Examining the lyrics of the Bethel faux-worship song...

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"I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. - Isaiah 42:8 (NLT)

I like the holidays at church because that usually gives us the best chance of having more traditional worship, when God was still what we were worshipping. At Christmas I always look forward to singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing for example because some of the best theology is found in such songs. Resurrection Sunday usually means singing My Redeemer Lives but after that song this past week, we sang a Bethel tune called "Champion." Simply put this song is bad. The theology is wrong. It is important to analyze closely what it is we sing to the creator of the universe for two reasons. First, it informs our theology. Secondly however, shouldn't we be mindful of what we are singing to God under the guise of worshipping Him? As an old pastor friend once said, singing Friend of God does not actually make you a friend of God. Singing "You are my champion" does not actually make Him such if it is followed up by usurping His power. So, let us reason once more together beloved through the morass of these lyrics.

I've tried so hard to see it
Took me so long to believe it
That You'd choose someone like me
To carry Your victory

We need to start with what is worship. Victoria Osteen once infamously declared that we do not worship God for God but rather for ourselves. Her husband Joel doubled down when she faced scathing criticism but this thinking is exactly what modern worship has become when you consider the big three - Hillsong, Elevation and Bethel. It is an extremely narcissistic brand of faux-worship. The example I always use is that 50 years ago the church sang how great thou art and today it is oh how He loves us. There is a stark difference between the two sentiments. The first is focused on who God is and the second is focused on who we are. We see this in the lyrics of Champion, which arose from the bowels of Bethel Church. Now, there may be snippets in here that are perfectly appropriate but they are ensconced in the same showy, look at me spirit that has ensnared Charismania. Even in this opening stanza we see the correct theology that says the victory, belongs to Jesus but the overall message is not actually about Him. It is the assertion that the creator of the entire universe has chosen YOU, aren't YOU so special, to carry His victory. How in the world is it "worship" to essentially brag to God that He chose you? The gospel is not about us. There is a vast difference between singing about how Jesus conquered the grave and singing about how we are "carrying" that victory. By singing this over and over again it informs our theology. It forms our beliefs. It is wholly in line with what Bill Johnson and Bethel teaches their congregants. That our faith is about us. Continuing:

Perfection could never earn it
You give what we don't deserve and
You take the broken things
And raise them to glory

You are my champion
Giants fall when You stand
Undefeated
Every battle You've won

Raising our broken things to "glory" is pretty muddled but we can look past it as there are far more egregious lyrical issues. This one stanza about God being undefeated is lyrically fine but it appears designed to soften the blow for other lyrics that are out of line. That is what a lot of these fake worship outlets do. They provide enough sound theology to allow the heresy to walk on by. This is essentially what they believe because it is what they have been taught. When Bethel sings about bringing heaven to earth, that comes from Bill Johnson's false theology of the same thinking. When Elevation sings about how you are certain biblical characters, that is what Steven Furtick teaches. Continuing:

I am who You say I am
You crown me with confidence
I am seated
In the Heavenly place
Undefeated
With the One who has conquered it all

It is true that God says we are His beloved children, co-heirs with Christ, and seated with Him in heavenly places. The bible also says we are a new creation, indicating where God took us from that should result in all humility. It also says that we are His ambassador, which means we are supposed to carry ourselves with the dire importance of the gospel and truth. Nowhere does it say that we are crowned with confidence. It does speak of crowns, usually as rewards in eternal life. The point these lyrics make about being crowned with confidence is indicative of the overall message of this song, which again is about us. We see this now in the next stanza which switches the discussion about His victory to "my victory."

Now I can finally see it
You're teaching me how to receive it
So let all the striving cease, oh
This is my victory

So, while the song starts with declaring the one who is undefeated in victory as being God, it now switches to "my victory." The message is conveying the need to just receive the confidence that God apparently wants to crown you with, for your victory. The bible says to work out our salvation with fear and trembling but according to Bethel all striving should cease. This narcissistic theology does not reinforce God but rather ourselves. This is not my victory. This is HIS victory. The focus is on the wrong person, as is most of Bethel theology. He is not "teaching you how to receive it." Bethel is teaching you how to usurp it. Realize the theology being taught. God is undefeated so that we can have the confidence that we too are undefeated. He is victorious so that we must receive that we now are victorious. Everything is about switching the glory from God onto ourselves. In addition to that, we are not even to strive anymore.

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.

Reverend Anthony Wade - April 21, 2025

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.