Got a bible question? Get the app

If you are anything like me. I love the bible and I love reading it, trying to get some undertsanding. There are many questions that I have had and I love the Got Questions website because the answers are very balanced and biblically and doctrinally sound. It answers a wide variety of questions. Some crucial, some not so crucial

You can now have these answers in your pocket if you have an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Android device as can be seen below.

I love this app and more often than not, when I have a question about a christian topic, it is there. So what are you waiting for? Click here for info on how to download the app to your device

Ten of my favorite blog posts on Real Christianity

I cannot believe that I have been blogging for over five years beginning with How Important is Doctrine and as of today, have written 619 posts, this being my 620th. Every now and then, I go back to my old posts and re-read some of them, if not for anything else to re-encourage myself. So out of these 600+posts, below are ten of my favorite posts in no particular order and my reasons why. Just click on the titles to read the posts

1. The Marks of False ‘Christian’ teachers and teaching - OK, I am going to cheat on the first one as it was my first series (11 parts in total) called The Marks of False ‘Christian’ teachers and teaching starting with A Form of godliness. I saw so much foolishness in churches and on Christian TV and I knew that a lot of people were beginning to question a lot of things but were afraid to say anything. I just said what they were thinking. So I wrote the series and gave my reasons for doing it as I know a lot of people would think that I was just a heresy hunter. If you want to read the full series, just follow the links at the bottom of the posts

2. To tithe or not to tithe - Tithing was one of those things that kept me in bondage early on in my days and I know keeps many in bondage today. Many preachers use old testament scriptures like Malachi 3:8-12 to manipulate people into giving money and making them feel that they have robbed God if they don’t give their 10%.  That was until I searched the scriptures for myself only to find that the new testament principle of giving is proportional giving and giving out of what you have and not out of what you don’t have thus getting yourself into debt. It is also about a person giving what THEY purpose in their heart (2 Cor 9:7) . I wrote this to make it plain why Christians are not under any obligation to tithe anymore under the new covenant.

3. How do you know that you are saved (that you are a Christian)? - I really enjoyed writing this blog because it became very apparent to me that many people thought that they were Christians but they were actually self-deceived. This troubled me so I wanted to have some kind of ‘test’ whereby a person could measure up themselves to. Luckily the books of 1 and 2 John has such a test and has been one of my most popular posts that is found when people do searches, which tells me that a lot of people really do want to know if they are a Christian or not.

4. So you think that you’re a Christian. Power testimonies from former false converts - This ties in to number 3. When I heard these testimonies, I knew there were countless amount of people in this situation and I wanted to share it because I wanted others to see if they could see themselves in the mirror and if so, do something about it. The worse deception ever is to think that you are a Christian when, in fact, you are not

5. Spending Quality Time with God - This post always comes to haunt me because I know that this is something that I am constantly guilty of not doing but it is a constant reminder of where our priorities should be  

6. When your children don’t want to follow God – This post was and still is a very personal one to me. It hurts me to know that my children (so far) have decided to not follow Christ. I can only pray that God orchestrates the events in their life to point them to him.

7. Every Man’s Battle - I wrote this because it is a taboo subject amongst Christian men but can be a deadly poison if not dealt with….especially when it comes to the summer.

8. The Money Challenge - If anything, this is a shame on most of us as Christians about what motivates us to share the  gospel with others. I never want to be  Christian that as the gospel group, Commissioned, say in one of their songs that we “tend to find security in our salvation. We should constantly think about the lost”

9. Should we ever question what the man of God says – This post goes hand in hand with the post of Touch not the Lord’s anointed. Say goodbye to the untouchable preachers. The reason why I started this whole blogging stuff is because I questioned everything that I had previously heard and decided to go back to the basics of the gospel. You know, things like the cross, salvation, sin, repentance, faith, discipleship and NOT breakthroughs, blessings and divine favour which seems to be so prevalent in churches these days.

10. Christ is the only way, now you choose - I have posted many videos over the years but I love this video because it puts everything in perspective about what Christ has done and how he has provided a way out for those who have repented and put their trust in him

John Piper Interviews Rick Warren on Doctrine – Desiring God

Taken from Desiring God

Introduction
3:29  The glory of God.
7:16  David Wells and the weight of God’s reality.
9:00  Would you write the book the same today?
12:00 The sovereignty of God.
18:47 How do you speak of God’s sovereignty in the presence of tragedy?
22:01 How do all things work for bad for those who reject Christ?
24:14 Do you hedge on Larry King?
27:00 Unconditional election.
30:18 The importance of eternity.
34:42 How do you conceive of eternity: in heaven, on earth?
38:53 What is the Gospel?
42:00 What did Jesus achieve on the cross?
43:40 Repentance.
50:50 Why don’t you call yourself a Calvinist?
53:09 Propitiation.
54:39 Prevenient grace.
1:00:01 Total depravity.
1:03:00 Hell.
1:09:10 Eternal destiny of those who never heard.
1:12:40 The extent of the atonement.
1:17:00 Do unbelievers always do the devil’s bidding?
1:18:40 Your view of the Bible.
1:22:40 Expository preaching and doctrinal depth.
1:28:10 Rick Warren’s sacred trust

Can We Trust the Bible?

The Prosperity Gospel by Femi Adeleye

In the UK, unfortunately there are many African churches and ‘Pastors’ who subscribe to the health and wealth prosperity message. It is also popular in Africa itself because it preys on the poor and the desperate who will do anything to get out of their situation, even if that means sowing a seed to get them out of debt but in reality puts them more into debt. 

