I am reposting this sermon and including sermon highlight points for those who do not have 55 minutes to listen to the sermon from YouTube which is at the end of this post.
Pastor Henneke’s sermon is rich in scripture, he used that to make his points and to confront many unbiblical teachers and their music, not only Bethel and Hillsong:
“Why our church no longer plays Bethel or Hillsong music,” Pastor confronted false teachers [Doreen Virtue apparently gave this sermon the long title, on pastor Henneke’s site, he titled it False Teachers]:
Sermon HIGHLIGHT points to Henneke’s 55 minute sermon [bracketed statements, emboldening, underscoring are mine]:
He used a lot of scripture which I pasted in below:
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- 2 Timothy 3: 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. [NLT]
- 1 Timothy 4: 1 Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 2 These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead. 3 They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods.
- We are living in such a time, as the verses above warn of
- 1 John 4: 1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
- Teachers are to be tested by comparing their words with scripture
- 2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
- 2 Timothy 4: 1 I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths. 5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.
- Ephesians 5: 10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. 12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 13 But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, 14 for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
- That is, be very careful about the pastors and music you listen to; and the books you read!
- It doesn’t matter if you hear the song or the sermon on a Christian radio station; or find the book in a Christian book store, the doctrine must align with the Bible [you must know scripture to discern in these matters]
- When teachers do what I am doing now, two complaints are typically voiced: “judge not lest you be judged” is the first
- Matthew 7: 1 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. 6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.
- Jesus Christ is warning against hypocritical judging; He himself identified some people as dogs and pigs, and He was making a judgment call therein that required discernment; the point is that people can be identified by their actions, as He talks about fruit a few verses later
- [I have heard other preachers say that Jesus was also saying that only God can see another person’s MOTIVES, therefore, we cannot judge them; but behaviors are visible and can be judged]
- In this age of tolerance, people call out Matthew 7:1 quickly and believe they cannot be criticized, but that is a wrong interpretation of the text
- Romans 16: 17 And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.
- 1 Thessalonians 5: 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil.
- You must judge the teachings you receive by comparing them with the Bible
- Second typical complaint: it is okay to warn of false doctrine but not to call out the person by saying his name
- 1 Timothy 1: 18 Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles. 19 Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.
- Paul called out these men as unworthy of listening to
- 2 Timothy 2: 15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. 16 Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. 17 This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus.
- WARNINGS OF CURRENT PREACHERS / TEACHERS TO AVOID SO YOUR OWN FAITH WILL NOT BE SHIPWRECKED:
- Pope Francis: An example cited wherein the Pope called all people ‘children of God,’ which is universalism, it is unbiblical
- Not all are children of God! How is one born into God’s family? By believing and accepting Jesus Christ into your life: those who do not love righteousness or love other believers are not children of God
- John 1: 10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
- There are two categories of people: children of God; and children of the Devil
- STAY AWAY FROM THE FOLLOWING FALSE TEACHERS: books, teachings, and doctrines of Joel Osteen; Bishop T D Jakes; Joyce Meyer, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland; Brian Houston of Hillsong; Bill Johnson of Bethel; Jen Hatmaker (she doesn’t believe in the biblical view of marriage or sexuality); Sarah Young (her Jesus calling devotional is worthless / unbiblical; she wanted more than God’s word offered and sought out God via direct revelation, like Joseph Smith who started the Mormons); Joseph Prince; Fred Price; Creflo Dollar; Todd White; Rob Bell; Oprah Winfre (who says there are millions of paths to God and if you want, you can call your way ‘Jesus’ – garbage)
- AVOID THE FOLLOWING MUSIC: Bethel and Hillsong music; Jesus Culture; Jeremy Riddel; Cory Asbury; and about 15 more [not mentioned]
- WHY SO? Because they align themselves with theologically problematic churches or heretical churches [unbiblical teachings / doctrine; that requires you to know what is in the Bible]
- When we sing the music of one of the above, we have to have a CCLI: this license permits us to sing copyrighted music and thereafter we must pay money for each song we have sung; THAT IS, WE ARE SUPPORTING THEIR FALSE MINISTRY, WHICH WE DO NOT WANT TO DO
- Hillsong is a Pentecostal mega church based in Australia; like the Assembly of God in US
- They believe in the PROSPERITY GOSPEL, which is unbiblical; Houston wrote a book titled, You Need More Money, which was about breaking the impoverished thinking that believes there is a problem with having money
- 1 Timothy 6: Teach these things, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. 3 Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life. 4 Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. 5 These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy. 6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. 9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
- 2 Corinthians 11:1 I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. 3 But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 4 You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.
- Brian Houston’s Hillsong doctrines are corrupt and unbiblical [the prosperity gospel preaches a gospel that is opposite of Jesus’ gospel – He called His followers to pick up their cross, deny themselves and follow Him.]
- Bill Johnson of Bethel: they practice grave soaking or mantle passing. They believe that the anointing of past teachers who have died may be available to be recalled if it is not used up; they lie on the gravestones of these teachers to obtain their unused anointing. Henneke showed pictures of Bill Johnson’s wife lying on the head stones of C. S. Lewis and Charles Finney
- Bill Johnson’s book, Physics of Heaven, chapter 4, describes grave soaking
- They also believe in Knosis Theory: that means that Jesus left His deity in heaven and was only a man on earth; He was a man that followed His Father completely. They therefore believe that if they are able to follow the Father in such a manner, then they should be able to perform miracles and healings as Jesus did – very unbiblical doctrine
- Bethel believes that Philippians 2:5-8 supports Knosis theory
- Philippians 2: 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
- The proper view is called the hypostatic union which states that Christ is fully God and fully Man
- For example: John 10: 30 The Father and I are one.”
- Colossians 2: 8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
- There is a huge difference between Bethel and the Bible
- When we gather for worship, two vehicles proclaim our doctrine: our music and our preaching
- Furthermore, the hymnals in our pews are doctrinally questionable; we plan to acquire hymnals that put forth the doctrine of this church
- Dangerous doctrines should be silenced not supported
- HOW CAN WE KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BIBLICAL AND UNBIBLICAL MUSIC?
- WE HAVE TO KNOW THE BIBLE: IF WE KNOW THE TRUE STANDARD, THEN WE WILL READILY RECOGNIZE THE COUNTERFEIT WHEN IT SHOWS ITSELF IN ITS VARIOUS FORMS
- Henneke read 15 or more verses from Psalm 119 and briefly commented on them
- He closed by calling everyone to be careful students of God’s word that they might learn discernment; told them he loved them and prayed that God would help them avoid false teachers
The following link is to Pastor Henneke’s YouTube video page:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DavidHenneke/videos
For other similar posts in this blog, see CATEGORIES: Prosperity Preachers; Mysticism; Beth Moore; Brian McLaren