Jonathan Brenneman's Blog, page 11

Fervent, Effectual Prayer

[image error]James 5:16-18 (KJV) The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

If you haven’t yet, you may want to read the story of how God reminded me to take this scripture seriously by sending supernatural rain inside my house. Lately, it has been on my heart to encourage a fresh wave of believing prayer for the nations, especially for people groups who still don’t have the opportunity to hear the gospel.

I’ve been realizing some of the things that discourage the church from praying with faith for the nations. One of the primary ones is the belief that Christians do not have authority over territorial spirits. I dealt with that one in my book “What Really Causes Needless Casualties Of War.” Many people have read it and so far, nobody has come back and said “I’m not convinced that we have authority over all of Satan’s power.”

Another issue is the worldview that things are inevitably getting worse and the church will fail in its mission. Because of this, many Christians have no vision of God’s purposes for the nations. We will discuss that more in the next few weeks.

Today, I want to talk a little about fervent, effectual prayer. If we feel like not much is happening we won’t pray, so we need to be encouraged if we are going to “persevere in prayer” as scripture tells us to.

How Is “Prayer” Sometimes Different Than We Imagine It In English?

First, what is prayer? Garth Weibe points out that the Greek word used in James (and many other passages) doesn’t necessarily mean “a supplication to God.” It means “to wish/will/vow toward.”

Many have assumed that means “toward God.” But when Jesus taught his disciples to pray “Your kingdom come, your will be done…” the grammar is imperative. It is not commanding God, but it is a “willing/vowing” towards the current state of things in accordance with God’s will. Fervent, effectual prayer is joining your will to God’s will with force.

As we’ve pointed out before, Elijah’s “prayer of faith” was hardly just asking “God, please do something.” He spoke as a fact contrary to all natural circumstances what God was going to do. And Jesus modeled healing the sick by “willing/vowing toward” the sickness. He did not ask God to remove it, but commanded healing.

This does not mean that “prayer” as in scripture is never “toward God,” only that it is not only toward God.

Discerning What Is Effective

Some people see in the spirit a lot. This is a form of what Paul called “The discerning of spirits.” I have seen in the spirit world before and I would like to more than I do now. But what I have experienced much more often is “feeling.”

And when I saw “feeling,” I don’t only mean emotion. I mean physically feeling spiritual realities. Especially God’s glory. It’s often like a weight, a vibration, or a force field. I have felt it very forcefully at times, as tangible as if you were grabbing my arm.

When I’ve felt it as a powerful vibration, it usually started at my mouth and hands and then spread. Why my mouth? Because what I was speaking fervently triggered it. This experience of discerning the spiritual world has made me much more aware of what our words and our fervency do.

Seeing many people healed, and also having experienced like feeling warm oil or angel’s hands touching them when no human was touching them, have also made me aware of the spiritual realm and what triggers things in the spiritual realm. And fervent, effectual “prayer” triggers something! All the sudden the air is electric. (And it’s not just me…bystanders sometimes feel it too.)

Peter was in shackles with guards on either side, about to be executed the next day. Acts 12:5 says “While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.” That night, two angels came and broke him out of there. Some time ago I shared a similar modern-day testimony of two captive Christians who were transported to freedom in the same way Peter was when the church prayed fervently.

What Is Fervency?

Think of somebody who is enraged at another person, a long string of profanity curses coming out of their mouth…

That is fervency.

Now imagine your heart is so full of God’s goodness and thanksgiving that you bless a person with that same force. Rather than cussing them out, you are speaking God’s blessings and what the Holy Spirit wants to do.

That’s the best way I can describe it. And when you do that with faith, it triggers the supernatural. (Effectual prayer is the unwavering prayer of faith.)

Following is one of my favorite verses when ministering to others. One day God burned this verse in my heart and I spoke it with fervency and force over every person. Now it hasn’t usually been so common for people to fall over or do anything crazy when I pray for them. But people were falling on the floor, weeping, laughing, shaking, and being healed when I spoke this verse.

Romans 15:13 (NRSV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I was not “praying” to God in this case. But I was “wishing/willing/vowing” towards them in fervency in agreement with God’s will. And suddenly the atmosphere was electric.

I have heard a lot more fervency coming out of unbeliever’s mouths cursing people than from Christians blessing them. We would do well to learn fervency.

I just came across an article from Christianity Today called How History’s Revivals Teach Us To Pray. Guess how? Fervently! The author (David R. Thomas) writes “I was confronted with how the Bible appears utterly unfamiliar with casual prayer, prayer of the mouth and not the heart.”

How To Increase Fervency

What we are fervent about is what we really care about. And that is formed by what we meditate on, or think about. And we can control that. The more you focus on an eternal perspective and choose to pray into it, fervency increases.

There are some things that set my heart on fire. Thinking about a powerful scripture does. Testimonies do more than almost anything else. Remembering how God has delivered me and what I’ve seen him do in other people’s lives brings me back to a place of fervency. Memories like seeing God’s power hit a skeptic who flew back through the air and landed on the floor weeping, or of a large tumor disappearing, set my heart on fire.

The testimonies of revival in Argentina and other places also set my heart on fire. Watching Youtube videos of guys like Mark Heman’s, John Mellor, or so many others ministering to people ignites a passion in my heart and also reminds me of all I’ve seen God do before. I’m ruined for the ordinary. I absolutely must see an increasing manifestation of God’s glory, more than ever before, and not less.

Music also helps. I put Jesus Culture or Hillsong music on Youtube and I’m often in tears within a few minutes. Does that sound like it’s just “emotionalism?” Well, what does scripture say?

2 Kings 3:14-18 (NRSV) Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, whom I serve, were it not that I have regard for King Jehoshaphat of Judah, I would give you neither a look nor a glance. But get me a musician.” And then, while the musician was playing, the power of the Lord came on him. And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this wadi full of pools.’ For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall see neither wind nor rain, but the wadi shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your cattle, and your animals.’ This is only a trifle in the sight of the Lord, for he will also hand Moab over to you.

Friends, I hope this post has encouraged you to engage in fervent prayer and see God do wonders! Get a vision for what God can do around you, and then add your fervent, persistant agreement to God’s purposes.

Romans 12:11-12 (NIV) Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

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Opposition because of the word…

[image error]Have you ever thought you heard God’s voice and then everything after that seemed like it was falling apart? It’s easy to question and wonder if you made the wrong choice, or want to go back in time. However, sometimes we face difficulties because we made the best choice.

My Third Trip To Russia

When I went to Russia the first time, I hadn’t expected to learn Russian or ever return. But the Holy Spirit worked in a wonderful way and my heart began to burn with love for the Russian people. And by the end of the 10 day trip, I could read the book of First John well enough to understand it in Russian. It was a whole new alphabet (Cyrillic), but I picked it up in a few days and barely had to try.

I also fell in love with a young lady from Russia. We started talking for hours on the phone.

I found myself praying more and more for Russia and spending hours studying Russian. As I prayed, tears came, and then I started shouting, and at the same time, my body suddenly started vibrating like there was a force field around me.

I had thought my next trip would be Latin America. But I took a second trip to Russia. I think it was the happiest time of my life. Also, I had already been ministering healing to people for a few years, but that was the time period when unexpected miracles and angelic manifestations started to happen more frequently in my life.

Trouble

When I got back, there was a notice of a lean on my house from the IRS, over a situation that I felt was unjust. They said I owed thousands of dollars in taxes from a few years ago. With all the penalties and interest, it was nearly as much as I had earned in a whole year.

In spite of that and other struggles, I was still planning my third trip to Russia. But it seemed like everything was going wrong. And when I applied for a document necessary to get a 3 month visa, the officals severely misspelled my name and wrote my birthday as 1958 instead of 1985.

