Friday Church News Notes
Volume 21, Issue 31 - July 31, 2020
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, though this does not imply an endorsement.
Rodney Howard-Brown
CHARISMATIC WORD-FAITH PROPHETS CURSED CORONAVIRUS AND NOTHING HAPPENED (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On Feb. 24, 2020 Rodney Howard-Brown cursed the virus and said he had saved Florida. On Feb. 28, Shawn Bolz said, “The tide is turning now! It’s not going to be the pandemic that people are afraid of.” On March 4, Cindy Jacobs took “throne room authority” over the coronavirus and declared it illegal. On March 20, Kris Vallotton decreed that he had broken the power of the coronavirus. On March 20, Bill Johnson decreed that no Christian would get the virus. On March 21, Katt Kerr took authority over the coronavirus and commanded it to go away. On March 29, Kenneth Copeland declared “the coronavirus is over.” As of July 22, the coronavirus was credited with 622,464 deaths worldwide. (This is excerpted from the Museum of Idolatry, piratechristian.com.)
PENTECOSTAL FAITH HEALER MARKETS HEALING PRAYERS FROM HIS HOSPITAL BED (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Todd Bentley, in the hospital for various ailments, is marketing “a rare resource” featuring prayers for healing. For just $25 you can “enjoy David Hunter, Lou Engle, Bob Jones, Todd Bentley prayers for healing, and more.” While you are at it, you could get his $99 seminar on miracles and healing. Bentley teaches that God guarantees healing and claims that thousands have been healed at his meetings (included several bodily resurrections, which is no small thing). In 2008, Bentley led the four-month long “Lakeland Outpouring” in central Florida, a supposed miracle revival, with Bentley slamming people on the forehead, shoving them, flinging the Holy Spirit, yelling “Blah, blah, blah, blah,” crying out, “Come and get some,” and staggering around like a drunk. He kicked an elderly lady in the face, banged a crippled woman’s legs on the platform, kneed a man in the stomach, and hit another man so hard that a tooth popped out. The show ended with the revelation that the evangelist had destroyed his marriage by an adulterous relationship with a female staffer. My friends, God has given us clear instructions in Scripture about healing, and James 5 does not describe a raucous “healing crusade.” We believe in divine healing for today, but we don’t believe in Pentecostal showmen who pretend to have apostolic healing gifts that they clearly do not possess. See “I Believe in Miracles” http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/ibelievein-miracles.html.
GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA REFUSES TO COMPLY WITH RENEWED LOCKDOWN ORDERS (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, pastored by John MacArthur (age 81), is defying the governor’s new orders banning church services. The church met on Sunday, July 26, with a full house. Following is MacArthur’s statement on the matter: “Christ is Lord of all. He is the one true head of the church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18). He is also King of kings--sovereign over every earthly authority (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). Grace Community Church has always stood immovably on those biblical principles. As His people, we are subject to His will and commands as revealed in Scripture. ... God has established three institutions within human society: the family, the state, and the church. Each institution has a sphere of authority with jurisdictional limits that must be respected. A father’s authority is limited to his own family. Church leaders’ authority (which is delegated to them by Christ) is limited to church matters. And government is specifically tasked with the oversight and protection of civic peace and well-being within the boundaries of a nation or community. God has not granted civic rulers authority over the doctrine, practice, or polity of the church. ... When any one of the three institutions exceeds the bounds of its jurisdiction it is the duty of the other institutions to curtail that overreach. ... It is apparent that those original projections of death were wrong and the virus is nowhere near as dangerous as originally feared. Still, roughly forty percent of the year has passed with our church essentially unable to gather in a normal way. Pastors’ ability to shepherd their flocks has been severely curtailed. ... Therefore, in response to the recent state order requiring churches in California to limit or suspend all meetings indefinitely, we, the pastors and elders of Grace Community Church, respectfully inform our civic leaders that they have exceeded their legitimate jurisdiction, and faithfulness to Christ prohibits us from observing the restrictions they want to impose on our corporate worship services” (John MacArthur, “Christ, not Caesar, Is Head of the Church,” July 24, 2020, gty.org).
