F4F | Response to Michael Browns Invitation to Dialogue

Fighting for the Faith

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:15

Welcome to another installment of Fighting for the Faith. My name is Chris Rosebro. I'm your servant in Jesus Christ.

00:21

This is the program that compares what people are saying in the name of God to the Word of God.

00:27

Now, if you've heard that Michael Brown has issued a challenge to his critics to have a public debate and public discussion, yeah, go ahead and hit the subscribe button down below.

00:40

Don't forget to like the video, ring the bell so you can be notified when we update the channel. We're going to be giving a response to Michael Brown's call for dialogue and a debate with his critics, and let's just put it this way.

00:55

I've learned the the hard way that you don't go on Michael Brown's program if you're a critic because he sits on the mute button, and he does not give equal time, and he does not deal with equal weights and measures when it comes to having biblical discussion regarding the clear and obvious chicanery and false signs and false wonders that are happening in the charismatic movement, and he seems to be incapable of identifying, you know,

01:25

Kenneth Copeland as, like, the kingpin, the godfather of the prosperity heresy, you know, things like that.

01:33

So we're gonna listen to Michael Brown's, you know, call to his critics to have a debate or a dialogue.

01:41

This will be my first response in that discussion. And note that my issue is that he's not addressing the issue.

01:51

He engages in obfuscation, and so he's put himself out there. I'm a firm believer, he says, he's not a cessationist, he's a continuationist, which already we've got a problem because Pentecostals and Charismatics are not continuationists.

02:07

They are restorationists. Uh -huh, yeah, look at charismatic history, Pentecostal history, and going back to the

02:15

Azusa Street Revival, the claim was the restoration of the gifts, and then with the rise of the latter reign, and then later the

02:24

New Apostolic Reformation, it wasn't that prophets continued and apostles continued on, it's that they, over the course of the last part of the 20th century and into the early part of the 21st century, all the talk was of the restoration of prophet and apostle.

02:44

So we got a problem with Michael Brown, and that is that he engages in strawman arguments, he changes and rewrites history, he doesn't deal with the obvious, and he misuses

02:57

Scripture horrendously. And so we're going to let him talk about his public call for dialogue, we'll interact with that a little bit, but I'm going to also take a look at the video that he specifically put out to Justin Peters in a call for a discussion regarding healing today, and we're going to interact with that as well.

03:21

So buckle up, we've got a lot of ground to cover. Here's Michael Brown in his public call, you know, to his critics to have a public debate.

03:30

Here we go. ...is that when you go with the Bible to people who have never heard of the

03:38

God of the Bible, maybe they've grown up only with the Quran knowing that that is the Word of God, that's what they think, or there's some other religious tradition and they have...

03:46

Now just so you know, what he's talking about is the claim that ongoing miracles are apparently necessary, necessary, you know, for the preaching of the

03:55

Gospel, ongoing signs and wonders. ...have their holy books, and you say, well this Bible was verified by signs, wonders, and miracles 2 ,000 years ago, well with all respect though, so we have our holy book, and we have our verification, and we have our traditions.

04:11

So you'll note that he's pooh -poohing this idea that somehow the signs and wonders of the

04:16

Bible are sufficient. Okay, I would note a biblical text in this regard, and that has to do with the

04:25

Gospel itself. And the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, he reminds us of what the

04:31

Gospel is, and we note that the Apostle Paul received his Gospel directly from Jesus Christ himself, and he makes a big to -do about that in several portions of the

04:41

New Testament. But here's what Paul says, I would note that the

05:06

New Testament itself points to the sign and wonder as the validation of the

05:13

Gospel itself being the resurrection of Christ. Now granted, the Apostles also perform miracles, we're going to talk about their role, and the fact that their critics couldn't even deny that those miracles took place, and that's going to be a vital part of my response to Michael Brown.