Then my girlfriend broke up with me. I had planned to propose to her on that third trip. I was heartbroken and confused. Had I missed God’s voice, confusing it with my emotions because I was in love?

I didn’t have money to go on that third trip either. It would be very difficult emotionally not to go now. I had invested so much in Russia emotionally, in prayer, and in studying the language. But I wanted to follow God’s leading either way.

Satan Hindered Us

I went to an event where I heard Dennis Balcombe, the famous missionary to China, speak. As he spoke, I felt an urgency to go to Russia and study Russian. And various people, independently of each other, came up to me and said that God led them to hold my feet and pray for me.

Why would God have them hold my feet? The answer was clear to me. God was sending me.

Isaiah 52:7 (NRSV) How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

I remembered this scripture:

1 Thessalonians 2:18 (NRSV) For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, wanted to again and again—but Satan blocked our way.

I felt strongly in my heart that God was saying all the trouble was not because I wasn’t supposed to go to Russia, but Satan was trying to hinder me, and since I could no longer get the 3 month visa I should see if I could stay in Ukraine for a while and go from there to Russia.

Three days later, I felt that intense love for Russia, and it turned into a current of electricity going through my whole body, entering my head and going out through my feet. I now had no doubt that I was doing the right thing by going to Russia again, in spite of every circumstance.

When I set foot in Russia it was an indescribable feeling, like all of heaven was with me. It was a very beautiful time, with lots of words of knowledge for healing, even though it was very difficult because I was grieving. Honestly, if I had not gone on that third trip, the grief would have been much worse.

I haven’t been back since, but I still pray for the church in Russia and the nation. I still long to return.

Is God’s Word Testing You?

Sometimes, the reason you are facing trouble is not that you missed God’s voice, but is actually because you have been obeying him.

Mark 4:16-17 (NRSV) And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

Notice the phrase “trouble or persecution arises on account of the word…” Sometimes you face trouble because you’re doing the right thing. And notice the need for perseverance and endurance when everything seems contrary to what God has spoken.

Do you remember Joseph’s dreams which revealed God’s destiny for him? I can imagine, with all he went through, how impossible it might have felt for any of it to happen. He faced decades of discouragement. Scripture says God’s word kept testing him.

Psalm 105:17-19 (NRSV) He had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord kept testing him.

Scripture says that God disciplines those he loves. Some Facebook meme I’ve seen a few times says “God’s discipline isn’t punishment for the past, but training for the future.”

Think about that. I think of missionaries who were on the brink of despair, at the end of their rope, and ended up seeing people groups turn to Christ. Like Heidi Baker or Bruce Olson.

I think of the wealthy businessmen who failed repeatedly and went bankrupt before their success.

God is glorified through the church, and he is glorified when the world sees what happens when His Spirit indwells us. He calls us to do exploits. (Daniel 11:32) That means no everything will be easy.

Do You Feel Like You Missed It?

At our wedding, a guy prophesied that my wife and I would be like Milton Hershey, who cared for many people. He not only employed them, but he built a city, making sure it had the best hospital and even an amusement park for his worker’s quality of life. And he opened a home for children.

That’s called “compassionate capitalism” as opposed to “crony capitalism!” 

I wept because I want to take care of people. My heart resonated. And he didn’t know that we are related to Milton Hershey on my dad’s side.

Last year my wife and I started a business. We didn’t imagine how much pain it would cause us. (In fact, I had no idea how much pain moving to Brazil six years ago would cause me.) We are still struggling to keep the business from drowning us, putting in money from our own salaries to make payroll and pay for advertising to keep clients coming.

We have often wished we could go back in time and do things differently. It feels like “Boy, did we miss it!”

Then I remember that Milton Hershey went bankrupt twice before his success. And sometimes we learn by failure what is necessary for success. Or sometimes people find themselves on the brink of failure on the road to success.

Yes, there are things we would do differently if we could do it all over again. But all the trouble doesn’t necessarily mean we “did the wrong thing.”

And sometimes God leads us right into the middle of trouble because people have tremendous needs, and you, by the Spirit of God, have what they need. God plants his love in your heart, you weep for people, ask God to send you, and you find yourself in the middle of lots of trouble. When we walk into trouble with the reality of God’s peace dominating our hearts, we end up changing circumstances and bringing God’s peace into them.

Often when I write, I am just sharing how I encourage myself. And it ends up encouraging a lot of other people. Maybe you are facing trouble and you’ve wondered if you’ve took a wrong turn somewhere. Have you considered that the very reason you are facing trouble might be because you followed the Lord, not because you made a mistake?

And God has victory for is in it all!

A prophet told Paul that trouble was ahead:

Acts 21:10-13 (NKJV) And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ” Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

I think that though the prophecy was accurate, the interpretation got confused. They thought the prediction of trouble meant Paul wasn’t supposed to go to Jerusalem. But by going to Jerusalem, Paul eventually got to share the gospel with governors and kings. If you’re going to walk with God, don’t think it will always be easy, but God always has victory in store for you!

Acts 20:22-23 (NKJV) And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 

  1 Corinthians 15:57 (NKJV) But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

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Did Paul Preach To The Galatians Because Of A Sickness?

In the last post and the one before it we answered some common, yet deeply flawed arguments that people use from the New Testament to imply sickness may sometimes be God’s will for Christians. Then on a Youtube comment, I saw someone claim that Paul preached the gospel to the Galatians because they were sick.

Have you ever heard that? Let’s examine what was really going on.

What’s The Difference Between Sickness And Infirmity?

Galatians 4:13 (NRSV) You know that it was because of a physical infirmity that I first announced the gospel to you

Unfortunately, many translation versions say Paul preached to the Galatians because of a “sickness” or “illness.” The NRSV and several others are more accurate. He preached because of a physical infirmity.

What’s the difference between a physical infirmity and a sickness?

According to both Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries, an infirmity is “a physical or mental weakness.” This word better reflects the meaning of the original Greek than the word “sickness” does.[image error]

In high school, I took a few classes at a private school. One of them was logic. Many schools don’t offer a logic class, but it was fun. (Thank you, Mr. Schwartz!)

Among other things, we learned to use Venn diagrams to recognize logical fallacies. So I just created a Venn diagram to demonstrate the relationship between sicknesses and infirmities.

All sicknesses are infirmities, but not all infirmities are sicknesses.

Did Paul Preach To The Galatians Because Of A Sickness?

OK, so some theologians have come up with theories about Paul having an eye disease called ophthalmia, misinterpreting the idiomatic expression “you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.” (Galatians 4:15) Or theorizing that Paul “wrote large letters” (Galatians 6:11) because he had an eye problem. (Better translated “grand writings.”) 

But serious theology isn’t speculation. It seeks to interpret scripture with scripture and to look to scripture to give context. Can we find anything else in scripture that gives us an idea what Paul’s “infirmity” was?

Yes!

Acts 14:19-22 (NIV) Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

Click here if you’d like to see a map of Galatia. Notice that the cities just mentioned in Acts 14 are cities of Galatia. Paul came to Galatia after being stoned and left for dead, but then getting up and going to the next place.

This at least sounds like a miraculous recovery, since they thought he was dead and then he just “got up” and went on preaching. It may have been a resurrection. But Paul obviously still had “bodily weakness” in the form of injuries from his near murder. That was why Paul went to Galatia, not a sickness!

Paul talks in several passages about his infirmities, such as sleepless nights, shipwreck, beatings, and going hungry. Nowhere does he talk about being sick!

Why in the world would people go to such great lengths to suggest Paul was sick, but ignore passages such as the one where he, by God’s power, cured all of the people who had diseases on the Island of Malta? Do you really think they were bringing all the diseased to be cured by Paul who had ugly pus seeping out of his eyes due to ophthalmia?