Please listen to this video as it is a refreshing breathe of fresh air to hear something that is not only an African problem but a church problem

Related Posts:

The marks of false ‘christian’ teaching and teachers Part 5 – The Prosperity Gospel

Money cometh and the anointing money ritual

John Piper – Why I abominate the prosperity gospel

My Mission To Earls Court – A Review of Morris Cerullo’s Mission To London 2010 – By Steve Campbell (Part 3)

This is the conclusion Steve Campbells take on Morris Cerullo’s Mission to London

A topic that I don’t have time to cover here but will just say that scripture teaches that Jesus The Son Of God paid the price and suffered as a man and nowhere is it taught that God The Father paid a price or suffered some emotionally strain as He watched His Son take on the sins of all mankind. WOF doctrine teaches that Jesus also suffered in hell and then became the first born again man. Cerullo’s words here echo that of the additional Gnostic teachings of pain and suffering by the WOF and other heretical movements gone by.

Word Of Faith also teaches that the promise of physical healing was part of the Atonement and that salvation is a prerequisite for your physical healing. Cerullo’s words here endorse this teaching.

Isaiah 53:5 5But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

This verse is a popular verse amongst Christians, but does this verse refer to literal physical healing or an everlasting spiritual healing?
The two words transgressions and iniquities both refer to sins. The true disease that needs healing is our sins as physical sickness is just a symptom of the spiritually fatal disease of sin. Peter’s declaration in
1 Peter 2:23-24 says;
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

The original Hebrew word for “transgression” is Pe-sha (peh’shah)
Meaning: trespass, sin, and rebellion
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H6588&t=KJV&page=3
The original Hebrew word for “iniquity” is Avone
Meaning: punishment, sin, mischief.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H5771&t=KJV
Biblical usage for the word “avone” is perversity ,depravity, guilt and punishment..
The text in their original language never refers to physical sickness.
The only time when we will be free from all earthly physical sickness and disease is when receive an incorruptible body.

1 Corinthians 15:52-55: 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55″O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Of course this is never explained by the likes of Cerullo and the other WOF teachers leading many to believe in a false teaching on physical healing.
being connected to salvation. Cerullo at this point instructs the crowd to place their hand on the part of the body where there sickness is.

He then states:

“Sometimes when your healing doesn’t happen like that, sometimes its just Jesus testing your faith.”

Sounds like a get out clause to me as Cerullo has been down this path many times before and if someone doesn’t experience healing after he gives the “prophetic” word it will be down to Jesus testing their faith and not Cerullo’s prophetic healing gift.

Cerullo announces that there is an incredible healing anointing about to be
released and once its been released that he wants the first 25 people who have experienced healing under this anointing to come to the stage.
As this “healing anointing” which I presume is falling? The “praise and worship” team start singing again and there are various sections of the crowd engaged in ecstatic worship, some were “binding and loosing” whilst others were “decreeing & declaring”. Cerullo announces that “someone has just got a new kidney in this place.”

This is known as “cold calling”, I mean you have a auditorium of approx 10,000 people its quite obvious that you will have a large variety of illnesses so calling out someone with a kidney problem should have at least one taker so call me skeptical if you must.
After the “healing anointing” decided to stop falling or the song just came to an end? Cerullo announced for the first 25 people to rush to the stage in order to announce their miracles and low and behold one of those miracles was a woman who had a kidney problem.
She declared that she had been healed, Cerullo looked relieved (joke!) as this gave his “prophetic mantle” even more credibility and the 10,000 strong crowd roared and gave thanks to God in celebration.
Cerullo instructed her to go to her doctors first thing Monday morning and let the MTL team know the report.
Not going to debate whether any of the 25 where truly healed or not, but would stress that “signs, wonders & healings” should not be considered as validation of a move of God if the gospel and the full counsel of God have not been preached before hand. Mark 16:15-17 Jesus instructs that signs will follow the preaching of the gospel as this is doctrine and ones doctrine will confirm if the healing’s are an act of God or not.

I will probably have to deal with Cerullo’s doctrine in another article where I will go more in depth and address his Later Rain Theology and also the influence of William Branham and A A Allen on his teachings.
One of the key doctrines of Cerullo’s is The End Time Manifestations Of The Sons Of God, Cerullo made a slight reference to this during his talk where he stated that God brought people to the UK from other countries to be a part of God’s end time manifestation in Great Britain. Embedded in this doctrine are the WOF teachings on Kingdom Now Theology, Dominionism and End Time Wealth Transfer.

At this point and finally the first passage of scripture is read from the bible after approximately 45 minutes of Cerullo’s “pick n mix” style prophecies.

Isaiah 10:27 27And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”

But sadly this text was interpreted to endorse Cerullo’s earlier teachings and was then used as a catalyst for Cerullo to command the crowd to run towards the stage and have the yoke of bondage removed.

“Everyone who wants to have the yoke of bondage removed, I want you to run down the aisles and get as close to me as possible..
The devil knows that he doesn’t have the power but Morris does.”

Did the people really listen and understand what Cerullo was saying as I did that’s why I typed this comment in caps into my phone’s memo pad.

Cerullo had also prior to this comment stated

“If you want the anointing you pull it from the servant of God you take it by force.”

