The new song from Kim Walker Smith of Bethel will make you want to disinfect and take a shower...

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Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. -- Hebrews 12:28-29 (ESV)

Words have meanings. As a former English teacher and current writer, words have power. Not the false power word faith adherents attest to but real power. When it comes to worship, our theology often seems worse than what we see from the pulpits. It is just an area we take for granted. I remember being late to church once and sliding into my seat with hands raised since worship had begun. Suddenly I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit literally lower my hands. Confused I realized I had never heard the song before so I stopped and read the lyrics on the screen horrified. The screen was telling me all sorts of lies. Like I was God's portion and not the other way around. That the Creator of the Universe was somehow jealous for me. There was all sorts of sexual innuendo like heaven embracing earth with a secret kiss. Then the hook came and I understood. The song of course was "Oh How He loves Us" and that was the hook as well. The hook of a song is the part that is repeated over and over again until it hooks you like a fish. The hook, as well as the entire song was telling God how much He loved me! That is not worship beloved. Well, it is self-worship and it fits quite nicely within the "Friend of God" paradigm of praise and worship music. Since the purpose driven church demands sermonettes that are about us instead of God, it fits right in with the modern church experience. So let us take a break today from bad sermon theology to expose a new worship song that is really bad. I mean, like you will want to take a shower after hearing it.

For the uniformed, Jesus Culture is the worship outfit of Bill Johnson's Bethel Church in California. Bethel is a literal cesspool of false teaching as they embrace everything false in Christianity today. Johnson routinely disparages the bible and places personal experience equal to if not above scripture. He operates a "supernatural school" that is based entirely on the heresy that they can teach you the gifts of the Holy Spirit. New age mysticism, including tarot readings, grave sucking, dead raising teams, and soaking worship are all found at Bethel. False signs and lying wonders such as glory clouds, gold dust, gem stones and angel feathers are all found at Bethel. This is where Jesus Culture calls home and is taught. Is it any wonder that a lot of their music is simply narcissistic self-worship with poor theology at best? Their top leader, Kim Walker-Smith, tells her testimony all of the time about a maniacal laughing Jesus who visited her while she was awake and whisked her away to the throne room of God where she met the Father face to face, which the bible assures us is impossible. In this demonic visitation, Walker thinks that God ripped out a piece of His heart to mold a miniature version of Kim Walker-Smith to dance and sing for Him in a music box. I kid you not. This is who Christian youth are listening to today beloved. Recently, Jesus Culture got in a little hot water by releasing "Reckless Love" which went wild in the purpose driven church circuit. The problem of course was in using such a negative connotation to describe God. The arrogant writer refused to back down, and why would he with all the money he was making but who does the bible say is reckless?

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, - 2Timothy 3:1-4 (ESV)

Oops. Words matter. Jesus Culture does not care what critics say because they see that their fearless leader Bill Johnson does not care. So now they have doubled down with Walker-Smith's new hit -- Insatiable. That's right, God is now not only reckless but He is insatiable. There are two primary definitions:

"of an appetite or desire) impossible to satisfy. "an insatiable hunger for success"

of a person) having an insatiable appetite or desire for something, especially sex.

synonyms:

unquenchable, unappeasable, uncontrollable, voracious, prodigious, gluttonous, greedy, hungry, ravenous, ravening, wolfish, avid, eager, keen;"

The first definition is regarding an appetite or desire. The second one is regarding a person, thus the second one applies. Is God gluttonous, which would make Him sinful? Is He unquenchable? Ravenous? Of course not. Defenders might focus on keen but if you meant keen, say keen. The majority of the definition of insatiable is easily recognizable as a sexual connotation at best. So what has got God all hot and bothered according to Kim Walker Smith? Why it is Kim Walker-Smith of course! Keep in mind this is supposed to be a worship song:

Jealous for my attention
Longing for my affection
You call me beloved
You call me friend
You never stop"...pursuing
Craving"...for communion
You call"...me beloved
You call me friend
I couldn't"...dare imagine
The depths of Your devotion
Wilder than oceans (The oceans)
Oh-oh-oh

This is criminal from a theological standpoint. God is NOT, I repeat NOT jealous for your attention. God is not longing for your affection. He can get by just fine without you. These are the kind of lyrics that would make Steven Furtick blush in their narcissism. God does NOT call you beloved. He calls the collective church His beloved. The sloppy agape experiential crowd often makes this conflation. They confuse the collective standing as His bride with themselves personally. God only calls you friend if you do as He says and this song is not a good indication of that standing. God is not craving communion with us. This theology makes God dependent upon us, after all He will never stop pursuing! The depths of His devotion to us? Seriously? God is not wild nor reckless and neither is His love. This song makes Kim Walker-Smith God and that is not surprising since that is what her theology believes. Do not be caught dead singing this arrogance to the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. Now we sludge our way into the chorus, or the hook:

[Chorus]
Insatiable
You'll never stop until You have it all
You can have it all
My heart and soul
You'll never stop until You have it all
So You can have it all
You can have it all
Ohh

Ugh, pass the soap and disinfectant. Hey God, wink wink. You'll never stop until you have it all. Well guess what? You can have it all. Beloved, God is not insatiable. He is very much in control, 24-7. Imagine this is sung to our youth! That is who Bethel targets with Jesus culture, who packs tens of thousands of youth into each concert they perform! As if sensing the blowback, Walker-Smith reverses the language in the second verse:

[Verse 2]
You can have my attention
You can have my affection
'Cause You are my beloved
You are my friend
I'll never stop pursuing
Craving for communion
'Cause You are my beloved
My closest friend
Jesus, I surrender
Become my one obsession
'Til nothing else matters (Matters)
Oh-oh-oh

Aww, isn't that sweet. God is allowed to have your attention and affection? Exactly how is this worship again? God is not your beloved, nor your friend unless He is your Lord and Savior. I do not see anything in this song about these foundational roles God must have in our lives. Become my one obsession? Words matter. An obsession is compulsion, addiction or fetish. Nowhere in the bible does it suggest God wants your attention to the point that nothing else matters in your life! Stop with the poetic carnality being placed on an infinite God. This is how Bethel hooks you into their theology beloved. The same way Hillsong, Elevation and IHOP do. If you sing over and over again how reckless His love is for you and how insatiable He is for you, then you will start to believe it as a matter of doctrine. That is how you end up communing with demons who convince you that Father God has just ripped out a piece of His own heart to shape a miniature you! Because you are so special! The maker of everything is just so jealous for your attention. He craves you. He desires you. He is insatiable for you. Except He is not. Sorry. Mercifully we approach the bridge:

[Bridge]
Oh-oh, Your love is an all-consuming fire
Your love is an all-consuming fire
And all that You ask for is surrender
Your love is an all-consuming fire

These experiential outfits always talk about the fire of God as something to eagerly pursue. I think if they ever truly caught up to it they would not find being consumed by an all-consuming God is a good thing. His wrath is all-consuming beloved. Consider the key verses:

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. -- Hebrews 12:28-29 (ESV)

Note the emphasis on acceptable worship. acceptable worship has reverence and awe for God. It is so serious that the writer of Hebrews has to remind us that the God we serve is a consuming fire. Maybe we ought to remember that before declaring that God is jealous for us or that He longs for our affection. Maybe we would do well to dwell on that before singing to the creator of the universe that He craves communion with us or that His devotion for us is wilder than the oceans. Perhaps we ought to have a sliver of respect before declaring our God to be reckless, insatiable, unappeasable, ravening, wolfish, and greedy. Perhaps we ought to be mindful before chasing after that which would consume us for such blinding arrogance and stupidity.

When asked about the criticism over reckless love, the writer from Jesus Culture arrogantly defended it claiming he was not saying God was reckless but that His love was and pointed skeptics to Luke 15. Sorry but you need more time studying God's word and less time writing heretical garbage for your own glory and fame. Luke 15 has the three stories about God's love. First is the 99 and the one and nowhere does the text indicate that God was reckless in his love for the one. He always knew where the 99 were. They were never in any danger from Him seeking out that which was lost. God can hold the 99 in the palm of His hand and still seek the one that is lost. The lost coin just shows the diligence of God in seeking. Nothing reckless about it at all. The last story is the prodigal son. God does nothing reckless in waiting and scouring the horizon for his lost son. Certainly, His decision to welcome him home and rejoice is not in line with the carnality of man, brilliantly displayed by the true prodigal -- the son who stayed home with him. That is not reckless. No aspect of God is reckless. Similarly, no aspect of God is insatiable. You may think this is no big deal but just remember that you might be able to see past the nonsense easier than your kids. Or the youth at your church. Jesus Culture is led by Walker-Smith, who openly brags about a demonic encounter she could not and still cannot discern. She and her compatriots were taught by Bill Johnson, one of the most egregious heretics on the planet. Our desire to avoid them and mark them for the body should be both reckless and insatiable.

Reverend Anthony Wade -- September 9, 2019

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.