Non-Biblical Teachings Of Kong Hee Of City Harvest Church
March 30, 2008
Foreword: this is a word out to Christians out there, and please
understand that I do it in all love as I care about your salvation and
what you’re learning from church. Sure, I might not know you from Adam,
but my concern for you as a brother or sister-in-Christ compels me to
write this even as I know it might draw a ton of flak.
Listen to me, and listen well: if you desire a true relationship
with God and a real Christian walk, stop listening to the filth that is
coming out of that pulpit at City Harvest Church!
This is my personal comment on the teachings of the pastor Kong Hee, after watching his sermon presented this morning (Sunday, January 6, 2008) via the net.
The entire sermon was about setting goals
that are Specific, Measurable, Action-Plan, Realistic Goals,
Time-Conscious, or S.M.A.R.T goals. For the Christian, since, well,
it’s a church eh?, he added 2 more characteristics for goals that one
should set — Expectation management and Revelation, thus making the
goals for Christians S.M.A.R.T.E.R.
I took notes as I watched the sermon once there was an indication
that this sermon was going to be the filth that is the prosperity
gospel again as is the norm at City Harvest Church.
First off, our Christian walk is not a self-improvement course in
how to better set goals and realize our best in finances, marriage,
relationships, etc.! Our Christian walk is about our relationship with
our Lord Jesus Christ, and working with ‘fear and trembling’ towards
our salvation (Philippians 2:12).
Secondly, Kong Hee took passages from Bible versions as and when
they fitted into the message he was trying to bring across. For
example, if the New Living Translation (NLT) had the word ‘goal’ in one
verse, he’d take the interpretation of Scripture in that version and
underline that word.
Below is my point-for-point rebuttal of the sermon:
Taking Verses Out of Context
and only mentioning the first part of the verse where it says “The
light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy
whole body also is full of light;”
It’s not surprising that he only mentioned the first part of the
verse, because next up is veering the topic towards how the fact that
“thine eye is single” equates to focus and therefore leads to
goal-setting.
The entire verse in Luke 11:34 (KJV) actually states this:
The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine
eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye
is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.
– Luke 11:34 (KJV)
Now, you tell me: even someone with some rudimentary knowledge of
English will tell you that reading the entire verse does not give one
the impression that it has anything to do with focus and goal-setting.
One can easily infer from the word ‘evil’ in the opposite lesson the
word ’single’ would mean something similar in meaning to ‘good’, no?
In fact, the English Standard Version translates that verse thus:
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is
healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your
body is full of darkness.
– Luke 11:34
There is nothing in that verse that speaks of focus and goal-setting!
In fact, I’d like to ask Kong Hee why he is teaching something else
together instead of the entire context from which verse 34 is in? Our
Lord Jesus Christ taught this:
No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or
under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the
light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy,
your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full
of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If
then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be
wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.
– Luke 11:33-36
What a contrast when pitted against his brand of market-place gospel, isn’t it?
There’s more:
- Quotation of 1 Corinthians 9:26 out of context
- Quotation of Philippians 3:14 out of context
- Quotation of Proverbs 16:9
out of context and without mentioning (again!) the second part of the
verse where it says that “but the Lord establishes his steps.”
read those verses for yourself in their context and search as the good
Bereans did if indeed the pastor has taught the Bible or some
self-improvement goal-setting lesson from the pulpit instead.
Purpose-Driven Drivel
I am not surprised at all that at the closing of his sermon that he brought the purpose-driven drivel into focus.Oh, yes, my dear brethren, the promise that the new year will be the
best that you’ve ever had is repeated all over the world in churches
expounding the prosperity gospel in case you don’t already know! In
fact, there’s record that they do it almost every year!
Calling to Unbelievers
How does a sermon that has served nothing but to teach anon-Biblical lesson touch any non-believers in the midst of that
many-thousand-strong congregation?
I was surprised that a call to the unbelievers was even made! Look,
if I were an unbeliever, I wouldn’t have gone forward to be led to
become a Christian unless I’d said “hey, I’d like some of that riches
that your God gives!”.
What kind of Christians will they be?