BLACK MEN IN PORTLAND SPEAK OUT AGAINST BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Antifa and Black Lives Matter crowd has been protesting and rioting in Portland, Oregon, non-stop for six weeks. A portion of the city is devastated to the tune of tens of millions of dollars in property damage and business loss. Leftist city officials are clueless and have not allowed the police to use the force necessary to end the destruction. A large number of the protesters are shrill white women. Following are two examples of black men who have spoken out. Neither of the men are political conservatives. The first is Portland police officer JAKHARY JACKSON, a nine-year veteran who joined the force “to make the most of my life by helping others.” In an interview with a local television station, Jackson said, “I got to see folks that really do want change like the rest of us, that have been impacted by racism. And then I got to see those people get faded out by people who have no idea what racism is all about, that have never experienced racism, that don’t even know that the tactics they are using are the same tactics that were used against my people. And they don’t even know the history. They don’t know what they’re saying. As someone who graduated from PSU with a history degree, it’s actually frightening. ... It says something when you are at a Black Lives Matter protest, and you have more minorities on the police side than you have in a violent crowd. And you have white people screaming at black officers, ‘You have the biggest nose I’ve ever seen.’ ... Once again, you have a privileged white person telling someone of color what to do with their life. And you don’t even know what I’ve dealt with, what these white officers you’re screaming at have dealt with. ... You see [the officers], and they are truly trying to help save someone’s life, and then are called racist by people who have never seen anything like that, who have never had to put themselves out there like that. It’s really--It’s disgusting” (“Black Portland Police Office Shocked at Racist Things BLM Protestors Scream at Him,” The Federalist, July 17, 2020). GABE JOHNSON, former Marine, lives in Portland and tried to confront the protesters with a U.S. flag and have a discussion with them. In an interview with PJ Media, Johnson said, “When I woke up in the morning, it was clear as day, almost like it was just planted in my head. This is what you’re going to do. Hopefully we can start a conversation. ... But I can tell you the experience was eye-opening. I did not believe what I used to call the rhetoric about antifa. I was thinking that maybe they’re just, you know, some punk kids or whatever it was, some righteous anger in there. I quickly found out that that’s not the case. ... They’re utilizing the same tactics that any other terrorist organization would. They’ve got spotters with cameras that will follow you around, and they’ve got their thugs. Those are the guys with the baseball bats. They have people that will intimidate you in Black Lives Matter attire. ... What is more patriotic than our flag? ... I wanted to have a conversation so that they would understand that what they’re doing is tearing the country apart and not bringing it back together, and hopefully by telling this community that we live in it’s time to start a conversation and it’s time to unite America. Because the Black Lives Matter movement has turned into something else. Antifa has attached itself to this movement now and it’s taken it over. ... It’s beyond me how they can sit there and say that they’re not causing damage or rioting. It’s a riot, and it’s real, and when you are on the front line and you’re looking back into that crowd, it is an angry mob that is built on doing as much destruction as possible” (“Black Portlander Changes His Mind,” PJ Media, July 24, 2020). Protesters stole Johnson’s flags and stomped them on the ground. When an older black man grabbed one of the flags and handed it back to Johnson, a protester punched the man in the face and ran away. Protesters called Johnson “a coon, Uncle Tom, and the n-word.”
A CHURCH INTENT ON MOVING AWAY FROM MIXED MULTITUDE TRADITION (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - We received the following report recently: “We are good by God’s grace, but we are still in the midst of the spiritual battle of having a mixed multitude church where most of the members are not really saved. When the church started a few years ago, we were using the Quick Prayerism technique to get people into the church. As a result, we have a church right now where half of the members are not interested in the Word of God, in prayers, in evangelism, and in ministry. It is because these members are not really saved according to the Bible. But we are not backing down in this battle. By God’s grace, we are now seeing life-changing salvation with changed lives. We are seeing some carefulness in the part of soul winners to preach repentance and faith to the gospel of Christ and to patiently wait for God's salvation. Our pastor is preaching the gospel and repentance every time he preaches for the sake of visitors and unsaved members. I know this battle is far from over. I know we are just starting to go in another direction. As a normal church member, the only thing I can do is just pray and trust God that he would help us in this battle. I always pray for our pastor to have his senses exercised to discern both good and evil for this battle. Also, thank you for allowing me to print your book One Year Discipleship. This will be a great help for us. As the head of our discipleship ministry, my goal is not to be discouraged by some unsaved members but to focus our discipleship ministry on the church members that are saved and are interested in the things of God. I know this is one of the things I can do to win the spiritual battle we are facing.”
CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
PENTECOSTAL FAITH HEALER MARKETS HEALING PRAYERS FROM HIS HOSPITAL BED (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Todd Bentley, in the hospital for various ailments, is marketing “a rare resource” featuring prayers for healing. For just $25 you can “enjoy David Hunter, Lou Engle, Bob Jones, Todd Bentley prayers for healing, and more.” While you are at it, you could get his $99 seminar on miracles and healing. Bentley teaches that God guarantees healing and claims that thousands have been healed at his meetings (included several bodily resurrections, which is no small thing). In 2008, Bentley led the four-month long “Lakeland Outpouring” in central Florida, a supposed miracle revival, with Bentley slamming people on the forehead, shoving them, flinging the Holy Spirit, yelling “Blah, blah, blah, blah,” crying out, “Come and get some,” and staggering around like a drunk. He kicked an elderly lady in the face, banged a crippled woman’s legs on the platform, kneed a man in the stomach, and hit another man so hard that a tooth popped out. The show ended with the revelation that the evangelist had destroyed his marriage by an adulterous relationship with a female staffer. My friends, God has given us clear instructions in Scripture about healing, and James 5 does not describe a raucous “healing crusade.” We believe in divine healing for today, but we don’t believe in Pentecostal showmen who pretend to have apostolic healing gifts that they clearly do not possess. See “I Believe in Miracles” http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/ibelievein-miracles.html.
GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA REFUSES TO COMPLY WITH RENEWED LOCKDOWN ORDERS (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, pastored by John MacArthur (age 81), is defying the governor’s new orders banning church services. The church met on Sunday, July 26, with a full house. Following is MacArthur’s statement on the matter: “Christ is Lord of all. He is the one true head of the church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18). He is also King of kings--sovereign over every earthly authority (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). Grace Community Church has always stood immovably on those biblical principles. As His people, we are subject to His will and commands as revealed in Scripture. ... God has established three institutions within human society: the family, the state, and the church. Each institution has a sphere of authority with jurisdictional limits that must be respected. A father’s authority is limited to his own family. Church leaders’ authority (which is delegated to them by Christ) is limited to church matters. And government is specifically tasked with the oversight and protection of civic peace and well-being within the boundaries of a nation or community. God has not granted civic rulers authority over the doctrine, practice, or polity of the church. ... When any one of the three institutions exceeds the bounds of its jurisdiction it is the duty of the other institutions to curtail that overreach. ... It is apparent that those original projections of death were wrong and the virus is nowhere near as dangerous as originally feared. Still, roughly forty percent of the year has passed with our church essentially unable to gather in a normal way. Pastors’ ability to shepherd their flocks has been severely curtailed. ... Therefore, in response to the recent state order requiring churches in California to limit or suspend all meetings indefinitely, we, the pastors and elders of Grace Community Church, respectfully inform our civic leaders that they have exceeded their legitimate jurisdiction, and faithfulness to Christ prohibits us from observing the restrictions they want to impose on our corporate worship services” (John MacArthur, “Christ, not Caesar, Is Head of the Church,” July 24, 2020, gty.org).