The Anointing is treated by Cerullo and many others in WOF as a kind of spiritualized force that can be dispatched by certain special “anointed” individuals at their will.
But do we control God’s anointing or does the anointing abide in and guide us?

1 John 2:27: As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit- just as it has taught you , remain in Him.”

We are all anointed when we are in Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

21And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

The true evidence of the anointing in our lives are seen in Galatians 5:22-23 which are the “fruits of the spirit” as the anointing also leads us to all truth John 14:26
The anointing is demoted by Cerullo and those in the WOF to an act of emotion and feelings.

Read the description of the Eastern Hindu Mystics version of the “anointing” and see the similarities to the WOF’s version both rely on the practitioner’s ability to conjure or transfer its force, also note how its description is also similar to the “slain in the spirit” phenomena.

Shaktipat or Śaktipāta is a Sanskrit word in the Hindu spiritual tradition that refers to the act of the spiritual energy of kundalini being conferred on a disciple or student, by a guru or spiritual teacher in whom it is already active. Śakti translates as spiritual energy and “pāta” as descent (to fall down). [1][2] Shaktipat can be intermediated by the spiritually enlightened master either by transmission of sacred word or mantra, a look, a thought or by touch. The touch is usually given to the ajna chakra or third eye of the disciple. Shaktipat can be transmitted in person or at a distance, through an object such as a flower or fruit, or via telephone or letter.

So Yep…. “Morris has the power and the devil doesn’t” his words not mine and although his supporters would vehemently disagree with my next statement Morris was also in total control of the nights proceedings. The lady at the registration desk didn’t give a “prophetic word” I believe that she just called it as she’s been seeing it all week.
“Enjoy the show” and it’s a well-oiled and seasoned show too, with Cerullo working the crowd with proficiency and a finesse not too dissimilar to the infamous Maradonna World Cup wonder goal against England in 1986.
If the presence of God was truly in Earls Court 2 and God was doing some “stuff” that night as someone put it then the level of acceptance that Cerullo’s false doctrine received from the crowd must have grieved the heart of God deeply.

Jeremiah 5:30-31 30An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land:31 the prophets prophesy falsely ,and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

Cerullo draws his “prophetic session” to a close and then says:

“I’m not going to take an offering tonight as you have to get the financial breakthrough first. Trust me before this conference is over you will give crazily. Anybody believe that Morris is a prophet of God.”

I think his closing statement ended off the night’s proceedings quite appropriately. The scriptures were sadly the side issue here while Cerullo’s every word took centre stage.
People were clearly being “tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine”
as Cerullo asserted prophecy after prophecy that were not validated by the scriptures.
One has to ask why are Christians accepting this as Christianity?
If I were a medical student and attended a lecture at my medical school that did not deal with the essentials from the manuals that I am supposed to be learning from which will enable me to qualify as a doctor, then I would have some serious issues and questions for the lecturer after the class in regard to the methodology he employed.
So why aren’t Christians who attend “Mission To London” year after year asking the same kind of questions? Biblical Christianity was not taught at this event neither was it truly displayed.
If the aim of “Mission To London” is to win the lost then what version of Christianity are the lost being converted too?

I stated at the beginning of this article that my aim is to encourage believers to focus on biblical truth and to test all things against the scriptures.
I believe that some will read this article who have been in environments similar to the one examined here and the article may have answered several of the questions and doubts that they’ve had based on their experience.
Others on the other hand will claim that the article is biased and judgmental. They will state that I do not understand or have never truly experienced the power or move of God, they may even claim that I don’t have the Holy Spirit.
Sadly those who find those faults with the article and question my Christianity may well never have a full understanding of what true Orthodox Authentic Biblical Christianity should be as once you have an understanding of this then everything else is a mere shadow of that truth and evidently is therefore a lie. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone and in Christ alone. This is the gospel and this must always be presented with no gimmicks attached.
Christ centered Christianity is just as it says “Christ Centered” Christ must be the centre of all our preaching as well as our lives. In order for error to thrive the truth must be kept silent.

Let’s not sleep on this believers as the truth needs to be proclaimed.

“So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk,are drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:6-10

As Always

Sola Scriptura

Steve A Campbell.

My Mission To Earls Court – A Review of Morris Cerullo’s Mission To London 2010 – By Steve Campbell (Part 2)

This is a continuation of yesterdays article

Morris’ next statement:

“Before this conference is over God is going to do something for you
that he’s never done before.”

Hyping the crowd statement number two as once again Morris is telling the crowd what they want to hear and this statement had the usual buzzwords of “breakthrough and new anointing” tagging not too far behind.
This kind of statement is usually tied in with the believer’s expectation of wanting to receive something from God, whether it is healing or a financial breakthrough.
Morris makes the intention of his statement clear when he then states;

“There are three feasts in the scripture, Atonement, Passover and Pentecost.
How you celebrate these feast determines how God’s going to bless us.”

Now you have to ask yourself as a bible believing Christian is God really going to “bless me” based on how I celebrate an Old Testament Jewish feast?

The Day of Atonement feast Leviticus 23:27-28
“Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD. 28And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.

The word Atonement means; the making of reparation for a sin or a mistake.
Cerullo makes no attempt to present where the text comes from or give any biblical reasoning and clarity for his statement.
If I was a non-believer who had no understanding of the word “atonement” in the Christian sense then I would be none the wiser.

The Day of Atonement was done once a year on the tenth day of the seventh year. This would involve the high priest going in to the Holy Of Holies , the most revered holy place. The priest would go through various rituals of bathing and would sacrifice a bull as a sin offering. He would then sprinkle its blood on the altar. Please ref Leviticus 16:1-34 for more of the finer details.

