Tag Archives: BAPTIST

DECEIVER

Rick Warren False Prophet

In that day the LORD of hosts will be  For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty  To the remnant of His people,  For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. Isaiah 28:5-6

This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance. Isaiah 28:29

Julia Duin, a newspaper columnist, in her Stairway to Heaven[xv] column  wrote in the Washington Times:

Atheist sees global faith revival

… Which is why I was glad to see two editors from the Economist magazine release “God is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith is Changing the World” earlier this year. Co-author Adrian Wooldridge said he and John Micklethwait got the idea while compiling their 2004 book “The Right Nation,” about America’s conservatives. It struck them that religious observance is increasing worldwide and that irreligious Europe, not America, is the exception.

“Religion now goes hand in hand with modernity,” he said. “Something happened from the 1970s onward that put that [into action] and now the world is going in the American direction.”

…Like 21st-century versions of Alexis de Tocqueville, the French historian whose travels about America in the early 1830s revealed how the country’s religious character worked hand in hand with its fledgling democracy, the two men traveled the world to see how religion is affecting the globe. China, Guatemala, Nigeria, Kenya and various Latin American countries were the biggest hot spots.

Pentecostal, he concluded, will be the major form of 21st century Christianity.

“The sort of religion that is on the rise is the emotive, assertive charismatic religion,” he said. “It’s compelling Catholicism in Latin America to change. There’s a physical surprise when you go to Guatemala and see how vibrant the charismatic and Pentecostal movements are. Same thing for Lagos and Nairobi. I went into that book underestimating the power and vitality of religion.”

My friend Dr Pat Holiday and I are very intellectual Christians and not just emotional Pentecostals. And in her article New Age Pastor to the World -Rick Warren[xvi], Pat writes:

Signs are exploding everywhere that Jesus Christ is coming back soon. Apostasy and the great falling away is a key sign. The Seeker Friendly Church Model promoted through the New Age Internationalist Pastor, Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church, is a system that no longer holds to the Biblical principles or the fact that Jesus is the ONLY way back to God the Father!

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me,” (Jn. 14:6). Dr. Pat Holiday http://www.miracleinternetchurch.com/

Rev. Warren has become one of America’s leading Christian leaders. Sadly more than 400,000 pastors attend his “purpose-driven” church seminars; his books, including “The Purpose Driven Life,” have become international best-sellers.

In the premier issue of Purpose Driven Connection, Rick Warren has once again brought in New Age influences, which are given as tools to build Purpose Driven connections. America’s most popular evangelical pastor, who few Christian leaders have dared to challenge on his beliefs and actions, is moving swiftly toward a global spirituality that will ultimately reject the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. The Purpose Driven Connection is a step toward this reality.

In a section of the magazine[xvii] called “The Scene,” one page is devoted to popular “Christian” books. Warren has included books that have contemplative and or emerging slants, such as Brennan Manning’s Ragamuffin Gospel, Bill Isley, MD says, “A man-centered gospel will always exalt man by downplaying his true sin nature. It will then reconstruct any and all elements of its theology to be consistent with that man-centeredness. Manning has clearly accomplished that objective in this, and presumably, other works. Man desires an egalitarian God Who is not sovereign and Who would never judge a person. [xviii]

Also listing The Shack as a “notable best-selling Christian” book (no disclaimer or warning provided, which gives the indication to readers that this is a good trustworthy book, and yet within its pages is the message of the Black Madonna, [xix]that God is in all things.

YOU WERE CREATED FOR CONNECTIONS WITH HUMANS?

An emphasis in Rick Warren’s new magazine is “Connection.” In the “Editor’s Letter,” Rick Warren says: “YOU WERE CREATED FOR CONNECTIONS…. Life is all about connecting. A disconnected life merely exists” (p.2-3). Warren promises that the Purpose Driven Connection will give the “power” and the tools for this connection. “Power flows through connections…. When you’re a member of the Purpose Driven Connection, we’ll help you develop the four kinds of relationships you need in order to grow: mentors, models, partners, and friends” [xx]

False prophet and false gospel . . . absolutely not! You were born to fellowship with God and He’s made the provisions to do so!

Well I know my bible well enough to know that intellectualism and perspiration didn’t produce the church of Jesus Christ  or Christians in the book of Acts? The bible says

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47

In my opinion Rick Warren is your typical Baptist pastor of the flesh and I used to be a Baptist for a number of years. And it’s a fact according to Billy Graham’s own statistic that 85% of their converts fall away and who is to say that the other 15 % are Christians since they deny the Baptism of the Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit.  You cannot say that you are a believer and ignore 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 and say that you believe only in love and 1 Corinthians 13. No, you  must accept all of the New Testament scriptures or reject them all. You cannot pick and choose what you want

The word of God is unchanged concerning believers of which Rick Warren and his bunch are not and have not accompanying signs:

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;  “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”   So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. Mark 16:15-20

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.  And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,  that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

It’s a fact that the church of the flesh including Rick Warren’s church preaches with persuasive words of human wisdom and not in demonstration of the spirit and power so that our faith might not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.  And for that reason alone, Warren is a false prophet. And the bible tells us:

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.  For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:10-16

Seriously Rick Warren cannot say “For who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” And I know and do many things by the Spirit of the Lord and the mind of Christ. And that is not a lie but a fact!

For the record I have fought with B.G.E.A. organization who told me they were going to sue me because of my article ECFA IS A JOKE http://walthope.tripod.com/ecfa.htm  and I told them go ahead and they ran away.

I also fought with many professors of the Southern Baptist Convention  seminaries for many years about their rejection of the Baptism of the Spirit. I also I fought directly with Jerry Falwell who was a Southern Baptist and a liar who didn’t tell people the truth about many things!

It’s my opinion that a denomination which was born out of a desire to have slaves such as SBC can produce anything good!  And the “Fundamentalist” are very divisive that even Billy Graham didn’t like them and embraced the term Evangelical

For the record “Tongues: is the least of all gifts but it leads into all the gifts of the Spirit and Apostle Paul still stated in 1 Corinthians 14:5, “I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied;” And Billy Graham  said he didn’t like tongues because he didn’t like anything controversial! Hogwash! God’s word is unchanging:

If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.  But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant.  Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.  Let all things be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:37-40

AS MANY AS I LOVE, I (JESUS) REBUKE AND CHASTEN

Revelation 3
14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ — and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked —
18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

1 Timothy 5:20 Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.

2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Titus 1:13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,

Titus 2:15 Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.

YES TODAY’S FALSE PREACHERS OF MEGA CHURCHES DON’T KNOW THE WORD REBUKE AND THEY REBUKE NO ONE AS THEY ARE JUST ENTERTAINERS WITH A MISSION TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD AND SAY FALSELY THAT YOU CAN LIVE IN YOUR SIN AND GO TO HEAVEN!

EXTRACT FROM Be Not Ignorant
http://walthope.tripod.com/ignorant.htm
https://walthope.wordpress.com
https://plus.google.com/u/0/100302133262254344211/posts

Seeker Sensitive “Church”

DHA HALF TRUTH IS A LIE WHICH LEADS TO DECEPTION

A continual emphasis on a certain truth in the bible becomes a lie and leads to deception. There are aspects of what false ones teach which are true and valid but they are not the only truths in the bible!

This brings me to the two great movements of deception in Christendom today
1) Seeker Sensitive “Church” movement
2) THIRD WAVE

Both movements don’t have a high regard for scriptures as being central to the Christian faith and experience and hence are dangerous and lead into apostasy. One is of Baptist origin and the other Pentecostal

Many Americans especially blacks loved martin Luther king the adulterer who was never a born again Christian but a liberal Christian just like Andy Stanley the son of THE Southern Baptist preacher Charles Stanley!

Philip Lee writes,

What Andy Stanley is Teaching This Month and Why it Matters

I’ve listened to Andy Stanley’s most recent Sunday sermon three times now.  I watched the 9:00 AM service live online.  I listened to the download made available by North Point Community Church, which came from the second service and contains a few minor differences compared to the sermon I watched live.  Finally, I listened to Chris Rosebrough’s review of the sermon in the February 16 edition of Fighting for the Faith.

Why? I think what’s happening at North Point this month is going to have long-lasting effects on American, and even global, Christianity.

