Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.You will recognize them by their fruits (Matthew 7/15-16)
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Showing posts with label Holy Trinity Church Leicester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Trinity Church Leicester. Show all posts
It is utterly heartbreaking to read John McGinley's news on Twitter that he attended Bill Johnson's European Leaders Advance 2015. https://twitter.com/johnmcginleyhtl
I have written previously about Bill Johnson and Bethel Church in Redding, California. Bill Johnson is one of the most dangerous false teachers of our time. This is not my opinion alone, but many others are warning about him. I am utterly shocked and horrified that John McGinley should entertain such a person, and in turn infect others with the lies of Satan. As I write this post I am wondering whether McGinley knows exactly what he is doing (2 Corinthians 11:13-15), or whether he has gone that far into error that the Lord has given him over to a depraved mind (Romans 1:28). Whatever the case, McGinley is playing with fire and he is putting the precious souls in his congregation in great danger of hell. I have previously written that Holy Trinity plays host to a whole plethora of false teachings: http://bewareofthewolves.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/new-wine-deception-holy-trinity-church.html http://bewareofthewolves.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bill-johnsons-sozo-poison-occult.html
An important question to ask is: Why does the Bible warn us repeatedly about false teachers and false prophets if they are not a real and present danger to our faith and salvation? (Matthew 7:15; 24:3-12; 2 Corinthians 11:13; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Jude 1:4 etc.)
I will go over some of the material I have covered in the past for the sake of the people who attend Holy Trinity in the hope that the Lord will help any that are truly seeking the truth, and that they will find a way of escape from the lies of Satan (1 Corinthians 10:1-22).
Firstly, it is imperative to understand that the scriptures are God's inerrant Word, they are God breathed and inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21; John 17:17; Psalm 19:7). Jesus Christ is the Word (John 1:14). The pure teaching of Jesus Christ and the apostles has come to us at great cost, beginning with the Lord Himself, then the apostles and also martyrs like William Tyndale who gave their lives to make it possible for us to receive the gospel. The scriptures make it very clear that nothing should be added or taken away from the word of God (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Joshua 1:7; Proverbs 30:6; Matthew 28:20 Revelation 22:18-19). It is very simple - the scriptures are our point of reference, they are the test for whatever teaching comes to us, so that we can discern true or false doctrines (1 John 4:1). Once we have this settled, then with the help of the Holy Spirit, things become much clearer and easier to discern.
If we reject the authority of the scriptures then everything is lost - we are either relying on human opinion (Proverbs 18:2; 28:26; Jeremiah 14:14; 23:9-40) or doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1).
Jesus answer to Satan when he misrepresented God's word: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4)
Those who reject the scriptures as the inerrant word of God are actually rejecting Jesus Christ! God warns us that in the time just prior to His return there will be an end time rebellion (apostasia) and that he will send a deluding influence upon those who refuse to love the truth so that they will believe what is false. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12) Much of Christendom has now departed from the truth and is in open rebellion against God. This warning therefore applies to what we know as "the church" just as much as to false religions and unbelievers.
As I have pointed out before, Bill Johnson utterly fails the test of scripture. Johnson claims to be an "apostle"with greater revelation than that of the original twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. As I have demonstrated above, the scriptures are a closed cannon, they cannot be "updated"; nothing can be added to taken away from them. The teachings and the "manifestations" coming from Johnson and Bethel Church are completely demonic in many cases and an abomination to God, for instance their practice of Gravesucking (witchcraft and necromancy), open heaven experiences, manifestations such as gold flakes, glory clouds, angel feathers, angel orbs, and much, much more. Please read my previous posts about Bethel Church and Johnson:
Three Questions are asked of Johnson in the above Video: Does God ever cause sickness? Does God ever choose not to heal? What was Paul's thorn in the flesh?
Johnson: "You can only give away what you have. Can God give away sickness? No - He is not sick."
GOD IS SOVEREIGN!!!