Christ was sacrificed for our sins once and for all (Hebrews 7:27) and completed the finish work on the cross. Hebrews 10:1-12, verse 8 truly summarizes the point that the rituals before Christ are of no use to the Christian now.

“8When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9then he added “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

This verse highlights the act of sanctification, this word and it’s meaning were never explained by Cerullo using the scriptures and I actually don’t recall the word “sanctification” being used by Cerullo at all.
This is a supposed conference that is geared at evangelizing to non-believers and empowering believers to spread the gospel.
If we are to spread the gospel then we must have a full understanding of exactly what that gospel is and this must be based on the scriptures so that we do not rely only on our own personal testimonies. How can a non-believer be expected to receive the gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10) if the message of salvation is not explained and taught using the scriptures? Acts 2:37-41

Lastly, in order to be “blessed” by God we must be living lives that are in complete submission and pleasing to Him. (Romans 12:1-2) This is the doctrine that Cerullo should have taught and not one that claims we are blessed based on the basis of how we celebrate certain biblical feasts.

There were a couple of occasions during the evening’s proceedings that Cerullo would look for affirmation from his followers and for them to confirm his “prophetic” credentials by asking the crowd.

“Does God still have prophets?”
“Yes” replied the crowd.
“Does God still speak through his prophets?”
“Yes”
“Do you believe that Morris is one of God’s prophets?”
“Yes”
“Does God speak to his people through his prophet Morris?”
“Yes”

This particular routine intrigued me as Cerullo needed his audience to accept his authenticity of his self-professed “prophetic office” and authority before he could proceed with whatever he had to say next.
The view held by his followers was that this was God’s servant speaking God’s words. In my view the crowd in their affirmation had validated his statement and had therefore given his “prophetic license” the green light and Cerullo an open door to further say and do as he pleases.
I don’t recall any of the OT prophets seeking validation from their audience before they had to present God’s word. One of the reasons why all the prophets were persecuted and even killed in the OT was due to them speaking God’s words whether they wanted to or not of judgment to a nation that did not accept them.
Take Jeremiah’s lament while he was being tortured for example in chapter 20:8-9

For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the LORD has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
9If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.

Jeremiah was clearly un-liked by those around him because of the word of the Lord that he had no choice but to proclaim.
There is a major difference with one having to say the words that have been given by God as opposed to words that are pleasing to its hearer.

Galatians 1:10 10For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Cerullo establishes through his words and routine the he will not be presenting sound doctrine directly from the scriptures tonight as he goes on to say that God had been speaking to Him in his hotel room for a few hours prior to the conference through several dreams.

“You are going to see the greatest financial breakthrough I saw it in the spirit realm that God is going to do something in the next five months.
I saw hundreds of people carrying yokes, the devil is going to get off your back.”

I’m presuming that the scripture reference for this statement can only be found in Morris’ “God’s Victorious Army Financial Breakthrough Spiritual Warfare Bible” as there are no references in my ESV to the above Cerullo statement.
Cerullo continues by filling his audience with false hope and vague promises by stating

“If Morris is a prophet of God, then God’s going to do something for you before Sunday comes.”

This is what God says through His prophet Jeremiah in regards to the likes of Cerullo and their feel good prophecies and dreams.

Jeremiah 23:16-17 16Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. 17They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.

28: Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who steal my words from one another. 31Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the LORD, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the LORD.’ 32Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD.

We now have God’s word in the completed canon of the scriptures.
Solid doctrine Titus 1:9 and the Holy Spirit are our guides.

Hebrews 1:1-2 1Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

The problem with the modern day “prophets” like Cerullo is that they ease from country to country, city to city and conference to conference surrounded by all the excesses of westernized living. They are flanked by bodyguards and have a carefully selected entourage in tow.
A large percentage of their itineraries are filled with speaking engagements that have them presenting their message to a “church friendly” environment where the message is accepted and the ministry is supported financially. Rarely do you see Cerullo teach outside of the confides of a “church” setting whether it’s in a stadium or a conference centre the event has still been organized in conjunction with a Christian organization.
This is a far cry from the conditions of the prophets and the apostles of old whose ministries were besieged with persecution and hardships.

2 Corinthians 6:4-10 4but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7by truthful speech, and) the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

Cerullo then makes one factual statement of the night.

“A true test of a prophet is if what he speaks comes to past”

Cerullo refers to a prophecy that he made last year in the UK.

“I was in Westminster and God said you tell my people that economic & political change is going to come. Now look you have a new government and new Prime Minister this was prophesied
Sa ka ba sun da la holi ba????????????????”
(Please apply 1 Corinthians 14:22 & 23 at this point thanks..)

Now if this is the best that Cerullo can offer in terms of the prophetic then I guess God really hasn’t got that much to say as even “Lloyd & Harry” from the film Dumb & Dumber could have predicted that one. Now if Cerullo had prophesied that “Dr Evil & Mini-Me” would be our Prime Minister & Deputy Minister then I would have been marginally impressed but still not that convinced. Once again his followers showed their approval with their exuberant applause.

What Cerullo forget to mention is what the scriptures clearly say should happen to those prophets who prophecies do not come to pass.. Did I hear the words “be & stoned??”..

“70 percent of you here are Morris Cerullo’s partners”

Cerullo states this and thanks them for their support.. I think the true objective of this conference is becoming more and more apparent.

