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Popular NARismatic Worship Artist, Kari Jobe, Teaching Dangerous Theology

04 Wednesday May 2016

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Pulpit and Pen writes,

Popular Charismatic Worship Artist, Kari Jobe, Teaching Dangerous Theology

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It’s never-ending. The apostasy, the lack of discernment, the gullibility. How can anyone who proclaims the name of Jesus Christ not recognize the dismal state of the professing church? Words cannot even begin to describe the how far away the church is from Christ in these days. The attractions, the concerts, the conferences. People joining hands with those teaching for shameful gain things they ought not to teach. This is not revival, but the falling away in it’s most deceptive and extreme form–a form of godliness that denies its power.

Tickets go on sale in May for Outcry Tour 2016. The music festival will be held in several cities around the nation, and features some of the most lauded names in “worship.” The groups include Hillsong, Kari Jobe, Rend Collective, Housefires, Urban Rescue, Chad Veach, and none other than Elevation Worship.

Now, I’m not exactly sure who these people are worshiping, but it isn’t Jesus. Yet, thousands of Christians are blindly sending their children to partake in this evil.

In the Charismatic Evangelical church, there is a movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). It is a movement that elevates experience above doctrinal truth. Often times you will see many with contradictory beliefs about the basic tenets of Christianity come together in prayer and worship. This is the driving force behind this modern worship scene that’s creeping into once solid churches.

Hillsong United is among the most deceitful and subversive worship music movements. Hillsong music is popular, and is played throughout even some of the most theologically solid churches, deceptively luring people away from doctrinal truth and into an experiential form of idolatry that removes Jesus as the sole object of worship, and places the emphasis on ear-tickling lyrics and music that draws on people’s emotions. Read more about them here.

But another of Outcry’s featured singers, Kari Jobe, is also a popular musician being promoted in churches, especially to our youth. Jobe, out of seeker-sensitive NAR Robert Morris’ Gateway church, is known for popular songs like I Am Not Alone, and Love Came Down. She is also under the leadership of Gateway’s NAR Apostle and elder, Jack Hayford, author of the song Majesty, which teaches the heretical “Kingdom Now” theology. However, she is one of those who are teaching for shameful gain things she ought not to teach (Titus 1:11).

One of her most popular songs, Forever, published by Bethel Music (the same outfit that produced Jesus Culture), contains some really aberrant theology. Besides the fact that she’s a female pastor in a church, her theology alone should be enough to disqualify her as a teacher. Below is a sample of her lyrics:

One final breath He gave
As heaven looked away
The Son of God was laid in darkness
A battle in the grave
The war on death was waged
The power of hell forever broken

Then, In an interview about her song, Forever, she said,

My favorite part of the whole thing is … we talk about the death on the cross and we talk about the resurrection,but that time in between was when Jesus was in hell rendering hell. And ransacking hell. And defeating the enemy – taking those keys to death and hell and the grave to be victorious over that when he rose from the dead.

Of course, we can pick apart almost any song, even some of the best traditional hymns. But the serious error here is that she is teaching a heresy that strikes at the heart of Christian theology, which is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. She gets a pass, though, you know, because “artistic license and stuff.”

This idea that Jesus died and went to Hell stems from an old heresy that is prominent in Word of Faith circles that teach that Jesus died spiritually, and was “born again” after defeating Satan in Hell. Popular teachers of this false teaching are Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, and Creflo Dollar. Joyce Meyer writes in her book, The Most Important Decision You’ll Ever Make, the following:

Jesus paid on the cross and went to hell in my place. Then as God had promised, on the third day Jesus rose from the dead. The scene in the spirit realm went something like this: God rose up from his throne and said to demon powers tormenting the sinless son of God, “let him go.” Then the resurrection power of Almighty God went through hell and filled Jesus. On earth his grave where they had buried him was filled with light as the power of God filled his body. He was resurrected from the dead–the first born again man. (source)

And Kenneth Copeland similarly writes:

For three days He suffered everything there is to suffer. Some people don’t want to believe that. They want to believe that after His death, Jesus just stayed in that upper region of Sheol that the Bible calls paradise, but they’re mistaken! If He had simply stayed there, there would have been no price paid for sin. (source)

This flies right in the face of biblical truth that Christ’s death on the cross was victorious over sin. Jesus proclaimed victory in his final breath on the cross (John 19:28-30). Jesus had no need to go to Hell to finish any work, and he certainly did not die spiritually (John 17:4, Acts 2:31, Col 2:14, etc.).

But if denying the power of the cross isn’t enough to turn your head away from Kari Jobe’s music, perhaps her treatment of Jesus would be enough to make your stomach turn. Another popular song, The More I Seek You, she treats Jesus more like a lover than a savior.