The hand of the LORD was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he
terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. (1 Samuel 5:6)
Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery
with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her
works..... (Revelation 2:22)
Though the Lord can and does heal, it is pure presumption to assume that He always heals his people as Johnson asserts:
Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. (2 Timothy 4:20) No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. 2 Timothy 4:20)
I am not disputing that Bill Johnson is a very clever man. These lies slip off his tongue so easily, but he cannot back them up with the scriptures!
Experience should never trump doctrine. Let your faith be based in the
scriptures, not on subjective manifestations. No matter how
profound, supernatural, or popular any ministry claims to be, measure
everything against the written Word of God.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit,
according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the
world, and not according to Christ.(Colossians 2:8)
Jesus Culture - Gravesucking
Benni Johnson (wife of Bill Johnson) Gravesucking at the grave of CS Lewis
Bill Johnson at the grave of false teacher Smith Wigglesworth
Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my
people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; (Revelation 18:4)
New
Wine is a very dangerous movement of churches in the UK which
was originally established in 1989 as a Christian festival under the leadership of Anglican vicar
David Pytches of St. Andrew's Church in Chorleywood. The story of New Wine begins with false teacher/prophet, the late John Wimber, who had a considerable influence upon Pytches.
During the 1980s, Pytches hosted number of hyped up meetings at the Docklands Arena together with John Wimber and the Kansas City (false) Prophets (KCP) including Paul Cain and Mike Bickle. In 1990 Pytches wrote bestseller "Some Said It Thundered" which gave credence to the false teachings and bizarre manifestations associated with the KCP. St Andrew's Chorleywood also spawned false prophet/teacher Mark Stibbe, Pytches successor. Both Stibbe and Pytches were fervent supporters of the Toronto deception fronted by John and Carol Arnott. Wimber, Pytches and the KCP were determined to have a "revival" one way or the other, but it soon became clear that they were false prophets, puffed up with their own delusional unbiblical ideas rather than the true wisdom that comes from God. (1 Corinthians 1:25). Toronto was followed by the Brownsville Revival aka the Pensacola Outpouring (John Kilpatrick), and the Lakeland Revival in 2008, headed up by "Mr Bam" himself, Todd Bentley.
In February 1990, Paul Cain, falsely predicted a supernatural revival
which would start in Britain and spread into Germany in October of that
year. Mike Bickle claimed to have had five separate confirmations of
this false prophecy, but it failed to materialise.
Paul Cain: “Thus saith the Lord: Revival will be released in England in October of 1990....."
John Wimber: "In February of 1990 at the 'Holiness' conference in Anaheim over 9,000
people from all over the world heard Paul Cain prophesy that revival
would begin in England. He said, “The first shot [of revival] is going
to be fired when John [Wimber] comes to England the next time.” He was
referring to our scheduled October meetings." http://holyworldwide.com/dustinhedrick/?page_id=1835
These "prophets" even
denied the clear teaching in God's Word and reinterpreted the demonic
horde of locusts in Joel’s apocalyptic vision "prophetically" as Joel's Army i.e. themselves and their deluded followers. (Joel 2:4; Revelation
9:1-11)
"This army is also in the New Testament. It's referred to as the
MANCHILD. I know some of you are going to disagree with this. Don't you
even stop to disagree. Revelation 12:25...if you disagree, just file it
in miscellaneous and check it out. And don't bother with it. When we get
to heaven we'll check it out and you'll find out I'm right....." (Paul Cain, Joel's Army, Kansas City Fellowship Southside Meeting).
The
only problem with not bothering to check out Paul Cain's insane
rantings is that when we get to heaven it will be too late. Christians
are warned to test the spirits here and now! (1 John 4:1)The male child in Revelation 12:25 is of course Jesus Christ!
The Docklands fiasco has left a terrible legacy and we are now
witnessing an unprecidented progression of occult
practices
and manifestations in many churches, such as impartation, grave sucking, the glory
cloud, birthing, the inner room experience, spiritual levels, the
overcomers, Joshua generation, Joel's Army, Saul and David, Ishmael
and Isaac, the Jezebel spirit, school of the prophets, tabernacle
of David, city church and much more. These occult deceptions are taking over entire regions,
both here in the UK and worldwide.
