DENYING THIS KEY TRUTH - The One Huge Lie by John
Anderson
Lee Grady's article is tremendous. However, the four
flaws he mentions are not the beginning of the problem; they are rooted in a
flawed message which is in turn rooted in a flawed, distorted view of the holy
God.
Distortion of God's character was the essence of the
temptations in the Garden of Eden, as
with deadly subtlety the enemy of God lured Eve toward sin by stripping God
first of His Integrity --- by casting doubt on His truthfulness: "Has God
said that you should not eat..."; and then stripping Him of His Justice
--- by denying the truth that God would judge: "You shall not surely
die..."
Beginning with God's warning to Adam and Eve that if they
ate of the forbidden fruit they would die, the stern but vital truth in
Scripture is that the God of Justice says every evildoer is under His wrath
(John 3:36); and unless he or she
repents and receives forgiveness and cleansing made possible through His Son's
shed blood on the Cross, they face eternal damnation in hell.
Today's visible church
has made an art form of dodging the inconvenient Scriptural truth that
God clearly says the wicked are under His wrath, preferring to market God in
more appealing ways by ignoring or downplaying His judgment. So we've happily
replaced the true gospel with all kinds of seeker friendly pseudo-gospels
focused on prosperity, success, self-image, motivation and how to have a good
sex life. All this revealing of course that today's visible church, like Eve,
has been seduced to buy into Satan's distortion of God's character.
The point here is that the consequence of the distorted
view of God and His message so popularized today is that it produces a
professed, likely self-deceived preacher whose ministry is not marked by
brokenness, humility, and servanthood; but is marked by the frauds of ministry
Lee Grady cited: charlatanism,
entitlement, arrogance (this should head the list), and
professionalism.
Thank you Lee Grady. As you said: "Let's become leaders who act like
Jesus."
Footnote from Brenda:
The one huge lie is the distortion of how God is
perceived in the Charismatic Church and the point that both pastors have missed
is the root of where this distortion originated.
If you can find a copy of this book you will know the
truth - "Another Gospel" by Don McConnell of Oral Robert's
University. It was the thesis for his doctorate.
McConnell proved that Kenneth Hagin Snr, the founder of
Rhema Ministries, took some of the writings of E. W. Kenyon and without any
changes turned them into the foundational doctrines of Rhema. In other words,
Hagin plagiarized Kenyon.
McConnell showed many examples by placing the two authors
side by side. There is no doubt that Hagin copied Kenyon word for word, comma
for comma.
McConnell visited Hagin and showed him the evidence.
Hagin responded that the same spirit that spoke to Kenyon also spoke to him! So
McConnell visited the widow Kenyon and she said they knew about the plagiarized
works but chose to let it go.
McConnell asked her about her husband's Christianity. She
responded that he was NEVER A CHRISTIAN!! He was an occultist who adhered to
the Christian Scientists, New Thought and Unity.
The conclusion of McConnell's thesis was that the
teachings of Rhema Church are Another Gospel and not the true gospel of the
Bible.
No matter how sincere they are the spirit of Rhema is not
the Holy Spirit. It has thrown the church off course and needs urgent
intervention to rescue those who truly seek to be like Jesus.
Rhema is a cult and all the many ministries that have sprung
from Rhema are struggling to have the life of Jesus in its fullness because
they are ignorant of Don McConnell's thesis.
They would not listen back then but I hope they will
listen now.
Prayer: Heavenly Father the desire of my heart is that
all people come to know You and Your Son Jesus Christ in truth and
righteousness. The roots of error must be exposed to the light and destroyed.
Open their eyes and ears to receive true salvation. In Jesus' name. Amen.