The more I seek you,
The more I find you
The more I find you, the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet
Drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breathe, feel your heart beat
This love is so deep, it’s more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace, it’s overwhelming

Besides the theology in this song just being plain horrible, she displays a total lack of understanding of God’s love for us. God’s love for us is not an erotic (Greek: eros) love, but agape. Agape is a parental, sacrificial, unconditional love, whereas eros is a bodily, emotional kind of love. The lyrics in this song pervert the nature of God’s love.

I don’t see how anyone could worship our sovereign God to music like this, yet the eroticizing of God’s love for us is gaining steam. Hillsong’s Forever Reign is another popular song in evangelical churches that does this, while Ann Voskamp, a popular women’s bible study writer, and author, pushes the same foolishness in her book, 1000 Gifts. Voskamp writes, “I fly to Paris and discover how to make love to God.”

One of the Hallmarks of NAR worship is to use repetitive phrases and rhythmic cadences to draw people into a trance-like state, believing that by doing so, you can have intimacy with God. In reality, what it does is cause people to zone out, and not really think about what they are saying. Being under the influence of NAR Apostle, Jack Hayford, who has been instrumental in transforming the worship music scene, it comes as no surprise that her music incorporates this tactic. Jack Hayford claims direct, divine revelation from God, and says that while driving by a Catholic church, God directly told him not to judge them. He says God directly said to him,

Why would I not be happy with a place [Catholic Church] where every morning the testimony of the blood of my Son is raised from the altar?

Being that the Catholic Church worships a false Jesus, you can rest assured that Hayford did not hear that from God. Yet, this is a man influencing Kari Jobe, and many other modern worship music artists.

All of this and more is what the evangelical church is feeding its sheep. Wolves, snake oil salesmen, bad theology…and nobody bats an eye. Children are being sent off to church camps and “Christian” concerts to be fed goat’s milk through worship. Sadly, many truly love Jesus, and desire to worship him rightly, but have no idea that their music is leading them down a path of destruction. Music is tearing down doctrinal lines and creating unholy alliances at a faster pace than once thought possible. No longer do Evangelicals, Catholics, and other professing Christians have to stand against each other over “matters of secondary importance…like the Bible,” we can now unite around our new idol of worship music.

[Contributed by Jeff Maples]

Source: By Jeff maples, Popular Charismatic Worship Artist, Kari Jobe, Teaching Dangerous Theology, Pulpit And Pen, http://pulpitandpen.org/2016/05/04/kari-jobe-dangerous-theology/, Published 04/05/2016. (Accessed 04/05/2016.)

Why Can’t Hillsong Admit They Are A Word Of Faith Cult?

08 Saturday Mar 2014

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Whenever Hillsong try to distance themselves from the destructive Word of Faith movement they are being dishonest with the general public.

Hillsong IS a Word of Faith cult and should never be understood to represent the historical Christian faith. Believe it or not, the Word of Faith teachings at Hillsong are more akin to that of the occult and new age spirituality.

Recently at Apprising Ministries, they exposed the following dubious conference Brian Houston of Hillsong Church spoke at:

T.D. JAKES PRESENTS WORD FAITH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

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Apprising Ministries continues covering a growing syncretism within apostatizing evangelicalism as it wanders further away from belief in the all-sufficiency of God’s Word and succumbs to silly superstitions derived from tis embrace of charismania and Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism.
While I told you that James MacDonald Was A Bit Late In Mainstreaming T.D. Jakes, even so, co-hosts James MacDonald and Mark Driscoll of their ecumenical Elephant Room 2 (ER2) would chose to use ER2 as a vehicle to place their blessing upon Word Faith mogul T.D. Jakes.

At ER2 MacDonald and Driscoll allowed Jakes to affirm both trinitarianism and modalism simultaneously and never did address Jakes’ Word Faith heresies. One of the basic principles of both ER1 and 2 was supposedly the adherents would demonstrate to us how to properly dialogue about differences.

However, the fruit of these conferences has been an emerging self-appointed Evangelical Ecumenical Magisterium (EEM) comprised of most of the multi-site megachurch pastors who participated in ER. EEM’s  James MacDonald would later imply that he’s continued private dialogues with T.D. Jakes.

MacDonald gave the impression that Jakes was now supposedly moving away from the Word Faith prosperity gospel at the core of his corrupt ministry. I recently discussed this further in T.D. Jakes Repents Of Word Faith Heresy And Mythology? You’re about to see further evidence that he has not.

The following is a clip from “Throw It Back,” which was Jakes’  New Year’s Eve 2013 message to hisPotter’s House. Same ‘ol T.D. Jakes heading into 2014:

Then, as you can see from the graphic above, Jakes’ Branching Out  (BO) conference, which begins tomorrow, proudly features Word Faith preacher Brian Houston of Hillsong Church, BO will also be giving us the notorious WF “Apostle” Frederick K.C. Price; and they don’t come anymore committed to WF heresies than Price.

Yet in spite of this T.D. Jakes’ Conference Will Feature A Saddleback Church Leader, which you are likely aware is the church headed by EEM member Rick Warren. In closing this, for now, let me remind you that Price:

received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1970 and soon began to develop a “faith” ministry. In 1973 Price founded an independent church in Los Angeles called Crenshaw Christian Center. Price was ordained by Kenneth Hagin Ministries in 1975.