John Wimber's Apostate Legacy - The Apostolic Reformation (NAR)
These days New Wine is associated with a much wider apostate movement
known as
the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) also known as Dominionism, Third
Wave, Latter Rain, Kingdom Now, Joel’s
Army, Manifest Sons of God, Charismatic Renewal etc.
The NAR leaders claim falsely that God is restoring the offices of Prophet and Apostle as a model for
church governance in the end times. Wimber held the delusional belief that he was a latter-day apostleto all the churches. In fact many of todays so called "prophets and apostles" hold
celebrity status; they are completely delusional and are answerable to no one!
Wimber's disciple C Peter Wagner claims apostolic authority
for himself as the "Presiding Apostle" over an organisation called International Coalition of Apostles (ICA). He claims that he was "commissioned by God" asthe "apostle" of the "second apostolic age." According to the false gospel of Wagner, “The second apostolic age began in the year 2001 when the lost offices of prophet and apostle were restored." Sounds very grand doesn't it! Others who claim the title of "apostle"
for themselves are Rick Joyner, Mike Bickle (now leader of the
spiritually corrupt International House of Prayer {IHOP}). Cindy Jacobs
(Generals International), Bill Johnson (Bethel Church Redding), Che Ahn (HRock Church Pasadena) etc. ALL these apostates are proven false
prophets, they do not qualify in any way to lead the true church; their
prophecies are false, their teaching is
aberant and in many cases their lifestyles are unbiblical,
Paul Cain being the most blatant example. These modern day "apostles and prophets" claim a unique position of authority, even putting themselves above the original apostles of Jesus Christ. They say that God is giving them new revelations apart from the Bible while proclaiming that experience takes precedence over the teaching of Jesus Christ and the apostles.Their stated aim is for the church to literally take over society prior to the return of Christ in a similar manner to that of the Popes during the Dark Ages. This global church is to be ledby an exclusive group of apostles and
prophets, i.e. themselves! In fact the Bible teaches the polar opposite. Revelation 19:11-21 makes it clear that JESUS CHRIST (NOT THE CHURCH)
will achieve dominion on the earth (Revelation 22:19).
The false prophets associated with New Wine and the NAR claim that prophecy is "conditional" in the New Testament i.e. there
is provision for a margin of error in prophecy - this is their get out clause when their prophecies fail!!!However, the Bible does not make a distinction between Old and New Testament
prophets or prophecy. The Bible calls false prophets presumptuous: But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not
commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that
same prophet shall die. (Deuteronomy 18:20, see also Deuteronomy 13:1-5; 17:12; 18:21-22; 1 Kings 18:40; Jeremiah 14:14; 23:30; 26:11; Zechariah 13:3). Jesus Christ warned that in the end timesmany false prophets will arise and lead many astray (Matthew 24:11). In fact the New Testament warns us repeatedly to be on our guard against spiritual deception: Matthew 7:15; 24:5; 24:24; 1 John 4:1; 2 Peter 2:1.
Additionally, the NAR promotes
strategic-level spiritual warfare in contradiction to Daniel 10 and
Jude 9
which assigns spiritual warfare against territorial spirits to Michael
and the angels not to human beings.
These pretenders continue to infiltrate and deceive large portions of the church worldwide.
Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! (Ezekiel 13:13) Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers
faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw
and grain! (Jeremiah 23:28; 1 Corinthians 3:12)
Holy Trinity Church Leicester
Why would anyone with even the
smallest amount of spiritual discernment be involved with New Wine when
its roots and practices are so obviously bad (Matthew 7:17-18)? Nevertheless, the hirelings at Holy Trinity Church Leicester are backing New Wine to the hilt!
John McGinley, vicar of Holy Trinity Leicester is the Regional Director for the Midlands and East branch of New Wine. Inevitably therefore Holy Trinity Church is heavily involved with New Wine. In fact Holy Trinity are promoting New Wine Discipleship Year 2014-15 which is aimed at 18-24 year olds. "Discipleship Year is to equip, encourage and empower you with solid foundations for life as a follower of Jesus."http://www.holytrinityleicester.org/newwine.html I would point out that John McGinley's definition of "solid foundations" is not biblical! Holy Trinity are involved with a whole plethora of false teachings, including Sozo (Bill Johnson), Monasticism and 3DM (Mike Breen), Breathe (eastern mysticism), Ecumenism, Mission Shaped Communities (Mark Stibbe) and who knows what other doctrines of demons. In fact John McGinley seems determined to promote anything and everything apart from the teaching of Jesus Christ and his apostles (Acts 2:42)!
