Chris Rosebrough (from Fighting for the Faith), completely rips apart the false theology of A.R. Bernard. His conclusion from what he hears in regards to Bernard’s theogology and confessions?
“Sounds like organised crime to me.” (1:24:50)
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Release our Faith??
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Program segments:
00:08:13 John Shorey Gives Prophetic Warning of Pacific Northwest Earthquake
00:36:44 Joyce Meyers Twist God’s Word Re: Healing
01:00:18 A.R. Bernard’s Creepy Teaching on Honesty
01:30:34 Sermon Review: Signature by Troy Gramling
Source: Chris Rosebrough, Release our Faith??, Fighting for the Faith, http://www.fightingforthefaith.com/2015/08/release-our-faith.html, Published 31/08/2015. (Accessed 03/09/2015.)
TRANSCRIPT
“Here’s a question that comes up – “Can you be totally honest and be successful in the marketplace? Can you be totally honest and yet be successful in the marketplace?”
Now of course people who don’t subscribe to the Lord, who don’t subscribe to our value system will say “No you can’t! You have to be involved in bribes, you have to be corrupt and involved in corruption. You have to pay “under the table”, (laughs). You have to be a crook in order to be successful in the marketplace.”
Now many can honestly say that this has, you have, you have experienced a question like this, an issue like this, since you’ve been in the marketplace. Oh! It would only happen in America? Oh, man! [Laughs]
Where’s there’s a conflict of values and you’re put in a situation where you have an opportunity for a deal, alright? But somewhere in the midst, they want you to lie.
Now this is a dilemma that I had to think about and I came across a story because my value is, that not that honesty is the best policy, honesty is the only policy! Because if you say it’s the best, it means you have a other choice. But when you say it’s the only policy, you don’t have a choice.
You’re going to be honest all the time, alright? And because you value integrity, no matter what the price is, you’re going to be honest.
Now let me give you some real practical stuff that goes on in the marketplace. Let me give you a story.
There was a women named Rahab in the bible. You’ve heard of her? Alright, she was a prostitute and uh- she lived on the wall in Jericho. And God had promised that Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, would ultimately take Jericho. Jericho was nervous because they heard about the God of Israel and the incredible things He had done and His power and all that. So the
king of Jericho was terrified. The people of Jericho were terrified. This prostitute heard about it.
So ah- Joshua sends two spies. Goes to the city to check out the condition of things and these two spies come to this house of this woman, (who was a prostitute), named Rahab. And- the presence of the spies immediately indicates that Israel is about to make a move on Jericho. And Rahab is concerned about her own safety so she looks to make a deal because she believes what she’s heard about this God of Israel- of the Israleites.
So she says, “Look, I’ve heard about what your God did to certain kings, how He crushed their kingdoms. Word has gotten around and I’m going to tell you, everybody is terrified.” So she makes a deal for her own safety. She says, “Look I want to make a deal with you. If I help you, will you look out for me when the assault takes place?” And they basically said, “Yeah, we’ll help you.”
So here’s what happens, interesting scenario, alright?
Word gets out that these two spies aaare there, so she takes them up to the roof and she hides them and then the men of Jericho, the military of Jericho, comes to her house and say “Look we heard that two men came to you and we want to know where they are.”
Now here’s the dilemma. Here’s the moral dilemma when I talk about integrity and honesty, alright?
Rahab says “Um, actually I don’t know where they are. In fact I- they came and then they went off in a certain direction”. And the military, the guys from Jericho said “Oh-” they believe her, alright OK? And they turn and went off looking for these two spies. But the whole time she had them hidden on her roof! Now here’s the problem! She lied! How do we reconcile a person
lying and yet serving the efforts of God? That’s the dilemma.
I remember one principle that I heard and um- it- the principle was, ah- that no lie ever serves the kingdom of God. And I had to think that through and say “Well, wait a minute! That’s not true! There’s been quite a few lies through the bible”.