In 1981 the congregation moved to 32 acres that formerly housed Pepperdine University. In 1989 he completed a new worship center called the Faithdome at a cost of over $10 million. The multiracial congregation now exceeds 15,000…

Price began a nationally broadcast television ministry in 1978 called Ever Increasing Faith, which is featured on more than 125 million stations in the U.S. and abroad. In 1982 he began teaching his faith message in crusades and conferences all across the U.S.

Price is the author of more than 30 books relating to the Holy Spirit and faith,…1

Christian apologist Mike Oppenheimer now shares a few of the Word Faith heresies propounded by Frederick K.C. Price. He begins with the critical information that Price is a disciple of Kenneth “Dad” Hagin, widely considered in WF circles as the very father of their movement:

Price claims that it was Hagin who had the greatest influence on his life. Frederick K.C. Price says: “Kenneth Hagin has had the greatest influence upon my life of any living man … his books … revolutionized and changed my life.”( Taped interviews on file at the Holy Spirit Research Center, Oral Roberts University cited in D. R. McConnell, The Kenyon Connection: A Theological and Historical Analysis of the Cultic Origins of the Faith Movement, a thesis submitted to the Theological Faculty, Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, OK, May 1982, p. 11).

This developed him into being the chief exponent of naming it and claiming it. Say it and frame it, speak it and keep it. Price who has become famous for his anti biblical stance of If you have to say, “if it be thy will or thy will be done- if you have to say that, then your calling God a fool.” He explains “What they told me to do was that whenever I prayed I should always say, ‘The will of the Lord be done.,’ Now, doesn’t that sound humble? It does. Sounds like humility, it’s really stupidity. I mean, you know, really, we insult God. I mean, we really do insult our Heavenly Father. We do; we really insult Him without even realizing it. If you have to say, ‘If it be thy will or’ Thy will be done’-if you have to say that, then you’re calling God a fool because he’s the One that told us to ask…. (“Ever Increasing Faith” program on TBN Nov.16,1990).

Despite all his rhetoric it’s not God who is the fool but those who say there is no prayer to say God’s will be done. If it isn’t his will its yours, and you might as well say God move over I’m your replacement. Hardly a comforting thought (see Jms.4:15, Mt.6:19, 1Jn. 514)

“If them animals belonged to, if those animals belonged ‘ to God, how come God didn’t give them their names?

Why did he leave it up to a puny man to give them the names to the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom, and the vegetable kingdom? Because they belonged under the control of Adam and not of God Why? He had dominion. Not God, Adam.” (Ever Increasing Faith program may 3, 1992) if this were true then how did God curse creation after the fall? How did man fall if we were in control of these kingdoms?

“Adam, as I said, gave it [the earth] away to the serpent, to the Devil. As a result of it he got his behind kicked out of the garden. He went out of Eden, out of the garden. He began to wander around, and he has troubles from day one. Now God was out of the business. God was out of the earth realm. God had no more stock in this earth realm. No more. None at all. Nothing He could do. Not a thing in the world He could do. The only way God could get back into this earth realm, He had to have an invitation. Ha-hah! He had to have an invitation.” (“Ever Increasing Faith” program on TBN [1 May 1992], audiotape #PR11.)

I think the words Price uses are dead giveaways to his understanding “God was out of the business” he had to be invited. But there is a heresy that is deeper than the obvious slip ups. The bible says nothing is impossible with God, but Price says it was not possible for God to control what he once did without man. Price has it  backwards. Do we see this happening in the Scripture, absolutely not.

“God the father cannot do anything in this earth realm without permission. Now again I realize that that statement is very as I say from an evangelical point of view (meaning the evangelical doctrines)… that this statement that I’m making that God can’t do is like going out and committing adultery to them, it sin, simple to say that.” Price thinks God needs mans permission to do things on earth.

“Now this is a shocker! But God has to be given permission to work in this earth realm on behalf of man….Yes! You are in control! So if man has control, who no longer has it? God…..When God gave Adam dominion, that meant God no longer had dominion. So God cannot do anything in this earth unless we let Him. And the way we let Him or give Him permission is through prayer.” (Frederick Price Quoted from – “Christianity in Crisis” by H. Hanegraaff, 1993)

Price does know his explanation is more than unusual yet he is satisfied with his own exposition for this.What kind of Bible teaching is this, God is not in control, man is. Who then is God to Fred Price?

“Yes! You are in control! So, if man has control, who no longer has it? God” (Fred Price, “Prayer: Do You Know What Prayer Is…and How to Pray?” (The Word Study Bible, 1990 p. 1178).

We are in control and God is not! So why pray to him, we might as well pray to ourselves. That’s exactly how it is put when he states don’t pray for God’s will. He explains “The way God has designed the system, we control. It’s up to us. “You see, I gave it to you before..”Matthew 18:18, “Whatever you bind on earth…bound in heaven; whatever you loose…it loosed in heaven.”