“God said he wants me to prophesy over my people August, September, October, November and December.
Phenomenal spiritual financial breakthrough in these months,
God put a heavy burden on me, God said my people sitting before you are hurting and God said I want my people well.”

Notice that Cerullo’s prophetic words include the infamous financial breakthrough again and the promise of divine health.
So I think its safe to say at this point that we are clearly dealing with the “Health & Wealth Prosperity Doctrine” as none of Cerullo’s prophetic words had included anything pertaining to Holiness, Righteousness, The Sovereignty of God or Justification for example. These are essential subjects that pertain to our faith and I fail to understand how anyone who is professing to proclaim the gospel to the lost chooses to make no mention or teach on these important doctrines.
If Cerullo had covered any of these in his “prophecies” then I would have had no problem presenting them in this article as I made notes of his entire message.
I have documented and highlighted the essence of his message as close to the order that he delivered it that evening. Yes he spoke about Jesus, he spoke about the crucifixion and even spoke about sin, but never in any great detail and he never referred to the texts that covered the subjects.

“The price God paid to bring us what we need, salvation and healing.
We talk about the price that Jesus paid but what about the price God
paid watching His Son suffer.”

This teaching raises both theological and philosophical arguments in regards to whether God is Passible?– God does undergo emotional changes of state, and so does suffer. Or impassible? – God feels no emotional hurt and doesn’t suffer.

To be concluded….

My Mission To Earls Court – A Review of Morris Cerullo’s Mission To London 2010 – By Steve Campbell (Part 1)

This month, my friend Steve Campbell who wrote the article ‘Slain in the spirit or slain stupid’, visited Morris Cerrullo’s yearly event here in London called Mission to London. It is quite a lengthy article so I will split it over three days but it is VERY informative and would advise those who attend these type of events to read this with biblical lens and not ‘I’m gonna defend my favorite preacher at any cost’ lens.

The battle for truth is something that has been going on since the world began, the first attack of Satan was to attack the word Of God in Genesis 3:1, where Satan asked Eve “Did God say?” This was a clear attempt to challenge what God had clearly instructed His new creations not to do.
Truth has many enemies and in order to maintain error the truth must be contained at all cost. When a believer starts their journey in pursuing real biblical truth they will always encounter opposition. The battle to be free from false Christianity will in no doubt cause some resentment especially from those quarters who maintain that God speaks extra biblical revelations in addition to His word.
There are many prophets around at present who are proclaiming to be God’s voice for the earth and are declaring these new extra biblical revelations to all those who will believe them.
The bible makes it clear that there must be no inaccuracy in the prophet’s words as they are supposed to be speaking the words directly from God.

2 Peter 1:20-21
20knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Movements such as The Kansas City Prophets, The New Apostolic Reformation and The Third Wave have pioneered and furthered the “new revelations” agenda and we have seen the influence and effects that these movements have had over the past 30 years for example in the 2008 Lakeland Revival in Florida and prior to that the Toronto Blessing or Laughing Revival in Canada in 1994.
Evidently both of these revivals were deemed as false but were accepted at the time by Christians.

I like this statement by John MacArthur where he states that;
“False Christianity accepted by true Christians is one of the most heinous sins imaginable.” and I totally agree as many are claiming that something is of God when it clearly isn’t. Biblical lethargy on the part of many believers has played a crucial part in ensuring that false teaching in many Christian circles have not only been accepted, but also reinvented, repackaged and marketed as “The New Move of God.” “God is doing a new thing on the earth” is the call, but what’s happened to the old thing?
The “old thing” that many have chosen to negate in the scriptures and instead have embraced the extra biblical “new things” that evidently do not appear in the scriptures?

If we believe the scriptures to be the truth (John 8:31-32, 2 Timothy 3:16) then we must be guided by them and them alone at all times (Sola Scriptura- The Scriptures Alone)

The Psalms declare; 5Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the daylong.

Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
We are instructed by the Apostle Paul “not to go beyond what is written”
1 Corinthians 4:6 and that we must “search the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11

Morris Cerullo professes to be a “prophet of God” therefore it is imperative
for believers to search the scriptures in order to substantiate the
words that are spoken from a “prophet”. Its a simple test really but one that many in the Charismatic Christian world seem to be failing to do.
If Morris’ words are from God then they should be in the bible for all
to see as confirmation. The word “prophet” comes from two Greek words pro meaning “before,” or “in place of” and fayme meaning “to speak.” If anyone claims to speak for God then there is no room for error as His words are 100% infallible.

The purpose of this article is not aimed at trying to de-fame
Cerullo’s name as I have no personal or hidden agenda against him. Neither it is an attempt to judge, belittle or attack those who support him as Cerullo has legions of devout followers who endorse his ministry, teachings and his every last word.
This article and my objectives are solely to address what the Christian world is currently calling biblical Christianity.
I will simply be examining what I witnessed and heard that night.
The article will look at some of the key statements made by Cerullo during
his fifty-minute talk and examining those statements against the scriptures.

The aim here is to encourage true believers to ensure that their focus and devotion be for biblical truth and not for any one leader.
As believers we are instructed to test all teaching “and hold close to that which is true.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21.
My words are not the final authority as I am merely a humble servant of Christ diligently searching for the truth.

Thousands of Christians and non-believers attend “Mission To London”
over its four-day period, there are several keynote speakers for each
day from the US and the UK… The morning and afternoon sessions are
for those candidates who have registered for the teachings sessions
while the evening sessions are for all..