Andy Stanley is easily one of the top five most influential pastors in America, and maybe top 2-3.  It’s impossible to quantify such things of course, but it is easily seen if you pay attention to the broad landscape of American Evangelicalism.  It’s no secret that pastors around the country duplicate Stanley’s sermons and series, and there have been documented cases of pastors plagiarizing Stanley word-for-word.  Thousands and thousands of pastors around America and around the world look to Stanley as a leader and follow his teaching and methods.

Stanley is currently teaching a five week series titled Brand: New.  Stanley’s assumption is that Christianity has been corrupted by “Temple Model” thinking since the days of Constantine.  He defines the Temple Model as being controlled by sacred places, sacred texts, sacred men, and sincere followers.

His definition of the true Jesus religion comes from half a verse in Galatians.  In the ESV, Galatians 5:6 in its entirety reads, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”  In his sermon series, Stanley has repeatedly quoted the NIV’s translation of the second sentence of the verse which reads, “The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself through love.”

Stanley is attempting to build a doctrine of Christianity on half of one verse.  And his version of Christianity is one in which it doesn’t matter what a person believes or does, as long as they love their neighbors.

In other words, Stanley is embracing theological liberalism.  Actually it might be better to say he’s no longer hiding his theological liberalism.

Three years ago Al Mohler asked, following an Andy Stanley sermon, if the megachurch is the new liberalism.  In that sermon, Stanley told the story of two men in his church involved in a homosexual relationship.  One man was divorced, the other still married.  Stanley told the congregation that the men were forbidden from serving in the church, not because they were in a homosexual relationship, but because one was still married and therefore committing adultery.  Many people questioned at the time if Stanley was signaling his approval of gay Christianity – the idea that a person can be actively involved in a homosexual relationship and a Christian.

When I first read about what Stanley was teaching in the Brand: New series I thought he was going to come out as gay affirming.  After listening to the first and third sermons in the series I’m not convinced he’s going to make that explicit at this time, but I do believe he is laying the groundwork to do this in the future.  Based on comments made this past Sunday, it does seem likely that Stanley is going to endorse female leadership in the church in week five of the series.

All of this is significant because of Stanley’s influence.

If Stanley openly embraces liberalism in the name of bringing more people to Jesus, thousands of others will follow. It should be noted that liberals have been making the same argument for more than two centuries, and that every church that has embraced liberalism is now dead or dying, but the arguments keep being made and people keep buying into them.

Liberalism has always denied essential doctrines of the Christian faith in order to make the faith more palatable to unbelievers.  The problem is that if people don’t believe in the God who has revealed in Himself in Scripture, if they don’t believe in the Jesus revealed in Scripture, they are not in Christ, no matter what they call themselves.

The seeker-sensitive movement, in which Stanley is a major player, seeks to make Christianity as accessible as possible to the largest number of people possible.  Up to now, most seeker-sensitive churches have remained theologically sound on paper while functioning as liberal churches.  They’ve managed to keep their feet in both worlds.

I think that’s about to change.

Stanley has been always been zeroed in on what’s happening in the culture.  Twenty years ago when he started North Point in the heart of the Bible Belt, he could not have survived by openly embracing liberalism.  The Bible Belt culture simply would not have tolerated a pastor who openly endorsed homosexual Christianity, female pastors, a denial of the Biblical account of creation, or any of the other hot-button issues of our day.

Things have changed.  Even among professing Christians today, very few still hold to those positions.  Stanley now sees that it is more costly to deny that a homosexual can be involved in homosexual sin and be a Christian than it is to embrace gay Christianity.  Even in the Bible Belt, it will be more costly to deny evolution than embrace it.

So, he will say that it doesn’t matter what a person believes as long as they love.

It was very telling, and honestly shocking, that it in this past Sunday’s sermon he indicated that it didn’t matter that Arius believed Jesus wasn’t eternal.  For 1700 years virtually every branch of religion that calls itself Christian; Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestantism has agreed that Arius was a heretic who was outside the Christian faith.  Stanley said Sunday that it was no big deal.  It doesn’t matter what a person believes, as long as they love.

The problem is that Jesus and the Apostles repeatedly warned against those who would proclaim a different gospel or a different Jesus.  A Jesus who is not eternally God, as Arius taught, is most certainly a different Jesus than the one revealed in Scripture.  The blood of a different Jesus can not atone for our sins.

I do believe that God’s grace is such that those who are unknowingly caught up in a false system can be saved in spite of what they’re being taught if they recognize their sinfulness and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.  But woe to those who preach a different gospel.  It’s ironic that Stanley is using a verse from Galatians as the foundation for his series.  In Galatians 1:6-9 Paul wrote:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 

The immediate context of Paul’s letter to the Galatians was the Judaizers attempting to make circumcision a requirement for salvation.  Stanley is clearly not doing that.  But, in saying that the only thing that matters at the end of the day is how well we’ve loved our neighbors, he is coming dangerously close to preaching a different gospel and putting people back under the yoke of the Law, if he hasn’t crossed the line.

The summary of the Law and the Prophets, according to Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40, is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Loving your neighbor as you love yourself is Law, and the Law cannot save you unless you keep it perfectly from the day you’re born until the day you die.  The problem?  We’re all born dead in trespasses and sins and cannot keep the Law.  We’re all guilty.  So telling people it doesn’t matter what they believe as long as they love others is actually putting people back under the yoke of the Law.

Should we love God? Absolutely! Should we love our neighbors? Absolutely!  But if we try to do so without being given new life by God’s grace through faith in the Jesus revealed to us in Scripture, we remain dead in our trespasses and sins and children of God’s wrath.  There is no salvation without repentance and faith in the true Jesus.

I don’t yet know what Stanley is going to say in the final two sermons of this series.  I think we all need to be paying attention though.  Stanley’s influence is such that if he goes off the rails of orthodoxy and into apostasy, American Christianity as we know it will change forever.  I don’t think I’m exaggerating.

Source: By Philip Lee, What Andy Stanley is Teaching This Month and Why it Matters, 24 Emmaus Rd, http://24emmausroad.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/what-andy-stanley-is-teaching-this.html, Published 17/02/2015. (Accessed 19/02/2015.)

APOSTATE RICK-WARREN http://www.scribd.com/doc/136880990/
Rick Warren’s Son Had Ricks Warren’s Demons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2kCWywY5QU
Rick Warren’s Son Commits Suicide http://wp.me/s2M7AJ-rwsuicid
RICK WARREN EXPOSED BY DR. PAT HOLIDAY
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30458758/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/62058989/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/106762970
EXPOSING THE COUNTERFEIT http://deceptionfree.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/exposing-the-counterfeit-in-the-emergent-church

BILL JOHNSON IS THE DECEIVER  http://www.scribd.com/doc/25418818
GRAVE SUCKING BILL JOHNSON http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1mT
WARNING BILL JOHNSON AND BETHEL CHURCH http://moriel.org/MorielArchive/index.php/discernment/church-issues/warning-bill-johnson-and-bethel-church
The dangers within the Latter Rain Revival Movement, Mystics, and Apostolic and Prophetic Movement.
http://youtu.be/6bPSdcQ6XHY
LYING SIGNS AND WONDERS http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-Wp
GOLD DUST  http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1Mm
THIRD WAVE REVIVALS http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-2L
THIRD WAVE COUNTERFEIT  http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1ZS
THIRD WAVE WEALTH TRANSFER IS BUNK http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-dr
THIRD WAVE OR CLOWNS FOR THE DEVIL http://wp.me/s2M7AJ-clowns
Drunk and Laughing “in the spirit” – Slaughter of the Sheep  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HBXGPAhd24
THIRD WAVE DECEIVERS http://www.scribd.com/doc/14708726
THIRD WAVE CHURCHES ARE VERY DECEPTIVE http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-53
THIRD WAVE SEDUCERS http://moriel.org/MorielArchive/index.php/news/with-real-concern-for-the-third-wave-word-of-faith-signs-wonders-laughing-charismatics
Strange Fire – Gold Dust and Gems Falling From Heaven https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb15EhgbvHA&list=UUNuuCQ3f4O6HM_gvmdqWGjg
FALSE Prophetess Heidi Baker and her “strange fish” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScRO7sa4uXs
Karl Strader is History http://www.scribd.com/doc/56459981

PREACHING LIES http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1jM
BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-Zn
JESUS IS GOD  http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-1BH
YOU MUST BELIEVE GOD http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-Fc
A HEALTH AND WEALTH CHRISTIAN 
http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-24v
JESUS HEALS http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-27K
BELIEVE IN MIRACLES http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-2cA
SUPER VICTORY http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-29y
BETHEL TEMPLE   http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-29r
SOAKING http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-2a4
SOWING AND REAPING http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-2ba
Free Christian Ebooks http://walthope.tripod.com
https://walthope.wordpress.com

THE WORKS OF THE FLESH

DBGALATIANS 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Pastor Mark Driscoll, founder of Mars Hill Church, Seattle, is one of the biggest names among evangelical Christians in the USA.  http://www.driscollcontroversy.com/

IF MARK DRISCOLL IS ONE OF BIGGEST NAMES AMONGST EVANGELICALS, IT DOESN’T SAY MUCH ABOUT EVANGELICALS BECAUSE DRISCOLL AND RON WHEELER ARE A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THE WORKS OF THE FLESH?