For some people, this post may bring up questions about Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” I’ve written a two-part article on that. Click to read why Paul’s Thorn In The Flesh Was Not To Humble Him and What Was Paul’s Thorn In The Flesh?

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Why Did Paul Leave Trophimus Sick?

[image error]In the last post, Why was this man born blind?, we examined two New Testament passages that are commonly misused to imply that God’s will is sometimes sickness. Today we are looking at two more such passages.

“I Left Trophimus Sick At Miletus”

2 Timothy 4:20 (NIV) Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus.

Paul failed to get Trophimus healed in Miletus. Is this basis to doubt the many explicitly clear promises of scripture such as “…don’t forget any of his benefits…he heals all your diseases…” and “Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains — he hath carried them” One of God’s names in scripture is “The Lord Your Healer,” revealing God’s very nature. So is Trophimus’ sickness reason to imagine that God is only who He is some of the time and not all of the time?

First, let me ask two questions:

1) Paul talked about being transformed from one degree of glory to another as we behold the Lord. Was Paul also being transformed from glory to glory, or had he arrived?

2) Paul talked about the church growing up in all things into the full measure of the stature of Christ. Had Paul himself grown up into the full measure of the stature of Christ?

The answer should be obvious! Of course not! 

Is Paul the image of the invisible God, or is Jesus?

Did not the other apostles fail to heal a boy of epilepsy when it was God’s will and when Jesus healed the boy in Matthew 17:14-21? Do we question God’s will to heal because of the other apostles’ failure to heal an epileptic boy, whom Jesus then healed?

If not, it is completely unreasonable to question the revelation of God through Jesus, who healed everyone who came to him and everyone who touched him, because Paul failed to leave Epaphroditus well.

However, further examination of this story also reveals that it is another testimony of divine healing. Paul talked about the same thing in Philippians, and gave a little more detail:

Philippians 2:25-27 (NIV) But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

The context makes it clear that God “had mercy” on Epaphroditus by healing him. 

What did sick and suffering people often cry out to Jesus?

Matthew 9:27 (NIV) As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 

Of all those who cried out to him for mercy, Jesus didn’t turn a single one of them down. A study of the word “mercy” in scripture often shows the context of physical healing. And this connects us to even more promises of scripture. (This is a point made in the classic book “Christ The Healer.”

Psalm 86:5 (NIV) For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

How much mercy does God have? It’s abundant? Who is it for? For ALL who call on his name! 

“Jesus Didn’t Heal Everybody At The Pool Of Bethesda”

I’ve sometimes heard people make the objection “Jesus didn’t heal everybody at the pool of Bethesda. There were many sick people there, but he only healed one.” Is that true? Let’s read the story again:

John 5:1-9 (NIV) Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. 

Where does scripture say that Jesus only healed one invalid?

It doesn’t. 

I have often shared testimonies from a time when I ministered healing to one or two dozen people. Many people were healed, but there was one testimony that really stood out for some reason. For example, various people were healed on one of my visits to Ocean City, MD. The ones I remember were the lady who was furious when I said Jesus’ name, and the lady who was an alcoholic and started screaming when her swollen feet shrank. Why would anybody assume that these were the only people healed just because they were the stories I shared? 

So why would we assume Jesus didn’t heal anybody else at the Pool of Bethesda just because scripture tells us a story of someone Jesus did heal? Scripture says that if we were to record all Jesus’  works, the whole world could not contain the books. (I believe this is partly because it is including Jesus’ works through his body, the church.)

The gospels contain many general statements about Jesus healing multitudes of people, including “everybody who touched him.” It also shares some unique stories that stand out from the others and contain a lesson.

One of the unique things about the story of healing at the Pool of Bethesda was that this time, Jesus was the one who approached the sick person. In many other stories, they came to Jesus. We also see that this particular man’s sickness was related to his own sin. (Not everybody’s sickness is.) Jesus approached an unrepentant man who was sick, healed, him, and later told him to stop sinning. He didn’t tell him “repent, and I will heal you.” Scripture shares this story, not because it was the only one, but because there is a teaching and an example contained in it.

Friends, these “objections” to God’s will concerning healing may sound so reasonable at first. I remember when I thought it was reasonable to think that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was a sickness. But after I heard Joe McIntyre speak on it, I thought “When you put it that way, it’s pretty stupid to imagine that Paul’s thorn was a sickness.” 

Likewise, these four other New Testament “objections to healing” that we’ve discussed may have once seemed reasonable to me. But as I write about them now, I think “Boy is it stupid to set this silly logic up against clear promises of scripture such as ‘Surely, he (Jesus) carried our pains and bore our sicknesses.'” Absurdly, three of these so-called “objections” are stories of divine healing with twisted logic applied to them to arrive at the conclusion that God says “no” to healing some people. The other is advice meant to help Timothy stay well and avoid stomach bugs from bad water.

In our next post, we will answer the argument that says Paul brought the gospel to the Galatians because of a sickness.

 

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Why Was This Man Born Blind?

[image error]I never saw anybody healed through my hands until I got the issues I was confused about out of the way and became convinced, from scripture, that it’s God’s will. I laid out the scriptural foundation in the article “13 Solid Scriptural Proofs Of God’s Will To Heal.” The two issues that seem to confuse the most people are the book of Job and Paul’s thorn in the flesh. I deal with those in the articles “The Answer To Job’s Question” and “What Was Paul’s Thorn In The Flesh?” I also responded to the objection that claims sickness is “suffering according to God’s will.”

A few other common questions have come up again, so I thought it might be helpful to share responses to some of these. But before we even deal with this, I think it’s important to understand how strong and clear scripture is in multiple passages about God’s will concerning healing. Scripture is not contradicting itself, and it’s a poor practice to set up questionable interpretations of a few verses against the weight of scripture.

The amazing thing is that all of these objections are questionable or twisted interpretations which try to use scriptural passages about healing as an objection to God’s will to heal.

Born Blind So God Could Be Glorified?

This comes from a story in John Chapter nine.

John 9:1-7 (NIV) As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

Looks pretty clear in the NIV, right? But the phrase “so that” is not in the Greek. Look at Young’s Literal Translation:

John 9:1-5 (YLT) And passing by, he saw a man blind from birth, and his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who did sin, this one or his parents, that he should be born blind?' Jesus answered,Neither did this one sin nor his parents, but that the works of God may be manifested in him; it behoveth me to be working the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night doth come, when no one is able to work: —

In the Young’s Literal Translation, it becomes clear that where the translators decided to put the punctuation and verse divisions makes a big difference in the meaning. It could easily read “That the works of God may be manifested in him, it behoveth me to be working the works of Him who sent me…“

In other words, Jesus was doing God’s work so it would be manifested in the man. And what did Jesus do? Heal him. That was God’s work. And that makes a lot more sense, since Acts 10:38 calls sickness an act of the devil. Jesus did not say why the man was born blind.

It’s funny how a story about Jesus’ healing a blind man gets twisted into a doctrine, in opposition to the weight of many other scriptures, saying that God makes people sick to show his works. Jesus healing him manifested God’s works, not the sickness!

For further insight, let’s look at what Dr. Gregory Boyd says on the passage about the boy born blind. The grammar in Greek can very easily be understood not as Jesus saying the man was born blind so that God’s works be displayed in him, but rather as Jesus saying “neither” and then commanding “Let God’s works be displayed in him!” I often speak in the same way when I am ministering healing to people. I command “May God’s will be done in your body right now in Jesus’ name!” 