Morris Cerullo’s World Evangelism crusades have been coming to these
shores for 49 years and his “Mission To London” campaign has been
going since 1990’s. He has been ministering worldwide for nearly 65
years in total.
http://www.mcwe.com/about_mcwe.php

On paper his ministry credentials make pretty impressive reading.
I am not here to dispute many of the claims made on the site as a quick
search on google will show many other sides to Cerullo’s ministry and
career over the years.

The last time I attended a Cerullo crusade was in the early
1990′s and prior to that back in the 1970′s. Back then I had no choice as
my mother was an ardent follower of his ministry, as soon as she got
notification that he would be attending these shores plans were put
into place to ensure that she could attended the services for their
duration and all regular weekly activities were put on hold..

My father wasn’t a Christian and evidently the best place for me was
to be by my mother’s side rather than at home with my cigarette
smoking foul-mouthed father. I was therefore submitted to a week full
of being pulled backwards and forwards in protest to the crusades each
night.
Over the years I’ve watched my mother put a lot of time and effort and
let’s not forget money into supporting Morris Cerullo’s ministry and
listening to her claims that Cerullo was a true man of God.
As I have matured as a Christian and my pursuit for real biblical
truth (Sola Scriptura), a better understanding of what I believe and
why I evidently believe it, I’ve found that many of my beliefs in the
traditions of men have been gladly shattered and the veil removed from
my eyes (2 Cor 3:14) as they were not truth at all.. It’s been a long
road and I’ve grown along the way and have learned not to accept
anything now that is not based on Sola Scriptura…

I arrived at Earl’s Court 2 and was directed to the registration desk,
I ended up not going with my mother after all as she informed me that she had registered for the day session and would be there from 1pm.
At the desk I was asked to fill in a small registration slip with my name and address and was then given an entry ticket it, I’m gathering that Morris would like to extend his pastoral care to me also.
The young lady behind the desk said thank you and then
remarked “enjoy the show”, was this a prophetic word?
No!… God forbid..

Before I could enter the arena I had to walk through the strategically positioned merchandising section. I glimpsed several well-known book titles written by prominent authors and teachers of The Word Of Faith movement and decided to breeze through even more swiftly and made my way to the arena.

I entered the arena and took my seat. The praise and worship team
were singing, the worship was lively and energetic, the people around
me were engulfed in the sounds and the vibrant atmosphere as many seemed ready in their actions and anticipation to receive something from God tonight. This was emphasized by the rapturous applause and shouts when the worship leader proclaimed “are you ready to hear from the Lord tonight?”. To be quite honest I personally try not to get caught up in the emotional side of “praise & worship” these days as music in some environments can be used as a way of conditioning the emotions.
It is assumed “that we need to be “ushered” into His presence even though the scriptures say in Matthew 18:20 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” and if the Holy Spirit resides within us. (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16 & Ephesians 1:13-14) Then why are people singing songs that repeatedly ask for Him to “fall down on them”??
Furthermore. It seem that this “presence” can only be sustained during the sermon by having music in the background? Or worse still the insensitive accentuated screeches of a Hammond organ emphasizing every last line of the preacher. Maybe it’s just me….?

A few more “praise and worship” songs, two songs from the Ruach Choir and it was now time for God’s prophet Morris Cerullo to bring the message.
A rather theatrical voice over introduction was backed by a highly dramatic musical accompaniment. The stage was now set for one of the longest serving prophets of our time to speak forth God’s words.
Cerullo walked apathetically to the podium from the rear entrance of the stage.
He stood with microphone in hand and then proceeded with his message.
There were several statements made by Cerullo, I have chosen to highlight a few of which I believe were his key statements.

Please note that Cerullo did not introduce the bible for approximately
45 minutes into his sermon so there were no initial texts or subject matter.
He quoted various stories from the scriptures but gave no reference text to where those stories were taken from. This would not have been very helpful for anyone who did not know the stories or scriptures,. He later stated,

“I’m not going to preach I’m just going to prophecy.”

This would explain Cerullo’s lack of structure and context to his sermon.
The fact that Cerullo chose not to start with a reading of any text goes clearly against what Paul instructed Timothy to do or anyone else who has been given the honour of delivery God’s word to a crowd of people.
Timothy 4:13”Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.”

As a public speaker myself I allow at least five minutes to give a brief introduction, acquaint myself with the stage or platform, settle and compose myself and then finally commence in delivering the message.
Never in my entire time of teaching have I taken 45 minutes to even read one verse or failed to give information about the text that I am going to present.
This should have been an alarm call for what was going to follow, but sadly
his followers foresaw no problem with this.

Cerullo’s introductory statement was as follows..

“You can feel it in the streets of London that something is happening here..”

The crowd cheered and applauded in agreement to this statement.
This was one of several hyping the crowd statements that were randomly made by Cerullo throughout his talk. Were the unbelievers on your road or at your place of work all talking about “Mission To London” last week?
Did you see it on the news or in your local press?
Did the “mans dem on road” ponder putting a halt to their illicit activities and then decided that all roads led to Earls Court 2 last week as they felt that “something was happening there?” In all cases I think we can say No!
So how does Morris justify making this statement? He can’t.

To Be Continued…..