For every scripture Price seems to find to support his by faith its mine doctrine there are numerous more that clearly bring light to his erroneous conclusion. Isa.29:l6: “Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, ‘He did not make me’? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding?”

Fred Price affirms, “Jesus said, All authority… All of it.” How much is left out of the term all? Nothing. It’s an inclusive term. It leaves nothing out. He said, All authority in the heaven and in the earth is in My hands. It has been given to Me and what do you think the purpose of Almighty God giving Him the authority in the earth was for and He’s not here to use it? It’s because He gave that authority to the Church. In essence, He was saying, I’m going back to Heaven. I’ll take care of the authority in the heavenly realm but I’m leaving you here My body …and I’m giving you, by delegation, My authority in the earth realm. Go forth and conquer. The way God has designed the system, we control. It’s up to us.” (Fred Price, Ever Increasing Faith Lesea [on audio]).

Where does the Bible say Jesus gave us the control that he has? Scripture proof- none.

The only thing Price controls is his congregation with his twisted teaching of the word. It is bondage to believe these untruths.

Price believes the control is found in all that we say, “If you keep talking death, that is what you are going to have. If you keep talking sickness and disease, that is what you are going to have, because you are going to create the reality of them with your own mouth. That is a divine law.” (Fred Price, Realm, 29)

God and Man

Price does seem to uphold the trinity however he does have an aberrant view on our birth “All he did when he came here was get a body through Mary. And that’s all you did when you got here  you were already alive before you came into your mommas womb, you  were a livin spirit, you just came into your mommas womb so that  you can get a physical body so that you can live here” (Dec., 2003 Lesea Broadcasting)

Price says we all existed before birth. Where? Where did Adams spirit exist before birth? This is nonsense and not a Christian teaching. Jesus did indeed exist before birth as spirit  because he was God. We as humans did not exist in heaven nor a spiritual realm before our conception. (source)

Finally, here is WF prosperity preacher Frederick K.C. Price below from his Ever Increasing Faithpodcast teaching the classic WF fable that Jesus was wealthy financially:

This is the kind of “leader” the EEM-approved T.D. Jakes is attempting to drag into mainstream evangelicalism.

Further reading

Endnotes

  1. Stanley M. Burgess, Eduard M. van der Maas, Editors, Ed van der Maas, Author, The New International Dictionary Of Pentecostal And Charismatic Movements [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002],, 998. ↩

Source: By Ken Silva, T.D. JAKES PRESENTS WORD FAITH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE, Apprising Ministries, http://apprising.org/2014/03/05/t-d-jakes-presents-word-faith-leadership-conference/,  Published 05/03/2014. (Accessed 09/03/2014.)

Why Is The “Fake It Til You Make It” Joel Osteen Still Speaking At Hillsong Conferences?

15 Wednesday May 2013

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Jesus said,

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” — Jesus, Matt 7:15.

Joel Osteen is speaking at this year’s Hillsong Conference 2013. Recentlly, Chris Rosebrough decided to tune into Joel Osteen’s 2013 easter sermon. Here is a snippet of what Joel Osteen said in his easter sermon.

“I am not a victim. I am not at a disadvantage. I am full of resurrection power! Well you say, “Joel, I don’t feel very powerful. I don’t feel very strong”. But you can’t go by what you feel, you gotta go by what you know. Your feelings may change every other hour.

What you’re up against may look bigger, stronger, more influential, more powerful, that’s okay. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. You have an advantage. It’s called resurrection power. Even though you may not feel powerful, you got to put your shoulders back and start acting like your powerful. Fake it til you make it.

Act like you’re strong. Act like you’re well able. Act like you’re more than a conqueror. Don’t go through life intimidated when you have the most powerful force in the universe on the inside.” – Joel Osteen, Lakewood Easter Sevice, http://0352182.netsolhost.com/F4F/F4F051013.mp3: 56:56, 2013.

According to Joel Osteen you have the most powerful force of the universe? According to Joel Osteen you have to “fake it til you make it”? And he decided to teach this in his sermon on Resurrection Sunday?

Jesus warns people about the leaven of false teachers like Joel Osteen.

“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” – Jesus Christ, Luke 12:1-3.

So why is Osteen teaching believers that they need to “Fake it til you make it”? Is this how Joel Osteen made it big as a ‘Pastor’ of America’s biggest church? Is Hillsong inviting a faker to speak at their conference? How can we trust Joel Osteen for what he’s worth if he’s prepared to ‘fake’? How is Brian Houston ‘championing the cause of the local church’ by inviting such a heretic to speak?

Hear Joel Osteen reviewed below:

MAY 10, 2013

FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT?

Click Here to Download this episode

Program segments:• No Mommy Rhapsody In Church

• Atheism for Lent?