John Wimber's false teachings continue to deceive many people through the Vineyard Movement, a network of charismatic churches founded by Wimber in 1982. John Wimber is virtually idolised on the website of Leicester City Vineyard Church: "It became clear that the church’s emphasis on the experience of the
Holy Spirit was not shared by some leaders in the Calvary Chapel
movement. In 1982, John’s church left Calvary Chapel and joined a small
group of Vineyard churches. Vineyard was a name chosen by Kenn
Gulliksen, a prolific church planter affiliated with Calvary Chapel, for
a church he planted in Los Angeles in 1974. Pastors and leaders from
the handful of Vineyard churches began looking to John for direction.
And the Vineyard movement was born." http://www.leicestercityvineyard.org.uk/about/
Wimber's split with Calvary Chapel involved an acrimonious dispute which focused on the authority of Scripture as it relates to the display of signs and wonders in the church. Wimber was actually forced to leave!
ounder
and lecturer for the Fuller Church Growth Institute. - See more at:
http://www.inplainsite.org/html/vineyard_john_wimber.html#sthash.DdwyH4F9.dpuf
ounder
and lecturer for the Fuller Church Growth Institute. - See more at:
http://www.inplainsite.org/html/vineyard_john_wimber.html#sthash.DdwyH4F9.dpufVineyard soft appeal via coffee
doughnuts so i am told chocolates.... etc. with very little of the Word
of God is extremely deceptive.
It should be noted that both Holy Trinity Church and Leicester City Vineyard Church are following an ecumenical agenda which fits in withWimber's false beliefs i.e. a de-emphasization of doctrine for the sake of bringing all Christian denominations together under one tent. Both John McGinley of Holy Trinity and Steve Barber, the leader of Leicester City Vineyard Church attended ecumenical Churches Together Breakfast on 10th of
May last year, said to be "inspired" by David Hind, the leader
of Trinity Life Church.
Beware of ecumenism!
One
man, with little or no Biblical discernment, was almost single handedly
responsible for the spread of one of the most dangerous movements in
the church today... The Latter Rain. This small movement that began in
Canada, eventually became the cornerstone for various offshoots, the
most prominent of which are (or were) Joel’s Army, First-Fruits,
Identity, Manifest Sons of God, Restoration, Reconstruction, Kingdom
Message, Elijah Company, Overcomers, etc.
- See more at: http://www.inplainsite.org/html/vineyard_churches.html#sthash.YphEjwrF.dpuf
John Wimber (1934-1997) built what is known as "power evangelism" on the teachings of theologian George Eldon Ladd which led him to the opinion that miracles such as healings, words of knowledge and speaking in tongues play an essential role in bringing people to faith in Christ. Wimber: "I felt that God wanted me to concentrate on the relationship of supernatural signs and wonders to church growth during the decade." I personally do believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and I am not writing this post from a cessationist point of view. I believe the problem with Wimber's theology is that it over emphasises the miraculous at the expense of the Gospel. In other words, Wimber subverted the biblical teaching that faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17) and replaced it with the diametric opposite, pragmatism - if it works I will accept it and believe it. The great commission is very simple: Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15). Paul tells us that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). Wimber ventured into excessive experientialism and a dangerous mixture of truth and error which he later distanced himself from. The Bible tells us that an evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign (Matthew 12:39; 16:4; Luke 11:29). Wimber's mantra: "God is bigger than his written Word."This arrogant statement is an outright denial of the sufficiency of the scriptures which are divinely inspired and give us EVERYTHING needed to live the Christian life. Christians are specifically warned not to go beyond what is written (1 Corinthians 4:6):
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (1 Timothy 3:16-17)
Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. (Psalm 119:89)
Jesus Christ IS the WORD!!!!
