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NAR, Word-Faith Teaching -- God Will Restore Your Youthful Appearance?

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"When I first read these Scriptures, their daring assertions astounded me. It seems preposterous to believe that you can live a long life and have strong bones and flesh fresher than a child's. Yet the Bible says His Word is absolute truth that does not return void but accomplishes that for which it was sent (Isa. 55:11). This leaves us with the burden of believing what He says, no matter how impossible it seems. To do less is to take from Christ the just reward of His suffering. After all, we have been healed by His stripes (Isa. 53:5)--and that encompasses all disease, including disease associated with aging." -- Katie Souza


Yes, Isaiah 55:11 does say that but of course that has nothing to do with this conversation. God's word is indeed absolute truth but you do not get to pretend it says something that it does not. Notice the insidious word faith, mandatory healing beliefs we discussed earlier. The burden shifts to our faith, our believing. To make matters worse, Souza teaches here that if you do not follow her wildly unbiblical theology, then you take from Christ the reward for His suffering? Huh? She also makes the classic mandatory healing mistake regarding the prophecy of Christ by the prophet Isaiah. You may want to sit down for this beloved but this verse is not about physical healing. Now, God is God and He can always decide to heal within His sovereign mercy. The notion however that Isaiah 53 guarantees physical healing for believers is simply not supported within the key verse. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. What are transgressions and iniquities? Sin. Yet His work on the cross brought us the peace we needed with our creator. Thus, through His wounds on Calvary we are healed -- spiritually. These verses are a beautiful prophecy of the salvation work of Jesus Christ, not a catchall against the flu.


"Is it really possible to tap into the youth-restoring guarantees the Word brags about--and if so, why isn't everyone running faster, serving stronger, lasting longer and looking better while they do those things? That's what I set out to discover in my book Be Revived (Charisma House). What I learned was a game changer, to say the least. I witnessed biblical truths manifesting in my life and the lives of others that left me bowing at God's feet, overwhelmed by His goodness and downright ecstatic." -- Katie Souza


I know why everyone is not running faster, serving stronger, lasting longer, and looking better! Because we age. We age and then one day we die. We see now however the true motivation behind this long article. Souza is selling another snake oil salesman book. She claims to have discovered a game changer and for a small price, she will share it with you. No need because we know it will be more nonsense like this with poor hermeneutics that rob the sovereignty of God. this ecstatic experiential Christianity is another hallmark of the NAR. Stick to the word of God beloved. Experiences are always subject to the whims of our flesh.


"More than a year ago, the Lord showed me a vision of a huge mountain that was blocking my access to the next level. As I looked intently at it, I became troubled by the enormity of its cliffs and elevation. When I asked God what the mountain was called, He said, "Aging, death and disease." People say there are two things you can always count on: death and taxes. Both are considered inevitable. As believers, we understand that death is only a transitional moment. However, aging, death and disease are at work in our bodies every single minute until we make that glorious passage. They slowly and insidiously drain our vitality, one precious drop after another, until all that remains is a withered corpse. That day, as I stared at the mountain before me, I wondered whether it was even possible to climb what seemed so impassable. Thankfully, Jesus said that it was, and He made it sound easy in Mark 11:22b-23 (MEV): "Have faith in God. For truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says." Have you ever read this verse and pictured the impossibility of a mountain jumping into the sea at your command? I have. Yet I knew God was calling me to take this mountain not with my puny faith but with His faith. That's what happened to Zerubbabel when he returned from Babylonian captivity. Amid the most adverse conditions, God called him to rebuild the temple and assured him that his "mountain" would become a mere molehill: "Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will be made level ground, and he will bring out the top stone amidst shouting of 'Grace! Grace to the stone!'" (Zech. 4:7). Zerubbabel and I were both called to complete essentially the same task. He had to reconstruct the temple structure; I had to learn how to rebuild the temple of the body. Each of us faced a mountain of obstacles. Zerubbabel dealt with people problems, whereas I encountered the obstacle all humans face: battling the slow, deliberate process of death that occurs over a lifetime." -Katie Souza


Here are two more commonplace markings of these heresies. The first is the notion of dream interpretation, and mountains are usually involved. There is also a shifting in the atmosphere somewhere but the over-usage of mountains is designed to be able to leverage the Mark verses Souza cites. It sounds so pious though doesn't it? She had a dream about terrifying mountains but God said to tell the mountain to be removed so hallelujah I have the power to speak to mountains! What word faith nonsense. The other hallmark here is the direct conversation with the creator of the heavens and earth. direct revelation allows false teachers such as Katie to elevate their story to the level of scripture because after all, God said it to me. except God said no such thing to Katie Souza, let alone audibly as claimed. The actual amount of times and persons God audibly spoke to in the bible is quite small considering it covers 6000 years. God does not spend His day chatting with Katie Souza and interpreting dreams for her. That is absurd. Needless to say, you are not Zerubbabel and neither is Katie. Just like she placed herself as Job earlier, she now thinks the Book of Zechariah is written about her as well. It is not.


"As I read Zechariah 4, I could hear God mocking the enemy: "Who are you O great mountain! My people will bring forth the finishing stone of this new temple!" It would happen exactly as Zechariah prophesied: "Not by might nor by power, but by [His] Spirit" (Zech. 4:6b). As soon as I committed myself to the battle, in my mind's eye I saw the mountain again. This time, an eagle soared over its crests. Immediately I knew that massive formation would be thrown into the sea by a revelation of renewed youth! Psalm 103:5b says, "Your youth is renewed like the eagle's." Isaiah 40:31 adds, "Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint."

Taking the mountain of death includes walking in renewed youthfulness and beauty. So many people today have cultivated enormous influence through social media. Some make millions, even billions, just by flaunting their looks. Sadly, followers allow themselves to be manipulated by celebrities who are beautiful and seem to have flawless looks. As Christians, we know our value does not come from our outward appearance. But I believe that we should still look amazing--not because we want to keep up with reality TV stars, but because we have conquered the mountain of unhealthy aging, death and disease and understand the supernatural power we possess to restore our youth. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of thinking about how I look and feel. I want the freedom to serve God and think of others first. I want to tap into His supernatural power to look and feel great." -- Katie Souza


The usage of the Psalm and Isaiah verses do not promise everlasting youth and beauty. As much as she tries to pretend this is a deep spiritual exercise she cannot help but admit that she still feels that we should all look amazing. She claims to be tired of being concerned about how she looks but does so in the middle of an article claiming God wants us all youthful in appearance and beautiful. There is no supernatural power to tap into so we feel and look great. This is the way you end up thinking when everything is always about you.

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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 (more...)
 
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