Instead of influencing the culture with the gospel, the church is being adapted to imitate our culture. Kanye West performed at the biggest church in the country. Over 40,000 attended Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church this Sunday to see Kanye West’s 3-hour ‘Jesus is King’ concert. Millions more watched through social media. This is being hailed as a powerful revival within the church. [1]
This is a strange phenomena that is sweeping the churches with worldly choirs, worldly dress, worldly music and worldly dancing. You can shout “hallelujahs” in a concert but that doesn’t make it Christian. Calling upon the Lord with very weak theology and no biblical substance is not glorifying God. This is actually confusing people about what God requires.
This so-called revival is not about turning away from the world and sin. It’s not about bringing our lives in accordance to the will of God. There is no preaching of God’s word or any of the testing truths that reprove the prevailing sins of our age. No. This is all about praise and flattery. This is about pleasing the eyes and the ears. And because truth is not welcome, the whole world can converge into these “Christian” concerts to sing, shout and dance.
This is the same kind of performance you would see at a worldly R&B, hip-hop or rap concert. But it is actually worse because these so-called “Christian” events profess righteousness and invoke the name of God, but their shows are no different than what the world does. Absent of biblical substance, doctrine or the real gospel this ‘Jesus is King’ concert is based on pure emotionalism, feelings, excitement and entertainment. It is a combination of gospel music, hip-hop, rap, strange sounds, bizarre dancing, screaming, and lights.
When you mix sound with lighting and dancing you are manipulating people because music is very powerful. This is a crowd-control technique to arouse the senses and create an excitement. The masses are brought under control through music – one of Satan’s most effective tools to “deceive the very elect.” Matt. 24:24.
“There is great power in music” (Manuscript Release, Vol. 5, p. 197).
“A bedlam of noise shocks the senses and perverts that which if conducted aright might be a blessing. The powers of satanic agencies blend with the din and noise, to have a carnival, and this is termed the Holy Spirit’s working” (Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 36).
“Fanaticism, false excitement, false talking in tongues, and noisy exercises have been considered gifts which God has placed in the church. Some have been deceived here” (Last Day Events, p, 159).
Satan attempted to introduce this strange, erroneous style of worship into Adventism over 100 years ago through the “Holy Flesh Movement” in Indiana. The advocates of this strange movement believed that this working of Satan was the outpouring of the Latter Rain (Holy Spirit). This movement was accompanied with loud musical instruments, drums, strange insane shouting, emotions and hysteria. It was Satan who introduced these false worship styles and techniques to elevate the emotions of God’s people so that they could experience a physical demonstration of Satanic power and delusions.
“I felt greatly distressed. I was instructed to say that at these demonstrations demons in the form of men are present, working with all the ingenuity that Satan can employ to make the truth disgusting to sensible people; that the enemy was trying to arrange matters so that the camp meetings, which have been the means of bringing the truth of the third angel’s message before multitudes, should lose their force and influence” (Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 37).
This new worship style is the devil’s plan to make of none effect the Three Angels’ Message. Because Ellen White quickly spoke out against this deception in 1901 Seventh-day Adventists rejected this false movement – even as some were calling it the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This phenomena was the beginning of the modern Pentecostal movement. Some Christian groups at the turn of the 20th Century did embrace these techniques which included speaking in tongues, false healings, snake handling, demonic frenzies, blaring music and other Satanic delusions.
“Fanaticism and noise have been considered special evidences of faith. Some are not satisfied with a meeting unless they have a powerful and happy time. They work for this and get up an excitement of feeling. But the influence of such meetings is not beneficial. When the happy flight of feeling is gone they sink lower than before the meeting because their happiness did not come from the right source” (Last Day Events, p. 160).
It is not a coincidence that Satan first tried to introduce these elements into Adventism. This was by demonic design. However, many of our own people have forgotten this history and have started embracing these very things. The church is being revolutionized to become just like the world and music is the avenue to bring about these changes. There is tremendous power in this false revival sweeping the churches. And we as God’s people cannot imagine that by exposing ourselves or our children to this delusion we cannot be affected.
“There are multitudes today as truly under the power of evil spirits as was the demoniac of Capernaum. All who willfully depart from God’s commandments are placing themselves under the control of Satan. Many a man tampers with evil, thinking that he can break away at pleasure; but he is lured on and on, until he finds himself controlled by a will stronger than his own. He cannot escape its mysterious power. Secret sin or master passion may hold him a captive as helpless as was the demoniac of Capernaum” (Ministry of Healing, pp., 92, 93).
Kanye West has become the new pioneer who is bringing the world into the church through secular music and dancing. This new music has no doctrinal perspective or emphasis. The old gospel hymns which contain good biblical theology are being rejected. We are being overrun with a new style of worship that is essentially being embraced by the world. Please be warned that these modern worship styles that are sweeping the churches have “great power” and a very strong influence, but this power does not come from God.
This truly is a revival – but not a revival of godliness or truth. It’s a revival of the paganism and dancing that was seen among God’s people at the golden calf. It’s a revival of the same jumping and screaming that was used by the priests on Mt. Carmen in their worship to Baal. In these modern, worldly worship services you have to shriek and yell just to be heard over the loud banging of the drums and music. The dark atmosphere simulates the night club scene which gives you the sense that you are at a worldly rock concert.
“Satan will make music a snare by the way in which it is conducted. God calls upon His people, who have the light before them in the Word and in the Testimonies, to read and consider, and to take heed.” ( Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 38).
Sources
[1] https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/franklin-graham-kanye-west-christmas-child-operation
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