MacArthur Visits A Charismatic Church

2Co 11:4  For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.



Charismaticism is spiritual harlotry. It's doctrines are from demons, not Christ. At every turn they, by foundation and function, reject Scripture alone as their sole source for all things pertaining to life and godliness. They are mystics. They are feminists. They are gnostics. They are worldly, fleshly, divisive, argumentative. They love money and fame.

And yet John MacArthur took his wife Patricia and some of their grandchildren to a Charismatic megachurch one Sunday. What a waste of the Lord's Day. No food is given in such dens of whoredom. Rather it's poison. The Good Shepherd gives us "green pastures" and "still waters". Fake shepherds give people poison and rotting food.  Interestingly it was his grandson who, when the pastor said they could grab a cup of juice and a cracker for the Lord's Supper, who wanted to get up and leave. Not the famous, godly, modern day superhero MacArthur. Oh no. He kept his family there sitting under Charismatic chaos (and yes that's the title of one of his books).

Just goes to show that true and error really is a matter of personal preference for MacArthur.

Also at time mark 36:10 Phil Johnson introduces NT Wright whose NYT article he's about to mention, but he doesn't call him a rank heretic or false teacher, which he is. He holds to works righteousness, but nary a word from Phil. No, he's passed off as a Christian who wrote an article that was a bit off.

Sometimes error isn't what is said; it's what isn't said.

Jesus Didn't Break the Law On The Sabbath

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. 

Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Behold, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath." 

Mat 12:3  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did, when he became hungry, he and his companions; 

Mat 12:4  how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 

Mat 12:5  "Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are innocent? 

Mat 12:6  "But I say to you, that something greater than the temple is here. 

Jesus is greater than David and the Pharisees, because Jesus is King of kings, God, Creator, and permanent High Priest. He IS our Sabbath. He is the Bread of Heaven.

He broke the Sabbath NOT the Law, because by Law, the priests could eat the bread on the Sabbath. As Author of the commandment and the Sabbath, He couldn't break it, but ONLY obey it, contrary to what today's Evangelical leaders accuse Him of.

Interestingly, David who is a type of Christ/Messiah and his companions were running from his enemies and the companions of Jesus were His disciples, and His enemies were the Pharisees.

Questions And True Statements Don't Make One Legitimate

Questions, flattery, and acknowledging truth about Jesus doesn't mean one is of Christ. Motives, faith, and source matters, regardless of their education, church, coalitions, affiliations, friends, associates. One can say all the right things and have the right answers and statements of faith, and still be AGAINST Christ in alignment with Satan:

Mat 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and counseled together how they might trap Him in what He said.

Mat 22:16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any.

Mat 22:17 "Tell us therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?"

Mat 22:18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?

See also: Matt. 3:1-10 James 2:19, Acts 13:6-10;16:16-18;17:17-27. Neither Jesus nor Paul accepted people's statements of truth nor give them the benefit of the doubt. Rather, when it was with wrong motives and especially satanic ones, they rejected the man and the spirit behind those claims. Besides Jesus' multiple examples like the Matt 22 passage above, here's an example from Paul:

Act 16:16  And it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortunetelling.  Act 16:17  Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation."  Act 16:18  And she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment.

Neither Paul nor Jesus gave tentative acceptance nor fellowship with His enemies. Motives and source matters! We are to judge all things righteously, not by it's mere appearance.

Christians Will Indeed See the Full Glory of God In Heaven

Contrary to the heresy that Michael Mahoney said  at TMS chapel in 2015, the believer will indeed see God fully. Mahoney says (time mark 30:09):

"Theological question: When we get to heaven do you think we’ll really see God in all His glory? Theological question. Many people could debate about that.  Where I am in my studies is, I would say no. I don’t think so. I don’t believe any human being can ever behold the essence of God. For angels who are created without even one taint of sin cannot look upon His glory. They don’t even have the taint of sin and can’t look. I think we will see God who is our Lord Jesus Christ in all His glory and His fullness and will not feel any lack at all. We’ll see the glory of God through the filter of Jesus Christ who protects us in that moment and we will see Him for who He is in all His glory and it will be completely sufficient." 

This is a foolish, stupid question because it comes out of a heart of unbelief in what God has already said in Scripture. It's just another academic who thinks he's being cute and clever, when in fact he's teaching against clear Scripture. In fact, if you look at the video, he's smirking while introducing this heresy. His commentary and his thoughts are not just useless--no one should care what Mahoney thinks especially when he's supposedly in the middle of "expositing" Scripture (he didn't), but he took the focus off of Scripture and on to him and his opinion. That should be a red flag to all Christians. He turned what should've been about God, into something about Mike and his deep theological musings. What he didn't do was exposite Scripture nor go to Scripture for the answer. Scripture clearly states we will in fact see both the Father and the Son. John did. We will.