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his
glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and
truth. (John 1:14)
Therefore be careful
lest the light in you be darkness. (Luke 11:35)
Holy Trinity Church in Leicester are offering their members a very dangerous “prayer ministry”,SOZO, which comes from the infamous Bethel Church in
Redding, California. http://www.holytrinityleicester.org/prayerministry.html
I have recently written three posts about “grave sucker” Bill Johnson, the so called “pastor” of Bethel Church and his wife “Beni” who seem to think that necromancy
and witchcraft is acceptable to God and that it is perfectly fine to “suck” the anointing from the graves of
dead believers!
Assemblies of God “pastor”David Hind of Trinity Life Church in Leicester (TLC) recently recommendedJesus Culture,
a ministry
of Bethel Church! I notice that David Hind is now limiting his Twitters
to inane drivel which at least has to be an improvement on promoting
rank heresy!
My concern about Sozo is that vulnerable people attending Holy Trinity and other churches will be dragged further
and further away from the Lord and into bondage through the influence of the
various false teachings being foisted upon them by the hirelings promoting Bill
Johnson (John 10:13). Leicester has previously been
subjected to wolves in sheep’s clothing Mark Stibbe and Benny Hinn, as well as the dark teachings of Mike Breen, New Wine (and who knows what else). John McGinley has now gone one step further and introduced the poison of arch deceiver Bill Johnson, arguably one of the most dangerous false teachers of our time!
Sozo from the
Greek means save, rescue, heal or deliver.
Sozoclaims to be:“.....a unique inner healing and deliverance ministry in which the main aim is to get to the root of those things hindering your personal connection with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” http://www.ibethel.org/sozo-overview
Sozo was first introduced to Bethel Church, Redding by
false teacher Randy Clark in 1997 who brought an unbiblical model of “deliverance” from Argentina known as The Four Doors. This so called “deliverance” involves repressed memory
therapy (RMT). RMT has been widely condemned by several
professional organisations worldwide, including TheBritish Royal College of Psychiatrists who have officially banned its
members from using this kind of therapy. A large number of RMT therapists use hypnosis and visualisation techniques to uncover repressed memories. We should bear in
mind however that uncorroborated findings have split up families and have led to
painful litigations from accusations resulting from false memory syndrome.False memories can be implanted or
suggested whilst a person in a state of altered consciousness during
hypnotherapy . RMT is a dangerous and potentially demonic practice that no Christian should subject themselves to!
From Bethel’s website the Sozo sessions are described in terms of “.....finding the wounds and lies – finding the reasons why people do not have a good relationship with each member of the Godhead. : Helping you make a connection with the Godhead….. It is also a deliverance ministry.” http://bethelsozo.com/about/
Bethel are assuming that if you need this “ministry” there is something wrong with your relationship with“each member of the Godhead”. This is a very odd expression. The Bible does not teach that we need to have a separate relationship with each member of the Godhead. Our relationship with God depends entirely on our relationship with Jesus Christ (John 14:7). Once we have repented of our sins and become a Christian we are justified by faith and we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Sozo undermines the fact that true Christians already have a wonderful relationship with God. Why ever would we need to “make a connection with the Godhead” when we are accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6), loved by the Father (John 14:21) have received the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16)? Experiential Christianity demands that we need to be on a spiritual high and "feel the love"........ but without the Word of God this is a fool's paradise (Matthew 7:26). Occult practices may give the "experience" we are seeking temporarily, but ultimately they lead us away from God, they cannot bring us closer to Him (2 Corinthians 11:14).
"Opening Client Visualization
Many people believe that they do not have a visual compliment to engaging God. They have been taught, or the enemy has led them to believe, that their primary, if not only, interaction with God is through His written word, the Bible. This is typical of most folks with mainline evangelical denominational roots. In order to make the ministry time fruitful for a client, we often have to help them to “open their spirit eyes”.
