The Here I Stand Theology Podcast Sermon Review from The Well in Maryville (False Teaching)

To renounce these writings would be unthinkable, for that would be to renounce accepted Christian truths. Unless I am convinced by scripture and by plain reason, and not by popes and councils who have so often contradicted themselves, neither right nor safe.

Opening Banter and Program Setup

Welcome to the Here I Stand Theology Podcast, where we are dedicated to a pointed debate of Biblical doctrine, sometimes quite spirited tonight, might as well be the case on that as well. So let me do a little bit of camera adjusting here, maybe a little bit further out.

There we are. And so tonight we are going to be looking at, drumroll please, for my friend and pastor, local pastor here around where we are in the Seymour-Knoxville area, Gabe Brown. I am finally going to get to this video, this sermon review of a church in Merrillville called The Well.

Now if you want information about The Well, you can simply look it up, The Well of Merrillville. The Well of Merrillville is a charismatic church primarily specializing, quote-unquote, specializing in healing and deliverance ministry.

That is their primary focus there. And as you're going to be able to see from the sermon review today, certainly Biblical doctrine is not their specialty. I say that, and I mean it as well-intentioned as I can.

They don't even think they like to be called a church. They're called a revival hub. In any case, they are still proclaiming to be proclaimers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and so what we want to do is to be Berean hearers and test everything that we hear in the name of God, according to the Word of God.

Particularly today, we are going to be looking at what I have lovingly entitled the Christmas Sermon from The Well. So as we get into this, I want to make sure that you are aware that the Here I Stand Theology Podcast is a ministry of Reformation Baptist Church, of which I serve as an elder and pastor there at the church.

Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 2 as the Biblical Foundation

So we today are going to be looking at some Biblical text, matter of fact, several Biblical texts. Yes, I said matter of fact, very country right there, and I just heard myself. Nevertheless, we are going to keep moving right along, and as we get into this today, let's go straight to the Biblical text so that we have a proper foundation and understanding of what is to be taking place in the church of God, what Biblical preaching is, and what it contains.

So let's jump over to the interwebs, over to Blue Letter Bible, and let's look for just a moment at Acts chapter 2, particularly verse 42 through 47, to lay our foundation today. So the Scripture states, and they devoted themselves, they being those who believed the gospel preaching there on the day of Pentecost, were born again, saved by the Spirit of God, were added to the church, they devoted themselves, the Scripture says, to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers.

And the Scripture states, all came upon every soul, and many signs and wonders were being done by who? Through the hands of the apostles. And the Scripture states, and all who believed were together and had all things in common.

They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need, and day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.

They were praising God, the Scripture states, and they were having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to their number daily, such as should be saved. As well, very quickly, I think my mouse is about to die, we hope not, but over to 1 Corinthians chapter 2, the apostle Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, and he states this, and I, brothers, when I came to you, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

So with that being our foundation, with that being our text, let's take a look at the first 15 minutes of the Christmas sermon from the well in Merrillville. Here we go.

The Christmas Sermon Starts With Revelation Instead of Christ

What do y 'all expect me to preach on this morning? Salvation?

What?

Jesus?

Absolutely.

I mean, most people would be like, open up to Luke, right? This is the Christmas, our Christmas celebration, but I want to talk about the gift of revelation this morning.

All right.

Let's do that.

So this may sound cliche, but if your pastor opens up with the question, what do y 'all think I'm going to be talking about today, there might be a problem. And if he follows up his statement with a snarky quip, almost degrading the gospel message, there's probably going to be a bigger problem.

So let's go back and listen to this as he starts.

Christ came to reveal the Father.

We know that.

I'm going to preach on this morning. Salvation?

What?

Jesus?

Absolutely.

I mean, most people would be like, open up to Luke, right? This is the Christmas, our Christmas celebration, but I want to talk about the gift of revelation this morning. Christ came to reveal the Father.

We know that he came as the perfect expression of the Father. One of our heroes in the faith, Bill Johnson, he said Jesus was perfect theology. When we look at his life with no failures, no sin, no mistakes, he was a perfect portrayal of the Father's heart.

He revealed who he was, and he stepped into a very religious context that had lost its.

Way.

All right, so let's take clear notice here how he is couching Jesus in his message here. He is couching Jesus, number one, as simply a man, as Bill Johnson states, empowered by.