05:32

But we'll come back to what Paul says, so that Christ was buried, he was raised on the third day in accordance with the

05:37

Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas and to the Twelve, and then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep, and then he appeared to James and to all the

05:48

Apostles, last of all is to one untimely born, he appeared also to me, for I am the least of the

05:53

Apostles, unworthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God, but by the grace of God I am what

06:00

I am. So you'll note that Paul points to the resurrection of Christ, and to the eyewitnesses of that resurrection, and notes that in one particular setting, that more than 500 people at one time were eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Christ.

06:19

And though he goes on and says, though I'm the least of the Apostles, unworthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the

06:25

Church, but by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace towards me was not in vain. Paul also, by the way, is an eyewitness of the resurrection.

06:34

On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me, whether then it was

06:40

I or they, so we preach, and so you believe. Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

06:51

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain.

06:58

We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom

07:04

He did not raise, if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then not even

07:09

Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you're still in your sins.

07:16

Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished, and if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

07:27

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

07:33

So you'll note then that the Apostles, and you look in the Book of Acts, you know, the preaching of the Apostles, these are men who operate in the apostolic sign gifts, and over and again they were pointing people to a very important miracle, the definitive sign of the veracity of the gospel that they preached, and it still is to this day, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.

07:57

So I would note that even the Apostles note the centrality of the resurrection as the definitive sign, although they were able to operate in signs and wonders.

08:07

But we'll get back to this in a minute, let's hear Michael Brown out for a minute. God is still backing the name of Jesus, and scripturally that is the pattern.

08:17

The gifts, healing, miracles... Now a little bit of a note. I believe that the apostolic sign gifts have ceased, but that being the case,

08:27

I do not believe that God does not heal today. I don't believe that. I have prayed for people and have seen

08:35

God miraculously heal them, and there's just no doubt about it.

08:42

I fully believe that God heals today, I fully believe that there are demons that need to be cast out today.

08:49

So you'll note here that what Michael Brown is going to do next is his standard operating procedure, complete strawman argument against those who believe that the apostolic sign gifts have ceased.

09:03

That does not mean that God doesn't heal. It doesn't mean that God can't do a one -off miracle where he reveals something to somebody that they wouldn't have known otherwise.

09:15

You see, to say that the apostolic sign gifts have ceased does not mean that God has ceased working miraculously, or answering prayer, or anything like that.

09:25

That's not the point. So Michael Brown, and I would argue pretty much everybody in the charismatic movement, are guilty of lobbying a strawman into the argument and beating up on it, rather than having a valid, real conversation with people who do not believe that the sign gifts continue to this day.

09:45

So you'll note that that's part of what he's doing here. Driving out demons, these things are to continue until Jesus returns.

09:53

Of course! I'm a firm believer that the devil and his demons are at work, and that exorcism is a valid thing that continues to this day.

10:06

You know, again, I don't believe that the apostolic sign gifts have continued to this day, and yet I believe in exorcism.

10:15

Strange, isn't it? And the reason why that is is because he's constantly, Doc Obbs is engaging in obfuscation and creating a strawman about his critics and their beliefs.

10:28

I will gladly debate that with anyone. What does Scripture say? And please show me anywhere where demons are not to be driven out today.

10:37

I don't know anybody who believes in the cessation of the apostolic sign gifts who doesn't believe that God heals today, and doesn't believe that demons need to be cast out when somebody is clearly, you know, demonized and, you know, has to have a demon exorcised from them.

10:56

I don't know anybody who believes this. So this is all strawman stuff. All the reason why there's no way having a public discussion with him is going to yield any fruit, because he can't even properly define what his critics believe.

11:11

That that was just a practice in the Gospels and a practice in Acts. Please show me a scripture anywhere that says that demons should not be driven out today, and do the -

11:22

Strawman. The demons know that. In other words, have they just voluntarily said, okay -

11:27

He's so bravely knocking down that strawman, by the way. I mean, this is one of the most valiant destructions of strawmen that I've ever witnessed in my life.

11:37

Okay, we will leave. We will not continue on nefarious activity. Of course not. And many people have come under demonic power and demonic oppression, and even demonic possession.

11:48

And yeah, in fact, I'm pretty sure that in the church today there are people who are teaching doctrines of demons, and I can identify prominent charismatics who are doing that.