• Taste of Joel Osteen’s Easter Sermon

• Two Good Sermons

Source: Fighting For The Faith, Fake It Til You Make It?, http://www.fightingforthefaith.com/2013/05/fake-it-til-you-make-it.html, 10/05/2013.

An Accurate Account Of The Hillsong Phenomena & An Insider Look At Their Take-Over Of GCCC

20 Saturday Apr 2013

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Christian Witness Ministries publishes,

Why I Left Hill$ong Campus

Written by Lance Goodall

by Lance Goodall

Franchised:

I was an active member of Garden City Christian Church (GCCC) for 9 years from March 2001 to October 2009, under the leadership of Bruce Hills, pastor.

It was a great surprise to me, and to many others, that there was about to be a take- over by Hillsong.

After his return from 3 months leave, Bruce Hills was told by the board of GCCC in November 2008, that they wanted a pastor who was more of a CEO to run the church.1

By his own confession Bruce was told to resign.2

This begs the questions, “How long had the board been thinking of changing the leadership?” And who contacted whom? Did Brian Houston contact GCCC, or did the current assistant pastor Steve Dixon (SD) pick up the phone and raise the matter with Hillsong?

Brian Houston became Brisbane’s senior pastor under the guidance, leadership and affirmation of assistant pastor SD and the board of GCCC. So called “campus pastor” Steve Dixon according to a report in the Courier Mail was at the time unsure how long he would remain part of the pastoral team.3

Another question that begs an answer is, “Why did the elders and board members of GCCC unanimously endorse the “takeover” by Hillsong and Brian Houston as senior pastor without investigating Hillsong for themselves?” On the day of the members’ vote, a number of the elders stood on stage and testified that they had never ventured south to attend even one Hillsong conference in Sydney, yet they were backing this change all the way!

Members and adherents of GCCC weren’t given any opportunity to make any suggestions, nor was there any open discussion of leadership alternatives. The decision had been made. GCCC members were simply presented with one leadership appointment, and asked to vote.

There had been only one side of the story told. The information was always presented in a positive light, with little opportunity to question, or linger on doubts. Any questions raised were screened and well managed. I have since learned this is a technique used by the business world to manage change. There had been more spin over the pulpit in God’s name, during these months, than found in your average Colgate commercial.

Once the decision was made, GCCC became an instant “franchise” of Hillsong. The Church is now market driven under the guise of being – “purpose driven”.

Identity Crisis:

GCCC has totally lost its identity!

Without a moment to breathe, the leadership from Sydney suddenly arrived putting their stamp on this new way to “do church”. We were presented with a spokesman for this, and a spokesman for that. We even had a special “Money Preacher” to encourage and remind us of the need to tithe and give generously. Such coercion from a “church” viz Hillsong, which is a juggernaut financially, with a turnover of of $50 million plus a year4 is neither godly nor, in my opinion, acceptable.

We were no longer just affiliated with strong ties to Hillsong, we became Hillsong!

From day one everything had to change, and it did. For example – there was a fairly new coat of paint on the “church” walls from previous renovations, painted to a modern grey. Yet within days of the signs, and the optic fibre going in the carpark, the auditorium was repainted to the colour of the other Hillsong churches. Why spend the money?

As part of the takeover we had the celebrity gala feast; this one, and that one, from Hillsong Sydney visiting to give their counsel, and ideas. All the rich and famous were given a slot, and place of honour. For those who couldn’t get enough of their Hillsong idols they could now have them visit here in Queensland. With every guest appearance, Brian Houston became more like an Amway Diamond, than a pastor.

Hillsong is run as a Corporation not a church in its operation.

There is no New Testament precedent for this model and certainly not for its duplication.

The Church has taken its cue from Wall Street. It has been offered the kingdoms of this world, and yet instead of denying the flesh, it has embraced the path of least resistance, and in so doing, has denied the cross, and the One who bought us.

J. Edwin Orr pointed out that “seldom does God call one who ministers the Word to the ministry of money making. They are two separate callings.”5

By love for the world, we make ourselves an enemy of the cross:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him – 1 John 2:15.

Ambition and Success are the new golden calf.

Warren W. Wiersbe comments;

Few things taint our goodness like covetousness; a desire to be popular, and the ecstatic feeling that comes when we exercise power over the people who give us their idolatrous adoration. When our motives are wrong; our ministry is wrong; and the consequences are tragic for us, for those who follow us and for the whole church.6

This is now playing itself out at Hillsong Brisbane.

Seeking to be Sensitive:

The Hillsong way actually follows to the letter what is known as the Seeker Sensitive or Church Growth Movement model. This model is to help bring “unchurched” sinners into the meetings, and to make them as comfortable as possible with the experience.