God.

And so if Jesus was empowered by God to do the things that he did, then certainly you can do the things that he did. And then he quotes Bill Johnson's statement again, Jesus is perfect theology. He was the expression of the Father.

Now listen to his words. Again, I don't want to put words in his mouth. I want you to hear what he says.

The Father. One of our this morning. Christ came to reveal the Father.

We know that.

He came as the perfect expression of the Father.

So let's look at what the Scripture states right here. Statement by statement, testing what he's saying according to the Scriptures. Let's jump over there. Let's look at Colossians 1, verse 15, concerning Christ.

Paul writes, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.

All things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. So Mike Brewer said, I don't want to talk about the gospel account.

I don't want to talk about the Christmas story today. I want to talk about Revelation. And then he immediately sets out into saying Jesus is perfect theology. Jesus was a full expression of God, because where he's going with this is the way that every single sermon goes from the well.

It goes to the man, to the woman, to the individual who needs to be in right relationship with God, not in order that they might be saved, but that they might do the works of God, do the works that Jesus did, so that they might be healers, so that they might be deliverers, so that they might be this and they might be that.

But in the scriptures, we are taught clearly that Christ, here's the gospel proclamation in the video right here, throughout the scriptures themselves, there is only one Christ. That is what made Jesus unique.

Christ alone was born of a virgin. Christ alone lived a sinless life. Christ alone perfectly fulfilled the law of God. Christ alone hung on the cross and died for our sins. Christ alone bore the wrath of God and became the propitiation for our sins.

It was Christ alone who was taken down from that grave. And it was Christ alone who was buried in that grave. And it was Christ alone who on the third day arose from the grave. And unlike anyone ever before him or since that time, he is alive and he is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Jeroboam, False Worship, and the Man of God in 1 Kings 13

All right, let's get back to this.

What do y 'all expect me to preach on this one? He came as the perfect expression of the Father. One of our mentors, our heroes in the faith, Bill Johnson, he said, Jesus was perfect theology when we look at his life with no failures, no sin, no mistakes.

He was a perfect portrayal of the Father's home.

So there we have the Freudian slip. But notice what he says. He was perfect. He never failed. He was a perfect portrayal.

He revealed who he was and he stepped into a very religious context that had lost its way.

All right, so here he goes. He's setting the crowd up right here. He's setting us up for the fall.

I mean, we know by reading the scripture that they were selling things in the temple and Jesus rebukes them and says, my house will be a house of prayer. There was all kinds of things that they despised Jesus.

And Jesus told them that the light they think they have is actually darkness and they're of their father, the devil, who was a liar from the beginning. That was the leadership of the context of the religious structure that Jesus came and stepped into.

The leadership of the context of the religious structure that Jesus stepped into. What does that even mean? Listen to that again.

They despised Jesus and Jesus told them that the light they think they have is actually darkness and they're of their father, the devil, who was a liar from the beginning. That was the leadership of the context of the religious structure that Jesus came and stepped into.

But he was a gift, we know, born on that Christmas morning. The Messiah, the son of God, the angels are singing, they're declaring he's the king and the highest. But he was revelation.

He had to go and mess up the couple of true statements that he strung together. And then he sets off into this. But he was revelation.

Reveal something. The scripture had already revealed to them that God was a good father. But as he matured, as he began to step in his ministry, the revelation of who he was and why he was here began to unlock some people's hearts and minds.

I'm going to take us back to the Old Testament. I know you guys that are a part of the world, you're used to me having a presentation. I don't have that for you this morning. So if you want to get your phone, which may have your Bible or get your Bible, you can go to, let's see, 1 Kings 13.

So if you're not used to having your Bible at church, where you need to be looking at what's being said, where you need to be testing what the preacher is saying according to the word of God, if you don't have that, just grab your phone.

Maybe you've got a Bible on your phone.

1 Kings 13. Since I'm used to reading it off the screen, help me to see it, Jesus.

Funny how faith healers need glasses.

I'm going to read a few scriptures and then I'm going to flip over some chapters and I'm going to read a few more and then I'm going to talk to you this morning. It says, Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel. By the word of the Lord, where Jeroboam was standing by an altar.