“…Having said this, there is no good reason to accept this translation. In God at War I note that the phrase “this happened so that” is not in the original Greek. The Greek simply has hina (“that” or “let”) with the aorist subjunctive passive of phaneroō (“to manifest”), which often is intended as an imperative (“let x happen”) rather than a purposive clause (“so that x happens”) (e.g., Eph 5:33). (In Greek this is called a “hortatory subjective”). In this case, the verse should be translated, “Neither this man or his parents sinned, but let the works of God be displayed.” Jesus is essentially saying to his disciples, “Wrong question. The only thing that matters is that God is glorified by ridding this man of his infirmity.”-Dr. Gregory Boyd

This is a case in which scholars generally agree that there is more than one possible translation. It shows in the footnotes of some Bible versions. When there is more than one possible translation, I think we should consider the weight of scripture instead of hinging a doctrine on a questionable translation and then ignoring many other relevant passages of scripture.

Greg Boyd’s full article is here: https://reknew.org/…/did-jesus-say-that-god-causes…/

“Take Some Wine For Your Stomach”

Another common objection is taken from Paul’s letter to Timothy:

1 Timothy 5:23 (NIV) Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

Again, the logic here is a bit funny. Paul is giving Timothy advice for his health. And this health advice gets taken as an objection to God’s will to heal?

Critics sometimes accuse people who teach divine healing of setting up the miraculous against doctors and medicine. That was more common with the early faith teachers but is rare today. But here, it is the critics who are setting up medicine and natural wisdom against divine healing, the very thing they often (usually wrongly) accuse faith teachers of doing! 

God answered King Hezekiah’s prayer for healing by having them apply a poultice of figs to the boil. Jesus put mud on the eyes of a blind man and sometimes gave a command like “stretch out your hand” or “show yourselves to the priests” when he healed them. So why can’t God give Paul a word of wisdom for Timothy’s healing?

But let’s consider the historical context. Dirty water was a major problem at the time, and it was common practice to mix wine with water in order to kill pathogens. Paul wasn’t giving advice to Timothy about how to deal with a chronic health problem as if he had first laid hands on him and unsuccessfully tried to minister healing. (Which is the picture some people paint.) Paul was giving practical advice about preventing repeated, acute stomach infections due to dirty water.

 

In our next post we will examine two more “objections” to God’s will to heal, which, ironically, are both taken from stories of divine healing in the New Testament. These are the arguments that “Paul left Trophimus sick at Miletus” and “Jesus only healed one man at the Pool of Bethesda.”

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God Is Doing Way More Than You Know!

[image error]Skeptics are often concerned about exaggeration with healing testimonies. Exaggeration is a valid concern, and we should be careful about how we report testimonies. Bethel church has a great set of guidelines for reporting testimonies accurately and responsibly. I’m sometimes heard people who experienced the miraculous for the first time exaggerate somewhat. It wasn’t intentional, but they were excited and shocked.

Only One Out Of Ten Gave Thanks To God?

Sometimes stories have been exaggerated. However, the big picture truth is that what we hear of God’s miracles is far underreported. Let’s look at a story from the book of Luke:

Luke 17:11-19 (NIV) Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Isreal in the Old Testament repeatedly forgot God’s miracles and failed to give him glory for delivering them. Out of 10 lepers who Jesus cleansed, only one returned to give thanks. And he was a foreigner.

It’s funny how Isreal forgot how God saved them, but the nations around knew the stories of how God had delivered Isreal from Egypt. It was a foreigner who returned to give thanks to Jesus. And all too often today, it is Christians who forget to remember and to share how God has delivered them.

What if you’ve only heard a tenth of what God has done for people around you? 

I like to ask Christians about what God has done in their lives. It’s amazing how much I would never have known unless I had asked. I’ve even heard stories of people’s children raised from the dead.

Some people are afraid to share these testimonies with just anybody for fear of ridicule. But they feel more comfortable after hearing me share testimonies, knowing that I won’t scoff.

My grandmother was sadly surprised at the cold reactions of some other Christians when she shared the story of her healing and her vision of Jesus. They seemed to think she was deluded or something. Some people don’t talk about what God has done for them because they are afraid of ridicule and rejection. I’m glad Grammy shared her story.

I’ve seen many people supernaturally healed who would not even ask for prayer when they faced another issue a few years later. They never told anybody about what God did for them. But if you remind them, they remember what happened.

You Probably Haven’t Heard Half Of It!

Decades ago, the Better Business Bureau did an investigation of John G. Lake’s ministry in Spokane, Washington. People had told them the reports of healing were so remarkable that they must be fraudulent. After looking into things, they sent a letter saying they had no desire to interfere in the good the ministry was doing. “Two members of the committee saw us privately and said that the committee was astounded. They said, ‘We soon found out, upon investigation, you did not tell half of it.’”

Some people think the testimonies of miracles at Bethel church, Global Awakening, and other healing ministries must be exaggerated. And I mean not only cessationists but also people who believe in miracles and believe some of the testimonies are true.

While I’m sure that you can find someone who has exaggerated something (probably unintentionally, thus the usefulness of guidelines for reporting testimonies,) I can tell you that you probably haven’t heard nearly half of what God has done. Even in ministries like Bethel that keep a written record or John Mellor who posts videos of many healings and testimonies.

How Much Goes Unreported?

One night after hearing Bill Johnson preach in Harrisburg, my heart was set on fire. It was late at night and I went to a gas station to fill up and get a snack.

There was a young guy there with a sling on his arm. He said he broke it, and I asked if I could pray for him. His friends started mocking and all walked away. But he let me pray.

Within a few minutes, he was moving it pain-free, without the sling. He had broken it the day before.

Even if you heard everything that happened at that meeting, so much more happens with people who were there, had a fire ignited in their heart, and then went and stepped out to minister to someone. There are multiple others who ministered to a neighbor because they saw a testimony video listened to a sermon on Youtube. God’s works are multiplying.

There have been a few times I’ve tried to keep a journal to record what God does. I’ve always fallen behind. But even if I had been more disciplined with it, there are always things we don’t even now. There are people who were healed and you might find out about it two years later. 

Sometimes Facebook shows me memories of testimonies from years ago. I wouldn’t have remembered if Facebook hadn’t reminded me. Even then, I don’t always remember the specifics of what happened.

Lately, I’ve been enjoying Mark Heman’s testimony videos on Youtube, like the one I’ll share at the end of a guy being healed who was deaf and dumb from birth. There are enough testimonies online to keep you busy for hours. And sometimes I’ve spent up to three hours at a time reading and watching testimonies. Thank God for the internet! But for every video testimony of someone healed of deafness and muteness, how many do you think there are that aren’t on the internet? 

Friends, many people still have no idea how real God is and how much he is doing in the world today. And people need hope. Don’t hold back in sharing testimonies of how God has touched you and others!

John 21:25 (NIV) Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

Psalm 71:15 (NRSV) My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all day long, though their number is past my knowledge.

 

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Is Bill Johnson A False Teacher?

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Our last post, Is Bethel Church a Cult?, addressed the criticisms of Bethel church in the first part of an article someone sent me titled Bethel Church Believes a Different Gospel. Today we are responding to the second part of that article, which contains more serious allegations of false teaching. But first, let’s quickly review what the Bible teaches about how we test the spirits.

The Litmus Test Is The Incarnation

The book of first John gives us a definitive test which we can use to tell if a spirit or teaching is from God.

1 John 4:1-6 (RSV) Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already. Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world, therefore what they say is of the world, and the world listens to them. We are of God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and he who is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

2 John 1:7 (KJV) For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Could it really be that every issue we face boils down to the incarnation? Yes! Some study shows that the implications of the incarnation are far-reaching and relate to just about every issue we could imagine. A spirit that denies Jesus came in the flesh is at the root of all the major problems in our societies today. I wrote about this subject in greater detail in my book Jesus Has Come In The Flesh. Today, I will briefly point out how understanding the incarnation applies to the controversy over Bill Johnson’s teaching.

