Over the last few weeks we have had a number of requests about information on Todd Bentley and what is happening in Lakeland, FL. Of special concern are his claims that God told him to , kick elderly women in the face, body tackle people, beat a women’s legs on the platform like baseball bats, leg drop pastors and the like. I was very glad to see our friend Bill Randles write My People Love It So… Why There Must Be Yet Another Mystical Revival, and his piece, Todd Bentley – The New Simon Magus. You see, Pastor Bill is ordained in and pastors an Assembly of God church. No one can really say he is opposed to the Pentecostal and Charismatic views, theology and practice. He is however, very opposed to false teachers. The title of his first article, “My People Love It So…” particularly caught my attention because I think it also has application to other issues in the church.
Pastor Randles’ title comes from Jeremiah 5:31 but I will quote it starting with verse 30:
An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?
This is a picture of people run amok. It is also an apt description for the cry-baby boomer generation. Victor Davis Hanson describes how the cry-baby boomer generation solves problems in ,All About Me. Frankly, I am not all that surprised when non-Christians act like non-Christians but Hanson’s analysis is sadly as descriptive of believers as it is non-believers. Something has displaced God as He has revealed Himself and that is our selfish desires. The desire for experience at the expense of sound biblical teaching and holy living and sanctified serving has a spiritually bankrupting effect on people.
Jeremiah bemoans the state of his people but earlier in the chapter points out why they embrace false prophets and follow priests who function on their own authority. They have lost sense of the holiness of God:
‘Do you not fear Me?’ declares the LORD ‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
At what point did we decide God owes us? I am not sure. Where do we find that we are guaranteed physical healing, a life free from pain and worry or a world in which sickness, hunger and poverty do not exist? Not in Scripture, at least not until God comes and sets the world aright. When I reflect on these things there is a passage that I often turn to which brings me to tears every time I read it.:
… and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
“Men of whom the world is not worthy.” What drove them? They had a sense of the holiness of God and a deep desire to remain faithful to their calling and pleasing to Him in spite of their situation. Their success was measured in terms of faithfulness in spite of rejection. It wasn’t measured by large attendance. It was a recognition that it is about God and how we can serve Him not about us and what we get out of it. Isaiah knew this and cried out:
Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips;For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
At Passover each year, Messianic Jews sing or recite a song that is a reminder that God owes us nothing. With that in mind they reflect and say if He did one thing, “It would have been enough for us (Da-Yenu).” They progress and build point upon point and after each point remind themselves “It would have been enough for us (Da-Yenu)”:
DA-YENU
(It would have been enough for us)
Had he but brought us out of Egypt DA-YENU Had he judged the Egyptians DA-YENU And destroyed their gods DA-YENU Had he slain their firstborn DA-YENU And given us their riches DA-YENU Had he divided the sea to let us pass through DA-YENU But sank our foes into the depths DA-YENU Then supplied our needs for forty years DA-YENU And fed us with manna in the wilderness DA-YENU had he given us the Sabbath to renew our strength DA-YENU And brought us to hear him at Mountain Sinai DA-YENU Giving us his Torah to guide us DA-YENU Planned and built the Tabernacle, his dwelling place DA-YENU Brought us to the land he promised to Israel DA-YENU Consecrated the Temple he permitted to be built DA-YENU Sent Jesus, the “Temple not built with hands” DA-YENU That atonement be made for all our sins. DA-YENU
Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Him alone. It is enough for me and yet He has given so much more.
Oh, my, I just looked at the Youtube. “God told him” to do all these violent things, and then the camera goes to a young man in the audience, smiling, just lapping it all up.
I read some of the comments, too, and cringed.
I thought the laughing revival was sad, because it was people “exegeting their emotions” not the Word of God. This is not only sad for the same reason, but dangerous as well.
It plays to people’s need for an immediate experience of the presence and power of God, and has nothing to do with faith, which is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen, without which it is impossible to please God.
Its emphasis is far removed from the message of the gospel – sins forgiven by the blood of Christ, and the hope of eternal life — which is the important thing, regardless of whether healings take place or not.
Thanks for this article. I have several friends who have mentioned this “revival” and how “wonderful” it seemed. The first thing I did was do some research on who Todd Bentley was. Immediately red flags went up everywhere.
I warned my friends to beware of Todd Bentley and his so-called revival. I will also pass on this article to them. Thanks for always keeping a look-out for those believers who don’t seem to look out for themselves. This line from your article really hit the nail on the head…
“The desire for experience at the expense of sound biblical teaching and holy living and sanctified serving has a spiritually bankrupting effect on people.”
Don,
Thanks for this article and all your labors. They are much appreciated.
Thank you so much for all your information on Todd Bentley. I first heard about him on the Christian radio station that I listen to, and when I heard a revival was in Florida, a deep concern came over me as I was reminded of another “revival” that took place in Florida back in 1997. I wondered if there was a connection, and when I went on line and found information on Todd Bentley, my suspicions were sadly confirmed. I watched your videos and other ones at http://endtimesdeception.com/?p=466 and tears filled my eyes as I once again watched people being hungry for an “experience” instead of seeking and finding God in His Word and in His Presence. I’m sure many people go there sincerely seeking God, but because they fail to “examine the Scriptures daily to see if what is said is true,”(Acts 17:11) they will be led astray and in the end they will feel as if they were disappointed and deceived by GOD. My heart breaks for all the hurting people who are yearning to know God and go there desperately hoping to find help in their sometimes overwhelming circumstances, and end up leaving with an empty heart and with either a false hope or less hope than they began with. We, as the Body of Christ, need to study God’s Word like never before, so we can share the Truth of God’s Word with the people that God brings into our lives. We need to be able to share with people, the joy that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and what He has done for us, and what He can do for them, so that they cannot be led astray by people like this. In the time remaining, let’s pray for Todd, and the people that go to see him, and let’s do our part and be sensitive to God’s Holy Spirit, and listen to the silent cries for help in the people that God brings into our lives. Let’s “remain in Him” because “without Him we can do nothing.” (John 15:1-5) In closing, I want to share a portion of Scripture that should reflect our attitude towards God’s Word,… one of awe, and our response should be one of repentance, which brings TRUE revival, as we realize how Amazing and Holy our God really is… “They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel. “He (Ezra) read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. “…Ezra opened the Book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them;and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the LORD, the great God;and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. The Levites………….instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read. “Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, “Go and and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our LORD. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. “…From the days of Joshua son of Nun, until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great. Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly… They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day, and spent another fourth in confession and worshiping the LORD their God. “…Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.” (Read Nehemiah 8:1-9:1-5 for a complete understanding.)