Mark Driscoll’s Board Responds to Acts 29’s ‘Divisive’ Moves

The text of the letter suggests no one from the Acts 29 church-planting network contacted Mars Hill before going public and that the board is “deeply saddened” about the “divisive” conclusion to disassociate from Driscoll without a conversation.
http://www.charismanews.com/us/44977-mark-driscoll-s-board-responds-to-acts-29-s-divisive-moves

YES THESE BAPTIST PASTORS ARE NUTS INCLUDING MARC DRISCOL AND JOHN PIPER

In the fall of 2004, my then wife had an affair with another pastor on staff (who was also one of my closest friends).  Our church had serious problems as it was, many as a result of my failing to lead properly.  Many of the things at the church were shaped by your influence, and some of that influence I still recognize as inspired, Biblical, and even prophetic at times.  Again, it is hard to express how much you helped us. Ron Wheeler Jr

John 8:7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

1 Corinthians 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5   that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

IN MY OPINION RON  WHEELER A FORMER PASTOR  IS NOT WITHOUT SIN NOR IN A POSITION TO CAST STONES AT ANYBODY INCLUDING MARC DRISCOL

TO ME ALL OF THIS IS A BIG SOAP OPERA AND ALL THESE GUYS ARE NUTS AND OFF THE WALL DOING THINGS IN THE FLESH AND BY THE FLESH!  NONE OF THEM ARE RIGHT NOR SHOULD BE IN THE MINISTRY

OF COURSE  NONE OF THEM PREACH THE GOSPEL IN DEMONSTRATION OF THE SPIRIT AND OF POWER BUT WITH PERSUASIVE WORDS OF HUMAN WISDOM. HENCE THEY CANNOT BE ACTS 29 SINCE THEY DON’T OPERATE IN THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT  NOR WALK IN THE SPIRIT BUT IN THE FLESH

I. Am. Not. Anonymous.

Posted on August 7, 2014 by ronwheelerjr

Dear Mark Driscoll:

You were once one of my closest friends.

You were once my trusted mentor and benefactor.

You were once someone who preached the Gospel with a fierce and captivating passion and purity.

You were the one who inspired me to be a preacher… a church planter.

In 1996 I was working as a missionary in West Africa when my mom sent me a recording of you speaking at the Northwest Christian Education conference.  I was intrigued, captivated, and a bit disturbed by what I heard. You deconstructed my tidy neat little worldview and described the church as a mission outpost that exists between the gospel message and various cultures.  That message convinced me that I could be a missionary at home, and so I returned.

I started attending Mars Hill with my family, driving an hour each way from Mount Vernon down to Seattle.  Mars Hill was maybe a 100 people back then.  I played on the worship team sometimes and listened intently to the vision you cast… a vision built on the Core Values of “Meaning, Truth, Beauty, Community, and Mission”. Those core values were such an invigorating breath of fresh air:

I longed for deeper meaning than the trite, mainstream Christianity-lite I was experiencing.
I longed to hear Truth boldly proclaimed.
I longed to be able to express art in beautiful contagious inspiring ways.
I longed to be a part of genuine, committed, Christ-centered community.
and yes, I longed to be on this great mission of the Kingdom of God, together.

I bought in.

Many of us bought in.

I remember you and Grace coming up to my house and challenging me to transition the awkward college-age ministry thing we had, and to plant it as a church.  I remember your assurances that you would walk beside us, and I remember distinctly how Grace said that “as long as we continue to give God the glory for whatever happens, He will continue to glorify Himself through what is happening”. That resonated with me, and for many years you walked beside me faithfully.  We were your first church plant, and for awhile, there was even some discussion about our church going with the name Mars Hill North.

I listened closely as you preached the virtue of Biblical Eldership, where men proven to be of sound character, pastor the church together and hold each other accountable, a supposed safe-guard against any one person lacking accountability or taking over.

It fit perfectly with what I saw in Scripture and was what I was drawn to myself.

I remember Leif Moi doing that with you.
I remember Mike Gunn doing that with you.
And I remember how excited you were when you first identified Paul Petry and Bent Meyer as men who could do that exceptionally well…  “wise, older godly men, who would add a degree of credibility” were your words to me.
I also remember when my brother-in-law Brian Kirkman went through the eldership process.  Brian, known to me as one of the most faithful, loving, gracious, godly men I know, and yet I believed your lies and how you characterized him.  He was unjustly removed and the way the Kirkman family was treated foreshadowed the shunnings that would occur with the Petry’s, the Meyer’s, and others. I have since gone to Brian and Liz to confess my complicity in how they were treated. It was so incredibly unjust.

My other two brothers-in-law would become elders as well, though both have since left. My sisters all led worship at MH, and were involved in various ministries as well.The degree to which my family was involved with Mars Hill cannot be overstated.

They all fully bought in as well.

Soon I began traveling the nation with you, speaking at various conferences, seminars and events.  It was such an honor.   We became involved on the ground-floor of this new movement that was shaping the landscape of evangelical Christianity. We were on the board of Young Leader network together. We were on the Terra Nova project together. We were working with some pretty amazing people.  These were the early days when there was talk of the postmodern era, and the Emergent church started “emerging” and New Calvinism had yet to emerge as a thing.  It was heady stuff.  It was also dangerous, as some of it started wandering far from historical orthodox Christian belief and practice.

But then I listened as you slandered and maligned the men and women we worked with behind their backs -who though we didn’t agree with some of them theologically- were wonderful people, and never deserved to be spoken of, or treated the way you did.  People who I know would have considered you a friend and have no idea how you really felt about them.  I have personally tried to go back and apologize to people who were “kicked to the curb”, along the way, and yes, I do feel I was complicit to your actions; guilty by way of association and being silent.

For that, I could not be more sorry.

I remember one day you called and mentioned that your book Radical Reformission was coming out the next day.  You started talking about how excited you were and then in a roundabout way, mentioned that you had used the parachurch/fundamentalism/liberalism concepts I had developed off the gospel/church/culture model.  It took me a moment to realize that you were saying you had used those ideas in your book and hadn’t cited me, and were both thanking me and smoothing things over.  I was honestly flattered, but I also had this uncomfortable feeling that you knew what you had done was wrong. But at this point, what was I gonna do about it? Like most things, I just let it go.

Then you met Pastor David Nicholas.  Remember David Nicholas?  The “co-founder” of Acts29, who often has been written out of the Acts29 story.  The one who actually came up with the name Acts29 and already had a church planting system in place.  Soon we were flying back to Boca Raton Florida to figure out how we could work together with this seasoned older PCA pastor (Presbyterian Church of America), you with your connections to all these church planter candidates flying under-the-denominational-radar, and David with his years of experience, his connections (friends like Tim Keller and Amway founder Rich DeVos), and his very wealthy church resources.  I loved David, and he loved us. He was fatherly to us. He could barely relate to our strange Northwest culture, and yet he partnered with us out of a passionate commitment to church planting.

I remember during one of our conferences somewhere around 2002, sitting at the table with you there in Boca, when you interviewed Rich DeVos on how he structured his business model.  I remember soon thereafter when you started talking about how it wasn’t that important that you knew your people or led them yourself, but that you “led the people, who led the people, who led the people”.   Unlike the Chief Shepherd who knows all His sheep by name, knows their voice, and they, His, you distanced yourself from them.  In fact, I remember you bragging about how you had this back corridor between your office and the stage and you didn’t have to be interrupted by anyone before or after church.   I was so confused.  I bought in to the meaning, truth, beauty, mission thing.  I certainly didn’t buy into this.

I had always tried to read all the books you recommended, but soon they became less and less about theology or pastoral practice, and more and more about marketing, professionalism and big business.  (I also remember recommending John Piper’s book “Brothers We Are Not Professionals” back to you, but it wasn’t enthusiastically received.  If only.)