Many people believe that God is accessible only through their minds and hence, all experience that is not absolutely logical (from their perspective) is not only not probable, but more to the point, not possible. Consequently, they have never tried any other method of interacting with Him. That doesn’t mean that is not another method, only that they have never entertained the idea that there is another one. What the Sozo session leader must do is to help open their minds, hearts and spirits to another method of connecting with God. We can do this by a number of methods, principally by leading the Sozoee through a series of simple exercises to expand their repertoire of sensing, hearing, feeling and connecting with God. Jim Banks, House of Healing Ministries" http://closingstages.net/2012/07/31/victims-of-johnsons-sozo-ministry-speak-out/
The above statement is a direct attack on God’s Word. The way we connect with God must always be through the scriptures in conjunction with worship, prayer, and also, at times, fasting; apart from these things, there is not “another method” to connect with God!!!
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)
Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. (John 15:3)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:17)
…..that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, (Ephesians 5:26) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16) His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, …..make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (2 Peter 1:3, 5-8)
Constructing man made tools and techniques around biblical truth is extremely foolish, but more than that it introduces occult techniques to solve perceived issues, such as visualisation, hypnotherapy, regression etc. which will bring bondage and demonic oppression rather than the healing and freedom it claims to bring. Did Jesus or the apostles heal anyone for money? The Sozo sessions cost $50 in the USA. …..in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. (Mark 7:7)
….“you see most Christians get saved, but they don’t go through deliverance, or really go back and deal with inner healing issues, thus, after about 3 weeks, or 3 months, they are back to the way they used to be. Because they never cleaned out the house fully.”http://closingstages.net/2012/07/31/victims-of-johnsons-sozo-ministry-speak-out/
“There is always a source and a point in time when something happened that set into motion a course that ends up with an individual in torment, pain, and sin. It may be difficult to uncover, but it is always there. God knows the point in time of the wound, lie, or sin. He knows the reason or cause. God is willing to help us find it”.http://thefreedomresource.org/documents/moultrie.pdf
This false
teaching is a denial of the cross of Christ.The reasons that people backslide are given in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23). Many Christians suffer terribly at the hands of those who teach Sozo and similar deliverance techniques. Once doubt is implanted about whether Jesus Christ
has cleansed you completely, then faith takes a nosedive. These teachings are inward looking and not Christ
centred -you are always looking for
the next demon to manifest, or the next bit of your past to deal with. Inevitably those who genuinely seek Jesus Christ suffer intensely under such teachings. Usually those who have implanted the lies see you as their spiritual inferior and they label you as "a problem" when you fail to realise the promised "freedom". This is precisely what happened at the first church I attended as a new Christian many years ago! The leaders of that failed cult now attend TLC - people definitely get the leaders they deserve (Isaiah 3:1-26; Galatians 6:7).
If healing/deliverance from past wounds is so important, why didn't the apostles teach it? Raking up old hurts is a trap of the enemy, it paralyses and is entirely negative. Christians are instructed to think about good things, NOTabout dead negative things from the past (Philippians 4:8). The renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2), forgiveness (Matthew 6:12) and submission to God (James 4:7) are critical for a fruitful walk with the Lord. The apostle Paul makes it very clear that dwelling on the past, even in a positive way, is unhelpful: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead….. (Philippians 3:13) Whatever happened to us before we became a Christian is wiped out when we become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24; Isaiah 43:18-19).
Bethel Church engage in various wicked occult practices such as grave sucking, opening portals, visualisation practices, spirit travel, fire tunnels, sozo and conjuring angel orbs. None of these practices can be found in the Bible, but all of these practices are found in the occult. Beware of Bill Johnson, Bethel Church, Jesus Culture and anyone promoting them! (Romans 16:17)
Unsurprisingingly, All Nations Church, Frog Island in Leicester also promote Jesus Culture on their links page. http://www.ancl.co.uk/media/links/
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see
whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the
world. (1 John 4:1)
At about five minutes into the above video a woman says she was led in a prayer to "forgive God for the death of her father". This is complete rubbish - God forgives us, we do not forgive God! This woman should have repented for blaming God. We should always forgive others but we do not forgive God! (1 John 1:5)
The Bible says that the breath of the Almighty gives life (Genesis 2:7; Job 33:4). The word for the Holy Spirit is Hebrew: ruach or Greek: pneuma. meaning literally breath, wind or spirit. Whenever this word is used it always refers to an action of God e.g. there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind (Acts 2:1-11).
