Come, Thou Almighty King

Come, Thou Almighty King,

Help us Thy name to sing;

Help us to praise.

Father all glorious,

O’er all victorious,

Come, and reign over us,

Ancient of Days.

Come, Thou Incarnate Word,

Gird on Thy mighty Sword;

Our prayer attend.

Come, and Thy people bless,

And give Thy word success.

Spirit of holiness, 

On us descend.

Come, Holy Comforter,

Thy sacred witness bear

In this glad hour.

Thou, who almighty art,

Now rule in every heart

And ne’er from us depart,

Spirit of pow’r.

To Thee, great One in Three,

Eternal praises be,

Hence evermore;

Thy sovereign majesty

May we in glory see,

And to eternity

Love and adore.

Anonymous

“Black Lives Matter” and the Christian

This week I learned that my neighbors (a dark-complected couple), who are ostensibly Christian, are racists.  Why do I say that?  Because I saw the wife wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned “BLACK LIVES MATTER.”  So how does this make her racist, and why can’t Christians support the “BLM” movement?

Christians are supposed to be supporters and promoters of truth, and if what they are supporting and promoting are based on lies and frauds, then they are bring shame on the name of Christ.

The BLM movement was founded on the false narrative of “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” a phrase Michael Brown supposedly said when he was shot by police in Ferguson, MO, in 2014.  Michael Brown was a well-known thug and had just robbed a store when confronted by police.  All evidence points to the police shooting being justified due to Brown’s assault on the police officer.  Yet because it was a white police officer, suddenly it became a racial issue.  

The BLM movement is all about racism, promoting the lives of blacks over all other lives, and if you dare say “All Lives Matter,” you are excoriated and called a racist.

The BLM movement also birthed police assassinations, ostensibly because all non-black police officers are racists.

Since the whole reason for the BLM movement is based on a false narrative, and since it is 100% racist, and since it promotes assassination of police officers, there is no way anyone bearing the name of Christ should even hint at supporting it.

Instead, Christians should remind people that racism is a sin, and that all human lives matter.

Yet I Sin

Eternal Father,

Thou art good beyond all thought, 

But I am vile, wretched, miserable, blind;

My lips ready to confess, but my heart is slow to feel,

and my ways reluctant to amend.

I bring my soul to thee;

break it, wound it, bend it, mould it.

Unmask to me sin’s deformity, 

that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it.

My faculties have been a weapon of revolt against thee;

as a rebel I have misused my strength,

and served the foul adversary of they kingdom.

Give me grace to bewail my insensate folly, 

Grant me to know that the way of transgressors is hard,

that evil paths are wretched paths, 

that to depart from thee is to lose all good.

I have seen the purity and beauty of thy perfect law,

the happiness of those in whose heart it reigns,

the calm dignity of the walk to which it calls,

yet I daily violate and contemn its precepts.

Thy loving Spirit strives within me, bring me Scripture warnings,

speaks in startling providences, allures by secret whispers,

yet I choose devices and desires to my own hurt,

impiously resent, grieve, and provoke him to abandon me.

All these sins I mourn, lament, and for them cry pardon.

Work in me more profound and abiding repentance;

Give me the fullness of a godly grief that trembles and fears,

yet ever trusts and loves, which is ever powerful, and ever confident;

Grant that through the tears of repentance

I may see more clearly the brightness and glories of the saving cross.

From The Valley of Vision, Puritan Prayers and Devotions, p.124-125

The Bad and the Ugly

Yesterday I posted the “good,” so today you get the “bad” and the “ugly” in the Christian culture.  

The Bad:

Francis Chan continues his spiral towards apostasy by teaming with false teachers and the cult of IHOP.

The delusion so many Christians are under.  What a waste of time and effort!

Willow Creek just goes from bad to worse—now they have a woman lead pastor!  When did this become acceptable?

David Barton — not to be trusted in any of his teachings.