And then all hell broke loose.

In the fall of 2004, my then wife had an affair with another pastor on staff (who was also one of my closest friends).  Our church had serious problems as it was, many as a result of my failing to lead properly.  Many of the things at the church were shaped by your influence, and some of that influence I still recognize as inspired, Biblical, and even prophetic at times.  Again, it is hard to express how much you helped us.

Much of that influence however, was very unhealthy and systemically flawed.  It took me many years of distance and separation to truly gain objectivity and see just exactly how flawed. For instance, I was patterning my/our discipline process after what you were doing.  One of those situations was with a man in leadership named Dale.  I will always grieve over the heavy-handed way we dealt with Dale. Not only was it ungracious and unfair, it was hypocritical.  Again, something for which I’m profoundly sorry.

Add to all that, some significant personal weaknesses and sins of my own, and I/we needed serious help.   I asked you for that help, and in customary fashion, you dropped the hammer. When all of your recommendations on discipline weren’t followed, you came unglued.  You cursed me up one side and down the other.  You threatened and berated me.  I have never been spoken to the way you did to me then.  It was vicious and startling.  I was reeling and devastated from what I had just discovered with my wife and close friend.

Then you involved yourself in our Eldership in a most irresponsible and reckless manner.  In hindsight, it never should have gotten to that point, and I accept full responsibility for that, but what I needed was trustworthy, Biblical accountability, and instead I got slander, threats, and verbal abuse.  We had good elders who were caught between a pastor dealing with personal and familial sin, and an outside accountability that was reckless, irresponsible and ultimately had a destructive influence on a once unified eldership.  I know it all now. I’ve read the communication you had with the other elders behind my back.  Ugly, slanderous, defaming lies, Mark.  I thought you were my brother and you treated me like scum.

On March 17, 2005, I sent a letter of grievance to the Board of Acts29, asking them to address what I had come to realize over time, were serious character flaws of yours.   I made the case that Biblically you were unfit and disqualified as an Elder. A case based off long established patterns of pride, lack of self-control, sexually vulgar and slanderous speech, exaggeration that bordered on deception, gossip about others and confidentiality issues. An excerpt from that letter stated: “The fact that Mark is an incredibly talented leader and charismatic personality, cannot in any way substitute for the simple Biblical requirements of being Christ-like, much less the qualifications of being an Elder. I can make a Biblical case from Titus regarding his being overbearing, quick-tempered, self-controlled, upright, and holy, as well as 1 Timothy regarding being above reproach, self-controlled, respectable, not quarrelsome, and a good reputation with outsiders”.

Not surprisingly, we got a response letter from the Board of Acts29 informing us that they would accept our resignation from Acts29, as we had made our continued participation in the network contingent upon their dealing with your issues.  Apparently, they lacked the fortitude and resolve to deal with your out-of-control behavior, and so became complicit themselves.  How the board of Acts29 abdicated their responsibility in this, is beyond my comprehension.  In addition, I was heartbroken as there were so many guys in the network that I loved.  Guys that I came to miss dearly over the next few painful, depressing years.  You asked me not to contact any of the guys and be “divisive”.  I never did, you know.  When I finally did just recently, I discovered that you had completely misrepresented what happened in my situation.  Thus, what I had seen you do to others, finally came full circle around to me.  It sucked. I didn’t like it at all.

The loss of those friendships, combined with the loss of my wife, my best friend,  and my church, led me into a few of the darkest years of my life.  A season I only survived due to the inexplicable buffer of God’s grace.

That wasn’t the only grievance letter that the Board of Acts29 received regarding you either.  Co-founder and Acts29 President David Nicholas sent one as well.  David was a mentor to you… he was your pastor I remember you saying.  Yet over time, Pastor Nicholas came to have grave misgivings about your character and conduct, personally brought it to you on multiple occasions, and finally wrote about them to the Board.  Yes, David was an imperfect, strong-willed, stubborn man sometimes, but he loved you.

David Nicholas is Not Anonymous.

David wanted the Board to come help our church work through this situation, but you wanted to do it your way. That added to the growing conflict between the two of you.  He had said that the Board would be coming to meet with our Elders during the Reformission conference, and then suddenly, somehow, you took over as President of Acts29.  I remember talking to David on the phone afterwards and him being stunned at what just happened.  You somehow had enough support to vote him off of the board.  Rick McKinley (a very good man) wanted nothing to do with any of this, and pulled out of the board and Acts29 altogether.  How you got the other guys to go along with that move, I’ll never know, but it foreshadowed a similar move that would happen with your own Eldership in 2007.

You consolidated power once more.
You chose to become pragmatic instead of principled.
You became opportunistic instead of obedient.
You mishandled sacred things.
You have abused theological positions as much as you have abused individual lives. You can’t run roughshod over people in the name of being “all about Jesus”.

For you, the ultimate endorsement was always driven by numbers, and we were like the Israelites of old who proclaimed to want a King like David, but were drawn to a King like Saul.  We all need to own up to the fact that we helped empower you to become what you have, through our willingness to eagerly endorse what you are, and you were more than happy to let us.  2 Timothy 4:3 describes a time when “people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” You had the right words.  You said the right things, and strangely, the right people kept endorsing you.

And yet your words rarely matched up to how you live:

You can’t preach Jesus and curse people.
You can’t preach Jesus and threaten people.
You can’t preach Jesus and be sexually vulgar.
You can’t preach Jesus and denigrate women.
You can’t preach Jesus and then shun people.
You can’t preach Jesus and give rich people special privileges.
You can’t preach Jesus and steal people’s material
You can’t preach Jesus and approve the use of funds for your desires instead of the donor’s desire.
You can’t preach Jesus and cheat your way onto bestseller lists.
You can’t preach Jesus and then force your people to not compete with you in spreading the gospel.
You can’t preach Jesus and then force people to either stay silent or not be paid.
You can’t preach Jesus and seek to become the “greatest of these”.
You just can’t. You see that right?

It can’t be “do as I say, and not as I do” for a pastor.

We need to see you be like Jesus, more than we need to hear you say “it’s all about Jesus”.

It really is this simple: to preach Jesus, you have to be like Jesus.

The final straw for me was this video you just released where you cited these anonymous detractors. To the masses watching, you may get away with “sounding sorry”, but to the hundreds…thousands even, who have been actually victimized, they need actual Biblical confession and repentance, the kind that is specific and identifies actual people and actual sins against them.  Evasive generalized statements only worsen the hurt.  Spin doctoring and ‘damage control” is just more of the same big-business marketing tactics that led to this systemic pattern of cancerous abuse in the first place.  Worse, it desensitizes and inoculates people to what real, genuine repentance looks and feels like.

So, why am I saying this to you now, Mark?

Why am I saying it like this, and after all this time?

Well, because you are unreachable through any other means. I’ve tried. Talk about being anonymous.  Who knows where you are, or where you live?   You have isolated yourself behind your ministry fortress and this is the only way to have a hearing.  I don’t even know if you’ll read this, but this is more about my being obedient to speak the truth of what I’ve experienced, and letting it be at that.

I’m also saying this because, like the apostle Paul, I know what it feels like to consider myself “the chief of sinners”.  I am firmly committed to the doctrine of total depravity, primarily because I know my own depraved self.  I know that it was only God’s kindness that led me to repentance. I have been brought low and learned to embrace having my own prideful ship dashed upon the rock of God’s discipline.

I don’t miss the man I once was.  I’m so, so very thankful for how God has refashioned and restored me.  Yes, I lost a lot, but I gained even more, and the only way that happens is through confession. True confession that abandons all justification, that repudiates all excuses, and embraces the revealing light of the Holy Spirit. I lost my marriage. I struggled with ugly patterns of sin and rebellion in my life.  I was lonely, depressed, confused, and stunned.  I flirted with temptation, and easily could have jumped off that cliff during those dark, lonely years, but somehow God preserved me.  Only God preserved me, that I know for sure.  It was terrible path, and yet it was exactly where God needed me, to do the long, painful work of surgery that my soul required. I remember you saying how you’ve never really had to suffer.  Well, perhaps this is that season.  It is a path I am begging you to embrace.  I hope and pray more than anything that you will not allow pride to have a stranglehold over your life.

You’ve destroyed people, Mark.  You’ve ruined people’s reputations.  Through your own perverse interpretation of “God’s grace”, you’ve cast people aside who you decided were not “on mission” spoke of “a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill bus.”  The pragmatism backfired. What you won them with, is what you won them too, and now there are thousands who have been hurt, and who have hurt others.  Beautifully, many of them are finding forgiveness and healing as they reconnect with each other and grow in grace.