The Gnostics were an early heretical group that denied Jesus came in the flesh. Their doctrine heavily influenced the early church. Quoting a Wikipedia article on Gnosticism:

Some early Church fathers, such as Irenaeus, seemed to think that all heresies were Gnosticism at root, and thus that any heretic was in a sense a Gnostic.

Is Healing Central To The Gospel?

Pastor Gabe begins his critique of Bill Johnson’s teaching:

Johnson teaches  that the gospel is miraculous physical healing, and if anyone says that God doesn’t miraculously heal, or that He would even bring harm rather than healing, they’re teaching a different gospel. But the gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t physical healing, it’s spiritual healing…the Bible does not say or even allude to the idea that the good news of Jesus Christ will miraculously heal you from any of your physical diseases.

First, this is a misrepresentation of Bill Johnson’s teaching. Johnson does not teach that the gospel “is miraculous physical healing,” as if to exclude regeneration and forgiveness. He teaches that physical healing is an essential element of the gospel, not the whole gospel.

So how does this relate to the incarnation? The primary reason that the Gnostics denied Jesus came in the flesh was that they taught a false dichotomy between the physical and spiritual worlds. This false dichotomy is both unscriptural and unscientific. Johnson’s position is in line with the incarnation. Teaching that the gospel is only spiritual is in line with the doctrine of the Gnostics.

As to the statement “The Bible does not say or even allude to the idea that the good news of Jesus Christ will miraculously heal you…” I find it astounding that someone familiar with scripture could make such a statement. I don’t need to fully respond to it here, but you may want to check out the article 13 Solid Scriptural Proofs Of God’s Will To Heal.

Pastor Gabe continues:

Bill Johnson would say I’m teaching a different gospel. But it is he who is preaching a message that can neither save the human soul, nor can it deliver what Johnson says it will. Johnson cannot heal you. Just look at the man. If the gospel means miraculous physical healing, why is he wearing glasses?

What’s wrong with this criticism? It ignores the element of the gospel that we continue to apply to our lives and which continues to bear fruit and transform us. It is no better than denying that Jesus made provision for our peace because you see an anxious Christian, or denying that Jesus’ work has power to deliver us from sin because you don’t know any Christians who never sin.

I responded to this kind of thinking in greater depth in the articles Do You Get 100% Results Ministering Healing? and If Jesus Redeemed Us From Sickness, Why Are So Many Christians Sick?

Does Bill Johnson Deny Jesus’ Divinity?

Pastor Gabe then accuses Bill Johnson of denying Jesus’ divinity:

Johnson teaches about a different Jesus than the Jesus of the Bible. He and many other word-of-faith charismatic preachers believe that when the Bible says Jesus left His throne in heaven and “emptied Himself” (Philippians 2:7), He actually gave up being divine. The incarnate Christ was fully man but not at all God. When Jesus lived a life of sinless perfection, it wasn’t as our substitute but as a model. Anyone of us are capable of the same perfection. Jesus didn’t do miracles because He was God. He did miracles to show us that we can do them, too, if we just believe that we can.

Here is Johnson in his own words …

“Jesus was so emptied of divine capacity, eternally God but He chose to live with the restrictions as a man. Why? To set a model, to set something to follow, an example. His lifestyle, if He did all of His miracles as God, I’m still impressed but I’m not compelled to follow. I just stand back and go, ‘Wow, that’s amazing. God, do some more. That’s awesome, do some more, God!’

“But when I find out that He set aside divinity and chose to display what life would be like for anyone who had no sin, and was completely empowered by the Spirit of God, He models something that is made available because the blood of Jesus was shed to deal with the sin issue. There is no lack in the power or the effectiveness of the blood of Jesus. There is nothing He left outside of its reach. There’s nothing if He had it to do over again He would include that He didn’t already include. It’s all covered. 

“When He said, ‘It is finished,’ He meant it. He meant it is a complete job, and it is more than sufficient for absolute transformation. So what does He do? He models for us the normal Christian life.”

Boy, there are all kinds of problems with this, but let me try to narrow it down to three. First of all, did you catch that Johnson isn’t interested in following Jesus if Jesus was still God? He would be amazed by Him, but he wouldn’t be compelled to follow Him. That’s craziness. Many unbelievers think Jesus was a good man who did some amazing things, but they refuse to honor Him as God (Romans 1:21). Johnson’s Jesus is no better than an atheist’s!

OK, why does Pastor Gabe accuse Johnson of teaching that Jesus “actually gave up being divine?” Even in the quote that he uses of Johnson, Johnson makes the qualifying statement that Jesus is “eternally God.” Bill says Jesus is eternally God and Pastor Gabe takes the quote containing that statement as a denial of Jesus’ divinity?

I’ve run across several others who accuse Bill Johnson of denying Jesus’ divinity. It’s preposterous. Not only has Bill Johnson repeatedly been clear about Jesus’ divinity, but a few years ago he publicly rebuked Jason Westerfield and warned the church to stay away from him. Why? The primary reason was Jason’s denial Jesus’ divinity. Bill stated that this was an essential issue that the church cannot compromise on.

I have heard Bill give the same teaching on other occasions. Similarly, he often uses the qualifying statement “Jesus never stopped being God, but…” Essentially, he goes on to say that Jesus became like us in every way. And this is a solid scriptural tenant of the doctrine of Christ’s incarnation.

Hebrews 2:14-18 (NIV) Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—  and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 5:7-9 (NIV)  During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.

John 5:19 (NIV)   Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

In two different places, scripture says that Jesus had to be strengthened by angels. (His temptation in the wilderness and in the garden of Gethsemane.) Jesus never stopped being God, but he did become weak and dependant on God the Father exactly as we are. He himself said that he could do nothing on his own. Jesus needed to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, just as we do.

Jesus never stopped being God, but he could do no miracles without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit!

The Mystery Of The Incarnation

The “hypostatic union” is a theological term to describe the doctrine that Jesus is fully God and fully man. This is exactly what Bill Johnson teaches. And like many orthodox Christian doctrines (such as the Trinity), there is a bit of mystery to this truth, isn’t there?

1 Timothy 3:9 (NRSV)   they must hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

1 Timothy 3:16 (NRSV) Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.

It is Pastor Gabe who fails to understand the mystery of the incarnation. He thinks Jesus being fully human and like us in every way contradicts Jesus’divinity, so he accuses Johnson of denying Jesus’ divinity because Johnson teaches that Jesus became fully human. Yet Johnson also teaches Jesus’divinity.

Again, this is where the incarnation comes in when it comes to testing the spirits. Johnson teaches the incarnation. Pastor Gabe, in his criticism of Johnson, fails to fully accept the truth of the incarnation and of Jesus’ humanity.

Jesus Our Model For Walking With The Father And Depending On The Holy Spirit

Pastor Gabe says Johnson teaches Jesus’ came “not as our substitute, but as our model.” First, nowhere does Johnson teach that Jesus didn’t come as our substitute. Jesus came as our substitute and as our model. If Jesus didn’t come as our model, why did Jesus tell his disciples “follow me?” If Jesus didn’t come as our model, why did Jesus say those who believed in him would do the same works and greater works? If Jesus didn’t come as our model, why does scripture tell us to imitate Christ, live as Jesus did, follow Jesus’ example, and follow in his steps? If Jesus isn’t our model, why does scripture call him our “forerunner?”