The Bible references given on the Holy Trinity Website confirm that
the breath of God accomplishes many things. (Paragraphs in bold text
below are from Holy Trinity's website: http://www.holytrinityleicester.org)
Genesis 2:7: in the creation story God breathed the
breath of life into the man and he came to life. The Hebrew word for
'breath' is the same word for 'spirit': ruach. God breathes His life
giving Spirit into us.
Ezekiel 37: Ezekiel sees a valley of bones representing the state of God's people. God says to him"
Prophesy to the breath; and say to it, 'Come from the four winds, O
breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" And as he does he sees the bones come together and come alive as people. Let's pray for God to do this for us as his people.
Prophesy to the breath was a specific instruction to Ezekiel for Israel - he was in fact speaking out
God's will. We have specific instructions from Jesus Christ to go out
and preach the gospel to all flesh (Mark 6:15; Acts 16:10; Romans 1:15
etc.) The emphasis is on speaking God's word not breathing.
John 20:21: after the resurrection Jesus appears to his disciples and says,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And
then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit". As Jesus sends us out in mission we need to be breathing in his Spirit.
God says that we already have the Holy Spirit if we are true
Christians - there is no need to breathe in His Spirit (Acts 2:4; 1
Thessalonians 4:8). If we feel we lack anything from the Lord we need to
ask (Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9,13).
1 Tim 3:16: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." As we desire God to breathe his life into us this will involve us opening our lives to his life-giving word.
The metaphor that Jesus Christ used was drink: "but
those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be
thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of
water gushing up to eternal life." (John 4:14) Water is a picture of God's word; the word drink has been replaced by breathe.
See also Ephesians 5:26. We already have God's life in us if we are
true Christians we cannot increase that life by breathing. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.(Romans 12:2)
Breathing helps us to understand how dependent we are on God's Spirit.
Understanding comes from meditating on God's word and praying -
the Bible says nothing at all about breathing as an aid to
understanding. God accomplishes things through His Holy Spirit, not by
any action of ours. My child, if you accept my words and treasure up
my commandments within you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and
inclining your heart to understanding; if you indeed cry out for
insight, and raise your voice for understanding; If you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures— then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:1-5) Paul wrote to Timothy:Think over what I say, for the Lord will grant you understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:7) See also Colossians 1:9.
Rhythm: each day we breathe about 20,000 times and
the rhythm of inhaling and exhaling is the most elemental rhythm of our
lives. This pattern of breathing can help us understand how a regular
pattern of time with God provides a framework to our lives within which
we can allow God to lead and strengthen us throughout each day. The
rhythm of receiving from God, breathing in His Spirit, and then giving
out as we live and serve in the power of the Spirit is what we are each
called to.
Several assumptions are being made in the above statement.
Rhythm is associated with mantras and eastern religions it is not found
in the Bible.
What is concerning about the above is that the emphasis is on our breathing, something never mentioned
in the Bible as an aid to either gaining life through the Holy Spirit,
understanding or as an aid to evangelism. Breathing has absolutely
nothing in common with the Holy Spirit's creative power found in
creation or the new birth. The Greek word is theópneustos (from theós, "God" and pnéō, "breathe out"). This action is always performed by God - the recipient does not receive it by breathing.
The author of BREATHE is an eisegete. Eisegesis is something
which biblical scholars with any integrity take great care to avoid. In
this instance a portion of biblical text has been introduced and the
author’s highly subjective presuppositions, agendas, opinions and biases
have been imposed into and onto the text to give a completely wrong
interpretation. This interpretation would be completely unacceptable in
any other discipline. Exegesis on the other hand is objective and draws
out the meaning from a text in accordance with the context and
discoverable meaning of its author.