11:59

In Jesus' name, the spirits have been driven out, and those people have been made whole and made well, and are loving

12:05

Jesus and following Jesus and bearing much fruit today. And also the notion that signs and wonders is only something like the splitting of the

12:14

Red Sea or Elijah calling down fire from heaven, it's really contrary to New Testament language. Sure, those types of things are not the norm, and they've never been the norm.

12:24

And nowhere in the Bible does it say, hey, you can just expect to split seas all the time. And when

12:29

Jesus talks about removing a mountain by faith, he's obviously speaking metaphorically, all right?

12:35

We don't have an account of Jesus relocating a mountain in his day, let alone any of his followers ever doing it, all right?

12:43

But that being said, New Testament language, Hebrews 2 and other passages, when it talks about God confirming his word with signs and wonders, when you look at the

12:52

Confirmation, say in the book of Acts, many times it was miraculous healings. Okay, now a little bit of a note, Hebrews 2, it's important to apply the three rules from sound biblical exegesis here, because he doesn't read it out.

13:04

Hebrews chapter 2, you'll note the emphasis is on the Word of God.

13:11

Therefore, we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

13:17

And note the emphasis is on the Word of God. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

13:32

Now watch how this works. It was declared at first by the

13:38

Lord, and the salvation was proclaimed by Christ, then it was attested to us by those who heard, and you'll note then that attesting here is in the past tense.

13:52

It was past tense attested to us by those who heard. This is an aorist verb.

13:58

And while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the

14:04

Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. So you'll note then that Hebrews 2 notes that the attestation itself, and God, you know, attesting through signs and wonders, it's past tense.

14:21

Hebrews 2 is arguing exactly the way somebody who believes in the cessation of the apostolic sign gifts would argue.

14:32

Fascinating. But I just, I digress. Let's go back and listen to more of Michael Brown here.

14:39

Deliverances from demons and other types of things, prophetic words, God continues to move because Jesus is alive today.

14:50

Now, a while Jesus is alive today, absolutely

14:56

Christ is alive today. You know, Christ rose bodily from the grave on the third day.

15:01

In fact, when we talk about the deity of Christ, he's the God, the Son, second person of the

15:06

Holy Trinity, he has existed through eternity, he has no beginning, he has no end.

15:14

You know, but that being the case, we're talking about the incarnate Son of God. You know, Christ rose bodily from the grave, ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the

15:22

Father presently, and all of that being the case, this is most certainly true. He is alive and well, and he answers prayer.

15:32

Sometimes he says no, sometimes he says yes. But the point is is that what passes for prophecy today in the charismatic movement is not prophecy.

15:44

It is false prophecy. In fact, it's word salad gobbledygook, and I would challenge you to go into our segments where we've played prophecy bingo in order to make that point.

15:58

Now, that being the case, though, the other issue relates to the so -called signs and wonders that are occurring today in the charismatic movement, and the quality of those signs and wonders, let's just say, is lacking.

16:13

To kind of make the point, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna back up into the invitation that Michael Brown gave to Justin Peters, and I want you to hear what he said regarding, you know, a pastoral approach of addressing the issue of, does

16:29

God heal today? And Justin Peters absolutely believes that God heals today.

16:34

I believe that God heals today. Mm -hmm. But let's listen to Michael Brown.

16:40

Rather than have a debate, why don't we discuss our perspectives on healing for today, what

16:49

I believe Scripture says. Again, I don't know what there is to discuss. I believe

16:55

God heals today. I've seen him do it. And Justin Peters believes God heals today, so I mean, where's the big rub here?

17:05

That's not the issue, and that's not the real topic of the debate. Michael Brown, again, is engaging in obfuscation, and I'll prove it.

17:16

What he believes Scripture says. And of course, Justin has a physical condition that he battles through to minister, right?

17:23

Why don't we discuss how our beliefs impact the sick and the suffering? All right, so he wants to have a discussion on how their beliefs impact the sick and the suffering.