Christian TV’s All-Time Worst Fundraising Gimmicks

I have already expressed my disdain for a lot of so-called Christian TV these days especially when it comes to the Praise Tel Beg Fleece-A-Thons. I have talked especialy how biblical numerology is abused to manipulate the minds. I for one will continue to talk about these things that a lot of Christians want to sweep underneath the carpet at the expense of the poor and the desperate. These things are nothing more than a spiritual pyramid scheme where those at the bottom never really benefit but those at the top do. They add ‘testimonies’ on their website to show you that these principles ‘work’. They promote things such as prayer shawls and prosperity shawls but funny enough, these things never seem to work when they need money themselves, so who do they come to? The same gullible christians. J Lee Grady who also wrote the article, Say Goodbye to the Untouchable Preachers, exposes some of the gimmicks that are used.

Let’s stop the hypnotism, the guilt manipulation and the high-pressure gimmicks. It’s time to reclaim our lost credibility.

Normally I’d rather go to the dentist for a root canal than watch a telethon. But while channel surfing a few nights ago I tuned into PBS and discovered that Aretha Franklin, the legendary Queen of Soul, was hosting a fundraiser for the network. Seated at a piano, she was offering a 5-CD collection of classic rhythm and blues hits in exchange for a donation to public television.

It was simple. There were no gimmicks, no games and no strings attached in Aretha’s offer. If you gave the suggested gift, she explained, PBS would mail you a big slice of American pop culture—including songs by Gladys Knight and the Pips, Smokey Robinson, the Four Tops, Al Green and Aretha herself, singing her classic “Respect.”

My respect for PBS was still intact when the telethon ended, thanks to this low-key, no-pressure approach to fundraising. I can’t say that for some Christian networks, which have shamelessly extorted money from viewers over the years using heavy-handed guilt manipulation, hypnotic control and bizarre Scripture-twisting.

During the PBS telethon I wondered why Christian networks couldn’t simply offer music, books or other premiums instead of resorting to the typical arm-twisting and tear-jerking that we’ve come to expect. We need an overhaul in this area. Somebody needs to lead the way in pioneering a new style of on-air fundraising that doesn’t treat people like brainless zombies.

Here are five of my least favorite fundraising tactics. I wish all of them could be banned from the airwaves.

Gimmick #1: The magic Bible verse. You know the drill. The evangelist quotes Psalm 37:37 and then announces that if you will send $37.37 (“No more, no less!”) God will unleash all the blessings of King David upon you. (Hint: The phones seem to ring more frequently when the number seven is included in the Bible reference.)

Gimmick #2: The urgent, time-is-running-out plea. Before the preacher asks you to reach for your wallet, dramatic music is piped in. Then “Reverend Cheatem” talks about how the crippled man waited by the pool of Siloam, hoping that the angel would trouble the waters so he could be healed. “God is troubling the waters right now, my dear friend,” the preacher says with his eyes closed. “Go to the phones now, before it is too late. Only those who give in this holy, anointed moment will receive a supernatural blessing in return.”

Gimmick #3: The memorialized gift. One popular evangelist announced on-air that she needed thousands of dollars to build a prayer room. She promised that those who funded this noble effort would receive recognition with special brass nameplates that would be mounted on the wall of the facility. The implication was that people could buy prayer coverage, sort of like a spiritual insurance policy. (I’m not surprised—since this woman offered her loyal followers the status of “spiritual son” or “spiritual daughter” if they paid a $1,000 annual fee.)

Gimmick #4: The debt-breaking anointing. One preacher who specializes in telethons has raised millions by telling audiences that they are just one donation away from eliminating all red ink. All they have to do is give a sacrificial gift (usually four figures) to the TV network in the next few minutes. If they do this, God will wipe out their debts, no questions asked. No lifestyle changes necessary. (This technique was especially popular before the mortgage crisis.)

See how many times you hear the buzz word ‘anointing’ in the video below

Gimmick #5: The Day of Atonement offering. This particularly odd strategy has been popular in the last couple of years, especially among gullible Christians who believe God blesses anything and everything that has the word “Israel” attached to it. The preacher announces that if you write a check to their network, and wave it in the air before you mail it (preferably while wearing a Jewish prayer shawl), God will forgive your sins, restore your health, bring back your wayward children, provide angelic protection and bless you with more than a dozen other special favors.

I still don’t know what is more outrageous: That programmers allow such insanity on Christian television, or that gullible Christians fall for it year after year. Hopefully, emerging leaders in the religious broadcasting industry will restore our lost credibility by insisting on integrity, authenticity and good taste.

“MY KINGDOM COME…????” – Part 2 by Olu-Yomi Ososanya

Here is the conclusion to this article:

From the “gospel” garnished American Dream, which is all about living in comfort, and getting your own, and enjoying life NOW. A “gospel” that tells us God wants to give us everything we ever dreamed about if we come to him Dream Career,Great Kids, Lovely Spouse, $$$$$. We have been so locked into that mindset and latched on like leeches that i wonder how many of us, would in the face of; trails, difficulty, persecution declare, like Shedrach,Meshac and Abednego, “even if he does not save us from the furnace”, we will not deny our God.. I ask myself that every so often.

I think that is something we REALLY need to come to terms with in the days that lie ahead for true Christianity in a God hating world.

A day and age, where one person can file lawsuits to take down a cross on public property,which the rest of the town likes

Remove the Ten Commandments plaques in schools and court rooms

Remove any identification of Christianity on public property

Be fired or sued for sharing your faith in your own business premises, when the other party initiated the conversation

Be ordered to take down bill boards that say “satan is not welcome in this town” – YES, that really happened

A day that all you have to do is mention you are a Christian and doors are slammed in your face.