Pastor Gabe seems to think that Jesus’ example for us and Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice for us are conflicting truths. Thus he accuses Bill of denying that Jesus is our substitute because Bill teaches that Jesus is our model. But both of these truths are solidly scriptural. Jesus is our substitute and our model. He is pitting Biblical truths against each other in his accusations towards Johnson.

Bill Johnson’s statement about what compels him to follow/imitate Christ is simple. If Jesus had not become like us in every way, what he did might be impressive, but it would be impossible to imitate. Jesus coming as a man gave us something to imitate. This applies not only to works of power but also to walking in holiness. This issue also boils down to the incarnation.

I’ve heard some Christians say that they cannot forgive or overcome temptation. When we talk about Jesus’ example, they say “That’s different. Jesus is God.” These Christians, like Pastor Gabe, do not understand that although Jesus never stopped being God, he came with every weakness we have and was tempted in every way as we are, but without sin. It is because Jesus became like us in every way that scripture encourages us to imitate him. Consider the following verses:

James 1:13 (NIV)   When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone…

Hebrews 4:15 (NIV)   For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Does Bill Johnson Teach Sanctification?

Pastor Gabe quotes Bill and then accuses him of leaving no room for sanctification, and finally, denying that Jesus was sinless.

“When He said, ‘It is finished,’ He meant it. He meant it is a complete job, and it is more than sufficient for absolute transformation. So what does He do? He models for us the normal Christian life.”

Bill Johnson, in teaching the perfection and sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice and, might as well have been quoting Hebrews.

Hebrews 10:14 (NRSV)   For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

But Pastor Gabe writes:

“…there’s no room for sanctification in his message. If the moment you come to Christ, you’re instantly perfect, there’s no growth in holiness because you’re instantly holy. That is counter-biblical.”

Again, Pastor Gabe is pitting two biblical truths against each other. The first fact, that Jesus’ sacrifice makes us perfect before the father, does not negate the second, which is that we are transformed to reflect Christ as we behold his glory. This is an issue where, as I said in the last post, anybody who wants to “research” Bill Johnson or Bethel church should listen to what Bill himself says instead of what people say he says. I have often heard Bill talk about sanctification in his messages.

Pastor Gabe then concludes that if Bill leaves no room for sanctification, he also denies justification. This is preposterous, since, justification is the very truth Bill was talking about in the quote and the very truth which Pastor Gabe pitted against sanctification.

Pastor Gabe goes on to accuse Bill of teaching that Jesus had sin. This is his train of logic.

1) Bill teaches that Jesus became like us in every way, therefore Bill denies Jesus’ divinity.

2) Second, Jesus said that “nobody but God is good.”

3) If Jesus wasn’t God he wasn’t good, so he was imperfect.

4) Bill Johnson teaches that Jesus was imperfect.

The first item is where Gabe is completely in error, in that he has pitted Jesus’ humanity against his divinity. The reason the Gnostics denied Jesus had come in the flesh was their belief that God is a spirit and is holy but the physical realm is evil, so a holy God could not have come in a human body. Jesus’ humanity and divinity are not at odds with each other.

Although I am sure Pastor Gabe acknowledges that Jesus came as a human, he does not accept the scriptural teachings about Jesus’ weakness, identification with us, and dependence on the Father as a human. Pastor Gabe says Bill Johnson teaches Jesus is imperfect. If have listened very much to what Bill himself says, you have already heard him state point blank that Jesus lived a sinless life.

Gabe says:

Those who follow this teaching believe they are sinless. Todd White, an evangelistic partner with Bethel Church, recently said about himself that he was without sin.

However, Todd was not saying that he has never sinned. That should be clear from Todd’s testimony. Todd was simply saying that Christ’s sacrifice completely cleanses us from sin and empowers us to walk as Jesus did.

Pastor Gabe’s conclusion is that Bill Johnson doesn’t teach Jesus is perfect or divine, therefore Bill Johnson’s Jesus is “another Jesus,” with “another atonement” which will not save you from your sins. If you received another atonement, you are still dead in your sins. The logic here is intact if the first premises are true. But the first premises are anything but true. Johnson clearly teaches Jesus’ divinity and sinlessness, as well as teaching the truth of the incarnation.

The entirety of Pastor Gabe’s theological arguments is pitting one Biblical truth against another. He accuses Bill Johnson of denying Christ’s divinity because Bill teaches Christ’s incarnation. He accuses Bill of denying that Jesus is our substitute because Bill teaches that Jesus is our model. And he accuses Bill of denying sanctification because Bill teaches justification. And finally, Pastor Gabe falls into the teaching of the Gnostics, who denied Jesus came in the flesh, when he accuses Bill of teaching that Jesus is imperfect because Bill teaches that Jesus came as a man.

When it comes to the litmus test of the apostle John, which is the incarnation, Bill Johnson passes with flying colors!

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Is Bethel Church A Cult?

[image error]Some time ago, someone left several comments on one of my Facebook posts, warning about Bill Johnson as a “false teacher.” I’ve never been to Bethel church, but I have friends who have. Bill Johnson’s teaching has had a strong positive impact on my life since 2005. I don’t see everything the same way as Bill Johnson does. I even strongly disagree with him on one point. But how many of us share exactly the same doctrine? 

A “false teacher” isn’t just somebody who has a different viewpoint than we do. A false teacher undermines the fundamental truths of the Christian faith, such as Jesus’ incarnation, death, and resurrection. False teachers teach that there is a way to God other than through Jesus.

The Facebook comments went on, repeating “do your research” and “don’t be deceived,” but still didn’t state what was wrong with Bill’s teaching. So I asked, “Why is Bill a false teacher?” It took a bit of digging to get past the long warnings of deception and find out why exactly why this guy believes Bill Johnson is a false teacher, but when I insisted that he be specific if he is going to call someone a “false teacher,” he finally posted this article by “Pastor Gabe”:

“Bethel Church Believes A Different Gospel.”

So I read the article. I also followed the links it included to other articles or videos. It reminded me of several things people had pointed me to earlier, including a book called “Christianity in Crisis” by Hank Hanegraaff.

I’ve seen several sincere Christians very disturbed and confused by such articles. Similarly, as a teenager, I was confused by what other Christians said about the “Toronto Blessing.” So I thought I’d write a response to some of the reasoning in the article “Bethel Church Believes A Different Gospel,” in the hope that my articles get picked up by search engines along with several others that are spreading such a negative report about Bethel. Honest criticism is sometimes necessary, but honest criticism attempts to accurately represent the teaching of the person or group it is directed to. These articles people are sending me about Bethel church do not.

Let’s start by responding to some of the more generic criticisms of Bethel church in Pastor Gabe’s article.

What Is False Prophecy?

The article starts by criticizing prophesy that isn’t 100% accurate and sharing a one-sided account of two “incidents” that happened with people associated with Bethel.

Pastor Gabe seems to believe that prophecy must be 100% accurate or else the person prophesying is a “false prophet.” Bethel doesn’t claim 100% accuracy with prophecy. They see it as a spiritual gift which we step out in and take risks with. We miss it sometimes, which is why we must test prophesy and listen to the Holy Spirit’s confirmation. It’s also why we take a humble attitude and often use phrases like “I feel like God’s is saying…”

I agree with this view. Yet even if your view is different, a fair article on Bethel church should give an honest representation of their attitude and approach to prophesy. Teaching a way of salvation other than through Jesus makes a person a false prophet. Not saying “I feel like God is showing me something” and missing it.

As for the statement “Only one out of every hundred prophesies are true”—where did Pastor Gabe get that number? Is this in any way an objective number? Or is it subjective, pulled out of thin air by someone who is starting with a bias against Bethel Church?

Miracles!