17:33

I just wanted to highlight that. I think we should have that discussion, and I have some evidence to bring into that discussion.

17:41

And what is a pastoral way to approach this? Yeah, pastoral way. So how does this impact the sick and the suffering in a pastoral way?

17:50

Now, a little bit of a note. I pastor people who have been decimated by charismatics and NAR types, claiming to have had special healings anointings and things like that, and the ability to prophesy and all this kind of stuff.

18:11

And pastorally, I can tell you their experience is that they were abused by charismatics, and they were abused by people in the

18:20

NAR. And yeah, the NAR is a thing. So I'm going to point this out, though. So we're going to give two examples from past history, and we're going to start off with Benny Hinn.

18:32

Benny Hinn. Years ago, you know, ABC's, I think it was,

18:37

A Dateline did a, let's say, an expose regarding Benny Hinn's healing revivals.

18:45

This is going on a little more than ten years ago now, and I would note that Benny Hinn has yet to repent of this, and the fun part is is that Kosti Hinn confirms that this is the practice that has been used by Benny Hinn for decades.

19:00

Now, note, Benny Hinn, in his Miracle Crusades, claims that he has a special healing anointing, that the anointing is on him and that he can heal, and they have a healing line and everything.

19:13

And so what ends up happening is the sick and the desperate, those who are in dire need of healing, oftentimes come out of the woodwork to attend a

19:25

Benny Hinn healing crusade, and what happens to them when they have a physical ailment that is obvious?

19:36

Because you'll note that Benny Hinn has made a career of healing invisible illnesses and things like that.

19:42

Well, they had an undercover fellow, somebody on Benny Hinn's security team, explain how the practice works.

19:52

Let's listen in and pay attention to what Benny Hinn has done in the past, and note, he has yet to repent of this.

19:58

He calls them Miracle Crusades. And as always, Benny Hinn's appearance four years ago in Calgary was a finely -tuned event.

20:08

Cancer cannot stand in the presence of a Holy Ghost. Cancer is only a name, but there's a higher name than cancer.

20:18

That's Jesus! It all builds towards the miracle healing that Hinn maintains is channeled from God through him.

20:26

Yeah, that's the thing. Benny Hinn has claimed this healing ability that comes from God is channeled directly through him.

20:33

He has a special healing anointing or gift or something of the, but does he? The healing everyone here is waiting for.

20:40

Fire on you! Fire! What you see on TV are the lucky ones allowed up on stage, but we found out how those people who actually meet

20:53

Benny Hinn are chosen. We interviewed a man who saw those

21:01

Miracle Crusades firsthand as one of Pastor Benny's security detail. He agreed to talk with us if we disguised his identity.

21:08

We called him Andrew. How do they pick the ones they want to go on stage at that point?

21:15

They have staff members that go through and give them a quick interview, and they'll ask them, what's wrong with you?

21:21

Oh, I've had rheumatoid arthritis of my left shoulder. I can't lift it. All of a sudden, can you lift your shoulder?

21:28

Because if you can't lift your shoulder, you can't go on stage. According to Andrew, the screening system has one purpose, to keep the truly sick or disabled away from Benny Hinn.

21:38

Yep, that's right. Yeah, I'd like to see Michael Brown address this. Those people are never allowed near the stage.

21:48

In our original broadcast, viewers were captivated by a mother and daughter we met in the stands at the

21:53

Calgary Crusade. Janice Brulotte is a lifelong believer whose eight -year -old

21:59

Grace couldn't walk because of a severe neuromuscular disorder. I said, you know, honey, we could stay up here because, you know what?

22:07

I said, Jesus is up here. And she said, no, mommy, she said,

22:12

I'd like to go down and see if Benny Hinn could pray for me. I said, are you sure? She said, yes, mommy. Hoping for their miracle, they tried to make their way towards the stage, but they were intercepted by Hinn's screeners who ordered them to sit down.

22:27

Grace and I moved over to the side. We sat and waited, and Grace asked me if I could help her to try and walk.

22:38

And that was kind of her faith in action. And so I picked her up and we tried walking back and forth.