And then I started associating names. Mmmm- Abraham (laughs) the father of faith, who lied. So you know, listen, we’ve got to be honest as Christians, and when we read something in the bible, we can’t try to gloss it over and rearrange it. It is what it is, it says what it says. So here’s this woman in the service of God, she lies! Boldly lies! How do I reconcile that?
Well I had to reason this through and said, “Okay”.
Number one, the men, the spies as it appears okay, the spies maintain their integrity. And the person who lied okay, was a person on the outside who heard about this God YAHWEH but was not in relationship with this God YAHWEH. So she had certain values that were not the same as these individuals’ values that they got from Yahweh. And I thought about that and I realised that there are times, (and I’ve experienced this, and you will too), where in business transactions God actually used people who had different values and lower standards, to get His work done. Now let me say, whoa wait a minute! [Laughter] Come on!. Come on! Let’s be honest here, alright? I’ll give you two illustrations, OK?”
When we were bidding on this housing development and we bid again below a billion dollars, but our bid was accepted, everyone had their part to play.
So we had a team, we had equity partners, we had development partners, we had the government and the community, with my responsibility to use my influence with government and community in order to make this deal go through.
So I remember when the equity partners were about to leave and they said to me, they said, “Reverend, we don’t think you should be in on this meeting”. [laughter] They said, “Because we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and go to work in order to get the underwriting that we’re gonna need for this project”. I said, “Well, what do you mean, I don’t need to be there?” They said, “You really don’t need to be there REVEREND (emphasis)” [More laughter]
So the lights went on, and I said “Ohhhhhhhhh, OK! I won’t be there!”
[Laughter] So whatever went on in that meeting, I didn’t want to know about it, I didn’t want to be a part of it, BUT I KNEW THAT THERE WOULD BE THINGS GOING ON IN THAT MEETING THAT WERE INCONSISTENT WITH MY INTEGRITY AND MY STANDARDS [More laughter]. SO I ALLOWED MY PARTNERS TO PROTECT ME FROM WHAT THEY WERE ABOUT to engage in.
Now, what did they do? I don’t know. But when they came out of that meeting, we had the financing we needed. And I said “Hallelujah!” [More laughter]
Let me give you another illustration: when we were building- [Laughs] We were building our 11-1/2 acre campus. Now in New York City, concrete and steel construction, ah, has been for decades owned by one family (and I don’t say the Trump family). it was a family that spells its name like this [Laughter] You know a family I’m talking about? [More laughter].
They ownsteel, they own concrete, they own rubbish removal. Listen, across the board, nothing gets built without their involvement, OK?
So we were building in the late 90’s. There were also coalitions, and the coalitions and unions get involved in order to push work for their union members. So any project that’s going on, coalition leaders will come down and take a look at the project and ask, “Do you have any union labor here? Because if not, we’re going to shut this place down!” And they could.
Now what we did, instead of hiring a separate development company, we were the GC (General Contractor) on the project. So if anybody was gonna get upset, they were gonna to get upset with the church. And you just don’t attack the church. That’s number one!
So what we did was outsource it, to bring it in. So when we went to purchase steel, (in order to do the steelwork, alright), we had to deal with the company that happened to be a part of this family. So in sitting down and talking [Laughs], with the head of the company. He said, “Well, you know, our family does concrete. Our family does, you know, ah, fencing”. And they told me all the services provided by their family. I said, “But look, in order for me to do this project fairly, I have to bid it out.” They said, “Don’t worry. We will always come in with the best bid. So get anyone else that you want to bid on the project and I guarantee you, we’ll beat their bid”. [Laughter]
So [Laughs] we had two other bids and we had their bids and sure enough, for some reason, the other bidders said we can’t compete with that bid [Laughter].