Mat 5:8  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Col 3:4  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 

Exo 33:21  Then the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock;  Exo 33:22  and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.  Exo 33:23  "Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen." 

Isa 6:1  In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 

Isa 6:2  Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 

Isa 6:3  And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." 

1Jn 3:1  See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
1Jn 3:2  Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. 
1Jn 3:3  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

John sees not just Christ Jesus but the Father, each on their thrones in Heaven:

Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.

Rev 5:1  And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.
Rev 5:2  And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?"
Rev 5:3  And no one in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look into it.
Rev 5:4  And I began to weep greatly, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look into it;
Rev 5:5  and one of the elders *said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals."
Rev 5:6  And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
Rev 5:7  And He came, and He took it out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Rev 5:13  And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."

Rev 21:3  And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, 

Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 

Rev 21:11  having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 

Rev 21:22  And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. 

Rev 21:23  And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 

Rev 21:24  And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it. 

Rev 22:1  And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,
Rev 22:2  in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Rev 22:3  And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him;
Rev 22:4  and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

But even in his speech about angels, he missed that many angels DO see the face of God in Heaven:

Mat 18:10  "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven.

Why is this doctrine so important? For many reasons, not the least of which, it's important because God gave us these words. Secondly 1John 3:3 answers it for us:  everyone who fixes his hope upon this future fact and it purifies him. Thirdly, it has to do with the doctrines of God (His nature, His Word), man, the new creation, angels, the Fall, and eschatology.

How We Must Come To The Word

"If we set up our own judgment so as to resolve not to accept anything as Divine truth but what we can intellectually comprehend, then we despise God’s Word and cannot be said to read it either for doctrine or correction. If I exalt my reason above the infallible dictates of the Holy Spirit, then my reason formulates my creed. We must come to the Word conscious of our ignorance, forsaking our own thoughts (Isa. 55:7), with the earnest prayer “Teach me what I do not see" (Job 34:32), and that, so long as we remain on earth. "

~ Arthur Pink, "Spiritual Growth"

Error

Error is truth perverted, truth distorted, truth out of proportion.

~A.W. Pink

It takes a person who's mind and heart has been sharpened by Scripture to be able to discern the difference between right and ALMOST right.

A Little Sin?

If there be a man before me who says that the wrath of God is too heavy a punishment for his little sin, I ask him, if the sin be little, why does he not give it up? 

~CHSpurgeon

Ecumenicism Is Fruit That This Whole CV19 Issue Is A Spiritual Problem

This lockdown isn't about a virus. This is a spiritual issue. The call for unity is a global call. Now the churches are joining in. This is FAKE unity. Don't be fooled. The fruit proves this. These are unprincipled churches joining together for worship via the radio station.

https://www.hometownstation.com/santa-clarita-news/coronavirus/santa-clarita-churches-to-come-together-to-pray-for-those-impacted-by-coronavirus-321817

T4G Cancels Conference But Keeps It Going Via Livestreaming And Keeps the Millions of Dollars Too

So T4G says they had 12,500 registrants for the coming livestream/conference minus 100 requests for refunds. They charged $169/student, $299/everyone else (plus a process fee but I won't include that). That's:

$2,095,600 if everyone paid the student cost and

$3,707,002 if half the people were charged the full $299 fee.

You're looking at multimillion dollar conference which is now going to be livestreaming. Where did the money go? "Things like:

— Zero Dollar Books – 17 titles free of charge to all attendees

— 13,000 conference guides

— The mailer that delivered your wristbands

— Travel for nearly 100 speakers and volunteer team leaders

— Audio/video contracts

They call it "investing the money".

It begs the question, why not just have all the speakers speak via skypeing or just tape their message like they're all doing for their churches anyway and save the money they paid for hotel, airfare, food, transportation? If they're telling people they can get a refund, then THEY can get a refund, no?

Here's what they've told their customers:

Many airlines and hotels are accommodating refund requests due to the effect of COVID-19. Here are the latest updates from some of the airlines and hotels we work with:

Hotels

The Galt House Hotel: Free to cancel without penalty

Marriott Properties: Free to cancel without penalty

Omni Hotel and Resort: Free to cancel without penalty

Hilton Properties: Free to cancel without penalty

Hyatt Properties: Free to cancel without penalty

Airlines

American Airlines: Rebook without change fees

United Airlines: Rebook without change fees

Southwest Airlines: Rebook without change fees

Delta Airlines: Change ticket, one time, with no fee change

End quote.

But they're going to hold on to your millions. Their guilt trip (please don't request your hundreds of dollars back or we'll go bankrupt and no more conferences) worked.

