[ Click here to go back to the main page ]
Deception in Our National Magazine Part III
September 26, 2007
Greetings in the Name of Our LORD Jesus Christ,
For the third edition in a row, the Sept 23rd version, the editors of our national magazine have included deception as a key part of the edition. And folks, it really doesn’t matter whether it was done in ignorance or not. Our national publication was started by the A/G founding fathers as a teaching tool. Whether our current leadership thinks of it as such doesn’t really matter in God’s eyes. Any publication that purports itself to be Christian, becomes a teaching publication by default. That is, the audience expects to hear from people who hear from God.
In past articles, I have alluded to the dangers of “entangling alliances” with questionable organizations. The National Association of Evangelicals is one to which the A/G belongs. Its previous president resigned due to a homosexual affair. And the current president is an advocate of the “emerging church.” The emerging church is merely a euphemism for returning to mystical (Satanic) rituals of Catholicism and eastern religions such as Buddhism, all wrapped in a happy New Age vocabulary.
This edition has a huge, glowing article about the Pentecostal World Conference. In fact, the title (on page 10) was “Pentecostal World Conference focuses on emerging generations.” There’s a famous secular radio talk show host that likes to say, “Words mean things.” And for the New Age mystics that have invaded Western Christianity, words are like a special code to them. They know what they mean, but they’re pretty sure you won’t until you’re in too deep to escape. Why does that sound an awful like like Satan’s approach? Several world Pentecostal leaders were quoted in the article. I find it rather interesting that the first “leader” quoted in the article (author was John Maempa, the director of the National Prayer Center for the A/G) was Brian Houston. His credential is that he is president of the Australian A/G and pastor of the “famous” Hillsong Church of Sydney. What many don’t know is that Brian’s dad is a convicted child molestor and that Brian’s recent associate pastor was removed for another serious sexual sin. All this according to the Sydney Morning Herald, one of Australia’s biggest newspapers. Look it up on the Morning Herald’s web site. It’s there for all the world to see. The Bible verse from Matthew 7:16 come to mind, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” And what is even more telling is the context of this verse that is usually neglected. Here is the whole passage:
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”
Brian Houston’s tree is corrupt. Even the songs that we so cavalierly import from his church are corrupt. They are shallow, avoid the Cross and sin like the plague and are chock full of bad grammar (that alone would allow me to question their inspiration). He validates this even more with the quote in the article:
“God thinks and moves generationally. We must not try to pump new life into the ways of the fathers, but move forward toward the sons, moving from the predictable to the unpredictable.”
This is classic emerging church lingo. Embrace change. Go unpredictable. Take chances. Out with old people and worship youth. Youth have wisdom. Since when did God say that He changed from generation to generation? He emphatically and repeatedly declares that He does not change like men do. In fact, in Proverbs 24:21, God says, “My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change.” Another common theme in Scripture is that God warns against the immaturity of youth.
What is worse is that a national American A/G leader, Mr. Maempa, quotes him as though Mr. Houston has something to offer to Christendom and then our national editors print it! For the third time I ask, “What are our national magazine editors doing?” And have our national A/G leaders fallen asleep at the wheel? J.R. Flower and E.N. Bell would be rolling over in their graves. And AGAIN the editors have caused confusion by recording an interview with Russ Taff who essentially said that Christians must stay way clear of big, Christian business and do instead what God has called them to do. This is absolutely correct. So why then would they quote Brian Houston of Hillsong with his promotion of the emerging church? Especially when the emerging church is the epitome of “Christian” big business: worship youth and appeal to their emotions, youthful lusts and limitless, but directionless energy; lots of best selling books by wolves in sheep’s clothing; best-selling records with a form of godliness but no CONTENT; mega churches with thousands of congregants where the pastor has no idea whether 99% of his flock is going to Heaven or Hell (I would suggest that in most cases, the pastors of those churches are wolves and don’t care).
We WILL be held accountable members of the A/G fellowship. It is time to repent and turn back to the Bible as our only source for authority on everything. It is time to quit worshipping at the altar of acceptance by the world, education and money. Instead, we need to go to God daily in humility and confess our utter dependence on Him. The Bible says in Luke 6:26, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
The Bible says that a cataclysmic judgment is coming. The question for us is, “Will we deserve it?”
With Love for the God Who Has Spoken to Us Through His WORD,
Brother Mike
[ Click here to go back to the main page ]