22:48

And that was kind of a hard moment. We caught up with Janice and Grace as they fled from the arena, their hopes of a miracle, even a prayer from Pastor Benny, now gone.

23:02

Yeah. Benny Hinn never has had a special healing gift or healing anointing.

23:10

He is a showman and a con man. And I would argue that as somebody who believes that God heals today, that pastorally, what we're seeing taking place in the charismatic movement is outright spiritual abuse.

23:26

And that pastorally, this is devastating to people. And that because the charismatic movement won't police itself, the number of dead bodies in the wake of Benny Hinn's and others' healing crusades, both metaphorically and literally, is huge.

23:48

And I have yet to see Michael Brown address this straight on.

23:54

This is not a matter of whether or not God heals today. This is an issue of the fact that the charismatic movement has a whole bunch of people out there claiming to have healing anointings and things like this, who at the end of the day are putting on a show, making a lot of money.

24:10

It is estimated at this time in Benny Hinn's career, he was pulling in $200 million a year.

24:16

$200 million. When those who are really, truly sick and need of a miracle, they weren't even allowed up because it was never about whether or not healing is for today.

24:28

It's about the fact that Benny Hinn exploited these people, manipulated them, and devastated them, because he's never been able to operate in a healing anointing or gift.

24:43

He's a con man. These are false signs and false wonders. And to kind of make the point even further,

24:49

I would remind everybody of Todd Bentley. Dateline also did an expose on him as well.

24:57

Same thing. Let's take a look and see what evidence was put forward for the miracle claims coming from Lakeland.

25:04

What is this? Alex Arnett has spina bifida. He has been in leg braces his entire life.

25:12

He has come to Todd Bentley's revival in... Now I would note here, you can't see this if you're listening to this on the podcast, but this kid with spina bifida, he's clearly not healed.

25:24

At all. Lakeland, Florida to be healed. Something's happening here.

25:29

Tell me what you're feeling, first of all, young man. I'm feeling the strength in my legs, and I've never felt like...

25:36

You've never had this strength in your legs? No. And he's not healed. He's still clearly suffering from spina bifida.

25:42

And I haven't been able to walk like this all my life. All your life? And now

25:48

I'm able to walk straighter than I was. Take a few more steps. He's not healed.

25:55

Now, my comparison point. Let's take a look at some biblical texts, shall we?

26:03

The miracles of Christ himself. Matthew 9. Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over and came to his own city.

26:09

Behold, some people brought him to a paralytic lying on a bed, and when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,

26:16

Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven. Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, This man is blaspheming.

26:23

But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which it is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven, or to say,

26:29

Rise and walk. But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic,

26:36

Rise, pick up your bed, and go home. And when he rose, and then he rose and went home, and the crowd saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified

26:44

God, who had given such authority to men. You'll note that when Jesus healed people, it actually happened.

26:52

They were really healed. If Christ were present at the Lakeland Revival, and he healed that young man with spina bifida, he would not be walking as one who still had spina bifida.

27:05

Not at all. And so you'll note that even Jesus' critics then also knew that Christ performed miracles.

27:12

And so we'll take a look at Matthew chapter 12, a very instrumental chapter in the ministry of Christ.

27:19

It says, Jesus went on from there, this is verse 9 of Matthew 12, entered their synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.

27:26

So he's in the middle of the synagogue, if you think of it as like a church service, that's not too far off from what was going on, so they asked him,

27:33

Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him? So he said to them, So which of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the

27:41

Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep? So is it lawful to do good on the

27:48

Sabbath? So then he said to the man, Stretch out your hand. And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy, like the other.

27:57

But notice here, the Pharisees went out and conspired against him on how to destroy him.

28:02

There was no doubt in their mind that Christ had healed that fellow with the withered hand, because the fellow with the withered hand stretched out his arm, and it was completely healed.

28:14

And even the Pharisees who opposed Christ couldn't deny it. In fact, their solution to the problem as they saw it, was it's time to figure out how to kill

28:23

Jesus. Then this text goes on to say in Matthew 12, verse 22, A demon oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw.

