Tag: Joseph Mattera
Overcoming the Famine of the Hearing of the Word of the Lord in the Church Jesus is Building
In Amos 8:11, the Lord speaks about a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord. This was referring to a time in the life of the nation of Israel when there was rarely a true prophetic word spoken. I believe that we are now living in similar times. There are many dubious so-called prophetic voices, but of greater concern is the existing trend to dumb down and cut back on the preaching of the Word of God to make church attendance attractive to all.
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Incursion of Mysticism Into the Pentecostal-Charismatic Stream
As a former Catholic, it’s hard for me to fathom the evangelical church buying into the religious occultism of Roman Catholicism. It makes no sense. Visit any country where that religion is taken seriously. What becomes obvious is a people who are in the bondage of superstition. On the other hand, I shouldn’t be surprised. Apostasy is growing rapidly, the religion of the Antichrist is taking shape, and mysticism, whether it’s the Catholic variety, the Sufism of Islam, yoga and the gurus of Eastern mysticism, the Shamanism of native religions, or otherwise, is a common yet powerful magnet that draws all religions together. We need to be watchmen on the wall as we see this evil invading the church, warning especially — should our Lord delay His return — our next generation of believers. They are the clear targets of this mystical seduction.
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ICA-USA Bishop IDs Seven Catholic False Teachings
With the election of Pope Francis and his imminent visit to the United States, there is a resurgent interest in the Roman Catholic Church. It is without dispute that the Roman Catholic Church is a major force in the earth with 1.5 billion adherents, its roots in the first century church, it has historically been an amazing bulwark against the secular humanistic tide of liberal social values, and has a vast array of effective institutions such as universities, hospitals, charitable organizations and adoption agencies to name a few. It also goes without saying that the divisions in the church since the first millennia have weakened the influence of Christianity in the nations.
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ICA Leader Disavows Dominionism
Regarding my teachings on the kingdom, some with an anti-Christian bias have no doubt referred to me as a Christian dominionist even though I preach against it. Since I am not in agreement with Christian dominionist language, methodology and/or conceptual framework, I will use this missive to give seven reasons why I am not a Christian dominionist. Some reasons are theological and some methodological.
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Ten Marks of False Religious Systems
Every church and/or organization has a corporate culture with norms, rules and expectations that pressure participants to conform. Some cultures are good and some bad. That being said, there are particular attributes that characterize false religions or become the norm during religious decline in a true faith such as Christianity. For example, “Every religious system in the world is centered upon a temple (or a sacred place) and has rites and ceremonies, has hierarchies and titles distinguishing men from one another, and has holy days and holy celebrations.” The Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah, Micah and Amos decried religious ritual that was without true righteousness, humility and love for neighbor (Isaiah 1:10-17; 58; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:8). The line of prophets arose starting in the eighth century B.C. primarily because Israel had a tendency to focus more on adhering to the temple ritual worship of the Levitical system than the ethical lifestyle required by the Law of Moses as found in the Ten Commandments. For this, the prophets pronounced judgment upon the nation, and God dispersed the people and, on two occasions, destroyed their temple.
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Seven Reasons People Follow Diva Preachers
The church has seen the rise of “celebrity cult status” pastors who act like spiritual superstars, who act as little gods who believe they are above everybody else. They walk around with an entourage, body guards, and are inaccessible to family, friends, high level staff and peers, and are an unaccountable island to themselves.
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10 Reasons Some Church Leaders Become Divas
3. They are unaccountable. Superstar pastors often think nobody is qualified to speak into their life. Some pastors and leaders think that they are so spiritual and successful, they have reached a point that nobody is able to speak into their life and teach them anything. When someone attempts to speak into them, they may ask the question in their mind, “Is this person as wealthy as me?” Or, “Do they have as many people in their church as I do?” — before they even consider hearing what they have to say!
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12 Traits of Abusive Leadership
There are many signs of abusive leadership, which can relate to leadership in the family, church, business, politics and or any organization or voluntary association. Also, often abusers were themselves the victims of abuse earlier in their life and family.
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Ten Marks of Charismaniacs
As a believer with a Pentecostal experience since 1978 I have seen many genuine moves of God as well as many counterfeit works of the flesh. Unfortunately, many believers lack the discernment to tell the difference between what is of God and what originates with man…in the past decade I have witnessed so much excess in some charismatic circles that I have also felt uncomfortable at times using that term to describe my Pentecostal leanings. The following are 10 signs you are involved in charismania or are a charismaniac.
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Ten Ways the Word of Faith Movement Erred
I have found that whenever we preach or emphasize one truth of God’s word at the exclusion of others it becomes a mixture and produces both good and bad fruit (for example: hyper-grace; hyper-faith; from an overemphasis on outward holiness we get legalism; and we come into a form of fatalism when we emphasize God’s sovereignty at the expense of human responsibility).
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Christian Foundations in the Declaration of Independence
This first week of July 2013, we celebrate the founding of our nation, which started with our Declaration of Independence from England. The Declaration of Independence, which is the foundation of our nation’s Constitution, is so imbued with a Biblical worldview that it would be controversial to read it aloud in many public schools, as well as other venues, because of the current secular movement towards removing Christianity from the public square!
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Five Reasons Why American Men Fail To Fulfill Their Destiny
Many men I come across are depressed and have an inordinate desire to be fulfilled in sports by vicariously living their lives through other men they set up as heroes. This is because in sports there are clear winners and losers, thus satisfying a man’s desire to conquer through mastering a skill. Also, because they feel purposeless, they need to live their lives through other men or through a team they can identify with, attempting to fill the void in their hearts.
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