Quoting: “Only one out of every hundred prophecies are ‘true.’ We hear all about those, which they catalog along with their ‘miracles’ like a Baptist church does its baptisms. We never hear about the failures.”

It’s sad to see the word “miracles” in quotation marks, as if to say “so-called miracles. Bethel church has specific criteria for how to document their testimonies in order to avoid exaggeration, even if unintentional. What reason do we have to believe that these hundreds of testimonies are false? Are the people sharing their experiences of healing at Bethel lying? Do their experiences have a purely natural explanation? Shouldn’t we expect miracles if Jesus is the same “Yesterday, today, and forever?”

Take some time to read some of the stories for yourself on Bethel’s healing room testimony page. I find it sad that someone could read all these stories of God’s mighty works and so easily dismiss them rather than catching a glimpse of Jesus through them.

The word “miracles” is in quotation marks, not because there is anything less than an abundance of credible testimonies of miracles happening at Bethel, but because Pastor Gabe’s worldview does not allow for such an abundance of miracles. Does he believe God no longer has the same compassion today as he did when Jesus walked the earth? Or does he believe the miracles Jesus did had little to do with God’s love but were only to “prove his divinity?”

The statement that “We never hear about the failures” is patently false. Anybody who has heard very much of Bill Johnson speaking knows that. Bill has often talked about losing his own father to cancer. Neither Bill nor Bethel have ever claimed everyone who goes there gets healed. They believe it is God’s will to heal everybody.

It’s funny that people would tell me to “research Bethel” and “research Bill Johnson,” yet they themselves have only listened to what people say about Bill Johnson and Bethel. If they want to do good research, shouldn’t they at least take as much time to listen to what Bill Johnson himself teaches instead of what people say he says? It’s not like it’s inaccessible. Many videos of his sermons are on Youtube. If they would listen to what Bill says, they would know how many people are lying about what Bill says. “We never hear about the failures” is just one of those lies.

After that, the article mentions two “incidents” that happened with Bethel students. Even if the accounts of these incidents were perfectly accurate, it is problematic to condemn a leader (like Bill Johnson) or a whole group (Bethel Church) because you were able to find someone associated with the movement who did something irresponsible.

Even so, Pastor Gabe’s is all too quick to latch on to the worst report he can find. He writes “There’s another about a young man who died after an asthma attack. Neighborhood Bethelites wasted precious time trying to heal him instead of calling 911.”

I read the article Pastor Gabe got this story from. Quoting from it:

(Several months after this article was published, the woman who said she called 911, Andrea Martin, reached out to BuzzFeed News with a different version of events than the ones Zibull had described. Martin, a Bethel churchgoer, gave a detailed account of the incident when she found Orian gasping for breath in the street: once she realized he was having an asthma attack, she said she immediately returned to her house to get her cell phone and call 911, asking her neighbors, who were watching, to pray for him as she called. When she returned, she tipped Orian’s head back to clear his air passageway, as paramedics had instructed her. Only a “minute and a half” elapsed, at most, between her call and when she first found Orian, Martin claimed.

The neighbors who first prayed over Orian were Catholic, Martin said, and not members of Bethel. Martin said she did keep in close touch with Orian’s mother and returned to Orian’s hospital room with friends to pray for his “restoration,” and that other Bethel members may have also come to the hospital. But she said the art she gave Zibull’s daughter was from local children who had witnessed the incident, not a Bethel child.

“I want to make clear that there was no wasting of time in calling 911,” Martin told BuzzFeed News. “From the time I found [Orian] to the time he passed away, my actions were always for his well-being. In any way that my words and prayers misled and/or upset the family, I do apologize to them. They are wonderful people who I grew to care for and continue to care for. I am truly sorry for their loss, and hope nothing but comfort and love for them all.”)

So there are two sides to the story! Doesn’t fair “research” consider both sides of the story? In such a situation it would be very easy for an observer to miss the fact that the lady who first found the boy was already getting help? And thus the observer might assume that “Bethelites” were “wasting precious time trying to heal him rather than calling 911.” 

As for the other story about some Bethel students trying to heal a man who fell off a cliff before getting help…well, how about reading the original newspaper story about the incident:

“The biggest criticism has been the delay in reporting the incident to the authorities, but this criticism isn’t an issue with respect to this lawsuit,” Haslerud said. “The delay was the result of having just witnessed a very traumatic event coupled with fear and confusion and the possibility that Mr. Carlsen has just committed suicide. The delay was not occasioned by some religious belief Sarah had that they were going to ‘raise the dead.'”

Doesn’t scripture say that love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth? All I hear in Pastor Gabe’s mention of these stories is confirmation bias from a guy who already has a problem with Bethel church. He already wanted to believe the worst before he even found these stories.

Even if Bethel students had withheld medical care in order to pray for someone, Bill Johnson and the leaders of BSSM (Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry) encourage people to seek timely medical help, to appreciate medical professionals, and to have doctors verify supernatural healings. I know because I’ve actually done more research than the guy who told me to do my research. I’ve heard what Bethel teaches and not just what people say (or imply) they teach.

The New Apostolic Reformation

The next item on Pastor Gabe’s list of problems with Bethel is that it’s part of the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR.

So? What is the New Apostolic Reformation? What makes Bethel a part of it?

“Didn’t you know? The NAR is a heretical movement in the church. Doesn’t everyone know that? Bethel is a part of it.” 

The “NAR” is just a label that gets slapped onto a wide variety of people and groups, with a wide variety of different beliefs. It is regularly used to “prove” that certain Charismatic Christians are heretics without actually saying why, and without demonstrating that their teaching is contrary to the essentials of the gospel.

Once someone asked Bill Johnson if he was part of the NAR. He wasn’t even sure what it was!

A few critics of the NAR have pointed to some extreme teachings that really are out of line with orthodox Christianity. However, what makes the people who taught those things “NAR” other than the fact that you decided to slap that label on them? And most of the people or groups that are labeled “NAR” along with them (including C. Peter Wagner), also reject those teachings as unorthodox.

So you call Bill Johnson a false teacher and Bethel a cult because they are “NAR” and someone else whom you also call “NAR” taught something false? And by the way, “NAR” is your label, not theirs? That is guilt by association. It’s like calling someone a Nazi because they are German. At least being German is not as subjective as being labeled “NAR.”

It’s amazing how some people can go on and on with phrases like “Don’t be deceived,” “NAR,” “do your research,” and  “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” without actually stating what it is they disagree with. When the critic finally does find a reason that this person is a “heretic,” it becomes clear that the real problem is that the critic has a problem with the fundamental Christian doctrine that Jesus came in the flesh.

After these weak criticisms of Bethel church, none of which convince me that Bethel is a cult, Pastor Gabe gets down to the real issues by accusing Bill Johnson of preaching a different gospel. He says that the real issue is doctrine and that Bethel is not a doctrinally sound, Bible-believing church.

His allegations against Bill Johnson backfire, revealing that he is the one who does not fully accept the orthodox Christian doctrine of the incarnation.

We’ll talk about that next time in “Is Bill Johnson A False Teacher?”

 

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Yoked With God

[image error]These words of Jesus recently came to mind again. This time I had a few fresh thoughts about being yoked with God.

“My Yoke Is Easy And My Burden Is Light.”

Matthew 11:25-30 (NIV) At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Now, a yoke was a thing that went over the necks of two animals. The two worked together to pull a plow or a cart. So there is a partnership. [image error]

Who was Jesus yoked to? Of course, he was yoked to the Father. He did what he saw the Father doing. And so when Jesus tells us to take his yoke upon us, he is talking about us also entering into partnership with God, pulling with God. And he said this yoke is easy and this burden is light.

