrow’s failed experiments. But the principles of godly truth and virtue that characterize an effective minister are timeless. Power and effectiveness in the ministry come from a heart that is right before God and passionately concerned about His plan and His people.
Nowhere is there a better model of a godly spiritual leader than the apostle Paul. His success in the ministry was the overflow of his godly life. He was a man who was focused on the right goals, driven by the right passions, and motivated by the right desires.
In the face of assaults on the Corinthian church by false apostles, Paul was forced to defend himself by presenting his apostolic credentials. And in the midst of his passionate and humble self-defense (2 Corinthians 12:12-19) we see the true marks of an excellent pastor—each one in contrast to the characteristics of false teachers.
The first mark is faithfulness. Unlike the false teachers in Corinth, who sought wealth, fame, and power, Paul’s goal was to be faithful to the Lord. Because he was determined to be loyal to God’s will no matter the cost, he performed the work of an apostle “with all perseverance” (2 Corinthians 12:12). Despite all the hostility, opposition, and persecution from the world he faced throughout his ministry, Paul remained faithful.
Paul ministered faithfully in the midst of constant duress and relentless persecution. As he wrote in his first inspired letter to the Corinthians, “I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31). He lived every day knowing it could be his last; the mob in the next town he preached in might take his life, or one of the numerous Jewish plots against his life (Acts 20:19) might finally succeed.
God’s spokesmen have always faced opposition and hostility. He warned Jeremiah, “Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. . . . They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you” (Jeremiah 1:17, 19).
The Lord charged Ezekiel, “And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 2:6). John the Baptist was the greatest man who had lived up to his time (Matthew 11:11), yet he suffered imprisonment (14:3) and martyrdom (14:10).
And while most pastors and church leaders today won’t ever face physical persecution or the threat of death, they still endure opposition. To begin with, they’re facing off against a sinful culture bent in defiance of God’s Word. The world hates those who bear the message of truth and light because they hate the Truth and Light (John 3:20).
On top of that, biblical shepherds are charged with leading and protecting flocks full of sinners—each one with his or her own sinful habits and patterns to break and spiritual growth to nurture and stimulate. It’s a joy and privilege to shepherd God’s people, but it’s also difficult, sometimes discouraging work. And from the world’s perspective, there’s little reward for faithful shepherds’ labor.
The truth is the world has nothing of lasting value to offer them. Instead, God’s true servants seek an eternal reward. Jesus told His followers, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great” (Matthew 5:11-12). At the end of his life, Paul triumphantly wrote to Timothy, “In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).
False teachers work for earthly rewards; true preachers work faithfully for a heavenly reward. Paul was determined to remain loyal to his calling despite the hostility from the world, knowing that “momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Excellent servants of the Lord aren’t hindered, swayed, or overwhelmed by difficult circumstances—they faithfully press on with their focus fixed on their heavenly reward.

Monday, March 4, 2013

“A Higher Power by Whatever Name”?


Question: Why are Christians so adamantly opposed to the many other concepts of God that are honored in other religions? I agree with what Vice President Al Gore said at the 1993 Presidential Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C.: “Faith in God, reliance upon a Higher Power, by whatever name, is in my view essential.” Think of the unity there could be if religions would stop quarreling and honor all concepts of God in an open-minded and brotherly fashion!
 
Response [Excerpts]: Yes, think of the unity there could be if we would all agree that two plus two equals five—but that wouldn’t make it so. A “Higher Power”? How high? Higher than what? And what does this mean?
With all due respect to you and the Vice President, what you both propose is completely irrational. Furthermore, you aren’t being “open-minded and brotherly,” as you think you are. By insisting upon the acceptance of any “ Higher Power” and thus any god, you thereby refuse to honor the one true God or even to admit His existence. . . . Alan Bloom’s book The Closing of the American Mind point[s] out that “openness” has become the new fad in America, especially in education. Every idea must be respected, nothing can be wrong, and no one should be “put down” by suggesting that someone might be in error. He explained that Americans have in fact become so open to everything that they have become closed to the idea that something might be right and something else wrong. The closing of the American mind . . . by openness ! In much the same way, you and the Vice President have become so open to every god that you are closed to the possibility that there just might be one true God and all the others false.
Let’s put your proposal on a practical level. How would you like it if everyone denied your unique individuality and specific personal identity and looked upon you as simply a representative of the general concept of humanness? Would you like being confused with a murderer, rapist . . . or some other criminal simply because each one of them also represents humanness? And what would you think if, to justify this travesty, it was said that “any human” will do? Why not, if “any Higher Power” will do?
There could hardly be any greater insult than such a denial of the truth about you as a unique person! You have definite qualities and traits that distinguish you from all other persons who have ever existed or will ever exist on this earth. . . . To deny your individuality would be to deny your very existence.
Suppose that your wife or husband and your children . . . cared not whether it was you or some other form of humanness sharing their home and intimacies of the husband-wife relationship! After all, such a relationship need not be with a particular person but merely with any person—just as any “ Higher Power, by whatever name” is good enough. Let’s not be narrow-minded!
Is it not an even greater farce to suggest that God’s personal qualities and attributes, which separate Him by an impassable gulf from His creation and all beings in it, are meaningless? . . . How dare you say that God’s love for you means nothing but that you would be just as happy worshiping and trusting and loving some cosmic energy source or an idol or even the devil!
To Create the Universe Requires Definite Qualities
The fact is that no thinking person can embrace just “any god” as the Creator of this universe—and there must be a Creator. The logic of our own existence and the incredible design and structure of the universe around us force us to certain conclusions about God. Based upon such conclusions we must reject any concept of God that violates these requirements. It isn’t true that “any god” will do. And no “power,” no matter how “high,” could create the universe and mankind in it. Only a personal God of infinite power, wisdom, and love could do so.
Certainly, no one could reasonably attribute the cre-ation of this universe to some idol made by human hands out of clay or wood or stone!  . . . Who could possibly believe that an idol, which itself was made by human hands and has to be carried about, had any power at all to do either good or evil? Yet the majority of mankind down through history has trusted in idols. Even in today’s supposedly modern world, with radio and television widely publicizing the amazing advancements of science, several billion people still worship idols. . . . Such misplaced trust leads to spiritual darkness and bondage.
Mankind will be judged for such folly, and justly so. The very conscience and intelligence that God has given us contradict such superstitious madness. The Bible points out the folly of trusting in idols:
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not: they have ears, but they hear not; noses they have, but they smell not; they have hands, but they handle not; feet they have, but they walk not; neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is everyone that trusteth in them. (Psalm:115:4–8)
When he gathered snake worshipers, fire worshipers, spiritists, animists, and witch doctors—along with Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims... to pray for peace, Pope John Paul II made the astonishing statement that they were all praying to the same God! Obviously, there are innumerable false gods and false religions, and the Bible denounces every one of these because they seduce mankind from knowing and obeying the one true God.

Source: http://www.thebereancall.org/content/february-2013-in-defense