So for the sake of context, very quickly, he just told us to go to 1 Kings 13. After that, we're going to 2 Kings 23, where he'll be picking up, but let's pick up on just a little bit of context right here before we go any further.

So in the scriptures, let's pick up on what went on before where he picks up reading concerning Jeroboam and the things that Jeroboam had established, the practices that he had established. So let's read from chapter 12, verse 1, Rehoboam went to Shechem for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

And as soon as Jeroboam, the son of Nebat heard of it, for he was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon, then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. And they sit and called him and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said, your father made our yoke heavy.

Now therefore, lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke upon us, and we will serve you. And he said to them, go away for three days and then come again to me. So the people went away.

Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old man who had stood before him, Solomon, his father while he was yet alive, saying, how do you advise me to answer this people? And they said to him, if you will be a servant to this people today and serve them and speak good words to them, when you answer them, they will be your servants forever.

But guess what? He abandoned the counsel that the old man gave him, and he took counsel with the young man who had grown up with him and stood before him. He was looking for yes, man, and he said to them, what do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, lighten the yoke that your father put on us?

And the young man who had grown up with him said to him, thus, you shall speak to this people who said to you, your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us. Thus you shall say to them, my little finger is thicker than my father's thighs.

And now, whereas my father laid you on a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, come to me on the third day.

And the king answered the people harshly and forsaking the counsel that the old man had given him. He spoke to them according to the counsel of the young man saying, my father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke.

My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions. So the king did not listen to the people for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shalanite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

And so we have the kingdom is divided, right? And then we go down just a little bit further and take a look at what Jeroboam sets in place. Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there.

And he went out from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their Lord to Reboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Reboam, king of Judah.

So the king took counsel and made, does this sound familiar? Two calves of gold. And he said to the people, you have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Now, if you know your Bible, you recognize that as almost identical to what Aaron did while Moses was up on Mount Sinai getting the commandments from God. So he makes a golden calf and he says, you don't need to go to Jerusalem to worship God.

You can worship him right here. Here is your God. And he said one in Bethel and the other he put in Dan. So he made it convenient for folks to come and worship these false gods. Then this thing became a sin for the people went as far as Dan to be before one, to be before one of these golden calves.

He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people who were not of the Levites. And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the 15th day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah.

And he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did it in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he made. He went up to the altar that he made in Bethel on the 15th day in the eighth month in the month that he devised from his own heart.

And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to make offerings. So there you have the context that leads us to what we're about to read and what Mike Brewer is about to say here. So let's listen to what he says very quickly.

I'm going to take us back to the Old Testament. I know you guys that are a part of it, you're used to me having a presentation. I don't have that for you this morning. So if you want to get your phone, which may have your Bible or get your Bible, you can go to, let's see, 1st Kings 13, 1st Kings 13.

Since I'm used to reading it off the screen, help me to see it, Jesus. I'm going to read a few scriptures and then I'm going to flip over some chapters and I'm going to read a few more and then I'm going to talk to you this morning.

It says, Now, behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, where Jeroboam was standing by an altar to burn incense. So here comes this man of God. He's coming into a people that had turned away from God, a people that had began to follow other gods.

It's kind of that religious context that Jesus came into. So here comes a man of God. He comes into that context and he begins to cry out against the altar by the word of the Lord. And here's what he said.

Altar, O altar, thus says the Lord. Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and on you he shall burn. He shall sacrifice the priest of the high places and burn incense on you and human bones shall be burned on you.

Not the most encouraging word. And then he gave a sign to them, saying, This is a sign by which the Lord has spoken. Behold, the altar shall split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.

Now, when the king heard the same man of God, he cried against the which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar and says, Seize him. But his hand, when he stretched out against him, dried up so he could not withdraw to himself.

And he goes on here. The here's the context, this this man of God shows up in a very wicked context, the king is there and the king or the man of God begins to prophesy, Hey, there's going to be one born Josiah by name.

He prophesies that to them in this context and he gives a sign about the altar and altar splits part of the power of God shows up. So the king hates this truth and the king stretches and says, Seize him, seize him.

He was wanting to arrest him. He was wanting probably to put him to death because he was prophesying against the wicked ways he was exposing those things. So as soon as he stretched out his hand to point the man's hand shrivels up, judgment came upon him because he was speaking ill against the word of the Lord and his representative.

