Pt.2 The Elevation (church) of Steven Furtick

Jesus broke the law of God

When Jesus died on the cross “ God broke the law for love .” I do not know what Scripture he is referring to because the Bible says he fulfilled the law, Furtick teaches this is not true. “ God Broke the Law for Love .” The Bible says Law is holy, just and good (Romans 7:12) it is God’s righteous standard for man. Which is why we cannot keep the Law, our fallen human nature prevents us. God sent his son, Jesus to FULFILL the Law, He did not break IT (Mt. 22:40; Rom.13:10). To claim that Jesus who is God “broke the Law” is a serious false teaching.

“This is why the gospel; is good news in the world today, because God broke the law for love. I said to every sinner God broke the law for love….. He then inserts the Scripture which explains the dichotomy of the law “ I mean what the law was powerless to do and was weakened by the sinful nature God did by sending his son in the likeness of sinful man.”

His explanation has nothing to do him breaking the law. Furtick’s presentation of God is not from the Scripture, he has a God who broke the law which means God sinned. For the Bible tells us the breaking of the law is sin.

This is the kind of teaching you hear from unbelievers and cultists. The Holy Spirit is not in this at all, for it is a LIE!

Jesus himself said Matt 5:17 " Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

Luke 24:44 “ that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me .”

If Jesus broke any law, even the smallest one it would have disqualified himself to be the Messiah. He instead fulfilled the law, and everything that was written of him. Furtick has a Jesus who does not fulfill but breaks the law for love, which is not really love.

Matt 22:37-40 37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Does Furtick know what he talking about? It is apparent he does not at times.

“ The power of God was in Jesus, the healing power of God, the restoring power of God, the same power that made demons flee was in Nazareth, but Jesus could not release it. Because it was trapped in their unbelief. And there’s one thing that even Jesus can’t do. One thing that even the Son of God can’t do. Even Jesus cannot override your unbelief. I see y’all looking at me like, ‘Is that true? I thought He could do anything.’ It said, ‘He could not.’ He wanted to. He was prepared to. He was able to. The power of God was in Nazareth, but it was trapped in their perspective .”

There is a few times unbelief is mentioned by Jesus,

Matt 13:58 He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

Mark 6:5-6 “ Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief.”

The point being made has nothing to do with you stopping the power from Jesus by YOUR unbelief. Jesus healed many who did not ask, who had no faith, so it was not stopped in their unbelief, as Furtick says, Jesus could not release it. What it is explaining that in Christ’s own home town did not receive honor as the Son of God (Matt. 13:57; Mk. 6:4; John 4:44). They did not believe He was the Christ unless they would see power from signs and wonders (Jn. 4:48). He withheld the miraculous as a result of their unbelief of Who he is; it was not prevented from within THEM. It was not that Christ could not perform the miraculous because of their unbelief, but that He would not because they did not believe who He is. A subtle but distinct difference.

Can Jesus override our unbelief? We have the example of Jesus interfering with Saul who did not believe and was going to arrest more Christians. The Lord does interfere, he does intervene in people’s lives, he is sovereign. Those who experience the Lord know this. He saved Daniel’s three friends from within the furnace, he interfered with freeing the disciples from Jail, there are numerous examples of this.

In fact Furtick’s conclusion ends up in another scripture, that he concludes they did not reject Jesus but “themselves” (Jn.1:46) Furtick says “can anything good come from Nazareth.” It wasn’t that they could not believe what he did, they could not believe it came from them.” ?

What? The whole point is showing what they thought they knew of him was incorrect. What they knew of him was superficial. Was of the flesh not the Spirit.

But Furtick goes even further, adding some psychology to change the meaning, They resisted and rejected, and yet it wasn’t Jesus they were rejecting – it was that they had been rejected… I ‘m convinced the people of Nazareth of that Day were not rejecting Jesus as much as they were rejecting themselves. See, You have to develop your view of God is, through the prism of who you think you are. ”(underline mine)

His application, if you want to call it that, is completely unrelated to the text, the Bible and is NOT the way we are to know and understand God