Some names to know for avoiding, because they are showing their contemplative beliefs.

Max Lucado continues going off the deep end.

The Ugly:

Ah, the heresy and apostasy of the PCUSA.

Brian McLaren’s “new Christianity” is dangerous paganism.

Perry Noble remains as unrepentant as ever, and as unbiblical as ever.  Mark and avoid him like the plague.

Harry Potter as sacred texts — I guess it’s no real surprise.

Clayton Jennings.

Todd White claims to be sinless.  And he claims Jesus went to Hell, which is typical Word of Faith heresy.

Al Sharpton — there is nothing “reverend” or even Christian about him.  In addition to his fruit exposed in this article, Sharpton is also an ardent racist and a zealous socialist.

More blasphemy from Jim Bakker.  And yet his followers are still loyal to him.

Yes, Bill Johnson and Bethel Redding teach a different, FALSE, gospel.

The demonic “Mary” of the Roman Catholic Church.

Some Good Stuff

I’ve been out of town for a couple days and stuff is piling up!  I decided to do a separate post of links to some good articles and then tomorrow get my “bad and ugly” stuff together.  I hope you find this collection to be edifying or, at the very least, interesting.

A Definitive Case Against The Roman Catholic Apocrypha

Interesting examination of the “virginity test” in the Old Testament.

Acceptable Sins Not Excepted: Gossip

Excellent chart comparing the Anti-Christ with Islam’s Al Mahdi.  John MacArthur has a good teaching covering the same material.

Two Views on the "Sign Gifts": Continuity Vs. Discontinuity

A good collection of so-called “Bible contradictions” refuted.

Some dangers of a “Christian” book store.  The article didn’t even mention the fact that at least 50% of the books sold are by false teachers of every ilk!

Did God abandon Jesus on the Cross?  Of course not, and this excellent article sets the record straight.

Beware of Joseph Farrah and Joe Kovacs

Over the past few years there has been an individual providing me information about Joseph Farrah and Joe Kovacs and the Armstrongism heresy.  I get lots of bits and pieces, but collecting it all and making a cohesive article would take too much time since I have no real background knowledge.  I asked the individual if he would consider writing a guest article with all the information he has, and he said he would consider it sometime.  I know he’s busy so I don’t expect anything anytime soon!  At any rate, today’s weekly email from Don Veinot of Midwest Christian Outreach included the item below, which I think gives enough information about these guys to be able to mark and avoid them.  Oh, and I dropped WND as a news source years ago because I found them to have too much sensationalism.

Shocked by WND’s Heresy?

Joseph Farrah of WorldNetDaily (WND) represents himself to be a Christian, and to be honest I have no idea whether he is or not.  The attempts to contact him in the past to discuss concerns went unanswered but it appears that he is fine promoting and endorsing heresy if it nets him a financial profit.  Farrah’s Executive News Editor is Joe Kovacs, who also writes religious columns as well as books such s Shocked by the Bible and Shocked by the Bible 2 which WND promotes and sells.  Kovacs’ views are firmly in the camp of Armstrongism.  In a recent “WND Exclusive: Shocking Bible secret hidden in ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,’” which talks about Shocked by the Bible 2 he claims that films like Willy Wonka are being used to convey biblical truth. Willy Wonka is a Christ figure and:

The children in “Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” are being tested by the maker of the goodies, just as the potential children of God in real life are being tested by the Maker of all things good, says author Joe Kovacs in “Shocked by the Bible 2.”

“This is exactly how Jesus operates, examining the hearts and minds of His own children and studying their actions to determine who is worthy of the astonishing reward of eternal life as members of God’s very own family,” writes Kovacs in “Shocked 2.”

Notice how clearly he states that salvation is something that is earned.  It is a reward given to those who are found “worthy of the astonishing reward of eternal life.”  There is very little in these books which would be recognizable s sound biblical teaching of the historic faith delivered once for all to the saints, but will no doubt net a fair profit for Joe Kovacs and Joseph Farrah.

