Kong Hee

I have been debating some proponents of the prosperity “gospel” on a local forum and got to know about this particular piece on popular culture written by Kong Hee, the senior pastor at City Harvest Church (a mega church in Singapore) in the church’s quarterly newsletter Harvest Times.

To say that I am saddened and very much worried by what I read in the article would be an understatement, so I’m going to do a rebuttal of the article in response, in the hope that the same young people who have read and taken the advice within to heart will look at the article again, this time with the Bible as the final authority and not the words of a man.

Text referenced from the article will be in italics and in blockquotes.
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I just stumbled upon this site a few days ago and was smiling to myself — thank you, whoever you are who put up the blog and page on YouTube with a whole load of sermon excerpts; it will now be easier to use the resources to warn of the dangers of Kong Hee’s Word of Faith theology and prosperity message!

Technology is wonderful, heh!

Here’s just a couple of samples of Kong Hee’s theology — the first is his vision of a stadium in the marketplace, and the second a very succinct summation of the prosperity message taught at City Harvest Church.

My thanks to Yongchun at All of Grace for bringing this to my attention.

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Assemblies of God (AoG) in Singapore, a “Fresh Fire Conference” will be held in November when the organizers believe that “… the LORD will release a fresh prophetic word over the Assemblies of God churches as well as other churches in Singapore and release His anointing in a brand new way!”.

The website announcing the conference goes on to say:

We live in exciting times. The promise of a new era is upon us. As the Assemblies of God of Singapore moves beyond our 80th year, let us catch the fresh fire of the Lord - one that is greater than what we have experienced before - and let us come together to be equipped and empowered to impact this world for the glory of God. Catch the “Fresh Fire” of God as you listen to what God has to say to us through His chosen servants at this Conference.

Speakers at the conference include female apostle Naomi Dowdy (formerly from Trinity Christian Centre), Kong Hee (City Harvest Church), two other female reverends, and a healer/prophet.

Now, I can’t say that I am familiar with the AoG in Singapore, but I would also wonder aloud with Yongchun as to why we are seeing them yoked with the Third Wave and Word of Faith movements. Plus, while I might be seen as being a skeptic, I’m of the opinion that people won’t be hearing a very Biblical message at the conference — I just get very wary when folks claim that there’ll be new prophetic words and anointings.

Picture taken from the Fresh Fire Conference website.

A good brother highlighted this particular segment to me, and I managed to obtain the video and am now sharing it via YouTube.

You’ll see Kong Hee, the senior pastor of City Harvest Church, being “anointed” here by Alex Abraham of Indonesia to “replace myself; to replace Dr. Cho Yonggi”. My question, then, is who is being glorified here — God or man?

Besides, is it me, or does it remind you of the same sort of “anointing” that leaders in the false Apostolic movement love to heap on one another (remember Todd Bentley’s not so long ago)?

I recently caught another sermon by pastor Kong Hee of City Harvest Church. Speaking on prayer and quoting Mark 16:17-18, he advised that “the key to power and protection, to the wisdom of God, to solve society’s problem, to shine for the kingdom is praying in tongues.”

Uh, no, pastor, it’s not.

Society’s problems cannot be solved by Christians praying in tongues. The world needs to hear the Gospel, repent and turn to Christ, not through humanist efforts. You can build the best hospitals, have the best doctors but there will always be disease and death, and the eternal fates of people are more important.

Yes, you can and should take care of people’s physical needs for we are to feed the poor and take care of widows, but that must come after the Gospel is preached. Did Paul build hospitals to help the heathen turn from their false gods and pagan practices? No, he preached the Gospel and the Gospel only.

Here’s an excerpt from the sermon which you can watch here (Jabez 2: Prayer Part B):

So what is Jesus saying? As you engage culture, God’s power will ensure you’ll solve society’s problem. You’ll find solution for people that are sick, you’ll find solution for people who are oppressed, you’ll do miraculous work. You’ll find the solution for every answer the world is looking for.

…

How to get into that kind of power?

…

You see, right in the middle of Jesus’ command here, He gave us a little key. He said “In my name, you gotta speak with new tongues.”

That means the key to power and protection, to the wisdom of God, to solve society’s problem, to shine for the kingdom is praying in tongues.

And I didn’t say that; Jesus said that!

I am quite sure that our Lord Jesus Christ didn’t say that at all, meaning this pastor is putting words into God’s mouth.

Seriously, I am warning that one be careful not to follow after such teachings.

You’ll notice that, if you fast forward the sermon, the entire congregation was told to break forth and speak in tongues, which is an obvious disregard to the instructions given by Paul for orderly worship.

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.

1 Corinthians 14:26-28

Worse yet, there was an altar call right after. I wonder how true Paul’s words earlier in 1 Corinthians would be for some unbelievers there!

If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?

1 Corinthians 14:23

It saddens me that so many are led astray…

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.

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