This is so unbelievable that I'll just post this with no further comment necessary. Dutch Sheets writes the following on Elijah List and the Streams of Revival e-mail letter:
The level of deception and confusion I have seen over America the last two years, both in the church and out, has been unlike anything I have ever witnessed. The level of it, especially in the body of Christ, has truly been shocking to me.
The list of areas in which it has manifested is broad: presidential candidate endorsements and prophecies; doctrinal error; relational breakups; disagreements over what is true and false revival; and so on. Add to this list a general weariness, complacency (one well-known leader told me he doesn’t think it matters anymore who is elected president—so much for shifting the Supreme Court!), disillusionment, disorientation and so on, and it all equals incredible deception and confusion.
I believe [the deception] is linked to our war in Iraq, which is ancient Babylon. Babylon, of course, means “confusion.” It was not difficult for us to defeat Iraq’s physical army, but the principality—the spirit of Babylon—has been another story altogether.
Just a couple of weeks ago, however, I heard the Holy Spirit very clearly say to me, “I’m about to unravel the cords of confusion.” When I heard this I had the sense that He would begin to do it in September. In 2 Chronicles 20, [we read that] God used the Israelite’s worship to “ambush” their enemies. The result was that these enemies destroyed one another! Expect the confusion to break off the church this fall and God’s enemies to be ambushed.
I may have to repent of condemning Todd Bentley and the Lakeland Revival. J. Lee Grady writes today:
In China, They Beat Christians With Crowbars
The Summer Olympic Games will focus a needed spotlight on the Chinese government’s abusive treatment of believers.
....When I met with a group of 80 underground church leaders seven years ago in a secret conference near Guangzhou, I discovered that all of them had been jailed at least three times each. Many had been beaten with iron crowbars while others had been shocked with electric cattle prods in an effort to gain information about secret church groups.
In China Christians are beaten with crowbars - at Lakeland Christians are kicked in the stomach. Of course, one is done by those who hate Christianity and the other is done by a "Christian pastor," but why quibble? Maybe this proves it's a move of God!
Note to Bentley supporters: Check out the two videos in my previous post and tell me which one is a move of God - and please don't try and say that both are!
Charisma's Steven Strang has weighed in on the so-called revival taking place with Todd Bentley in Lakeland, Florida. He writes, in part:
The latest outbreak of revival is apparently in Lakeland, Florida. It started with meetings with Todd Bentley on April 2 at Ignited Church pastored by my long-time friend Steve Strader....That was also the church where Rodney Howard Browne's ministry really took off in the United States with extended meetings back in the early 90's.
...Before I attended on Monday I was also beginning to get critical emails about the revival, expressing cautions, etc.
As I've covered the move of the Holy Spirit for the last three decades, I know that anytime there is a genuine move of God, it is guaranteed that certain people will automatically oppose it. These people oppose any move of God that is beyond their own religious experience. The sad thing is that some times they will have some valid criticisms that people like me tend to discount because they are so negative.
Some people also question Todd Bentley's past. He has quite a "testimony" that actually was first reported in Charisma several years ago. But there are those who feel that a person who is less than perfect can't really be used by God. Actually I believe that the Bible teaches that "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:27, NIV).
Also, at one of the meetings recently Paul Cain was given a place on the platform. Unfortunately Paul Cain has disqualified himself from ministry due to various sins in his life he has confessed to including drunkenness and homosexuality. Other ministers have worked to restore him, but we are told that the restoration process has not continued.
...When I was asked later on to describe the service I heard myself saying rather extemporaneously that the first part of the service with worship reminded me of the worship at the Brownsville revival and Todd's style of ministry reminded me of a "Benny Hinn with tattoos." A couple people I've said that to have found it rather funny and have also found it a helpful word picture.
It's too early to really tell the long-term effect of this revival. My report today is neither criticism nor an affirmation. I have not had an opportunity to research any of the miracles or even to talk personally with Todd Bentley. Much of what I know has come from Steve Strader (whom I have known a long time and who I trust).
Yes, "certain people" do criticize these "revivals." They've seen the Toronto Blessing - in my case I went to many of the meetings to see what was going on. They've seen the Brownsville Revival. They've also seen the devastation that results in the lives of disillusioned Christians who rely on experiences for their spiritual food rather than on the Word of God.
If Strang wants to take out of context the passage that God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, then I could give him a list of some very strange cults that God must be using today to confound the wise. Is that his measure of truth? Does he think allowing Paul Cain to speak at this "revival" shows discernment on the part of the leaders at Lakeland? His history is very well known in those circles.
No, give me the Word of God. Give me Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Give me His presence in Word and Sacrament. That's what He left us, not foolish experiences like we see in these revivals.
Rick Joyner's MorningStar Fellowship Church in Fort Mill, SC in April. And they really think this is the work of the Holy Spirit??? I guess they didn't learn from the Toronto Blessing and Brownsville "revivals."
Bentley is involved in a "revival" in Lakeland, Florida. The first person you'll see is prophetess Patricia King who introduces Bentley. Talk about an unsettling video!
"To the Scribes, the Pharisees and the hypocrites, the heresy hunters that want to find a little mote of illegal doctrine in some Christian's eye and poke that little mote out of their eye when they've got the whole forest in their own lives and in their own eyes, I say to hell with you!" Paul Crouch.