On another note, isn't the desire to be at a conference or concert in person considered better than by video? Isn't there a dimension missing? The same is said about friends and family--that being together is better than skypeing or facetiming. So why aren't these people saying that about being with their local assembly. It's almost as if people don't really care whether they go for two months or not. Probably because they don't.

The Virtual Church Isn't Church

Heb 10:23  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 

Heb 10:24  and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 

Heb 10:25  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 

Heb 10:26  For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 

Heb 10:27  but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. 

Scripture is clear about the necessity "all the more" of assembling together for fellowship with believers in the local church in order to courage one another as we see the day drawing near and keeps us accountable (disobedience calls for warning). This is the function of the local church which by Scripture, is defined as called out ones assembling together, under the leadership of elders and deacons, for the public reading of Scripture, teaching, preaching, use of spiritual gifts, prayer, doctrine, encouragement, laying on of hands of leaders, church discipline (which itself necessitates observing life as well as doctrine of both leaders and non-leaders), partaking of the Lord's Table, and baptisms. Virtual "church" necessitates no accountability at all either for the "pastor" or for the "member". In fact, it allows for great sin and disobedience (by refusing to obey the commands and by sin never seen by others). It also chokes the life out of the believers because by nature we are social beings and need true fellowship (which is based on sound doctrine).
Because of the Wuhan Virus (COVID 19) more Evangelicals are redefining "love", "church", "essential" "non-essential", and pitting Bible versus against each other as they shut down their churches for an indeterminable time as they rely solely upon the government for its commands.  Those "sound" churches who previously decried using livestreaming as "church"  and reserved its use only for those who are home-bound due to illness or the fragile elderly, are now are justifying this--"temporarily" as they qualify it. But now that they've justified it, they can't unjustify it. Their redefinition of "church" and "worship" is now in line with all the other churches whom they have looked down on as not as sound nor spiritual as they. Some even denounced multi-campus churches. Yet here they are, following the exact model out of pragmatism (same reason as those "lesser" churches). This is a spiritual battle, not a physical one. 

So now those who take the Word seriously and not as an option to be obeyed, are described as having a "melt down" by Evangelicals. Actually the biblical Christian is to fully & dogmatically obey the Lord's commands.

In a virtual church there’s no accountability between the people and the elders, testing them by observation of life and doctrine:

1Tim 4:11-16 “show yourselves an example” in “speech, conduct, love, faith, purity”
1Tim 4:13 public reading of Scripture, exhortation, teaching

1Tim 4:15 in all these things your progress needs to be evident to all

1Tim 4:16 pay close attention to yourself & doctrine, persevere in them, ensures salvation of your hearers (implies, observers)

You can’t provide for widows on the church list if you aren’t joined to a church, but rather your family is “church”and Scripture makes the difference between one's own widows and those in the church who have no family.  Also the requirements to be on the list demands observation of good works, show hospitality to strangers, washed the saints' feet, assisted those in distress, devoted herself to every good work (1Tim. 5:9-16) 

Elders can’t rule virtually therefore they can’t have double honor IF they rule well. It must be seen, and that happens in real life, not sitting behind a computer screen in from of a book case. Moreover, “ruling well” includes observerable behavior of whole life (marriage, family etc).1 Tim 5:17

You can’t deal publicly with a sinning elder if you can’t see the elder sin. The congregation can’t be in fear of sin if this does not happen. It also means that the congregation can’t be held accountable for their sin either, sin there aren’t witnesses. This is church discipline. 1Tim 5:19-21

Can’t lay hands upon leaders to lead because this demands observation of private life (1Tim3), and a physical act of the hands.1Ti 4:14,5:22

Interestingly, this quarantine has aided elders who dislike leading the sheep of God. For years it's been evident they hate it by way of refusing to deal with their own sin (brought to them by the sheep) or that of their church members (unless their hand is forced, or if it's a "trouble maker" who has pointed out their sin and compromise either doctrinally or practically; ie, they discipline the ones in line with Scripture and shield those who are definitely in sin). The sin of favoritism is one of the biggest unrepentant sins of church leaders EVER (James 2; 1Tim 5:21).

Self preservation is disguised in "protecting" ("love") others while disobeying the clear command to assemble together: 2Ti 3:5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

Derision of Christians seeking to obey the command of Christ while generous belief & obedience to a wicked government that denies church gatherings, demonstrates how truly close we are to the End.

Spiritual food is more important than physical food. Spiritual poison is worse than physical poison. Yet many Evangelicals are willing to "risk" their lives to get food from the market, but not "risk" their lives to get spiritual food. 

Spiritual health includes the Scriptures and fellowship (going back to Heb. 10 in the above passage, as well as other Scriptures like 1 Peter 1-2, Acts, etc). Persecution never stopped the believers from assembling together. In fact the Dispersion from Jerusalem (persecution) caused the creation of new believers and new churches. 

Col 3:1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Col 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

Col 3:3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.