I don’t know if they couldn’t compete with the bid or the family! [Laughter]
So they disappeared and we only had this particular company to deal with. So they started the project and I found out that word spread about this particular company was handling our construction project. And as a result, for some reason, we had no union problems, we had no coalition problems, no community problems, no government problems. The project went pretty smooth! Uh!
So, on the land next to – we have 11-1/2 acres, we were developing 6-1/2 acres. And on the other side, there was, ah, a- like a backhoe, big construction machine left on the property. So I saw that and I noticed it, and I noticed it- you know- it was there. And I think, “OK. They were using it so they parked it there because they need it”.
But they never used that machine! It just sat there! So I said, “OK, maybe they’re going to use it for something after”. But throughout the whole project, that machine just sat on the property next door to the property we were developing. So finally I asked the question. I said, “You know, you guys have had that machine there for the past two years throughout the development of this project and ummm, you know, you never used it. I don’t understand.”
“Reverend, don’t worry about it, we just left it there”.
Well, I found out that that machine was a “marker” and that machine sitting there “marker” told everybody who would drive by, “don’t touch this project!” [Crowd: “Woooah!” Applause]
So the project was under the protection and development of this particular
family. [Laugher] Got it?
So there are times as we engage with the marketplace, God brings people to us who are not of the same values and integrity, who end up accomplishing things on our behalf, without us having to compromise our own integrity. It doesn’t mean you go out looking for corrupt people to do your work [Laughter]. Don’t think that that’s what I’m saying [Laughter]. There’s a difference when God gives you favour and sends someone, as opposed to you calling up, “Oh, OK. Let me give you the most corrupt individual you can find” [Laughter] . No, because then you become an accessory to the fact, alright?
But you’ll find, and I’ve found, (as it’s the only way I can explain this),
that there have been times when God has just given me favour and given me
people to do for me what I could not do for myself, nor did I need to know
[Laughs] how it was being done because God knows that I want to maintain my level of integrity and my service. Come on! Give God a good hand clap offering!
[Applause]
Now, Joseph experienced false accusation. Let me just say something to you about false accusations. Number one, sometimes what appears to be a demotion is actually a promotion. Sometimes what appears to be a demotion is actually a promotion. Sometimes God humbles us in order to exalt us!
And as I said to you, there is no biblical record that shows where Joseph was vindicated against this false accusation. But let me give you some principles that I’ve learned over the years because I’ve gone through false accusations about things and the Lord has told me, in one very critical situation, “Just hold your peace, just be quiet and I’ll take care if this”.
And I held my peace, my wife wanted to talk because my wife said, “Well, He told you that but He didn’t tell me that”. She wanted to talk but I said “No, no, no, no, no, you’re under my covering!” [Laughter]
Let me give you a principle that I’ve observed over thirty one years, OK? False accusation is the last stage before supernatural promotion.
Falseaccusation is the last stage before supernatural promotion. Now, which means that if the devil cannot attack your quality of service, if he cannot attack your integrity, then he’s got to make up a lie about you! And when he’s got to go that far, that is the last stage before promotion. So you shouldn’t get angry and upset. You should do exactly like Joseph. What do you do? Continue the quality of service and continue to walk in integrity.
Your name is attacked before you’re promoted. Your reputation is attacked before you’re promoted. And if you can stand the attack on your reputation because you’ve built the character that you need, then you’ll experience the next level of promotion.
“Well, that’s not fair! Why do I have to be attacked? [Laughs] Why do I have to go through false accusation to be promoted?” Because rememeber: we live life on levels, we arrive on stages, right? And as you move from one level of life to another, the INTIMACY of your relationships must change. So quite often, false accusations that come against you, purge your relationships because you discover who you real friends are.
And believe me, when you’re promoted, you’ll want to take your real friends with you, not the ones who pretend to be your friends. You really find out who your friends are.
Earlier I said to you that relationship is a network for life – relationship is a network for life. [Asks where he is on time schedule, takes time for break] – A.R. Bernard
Categories: City Harvest Church
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