  • Dress down in clothing and style. Jeans are the new formal wear;
  • Low mood lighting similar to a bar or nightclub. In Brisbane campus, it is so dimly lit it appears like night time, yet it’s 10:30 am in the morning. Quite a contrast especially in Queensland when the sun is up at 5:30 am;
  • Secular music is played as background music prior to the start of the service. eg The Verve – Bitter Sweet Symphony;
  • Worship – now accommodates the excitability of the young and the unchurched;
  • Music is now more about entertainment than the sole purpose of lifting up our God above all other gods;
  • The lyrics (words) of the songs have progressively become “I, me, my” focused instead of Christ Jesus focused – e.g. In Your Freedom I will live;
  • Worship is now limited to 20 minutes;
  • Big screens are not there for the glory of God. It’s not pictures of creation, but the names and faces of those on stage that are lifted up;
  • Hillsong relies on the quality of programmes not the power of the Holy Spirit for transformed lives;
  • Preaching is now a standard 20 minute sermonette;
  • Preaching on the whole is “relevant” and topical. It is now a people based message to “help” the hearer with their felt-needs e.g. happiness, family , finances, relationships, job, career etc;

This type of pop spirituality effectively teaches:

  • Every human being is divine or basically good;
  • God’s Word is not really the final authority, but is still useful as a moral guide;
  • The goal of my life is centred on me;
  • What I desire determines what happens in my life.

What this type of church model does, is nothing more than increase the numbers of adherents, and leaves the sinner in his sins. The church now has a flock of deceived sheep, or are they in reality misguided goats?

Massaging the Message:

  • Messages lack any mention of sin, repentance, prayer, obedience, death to self, holiness, sacrifice, suffering, hell, even God himself.
  • Preaching lacks sound doctrine. Closer analysis reveals it is more based around pop psychology, than biblical truth.
  • The message has little challenge or need for personal self assessment.

Yet the scripture exhorts us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith – 2 Corinthians 13:5

The preaching frequently includes different Bible versions. This includes The Message, which is a perversion and not a true translation.

  • Often this is quoted in church to expound or reveal a greater truth. It is normally thrown up on the big screen for everyone to read. The Message was produced by Eugene Peterson, as a simple paraphase, not as a translation from the original texts. Yet without fail, not a Sunday will go by without this Bible version being quoted.
  • To show the  degree we have strayed, the KJV has over 700 references to “Lord” in the New Testament alone. The Message has just 23 verses which mention “Lord”. But the real concern is that “Lord” is never once associated or found linked to “Jesus” in any way in The Message.

Brian Houston frequently preaches a message that is a watered down gospel. He teaches from Bible verses that were never meant to say what he teaches. This is known as Eisegesis.

Eisegesis (from the Greek root εις, meaning into, in, among) is the process of misinterpreting a text in such a way that it introduces one’s own ideas, reading into the text. This is best understood when contrasted with Exegesis. While exegesis draws out the meaning from the text, eisegesis occurs when a reader reads his/her interpretation into the text. As a result, exegesis tends to be objective when employed effectively while eisegesis is regarded as highly subjective.

Verses are used just because they have a certain word or contain a truth that fits with his message.

Houston Heterodoxy:

Brian Houston lacks or is happy to ignore all forms of discernment;

Brian Houston’s preaching could be termed “Heterodox Humanism”

He happily accepts and promotes the following teachers most of whom have personally been at Hillsong Conferences.

You will also find these people’s books as the only books available in the Hillsong Resource Centres (bookshop), along with Brian and Bobby’s material of course!7

  • Joyce Meyer – Prosperity Teacher/ Preacher. cf. Paul’s instruction about women teachers – 1 Timothy 2:12.
  • Joel Osteen – Prosperity Preacher and denier of the true Gospel
  • Jerry Saville – Prosperity Preacher
  • T D Jakes – Prosperity Preacher and denier of the trinity (advertised as guest speaker at the 2010 Hillsong Conference).
  • Rick Warren – member of the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) trained under Robert H. Schuller (a la – The Hour of Power)
  • Bill Hybels – Pastor of Willow Creek Church – who has admitted getting it wrong with the Seeker Sensitive model. Hybels trained under Robert H. Schuller and is good friends with Rick Warren. According to Schuller — Self Esteem is the new reformation!! He defines sin as a lack of “self-esteem”.
  • Pearsons – Jeremy Pearsons (wife Sarah) son-in-law of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland—visited Hillsong Powerhouse in Sydney in October 2009 for Encounter ’098
  • Hillsong United band played for the Pope  during his visit to Sydney in 2008.
  • Sisterhood (a term widely used by Hillsong) is a concept borrowed from the Women’s liberation movement, and the new age.

Darwin’s Day:

Finally one of the worst instances of spiritual bankruptcy I’ve experienced was the live performance of the “Hillsong Creation story”, featured at Hillsong Brisbane on 11-Oct-2009.

Aspects can only be touched on here. The play was done in humour, and obviously aimed at a child audience. However the fun and humour ends very quickly, where the creation narrative turns into a sham and a circus. Plants and animals were various members of the congregation, dressed in costumes. More and more characters appeared on stage, and we had six or more of the cast from the pastoral team. Somehow we were meant to make the mental leap, as a congregation, from the bouncing chicken and the freckle faced rat to God’s act of creating our world and the Universe out of nothing!?!