Please Mark.  Just stop. Step down. Resign.  There was a brilliant post today on Dave Orrison’s blog Grace for my Heart that defined the difference between a narcissistic apology and a real apology. The center of the narcissistic apology is the offender saying “I am hurting because of this.” The real apology sees the victim in the center and says, “You are hurting because of this.”  The difference – and a critical one – is empathy.  As my wife so insightfully noted, “a narcissistic apology is when the apology itself is actually abusive.”  It’s extremely manipulative.

The real problem is that this isn’t about an apology, and that’s what so many just don’t seem to understand. An apology might be at the center of the issue, but it’s not the circumference of the issue. This ultimately is about confession and repentance… something unique to our faith.  It may initiate with an apology, but it MUST transition into deep, honest confession that ultimately bears long-term fruit as the changed life of repentance.

In an excerpt from an email you sent to our elders on 9/4/2004 regarding my situation, you said:  “Repentance will take time, even years. Confession is agreeing with God, and repenting is changing.”  Do you remember that?  Those are your own words, and they are spot on.  I know.   I went through the process and it DID take years!  Longstanding patterns and habits must be refashioned. Repentance must be proven genuine and sincere through things like restitution and exoneration of people wronged.  All I’m asking you to do is to take your own advice.

Go to your brothers and sisters you have specifically offended and make it right.  There’s no other way.   If you do, I will gladly stand with you as a brother.  Anything else is simply too little, too late.  I believe that everything hinges on the integrity of your response to this crisis.

You could begin by exonerating Paul Petry, and Bent Meyer.  Refute that mockery of a trial and end their shunning.  I hurt over how you treated Leif Moi as well.  Such a loyal brother to you.

I once was afraid of what you might do to me if I spoke up.  I’ve come to the place where I care more about the truth being known, and healing and restoration beginning, than anything else.  The sharks are circling now, and it appears there are many who want only your destruction. I don’t. I want to see brokenness, humility, and change that I can support.

I love you and your family, and will be earnestly praying for you in all of this.

I have the same phone number and email. You know how to find me.

My name is Ron Wheeler.

I Am Not Anonymous.

http://ronwheelerjr.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/i-am-not-anonymous-2/

MINISTERING GOD AND HIS GIFTS

AA
WE ARE ALL MINISTERS OF GOD IF WE TRULY ARE CHRISTIANS

More than ever we must take a stand on the Word of God. We must believe what we know and act on what we believe. But in this time of glory, we must be willing to yield to the presence of God.

Here are some things we need to remember about the glory.

1) The glory is the manifested presence of God.

In Luke 9, the glory manifested as a cloud that overshadowed Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. “And a voice came out of the cloud saying, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!'” (vv. 34-35). Verse 32 tells us that Peter, who was there, was fully awake when he saw the glory.

In John 2, we are told that Jesus manifested His glory when He changed the water into wine. (vv. 9,11.)

When Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ house after his death, He commanded that the stone be removed from the grave. Martha reminded Jesus that Lazarus had been dead for four days and that his body had already begun to decay. Jesus answered her and said that if she would believe, she would see the glory of God. The resurrection of Lazarus was the manifestation of the presence of God. (John 11:1-40.)

2) The glory amplifies God.

Three times in the Book of Acts we are told the story of Saul on the Road to Damascus and his encounter with the glory that converted him from a man of the world to a man of God and from Saul to Paul. In Acts 22:11, Paul said that the light was the glory and we know that out of the light God spoke.

It’s interesting that Jesus said that we are the light of the world. (Matt. 5:14.) And He told us in Matthew 5:16 that our light is to shine in such a way that the world would see our good works and that it will bring glory to the Father.

3) We walk by faith and not by sight.

When Elijah and his servant were surrounded by the enemy, Elijah saw the powerful army of God, but the servant did not see God’s army until his (spiritual) eyes were opened. (2 Kings 6:8-17.) Just because he couldn’t see God’s army did not mean God’s army was not there. God’s presence is not based on what you see. Seek God and His glory will be manifested. Seek Him and His presence will be there. Don’t seek the manifestation. Seek Him.

4) The glory will bring abundance.

Of course there is no lack in the presence of God. We must understand that there can be lying signs and wonders. If we only are seeking the light, we need to understand that Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. (2 Cor. 11:14.) But if we seek the Father, and get into His presence, then the manifestation of the light will always be His and will never be an illusion.

5) Don’t allow fear to hinder you.

Fear is a spiritual force that Satan uses to spiritually paralyze Christians. Sometimes a fear of what others will think or even a fear of inadequacy in the glory causes some to stand back and observe instead of participating. The problem with becoming a spiritual observer is that many times it opens the door for criticism and criticism blocks the receiving, which creates more criticism.

So rebuke the fear. Stretch out and allow your ministry to be saturated with the glory of God. We are no longer on the brink of the glory. We are no longer waiting for the glory. The glory, the manifested presence of God, is here! As a minister of God, flow in the anointing.

‘Cessationists Are Wrong’ About Speaking in Tongues, Says Pastor Mark Driscoll

Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Wash., recently spoke on the gift of tongues as described in the New Testament as part of his “Acts: Empowered for Jesus’ Mission” sermon series. The conservative Reformed, or New Calvinist, Christian minister laid out his arguments as to why he believes the gift of speaking in tongues did not end with Jesus’ apostles in the first century.

Cessationists, such as influential pastor and traditional Calvinist John MacArthur, believe that 1 Corinthians 13:8 and other Biblical passages indicate that the divine ability to speak in other languages or an unknown tongue (glossolalia) ended with the apostles’ deaths, as did prophetic revelations and faith-healings through individuals. Some Christians, however, believe that these Holy Spirit-inspired gifts will continue until Christ’s return.

In the sermon excerpt shared online this week by Mars Hill Church, Pastor Driscoll tackles three “common questions about the gift of tongues,” listed as: “Can every Christian have the gift of tongues? Does Mars Hill Church believe that the gift of tongues is for today? And what happens when the private use of tongues goes public?”

Before diving into his responses, Driscoll insisted that the only way to know who may be “right” or “wrong” about speaking in tongues was by studying the Scriptures — and “not by taking our experience and making it normative.”

Although the key text for the full sermon, titled “Empowered by the Spirit to Follow Jesus,” was the account of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-13, the megachurch pastor and bestselling author looked to 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 to help frame his responses.

Driscoll relayed a part of the passage: “‘For to one is given through the Spirit . . . various kinds of tongues’ — or languages, heavenly or earthly — ‘to another, the interpretation of tongues’ — the ability to articulate in the other language what has been said in the foreign language. ‘All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.'”

In regard to whether Mars Hill Church believes that the gift of tongues is an ongoing occurrence, Driscoll stated his agreement with cessationism, while also asking the congregation to consider life in heaven.

“When we get to heaven, the gift of evangelism is not going to be as needed as it is now. You’re like, ‘I’m going to go out and find the lost people.’ There aren’t any. This is the kingdom of God. Everybody here already loves Jesus. … So, evangelism comes to an end,” he said, according to the sermon transcript.

He noted 1 Corinthians 13:8-12, which reads: “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

“So, we agree with the Cessationists that yes, certain gifts, at least, they’re going to cease. They’re going to cease,” added Driscoll. “Where we disagree with the Cessationists and we agree with the Continuationists is when they cease. We believe that all of the gifts continue until one very important transitionary moment in the history of the world.”

He continued, “So, when do these gifts cease? When? When Jesus comes back, when we see him face to face. So the Cessationists are right: certain gifts will come to an end. But the Cessationists are wrong: the end has not yet come. And the Continuationists are right: all the gifts continue until we see him face to face, until Jesus comes again.”

Cessationists, such as influential pastor and traditional Calvinist John MacArthur, believe that 1 Corinthians 13:8 and other Biblical passages indicate that the divine ability to speak in other languages or an unknown tongue (glossolalia) ended with the apostles’ deaths, as did prophetic revelations and faith-healings through individuals. Some Christians, however, believe that these Holy Spirit-inspired gifts will continue until Christ’s return.

In the sermon excerpt shared online this week by Mars Hill Church, Pastor Driscoll tackles three “common questions about the gift of tongues,” listed as: “Can every Christian have the gift of tongues? Does Mars Hill Church believe that the gift of tongues is for today? And what happens when the private use of tongues goes public?”