Where’s the preaching of sin in the first place? I don’t believe
anyone can become a true Christian and disciple of Christ unless there
is conviction in their hearts that they are sinners and are repentant
and know that only the Lord Jesus Christ is able to forgive them and
make them acceptable before God!
Can someone be moved to know that he or she needs Christ because the
pastor taught a lesson in setting goals? If so, we should be seeing
more conversions at Anthony Robbins seminars than in churches!
I worry for the souls of those who went forward. I really do.
Because like the parable that our Lord Jesus Christ taught, these will
be those who shall be building their houses on shifting sand, and a
great fall they shall have when the winds blow and the rains beat down!
What Gives Then?
No, I am not jealous of the success of City Harvest Church nor Kong Hee (in fact, Kong Hee is a senior at our alma mater). I have no reason to be.Neither did I start out with an agenda to be mean or unkind, but
after hearing so much filth from the pulpit in the church and having
listened in on a few archived sermons at their website, it weighs
heavily on my heart to warn.
The truth of the matter is that a cousin from my wife’s side of the
family now attends that church and I’m hoping to counsel him and help
him see the truth. That’s why I sometimes would watch their sermons and
find out more about the church for myself.
Dear brethren, besides fellowship, attending church is for your
education in all things spiritual and edifying to your soul, so that
you might be further strengthened in your understanding of teachings in
God’s Word and be no more as babes, but matured disciples of Christ.
The prosperity gospel is a false gospel that will lead you astray!
It teaches nothing but worldly principles and treating God as some
vending machine. And all you’re in fact doing when you give to the
church (or sow, as they call it), is buying some lottery ticket that
says “God shall bless me when I give more to the building fund” (thank
you, Deborah, for sharing this analogy).
If you are from City Harvest Church, or even from another church,
and are truly concerned, then pray for Kong Hee to wake up from his
delusion, repent, and start preaching God’s Word instead of the
prosperity gospel.
I shall also pray that you shall learn to discern and seek to study
the Bible and learn what God teaches about the Christian life, instead
of listening to the apostasy many teachers now falsely teach.
Shalom Aleichem.
Comments on Article
Raymond Sim said
Yes, I agree with you what all of you said to the City Harvest Church. I used to attend City Harvest in Subang Jaya about a year in 2005. It is also a prosperity church and all the sermons in that church is about prosperity. for about 52 weeks i was in that church i NEVER EVEN ONCE that pastor kevin said about dying to self, dying to sins, deliverance from demonic bondage and the like. every time i go to their bible study, i asked the bible study leader some questions, he could not answer me!! i got frustrated and question his leadership over me. the church leaders over there and they reprimanded me from not going to their church. from that day onwards, i did not step into that church again. what i want to look for in the church prior to that is to look for spiritual meat and not milk!! there are about 1500 students there, they will be straight going to hell if they do not repent!! Can you imagine that this church got karaoke sessions, singing competition, Mr. and Mrs. City Harvest??SO PLS STAY AWAY FROM THE CHURCH!! This is what Paul said in 1 Tim 3:6. TURN THESE PEOPLE AWAY!!
Singaporean Christians Dialogue about The Prosperity Gospel Of City Harvest Church
http://ian.onthereddot.com/2008/01/09/the-prosperity-gospel-of-city-harvest-church-or-at-least-the-way-i-understand-it/
Comments
Ian:Now, Sicarii talks about Jesus Christ’s teaching to lay up treasures in heaven instead of on earth. I agree with that. We shouldn’t hoard what we have on earth. We should give as much as we can on earth to help other people. The prosperity message again does not conflict with Jesus Christ’s teachings because it isn’t just about how much we can receive from God and then hoard it but about how much we can receive from God and then pass it on.
To end, I just want to say that the prosperity gospel doesn’t exist in isolation. It has to be part of a bigger framework in our relationship with God and our understanding of that relationship.
And that is indeed the place the prosperity gospel exists in CHC (or at least when I was there).
Ian:
First, you need to
understand that perhaps not many think the way you think, and that many take
the messages at face value.
And that’s the problem I
have with the prosperity gospel.
Yes, God will always give
us everything good, but is it always in financial terms? Definitely not.
