When I lift my voice and shout
Every
wall comes crashing down
I have the authority
Jesus has given me
When I open up my mouth
Miracles start breaking out
I have the authority
Jesus has given me
Here we start getting into Narcigesis that would make Steven Furtick proud. The lifting of the voices at Jericho had nothing to do with the actual voices. It was about their obedience. It is also not a prescriptive text that declares all we have to do in the face of our personal Jericho walls, which is not a thing, is raise our own voices to see them come crashing down. This fake theology bankrupts people's faith. It shipwrecks their beliefs. All we will ever hear about is the glorious testimonies of a chosen few who feel that some situation resolved due to their "shouting" at them. We will never hear about the countless people who shouted as loud as they could only to see their walls stand in opposition to them. Realize that for many of us these imaginary walls are likened to real world challenges we always face in this life. Debilitating sickness, financial strife and hardship. We pray and show faith only to many times seeing those "walls" still stand. This theology teaches us that if we do not see the walls crumble then what? It is somehow our fault? This is how people lose faith in God or church or both. The Bethelites or other false worship outlets never sing about carrying our cross, suffering within our faith, dealing with a thorn in our flesh, or how sometimes, the answer is no. Remember the key to the authority we have is in conjunction with being within His will. This song and Bethel teach that our authority always tears downs the walls. They take one story in six thousand years and create a false theology out of thin air. It is again the usurpation of the power of Christ. It is the sin of Lucifer to ascend to the throne of the Most High. The notion of when I open my mouth miracles start breaking out is simply not biblical. Realize the inference here is that Jesus Christ has given the individual believer His power to not only perform miracles but to always do so, merely by speaking, a power solely reserved for God. It removes the need for prayer! If I have the power of God to create miracles by speaking, what exactly do I need God for? If He already gave me the Jericho walls toppling power, who becomes God in that equation? God has not given us such authority because He does not share His glory according to Isaiah 42 which declares "I am the Lord, that is My name and My glory I will not give to another"; which is the key verse today. Remember this is supposed to be worship of God! What is the message? I worship You because You gave me all Your power and I should learn to receive it and operate in that confidence? Wow.
I am
seated in the Heavenly place
Undefeated
With the One who has conquered it all
I know who I am, because I know whose I am, Hallelujah
There's
nothing left to prove
There's nothing left to prove
He freely gave it to us
Rejoice,
rejoice, rejoice
Freely He gave
When I-, come on sing
If we know who we are, then we would be in reverent awe of who He is. The reference to He freely gave is from Matthew Ten but that was Jesus speaking to the twelve disciples, not to the church. Even within that paradigm, what has been freely given is the grace of God, not the power to speak miracles. There is nothing left to prove? Later in the same instructions, Jesus warns the disciples that they will be handed over to local councils and flogged in the synagogues, hardly a tacit endorsement of declaring Jericho walls will come crashing down or that they can just speak miracles into existence. In fact, Jesus tells them that if they are persecuted in one place to flee to another - not shout at your walls.
The song repeats these narcissistic instructions that usurp the power of God and urges the people to declare it, another false theology of Bethel - the old name it and claim it word faith heresy. It leads people to a false faith in themselves and challenges them to not challenge themselves for anything. Got a problem? Just shout at it. Need a miracle? Just declare it. Then when the miracle does not come or the walls do not fall down, who gets blamed? It is either God or you end up blaming yourself. Either way, your faith is shipwrecked. I know people who will never come back to church because of false theology like this. This teaches our faith is not in God but rather in ourselves. The bible teaches us that Lucifer fell because he wanted to be God. The problem was the job was already filled. The throne was already occupied. Bethel teaches the church today not to worry. While the serpent convinced Eve that she could have the power of God by eating the forbidden fruit, Bethel doesn't even require that. They claim God has freely given His power to you. Except He hasn't. When you step back and take in the totality of these lyrics, the champion Bethel is celebrating is you, not God.
Post Article Comment and Rate This Article