Before diving into his responses, Driscoll insisted that the only way to know who may be “right” or “wrong” about speaking in tongues was by studying the Scriptures — and “not by taking our experience and making it normative.”

Although the key text for the full sermon, titled “Empowered by the Spirit to Follow Jesus,” was the account of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-13, the megachurch pastor and bestselling author looked to 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 to help frame his responses.

Driscoll relayed a part of the passage: “‘For to one is given through the Spirit . . . various kinds of tongues’ — or languages, heavenly or earthly — ‘to another, the interpretation of tongues’ — the ability to articulate in the other language what has been said in the foreign language. ‘All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.'”

In regard to whether Mars Hill Church believes that the gift of tongues is an ongoing occurrence, Driscoll stated his agreement with cessationism, while also asking the congregation to consider life in heaven.

“When we get to heaven, the gift of evangelism is not going to be as needed as it is now. You’re like, ‘I’m going to go out and find the lost people.’ There aren’t any. This is the kingdom of God. Everybody here already loves Jesus. … So, evangelism comes to an end,” he said, according to the sermon transcript.

He noted 1 Corinthians 13:8-12, which reads: “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

“So, we agree with the Cessationists that yes, certain gifts, at least, they’re going to cease. They’re going to cease,” added Driscoll. “Where we disagree with the Cessationists and we agree with the Continuationists is when they cease. We believe that all of the gifts continue until one very important transitionary moment in the history of the world.”

He continued, “So, when do these gifts cease? When? When Jesus comes back, when we see him face to face. So the Cessationists are right: certain gifts will come to an end. But the Cessationists are wrong: the end has not yet come. And the Continuationists are right: all the gifts continue until we see him face to face, until Jesus comes again.”

The full sermon, third so far in Driscoll’s 10-part series, “Acts: Empowered for Jesus’ Mission,” is available on Mars Hill Church’s website. Driscoll, 42, preached “Empowered by the Spirit to Follow Jesus” on June 9, 2013, at the megachurch’s Bellevue, Wash., location.

Watch Pastor Mark Driscoll answers common questions about the gift of tongues:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulZtju6NC5I&feature=player_embedded

Mars Hill Church Pastor Mark Driscoll answers three common questions about speaking in tongues.

Some Cessationists, such as Pastor John MacArthur, whose The Master’s Seminary shares the same campus as his Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Calif., agree with Driscoll’s suggestion that the “perfect” referenced in 1 Corinthians 13:10 speaks of a future eternal state, a period precipitated by Christ’s earthly return. However, the evangelical Christian minister points to other passages he believes serve as strong evidence that “tongues ceased in the apostolic age.” Cessationists also argue that the completion of the New Testament writings made the continuation of charismatic spiritual gifts unnecessary. Christians in general, though, believe that the Bible teaches that other spiritual gifts, such as teaching, exhortation, discernment and others, are always present to believers.

“Miracle gifts like tongues and healing are mentioned only in 1 Corinthians, an early epistle. Two later epistles, Ephesians and Romans, both discuss gifts of the Spirit at length — but no mention is made of the miraculous gifts,” explains an adaptation of MacArthur’s 1992 book Charismatic Chaos, published on the theologian’s Grace to You (GTY) ministry website. “By that time miracles were already looked on as something in the past (Heb. 2:3-4). Apostolic authority and the apostolic message needed no further confirmation. Before the first century ended, the entire New Testament had been written and was circulating through the churches.”

He adds, “The revelatory gifts had ceased to serve any purpose. And when the apostolic age ended with the death of the Apostle John, the signs that identified the apostles had already become moot (cf. 2 Cor. 12:12).”

Listing further Biblical evidence, the GTY.org writing suggests that “tongues were intended as a sign to unbelieving Israel (1 Cor. 14:21-22; cf. Is. 28:11-12). They signified that God had begun a new work that encompassed the Gentiles. The Lord would now speak to all nations in all languages. The barriers were down. And so the gift of languages symbolized not only the curse of God on a disobedient nation, but also the blessing of God on the whole world.”

The final Scriptural support given identifies the gift of tongues as “inferior to other gifts” and something that was “given primarily as a sign (1 Cor. 14:22) and was also easily misused to edify self (1 Cor. 14:4).”

“The church meets for the edification of the body, not self-gratification or personal experience-seeking. Therefore, tongues had limited usefulness in the church, and so it was never intended to be a permanent gift,” concludes the GTY.org resource titled “The Gift of Tongues.” MacArthur, who will tackle the issue in his upcoming Strange Fire conference, reiterates that view in a recent excerpt of his commentary on 1 Corinthians, in which he calls the gift of tongues “(t)he most controversial spiritual gift in our day.”

http://www.christianpost.com/news/cessationists-are-wrong-about-speaking-in-tongues-says-pastor-mark-driscoll-95341/

Related

WALTER KAMBULOW
VICTORY MINISTRIES
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FACEBOOK: WALT KAM

Gordon Williams http://gordwilliams.com/

ANYTHING THAT CHARISMA SUPPORTS IS USUALLY EVIL AND CORRUPT
http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/40396-in-the-age-of-hillsong-the-ramp-brings-god-to-rural-youth

YOU CAN TITHE AND STILL BECOME BROKE

SINCE MOST CHRISTIANS ARE NOT CHRISTIANS WHY ARE WE SURPRISED THAT THEY LIVE AND WALK IN THE FLESH AND DO THE WORKS OF THE FLESH AND DON’T LIVE AND WALK IN THE SPIRIT? AND DEAD CHURCHES DEVOID OF MIRACLE SIGNS AND WONDERS PRODUCE DEAD PEOPLE.YOU CANNOT GIVE LIFE TO OTHERS IF YOU YOURSELF DON’T HAVE IT. YOU CANNOT LEAD OTHERS ANY FURTHER THAN YOU HAVE GONE YOURSELF. AND MOST PASTORS ARE HIRELINGS WHO ONLY KNOW SLIGHTLY MORE THAN THE SHEEP AND HAVE A FORM OF GODLINESS BUT DENY IT’S POWER? AND FINALLY YOU CANNOT SOLVE A PROBLEM UNTIL YOU ADMIT THERE IS A PROBLEM. AND DECEPTION AND DENIALS IS VERY COMMON AMONG PROFESSING CHRISTIANS!

Many of God’s people have given money away from wrong reason or have sowed it into the bad soil of false ministries and have received back from God nothing in return. We must be wise with what we do with our money, talents, and blessings that God entrusts us with and not just give it a con man who comes along, even if he is a preacher!  Just because people tithe to a certain church or ministry doesn’t mean that they will not be robbed by that ministry. We have an example of this in the financial crash in 1999 of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, resulted in the largest collapse of a religious financial institution in the nation’s history resulted with many elderly sheep robbed, hurt and devastated. The fact was that most of sheep were “tithers” and many didn’t understand how God would allow them to be robbed.

Through the ’90s, brochures extolled BFA’s “Biblically based” investment plans, and urged faithful Baptists to “do good by doing good,” becoming “bolder stewards of their God-given resources.” Helpful salesmen made house calls.” The Baptist Foundation pamphlets stated:

BFA’s Biblically-based stewardship perspective…

“Stewardship Investing” through the Foundation is a TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY TO BE FOUND FAITHFUL ABOVE and BEYOND the TITHE TO YOUR LOCAL CHURCH… 

Do good while doing good…IT’S WISE STEWARDSHIP IN ACTION…

Don’t let your retirement dollars fly away! In the complex and changing world of today, planning for retirement is CRITICAL. WE CAN HELP you ACHIEVE YOUR RETIREMENT DREAMS (NIGHTMARES).

If you are living on a fixed income, you certainly want to be ASSURED OF THE STABILITY OF YOUR INCOME STREAM…Call us today…You’ll learn firsthand about the UNIQUE MINISTRY and EXCELLENT SERVICE WHICH CAN BE YOURS WHEN YOU PUT YOUR “TRUST” in the Baptist Foundation of Arizona.

Touching hearts and lives AS THE DREAM IS REALIZED.

“Up close and personal” service. Our Financial Services Representatives will GLADLY come to your home or place of business to handle a transaction for you. In addition to our three offices, we also provide “SATELLITE” OFFICES IN CHURCHES throughout Arizona…

We re-invest your money, and THE PROFIT we earn GOES to further such ministries as Christian education, care for children and senior adults, missions and new church starts… 

…NOT ONE BFA client has ever lost one penny of their investment or interest they earned…

WE HAVE A PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF PRUDENT AND PROFITABLE OPERATIONS…Profitable for whom!)