When you can be fired, sued or arrested for sharing your faith. A pastor can be arrested in his own church, for “hate crime” or preaching intolerance, can be forced to hire a person whose lifestyle goes against everything the church against or be charged with discrimination.

We are not talking about iron curtain countries this is happening in “the free world”.

Things are not going to change no matter how we fast and pray.The current social,moral and political occurrences have been predicted in both the old and new testament. It’s said that the last days will be like the days of Noah. (read Matt 24)

Men would become lovers of themselves,Aren’t we in a time where it’s all about YOU, The adverts, the movies,the songs, the divorces(MY needs weren’t being met).

Like the people in Noah’s days, they denied and hated God. They disregarded morality ,silenced their conscience, and sin increased, they living hedonistic self-serving lives; they mocked Noah and his “fairy tale ” God. Noah lived in preparation for the flood, he was not concerned about having a mansion ,the best cars.

Does this mean we should fold our hands and resolve to be the bottom of the barrel in finances or our careers ? NO

Does this mean one should not be responsible, contributing citizen while on earth,NO .

Does it mean that we should abandon everything and all flock to a mountain resort and live like monks waiting for the Rapture. NO.

Does this mean we should live in mediocrity and not make an effort NO

The point here is , where was his focus, where did he channel most of his energy, and

WHO was he listening to? Societal expectations? Criticism/mockery from the ungodly?

Was he concerned with Impressing the sinners with “God’s material blessing”, so they could run to him for those things they are already chasing? NO.

His concern was with his assignment; building the ark, and warning, preaching, trying to save as many people as possible before the inevitable. But they went on ,acquiring, partying and leaving Noah to his ark building “Don’t worry, Live, there is no God” ,Sound familiar??

I may be wrong ,but It is quite possible that there were other men and women that feared God in that time. But they didn’t want to get involved in Noah’s “taking it too far and he’s making the rest of us look bad”. Maybe he was delusional after all that time in the sun, early stages of Alzheimer or something. Who wants to look like a fanatic after all ? .

So they carried on, business as usual, thanking God for the customers that made them richer, a large turnover, the new barns they built and livestock they’d bought. Perhaps even threw a party for a bountiful harvest. All while Noah, worked on that ark, babbling about some unheard of phenomenon happening . To destroy THIS WORLD!!!!, the one God had just blessed them with lands, livestock,vineyards and over flowing barns? NAH.That’s not MY God, The devil is a liar
(a parallel to those that were too busy with “taking care of business” to attend the great feast Matt 22)

Noah may have won most valuable customer 120 years running ,at the local B&Q of his day. Sadly the CEO,shareholders, board of directors,manager, check out boy and the staff watched their best customer sail off as they sank down to a lost eternity.

Once again,
This is not to say that we are only righteous or saved if we are poor or barely getting by.

This is not to say that there is anything wrong with earning well in our careers. Or

Having a business that grows phenomenally or even wanting to have more than enough for our spouse and kids.

BUT

Whether we admit it or not, When financial prosperity is our BIGGEST and SOLE goal,

When those are the only scriptures we know.

When building OUR Kingdom on earth puts on such blinders, that we can’t even see the world sinking around us in sin, and they march right pass us in gleeful conga a line to hell, and our eyes are so focused on ourselves or asset building, that we ignore them, THAT is a huge problem.

Jesus himself said “My Kingdom is not of this world”, why then are we so blinded to think he has promised us one HERE. Why aren’t we pointing others to him and HIS kingdom???

Im not going to pretend I have it all figured out(i haven’t even scratched the adamantium like surface ) nor i have reached that position like the apostles.Nor do i smile when i think about it or that i look forward to it.The possibility of being called to a life that is not cushy or flowing easy.Facing Constant conflict to my faith/life , swimming against the tide,as everyone else relaxes and seemingly “enjoys life” carried by the ebb. Believe me, i am still coming to terms with it all the time and it is HARD, Ko Easy.

Like most people, I have lofty dreams, goals, ambitions, I’m not a masochist, so im not venturing out looking for suffering or discomfort.

BUT

At some point we just have to surrender it all to the Lord, instead of wanting to Live La Vida ,spiritually living in comfort, in the sweet by and by, getting fat and lazy with no challenge or REAL building to our faith. We have to submit our ambitions, goals, dreams, intentions,assets. and ask the Lord, if all we are doing is IN LINE with what HE wants us to do.

“Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church, should not be of failure but succeeding at things that in Life, don’t really matter - Tim Kizzar”

We need to be the ambassadors that he called us to be. An ambassador does not try to establish his own embassy in the land he has been sent to, he is a representative of that from Kingdom, which he has been sent and his commander-in-chief makes sure that his needs are met at all times.

What should most concern us, is, when it’s all said and done,

After all the employee awards, mansion, 4 apartment building,tightest whip in the hood , 2 month global holidays, 40 page balance sheets, paid off mortgage , platinum album, appearance on the magazine front cover,blockbuster movie.

How would we answer when he asks,

WHY SHOULD I LET YOU INTO MY KINGDOM

I highly recommend the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, It would help your ascertain where you are now.it would open your eyes into a new way of thinking about your faith , and walk with Christ. A true defibrillator and Challenge for anyone that reads it and TRULY seeks a deeper walk with God.