In fact, sometimes God
even breaks our spirit so that we are made to sink to very low points and
submit to His will. Sometimes, God also makes us go through trials to only
emerge victorious later, or to learn a lesson in serving Him.
The prosperity gospel
paints a rosy picture that once you become a Christian, these promises of good
will come. Not so, not so at all.
What happens when the
winds blow and the rain beats down? The prosperity gospel is shifting sands
upon which one’s faith is built then! There’ll be those who shall turn away
because they’ll be wondering where their blessings are when they have given so
much to the church.
Do you seriously think
that many young impressionable people think what you think about the limitless
possibilities of God’s miracles when they hear those messages? Sadly, I think
not.
The prosperity gospel
doesn’t teach repentance, hating of sin or the living of a true Christian life.
It’s tailored for the “me” and “me now!” generations that we have today. In
other words, give to receive.
One last point: you don’t
have to be rich to give, nor do you have to make more in order to give more.
That’s wrong teaching. You give what you can and not think about receiving
anything in return. That’s what being a true Christian is, and what being a
true disciple is.
Shalom.
I understand your points. The thing is the
prosperity gospel isn’t bad. Only focusing on it is. And I don’t think CHC just
focuses on it. You need a lot of things to grow as a Christian and CHC takes
care to ensure such stuff is provided.
What stuff?
1. Structured bible studies.
2. Cell groups.
3. Church-wide bible study services.
4. Fellowship with fellow brothers and sisters.
5. Counseling with cell group leaders.
6. Plus many others.
1. Structured bible studies.
2. Cell groups.
3. Church-wide bible study services.
4. Fellowship with fellow brothers and sisters.
5. Counseling with cell group leaders.
6. Plus many others.
The prosperity gospel message doesn’t teach
repentance, hating of sin and the living of a true Christian life because that
isn’t its purpose.
Like I said about, it exists part of a larger
framework and the other parts are responsible for those messages which you have
highlighted and are indeed important.
I agree you don’t have to be rich to give and you
don’t need to have more to give more. But imagine if you have a larger pool of
resources to give from. Isn’t that better? Of course the attaining of that
larger pool shouldn’t compromise your relationship with God and in fact the
prosperity gospel is about how you can increase that pool with God.
The thing is, you should always start by giving
your best in whatever capacity. But your best can always improve. No?
I also agree one should give without demanding
anything in return, but that doesn’t mean you don’t expect.
When I pray or rather when I used to pray, I never
demanded God answered my prayers. But I expected him to with the mindset that
the expectation is not based on some right I think I deserved to have, but the
acknowledgment that it was a privilege he had the power to give.
When a person gives, there are many things he can
be thinking. I understand some people give only thinking about what is the
upside for him. But giving and thinking about receiving something in return
isn’t really wrong if the ‘thinking about receiving something in return’ is
about thinking about how God can and will refill the pool of resources so that
we can give again.
I’m going to disagree with
you and say that it is not part of the framework, nor should it be.
Jesus Christ taught
nothing of the sort, nor did any of the apostles and disciples in their
epistles. Not Paul, nor John, nor James, nor Peter, nor Timothy.
The entire teaching of the
Bible is centered on one: Jesus Christ. The Apostles and disciples taught on
living lives centered on Christ Jesus, perfecting our walk in Him, that this
life is to work out our salvation with fear (of God) and trembling.
It is man who is preaching
either a false or distorted gospel. The prosperity gospel is teaching idolatry,
for whoever covets practises idolatry. The prosperity gospel elevates gifts
above Giver, whereas God should be and is always first and above all.
Shalom.
I’ll like to leave these
verses for anyone who comes to read your post to think on.
Philippians 3:17-21 ESV:
“Brothers, join in
imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you
have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with
tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their
god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly
things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his
glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to
himself.”
Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV:
“Though the fig tree
should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.”
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.”
Shalom.
Well, I guess it is pretty obvious I disagree with
you too.
Wanting to be prosperous does not mean you are
coveting nor does it mean you are practicing idolatry.
Centering our lives on Jesus Christ, perfecting our
walk in him, does not mean we cannot desire prosperity and use that prosperity
for his glory.