The seven days of creation were played out by various actors and God even created for us – “Superheros”, like Batman and the Incredible Hulk, both making a guest appearance. God is so “great”, that He invented superheros, can openers, and cars!

The Holy Spirit at one stage was taking too long to come –“hovering over the waters”. Towards the end Adam and Eve appeared clothed (minus the fall, sin and satan, and God’s provision). The story ends ….

Steve Dixon then expounded for about twenty minutes the creation story as found in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.

He touched on a few points expressing the view that we are not able to know the exact time frame of God’s creation, whether it was a literal seven days, or a certain period of time which God took to make earth.9

Darwin would have been proud on this 150th Anniversary of his Origin of Species, and Richard Dawkins would be more than bemused.

The Church in the West for too long has sailed along in fair seas. The Zephyr has fluttered at our sails in the height of summer, and has blown comfort upon the people. Our ship has sailed below sapphire skies, the crew sleeps, while the current of the world, and tides of apostasy have taken us off course, and we barely know it.

The worst of it is, darkening clouds beckon on the horizon, bringing a storm of ecumenism and coming persecution with barely anyone to trim the sail of this wayward vessel.

Conclusion:

Since the introduction of Hillsong to Brisbane, this once truly relevant and purposeful church has been sideswiped. A church birthed in humility and zeal by its founders, who gave all to the cause of Christ, have now become a people who have lost their way, and now dance to the flute of the musician, whose song is not the song of the Lord.

The love of fame and fortune have been Christianized, and an unsuspecting flock now give their allegiance to a captain who cares “little, if anything, for their salvation”.

It must be said that they who began well have turned aside to follow a shepherd who is no shepherd. The hireling has crept in unawares.
Paul complained in his day:

For I have no man like-minded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s – Philippians 2: 20, 21.

The way once narrow, now abandoned, has become a broadened highway, opening up to the verdant plains leading on to the gates of a city that arises in the distance. It is that great city, clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! It is a city proud, that city upon seven hills – BABYLON.

about the author

Lance Goodall and his wife Norilyn have both served the Lord in the AOG movement for many years. They have since come out of the Church Growth Movement. They both have a concern for the knowledge of God and His glory. They carry in their heart, a love for Gods’ honour, for His Word, and for the salvation of the lost….

Footnotes

1 Part of the transcript from a sermon preached by Bruce Hills at Legana Church in Tasmania – Easter – April 2009 – DVD can be obtained by ordering from Legana Church.

2) CWM has a copy of a transcript from a tape recording of Bruce preaching in which he make this confession.

3) The meeting was held on Sunday 26th April 2009 to determine the vote from the congregation. 80% of those present agreed to have Brian & Bobbie Houston as senior pastors

4) http://tinyurl.com/242myr7

5) J. Edwin Orr, Revival is like judgement Day (Atlanta: Home Mission Board, SBC 1987) p. 14

6) Warren W. Wiersbe – The integrity Crisis (Nashville; Oliver Nelson Publishers, 1988) p. 56.

7) I personally visited the store, and viewed the books all over the shelves in the resource centre (bookshop) at Brisbane Campus. I suggest you check out any Hillsong bookshop

8)http://tinyurl.com/289qwxk

9) This “play” was performed at the Garden City, Brisbane congregation in the 10:30 am service on the 11th October 2009.”

Source: Lance Goodall, Why I Left Hill$ong Brisbane Campus, Franchised, Christian Witness Ministries, http://www.cwm.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148:why-i-left-hillong-brisbane-campus&catid=45:cetf52&Itemid=41,

Rosebrough Says Brian Houston Was “Intentionally Deceitful”

12 Saturday Jan 2013

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Scriptures say,

“We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” – Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 4:2-6. Emphasis added.

Before starting his review on Brian Houston’s sermon ‘Only For A While’, Rosebrough says the following.

“I told you this sermon was coming up so you had fair warning. I told you before I went on Christmas break that Brian Houston was going to be umm- ‘preaching’ at Saddleback. He is one of the main teachers of the prosperity heresy. (Tells you that Rick Warren’s theology is off the rails.)” – Chris Rosebrough, LOUIE GIGLIO TWISTS EZEKIEL 37, http://0352182.netsolhost.com/F4F/F4F010713.mp3: 1:31:35, 07/01/2013.

Brian Houston sermon is (supposedly) based on 2 Corinthians 7.