28:36

And all the people were amazed and said, Can this be the son of David? So note here, we got a demon oppressed man who was mute, and now he speaks, now he can see, and everybody is amazed, and their question is,

28:50

Can this be the son of David? We've never seen anything like this. It's undeniable that Christ's miracles were taking place.

28:57

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, Oh, it's only by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons, that this man casts out demons.

29:03

So they didn't deny that the miracle took place. They instead ascribed the miraculous ability of Christ to the demonic.

29:14

So you'll note, no question in the critics' minds as to whether or not Christ performed a miracle.

29:20

Same with the Apostles, by the way. Acts chapter 3, this is going to be a long read, but worth the time because we're in God's Word.

29:28

It says in Acts 3, Now Peter and John, they were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

29:34

And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, that is called the beautiful gate, to ask for alms of those entering the temple.

29:43

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. But Peter directed his gaze at him as did

29:50

John and said, Look at us. And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said,

29:56

I have no silver and gold. But what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

30:04

Rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, raised him up.

30:11

Immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. No doubt about it, it happened instantaneously.

30:17

And leaping up, he stood and began to walk and enter the temple with them. Walking and leaping and praising

30:22

God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms.

30:31

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Everybody knows who this fellow is, where his normal place where he hung out for alms were.

30:43

And they saw him now walking and praising God. And the whole city's abuzz.

30:49

So while he clung to Peter and John and all the people utterly astounded, they ran together to them in the portico called

30:55

Solomon's. And when Peter saw it, he addressed the people. Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this? Or why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?

31:05

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him.

31:16

But you denied the Holy and the Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the author of life, whom

31:22

God raised from the dead. So to this we are witnesses, and his name, by faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know.

31:32

And the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

31:38

And we'll note that one of the real patterns of the Old Testament is authors of Scripture usually have signs and wonders following them in order to validate the fact that what they are writing is truly the

31:50

Word of God. Happened with Moses, happened with the prophets, also happens with the apostles.

31:55

Okay? So now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did all your rulers, but what

32:01

God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

32:07

Repent, therefore. Turn back, so that your sins may be blotted out. That times of refreshing may come from the presence of the

32:14

Lord, and that he may send Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all things about which

32:22

God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Now I'm not going to read the rest of this, but we're going to note then that what happens next after a man who is clearly, clearly healed, unmistakably, undeniably given the ability to walk, as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the

32:44

Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

32:52

So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of men came to about five thousand.

33:02

On the next day the rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high priestly family.

33:12

And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power or by what name did you do this?

33:19

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, we'll let it be known to you all, to all of you and to all the people of Israel, by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom

33:37

God raised from the dead. By him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus, the stone that was rejected by the builders, which has become the cornerstone, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

33:55

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men, they were astonished, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

34:04

But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

34:11

But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, What shall we do with these men?

34:17

For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

34:30

So you'll note that when the apostles performed signs and wonders and healed people, it was undeniable even to the critics of the apostles.

34:41

When Jesus performed miracles, it was undeniable even to his critics.

34:46

But yet the weird thing about the claims of the miraculous and healing and stuff going on in the charismatic movement today,

34:54

I have seen no evidence to believe that any miracle has taken place. And their critics cannot confirm a single one of these miracles.

35:06

So coming back then to the Lakeland revival where this kid with spina bifida who clearly still is suffering from spina bifida and its symptoms is being made to walk the stage, and yet it's patently obvious he has not been healed.

35:24

Do you think you can walk now forever without them, or are you going to have to go back to your braces?

35:37

It's up to God. I'm leaving it up to him. In the name of Jesus, loose, loose, loose, loose, loose, loose.

35:43

Straighten, straighten, straighten, straighten, straighten, straighten. What do you feel? I feel like I have like the most strength

35:51

I've ever had in my body. There was a boy last night with spina bifida who got up on the stage and about 15 years old, and he took off his braces and his crutches and he walked.

36:07

Do you think you changed his physical diagnosis? I don't, no. He believed that if he came to the meeting something was going to happen.