So now the king, being wicked, looks at him. Hey, and treat your God that you'll heal me. And I'm paraphrasing here, but basically he's like, I don't want to have my hands shriveled up. So a lot of religious context would look at that and say, you deserve the judgment of God.

You deserve the punishment of God for what you have done. But this man being a man of God, having grace and mercy, he looks and then he prays to the Lord and God restores his hand. It's miraculous.

So notice here, he again, in a very derogatory way, most religious, quote, unquote, religious context would put this man down and would say, you deserve what you're getting. Well, the truth of the matter is that, yes, we deserve death.

We deserve hell. We deserve the wrath of God. We deserve to be eternally separated from God as we are by our sins outside of salvation. But what took place here? What what's going on here? Jeroboam is literally worshiping golden calves.

When the man of God comes, Mark Brewer does an OK job of summarizing there, should have read the whole text there. But what's happening? What's happening is that the wrath of God is poured out. Jeroboam tells the man of God to get away.

God withers his hand up. And God shows mercy. God shows grace. This has nothing to do with us as individual Christians giving out healing or any kind of a healing mercy, as is his context, as he continues here.

And you'll see that so many of us would be like, hey, the dude just wanted to kill me. Strike him, God. Go ahead. But he doesn't. He releases mercy.

So notice this terminology releases mercy. We don't have power in and of ourselves to do anything that God has accomplished. We are not God.

There was a prophecy given that day. There's going to be one born among you, Josiah, by name, and he's going to be a reformer. He's going to transform what this wicked culture.

Again, keywords here, he releases prophecy. And then he goes and uses the word reformer. Which again. Here I stand, theology podcast. We are a podcast devoted to a pointed and spirited debate of biblical doctrine, particularly from a reformed Baptist perspective.

But my friend, throwing that term around is not cool.

Has bought into. So that takes us over to second Kings chapter 22. And this is talking about says Josiah was eight years old when he became king. This is the Josiah, the prophets prophesied about. He takes kingship at eight years old.

Now, I wonder, did he know? Did his parents tell him had the prophecy came down or did he not know? I don't know that answer, but Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He reigned 31 years in Jerusalem and he did right in the sight of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father David.

So here's Josiah. The temple had been perverted, but Josiah raised up in this culture. He did what was right, but he didn't fully understand the truth that was given. He didn't fully understand the covenant that he was born into, but his heart was.

Right. The scriptures. This is a semi-Pelagian angle that he's coming from here. His heart was right. His intentions were right.

So as he is being raised up and he's now the king, they're worshiping idols in the temple. They've got Ashdod and other demons and idols inside of the temple. I mean, they had so walked away from the ways of the Lord.

But Josiah, while that's happening, he's like, hey, let's restore the temple. Let's restore it to its former beauty, because apparently it had been trashed. So he takes the money and he's like, hey, take this money to the carpenters and to the workers and to the masons and let them begin to restore the house of the Lord.

And I'm going to just tell a lot of the story.

I'll read some of it.

So, let's actually read the text, since he doesn't want to, he's not interested in that. Let's do that for just a moment here. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign. This is where Mike Brewer is reading from.

He reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adiah of Boschath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David, his father. And he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

Now, in the 18th year of King Josiah, the king sent to Shaphan, the son of Azaliah and the son of Meshulam, the secretary to the house of the Lord, saying, go up to Hilkiah, the priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people.

And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have oversight of the house of the Lord and who are at the house of the Lord repairing the house, the house, that is, to the carpenters and to the builders and to the masons, and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house.

But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly. And Hilkiah, the priest, said to Shaphan, the secretary, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.

And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan and he read it. And Shaphan, the secretary, came to the king and reported to the king, your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.

Then Shaphan, the secretary, told the king, Hilkiah, the priest, has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes and the king commanded Hilkiah, the priest, and Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Akbor, the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan, the secretary, and Isaiah, the king's servant, saying, go inquire of the Lord for me and the people and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found.

For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book to do according to all that is written concerning us. And so there, let's pick back up now that we've read that in the sermon and let's see where we are being taken to in the message.