Just want to say that some things are not mutually
exclusive and some things are not mutually inclusive.
And I’ll stop here.
Oh. Just saw the verses you left. You do realize of
course you are selectively quoting parts of the Bible without considering that
there are other verses that might tell a different message?
Like for example.
Genesis 39:2 =>
“The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.”
“The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.”
My goodness, God actually made Joseph prosperous,
in the house of an idol worshiping master.
Note prosper here doesn’t mean rich but means
Joseph found success in everything he did where making money for his master was
probably one of those things.
Why? Maybe because God realized that Joseph could
only rise to a position where he could make a difference for his people by
being prosperous.
Which if you read the story of Joseph was what happened.
Imagined if Joseph just, I don’t know, made mediocre sums of money if not lose
them for his master. The fields did not produce as much but normal cos they
were just well maintained.
Would Joseph have been able to rise to a position
where because of his influence Egypt
stored enough grain which was eventually useful to God’s chosen people if he
hadn’t been able to find success in earthly matters?
You see. If it is in God’s plans for us, prosperity
isn’t a no no. Paying attention to earthly things doesn’t equal to obsessed and
minds set (only) on earthly things.
Your second verse is exactly the balance to the
prosperity message which is also taught. Wanting, hoping and working towards
prosperity isn’t wrong. It isn’t even wrong to ask for God’s help to be
prosperous.
But if the shit hits the fan, and we aren’t
prosperous, we don’t blame God. What we do recognize is that it wasn’t part of
God’s plan for us for the moment and we are thankful to him because ultimately
salvation is the most important thing.
Like I said, expecting something isn’t demanding.
And like I said in my first paragraph, I also chose
a verse that tells a different message about prosperity.
If prosperity is the end. NO NO.
If prosperity is a means to an end which is to glorify God, then maybe YES?
If prosperity is a means to an end which is to glorify God, then maybe YES?
Of course being humans, there is also the other
inconvenient notion that people might not be able to handle wealth and although
they started out with the attention to use their wealth to honour God, they
eventually turned away from God in the pursuit of that wealth or after having
gotten it.
The hammer isn’t bad just because you hit your
finger while hammering the nail.
You are confusing being
blessed with wealth for a purpose with the prosperity gospel, Ian.
In your zeal to tell me
how I am selectively misquoting, and how Joseph is blessed, you forget to
mention that he first was sold to the Egyptians by his brothers and he went
through a bad period before being elevated by the Pharaoh so that his family
could be preserved during the famine.
Examine first if Joseph
was still faithful despite his difficult circumstances, Ian. The preservation
of him and his family also served God’s will, for the 12 tribes of Israel came through the 12 sons of Jacob, and
Christ Jesus from the tribe of Judah.
The prosperity gospel is
this: that people are promised riches and wealth and well-being just because
they believe in God!
I do not deny that some
will be blessed with wealth, just because God sees their hearts, and know that
they will serve Him with what they shall receive. Neither am I saying that
Christians must be poor as church mice.
But to preach again and
again that just because they are Christians, and that when they give, they
shall receive many times blessings of what they have given is plain wrong.
This deflates the gospel
into some kind of lottery system — buy more tickets, chances of winning 4D or
Toto is higher. Same thing here: give more, in the end God shall prosper you
financially many times over!
As like those who gave
testimonies, I gave so much dollars, or my last $500, to Arise and Build in the
past years, today my net worth is US$2 million. Now, you tell me, what’s the
difference between that and the lottery system?
Shalom.
Firstly, I think I said ‘selectively quoting’, not
‘selectively misquoting’, if there is any difference.
Secondly, I’m laughing over here. Not to make light
of our discussion, but I think I finally see where our differences lie. I made
the noob mistake of not seeing that the phrase ‘prosperity gospel’ has
different meaning to both of us.
You constraint it to just ‘that people are promised
riches (JUST FOR THEMSELVES) and wealth (JUST FOR
THEMSELVES) and well-being (JUST FOR THEMSELVES) AUTOMATICALLY
just because they believe in God!’ and they are taught nothing else.