It is clear that this teaching has not come from the Bible and this
being the case we need to ask the question: Where does it come from? In
fact breathing is one of the meditative techniques used by the Eastern
religions and the New Age which are occultic. It is interesting how
breathing is linked up to the Lord's Prayer at Holy Trinity - on the one
hand Christ showed us how to pray but He never intended the Lord's
prayer to be used as a mantra and He did not ever say that it should be
accompanied by breathing techniques. Vain repetition is to be avoided as
it is done by the heathen (Matthew 6:7). God hates the mixture
(Deuteronomy 21:11). Truth and error are mutually exclusive in the
Bible, we cannot mix the two together: A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough (Galatians 5:9).
When we are drawn into unbiblical practices that seem very
spiritual we end up in deception and impurity (1 Thessalonians 2:3-5; 2
Peter 2:1). We must not accept such things uncritically because it is
important to discern the vain reasonings of men against the
truth of God (Romans 1:21). The danger is that our focus will be drawn
away from Christocentric worship into pneumo-centric worship, but worse
than that, that we will be drawn away from biblical truth into the
worship of idols. There are readings but no real exegesis involved in
Holy Trinity's BREATHE program. The Bible says: Study and
be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested
by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing
and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the
Word of Truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 ) Every Scripture is
God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction,
for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and
discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy
living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action)
(2 Timothy 3:16 {Amplified Bible}). When there is a lack of exegesis
there is absolutely no yardstick to measure between truth and error -
this is very serious. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. (Hosea 4:6)
Contemplative prayer, centering prayer, meditative prayer, quiet
prayer, breath prayers or contemplative breathing are all New Age
meditation techniques, they are not biblical. Sincere people
have argued that this technique helps them focus on God - our own hearts
should not be the test of anything however - the Bible tells us: The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9).
Satan’s agenda is to somehow pervert and abolish truth and he is
using these things as a Trojan horse as a way to bring unbiblical New
Age practices into the church. But I am afraid that as the serpent
deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a
sincere and pure devotion to Christ.(2 Corinthians 11:3) EvenSatan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)
Breath is an essential element of Hindu Yogic practices, it is called
‘Prana’ or the ‘divine breath’. Prana is for Hinduism the divine breath
of life infused throughout the universe, the cosmic breath with which
humanity has become out of tune. Any breathing techniques are
potentially dangerous and according to experts they can cause
psychological damage and even insanity. Yoga is an occultic New Age
concept which is completely alien to Christianity.
As the word for air, (Vāyu) or wind (Pavana) is one of the Panchamahābhuta or five great elements. The Sanskritword 'Vāta' literally means "blown", 'Vāyu' "blower", and 'Prāna' "breathing" (viz. the breath of life, cf. the *an- in 'animate').
Hence, the primary referent of the word is the "deity of Life", who is
sometimes for clarity referred to as "Mukhya-Vāyu" (the chief Vāyu) or
"Mukhya Prāna" (the chief of Life).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vayu
The Bible tells us that deception will increase and that there will be a falling away/departure/rebellion(the Greek word is Apostasia, English Apostasy; Strong’s number 646: a defection from truth) prior to the return of Christ: Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless oneis revealed, the one destined for destruction. (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will renounce
the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of
demons. (1 Timothy 4:1) The very first sin when Eve ate of the tree of good and evil was because it appeared to be good for food, it was a delight to the eyes and it was to be desired to make one wise. (Genesis 3:6) Just because something appears and looks good and someone tells us the benefits of it (Genesis 3:5) does not make it right. Our criteria for truth must be God’s Word. When we do something spiritual it should always be in line with God’s word and breathing techniques are definitely not there. Satan’s intention is to deceive everyone and – to lead astray even the elect, if possible. (Matthew 24:24) There are many antichrists here already (1 John 2:18), but when the
Antichrist finally appears he will be so powerful it will be very
difficult to discern his teachings from the real thing. If Christians do
not engage in exegesis then the battle will be lost for many.
His divine power has given us everything needed for life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory
and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3) If God’s divine power has given us everything we need as above then it is reasonable to question why Holy Trinity are adding their own extra biblical ideas.
The Biblical model is: Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever
is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any
excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:6-8)
Jesus Christ warned: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15,16)
The Apostle Paul: I know that after I have gone, savage wolves
will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Some even from your own
group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to
follow them. (Acts 20:29,30)
But wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:13)