BLACK MEN IN PORTLAND SPEAK OUT AGAINST BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Antifa and Black Lives Matter crowd has been protesting and rioting in Portland, Oregon, non-stop for six weeks. A portion of the city is devastated to the tune of tens of millions of dollars in property damage and business loss. Leftist city officials are clueless and have not allowed the police to use the force necessary to end the destruction. A large number of the protesters are shrill white women. Following are two examples of black men who have spoken out. Neither of the men are political conservatives. The first is Portland police officer JAKHARY JACKSON, a nine-year veteran who joined the force “to make the most of my life by helping others.” In an interview with a local television station, Jackson said, “I got to see folks that really do want change like the rest of us, that have been impacted by racism. And then I got to see those people get faded out by people who have no idea what racism is all about, that have never experienced racism, that don’t even know that the tactics they are using are the same tactics that were used against my people. And they don’t even know the history. They don’t know what they’re saying. As someone who graduated from PSU with a history degree, it’s actually frightening. ... It says something when you are at a Black Lives Matter protest, and you have more minorities on the police side than you have in a violent crowd. And you have white people screaming at black officers, ‘You have the biggest nose I’ve ever seen.’ ... Once again, you have a privileged white person telling someone of color what to do with their life. And you don’t even know what I’ve dealt with, what these white officers you’re screaming at have dealt with. ... You see [the officers], and they are truly trying to help save someone’s life, and then are called racist by people who have never seen anything like that, who have never had to put themselves out there like that. It’s really--It’s disgusting” (“Black Portland Police Office Shocked at Racist Things BLM Protestors Scream at Him,” The Federalist, July 17, 2020). GABE JOHNSON, former Marine, lives in Portland and tried to confront the protesters with a U.S. flag and have a discussion with them. In an interview with PJ Media, Johnson said, “When I woke up in the morning, it was clear as day, almost like it was just planted in my head. This is what you’re going to do. Hopefully we can start a conversation. ... But I can tell you the experience was eye-opening. I did not believe what I used to call the rhetoric about antifa. I was thinking that maybe they’re just, you know, some punk kids or whatever it was, some righteous anger in there. I quickly found out that that’s not the case. ... They’re utilizing the same tactics that any other terrorist organization would. They’ve got spotters with cameras that will follow you around, and they’ve got their thugs. Those are the guys with the baseball bats. They have people that will intimidate you in Black Lives Matter attire. ... What is more patriotic than our flag? ... I wanted to have a conversation so that they would understand that what they’re doing is tearing the country apart and not bringing it back together, and hopefully by telling this community that we live in it’s time to start a conversation and it’s time to unite America. Because the Black Lives Matter movement has turned into something else. Antifa has attached itself to this movement now and it’s taken it over. ... It’s beyond me how they can sit there and say that they’re not causing damage or rioting. It’s a riot, and it’s real, and when you are on the front line and you’re looking back into that crowd, it is an angry mob that is built on doing as much destruction as possible” (“Black Portlander Changes His Mind,” PJ Media, July 24, 2020). Protesters stole Johnson’s flags and stomped them on the ground. When an older black man grabbed one of the flags and handed it back to Johnson, a protester punched the man in the face and ran away. Protesters called Johnson “a coon, Uncle Tom, and the n-word.”
A CHURCH INTENT ON MOVING AWAY FROM MIXED MULTITUDE TRADITION (Friday Church News Notes, July 31, 2020, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - We received the following report recently: “We are good by God’s grace, but we are still in the midst of the spiritual battle of having a mixed multitude church where most of the members are not really saved. When the church started a few years ago, we were using the Quick Prayerism technique to get people into the church. As a result, we have a church right now where half of the members are not interested in the Word of God, in prayers, in evangelism, and in ministry. It is because these members are not really saved according to the Bible. But we are not backing down in this battle. By God’s grace, we are now seeing life-changing salvation with changed lives. We are seeing some carefulness in the part of soul winners to preach repentance and faith to the gospel of Christ and to patiently wait for God's salvation. Our pastor is preaching the gospel and repentance every time he preaches for the sake of visitors and unsaved members. I know this battle is far from over. I know we are just starting to go in another direction. As a normal church member, the only thing I can do is just pray and trust God that he would help us in this battle. I always pray for our pastor to have his senses exercised to discern both good and evil for this battle. Also, thank you for allowing me to print your book One Year Discipleship. This will be a great help for us. As the head of our discipleship ministry, my goal is not to be discouraged by some unsaved members but to focus our discipleship ministry on the church members that are saved and are interested in the things of God. I know this is one of the things I can do to win the spiritual battle we are facing.”
CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
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Distributed by Way of Life Literature., publisher of Bible Study Materials and reports for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. Brother Cloud lives in South Asia where he has been a church planting missionary since 1979. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY (REPORTS AND FRIDAY NEWS) IS NOT DEVOTIONAL. IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR.
David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
The Way of Life Literature preaching and publishing ministry is based at Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. A mail stop is maintained in Port Huron, Michigan.
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