HMMMMM

Romans 11:29:
"...for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable."

So, since God CALLED Israel to be His people, with a covenant between Himself and that nation, how come Roman Catholicism, and other teachings, claim that the Church replaced Israel? Doesn't that claim fly in the face of Romans 11:29? (Among many other verses.)

The Dangers of Lust

Lust is in opposition to love. It means to set your heart and passions on something forbidden. And for a believer it’s the first step out of fellowship with the Lord and with others. That’s because every object of your lust—whether it’s a young co-worker or a film actress, or coveting after a half-million dollar house or a sports car—represents the beginnings of a lie.  This person or thing that seems to promise sheer satisfaction is more like a bottomless pit of unmet longings.  

Lust always breeds more lust. “What is the source of the wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from the cravings that are at war within you?” (James 4:1 HCSB). Lust will make you dissatisfied with your husband or wife. It breeds anger, numbs hearts, and destroys marriages. Rather than fullness, it leads to emptiness.

Stephen & Alex Kendrick, “The Love Dare,” pg.117

The Spirit of Jezebel?

Many false teachers and their followers, especially of the Word of Faith cult, rail at those who expose their false teachers by claiming the nay-sayers have “the spirit of Jezebel.”  This supposedly identifies the nay-sayers as false teachers opposing God.  But let’s look at who Jezebel was, what her evil was, and how that applies to today’s claims of having her “spirit.”

Pastor Bob Liichow, of Discernment Ministries International, wrote an article about this issue in his August “Truth Matters” apologetics letter.  The information he provided needs to be spread among believers so as to be able to address the false teachings about “the spirit of Jezebel.”

Bob notes that Jezebel is only mentioned in 1st and 2nd Kings: She was the daughter of the king of Tyre/Sidon and was a rabid follower of the sensuous bloodthirsty demon called “Baal.”  She married King Ahab and through her ungodly influence, the nation was led into idolatry.

See 1 Kings 16:31-33.

Bob continues:  There are two main events during the tragic reign of Ahab and Jezebel that may help to characterize her and shape what people today mean when they say “you have a Jezebel spirit.”

The first event demonstrates her hatred for the Living God by working to kill all the legitimate prophetic voices and tear down all the altars dedicated to YHWH:

For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed their with bread and water.  1 Kings 18:4.

After this, Elijah demanded a contest between Baal and God, and the prophets/priests of Baal did all sorts of begging and crying out and cutting themselves, etc, all to no avail.  Of course Elijah’s God won the contest and Elijah had the false prophets slaughtered. Then Ahab told Jezebel what happened, which really got her dander up, so she sent a messenger to tell Elijah that she was going to have him killed — so he goes into hiding. No need for repenting or getting rid of idols for her!

The second major event in her reign concerned the sale of a piece of land that was adjoining to the palace.  The property belonged to Naboth and Jezebel wanted it badly. Ahab asked Naboth to sell him the piece of land and he refused to sell.  His refusal was not one of “spite” but he would not sell because to do so would have violated God’s Law [1 kings 21:2-3, Lev. 25:23].

Ahab went home empty-handed and sorrowful.  Jezebel asked him why he was depressed and he told her why (1 Kings 21:6).  Jezebel had a solution; she set Naboth up, had sons of Belial  charge him with blaspheming God and the king with the result being the stoning of Naboth (1 Kings 21:13).  Once he was dead she told Ahab to go and take the land because he had died.  His sons also were stoned so that there was no one else to inherit, thus “freeing” Ahab.

When Ahab arrived at this new land Elijah was there to tell him what his future would be due to this conspiracy (1 Kings 21:19-21).  This led Ahab to repent (1 Kings 21:29) so God’s judgment against him was postponed, but Jezebel did not repent in the face of God’s judgment of her (vs 23), so she came to an end as God stated (2 Kings 9:32-37).  And that is the end of the story of Jezebel in the Old Testament.

