I have been singing for as long as I can remember, and I have been singing for the Lord for over 20 years. I don’t listen to too much music around the house or in my car. In my car, I mostly listen to Talk Radio and some sports. I don’t keep up to date on any music. Every now and then, I hear a song that grabs my spirit, and those are the songs I enjoy singing.
I have been out of music ministry for some time now; I prefer teaching God’s Word. A couple of years ago, as I briefly returned to singing in church, I quickly noticed that it is impossible to be a part of any “contemporary” church and escape Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation music. Little did I know that each of these names represents the names of three Mega Churches. Little did I know that these three churches are teaching heresy:
Hillsong Church
This is an Assemblies of God Church located in Sydney, Australia, under the leadership of Pastor Bryan Houston. It has a membership of over 20,000 and started making music in 1983. Bryan Houston strongly subscribes to the Prosperity Gospel. They adopt a Joel Austin approach to the Gospel. This is a watered-down gospel of self-help that avoids addressing sin. Please watch the following video for more details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6nSe8tPYw0.
Bethel Church
This is a charismatic, non-denominational mega church located in Redding, California, under Pastor Bill Johnson’s leadership, with over 11,000 members. They started making music in 2001. My Lord, this guy is crazy! Bill teaches that Jesus was all man when he came to earth, not God and that Jesus’ perfect relationship with God gave him the power to do all the miracles he did. They also practice Grave Sucking: this is the idea that you can go to the grave of whomever and suck the anointing out of their remains. How did these folks come up with that stuff? Please watch the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SmYzDIXekk.
Elevation Church
This is a Southern Baptist Denomination church located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The church started on February 5th, 2006, under the leadership of Pastor Steven Furtick, with a weekly attendance of about 25,000 people. Steven Furtick denies the Trinity; he teaches that Jesus was transformed into the Holy Spirit. This guy is highly talented in twisting the Bible and making it sound intelligent and entertaining. Young folks love him! For more details on the heresy or this church, please watch the following videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKuP9BJ3448 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvKrO-hYpyE.
We have to pay special attention to music. The big problem with music is that it is closely related to our worship, and worship flows out of the innermost part of us, our spirit. If I corrupt my worship, I am corrupting everything else. Jesus stated in John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (NASB).
Some folks may say, “But Angel, they have some good, biblical songs.” I am sure they do, and I expect them to do so; after all, the devil is a deceiver (Revelation 12:9). The devil does not tell us 100% lies; he mixes in truth with lies, so he effectively deceives people. These three churches are dominating Christian music around the world. To support their music is to help their ministry, and to support their ministry is to support the false gospel they preach.
The Apostle Paul stated in Galatians 1:8 that “…even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (NASB) After researching these churches, I will no longer sing any of their songs, not because I feel holier than anybody, but because I am already a mess in certain areas of my life. I don’t need to add anything more knowingly.
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