36:14

He's got strong faith in the God that he believes in.

36:20

And the reason he's equivocating is he knows full well he doesn't have a healing gift or anointing.

36:29

He knows full well that he's been engaging in false reports regarding the miraculous.

36:35

He's got strong faith in what the Bible says about healing, and I never prayed for him. I didn't tell him to take off his braces and crutches.

36:42

He showed up at my platform claiming he had strength he'd never had. That's his testimony. I can't take that away from him.

36:48

It was an emotional moment, and yes, I laid my hands on him. Yeah, it was an emotional moment, all right?

36:53

The whole point of that revival was to create emotional moments. I said, thank you for what you're doing,

36:59

God. I ask you for this miracle, and he had faith and I had faith, so we'll see what happens.

37:05

I mean, we're going to believe God that he is receiving healing. Some healing is partial. Not everybody is healed.

37:12

Alex so desperately wants to be healed, yet here he is later that night as he stumbles to the ground.

37:20

So I have to ask the question, Michael Brown, pastorally, what should be done in this circumstance?

37:29

Because this kid clearly wasn't healed. I believe in healing today.

37:35

Todd Bentley believes in healing today. But I don't put on a show and declare somebody to be healed or anything like that, only to have them afterwards when the adrenaline has subsided that they go back to where they were.

37:55

Yeah, I would say pastorally, this is abuse of the highest order.

38:01

I saw him afterwards in the audience, walking without his braces, without his crutches, falling over.

38:07

Yeah. Is there a danger in a situation like that of giving someone a false hope, of raising an expectation that simply isn't going to be realized?

38:16

I think the danger can be there. I think the danger can be there with any message, not just in the area of healing.

38:22

He came in here with faith. I didn't give him that faith. He came with that faith.

38:28

And if you asked him... He came there in the hope of being healed. And all the hype regarding the

38:35

Lakeland revival, all the healing crusades and things like that that occur in the charismatic movement, it's all about people coming there desperate with hope that God will heal them, leaving completely crushed when that doesn't happen.

38:54

Right now, he'd still have the same faith. That's the beautiful thing about it. I suspect,

39:00

I'm certain he still has the same spina bifida too. You know, and I don't know, I haven't talked to him.

39:08

Not everybody is healed. Although she adds, he still has spina bifida. He still clearly has spina bifida.

39:15

Fire! Bentley certainly claims that with God's help, hundreds, if not thousands, have been cured.

39:22

She's going home to California, send her home with a miracle. His revival has become an international sensation, broadcast each night around the world on a channel called

39:32

God TV and on the Internet. Bentley even claims he has cured people while they are watching him from home.

39:39

Can you supply us with three people who have been cured through a miracle?

39:45

Three. He's been claiming at the Lakeland revival, I mean, it was like a miracle a minute.

39:53

He just needs to provide documented evidence for three of the miracles that he's claimed on television.

40:00

Their medical diagnosis, their names, their doctors, so that we can actually see them talking. What I'll do is give you what we call a media package, which we've made available to other networks.

40:13

And I have one. My media secretary has one. If I have a thousand people consenting,

40:18

I'll give you a thousand names. I just want three. Absolutely, we'll give it to you. But we never got three.

40:24

Instead, we were given a binder filled with what Bentley says are stories of inspiring miracles.

40:30

It offered incomplete contact information, a few pages of incomplete medical records.

40:36

Doctor's names were crossed out. Come on. When we pressed further, we were given the name of a woman in California.

40:43

Her husband told us the tumor on her uterus shrank after she saw Bentley. But he added that may just be coincidence because she was still getting medical treatment.

40:52

He told us she is far too weak to talk to us. He did send us some of his wife's medical records from a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico.

41:00

But she apparently insisted on obscuring the clinic's name and the names of the doctors.

41:06

And so, not a single miracle claim of Bentley's could be verified. Not a single miracle claim of Bentley's could be verified, which is part of the reason why

41:18

I'm calling for a code of ethics to be applied to the charismatic movement, whereby no claims of healing will be publicly announced until independently verified by physicians that are not on the dole for anybody in the charismatic movement.