EACH YEAR, AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT of BFA is CONDUCTED BY ONE OF THE LEADING ACCOUNTING FIRMS IN THE NATION.

We know that for most of you, our common ties to the churches are one of the most important reasons you invest with BFA, CFP, and NCV, AND THOSE SAME TIES CAN HELP CARRY US THROUGH THESE DIFFICULT TIMES.

But the reality was that the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, a subsidiary of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest protestant denomination in America, used Southern Baptist pastors and former pastors as sales representatives to rob 13,000 mostly elderly Christians by promising high returns, the security of church backing, and the chance to help Baptist charities. It was nothing but a fraud and a big Ponzi Scheme.  As recounted by The Wall Street Journal, many of the foundation’s investors were elderly churchgoers “attracted by the foundation’s offer of above-market returns on promissory notes and other investment products, and by its mission of using earnings for good works, such as building churches and nursing homes for the poor. The foundation had become a Ponzi scheme, needing to raise tens of millions of dollars to pay the high returns it had promised to earlier investors. According to the lawsuits, a key reason why the scheme lasted “as long as it did … was that accounting firm of Andersen continued to certify the foundation’s financial statements and dismissed multiple warnings by individuals that the foundation was defrauding investors.” The foundation was organized to raise funds for Southern Baptist–related charities. However, it has contributed only about $1.3 million to such groups over its half-century of operation. By contrast, in 1996 BFA spent $16 million on staff salaries and $329,000 on staff automobiles. It also invested in a long series of shaky loans and dubious real estate deals, primarily with companies controlled by members of its board. 

APOSTATE RICK-WARREN http://www.scribd.com/doc/136880990/

God’s house today is His people who are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are to do good to all men especially those of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10) and we are not to rob them by any means. The Top 10 scams[i] as listed by the North American Securities Administrators Association, ranked by the organization in order of prevalence or concern are:

1. Unlicensed individuals, such as life insurance agents, selling securities.

To verify that a person is licensed or registered to sell securities, call your state securities regulator. If the person is not registered, don’t invest.

2. Affinity group fraud.

Many scammers use their victim’s religious or ethnic identity to gain their trust –knowing that it’s human nature to trust people who are like you –and then steal their life savings. From “gifting” programs at some churches to foreign exchange scams targeted at Asian Americans, no group seems to be without con artists who seek to exploit others for financial gain.

3. Payphone and ATM sales.

In early March, 25 states and the District of Columbia announced actions against companies and individuals — many of them independent life insurance agents –that took roughly 4,500 people for $76 million selling coin-operated customer-owned telephones. Investors leased payphones for between $5,000 and $7,000 and were promised annual returns of up to 15 percent. Regulators say the largest of these investments appeared to be nothing but Ponzi schemes.

4. Promissory notes.

Short-term debt instruments issued by little-known or sometimes non-existent companies that promise high returns –upwards of 15 percent monthly –with little or no risk. These notes are often sold to investors by independent life insurance agents. In Indiana, 18 elderly investors lost some $1.4 million in a promissory note scam. An 80-year-old woman lost her life savings of $324,000. Interestingly, this is the scam that has been most used in Ponzi-scheme banking in Eastern Europe, notably Albania and Romania. 

5. Internet fraud.

Scammers use the wide reach and supposed anonymity of the Internet to “pump and dump” thinly traded stocks, peddle bogus offshore “prime bank” investments and publicize pyramid schemes. Roughly half the states have Internet surveillance programs that watch for fraud or investigate investor complaints.

6. Ponzi/pyramid schemes. Always in style, these swindles promise high returns to investors, but the only people who consistently make money are the promoters who set them in motion, using money from previous investors to pay new Investors. Inevitably, the schemes collapse.

7. “Callable” CDs.

These higher-yielding certificates of deposit won’t mature for 10 to 20 years, unless the bank, not the investor, “calls,’. or redeems, them. Redeeming the CD early may result in large losses –upwards of 25 percent of the original investment. In Iowa. for example, a retiree in her 70’s invested over $100.000 of her 97-year-old mother’s money in three “callable” CD’s with 20 year maturities. Her intention, she told her broker, was to use the money to pay her mother’s nursing home bills. Regulators say sellers of callable CDs often don’t adequately disclose the risks and restrictions.

8. Viatical settlements.

Originated as a way to help the gravely ill pay their bills, these financial interests in the death benefits of terminally ill patients are always risky and sometimes fraudulent. The insured person gets a percentage of the death benefit in cash; investors get a share of the death benefit when the insured dies. Because of uncertainties predicting when someone will die, these investments are extremely speculative.

9. Prime bank schemes.

Scammers promise investors triple-digit returns through access to the investment portfolios of the world’s elite banks. Purveyors of these schemes often target conspiracy theorists, promising access to the “secret” investments used by the Rothschilds or Saudi royalty. In North Dakota, state securities regulators are alleging a small group of salesmen, including a local pastor, used religion and family ties to bilk investors out of $2 million in a prime bank scam.

10. Investment seminars.

Often the people getting rich are those running the seminar, making money from admission fees and the sale of books and audiotapes. These seminars are marketed through newspaper, radio and TV ads and “infomercials” on cable television. Regulators urge investors to be extremely skeptical about any get-rich-quick scheme.

HOLY SPIRIT GIFTS http://www.freeworldfilmworks.com/gifts.pdf

RODNEY HOWARD BROWNE THE FLEECER http://www.scribd.com/doc/36546812

APOSTATE RICK-WARREN http://www.scribd.com/doc/136880990/

THE ARROGANT  TBN’S PAUL CROUCH   http://www.scribd.com/doc/82784017

BILL JOHNSON IS THE DECEIVER  http://www.scribd.com/doc/25418818

Pastor John Charles Hagee  the antichrist http://tinyurl.com/k3p4zrv

Roy Aldrich, a retired school teacher, who was robbed of a $100,000 by Dan and Karl Strader, knew that Pastor Karl Strader was an enemy of good men. http://goo.gl/GjQJ3  http://www.scribd.com/doc/56459981/

WALTER KAMBULOW BLOGS

VICTORY MINISTRIES http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-r

https://walthope.wordpress.com/ 

http://walthope3.blogspot.ca

https://plus.google.com/100302133262254344211/posts

https://plus.google.com/u/0/100327997934214585965/posts

GOT JESUS? http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-rW

There is no problem that Jesus cannot solve and no sickness that Jesus cannot heal but it doesn’t matter how much you sing and dance and praise the Lord, if you are in rebellion or have not dealt with unconfessed sin in your life, God will not move on your behalf!

FREE EBOOKS

Gods Will Is Healing http://goo.gl/bSrmc   http://www.scribd.com/doc/12404063/
God Hears And Answers Prayers http://goo.gl/l62Q0 http://www.scribd.com/doc/12779089/

The Effective, Fervent Prayer http://goo.gl/NRZMa  http://www.scribd.com/doc/19706617

The All Sufficient Christ http://goo.gl/4QgB4

ALL THINGS ARE YOURS http://goo.gl/iYasi

Our Wonderful Redeemer http://goo.gl/WDVAJ

I Believe, I Receive http://goo.gl/4ADzc

Execute Judgment and Righteousness http://goo.gl/rfMtM

In the Last Days http://goo.gl/ZN3jl

The Lord is Very Compassionate http://goo.gl/Mts0l

Who Heals You http://goo.gl/777ys

THE BEST OF THE KAMBULOWS  http://www.scribd.com/doc/122879429/

BE FILLED http://goo.gl/ibf28

BLESSINGS FROM HEAVEN http://goo.gl/4twK7

The Power of the Blood http://goo.gl/NF3Nz

Who is Like God http://goo.gl/BhUD3

Healing Scriptures http://goo.gl/yl6X8

Be Not Ignorant  http://goo.gl/ZgTNJ

More Shall be Given http://goo.gl/UdDvA

Be Strong in the Lord http://goo.gl/bSgpy

The Power of the Blood http://goo.gl/xokCb

Blessed to be a Blessing http://goo.gl/bVzIk

Karl Strader is History  http://goo.gl/GjQJ3

JIM BAKKER http://goo.gl/sOmyO

RECOMMENDED READINGS

NATIONAL AWAKENING http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-sU

MEGA CHURCH ENTERTAINMENT http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-lp

FULL GOSPEL REPROACH  http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-oK

PAUL CROUCH http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-oF

WEALTH TRANSFER http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-on

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?  http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-3

THE BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-4v

YOUR BEST FRIEND  http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-5Q

LIARS AND DECEIVERS

CG

WHAT DO LIARS AND DECEIVERS DO? THEY LIE AND DECEIVE! HOW? BY TELLING HALF TRUTHS WHICH ARE FULL OF LIES AND DON’T TELL THE WHOLE TRUTH AND FAIL WHEN COMPARED AGAINST SCRIPTURE.  FOR EXAMPLE  A PROMINENT PREACHER PREACHED ON:

GOD WANTS YOU CROSS-CONSCIOUS :

1 Corinthians 2:2 – For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthian church, said that he determined to know nothing among them except “Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. In other words, Paul, who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, had his mind full of Jesus and His finished work.