You constraint it to just ‘preach again and again
that just because they are Christians, and that when they give, they shall
receive many times blessings (JUST FOR THEMSELVES) of what they
have given AUTOMATICALLY‘.
I on the other hand have always understood (or
assumed) that the prosperity gospel referred to all those you said above (minus
the bold words of course) BUT that it would not be a something that just
happens easily without trials, tribulations and it most definitely would not
happen independent of our faith being testing, stretched and strengthened plus
it is not a confirm chopped stamped signed and sealed given during our time on
this world.
Oh… From my personal experience of two full years
(plus on and off after that) going for all their bible studies, sermons,
services, cell groups …, they most definitely do not preach the prosperity
gospel which you are talking about.
Never was I under any pretension that prosperity
was an automatic right just based on my belief in God or that it was linearly
(or what ever mathematical formula you can throw) tied to how much I gave.
Good, at least that
misunderstanding is cleared up. As human beings, we naturally want good lives,
have more than enough and live rich.
But that’s not the message
of the Gospel. The message of the Gospel is eternal through our Lord Jesus
Christ. For me, I can’t care less if I am rich in this life or will become
prosperous (save for a middle-aged tummy that’s growing).
What I care about is my
eternal state, i.e. will I be with Christ Jesus or banished into the darkness
where there’s crying and gnashing of teeth.
You seem like a matured
person who understands what a Christian life entails, which is good.
Just out of curiosity, why
did you leave the faith?
Shalom.
Yup. The misunderstanding should be cleared up. So
I hope you feel less strongly against CHC’s prosperity gospel because it really
isn’t of the variant you described.
I was referring to the
definitions of the prosperity gospel. It doesn’t do anything about what I feel
are wrong teachings from the pulpit there.
Shalom.
It has been
exhilarating to read the views and comments by you and Siarii.
It has also been great
to see two intellectuals arguing out their cases in an urbane manner.
Both of you have
expressed some valid truths in the process of arguing your positions.
I take advantage of the
opportunity to express the following point which I have never had the
opportunity to express in a forum such as this: That when selling the idea of
giving cash in return for 30, 60 or 100 fold financial blessings, one must not
do so in isolation, that is, emphasing such blessings without also making it
manifestly clear that blessings come in different forms to all who are faithful
to God in every way.
The church must be
sensitive when it ‘pushes’ this idea, bearing in mind that for every individual
who gives and is rewarded with a 20-fold increase in salary, there must be
hundreds out there in the congregation who did not profit from any financial
miracles.
How are these members
to explain to themselves why their giving has not yielded the kind of results
like those who went up to the rostrum to give their testimonies.
Will questions and
thoughts such as, “Have I sinned?” or “God does not love me like He loves
others! I’m born insignificant”, come to disturb them?
The church needs to be
sensitive in this area or else people will become confused or hurt.
Hello Warren, thanks for sharing. Your comment
pretty much sums up the discussion nicely.
I have a problem with
the prosperity gospel because it focuses too much on the amount (to be) given.
God wants us to give with a cheerful heart. Period.
He did not promise that
if we give $X amount, we will receive $Y amount. He will bless us according to
our attitude and His will, and the blessings might not be in the form of $
amounts or immediate.
To me, that is the
reason why people are so vexed about how much to give. Just give. Don’t worry
about the amount. Worry about the motive instead. Because that is what God is
interested in.
A church might be very
rich because the congregation has given much. But it will not please God, if
the motive is not right.
The focus is wrong. Why Prosperity Gospel and not
Salvation Gospel or Redemption Gospel? Aren’t salvation and redemption more
important than prosperity?
It seems it is a marketing crafted message to
appeal to the worldly desires of people. That is why CHC is so loaded with $$.
It is not an organization focused on God. It is focused on $$. IF people think
of wealth as a primary driver or motivation to embrace Christianity, they got
it wrong. Christianity is also about humility, suffering, sacrifice, etc. Why
do CHC need so much money? Is it to fund the multi-million dollar facility and
the liftstyle of its founders? Don’t deny that!
I am glad that Ian Timothy saw through this. It is
a disgrace to Christianity. Because, this gives non-Christians the perception
that Christianity is swaying to the direction of $$.