 

Here is the sermon:

JANUARY 07, 2013

LOUIE GIGLIO TWISTS EZEKIEL 37

Click Here to Download this episode
Program segments:
• Does John 14:26 say that the Holy Spirit Will Speak in Your Heart?
• Louie Giglio Twists Ezekiel 37 at Passion 2013
• Sermon Review: Only For a While by Brian Houston preaching at Saddleback

Email your questions or comments to: talkback@fightingforthefaith.com

Source: Chris Rosebrough, LOUIE GIGLIO TWISTS EZEKIEL 37, http://www.fightingforthefaith.com/2013/01/louie-giglio-twists-ezekiel-37.html, 07/01/2013. (Accessed 13/01/2013.)

proof_f4tf-houstongiglio_13-01-13

Rosebrough further states “Brian Houston of Hillsong” is,

“a noted, well-known prosperity/Word-of-Faith heretic. That’s what Brian Houston is. We’ve covered quite a few of his false sermons here at Fighting For The Faith over the years. And it’s important to note he’s at Saddleback church. That’s basically Rick Warren thumbing his nose at Jesus and the Holy Spirit and saying, ‘I don’t care if Your Word says to separate myself from people who teach false doctrine. I’m going to have Brian Houston over here anyway because he’s so popular right now’. I think that’s the right way of looking at it.” – Chris Rosebrough, LOUIE GIGLIO TWISTS EZEKIEL 37, http://0352182.netsolhost.com/F4F/F4F010713.mp3: 1:32:10, 07/01/2013.

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Christ Rosebrough accuses Brian Houston of serious issues in how he treats 2 Corinthians 7. At 2:02:35, Rosebrough states how Houston is handling the text.

“He’s missing, I would say intentionally missing the point of this letter.”

Then came this serious protest against Houston’s handling of the biblical text.

“Listen. Folks, I’m sorry. I’ve watched this thing twice. This is intentional. This is absolute intentionally deceitful. He starts off in the New King James version and then right here, he switches to ‘The Message’. And the reason why he switches to ‘The Message’ is so that he doesn’t have to read, ‘for Godly grief produces repentance’… He literally wants to avoid what this text says… So at this point, this is like a magic trick. Okay? He’s now going to, ‘Oh! Just let me switch to The Message okay?’ But he’s doing that so that he can continue to make his point that ‘they discovered the power of ‘only for a while’, rather than make the point how Godly grief produces repentance.” – Chris Rosebrough, LOUIE GIGLIO TWISTS EZEKIEL 37, http://0352182.netsolhost.com/F4F/F4F010713.mp3: 2:03:02, 07/01/2013.

The sermon was so bad, Brian Houston had Chris Rosebrough marvel.

“Man! He is a skilled- quite skilled bible-twister. He is very careful to avoid the passages that would upset the agenda that he has set for this text. Because the last thing he wants to do is let God’s agenda for this text, come through.” – Chris Rosebrough, LOUIE GIGLIO TWISTS EZEKIEL 37, http://0352182.netsolhost.com/F4F/F4F010713.mp3: 2:17:42, 07/01/2013.

Later, Rosebrough observes,

“Brian Houston has done a masterful tap-dance routine here to make sure to avoid having to talk about Godly grief that produces repentance.” – Chris Rosebrough, LOUIE GIGLIO TWISTS EZEKIEL 37, http://0352182.netsolhost.com/F4F/F4F010713.mp3: 2:18:47, 07/01/2013.

Rosebrough ends his review with this conclusion:

“He literally bent God’s Word into a pretzel- literally distorted it in order to avoid at all costs, making the point that’s actually been made in this text… Brian Houston literally, did everything in his power, pulled out every hermeneutical twisting technique that you could possibly think of. Going backwards in the text. Forwards in the text. Switching to The Message paraphrase. Everything he could do to make sure not to make the point the text makes. And what would you expect from somebody who is a Word of Faith heretic? They are not men of God (or women of God). None of the above. They are agents of the devil and the devil is a liar and a deceiver. That’s why when they get the pulpit or get on stage they lie and they deceive by tampering and distorting God’s Word. Dangerous days we live in.” – Chris Rosebrough, LOUIE GIGLIO TWISTS EZEKIEL 37, http://0352182.netsolhost.com/F4F/F4F010713.mp3: 2:33:21, 07/01/2013.

While the Apostle Paul refuses “to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, Rosebrough exposed Brian Houston of his cunning. That is, he exposed Houston of intentionally tampering “with God’s word” to preach what he wanted to preach.

But it’s worse than that. Brian Houston attacked and demonised the Apostle Paul. How?

It was the Apostle who rebuked his readers and gave them Godly grief. And it was also Paul in this letter that stated, “what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” So not only did they rebuke the Corinthians, they purposely saw themselves as servants to Jesus, not proclaiming themselves but JESUS. As John the Baptist declared that he must decrease so Jesus may increase, so too was Paul and his instruction to the Corinth church similar. 

Brian Houston did the exact opposite. He preached selfishness and excluded Jesus. Brian had the audacity to say, “the devil wants to keep your life small”. Doesn’t that sound like something Paul’s enemies would say? Why would you want to limit yourself to the role of a servant? Isn’t that small thinking? Isn’t that limiting your potential for God’s plan in your life? Do you think Brian Houston has a god that keeps him on the narrow road and points him to the small gate?