The past few (weeks now) have been an extreme journey through a very dark rabbit hole... one I never thought to peek into before now. Just the brazenness of satan to use Christ as a vehicle to promote his own agenda, makes me shudder in disbelief. It’s nothing new, but definitely bolder than ever before, leading unsuspecting souls into destruction. It just makes me so sick, sad, and angry. Angry at myself for allowing the enemy even a tiny foothold in my life, regardless of my obliviousness to it all. May God have mercy on those honestly manipulated by the enemy, even unbeknownst to them.
There are many people, preachers, worship leaders, churches,etc. claiming the power of the Lord, but are we paying attention to the Holy Spirit enough to discern the genuine from the frauds? The Bible warns us about these kinds of people and it's important that we listen and take heed!! "For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and preform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." Matthew 24:24 Not only will people come forward claiming to be the messiah, but they will also fool us with false miracles. We've seen planted audience members receive "healing" for diseases they claimed to have, chemical reactions fabricated to look like water turning into wine, and magical crystals turning into gold dust.
Acts 20:28-30 says "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them."
There are several mega churches right now that are parading around as houses of God, but are not Biblically sound in their messages, in their worship, in their practices, in their beliefs, or in their moral values. Compromising the integrity of the Word for the acceptance of the world should never be commonplace in a Christ-based church.
Hillsong, Bethel, Elevation... these organizations have HUGE followings and even bigger issues in their beliefs and practices. They have these dynamic worship teams that are super successful at manipulating the emotions of the "worshiper". Their apostate new age message is so cleverly packaged in catchy tunes and techno beats. Our church sings their songs. I have personally blared them loudly from my minivan. We have recommended some of these songs to our youth. Unknowingly, we have contributed to spreading the corruption and false teachings of charlatans. Ignorance truly is bliss, but with knowledge comes accountability. Now that I know the things I know, I cannot sit on my hands and avoid the truth that people are being deceived.
Here are a few things I've recently learned about these mega "churches":
đź’”Hillsong's beliefs on homosexuality are not concrete. They have released statements about being an "all inclusive" church, but refuse to specify if they believe that homosexuality is SIN. Even something so obvious to most Christians as sin, such as abortion, is a gray area for Hillsong (as interpreted from their NYC pastor in this interview). They have also been known to use satanic symbolism in their concerts and music videos. When the lyrics of some of their popular songs are broken down line by line, contradictions to Biblical teaching are more evident than I ever realized. (This video sums up the warning signs of this organization pretty well).
đź’”At Bethel you can purchase a ticket and schedule a prophetic session where someone will prophesy over you. I'm not an expert, but I'm preeeeetty sure prophecy doesn't work like that. It's exploitation and they're preying on desperate vulnerable people.... and how do I know people are that desperate?? Bethel sold out of tickets for these "prophetic sessions". Their senior pastor has been accused of fake miracles and staged healings. They even have a school where you can learn how to "faith heal" people. Their main page promises "miracles, miracles, miracles".
đź’”Elevation has "spontaneous baptisms" where congregants have admitted to being plants in the audience to act as emotional cheerleaders and persuade others to participate. There have been allegations of mismanagement of church financial resources to facilitate the purchase of the senior pastor's $1.6 million home which he says "isn't that big of a house really." Not to mention the church's steadfast loyalty to serving the pastor as the "visionary".
Some may argue that regardless of the negative things in these churches, they still do a lot of good and speak a lot of truth. My response to this argument is that truth can come out of the mouths of demons too. The incident that lead to Paul and Silas' imprisonment is proof of that.
Was this girl speaking the truth? Yes, she was. Was it coming from a place of genuine care for others? NO. Was it of God? Definitely NO. Was Paul ok with the demon speaking these things even if they were technically truth? NO. We shouldn't be either. We should NOT be ok with these false teachers and prophets distorting the message of Christ!!! We should NOT be promoting their members. We should NOT be contributing to their revenue through purchases of albums or books. We should NOT be allowing them ANY place in our lives. Period.
Dear Lord,
Please guide my steps and help me to keep my eyes on the TRUE YOU, and not that of a fabricated savior. Not on a God who is too loving to cast judgement, but a on God who loves me enough to be concerned with my soul. Not on a God who accepts all, but on a God who rejects sin. Not on a God who evokes emotion, but on a God who evokes introspection of my spiritual self. Not on a God who compromises, but on a God who stands firm on His words, ever faithful, never changing. Protect me from my own naivety and teach me to discern the false from the genuine. Open my heart to love like you do, and not as this world does. Help me to know the trees surrounding me by the fruits at their feet. Let the world see YOU when they look my direction. When they choose the you they’ve created, help me to see through the apostasy and blasphemy they’ve assimilated into. Let Your truth shine so brightly in my life that it cannot be hidden or snuffed out. May YOU be my everything. Every breath. Every part.
Amen.
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