Hype in the Pulpit

In mimicking of Rod Parsley’s (along with T.D Jakes) mannerism and words Furtick walks around the stage asking, “are there any fighters? I mean real fighters, I mean barrier breaking fighters I mean I have got one sword but I intend to use it. I mean whatever’s left lying around I’m libel to pick it up and hit you on the side of the head with it. I’m gonna fight with what I have it might not be much… but its more than enough, I AM A WEAPON!... I’m so tired of Isaiah 54:17, it’s a good verse just not the best one… no weapon can formed against me, I love it I love it…. But how about that one in Isaiah 49 where he says I am an arrow that has been formed and hidden in his quiver. See I’m fine to shout no weapon formed against me shall prosper but cities change when you realize I am a weapon formed against darkness, formed against death, formed against hell, ( begins the Rod parsley walk and stomp) formed against poverty, formed against racism, formed against division, formed against ignorance. I am a weapon, I am a sword, I am a spear ( the audience is enthralled with his) I too have something I am somebody … has them repeat I am a weapon, I’m not just on defense I don’t just have a shield I got a sword too and I’m about to speak God’s word, I am a weapon? Is repeated three times. (Furtick -I am the sword formed against death and hell)

Who speaks of or from the bible like this? How can anyone being in the Spirit say such unbiblical words to motivate his audience? This is using the Bible to hype and motivate.

Furtick is a preacher to those who cannot bear sound doctrine (2 Tim.4:3), who like their ears tickled and are unable to see the difference.

The Bible tells us the only weapon we have is to reach people by using the sword of the Spirit “the Word,” the sword is not us (Heb.4:12-13). And he has yet to use the Word correctly in his sermons, which shows he has no weapon.

In another sermon he explains of stomping the devils head in a church service and he hurt his heel and then uses the Scripture verse in Gen.3:15 as an application. This is backwards how he teaches, besides making it an allegory for himself.

Takes a verse about the old and what will be new to Israel, and tells his people the Lord has him to tell them to make room for the new without the context the verse he uses means. It’s just words he uses to convince people of the new he claims is coming

Scripture means what I think it means

The Bible is often pulled from its context, instead of it being left in context to explain its meaning as it was written.

Speaking of Joshua (chapt.6) Jericho was the first city in the promised that Gods people had to take before they can have everything that God wanted them to have as an inheritance. It was the first everyone say the first. often the first battle is the hardest … he says he waited 45 years in the wilderness to have the “opportunity to get into Jericho, ” stating it was not easy he marched around the city in about an hour he then speaks of the promises of God “some of the stuff not happening in your life some of the stuff that god has promised you that you have not received yet, some of the stuff you are intimidated on, its not that its really bigger than you because God is in you he’s bigger than anything you face. It’s just that your perspective gets blocked by how high the walls are. He then talks about getting to church , “it lifts your perspective to see beyond the walls of your problems… it lifts your perspective to see beyond the obstacles and the opposition. So as long as your looking at in your life is walls…. That’s what most of 6 days a week are doing- looking at walls, lookin’ at set backs, lookin’ at deficits, lookin’ at teenagers; hello, lookin’ at our spouse, …lookin’ at our past, lookin’ at wall, looking at problems, but when you come to church and then turns his focus to worship and praising God with others “I’ve got other people pursuing God with me.” There is something about making an effort to getting in God’s presence that will elevate your perspective so you can see past your problem. And when you see past your problems you can see the enemy you were intimidated of was actually intimidated of you all along, )(people break out clapping and hooting) c’mon somebody you going to help me preach today… you just got to look over the wall sometimes.”

That’s a lot of stuffing to spiritualize a text – making the Jericho walls about overcoming your problem’s in life. How many unbiblical conclusions can one say in a few minutes?

So for 6 days we look at our walls but on the 7^th day at church we don’t look at walls?

We do not make an effort to get into God’s presence, we rest in him as he indwells believers.

It wasn’t Joshua’s perspective that had him conquer Jericho. Does this mean if we are not in church we cannot see past our problem? This all sound convincing when it’s being said, but when the words are examined they lack Biblical reference. Joshua did not look to himself, or look over the wall. He followed Gods instructions.

Furtick says, “A teacher is to be very careful from the pulpit, not treat it as if he hanging with some friends talking it up." Yet Furtick does not act as if this applies to him, numerous times he is not careful. Teachers will be held accountable for what they say that is incorrect or misleading.

In response to being called ‘unqualified” by John MacArthur when he was asked what he thought of his teaching. Furtick sitting with his wife at home responds in a very childish attitude, “ unqualified, and it was such a final kind of pronouncement, like gavel in a Texas death penalty case :UNQUALIFIED” and I heard that and what surprised me the most was it didn’t make me mad, I kind of laughed. For moment I thought of some words that I could call him back, of course I’m not going to name the guy but there are some clues in the book if you actually want to read it. But what surprised me was that I kind of agreed, and I was fine with it and after I thought through my emotions for a minutes it was like I thought, yea that has a nice ring to it.”