41:43

So you get the point here, and that is this, is that as much as Dr.

41:51

Michael Brown wants to talk about having a conversation regarding the impacts pastorally of beliefs regarding healing today,

41:59

I again point out that I don't know a single cessationist who believes that the Bible is the inerrant inspired word of God who denies that God heals or can heal today.

42:12

We all believe that God does heal today. The issue is that in the charismatic movement, the people claiming special healing gifts and healing anointings, it is demonstrable that they are putting on a show, that they are con men, that they are quacks, that they are engaging in bamboozlement and manipulation, and that pastorally they are destroying people.

42:37

That's what they're doing. And so we'll note then that this has a category in Scripture, and this has to do with the warning regarding the rise of the lawless one in 2

42:47

Thessalonians. Verse 7. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

42:53

Only he who now restrains it will do so until he's out of the way. Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the

42:59

Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders.

43:12

Yeah, you see, men like Todd Bentley, men like Benny Hinn, who it is demonstrable that they were engaging in false signs and false wonders, they are precursors to the coming lawless one, the man of sin.

43:29

And so the coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power, false signs, and wonders, with all the wicked deception of those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.

43:40

Therefore God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

43:50

So the idea is this, is that Michael Brown, for all of his blustering about, oh,

43:57

I'm a continuationist. The Charismatic and Pentecostal movements are not continuationists, they are restorationists.

44:04

And they falsely accuse people who believe in the cessation of the apostolic sign gifts of denying the need for exorcism today or denying that God can heal today, and nothing could be further from the truth.

44:17

Like I said, I believe that God does heal today, I've seen him do it. But I've seen him do it not when somebody decrees and declares or claims to have a special miracle anointing or anything like that,

44:30

I've seen him miraculously answer humble prayers when people on their knees with their heads bowed and their faces to the ground say, dear

44:40

Lord, have mercy on so -and -so, they are in desperate need for you to heal them.

44:46

And God hears the humble prayers of his people and has provided miraculous healing for people.

44:52

I've seen it happen on more than one occasion. So this idea that somehow that cessationists don't believe in healing today or the need for exorcism, it's just false.

45:02

Michael Brown has made a straw man, and for him to sit here and say, we need to talk about pastorally, whether we're hurting people because we're denying that God heals today.

45:14

I don't know anybody who believes that, except for like some kind of theological liberal who denies all the miracles of the

45:20

Bible. So the idea then is this, is that what Michael Brown is doing is basically avoiding the issue.

45:27

The issue is that the signs and wonders that are put forward by the so -called special anointed ones, which makes them pseudokristoi, of the

45:39

Pentecostal and charismatic movements, these are false signs, these are false wonders.

45:45

These are by the activity of Satan and the lawless one. And what they're doing pastorally is destroying people, and Michael Brown has yet to address that.

45:55

And until he does, I don't think I have anything that I would want to say to him, in private or in some kind of moderated dialogue.

46:04

The man engages in obfuscation, and even most recently, we noted that in our

46:10

Charismatic Code of Ethics Rule 1 video, he basically tried to make the argument that somebody who has a special gift of healing can operate in that gift, even if they're engaging in egregious sin and vice.

46:26

Yeah, that just shows you how bankrupt his theology is. It's corrupt.

46:31

And it's corrupt because he doesn't properly understand the role of the gifts, and the role of the Holy Spirit in the

46:37

Church, and I think that's demonstrable as well. So if you found this video to be helpful, don't forget to like it, subscribe down below, ring the bell, and as always,

46:46

I remind you that fighting for the faith, we are supported by the people we serve, and that's you. So if you don't already support us financially, all the information on how you can support us by becoming a crew member, or even getting some of our t -shirts, our merch store link is down below as well.

47:02

And the proceeds make it so that we can keep bringing these types of videos to you, and serving the body of Christ in this way.

47:09

So until next time, may God richly bless you in the grace and mercy won by Jesus Christ, and His vicarious death on the cross for all of your sins.