Josiah, the Book of the Law, and the Need for New Birth

What do y 'all expect me to preach on this morning? There's going to be one born among you, Josiah, by name, and he's going to be a reformer. He's going to transform what this wicked culture has bought into.

So that takes us over to 2 Kings, chapter 22. And this is talking about, says Josiah was eight years old when he became king. This is that Josiah, the prophets prophesied about. He takes kingship at eight years old.

Now, I wonder, did he know? Did his parents tell him had the prophecy came down or did he not know? I don't know that answer. But Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He reigned 31 years in Jerusalem and he did right in the sight of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father David.

So here's Josiah, the temple had been perverted, but Josiah raised up in this culture. He did what was right, but he didn't fully understand the truth that was given. He didn't fully understand the covenant that he was born into, but his heart was right.

So as he is being raised up and he's now the king, they're worshiping idols in the temple. They've got a strong.

Which, by the way, let me go ahead and make a statement right here. Just because you're born into a covenant family doesn't make you right. The only means being made right in the sight of God is that you must be born again.

And that is a work of the Holy Spirit that God does in the hearts and in the minds of men, where men, women, boys and girls are regenerated and made new creatures individually.

Other demons and idols inside of the temple, I mean, they had so walked away from the ways of the Lord. But Josiah, while that's happening, he's like, hey, let's restore the temple. Let's restore it to its former beauty, because apparently it had been trashed.

So he takes the money and he's like, hey, take this money to the carpenters and to the workers and to the masons and let them begin to restore the house of the Lord. And I'm going to just tell a lot of the story.

I'll read some of it. But so here goes the guy and he's in there to the workers. Well, one of the workers is like, hey, we found something. We found something here, and I'm paraphrasing, in the walls.

We found something that had been lost in the temple. They're like, what is it? They said, we found a book. So they take this book back to the king and begin to read it. Well, as the king hears the words of this book, and this was the book of the law, the book of the covenant that God had made with his forefathers, the king.

By the way, that is the first five books of the Old Testament. It is the Pentateuch, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The king is shocked at what he's hearing because God had laid out ways in which the people were to follow and to walk with him. But now the king is actually hearing this. He's not hearing it from the pagan priest.

He's hearing it as it was penned in the Holy Scripture and it brought a conviction on him. I wonder if there was other things in that book. I wonder if there was chronicles of interactions. I wonder if there was prophecies.

I wonder if they read to the king. I mean, I'm just speculating here. It's not scripture, but it would be pretty cool if they had kept records and prophetic words like we keep. We keep records of the prophetic words.

We review them to hear what God is saying to us. But I wonder.

Here's something the scriptures teach us. Actually, let's go to. Actually, let's go to Hebrews chapter one, the scripture states. Hebrews chapter one verses one, two, three and four long ago at many times, and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.

But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things through whom he also created the world. He, Jesus, is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.

And he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purifications for sin, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high and having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Christ spoke in his days, we have the revealed word of God. So, no, they weren't looking for extra revelation then, just as we should not be looking for extra revelation now.

Did somebody transcribe that prophet's word when he stood before another king and say, hey, there's going to be one Josiah by name? I wonder, as they were reading the covenant and that conviction came upon Josiah, that we have to walk and be restored back to the ways that David walked in.

And then I wonder, did they read prophecies? I wonder if he heard his own name, an old prophet, could an old prophet that prophesied his name, could he have heard that? And it just strikes something in him that goes, I was born for this moment.

The specific question there would be, search Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and see if there was anything. And there we can be assured. Was his name mentioned in those books or was it not?

It's not enough just being in the bloodline of the kings, but I was prophesied, there was destiny spoken over my life by someone I didn't know, someone my parents didn't know. There was a promise given over my family that I would be born Josiah and that I would walk in the ways of the Lord, that I would reform the culture.

I would tear down the high places, the wicked places, the witchcraft. I mean, there's something about when you hear the word of the Lord has been prophesied over your family or over you, that personal revelation that comes only by the Holy Spirit.

Notice the distinction. He's very specific there. The personal revelation that comes only by the Holy Spirit. And again, they are looking for something outside of the written word of God.

I'm speaking primarily to believers this morning that's living, loving God, hopefully doing well, but kind of in this place of existing. Well, there may be something here that is kind of been living like Jeroboam, a wicked king, and stretched your hand out against the Lord.