So the only thing left about Jezebel is what we find in Revelation 2:20-22:

But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.  Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.

So what is it we can ascribe to the character of Jezebel?  She “(1) calls herself a prophetess (self-appointed versus divinely called); (2) teaches false doctrines; and (3) seduces God’s flock to commit fornication and each things dedicated/sacrificed to idols/demons (1 Cor. 10:20).

Bob continues:

Let’s consider what our Lord has to say about this type of personage; the term or phrase “spirit of Jezebel” is never found or used in the Bible.  Jezebel (who called herself a “prophetess”) was clearly not sent by the Lord of the Church, ergo she was automatically a “false prophetess.”  We see this error, self-promotion and thinking higher of oneself than we ought (Romans 12:3) rampant throughout the sign-gift movement.  Thousands of women, many very prominent in enthusiastic circles calling themselves “prophetesses” when they clearly are not.  Some of these women are Cindy Jacobs, Paula White, Lisa Bevere, Colette Toach, Jennifer LeClaire, Carolyn Johnson and many others.  According to the Bible, we know that any woman who usurps the prophetic office is operating like the biblical Jezebel.

Jezebel both teaches and seduces God’s sheep to commit fornication.  This is most likely spiritual fornication/adultery with the world and its powers, although the rankest forms of carnal immorality are well known among sign-gift leaders. …

From the testimony of the Old and New Testaments, we garner the following general “forensic” illustration of the spiritual makeup of Jezebel:

Jezebels hate orthodoxy (right belief) and persecute those who stand for God and the truths He has given to His people.  She pursues God’s servants with the goal of stopping their voices.

Jezebels support false prophets and false practices s we read concerning the priests of Baal.

Jezebels in both Testaments were given a space of grace to repent…

Jezebels are self-appointed and call themselves prophetesses of our Lord, yet they are false prophetic voices who speak in accord with Peter’s revelation when he wrote, “For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption” (2 Peter 2:18-19a). …

If anyone has the same characteristics as the biblical Jezebel it is those within the sign-gift movement.  There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong, sinful, nor rebellious in QUESTIONING what is being taught as God’s truth from ANY person regardless of their position in life or title.

Who really has “the spirit of Jezebel”? The Word of Faith teachers and their followers, as well as other false teachers and their followers! Those who are exposing false teachers/teachings certainly are not setting themselves up as prophets, nor do they teach false doctrines, nor do they seduce people into doing vile deeds.

So when someone says you have “the spirit of Jezebel” when you expose false teachers, be sure to point out the truth about who really has such a spirit!

Good, Bad, and Ugly

Way too much stuff collected to wait any longer!  And it has been a very busy week away from home with ER visit, doctor visit, wedding rehearsal and the wedding later today!  But the apologetics ministry never sleeps.  Lets look at what I’ve come across this week.

The Good:

Falling From Grace.  Good article about the false teachings of the need for Christians to follow O.T. laws.

Why we call out false teachers by name.

The pastor SHOULD BE overseeing the worship music!!

Responding to skeptics’ attack on Mark 2:26.  Part 1 and Part 2.

A good history of false teacher Aimee Semple McPherson, the person who originated the Four Square Gospel Church.

An outstanding resource!!!

What verse is Hebrews 1:6 citing?

What’s the purpose of pastors?

The Bad:

Beth Moore called down fire from heaven.

Another reason to distance oneself from John Piper’s teachings.

The Ugly:

Ah, the heresy and apostasy of the UMC.

The Philadelphia Church of God is a non-Christian cult.

For those who doubt the full-blown apostasy of the Church of England.

Mark Driscoll — Sigh.  This narcissist really needs to leave the limelight and quit disgracing the Christian faith.

An example of all that has been wrong about Roman Catholicism — murdering people who disagree with Catholic dogma.