Beloved, God wants your mind full of the cross of Jesus. He wants you cross-conscious.

But what does it mean to be cross-conscious?

To be cross-conscious is to see Jesus, who loves you so much that He willingly died for you on the cross. To be cross-conscious is to look to Jesus, who offered His own body to be punished, so that your body can be free from all punishment.

To be cross-conscious is to fix your eyes on Jesus, who has provided for your deliverance and victory at the cross. At the cross, all your enemies were vanquished. All your diseases were destroyed. Your poverty was removed at the cross. Your sins were wiped out at the cross.

When the Israelites tasted bitterness in the waters of Marah, God showed Moses a tree, which he cast into the waters, making them sweet. (Exodus 15:23–26) The tree represents the cross, which turned the bitter waters sweet. Today, Calvary’s tree has turned your bitter situations sweet. Because of the cross, you can expect to see the bitter situations in your life made sweet!

When the Israelites were bitten by serpents in the wilderness, God told Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole. The pole represents the cross and bronze speaks of judgment. Those who beheld the serpent on the pole lived because they saw their problem — the deadly serpent — nailed and put to death on the cross. (Numbers 21:6–9)

Today, you too will not die but live when you see all your sins judged at the cross, and with them, all your sicknesses, diseases, pains, failures and defeats! At the cross, all that is deadly in your life has been removed!

THIS SERMON IS A LIE BECAUSE IT DOESN’T TALK ABOUT THE POWER OF GOD OR REPENTANCE BUT ” GOD WANTS YOU CROSS-CONSCIOUS.”

IT’S LIKE MOST SERMONS IT’S FULL OF HALF TRUTHS. IT TALKS ABOUT GOOD THINGS BUT IGNORES WHAT SCRIPTURES REALLY SAYS IN 1 CORINTHIANS 2 ABOUT DEMONSTRATION OF SPIRIT AND POWER, FAITH IN THE POWER OF GOD NOT IN THE WISDOM OF MEN, BEING TAUGHT BY THE SPIRIT AND HAVING THE MIND OF CHRIST. IT MUST HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY A FORMER FUNDAMENTALIST BAPTIST WHO BECAME A WORD OF FAITH PERSON!

1    And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
2    For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3    I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4    And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5    that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
6    However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7    But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8    which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9    But as it is written: ” Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10    But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
11    For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
12    Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13    These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14    But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15    But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
16    For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

ANOTHER PROMINENT PREACHER STATED:

And I believe that if Abraham had asked God, “What if You can find just one righteous man?” God’s answer would have been the same: “I will not destroy the place for the sake of one righteous man.”

THIS IS HOGWASH! YOU CANNOT MAKE A STATEMENT BASED ON YOUR OWN PRESUMPTION AND THEN PREACH A SERMON ON IT!

AND AS USUAL THE IDIOT IGNORES REPENTANCE, REBUKE AND CHASTISEMENT AND IS FULL OF HALF TRUTHS OR LIES AND IGNORES HEBREWS  12:
1    Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2    looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3    For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
4    You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
5    And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ” My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6    For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
7    If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
8    But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
9    Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
10    For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
11    Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Renew Your Spiritual Vitality
12    Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,
13    and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
14    Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
15    looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;
16    lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.
17    For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

THE PREACHER HAD PREACHED ON DON’T BE JUDGMENT-FOCUSED :

…God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them… – 2 Corinthians 5:19

On which two ancient cities did God rain brimstone and fire? If your answer is Sodom and Gomorrah, you are right. But if you think that God was all eager to destroy the two cities, you are wrong!

God wasn’t willing at all. He was not on a sin hunt. He was on a righteousness hunt so that He could spare the cities. (Genesis 18:23–32) And I believe that if Abraham had asked God, “What if You can find just one righteous man?” God’s answer would have been the same: “I will not destroy the place for the sake of one righteous man.”

Today, the righteousness of one Man — Jesus — has come. Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our justification. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our sins against us!

Therefore, no judgment will fall on you today because it fell on Jesus 2,000 years ago at Calvary. And if God was gracious enough to remove Lot and his family before the judgment fell (Genesis 19:12–22), how much more will He do for you who are no longer under judgment!

And because God does not judge you, don’t be like Lot’s wife, who became a pillar of salt when she turned around to look at the brimstone and fire. (Genesis 19:24–26) She wanted to see God’s judgment, even though the angels had warned, “Don’t look back, lest you be destroyed.” (Genesis 19:17)

So don’t be judgment-focused and look back at the sins you have committed. God is not against you. He is for you and on your side. He remembers that He has already judged and punished your sins in the body of His Son. And because He is faithful to His Son and to what His Son has done, He will never judge or punish you. Any trouble that you might have today is not from Him. But He will show you a way of escape because He is on your side. He loves you and has your best interests at heart.

Beloved, God is not out to get you. He is out to bless you. And He wants you blessed more than you can ever ask or imagine! (Ephesians 3:20)

Thought For The Day:

Don’t be judgment-focused because God is not against you. He is for you and on your side.

IT’S ALL HOGWASH BECAUSE GOD IS NOT ON YOUR SIDE IF YOU ARE WALKING OUT OF THE WILL OF GOD. IF YOU ARE NOT LOVING GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL OR MIGHT AND HAVE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE.  OF COURSE THE IDIOT PREACHER IGNORED GOD’S WORD INCLUDING:

Revelation 2:1   “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
2    “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars;
3    and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
4    Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
5    Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place — unless you repent.
6    But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7    “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

WALTER KAMBULOW BLOGS

VICTORY MINISTRIES http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-r

https://walthope.wordpress.com/  

http://walthope3.blogspot.ca

https://plus.google.com/100302133262254344211/posts

https://plus.google.com/u/0/100327997934214585965/posts

GOT JESUS? http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-rW

REV. GORDON WILLIAMS VIDEO RESOURCES
Please click on the links below to watch Rev. Gordon Williams’ teaching videos. Please feel free to contact or email Gordon with any questions or comments.
http://gordwilliams.com/videoresourcesc217.php

NEED HEALING AND MIRACLES FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS
http://youtu.be/qth2CNaXPbU

RECOMMENDED READINGS
THE BEST OF THE KAMBULOWS http://www.scribd.com/doc/122879429
WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?  http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-3
THE BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-4v
YOUR BEST FRIEND  http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-5Q
Perseverance And Prosperity From The God of Restoration http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-5W
GORDON WILLIAMS DEMONSTRATED THE POWER OF GOD  http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-77
KAREN WILLIAMS THE MOMENT EVERYTHING CHANGED http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-64
YOU ALONE HOLD THE KEYS http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7l
Faith Is? http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7q
Gifts and Fruit of The Spirit http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7u
ADULTERERS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS ARE STUPID http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7d
WHAT I LEARNED OUR RESPONSIBILITY http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-6i
Our motto is, “No legitimate signs means a person is not sent from God” http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-6S
The Character of Jesus http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7x
The Power Of Declaration http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7D
THE BEST OF THE KAMBULOWS http://www.scribd.com/doc/122879429
IDIOTS ALL OF THEM http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7j
FREE EBOOKS http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-n
What Happened to Jim Bakker and why? http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-6W
THIRD WAVE REVIVALS http://wp.me/P2M7AJ-2L
FAMILIAR SPIRITS ARE REAL AND DANGEROUS http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-6x
Rebellious Kings and False prophets are dead men, rejected ones  http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-6B
EXPOSED https://walthope.wordpress.com/exposed/
Let No One Deceive You http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7H
Revival and The Character Of Christ! http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7J
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7L
“Sacred Name” or Witchcraft     http://vimeo.com/57329758
Christ In You, The Hope Of Glory http://wp.me/p2M7AJ-7NR