The group is focused on a living leader.......

The group is focused on a living leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment.

Before we even go in depth a few of you would be worried about me because 1 Chronicle 16:22/Psalm 105:15 and other verses that say: Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm.

Let me ease your worries, it is not talking about calling out false teachers! It is about killing prophets and the lords anointed. I promise you I am not going to go and kill this man. We see this in David's response to Abishai in 1 Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD'S anointed, and be guiltless.

David refused to kill Saul as he saw him as God's anointed. So next time you see a person use that verse for speaking out against a teacher ask them have you not read? This is why reading things in context is so important because you can twist 2 sentences to mean what you want. You cannot twist a whole chapter.

When looking at the touch, not God's anointed, you cannot name a verse when that had anything to do with talking about someone (in a wider context). I had to explain that so you first understand I am not defying God's command

We are commanded to call out false teachers by name! Jesus in Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. - Jesus calls the top religious leaders of that time seeds of serpents aka the devil.

and if you want more proof we are all called to do this:

Mathew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Philippians 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

Romans 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such one no not to eat.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us., 14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

Acts 20:28-29 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

John piper gives 5 factors for calling out false teachers:

And here are five factors perhaps to consider when deciding whether to name a false teacher publicly.

1. The seriousness and deceitfulness of the error. Not only do his teachings aid his cult, but his teachings are also heretical

2. The size of the audience. Is it growing? Massive!!!

3. The duration of their ministry. Did they make one blunder or are they constantly doing it? Discernment is knowing when something is right and when something is almost right, If it was one blunder what would the point of a website be? It is in everything, from books to sermons.

4. The vulnerability of the people for whom you are responsible. A lot of people there are young and even when I was a member I knew the outreach plan, targeting young people who aren't with parents.

5. The role you have in influencing shepherds who need to be discerning about who the false teachers are. I do not do this out of malice! I am here to talk

When you do name a false teacher, it’s best to do it in a setting where you do more than name-drop. You explain the error, you give reasons for rejecting it, you communicate complexities, and you set a tone of longing for truth and love — you’re not just slinging mud.

Should We Call Out False Teachers or Ignore Them? | Desiring God

Paul named destructive false teachers:

• “Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me” (2 Timothy 4:10).

• “You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes” (2 Timothy 1:15).

• “By rejecting this [faith and a good conscience], some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander” (1 Timothy 1:19–20).

• “Their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus” (2 Timothy 2:17).

Paul names at least six false teachers that the church should watch out for.

Now that's clear:

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Idol worship did not stop in the old testament. We see it in modern society with false religions, singers/actors and religious leaders.

The group is focused on a living leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment.

He can never do any wrong; he is infallible, and anyone who spoke up against him was/is either shut down or seen as speaking against God. The scary thing is I am not speaking about Jesus, but a mere man. Now speaking as a former member I already know the responses that I will get:

1) He always says "if I say something that is not biblical call me out"

2) What verse is that? (famous saying)

3) He praises and gives God the highest glory.

1) He always says "if I say something that is not biblical call me out"

Try it! Honestly try it. You can't because everything he says is automatically right and if your brain is trying to break out of that cognitive dissonance well then you have a shepherd/leader who will help you shut down your critical thinking. What I'm trying to say is that your brain can't even fathom that what he says could be wrong and when it does, in those slight moments, you or someone else snaps you out of it.

If you were strong enough to push past that, the constant questions would lead to judgment from others. You would be seen as the one who maybe doesn't get it or is not spiritual enough to understand. You may be lucky to get a shepherd who is genuinely a nice person, so they would coax you to just accept what you've been told and move along or forget about it.

However, if you're not lucky enough, you could get that shepherd we have all seen who just wants positions and is not so secretly an entitled narcissist. They would be the ones to bully you into accepting what has been said. Either way both of these shepherds would find a bible verse and bend it 5 ways from Sunday to make it agree with what he said/says. And because your critical thinking is so low already you would immediately jump at what they say because you want it to be true, you want him to be a good leader and the first thing that makes the minimal amount of sense you jump for it.

He sets the culture of the church:

Try any sought of criticism. It could never stand! This leads on perfectly to the next two points, a deeper dive into his books and sermons will show you how much he doesn't understand the bible. He takes the verse out of context several times and will always find a way to link it to his next big project. Oh, and I have never met a more humble man like him either.....

- remember the time he tried to put a cure on people who left his church

Have you ever been in a service when his name wasn't mentioned? And don't give me "it's not him, It's the pastors or members. If he can shut down a church from thousands of miles away he can also tell his followers to stop mentioning his name in every sermon and only focus on Jesus...

- From honour your prophet day

To the craziest thing, we saw mid-pandemic. Thousands of members from all over the world sat in their homes and baked a cake for this man to celebrate his birthday!!!!!!! He is a mere man!! I can already hear people justifying their actions by saying he lead me to Christ, he is my teacher etc... However, we would never do this for any other biblical figure except Jesus on Christmas. Some of you have never met him but you baked, cut and ate a cake all by yourself for his birthday! I am not mocking you, I just want you to realise how wild that is!!

Even if you were to do this for a close family member or friend would you not call/face time each other to share the moment? If it was for Beyoncé or will smith you would laugh at the fans because

1) She doesn't know the fans (only they know her)

2) She won't see it

3) It is a clear sign of a Parasocial relationship

Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships, where one person extends emotional energy, interest and time, and the other party, the persona, is completely unaware of the other's existence

Let's be honest with ourselves. the first day when that person invited you it was a bit weird wasn't it? Everyone had a massive smile on their face and they were all banging on about this great man (hint it wasn't Jesus) who helped them find God. Your initial thought was 'This is very weird' and then soon when you got that "feeling" maybe it was the holy spirit or finally being able to hang out with people your age you stopped thinking about all the odd things that happen.

So what verse is that? Check the ones I listed above.