So buy the book so you can find out who one of the more well-known respected teachers of our time is that said this one word of him. In response to being called unqualified by John MacArthur, Furtick’s response is incredulous, diminishing it with his mollifying attitude. Furtick is impervious to the consequence of MacArthur being right. As James 3:1 says, Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment,” and that is addressing those who teach correctly.

He actually says it agree with MacArthur and accepts that he is unqualified. The only one who is being elevated is himself.

We are instructed 2 Tim 2:2 faithful men who will be able to teach others.”

This means knowing doctrine and able to expound the Word.

1 Tim 3:2-4 we read among the many things a pastor is to be‘able to teach; not greedy for money, not covetous” 1 Tim 3:6 “not a novice” A pastor/teacher “ holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict . (Titus 1:9)

If you do not have a firm grasp of the Word (the Bible) how do you use sound doctrine to refute those who contradict it? i.e. When you are contradicting it!

Furtick does not seem to care of John Macarthur’s claims that he is unqualified.

Recently held a contest to see who can “walk on water” the best. When Jesus rebuked the disciples for trying to be the best. Never mind that no one but Peter walked on water because Jesus summoned him, it was not repeated by any other apostle or person in history

Calls Joel Osteen who is teaching new age concepts and practices a great man of God. Osteen shows his lack of Bible knowledge as he calls the Mormon church Christian. It’s understood one can tell what one stands for by the people they associate with.

Being positive does not mean it is biblical. He speaks at other false teachers churches and they speak at his. But he does not call out them because he is in league with them.

Furtick has Joyce Meyer speak at his church among the many heresies she holds to, Jesus stopped being God on the cross. “ Commend my spirit into your hands, at that point he couldn’t do nothing for himself anymore. He had become sin, he was no longer the Son of God.”

At the beginning of his Elevation church, Furtick spoke of Meyer and Beth Moore as teachers, says “we got Jesus preach him, we preach Christ so that people can come to faith in Christ and we want them to get in a small group and serve so that other people can meet Christ. If you know Jesus I’m sorry to break it to you, this church is not for you. Yea, but I just gave my life to Christ last week at Elevation. Last week was the last week that elevation church existed for you . We are in the army now, we do one thing, we preach Jesus so people far from God can know Jesus. And we train them up so others can know Jesus. It’s called kingdom multiplication, it’s what elevation church is all about.”

This man confuses his own statement; his philosophy of ministry is wrong. How do you serve in small groups for others to meet Christ if you leave the Church! Exactly where does NEW believer go? In other words there is no discipleship and his Church is not a place to grow in the faith by being taught the Word. In Mt.28:18-20 Jesus says to disciple them in his teachings, its not just evangelism (if that is what they are doing), yet he says this is a church that wants to get you on the field playing the game, changing lives, looking for an opportunity to impact …”

He further states, “ We don’t teach from Books of the Bible because it gets in the way of evangelism. We don’t offer different kinds of Bible studies because it gets in the way of evangelism. We don’t teach doctrine because it gets in the way of evangelism.”

If you want to be fed God’s word or have the Bible explained to you then you are a fat lazy Christian and you need to shut up and get to work or you need to leave this church because we ONLY do evangelism.”

Does the Bible gets in the way of Evangelism, isn’t the gospel to be used for evangelism? No Bible studies, no doctrinal teaching! Are we not to learn the Word to mature spiritually to reproduce?

To not teach doctrine is disobeying the commands of Scripture and has you forfeit being a Church under Christ's headship.

Acts 2:42 it tells us how the church grew “ And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine.” The whole New Testament especially the epistles speaks of teaching right doctrine.

Paul tells Timothy, “Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine .” (1 Tim 4:13-14)

1 Tim 5:17 there is double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.” In other words those who preach from the word and explain the various subjects of teaching.

Paul writes to Titus 1:9-10 “ Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers.”

And most importantly 2 John 9 “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God.”

In these last days we have many 'unlearned' men and women who stand behind the pulpit teaching not from the Bible but use the Bible to their own ends.

Our hope is that he will see what he is doing wrong and correct himself. This means to associate with different teachers that will have better influence on his teaching and take his position seriously or he will end up like so many others that have traveled the road he is now on.

Pt.3 The Elevation (church) of Steven Furtick