Jesus was also contrasting his teaching with that of the teachers of the law, who laid heavy burdens on men’s back and didn’t lift a finger to help them.

Unequally Yoked

2 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV) Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers…

Now, the context of this verse is partnership with unbelievers, but the principle is broader. It is usually applied to marriage, but remember that God has also chosen us (the church) as his bride. What does it mean to be unequally yoked? Quoting from this article online:

A yoke is a wooden bar that joins two oxen to each other and to the burden they pull. An “unequally yoked” team has one stronger ox and one weaker, or one taller and one shorter. The weaker or shorter ox would walk more slowly than the taller, stronger one, causing the load to go around in circles. When oxen are unequally yoked, they cannot perform the task set before them. Instead of working together, they are at odds with one another.

So think about this for a moment. Jesus is telling us to be yoked to God. Wouldn’t you think that would be “unequally yoked.” After all, God is by far the stronger partner, isn’t he? So wouldn’t such a team end up going in circles like the weak ox and strong ox yoked together?

And God’s burden is light? The things God accomplishes are easy? He created the universe! He is the God of miracles! These things seem incredibly difficult for us, but they are easy for God. Yet God calls us to be yoked with him, to partner with him in his work, and says it’s easy! Is it easy to do the things Jesus did while he walked the earth?

How Can We Be Yoked With God And Not Be Unequally Yoked?

So God wants us to be yoked to him, but doesn’t want us to be unequally yoked. How is that possible? We have to be as strong as God is if we are to be equally yoked with him.

It’s only possible to be as strong as God is if God lives inside of us! And He does! It’s only possible for God’s burden to be “easy” for us and God’s yoke to be “light” for us if the Holy Spirit lives in and empowers us. And so we are not unequally yoked with the Father because when we are united to God and have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, it is the Holy Spirit yoked to the Father. In that light, consider these scriptures:

1 Corinthians 6:17 (NIV) But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

John 17:21-23 (NIV) … that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

John 4:34 (NIV) “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

John 14:10-14 (NIV) Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus came as a man, being God but made like us in every way, with similar weaknesses as we have. Yet he was able to be equally yoked with the Father because he was in the Father and the Father was in him. And so also have been equally yoked to God if the Holy Spirit dwells in us. And our burden is light. Why?

Philippians 2:13 (NIV) for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

In contrast, the Old Covenant law was a heavy burden because it demanded but didn’t empower. If you feel like following Christ is a heavy burden, you are probably living according to the law instead of the gospel. The burden the gospel brings us is easy, the yoke is light, and it’s a pleasure to pull with God, working with him to accomplish his work.

If you are weary and heavy-laden, tired of trying to pull a heavy burden on your own, come to Jesus and let God work in you to fulfill his good purposes!

 

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Hope For The Chronically Ill

[image error]Last week we shared the story of Janice Campbell-Paul’s descent into disability and the resulting isolation and rejection that she encountered. Today we are continuing with another excerpt from her book “The Secret Wife.” Jesus is a wonderful savior and we are so thankful for the hope He offers to those who are lonely and suffering!

… every day that I went out into the world I was keenly aware of those who helped me, who noticed my struggles and reached out, without me having to ask. I was grateful on each occasion and sometimes surprised.

I was also surprised at the negative reactions, the judgmental stares, as if, somehow, I was guilty of some terrible sin to be in a wheelchair, the ‘how dare you appear before me and upset my day’ sort of look.

The worst experience happened one day in the local grocery store. I wanted something in the deli section and it was one of those delis where you had to take a ticket with a number and wait for your number to be called. Unfortunately, the ticket machine was too high for me to reach. There was a woman standing there and I asked her if she would please get a ticket for me. She looked down at me in anger. ‘You people make me sick!’ she said. ‘Why don’t you just stay home and quit depending on normal people to help you all the time. You are leeches on society!’ I was too shocked to reply to her, but a man standing nearby suddenly came between us, grabbed me a ticket and said loudly. ‘Some people just like being assholes all the time!’ He winked at me as he gave me my ticket with a broad smile, and stayed by my side until the woman got what she needed and left.

‘I was in a car accident a few years back,’ he explained. ‘I had to be in a wheelchair for six months. I’m glad you’re not too prideful to ask for help like I was.’ He talked with me until my order came, gave it to me, and then said goodbye. I thanked him as he walked away, and thanked God for bringing that man into my day.

There was another experience in that same grocery store that baffles me to this day. I had driven myself to the store in my car because I had to do some big shopping that my little wheelchair couldn’t handle. This was always difficult because getting into my car and driving was excruciating, even with an automatic gear shift, and I had to walk with my crutches into the store. Once inside the store, there were electric shopping carts I could use, but I had to leave my crutches with an attendant while I shopped. But the pouches that my wheelchair was fitted with couldn’t hold much, so I had no choice but to use the car whenever I had any heavy shopping to do.

I gritted my teeth in pain as I got into the electric cart, wishing that someone could do the shopping for me. I was feeling a little lonely and sorry for myself. I worked my way up and down the aisles. With each item, I had to get out of the electric cart and take it down from the shelf. This meant getting up and down several times, increasing my pain levels to a maximum. Almost on the verge of tears, I prayed silently, ‘Lord, give me the strength to finish this task.’

I had just turned the corner and entered into the pet food aisle when I saw a little old woman coming around the corner at the other end of the aisle. She was talking to herself. ‘Yes, yes, don’t you think I know this?’ she said, as she shuffled towards me and stopped. She put her hand on my shoulder and said with a gentle smile on her face, ‘God has sent me here to tell you that He loves you very much and He has heard your prayers.’ She then straightened herself up and left before I could say a word.

My immediate reaction was that the lady was probably senile and was going around the store blessing people. But after she left, I realized that my pain was gone. I felt refreshed! I immediately went looking for the lady. I knew she couldn’t have gone too far. I wanted to ask her questions, to thank her for her message. I raced up and down the aisles as fast as the electric cart would go, looking everywhere, asking people if they had seen her. But she was nowhere. No one else had seen her. Had I gone mad? It all happened so fast, could I have imagined it? No, she did touch me and somehow my pain was gone, my energy level was so much better. I felt sure that I had had an angel encounter of the third kind, right in the middle of the pet food aisle.

But the loneliness still enveloped me as the days turned into months. The disease controlled every aspect of my life, with pain, fatigue, or shaking.

Some days I would wake up feeling good. I would make plans to get out of the house, but by the time I was showered and dressed (a major physical effort), I was too exhausted to go anywhere and crawled back into bed. Sometimes I slept for days.

I was completely alone, except for my nurses from the Catholic Social Services who came twice a week to help me around the house, and Varun, my online friend.

The story of Janice’s supermarket “angel” encounter is a great encouragement for those who are stepping out in everyday situations to minister to others. Keep going!

Janice bought a computer and met Varun, a young man from India, in an online chat room. She also began to develop a relationship with God and encounter his love. Then she started having visions of herself in India.

At one point, she tried to kill herself because of the pain, but her trembling hands dropped the razor blade in the drain. One Sunday during worship, she felt a tingling in her feet. She thought it was just another symptom. But it spread up her legs and a voice told her “Stand up and walk.” And she did! 

Even the church where Janice was healed rejected her missionary call and shunned her. But she soon moved to India to share her story and marry a man whose culture would not accept their love. They eventually fled the country to escape an “honor killing.”

If you’d like to contact Janice, here is the link to her Facebook author page: 

https://www.facebook.com/janicecpaul/...

For the rest of her inspiring story, you can purchase the Kindle or print version of her book “The Secret Wife” by clicking below. (If you’re seeing the email you won’t see the links, but they are on the blog.) The Kindle Version is currently on sale, reduced from 7.99 to 0.99 cents. 

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